Chapter 103: Exploration

Li Tongya, riding the wind, left the market with Xu Yangping and his wife. They headed straight south, flying for several hours.

He wasn't afraid of these rogue cultivators ambushing them. After all, rogue cultivators practiced low-grade cultivation methods, absorbing impure *qi*. Even if three to five of them surrounded him, like those mountain barbarians, they couldn't hold him. Moreover, his own *Jianghe Zhenyuan* was abundant and swift. He decided to assess the situation upon arrival.

On the way, he carefully discussed the details with the couple. He learned that the cave dwelling was located on the south shore of Wangyue Lake, just over two hundred *li* from his Li family's Lichiwan.

"The opportunities in this world are truly unpredictable," he thought. "My Li family has been cultivating this southern shore for decades, yet we never found this cave dwelling. Xu Yangping and his wife merely stopped to rest on a small island in the lake and, by chance, encountered a great drought, stumbling upon this good fortune."

After a few moments of thought, Li Tongya saw a small island ahead, covered in strange rocks. Amidst them sat a person of ordinary appearance, a long blade resting on their lap, quietly meditating and cultivating.

"Brother Zhang!"

Xu Yangping landed, smiling as he clasped his hands in greeting. Turning to Li Tongya, he introduced, "This is Brother Zhang Yun, a third-level Qi Condensation cultivator. He's quite knowledgeable about formations and just happened to arrive at Wangyue Lake market a few days ago, willing to lend us a hand."

Zhang Yun quickly stood and cupped his hands. He silently observed the *Jianghe Zhenyuan* emanating from Li Tongya for a moment. Xu Yangping then introduced Li Tongya to him.

Li Tongya returned the gesture. Seeing Zhang Yun's *Zhenyuan* become clear and bright as he concluded his cultivation, and hearing his claim of expertise in formations, Li Tongya secretly assessed him. "This person is likely not a rogue cultivator. There are no prominent Zhang families in this region. If he isn't using an alias, he's almost certainly connected to one of the Three Sects or Seven Gates!"

While Li Tongya remained secretly vigilant, Zhang Yun appeared quite modest, though his excitement was clear on his face. He pointed to the water beside the small island and explained, "While you were away, I studied this cave dwelling for a while. It should be a Foundation Establishment cultivator's abode, at least two or three hundred years old!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yangping's eyes widened, filled with excitement. He exclaimed repeatedly, "That's truly rare!"

Zhang Yun nodded and explained, "I heard that in ancient times, Wangyue Lake was originally called Dayueze, a vast expanse of mountains and wetlands stretching for ten thousand *li*, brimming with spiritual energy. It was the location of the Moon Essence Abode, and naturally, there were many cave dwellings. Later, the landscape changed, and it gradually dried up, leaving only the present-day Wangyue Lake."

Lin Jingyi, unable to contain himself, quickly asked, "Brother Zhang, do you have a way to enter?"

"Of course," Zhang Yun nodded. The group cast water-repelling spells and entered the water, stopping at a broken section of the riverbed. Zhang Yun raised the long blade in his hand and swung it, revealing numerous patterned array symbols on the stone wall before them. A shimmering white formation appeared.

Zhang Yun quickly formed hand seals, and three long, slender jade wedges shot from his hand, embedding themselves into the formation. With a reverse grip, he pulled out three thin, pale white chains, each connected to a jade wedge and emitting a faint glow.

"Fellow Daoists, catch these," Zhang Yun said, throwing two of the chains. Li Tongya and the other two each activated their spiritual power, channeling it into the jade wedges.

"This person really has some skills," Li Tongya thought, his eyes opened. As he channeled his spiritual power, he became increasingly certain that Zhang Yun's background was extraordinary, perhaps even prepared for this encounter. He began surveying his surroundings, considering escape routes.

Li Tongya remained cautious, conserving his spiritual power. The group channeled their power for an entire day. Finally, as darkness fell, the silver formation began to flicker. They continued slowly through the night until a crisp sound echoed, and the silver formation shattered with a crash.

A dark cave entrance appeared before them. A large volume of lake water immediately surged in. Fortunately, they were prepared, and several water-repelling spells were cast at the entrance, forcefully blocking the water.

The four looked at the dark cave entrance and, without prior agreement, stopped. They exchanged glances, each seeing hesitation in the other's eyes.

"Three fellow Daoists... I'll go first!" Zhang Yun chuckled, patted his storage bag, and conjured a pale yellow wooden shield. Behind him, Xu Yangping glanced at the magic artifact in Zhang Yun's hand, his expression grave, and silently followed behind Li Tongya.

After only a few steps, a foul, nauseating stench assailed them, making the couple want to vomit. They quickly held their breath. Li Tongya, however, had already held his breath before entering the cave and remained completely unaffected.

Li Tongya cast a low glance at Xu Yangping. Both saw vigilance in the other's eyes, their *Zhenyuan* surging, ready to strike at any moment.

"Xu Yangping probably doesn't know Zhang Yun's true background," Li Tongya mused. "If they were acting together to deceive me, they wouldn't have brought Lin Jingyi, thereby giving me leverage. Now, he also senses something is amiss and is secretly on guard."

As he thought this, Xu Yangping's spiritual voice transmission echoed in his ear. Xu Yangping's voice was slightly uneasy: "Brother Li, this person is probably not just a rogue cultivator. We misjudged him, and we're likely to suffer for it."

Zhang Yun, who was ahead, seemed perfectly open and forthright. He surveyed the cave, and a bright light emanated from his hand as he cast a spell, revealing everything within his sight.

The cave was quite spacious. In the center stood a colossal, columnar crystal several *zhang* tall, around which coiled a massive serpentine skeleton. The stark white bones and interlocking long teeth were eerily strange. Within the skeleton's gaping maw, a blood-red spherical pearl floated.

The pearl gently bobbed, emitting a faint, crystalline crimson glow, appearing smooth, transparent, and quite beautiful. On the ground, a pristine white long spear was still impaled, glinting with silver light.

The spiritual energy within the cave was dense, comparable to the cave dwelling on Meichi Mountain. However, the entire cave was a vast, eerie grotto, spanning over ten *mu* of land, its end unseen from the entrance. A chilling *yin* energy permeated the air.

"Ho, so it's a demon general's cave dwelling!" Zhang Yun kicked a rotting bone on the ground, turned to Li Tongya and the others, and spoke with some disappointment. "I thought it was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who chose to build a cave in the water. Turns out, it's just a snake demon!"

Xu Yangping and the others also showed disappointment. While Foundation Establishment level demons could shapeshift and might learn some formations and alchemy, they typically preferred to swallow spiritual items whole and slowly digest them, rarely leaving behind legacies. Thus, there was less to gain.

"There are also many snake offspring in this cave, all of whom had their vital essence drained by this fellow, becoming cultivation resources," Zhang Yun commented. Stepping over the dense mass of snake skeletons, the group explored the cave. It was filled with bones and dust, from both humans and animals. All the storage bags on the skeletons were gone.

"Oh." Zhang Yun swept his spiritual sense and found two jade slips amidst the dust. He read them in front of the two, then placed them on the ground with disappointment. Turning his head, he said, "What a poor demon! It probably exchanged all its wealth for spiritual items and pills, trying desperately to break through to Purple Mansion. These two jade slips have secret seals on them, so they can't be sold. They were just left here to gather dust."

He then let out a loud laugh and continued, "How could Purple Mansion be so easy to break through to!"

"May I ask..." Xu Yangping cupped his hands and asked Zhang Yun respectfully, "What are these two jade slips' respective spells?"

Zhang Yun glanced at him and smiled, "They are, respectively, my Golden Feather Sect's 'Blood Demon Grimoire' and the 'Great River Mausoleum Scripture' lost after the Lingyu Sect's destruction. The former requires the Azure Pond Sect's secret seal, and the latter needs a secret method to decipher. You two don't need to bother."

Xu Yangping and his wife immediately exchanged uneasy glances. Li Tongya, standing nearby, had already retreated several steps, gripping his long sword tightly. Faint white light emanated from it, and the Moonfall Sword Arc, accumulated for a long time, was now ready to be unleashed.

"No need to be nervous, Brother Xiao," Zhang Yun said, smiling at Li Tongya. He glanced warily at the long sword, which was still in its sheath but already humming, and continued, "'River Qi Art.' I recognize the Xiao family's cultivation method. My father personally delivered it to the Xiao family back then."

Li Tongya's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly allowed a trace of shock to appear on his face. Without thinking, he immediately posed a question to cover his surprise, frowning, "Brother Zhang, did you specifically come this time to retrieve the 'Blood Demon Grimoire'?"

"Not at all..." A hint of awkwardness appeared on Zhang Yun's face as he explained, "I was dispatched by my sect to search for a cave dwelling. I didn't realize this was where Brother Xiao was looking for the 'Great River Mausoleum Scripture.' I stumbled in by accident."

Li Tongya was even more startled by these words. He quickly interjected, his mind racing like lightning. His expression was slightly displeased as he murmured, "I searched for over ten years to find the location of this cave dwelling. I never expected these two to discover it ahead of time, and then to encounter Brother Zhang. I thought your esteemed sect was also interested in this item."

"Not at all, not at all! Given the relationship between our two families, why would the Golden Feather Sect covet the 'Great River Mausoleum Scripture'?" Zhang Yun waved his hands repeatedly. Xu Yangping and his wife, meanwhile, were utterly dumbfounded, feeling their legs tremble and sweat pouring down their faces. They realized they had stumbled into a conflict between two major powers and wished they could run away immediately.

"Damn it, this Li Tongya is also a disciple of a major sect! Now my wife and I are lambs to the slaughter!" The couple silently retreated a few steps, already preparing for a quick escape, but they startled Zhang Yun. He turned his head and stared at them with a beaming smile.

"I'll deal with this trouble for Brother Xiao first!" Zhang Yun chuckled and swung his blade at Xu Yangping. Xu Yangping's hair instantly stood on end. He embraced Lin Jingyi and retreated.

However, Zhang Yun practiced at least third-grade orthodox cultivation methods, absorbing pure spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Xu Yangping had only recently broken through to the Qi Condensation realm, his cultivation method was common, he lacked proper *qi* gathering techniques, and he absorbed crudely refined impure *qi*. How could he be a match for Zhang Yun?

Just as Li Tongya had easily killed the Qi Condensation cultivator from the Ji family back then, Zhang Yun severed Xu Yangping's head with only a dozen blows. Ignoring Lin Jingyi's desperate pleas, he casually killed her as well. Then he turned to Li Tongya and smiled, "These rogue cultivators truly are useless."

Li Tongya's face remained calm, but a chill ran down his spine. Watching Zhang Yun silently pick up the two storage bags, he deeply understood the dominant position of the Three Sects and Seven Gates in the cultivation world. He thought to himself, "If it weren't for Jing'er bringing orthodox cultivation methods from the sect to our family, I probably would have been slaughtered like these two rogue cultivators, just like weeds."

Zhang Yun then smiled and said, "The cultivation methods are now distributed. As for the inner core and the magic artifact, who among us chooses first?" With a raised eyebrow, before Li Tongya could reply, he excitedly added, "How about we each make one strike, a blade versus a sword, and whoever wins chooses first!"

Li Tongya had just witnessed Zhang Yun's attack on Xu Yangping. Zhang Yun's cultivation method didn't seem significantly superior to his own 'Profound Water Sword Art' and 'River Qi Art,' and Li Tongya had the powerful Moonfall Sword Arc as a trump card. He secretly thought, "I absolutely cannot back down now."

So, he slowly drew the sheathed long sword from his waist. Intense white light burst from the gaps in the scabbard, and he laughed loudly, "Alright!" With that, he drew his sword, and a moon-white sword arc whistled forth, causing Zhang Yun to let out a cry of surprise: "You cheated!"

However, the blade *qi* in Zhang Yun's hand had also been secretly accumulating for a long time. It surged forth fiercely. Sword *qi* and blade *qi* collided with a resounding crash, causing both their clothes to flap violently.

Li Tongya stumbled back a step to dissipate the force, but Zhang Yun took the full impact without wavering, letting out a muffled groan, clearly having sustained minor internal injuries. Yet, he smiled and said, "You retreated! Let's each take a cultivation method. I'll take this peak Foundation Establishment demonic beast inner core, and the Foundation Establishment-level magic artifact will be left for your family."

Li Tongya did not wish to entangle himself further. He nodded and said in a deep voice, "Agreed. This Xiao only needs to obtain this cultivation method to fulfill the elders' instructions."

The two each put away their respective items. Zhang Yun and Li Tongya exited the cave one after another. Zhang Yun chuckled in a low voice, "Your sword technique is quite good!"

Li Tongya was about to respond modestly when Zhang Yun quickly interjected, "The Golden Feather Sect's promise to True Person Chuting still stands. As soon as that old devil Chi Wei dies, the Xiao family will have the Golden Feather Sect's backing. Please, your esteemed clan should consider this carefully."

Li Tongya was instantly horrified, his mind reeling. "True Person Chuting?! Xiao Chuting has reached the Purple Mansion realm?! No wonder the Golden Feather Sect is so courteous to the Xiao family." "A promise? If that old ancestor Chi Wei of the Azure Pond Sect dies, their strength will likely greatly diminish. What exactly are the Xiao family and the Golden Feather Sect planning..."

Zhang Yun gave a mischievous wink and quietly continued, "Even if you are not a member of the Xiao family, it doesn't matter. Make sure your family has several Foundation Establishment cultivators ready; there will be turmoil sooner or later."

Li Tongya shook his head and chuckled, "Brother Zhang, you jest."

Zhang Yun laughed heartily, patted his brocade pouch, and flew off on his shuttle.

Li Tongya remained in place, pondering for a few moments, fearing Zhang Yun might still be nearby. He simply sat down to cultivate until nightfall. Then, using a spiritual aura concealment spell, he flew for a while towards Lixia County before circling back to the Li family.

As Li Tongya flew over Lijing Mountain, he saw a stretch of white funeral attire below him. His heart sank instantly, knowing something had happened. He rode the wind down the mountain and saw white cloths fluttering in the courtyard. Li Xuanxuan was also dressed in mourning clothes. Li Tongya asked in a choked voice, "What happened?"

Li Xuanxuan unexpectedly shivered. Seeing Li Tongya, he stammered as he knelt, untied the Green Crow Bow from his waist, and offered it. He choked out, "Chen Donghe and the others returned a few days ago, saying that Uncle... was cursed to death..."

Li Tongya froze for a breath. The joy he had felt from obtaining the cultivation technique and magic artifact instantly vanished. Some premonitions and signs had come true. He whispered, "I understand."

Turning his face away, they stood on the mountaintop in silence for a long time. Then, Li Tongya spoke, "Take some ordinary clothes and bury them in the family graveyard, alongside your grandfather and father."

Seeing Li Xuanxuan nod, Li Tongya wiped the corners of his eyes and gently instructed, "Remember to follow the order and leave a spot for me in the middle."

"Yes."