The men and women descended gracefully with their robes fluttering, multicolored light flowing over the magical artifacts in their hands, making them look quite impressive. At their head was a strikingly beautiful woman with an expression as cold as snow. Two lengths of red silk were looped around her arms, dancing up and down in a beautiful display.
She too was a Foundation Establishment expert. Her name was Meng Wanqin. Although she was already several decades old, her high cultivation had preserved her youthful appearance, and she still looked beautiful and dignified.
Tian Tao and Xu Zifeng both turned their gazes toward her. The three exchanged a brief look, then each drew their attention back.
Their auras were evenly matched. None of them could overwhelm the others.
The Xu, Meng, and Tian families each now had a Foundation Establishment expert present. The strongest people sent by the other two families, however, were only at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, so in terms of strength they were clearly suppressed by the three.
Xu Ziqing glanced at those people as well. Every one of them shone with spiritual light and was many times stronger than he was, which left him feeling somewhat dejected for a moment. But he soon thought better of it. He had been on the path of cultivation for less than a year, so what was there to be impatient about? His cultivation so far had gone smoothly, and Steward He had even said that his aptitude was quite good. There would surely come a day when his cultivation reached completion.
With that thought, he put the matter out of his mind.
The three Foundation Establishment experts had already begun negotiating.
Xu Zifeng and Meng Wanqin had both arrived after Tian Tao and lost the advantage of being first. Naturally, they now joined forces, each wanting their own family to have a share.
Tian Tao was of course unwilling, but he could not openly tear relations apart at once. Forcing down his displeasure, he said, “You two fellow Daoists are being rather unreasonable. Since my Tian family discovered this place, it should belong to the Tian family. What justification do you have for coming here to take advantage of us?”
Xu Zifeng disliked wasting words, while Meng Wanqin was smooth and socially adept. She smiled sweetly. “Fellow Daoist Tian, whatever do you mean? Heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and immortals’ cave residences are for those with fate to claim. Fellow Daoist Xu and I may have arrived a step late, but we too have seen this cave residence, so surely that means we have some fate with it.”
After speaking, she turned toward Xu Zifeng with smiling eyes. “Fellow Daoist Xu, isn’t that so?” Then she glanced toward the Luo and Wei families, neither of which had brought a Foundation Establishment expert. “And what do all of you think?”
Xu Zifeng gave a nod, clearly affirming Meng Wanqin’s words. The Luo and Wei families, along with the others from the Xu and Meng families, immediately echoed in unison, “Exactly, exactly! We all have fate with it!”
The Tian clansmen immediately shouted back, but how could they compete with the combined numbers of the other four families? Tian Tao was outnumbered and could only force down his anger. He knew that little wench from the Meng family was also at Foundation Establishment and had originally planned to defeat his opponents one by one, starting with that Xu brat. He had not expected her to arrive so quickly and immediately collude with the Xu brat. It infuriated him beyond measure.
Tian Tao’s face flushed dark red as he snapped, “What shameless sophistry!”
Meng Wanqin merely smiled. “There’s no need to be angry, Fellow Daoist Tian. Fellow Daoist Xu and I are not unreasonable people. You’re trying to break the protective formation around the cave residence, aren’t you? Since you’ve already spent so much effort, the formation clearly isn’t ordinary. Why not have all of us contribute people to the work? By drawing on everyone’s strengths, we can break it faster. As for whatever treasures are actually inside, we can each rely on our own ability.”
Once she said this, everyone apart from the Tian clansmen naturally agreed. “Senior Meng is right. That is exactly what we should do.”
Unable to lash out, Tian Tao could only fling his sleeve hard. “Then let’s see what methods you have! Hmph!”
A trace of satisfaction flashed through Meng Wanqin’s eyes. She gestured toward Xu Zifeng. “Fellow Daoist Xu, please.”
Xu Zifeng’s eyes flickered. “Please.”
The two each gave an order, and five formation masters from each family stepped forward to join those already working on the formation. Once the two groups had chosen their positions, the leaders of the remaining two families selected their own clansmen to join them as well.
Soon twenty or thirty people were gathered outside the cave with formation disks and formation flags, testing and analyzing the formation together. When the Tian family had first arrived, someone had triggered it and nearly died, which was how they knew a formation was present. But what grade it was, and how dangerous it might be within, remained unclear.
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators stood in opposition. Even if swords were not quite drawn and bows not quite bent, the atmosphere was still rigid with tension. Everyone watching understood that the instant the formation was broken, those three would be the first to charge into the cave. Whoever moved fastest would gain the advantage.
Standing beside Old He, Xu Ziqing also felt somewhat restless.
This was the most urgent and tense situation he had ever witnessed, and those three were the strongest cultivators he had ever seen. There was no possible way for him to involve himself in something like this, yet merely watching was enough to make him anxious.
One formation master sent a beam of white light from his formation disk straight toward the cave residence. Ripples immediately appeared across the open entrance, as though the white light had provoked some response.
Seeing this, formation masters from the other groups also raised their formation disks and released probing and dismantling arts. Yet apart from that first white light, none of the others had any effect. Their techniques vanished without a trace, like an ox made of clay sinking into the sea.
The formation master who had produced the white light was from the Tian family. Unable to hide his satisfaction, he sent out another beam. Sure enough, ripples appeared over the entrance again.
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators had been watching closely. Seeing his own clansman take the lead, Tian Tao was naturally delighted. He stroked his beard, laughed loudly, and called out three times, “Good, good, good! Put your heart into breaking the formation, and this old man will reward you!”
The Tian formation master was overjoyed and hurriedly replied, “Many thanks, Senior! This junior will not disappoint you!” After that, he threw himself into the task with even greater vigor.
Xu Zifeng’s expression did not change, though his brows drew together slightly. Meng Wanqin’s smile, meanwhile, stiffened a little, revealing a trace of displeasure. The two exchanged a glance, both sensing that matters were turning unfavorable.
Sure enough, the formation master redoubled his efforts and circulated his spiritual power with even greater focus. Before long, the transparent ripples over the cave entrance grew more violent until they churned like boiling water. Then there was a sudden explosive sound, crack! sharp and clear, like a glass vessel shattering.
Someone cried out loudly, “The formation is broken! The formation is broken!”
A Tian clansman immediately shouted, “As expected, our Tian family’s formation master is the best! Do you concede now?”
Someone else looked openly greedy. “If it took this many people to break the great formation protecting the cave, who knows what precious treasures are hidden inside? It’s enough to make anyone envious.”
Another person agreed. “As long as a little slips through the fingers of those gifted seniors, it’ll be enough for the rest of us to benefit!”
Everyone talked excitedly, delighted that the formation had been broken. But talk was all they dared. With the Foundation Establishment experts still silent, who would dare move first?
Yet while they were still talking, at the very instant the great formation broke, the three figures who had been confronting one another shot into the air and turned into three blurs as they rushed straight into the cave! Seeing the Foundation Establishment cultivators move, everyone else stopped wasting words. They summoned their magical artifacts and surged toward the entrance, each scrambling to get ahead. If someone blocked the way, they simply struck them down and rushed past. Those knocked aside who were not badly wounded would swallow a pill, mount their magical artifact again, and continue the charge. For a time, there were cries of pain, curses, jeers, and taunts everywhere.
Countless cultivators crowded around the cave entrance, jostling and rushing over one another. Xu Ziqing stood at the edge and stared, dumbfounded. Even if there were treasures inside, these people clearly possessed uncommon cultivation and the bearing of immortals, so how had they suddenly revealed such an ugly, ravenous side?
Seeing his expression, Old He assumed he was envying those who had entered to seize treasure. He spoke to him in a rather earnest tone. “Brat, whatever is inside is not something you or I should covet. Look at how many people are fighting over it. This old man may be able to protect himself, but my lifespan is running short and my energy is nearly spent. When it comes to fighting, I’m no match for those people. Your cultivation is even weaker, so remember not to reach beyond yourself. Even if your luck is good and some treasure from the cave falls into your hands, you won’t be able to keep it. Instead, it may bring death upon you.”
Xu Ziqing paused, then realized the old man had misunderstood him. Still, the advice that followed warmed him, and he smiled. “Thank you for the reminder, Steward He. This junior understands.” He added, “I have no greed for the treasures inside. I’m simply curious because it’s rare to encounter such a hidden cave residence.”
Seeing that his expression was open and truly held no greed, Old He showed the faintest smile. “There’s nothing wrong with a young person being curious. Since I’m beside you now, there’s no harm in it. Just remember this: if you ever encounter something like this while you’re alone, go as far away from it as you can.”
Xu Ziqing quickly replied, “Yes.”
In the short time they had been talking, everyone outside the cave had already gone inside, leaving the entrance deserted.
Old He glanced over and said, “Now you and I are the last ones left. Since you’ve never seen anything like this, I’ll take you in and let you broaden your horizons. Stand on my left and keep your mind focused. This old man will naturally keep you safe.”
Xu Ziqing had wanted to see it for himself in the first place, so he was delighted. “Many thanks, Senior!”
Old He brought out the enormous smoking pipe again, hauled Xu Ziqing onto it, and the two swayed their way into the cave together.
*
The walls inside the cave residence were incomparably smooth and glossy enough to reflect a person’s image. The ceiling was very high, more than a zhang above them, and the smoking pipe floated steadily in midair.
There was no wind at all, showing that this was a dead-end cave. Xu Ziqing stood beside Old He and did not dare let his gaze wander carelessly.
Something about the cave was strange. It was utterly silent. The cultivators who had entered earlier might have moved quickly, but even though the two of them were the last to come in, it made little sense that they could not see a single person.
If even Xu Ziqing could sense something strange, how could Old He, with far more experience, fail to notice it?
He slowed the smoking pipe to a stop and said, “Something’s wrong.”
Xu Ziqing frowned in thought, then asked tentatively, “Could it be… an illusion formation?”