Exploration

Li Tongya came and went, climbing Meichi Mountain while cradling a bleating little white lamb in his arms. Dusk had already fallen. The two brothers exchanged a nod, and Li Tongya tossed the little lamb into the cave. "Baa... baa!" The lamb bleated for a moment, trembling as it tried to walk back out. "Go on!" Li Xiangping forced it around and struck its rump with a tree branch. Only then did the lamb bleat loudly and scurry into the depths. The brothers waited for a while, listening to the lamb continuing to bleat inside. Exchanging a glance, they cautiously entered the cave. The tunnel was wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The air was relatively fresh, though somewhat dim. With each step toward the depths, the concentration of spiritual energy began to rise. Upon stepping into the immortal's cave, they were greeted by an expansive hall. The surrounding walls were cut from bluestone, and luminous pearls hung from the ceiling, shedding a faint glimmer that was just enough to make out everything inside. The spiritual energy in the air was thick and soothing, an intoxicating balm that made one itch to stop immediately and cultivate through breathing exercises. A few faint golden array patterns were carved into the ground, with a small opening at the very center bubbling over with spiritual energy. Next to it lay a prayer mat, while several teal stone shelves stood entirely bare, coated in dust. Li Xiangping looked around and saw only a stone table and several teal jade stools, completely devoid of anything else. He could not help but remark in disappointment, "This cave was cleared out thoroughly. It looks like it was ransacked." However, there were three stone doors along the wall. With a gentle nudge from the lamb, one swung open. Li Tongya let the lamb enter first as before, and only then did he and Li Xiangping creep through the first stone door. The space inside was fairly spacious. Luminous pearls hung from the ceiling here as well, and several stone shelves stood just as bare. The two men searched thoroughly, but found nothing besides dust and a few piles of utterly rotten black ash. Li Tongya and Li Xiangping looked at each other in speechless resignation, then turned toward the next stone door. "With how empty this cave is, I'm afraid this isn't the remains of some senior, but merely an abandoned dwelling." Li Xiangping nodded and looked toward the open second stone door, murmuring, "Indeed. Even if the owner died outside, some daily items should have been left behind. Since it was cleared out so cleanly inside and out, the master of the cave likely prepared to leave long beforehand and packed their jade slips and pills into a storage bag." Behind the second stone door stood seven or eight stone platforms bearing several white jade bottles. The two inspected the bottles one by one. Either the medicinal pills inside had lost all spiritual energy and medicinal efficacy, or the bottles were entirely empty. A few piles of black ash lay on the stone platforms, their original forms unrecognizable. On the central platform rested a hexagonal jade disc covered in formation talismans. It was now thoroughly shattered, with fragments of pale-green jade scattered all across the ground. Li Xiangping picked up a shard with two fingers; it was still faintly warm. Both men were caught between laughter and tears, and they had no choice but to back out. "That jade disc resembles the formation disc Wan Yuankai described along the way." Seeing Li Xiangping's puzzled look, Li Tongya explained, "Both formation flags and formation discs can deploy arrays. Unlike formation flags, which rely entirely on the user's attainment in the Dao of arrays and the array diagram, a formation disc can deploy only a single type of array. Whatever diagram is inscribed on it is what you get, making it quite rigid. Fortunately, it doesn't require high attainment in arrays—you only need to know how to adjust the spiritual energy fed into it. "Once the array is breached, the formation disc immediately shatters into dust. But with arrays laid out by formation flags, so long as the flags remain intact, the array can be laid out again." "So that's how it is. That formation disc must have controlled the protective array at the cave entrance. When we breached the array with the Taiyin Mysterious Light, the formation disc naturally shattered to pieces." Li Xiangping nodded and returned to the main hall with Li Tongya. Watching Li Tongya prudently urge the lamb into the third stone chamber first, they finally entered together. Inside the stone door was a stone bed whose cushion had rotted beyond recognition. By the head of the bed sat a small jade bottle. Li Xiangping gently opened the stopper, but nothing remained except a wisp of medicinal fragrance. Sharp-eyed, Li Tongya discovered a slender teal jade bottle and a piece of white cloth of peculiar material inscribed with fine characters on the couch. Both men let out a sigh of relief. Li Xiangping grinned at once. "At least we didn't come away empty-handed." "It wasn't empty-handed to begin with," Li Tongya replied, shaking his head. "This cave alone, along with the gathering array at its center and the small aperture gushing with spiritual energy, is already an enormous harvest. We gained such benefits without falling into traps or suffering injuries, obtaining a cave dwelling whose spiritual energy is nearly forty percent denser than the outside world. We ought to be content." Li Xiangping nodded, leaning in to look at the white cloth and slender teal jade bottle in Li Tongya's hands. Li Tongya unfolded the cloth first and read it carefully: *Chi Wei bows respectfully: That person has reached Lake Wangyue, and the sect has dispatched people to intercept them. I ask that you make your move without delay, Fellow Daoist. The Blazing Sun Art you requested has already been delivered. Once this matter is concluded, the spirit jade and fire crystals will be presented to your cave dwelling in person.* *That person's strength is formidable. Exercise utmost caution and show no mercy. If you encounter them unexpectedly, fly toward our Qingchi Sect and notify us swiftly.* After finishing the cryptic passage, the two remained utterly in the dark, unable to glean any useful information. They put away the white cloth and turned their attention to the slender teal jade bottle. Li Xiangping shook the bottle. Sensing it was warm to the touch and seemingly empty inside, he carefully twisted open the stopper, but nothing poured out. Sweeping his spiritual sense over the bottle, Li Tongya blurted out in astonishment, "This is a dharma artifact!" Then he frowned, studying it closely for a while before probing inside with his spiritual sense. He said with some uncertainty, "It seems to be a specialized storage artifact holding a kind of spiritual energy as scorching as fire." "No wonder I couldn't pour anything out." Li Xiangping nodded, asking with some confusion, "Could it be the heaven-and-earth spirit qi used to advance from Embryonic Breathing to Qi Refinement?" "Regardless, none of us can make use of it right now. Let's store it away for now." Li Tongya tucked the teal jade bottle into his robe. After thoroughly searching every corner of the cave with Li Xiangping, the two led the lamb out into the open. At the moment, Li Yesheng was leading the village militia of Jingyang Village to tamp down the foundations along the hillside, not daring to approach the cave entrance. Seeing Li Tongya and Li Xiangping emerge, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I spotted this cave opening early this morning and even sent someone to Mount Lijing to fetch my two elder brothers, not expecting they'd miss you." Li Xiangping handed the lamb over to Li Yesheng and exchanged a few words regarding the courtyard construction plans on the mountain before returning to Mount Lijing with Li Tongya. "The spiritual energy in that cave is abundant, surpassing Mount Lijing by a fair margin. We must send someone to guard it," Li Xiangping murmured as they walked. "Indeed," Li Tongya nodded and said. "Let Li Qiuyang come back. Xuanxuan and I will watch over Meichi Mountain together. If this child has a better cultivation environment, he will be able to go farther in the future."