Chapter 186: Breaking the Ban Experience

Southwest of Shaohua Mountain.

A calm expanse of water stretched out, with the horizon where water met sky on all sides. As far as the eye could see, there wasn't even a small island, making the area appear exceptionally desolate. A gentle breeze stirred, causing ripples on the surface, yet the water remained very peaceful, seemingly without danger.

Just then, a spatial fluctuation, imperceptible to the naked eye, suddenly appeared above the water. Three figures materialized out of thin air: Qin Sang and the Le sisters, who had quietly concealed their presence to arrive here.

"Senior Qin, Cangli True Immortal's cave abode is right below us," Le Xing and Le Rou said in soft voices, pointing to a spot on the water.

They had finalized their agreement under the witness of Granny Jing: the tree root would remain at the secret shop, and Qin Sang only needed to break the restriction on Cangli True Immortal's cave abode to obtain his reward.

Qin Sang scanned his surroundings. Not only within his immediate vision, but for hundreds of miles in every direction, there wasn't a single island, indicating extreme remoteness. He attempted to probe with his spiritual sense, but the water was too deep for him to reach the bottom.

The three formed hand seals for a water-escape spell and entered the water, diving deep towards the bottom. The Le sisters led the way, clearly having visited many times before, as they were very familiar with the area.

Finally, they saw the lakebed. The sand was clear, water plants grew lushly, and fish and shrimp darted among them, creating a scene as peaceful as a utopia.

Qin Sang extended his spiritual sense and discovered some weak demonic beasts hidden deep in the sand. They were too insignificant to be of any value even if killed. However, some spiritual herbs were growing well in the rock crevices. For low-level cultivators, harvesting these regularly could yield decent gains.

Stronger cultivators wouldn't linger in such a barren place, nor would they expect to find a Foundation Establishment cultivator's cave abode here. Cangli True Immortal had indeed chosen an excellent location.

"Is Cangli True Immortal's cave abode here?" Qin Sang asked the Le sisters, standing on a black rock at the bottom of the water, a hint of doubt in his voice.

Before them, the underwater terrain resembled a vast hilly region, with large and small mounds scattered across the landscape. Some were covered in water plants, while others were bare. The entire water body was like this, lacking deep ravines or treacherous peaks, appearing utterly unremarkable.

Qin Sang circled the hilly area, searching with his spiritual sense for a long time, but found no anomalies whatsoever, let alone any trace of a cave abode.

The Le sisters exchanged a knowing smile and explained, "Senior Qin, the reason we can't see Cangli True Immortal's cave abode is due to the natural terrain here, which forms an inherent illusion formation. It not only conceals Cangli True Immortal's cave abode but also perfectly hides the spiritual vein. We sisters stumbled upon this secret by chance while gathering herbs nearby and accidentally entered the illusion formation. Otherwise, Cangli True Immortal's cave abode would have long fallen into someone else's hands. The illusion formation is hard to find, but not difficult to break. One only needs to follow the correct path to enter. Please follow us, Senior Qin."

Qin Sang marveled. The world was full of countless wonders. Natural illusion formations weren't uncommon, but for one to perfectly conceal an excellent cave abode was truly a marvel of creation.

Then, Le Xing spoke with a touch of embarrassment, "Senior Qin, we sisters have a slight request. When you break the restriction, if possible, could you please avoid destroying this illusion formation?"

Qin Sang immediately understood Le Xing's intention.

The Le sisters lacked the financial resources or channels to purchase a Profound Nether Turtle Shell Formation. This illusion formation was likely the only barrier for their future cave abode. As it was within his capabilities, Qin Sang naturally wouldn't be so unaccommodating.

Seeing Qin Sang agree, the two sisters happily led the way. Qin Sang followed behind them. Their figures flickered as they moved, finally arriving at the core of the hillocks and landing on the top of a mound covered in water plants.

The Le sisters stood on solid ground, turned their heads, and said, "Senior Qin, please walk with us. Do not use any escape spells, and do not take a single wrong step. This type of natural illusion formation has no fixed pattern and is ever-changing. If the formation is accidentally activated, you could be trapped inside and it would take a long time to get out."

Qin Sang complied readily. Although the Jade Buddha could help him bypass confusing formations, it was useless against illusion formations.

The Le sisters took a step forward, and their figures instantly vanished into thin air.

Qin Sang activated his Heavenly Star Tear for protection and secretly prepared himself. As he stepped forward right behind them, the scenery before him suddenly changed dramatically. The surrounding terrain was still hilly, but the lake water around him had disappeared. His vision was obscured by a thick fog, allowing him to see only about ten feet in front of him.

The Le sisters were waiting ahead. Seeing Qin Sang enter, they let out a sigh of relief, nodded at him, and continued forward.

They navigated through the misty haze, turning left and right. Before long, the dense fog suddenly dispersed to both sides, revealing a bare hillock in the center of the haze.

As they entered this area, they were immediately bathed in dense spiritual energy, hardly inferior to Qilong Island, which the Liu brothers occupied. Indeed, there was a spiritual vein beneath, completely hidden by the illusion formation, without a single wisp of energy leaking out.

The hillock was covered entirely in white stones, without a single blade of water grass, making it incredibly barren. At the base of the hillock was a simple stone door, made with plain stone slabs for a frame. At the top, the characters 'Cangli' were written in flowing script. There was no other decoration, clearly the cave abode of an ascetic.

Around the hillock was a layer of dark blue water curtain—this was the main focus of their trip.

"Senior Qin, this water curtain is the cave abode's restriction. Once triggered, it unleashes an overwhelming barrage of ice blades, water arrows, and other attacks. The more force used to break the restriction, the fiercer the counterattack. Senior, you must be careful," Le Xing said, her face paling slightly as if recalling dangers she had encountered before.

Qin Sang nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the water curtain. He stared for a long time but couldn't discern its intricacies.

Among Senior Sister Qingting's relics was a copy of her insights on formations and restrictions. Qin Sang had copied it when he returned her relics to her family, but he hadn't had time to study it.

Not only had he not had time to read the insights, but he had many other unfinished tasks: the Golden Thread Snow Pine Wood still hadn't been refined into the Ebony Sword, and the Thousand Mechanisms Sword Formation he obtained from Wu Yuesheng was still lying in his spatial pouch.

Before coming here, Qin Sang had already decided: if the restriction was too strong, he would ask Senior Brother Wen and others for help. If it wasn't that formidable, he would use the opportunity to study the insights, killing two birds with one stone.

The Le sisters' strength was too low to test the full power of the restriction. Qin Sang extended his hand, and the Five Elements Law-Breaking Swords whistled forth. Then, he took out a transparent fire cover from his spatial pouch and enveloped the Le sisters beneath it.

This cover, named the Divine Fire Cover, was something Qin Sang found among the relics of Baiyun Mountain Man. The Divine Fire Cover was a very common defensive artifact, quite effective, and notably, the spiritual materials required for it were not expensive, making it very popular among rogue cultivators.

After ensuring the safety of the Le sisters and himself, Qin Sang pointed sharply, and five streams of sword light surged towards the restriction simultaneously.