Huang Yulang returned to the inn and sank into deep thought.
Of the three methods the old woman had given him, the first was the most reliable.
But where was he supposed to find a senior with profound cultivation to seal his Spiritual Energy Vortex?
Besides, Huang Yulang was very uneasy about finding a stranger.
His Blood Qi was simply too vigorous.
If someone else got the idea to possess his body, he might not be so lucky a second time.
Huang Yulang sighed helplessly.
‘It seems the only option now is to go to Qingcheng Mountain and find my master.’
“Fellow Daoist Huang!
Fellow Daoist!” Huang Yulang was a bit surprised to hear someone calling his name.
He turned and saw Master Hu and Lin Mangfu jogging over from the valley entrance, their faces alight with pleasant surprise.
“Didn’t you two leave a long time ago?” Huang Yulang greeted them with a smile.
Lin Mangfu was about to speak impatiently, but Master Hu shot him a look that silenced him.
Huang Yulang looked at Master Hu with some suspicion, but the man enthusiastically pulled him to a deserted spot before whispering.
“To be honest with you, Fellow Daoist, we did leave half a month ago.
But to avoid retaliation from that Scarface, we went in a different direction.
As it turns out, we stumbled upon a cave dwelling hidden by an Array.”
Lin Mangfu nodded vigorously, too excited to wait, and blurted out.
“Exactly!
Exactly!
That Array has an illusory effect.
It took the two of us two whole days to get through it and see the cave.
But there’s a barrier over the cave itself!
We tried everything we could, but we couldn’t break that barrier.
That’s why we came back to ask for your help, Fellow Daoist!” Master Hu smiled and nodded.
“As you know, Fellow Daoist, our cultivation is low, and we don’t have any particularly good friends.
We certainly didn’t dare leak the news and let some outsider benefit.
After thinking it over, we decided to ask for your help.
We trust your character, Fellow Daoist.
You can take the meat, just leave us some soup to drink.”
“Heh heh.” Lin Mangfu chuckled and nodded.
“That’s right!
We can’t let some outsider get it.
Fellow Daoist, even though you’re a high-ranking disciple of the Water Cloud Sect, you never looked down on us.
You even stood up for us.
We trust you.”
Hearing their flattery, Huang Yulang could only give a wry smile inwardly.
Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to believe every word they said.
‘The cultivation world is a dog-eat-dog world.
These two have lived for half their lives; how could they not know that?
They must have seen countless instances of murder for treasure.
Even if I didn’t look down on them and they’re intentionally trying to curry favor with me, there’s no way they’d bare their souls.’
‘The main reason is that they can’t break the cave’s barrier and don’t trust anyone else.
After weighing their options, they finally chose me.’
‘They probably think I’m young and easy to fool, but they also genuinely want to get on my good side.
After all, the status of a high-ranking Water Cloud Sect disciple is definitely worth currying favor over.’
He had been planning to leave, but the looks on their faces didn’t seem feigned.
This was especially true for Lin Mangfu, who wore his heart on his sleeve.
The story about the mysterious cave was, in all likelihood, true.
After a moment of thought, Huang Yulang smiled, nodded, and agreed.
“For you two to think of me for such a great opportunity…
I’m not the type to take advantage of others.
Since you both trust me, I’ll go with you.
If there really are any treasures inside, I promise we’ll split them equally three ways.”
“Hahaha, that’s wonderful!” Lin Mangfu clenched his fists in excitement.
Master Hu was also incredibly thrilled.
They decided to wait for nightfall before the three of them quietly departed.
「Night fell.」
The faint roars of beasts could be heard from the distant mountain forests.
The trio silently left Fang Market and headed northwest, trekking over mountains and through valleys.
However, the three were unaware that as they passed by a small cave dwelling, someone inside spotted them.
This person immediately recognized the shadowy figure carrying an iron Hammer and, after confirming the trio’s identities, rushed toward another cave in the distance.
Inside another, larger cave dwelling, a bonfire burned brightly.
The air was filled with the intermittent, savage laughter of men and the despairing cries and sobs of a woman.
The cultivator rushed recklessly into the cave and saw a hulking brute pinning a delicate woman to the ground in the center of the room.
He was forcefully tearing at her clothes, which amused Scarface and the other thugs, who roared with laughter.
“Boss, I just saw that kid from the Water Cloud Sect with Lin Mangfu and Old Hu!
They were sneaking off toward the northwest.”
When Scarface heard news of Huang Yulang’s group, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He could let Huang Yulang slide—the boy was a Water Cloud Sect disciple with unfathomable strength, someone Scarface couldn’t afford to provoke.
But Old Hu and Lin Mangfu?
Who the hell did they think they were, daring to humiliate him in front of his brothers?
The last time, the two had escaped in a different direction, leaving Scarface grinding his teeth in hatred.
Today, his underling had spotted the duo in Fang Market again, stirring a murderous intent in Scarface.
But the thought of the Water Cloud Sect disciple with them made him take a deep breath.
He turned to his man and said,
“Go find Li Sanlou.
Tell him I’ve got a big job for us, but it’s a bit dangerous.
Ask him if he’s got the guts to join in.” The underling gave a wicked grin and ran off.
Only then did Scarface let out a cold snort.
“Lead the way.
No matter what, we can’t let those two bastards get away this time.
We have to show them just how hopeless it is to cross Scarface!”
“Yeah!
Let’s waste ’em!
Show them how tough Scarface is!”
The group of underlings clamored fiercely.
They were the tyrants of Baixian Mountain, making their living by extorting “tolls” from Loose Cultivators entering and leaving Fang Market.
If Scarface couldn’t intimidate other Loose Cultivators, his life would become much more difficult in the future.
Led by the underling, more than a dozen Loose Cultivators stormed out of the cave and, under the cover of night, chased after their targets to the northwest.
Huang Yulang’s group traveled over several large mountains.
Just as the sky was beginning to lighten, they arrived at a large, lushly vegetated valley.
“Heh heh, is this the place?” Lin Mangfu was ecstatic.
Even after running all night, he was still buzzing with excitement.
Master Hu, being older, was drenched in sweat from exhaustion and shot Lin Mangfu an annoyed glare.
“I can’t go on.
Let this old man rest for a bit.
I’m too old for this; I don’t have the energy you young folk do.” Huang Yulang just smiled and released his Divine Sense, scanning a hundred-meter radius to perceive his surroundings.
“Hey now, Hu, don’t drop the ball on us now!” Lin Mangfu hurried over, pulled Master Hu to his feet, and started walking.
Master Hu, looking thoroughly exasperated, had no choice but to move forward.
As they went deeper, they occasionally saw signs of plants that had been picked.
Huang Yulang continued to scan the area with his Divine Sense and did indeed find a few stalks of Spirit Medicine.
However, he didn’t go to pick them.
He proceeded directly to the deepest part of the valley where the vegetation suddenly vanished.
In its place stood several dozen thick, towering stone pillars, scattered randomly and stretching all the way to a rock wall at the far end.
The sight of the pillars brought a mix of fear and excitement to the two men.
Seeing Huang Yulang studying the pillars, Master Hu quickly spoke up to warn him.
“Fellow Daoist Huang, don’t underestimate these pillars.
They must be some kind of Array.
The two of us entered out of curiosity and ended up trapped by them for two whole days.” Lin Mangfu also looked at the pillars with a hint of fear.
Huang Yulang nodded seriously.
The two had already explained the situation on the way there.
He took the chain from his waist and wrapped it around both of their waists.
“This way, we won’t have to worry about getting separated.” Their eyes lit up, and they nodded eagerly.
Lin Mangfu led the way, with Huang Yulang and Master Hu following close behind.
The moment the three of them stepped within range of the pillars, the world suddenly spun around them.
A vast, boundless desert appeared before their eyes.
Howling winds swept across the land, filling the sky with yellow sand in a truly shocking spectacle.
It was the first time Huang Yulang had ever seen such a bizarre scene, and he couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed.
He even glanced behind him—in every direction, there was nothing but endless desert.
He could no longer extend his Divine Sense, and his sense of direction was completely gone.
Before him was only an endless expanse of swirling yellow sand.
Suddenly, Huang Yulang’s expression changed.
He quickly looked to his left and right, but the figures of Master Hu and Lin Mangfu had vanished.
Even their auras were completely concealed.
Fortunately, he suddenly felt a tug on the chain at his waist.
Huang Yulang realized it was the other two signaling to him.
Huang Yulang took a deep breath to suppress his shock and began to move slowly in the direction of the pulling chain.
Suddenly, Huang Yulang felt the sand shift beneath his feet.
A massive giant made of sand coalesced before him, raised an enormous fist, and smashed it down toward him.
Huang Yulang instinctively raised his bronze Hammer to block and started to retreat, but then he remembered what the two had repeatedly told him: no matter what he saw or encountered, he shouldn’t panic, because it was all an illusion.
Staring at the giant fist about to crash down on him, Huang Yulang gritted his teeth and lowered his Hammer.
BOOM.
The sandman’s fist slammed into Huang Yulang and instantly dissipated.
He only felt his body bump into something; he wasn’t sent flying as he had expected.
Huang Yulang let out a sigh of relief.
‘If I’m not mistaken, my body must have touched one of the stone pillars, which created the illusion of the sandman attacking.’
The chain at his waist was pulled again, and Huang Yulang quickly shuffled his feet to move around whatever was in his way.
Time ticked by.
The scene of a massive sandman attacking would reappear from time to time, but Huang Yulang steadied his Heart Spirit and ignored it, moving slowly in the direction the chain pulled him.
By the time the trio finally emerged from the Stone Forest, the sky had already turned completely dark.
The three of them looked at each other, then glanced back at the towering pillars still standing there, and couldn’t help but click their tongues in amazement.
“Tsk, tsk.
Even though we were prepared, it still took us more than a day to get out.
This Array is truly amazing,” Huang Yulang couldn’t help but marvel.
The other two gave wry smiles and nodded vigorously.
“This is the cave dwelling.” The two eagerly approached the rock wall at the far end.
There was an opening large enough for one person to pass through, but it had been sealed with ten stacked stones, fitted together so perfectly that you wouldn’t even notice it if you weren’t looking closely.
Huang Yulang’s spirits lifted as well.
He strode over and was about to reach out and touch it when Master Hu grabbed his arm.
“Careful!
The moment you touch it, a curtain of light will appear.
It has a powerful recoil force.” Fearing Huang Yulang might be careless, Master Hu looked at Lin Mangfu.
Lin Mangfu quickly stepped forward and gave it a light punch with his fist.
The instant his fist touched the cave entrance, a golden curtain of light materialized.
The light bulged out over a meter.
Even though Lin Mangfu was prepared to retreat, he was a step too slow.
With a muffled BANG, he was sent flying by the curtain of light.
Fortunately, he hadn’t used much force, so the impact from the light curtain was limited.
Otherwise, that single blow would have likely injured him and made him cough up blood.