Chapter 12: The Ancient Great Power Cave Mansion

  The two of them stood together, happily talking to themselves, completely forgetting about Du Mu Changqing.

  Of course, Qin Luo Yi was intentional and didn't want to bother with that cold iceberg of a person, while Jian Yu Yan was too excited and only had eyes for Qin Luo Yi. Moreover, he had never seen Du Mu Chang Qing before and didn't know he was also a sect leader disciple, thinking he was just someone from the Penal Law Hall instead.

  Du Mu Changqing's face was already very unsightly, with a cold glint in his eyes. Looking at Qin Luoyi's smiling face, he felt very uncomfortable in his heart. And Jian Yuyan's pair of eyes, which kept staring at Qin Luoyi, made him feel even more piercingly annoyed.

  Jian Yu Yan and Qin Luo Yi walked away, chatting and laughing warmly. After they left, he could no longer hold back, suddenly striking out with his hand, and a massive boulder weighing over a thousand catties in the distance was reduced to powder, his expression cold and terrifying.

  The disciples of the Xinglu Hall had been waiting outside for Jian Yuyan to come out, and as soon as he did, they immediately entered the entrance of the Maze Forest, rearranging the formation once again. After finishing all this, they thought they could finally return and rest properly, but just then they ran into Duanmu Changqing, his face iron-green with rage, furiously slapping a giant stone, and they didn't know what had happened, so they hastily retreated with pale faces.

  Fortunately, he reacted quickly and the boulder was not in the same direction as him, otherwise he would have been crushed to a pulp... However, even so, he was scared out of his wits and took advantage of Du Mu's distraction to wipe away the cold sweat on his forehead and quietly slipped away from another small path.

  Qin Luoyi and Jian Yuyan walked halfway when they coincidentally ran into Luo Zijun and Song Huai Shan, whose spirits had lifted significantly.

  Yuan Longhai was injured the most and did not follow them. He should still be recovering from his injuries.

  Seeing Jian Yu Yan had come out, the two of them were overjoyed and grinned from ear to ear. They knew he had advanced several levels and was now a Ninth-Stage Cultivator of the Honorable Realm. He rushed forward and heavily patted him on the shoulder, also giving him a big bear hug. His excited emotions overflowed beyond words.

  Back at Qianli Mountain, the three of them couldn't even sit down, surrounding him and curiously asking about what had happened in the Maze Forest.

  Jian Yu Yan didn't hide anything and smiled as he told everything in detail.

  It turned out that after he and Song Huai Shan got separated last night, they didn't walk for long before arriving at a very strange place. There were strange rocks everywhere, and many ferocious beasts appeared and disappeared. The fog around them was not white, but had all turned black instead.

  After arriving there, he felt very uneasy and hurriedly wanted to exit along the original route. However, no matter how he walked, he couldn't leave that strange rock area. He turned around for a long time, not only failing to exit but also finding himself heading deeper into the strange rocks in every direction he went. The ferocious beasts he encountered on the way were getting more and more vicious. If it weren't for the many talismans on his body, he would have been killed by the beasts long ago.

  Finally, after wounding a strange four-legged beast, he followed it to a very secluded place and found that there was actually a small tree about one foot high with unremarkable green leaves and several yellow fruits the size of broad beans. The wounded beast seemed extremely excited, pounced on it, picked one off and put it in its mouth, then the bleeding wound on its body miraculously began to heal, and its breath became much stronger than before it was injured.

  He was surprised in his heart, looked carefully, and didn't know what the yellow fruit was. Just as he was hesitating, the aura on his body hadn't been retracted yet, and he was discovered by the four-legged beast. The four-legged beast had lost to him before, but now it wasn't so afraid of him, and it fiercely pounced on him.

  "After a long fight, I used up almost all the talismans on me before finally killing it. Originally, I was planning to pick that fruit and bring it back for you guys to see, but that fruit is really strange - if you don't eat it immediately after picking it from the tree, it will disappear. Unfortunately, I didn't know this earlier and picked all of them, only realizing it after two of them disappeared, so in the end, I had to eat them all myself..."

  At this point, Jian Yu Yan's face revealed a wry smile, and the aftermath of eating all five fruits at once was that he almost had his body burst open by that powerful spiritual energy.

  "Tell me carefully, what does that little tree look like when it grows up?" Qin Luo Yi asked with great interest, propping her chin on her hand.

  Jian Yu Yan thought for a moment, and then used her pen to draw out the fruit and small trees she saw. The triangular leaves were not large, similar to pine needles, and the branches were only slightly thicker than a thumb.

  "This is the Jiuyou fruit." Qin Luo Yi held up the painting and took a look, immediately saying very certainly: "Your luck is indeed good, this Jiuyou fruit is extremely difficult to grow, and it's small in size, not outstanding at all. The fruit it produces is also colorless and tasteless, making it easy for people to overlook. It takes fifty years to bloom, ten years to bear fruit, and another ten years for the fruit to ripen. The time it takes for the fruit to mature is only five days. Within these five days, if it's not picked, it will fall off on its own and dissolve into the world."

  "Jiuyou fruit? It's indeed a good thing! I've heard that one Jiuyou fruit is equivalent to one tenth-grade elixir, no wonder you were able to advance seven grades in one go." Song Huai Shan stroked his chin, saying with some envy.

  "I didn't expect that to be a Jiuyou fruit, it's indeed hard to find. It grows in a very secluded place, if not for the four-legged beast leading the way, I would have walked past it and probably wouldn't have discovered it." Jian Yuyan also smiled.

  They turned a curse into a blessing, and although Song Huai Shan's three men were injured, they were all safe and sound. Everyone was delighted and talked for a long time until late at night before dispersing.

  "Ahhhroo!"

  The next morning, Qin Luo was woken up by a painful and mournful cry. He was startled in his heart, hastily got out of bed, and rushed out.

  It's been over half a month since I last saw Dahei, who was curled up in the corner of the pavilion, his entire body charred and his expression painful, looking utterly miserable. His previously silky fur now looked like it had been hacked at, uneven and no longer smooth.

  "Ah, Dahei, how did you end up like this? Who hurt you so badly?" Qin Luoyi was shocked by its miserable state.

  On the day of the Floating Void Sect, Da Hei suddenly said that he was going out for a stroll and then ran away without leaving any trace. If it weren't for the soul contract between them, she would have thought that it had already died in some unknown corner.

  "Ahhh... it hurts so much!" Dahei groaned and wailed repeatedly, occasionally sticking out his tongue to lick the wound.

  Qin Luo Yi's heart was extremely unbearable, she carefully looked at the wounds on its body and quickly took out an 8th-grade healing pill to give it.

  He swallowed it in one gulp, and didn't even have time to speak, closing his eyes with a look of intense concentration.

  Qin Luo Yi patiently waited on the side, constantly guessing in her heart who had made Da Hei like this. Looking at the wounds on its body, they were not knife wounds or sword wounds, but rather looked like they were struck by lightning... Where did it run to, to actually get struck by lightning?

  After nearly half a time, Dahei still didn't get up, but the injuries on his body were much better than before. Qin Luoyi let out a sigh of relief and felt much more at ease. Thinking that this place was very safe, he stopped guarding it and ran to the middle of the mountain to take a look at the cave mansion that was under construction.

  On the way back, it was almost noon. Da Hei had already exited his training state and was rummaging through the kitchen to find something to eat, looking extremely hungry.

  "Where have you been running for half a month?" Qin Luo Yi smiled and shook his head, taking out a piece of beef from the spatial ring on his wrist and throwing it to the creature, watching as it devoured it voraciously before asking again.

  The big black copper bell's eyes flashed, and while eating beef, he muttered vaguely: "Not far, just drifting near the Xiao Zong."

  Qin Luo's eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at it, "Not far? Not far can make you go for half a month? Who are you kidding?"

  Dà hēi máitóu měng chī，bù shuōhuà.

  Translation: The big black (person) buries his head and eats fiercely, without speaking.

  Qin Luo's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness in his black pupils as he suddenly asked, "Da Hei, tell me, did someone bully you outside?"

  Dà Hēi remained silent, still eating.

  Qin Luo Yi saw that it was silent and didn't speak, still thinking that he had been convinced by himself. In a fit of anger, he slapped the table and stood up: "Don't be afraid, tell me who bullied you, I will definitely make him pay!" After a pause, thinking of his current strength which wasn't great, he gritted his teeth and said: "Even if it's not possible now, we must get revenge in the future. You quickly speak... also let me have an idea."

  It's been half a year since she arrived in this world, and she has come to understand Da Hei's temperament quite well. He isn't the type who likes to stir up trouble for no reason, and as an ancient exotic beast, he also has some pride, generally not bothering to pay attention to ordinary people.

  So it's definitely not Dahai who took the initiative to provoke trouble, but was provoked by others and suffered a lot.

  Dà Hēi finally swallowed the thing in his mouth and stopped eating, looked up at her with a mixture of emotion and embarrassment in his black eyes. "This... I wasn't bullied."

  "Haven't you been bullied? How did you end up like this?" Qin Luo's eyes flashed with a sharp light, looking at the hair that had been burnt black and was now unrecognizable from its original color, his face full of incredulity.

  "Honestly, I really wasn't bullied!" Dahei emphasized again, with a cautious expression, almost as if he was about to raise his foot to swear an oath.

  "What's going on, tell me... it can't be for no reason that things have turned out like this, right? Actually, being bullied isn't a big deal, don't be afraid, we'll definitely get the situation back under control." Qin Luoyi still had some doubts.

  "There really isn't." Dahei's eyes flickered, looking around cautiously before leaning in close to Qin Luoyi and whispering: "This time I went out, I accidentally discovered the lair of an ancient great power... there must be good things inside, unfortunately my strength wasn't enough, I couldn't get in, and even got injured coming back."

  "What?" Qin Luoyi's heart skipped a beat, her eyes wide with incredulity as she stared at it: "The ancient great power's cave, you dare to venture in alone?"

  He's really lucky to have escaped with his life!

  "Haha……I didn't expect that after all these years, the formation outside the cave would still be so powerful!" Thinking back to his miserable state when he escaped from the formation a few days ago, Dahei couldn't help but feel some lingering fear, and his eyes twitched. Without entering the cave, he returned empty-handed, and he was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

  "Or else, let's try again another day?" The pitch-black eyes were filled with expectation as they looked at Qin Luo Yi.

  "No way! With my current cultivation, entering the ancient mighty one's cave is simply seeking death!" Qin Luo Yi shook her head quickly with a frown.

  Those who can be called great powers are all powerful cultivators who have cultivated the Purple Mansion. Their cave mansions, how could they be entered by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like her?

  "In any case, the cave is there, you remember the place well, and when we become stronger in the future, it's not too late to go in again."

  "No, we'd better get out of here as fast as we can." Dahei shook his head and scratched the ground vigorously with his paws, looking quite anxious: "Although that cave is very hidden and not easily discovered, when I went in that day, I triggered the formation and attracted lightning, afraid it will attract attention from those who are interested."

  By the time Qin Luo's cultivation became powerful, the yellow flower dish had gone cold, and the good things inside had long been stolen by someone.

  "That cave's era is extremely ancient, it's probably tens of thousands of years ago. The formation is formidable, but after the long passage of time, its power has decreased a lot. You'd better hurry up and make more talismans, be careful and you should be able to get in."

  Qin Luo Yi pursed her lips and thought seriously for a moment, but still disagreed. Having a rare treasure was not bad, but one had to consider whether they had the fate to enjoy it. If one wasn't careful and died inside, it would be too much of a loss.

  "Otherwise, let's just call a few more people to join in." Feng Fei Li had already cultivated the Jade Mansion, and his cultivation was many times higher than hers. Moreover, he was a good person, so calling him was a good idea. At worst, there would be one more person to share the things inside.

  "No way." Dahei refused without hesitation: "That cave mansion, the fewer people who know about it, the better. Can't tell others."

  "Is my master also useless?" Qin Luo's clothes moved slightly in her heart, and she looked at it with some doubt, always feeling that it was hiding something from herself.

  "No way." Big Black's eyes flickered, and he refused without even thinking about it: "Your master has gone, he is the leader of the Piaoyou Sect, what he gets, how can it fall into our hands? No, we definitely can't let him go."

  Qin Luo's face was slightly indignant, staring at it with a stubborn expression. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he squatted down, his eyes level with the creature's, not blinking once. With a hint of a smile, he asked: "Da Hei, be honest with me, do you know what's inside that cave?"

  Normally, when discovering a cave, especially one that belongs to an ancient great adept, one can only speculate about what's inside. To avoid taking too much risk, people usually gather more manpower before entering... But now, Da Hei is acting like this, clearly wanting to monopolize everything!

  The big black dog wagged its tail, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "If I'm not mistaken, that's the cultivation place of Gu Zu Sheng Zhu, a famous great cultivator from the Tian Xuan continent tens of thousands of years ago. Gu Zu Sheng Zhu lived for over 5,000 years and was said to have reached the peak of the ninth stage of the Purple Mansion. At his peak, he relied on an extremely powerful artifact called the Qian Kun Zhong to dominate the world. In the final stages of his life, he traveled extensively in search of a breakthrough, never returning until his death. The powerful artifact Qian Kun Zhong also disappeared from the world after that."

  "Are you saying that there might be a Qian Kun Zhong there?" Qin Luo Yi asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

  Ancient Clan's Holy Master, Qian Kun Zhong, and what about the Purple Mansion's Summit... Doesn't that Ancient Clan's Holy Master know too much already?

  It followed itself to the Piaoyu Sect and ran away when it arrived at the Piaoyu Sect. What kind of ancient sacred master is this, and how did she know about it?

  "It's not possible, it must be!" The big black eyes lit up, very affirmative.

  "Alright, even if it's definitely better there, with just the two of us, going to the ancient powerful being's cultivation cave... is still too risky. I think it's better to find a few more people to go together." After thinking for a moment, she firmly shook her head.

  It's not that she doesn't want the Dry Universe Bell, but she's afraid that when the time comes, she'll go in and won't be able to get the Dry Universe Bell, and instead will pay with her life. Some things really require being mindful of one's own abilities.

  "Go on, go on, trust me, our lives are tied together, how could I possibly harm you? That day was just a little short, I almost succeeded in getting in, the two of us together will definitely be able to get in... The power of that formation is really not great anymore, haven't I already tried it?"

  Qin Luoyi stared at it in a somewhat speechless manner, having tried it before, but only half of its life remained, and its body was even charred to a crisp, so much so that she could smell the aroma of roasted meat early in the morning!

  She touched her face and thought to herself, she didn't want to become like Da Hei, although she wasn't that concerned about being pretty or not, but she also couldn't become someone who was unbearable to look at.

  Seeing her still unmoved, Da Hei became so anxious that he jumped up and ran around the pavilion in circles: "That Dry Sky Bell is really a good thing! If I didn't know where it was, I would let it go, but knowing it's there and not taking it out... Ah, my heart hurts! My heart hurts so much!" As he spoke, he stopped his feet, held his paws to his chest, and made a very painful expression.

  Qin Luo Yi felt a headache.

  He rubbed his forehead, looking at it with an unyielding expression, and after a moment of contemplation, he finally took a step back: "Alright, that cave mansion has tens of millions of treasures that haven't been discovered by anyone yet. It's probably not easy to find either. I'll refine some talismans first and seize the time to cultivate myself further. The higher my cultivation level, the more confident we'll be, and our chances of success will increase greatly, right? You just quietly keep an eye on that cave mansion and see if anyone notices anything unusual there. If no one discovers it, that's best. But if someone detects something, we'll rush in before they make a move..."

  With a flash of her dark eyes, she sighed silently and knew that Qin Luo would not enter now, so she had to agree with this compromise.

  Qin Luoyi's talismans on her body were not many, when Jian Yuyan and others went to the Maze Forest, she gave them a lot of talismans, to refine the talismans, they had to refine the elixir first, from the spiritual plants brought from the Holy Dragon Continent, there were also not many left, Qin Luoyi decided to go to the market to supplement some spiritual plants.

  The Piaoyu Sect occupies a vast area, stretching over 500 miles from east to west and over 1,000 miles from south to north. Since arriving at the Piaoyu Sect, she had never left its gates. Fortunately, there was Dahei; after it broke free from its seal, its running speed increased by more than double, allowing them to leave the sect in just two hours and arrive at a bustling town where they successfully purchased what she needed.