Southwest of Shaohua Mountain.
An expanse of tranquil water stretched out in all directions, meeting the sky at the far horizon. As far as the eye could see, not even a single small island was visible, lending the area an air of utter desolation.
A gentle breeze brushed across the surface, stirring faint ripples. The waters were exceptionally calm, devoid of any apparent danger.
Just then, a ripple barely discernible to the naked eye stirred the air above the water. A moment later, three figures materialized out of thin air: Qin Sang and the Yue sisters, who had arrived covertly under concealment techniques.
"Senior Qin, Real Master Cangli's cave dwelling is right down below,"
Yue Xing and Yue Rou said in sweet voices, pointing toward a stretch of the lake.
Under the witness of Granny Jing, they had struck a deal. The tree root was left at the secret shop; as long as Qin Sang broke the restrictions guarding Real Master Cangli's cave dwelling, the item would be his.
Qin Sang looked all around. Not only was there nothing in sight, but there was not a single island for several hundred li. It was remote in the extreme. He attempted to probe downward with his spiritual sense, but the water was far too deep to reach the bottom.
The three formed water-escape hand seals and submerged beneath the surface, diving straight toward the depths. The Yue sisters led the way, clearly having visited many times before, as they were thoroughly familiar with the area.
At last, the lakebed came into view. The sand was pristine, and aquatic plants grew in lush abundance. Fish and shrimp darted freely among the weeds, painting a scene as peaceful as a secluded paradise.
Spreading out his spiritual sense, Qin Sang discovered several demon beasts lurking deep in the silt. Their strength was minuscule, not even worth the effort to slay. However, a number of spirit herbs grew in the rocky crevices, thriving quite well. For low-realm cultivators, harvesting them at regular intervals would yield decent returns.
No cultivator of even modest strength would ever linger in such a barren place, let alone suspect that a Foundation Establishment cultivator's cave dwelling lay hidden here. Real Master Cangli had indeed chosen a clever location.
"Real Master Cangli's cave dwelling is here?"
Stepping onto a black rock on the lakebed, Qin Sang looked at the Yue sisters in doubt.
Before them, the underwater terrain resembled a vast expanse of rolling mounds. Mounds of all sizes were scattered like stars on a chessboard, some overgrown with weeds, others bare. The entire lakebed looked identical, lacking deep ravines or treacherous peaks—thoroughly unremarkable.
Qin Sang flew a full circuit around the hilly terrain and searched with his spiritual sense for a good while, yet failed to detect the slightest anomaly, let alone any trace of a cave dwelling.
The Yue sisters exchanged a smile. Yue Xing explained, "Senior Qin, the reason we cannot see Real Master Cangli's cave dwelling is due to the natural layout of this terrain. It naturally forms an illusion array that not only conceals his abode, but also hides the spirit vein beneath quite thoroughly. My sister and I only stumbled upon this secret when we inadvertently wandered into the array while gathering herbs nearby. Otherwise, Real Master Cangli's cave dwelling would have fallen into someone else's hands long ago. While the illusion array is difficult to detect, passing through it is actually not hard. One simply needs to follow the correct path to enter. Senior Qin, please follow me."
Qin Sang clicked his tongue in wonder. The world held countless marvelous spectacles; while naturally occurring illusion arrays were not unheard of, one that happened to shelter a prime cave dwelling was truly a wonder of creation.
As she spoke, Yue Xing added with a hint of bashfulness, "Senior Qin, we sisters have a presumptuous request. When Senior breaks the restrictions, if circumstances allow, could you please avoid destroying this illusion array?"
Qin Sang immediately understood her intention.
The Yue sisters possessed neither the wealth nor the connections to purchase a Xuanming Tortoise Shell Formation. This illusion array would likely be the sole protective barrier for their future cave dwelling. Since it fell well within his capability, Qin Sang naturally saw no reason to be unkind.
Seeing Qin Sang agree, the sisters joyfully took the lead. Qin Sang followed behind as the three flickered forward, finally arriving at the core of the mounds and descending upon the summit of a weed-covered rise.
Planting her feet on solid ground, Yue Xing turned and said, "Senior Qin, please proceed on foot just as we do. You must not use any escape techniques, nor take a single wrong step. Natural illusion arrays of this kind have no fixed structure and are ever-shifting. If the array is fully activated and you become trapped inside, it will take a very long time to break free."
Qin Sang readily complied. Although the jade Buddha could help him ward off maze arrays, it was powerless against illusion arrays.
The Yue sisters took a step forward, and their figures vanished into thin air.
Circulating the Heavenly Star Tear to protect himself, Qin Sang stayed on guard and took a step forward immediately after them. The scenery before his eyes shifted drastically. The surrounding terrain remained hilly, but the lake water had completely disappeared, replaced by a dense wall of fog that limited his vision to less than a zhang.
The Yue sisters were waiting just ahead. Seeing Qin Sang emerge, they breathed a sigh of relief, gave him a nod, and continued onward.
They wove through the misty miasma, turning left and right. Before long, the dense fog parted sharply to both sides, revealing a bare mound in the center of their vision.
Stepping into this clearing, Qin Sang was instantly enveloped by rich spiritual power, hardly inferior to that of Qilong Island occupied by the Liu brothers. A spirit vein truly lay below, completely shielded by the illusion array without a single trace leaking out.
The mound was covered entirely in white stones, completely devoid of weeds and exceptionally barren. At the base of the mound stood a crude stone door with a simple lintel and frame made of stone slabs. Chiseled across the top in vigorous calligraphy were the characters 'Cangli.' There was not a single ornament besides that, marking it unmistakably as the dwelling of an ascetic cultivator.
Surrounding the mound was a faint blue water curtain—the main event of this excursion.
"Senior Qin, this water curtain is the cave dwelling's restriction. Once triggered, it unleashes an overwhelming barrage of ice blades and water arrows. The greater the force used to attack it, the fiercer its counterattack. Senior must be careful,"
Yue Xing warned, her face paling slightly as though recalling the danger she had previously faced.
Qin Sang gave a slight nod, his eyes fixed on the water curtain. He stared at it for a long while without making out its inner workings.
Among Senior Sister Qingting's relics had been a set of notes detailing her insights into formations and restrictions. When Qin Sang returned her relics to her family, he had made a copy, but he had never found the time to study them.
It was not just the notes; there were many things he had yet to attend to. The golden-thread snow cedar wood had not yet been smelted into his ebony sword, and the Thousand Mechanism Sword Array he had obtained from Wu Yuesheng still lay untouched in his mustard seed bag.
Before coming here, Qin Sang had already made up his mind: if the restriction proved too formidable, he would invite Senior Brother Wen and the others to assist him; if it was manageable, he would use the restriction to study those notes, killing two birds with one stone.
The Yue sisters' cultivation was too low to test the restriction's full might. Qin Sang gestured with his hand, sending the Five Elements Dharma-Breaking Sword whistling forth, and then retrieved a transparent fire cover from his mustard seed bag, lowering it over the Yue sisters.
This artifact was called the Divine Fire Cover, something Qin Sang had found among Baiyun Shanren's relics. The Divine Fire Cover was a very common defensive magic tool with respectable power. As its materials were inexpensive, it was quite popular among rogue cultivators.
Having protected the Yue sisters and himself, Qin Sang jabbed a finger sharply forward, and five sword lights surged toward the restriction in unison.
Chapter 185