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Chapter 221: The Hidden Cave
🕑 Added 2024-01-18 10:26:57 +0000 UTCImmortal Path Space : Table of Content/Chapter List
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Zhu Yan led Wang Hong along the edge of a serene pool, arriving at the back of a waterfall. Unbeknownst to them, there was a concealed mountain cave behind it.
The cave entrance was only two to three feet wide and five to six feet tall, requiring them to stoop to enter.
Bending forward, they walked for two miles until suddenly, the path opened up before them. It felt as if they had reached the end of the cave.
Before them lay a vast space, with green mountains and clear waters stretching across hundreds of acres. A grassy field spread out before them, and in the distance, a small mountain had a stream meandering down its slopes, curving through the grassy terrain.
Unbelievably, this stream contained Spirit Spring water, and Spirit Herbs of various tiers grew along its banks. Some small Demonic Beasts roamed and frolicked in this space.
Above them, the cave's ceiling was adorned with numerous luminescent ores, like a sky full of stars, casting a bright glow across the entire space.
Without lingering, Zhu Yan led Wang Hong towards the small mountain ahead.
As they reached the mountainside, they discovered that the Spirit Spring water flowed from a mountain cave large enough for both of them to walk through side by side.
"So, there's another cave within this cave, and the item should be in here?" Wang Hong inquired.
"Exactly. Within this space, there are several small Spirit Veins converging, and this mountain is at the center of their convergence. Due to the long period of disuse and minimal consumption of Spirit Qi in this area, it has allowed the birth of such Spiritual Objects," Zhu Yan explained.
"I see. That's why I feel the Spirit Qi becoming denser."
Usually, one small Spirit Vein was sufficient to support a family, but here, there were several small Spirit Veins, and the living creatures were not particularly numerous.
With less consumption of Spirit Vein energy, the Spirit Qi naturally became more concentrated, making it easier to nurture natural treasures.
While they chatted, they continued walking along the stream into the inner cave.
They hadn't gone far when they encountered a hall ahead. A Spirit Spring gushed out from the center of the hall. Beside the Spirit Spring stood a small tree that looked as if it were carved from jade, about the height of a person. On this tree hung thirteen fruits of varying maturity, with only three of them ripe.
Around the hall, there were several doors that appeared to lead to chambers.
"Roar! Roar, roar!"
Before they could approach the jade-like tree, they heard roars emanating from one of the doors. Subsequently, a white Demonic Ape wielding a thick stone club emerged from the door and charged toward them.
Both of them hastily summoned their Spiritual Weapons to defend themselves. Wang Hong wielded his most frequently used Golden Seal and swung it at the ape, while also activating his Golden Light Bowl for protection.
Zhu Yan, on the other hand, unleashed a medium-grade Spiritual Weapon, a flying knife, towards the ape. But the ape blocked the attack with its stone club.
At the same time, Wang Hong's Golden Seal was already closing in on the ape's head. Surprisingly, the ape displayed incredible agility. While blocking the flying knife, it also retaliated with a punch on the Golden Seal and swiftly approached both of them, swinging its club at Wang Hong.
Wang Hong quickly dodged backward, and at that moment, Zhu Yan positioned himself behind him, preventing Wang Hong from retreating. Simultaneously, Wang Hong's Divine Sense detected that the flying knife Zhu Yan had just unleashed was now behind him, stabbing towards his back.
"Senior Brother Zhu! What is the meaning of this?" Wang Hong's retreat was blocked, so he had to change direction temporarily and dodge to the side.
"Junior Brother Wang, as the saying goes, 'only by facing death can one truly live.' I'm blocking your retreat to see if, in such dire circumstances, you can unleash your full potential and maybe defeat this Demonic Beast!" Zhu Yan replied with a hint of mischief.
At this moment, Zhu Yan had retreated to the entrance of the cave where they had come from. He was setting up a formation at the entrance, planning to seal it off, forcing Wang Hong and the Demonic Ape to engage in a life-and-death battle inside.
He stood outside the formation, intending to watch a thrilling showdown between a second-tier Alchemist and a white Demonic Ape. Once the winner emerged, he would step in and reap the rewards.
"Junior Brother Wang, it's all up to you now. Give it your all!" Zhu Yan cheered Wang Hong on while observing their battle. As a spectator, he played the part well.
"Senior Brother Zhu, we had no grievances before, so why are you plotting against me like this?" Although Wang Hong had prepared for the worst when he agreed to this venture, he was still somewhat surprised by Zhu Yan's betrayal. After all, they had a good relationship, and there hadn't been any significant conflicts between them.
"Hahaha! Junior Brother Wang, why are you so naive? In the eyes of Immortal Cultivators, everything revolves around self-interest. When it comes to interests, elders, family, friends, anyone can be killed," Zhu Yan chuckled as if it were a joke and then continued in a somewhat introspective tone, "I was once kind and naive like you, but alas... I realized it too late."
He recounted how, in his childhood, his father had rescued an injured and unconscious Qi Cultivation Cultivator from the mountains. However, when that Cultivator woke up, he used a secret healing technique to kill Zhu Yan's parents and over a thousand villagers in their village.
At the time, Zhu Yan had managed to survive by hiding in a cellar during the massacre. Although he had escaped death, young and helpless, he had lived a life of humiliation and suffering, struggling to survive on the streets.
Eventually, through a stroke of luck, he joined a sect and became a Cultivator himself. His past experiences made him adopt a façade of a benevolent person in public.
However, behind the scenes, he committed all sorts of atrocities. Even after reaching the Foundation Building stage, he had once robbed and killed Qi Cultivation initial-stage Cultivators just to get his hands on a few Spirit Stones.
Meanwhile, Wang Hong was still being pursued by the Demonic Ape, jumping and dodging to evade its attacks. He had already used Devouring Spirit Poison on the ape, a poison with excellent concealment but slow-acting.
His Golden Light Bowl was buzzing from the ape's attacks, its radiance flickering.
Eventually, the Demonic Ape landed a heavy blow on the Golden Light Bowl, causing the light on it to extinguish as it fell to the ground.
At the same time, Wang Hong's Golden Seal struck the ape's back, making it stumble forward, narrowly avoiding a nasty fall.
Though the ape wasn't severely injured, the blow further fueled its rage, and it swung its stone club ferociously at Wang Hong.
As its attacks grew more relentless, the Devouring Spirit Poison spread faster within its body. Unaware of this, the ape remained fixated on chasing and attacking Wang Hong.
"Junior Brother Wang, I heard this pill was originally made by you for feeding Spirit Beasts. Is it true that your Spirit Beasts often treat it like candy?" Zhu Yan pulled out the Essence Core Pill and waved it in his hand.
While escaping, Wang Hong cast a sidelong glance in Zhu Yan's direction. "Indeed, it's my creation. But where did you get it? I don't have many of them."
Wang Hong couldn't be sure how Zhu Yan had obtained the pill, but ever since he had revealed it to his subordinates, he knew that the secret might eventually leak.
"Oh, but I heard this was just a pill you used to feed Spirit Beasts. Your Spirit Beasts seem to enjoy it like candy, don't they?" Zhu Yan teased with a sly grin.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 222: The Harvest
