Just as Hai Dali was hesitating, Xiao Fan’s expression suddenly changed. Without warning, he leaped into the water and vanished.
Not long after, several figures flew over one after another on flying swords. When they saw the lone wooden raft drifting on the river, they immediately released their spiritual sense to probe the surroundings. After a short while, a burly man cursed loudly, “Damn it! That brat is really damn strange. He seems to sense our arrival every time in advance. He slipped away again!”
After saying that, he did not linger and left at once. The others looked equally displeased. They exchanged glances and also departed one by one.
This group had been tracking Xiao Fan for quite some time, yet he managed to escape from them every single time. They were puzzled, unable to figure out how he did it.
In their hearts, they became even more certain that Xiao Fan was hiding a great secret, and thus even more unwilling to give up the search for him.
“Damn it! That scared me to death! Good thing they didn’t find me!”
Only after a long while did Hai Dali emerge from behind a large rock, still shaken.
Those people were likely all Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, and none of them looked like decent men.
When they spread out their spiritual sense, he had been terrified, afraid they would discover him. If they had, they might have taken out their frustration on him. Fortunately, his Breath Concealment Technique had kept him hidden.
What unsettled him even more was that Xiao Fan had been able to sense their arrival in advance. Did that mean he had also noticed him?
“Forget it. There’s no use thinking so much now. I should first see what secret is hidden here.”
Using the cliff face for leverage several times, Hai Dali jumped onto the wooden raft.
He rowed along the cliff for several hundred meters but found nothing. Then he rowed back. On the return trip, he observed more carefully, even pulling aside the vines on the cliff face to check behind them. Still, he found nothing. This left him somewhat dejected.
“Judging by Xiao Fan’s earlier speed, I’ve searched even dozens of meters farther than he did. How can there be nothing?”
Hai Dali frowned.
Unwilling to give up, he searched again. This time he extended the search another few hundred meters, yet the result was the same.
He began to feel anxious. He understood well that the longer things dragged on, the more trouble could arise. If he failed to find it tonight, it would be inconvenient to search again once daylight came. And who knew whether Xiao Fan would return tomorrow night?
He carefully thought about where something could be hidden. The cliff wall was covered in vines, and he had already checked behind them. He could not climb higher.
That left only underwater.
Lowering his head, he looked at the river before him. Moonlight reflected on the surface, and ripples spread slowly from the wooden raft. He suddenly recalled Chen Ping mentioning that many demonic beasts lived in the river, and a trace of fear crept into his heart.
But then he felt he was scaring himself. This place was very close to the herb garden. If there were demonic beasts, they could not have failed to come ashore even once in more than ten years. Xiao Fan had just demonstrated that earlier.
The more he thought about it, the more meaningful that seemed. With that realization, he no longer hesitated and plunged headfirst into the river.
Underwater, he searched along the rock wall. Moss covered the surface, causing him some trouble. Fortunately, the river was clear, and visibility underwater was not too bad.
He searched along the rock wall for quite a distance without finding anything.
Suddenly, he saw the little mouse again. It crawled out of a small hole in the cliff wall. When it saw him, it froze as well.
Instantly, Hai Dali felt a surge of joy. If he could not find treasure, catching this little mouse would not be bad either. He quickly swam toward it.
Seeing him approach, the little mouse darted back into the hole and disappeared.
When Hai Dali swam over, he discovered that the hole’s entrance lay at the junction between a large stone and the cliff wall. It was likely dug open by the little mouse.
He exerted force to move the stone aside and discovered an opening large enough for a person to pass through.
Thinking that such a small entrance would not conceal any large fierce beasts, he dove inside.
The passage grew taller as it extended inward. After moving forward for more than ten meters, he rose above the water level.
What surprised him was that there was light inside the cave, allowing him to see the passage clearly. It was smooth, as if carved by human hands.
The deeper he went, the brighter it became. Soon he understood the source of the light. Some luminous jade stones were embedded within the cave.
He had seen such jade in Chen Muxue’s room before. They were merely decorative stones used for illumination. With that thought, he lost interest in them.
Before long, he reached the end of the passage. It opened into a spacious natural cavern, about the height of a three- or four-story building and roughly the size of two and a half basketball courts.
The cave walls and ceiling were covered in white stalactites. Stalagmites of various sizes rose from the uneven ground, reflecting light throughout the cavern and making it as bright as day. It was a beautiful sight.
Excitement surged through him. He felt that by sheer luck, he had stumbled upon a hidden treasure trove. He was no longer in a hurry to find the little mouse.
He carefully searched the cavern, checking behind every stalactite. Finally, at the center of the cave, he discovered a special plant.
Its stem was slender and winding, smooth as jade, with many emerald-green leaves. The entire plant emitted a faint glow.
The moment Hai Dali saw it, he was thrilled. He had read about this plant in books.
It was Earth Yellow Essence, a rare spiritual herb that grew only on spiritual veins. By examining its root, one could tell its age was not low.
He stepped forward to dig it out. Around it were many small stones and several evenly distributed small pits, within which lay spirit stones that had lost their spiritual energy. They seemed to have once served as formation cores, though the formation had long since failed. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
He carefully brushed aside the small stones, afraid of damaging the roots.
At that moment, the little mouse that had hidden earlier ran back. It squeaked repeatedly at Hai Dali, as if declaring that the thousand-year Earth Yellow Essence was its property and forbidding him from taking it.
Hai Dali had no time to pay attention and continued digging intently.
Seeing that he ignored it, the little mouse ran around anxiously. Finally, it bit onto the corner of Hai Dali’s clothing, trying to pull him away.
Feeling his clothes being tugged, Hai Dali finally looked at it and laughed loudly, “Don’t worry. You won’t get away either. I’ll deal with you in a moment.”
After carefully digging away the stones and soil around the Earth Yellow Essence, he finally extracted it.
He examined it joyfully in his hand. It resembled ginseng and was about a dozen centimeters long.
According to what he had read, this Earth Yellow Essence was at least a thousand years old.
Earth Yellow Essence was special and did not have a specific grade. The older it was, the more valuable and effective it became.
A thousand-year Earth Yellow Essence could not only raise cultivation but also nourish the soul, heal injuries, and even help improve a cultivator’s innate foundation. It was truly a rare treasure that one might never encounter again.
He tore off a piece of cloth from his inner garment, carefully wrapped it, and tucked it into his chest.
Holding such a treasure yet forced to store it so crudely, he sighed, “After all this time, I don’t even have a storage treasure. What a failure. I need to find a way to get one.”
At his feet, the little mouse watched as the treasure it had guarded for years was taken away by this hateful person. It seemed utterly heartbroken, releasing his clothing and falling onto its back.
Hai Dali noticed it and, with a turn of his eyes, said, “You can understand what I’m saying, right?”
Without waiting for a response, he continued, “Follow me from now on. I promise to give you a portion of this thousand-year Earth Yellow Essence.”
“I saw earlier that its root had bite marks. That must have been you, right? Then you know how good it is. You wouldn’t want to never taste it again, would you?”
As he spoke, he took out the thousand-year Earth Yellow Essence from his chest, pulled off a root strand, and held it before the little mouse’s nose.
The little mouse smelled it and immediately perked up, clutching the root and stuffing it into its mouth.
Seeing this, Hai Dali let out a sly chuckle, “You’ve eaten my stuff. That makes you my mouse now. No backing out.”
He then scooped it into his palm.
Carrying the little mouse, Hai Dali searched the cave once more, hoping to find more treasures, but found nothing.
Thinking that he had already been gone too long and it would be hard to explain if discovered, he prepared to return quickly.