About three days later, Rong Ling came again.
This time, she brought her own lotus-leaf bundle. Inside were the two hundred low-grade spirit stones she had promised Xu Yuan earlier, along with a mission token for Lost Soul Cave.
After dumping everything into Xu Yuan's hands, she also told him some good news. Zhu Yan was in seclusion as well, while Zhu Zihua's uncle was away from the mountain gate on business, which was why no one had come looking for him these past three days.
And once Xu Yuan entered Lost Soul Cave, a sect stronghold of that sort could not be entered without a mission. With him staying inside, there was no need to fear Zhu Yan disturbing him.
As for what came afterward, once she, Rong Ling, emerged from seclusion, everything would be easy to discuss.
As she spoke, the black crow Rong Ling's tone was lofty and disdainful, clearly not taking the other party seriously at all.
Xu Yuan had no idea what Rong Ling's cultivation level truly was, but judging by her reputation and that arrogant, overbearing manner, she was probably at least at the eighth layer of Qi Refining. Could she emerge from seclusion at the ninth layer this time?
Just as Xu Yuan's thoughts began to wander, he heard her say again:
"Right, take this too. Consider it a reward."
With that, the black crow Rong Ling sent her divine sense into the lotus-leaf bundle and took out another secret manual.
Pale Moon Riverside Hut-Building Heart Scripture. Looking at the bold black characters on its cover, Xu Yuan turned to the black crow, who answered absentmindedly.
"The environment in Lost Soul Cave is rather harsh. With your cultivation, you may find it quite difficult to cultivate there. If you have time inside, you can study this cultivation method. It will be of some benefit to you in the future."
"Thank you, Senior Rong Ling." Xu Yuan gave her a bow. Cultivation methods were not passed on freely unless the price was high. Within the Hidden Moon Sect, even the most ordinary method cost more than twenty spirit stones. Since she was willing to gift him a heart method, he naturally had to thank her properly.
"A small matter, a small matter."
Waving her wings, the black crow gave a few dry laughs before leaving on her own.
After putting away the spirit stones, Xu Yuan did not rush to purchase the Five Elements spirit materials. He intended to buy them all together after coming out of Lost Soul Cave.
Having also placed plenty of dried meat into his storage bag, Xu Yuan wasted no more time. Holding the token, he headed northwest from Biyou Market.
He continued westward for half an hour before a mountain pass appeared before him. Once he passed through it, the temperature in the air plummeted. The verdant peaks on either side had turned bare and barren, leaving only dead branches and grotesque rocks.
A dead land was a place where all vitality had been severed. This time, Xu Yuan gained a bit of understanding of what that meant.
As he continued deeper inside, the chill in the air grew heavier. Everything around him was grayish white, as though covered in settled wood ash. Even the rocks and withered branches vanished from sight, while a mournful whistling wind began to rise.
And at that moment, a cave appeared before him.
Because a restriction stood at its entrance, the inside was pitch-black, and nothing could be seen. Xu Yuan raised the mission token and shone it against the restriction. Only then did a light gate appear, just wide enough for one person to pass through.
"Truly worthy of being a sect forbidden ground."
Nodding, Xu Yuan stepped inside. It was still dim within, but at least he could now see the path ahead.
Underfoot was a narrow trail about half a zhang wide. It extended continuously downward, and at a depth of roughly one hundred zhang, Xu Yuan saw several stone houses.
Knowing those were quarters for the disciples stationed here, Xu Yuan intended to scout the way first, so he followed the path downward.
After entering, the wind grew even louder. That alone was nothing, but Xu Yuan soon made the "pleasant" discovery that whenever the wind swept past, a thread of the qi and blood and spiritual energy within him seemed to be drawn away and absorbed into the howling wind.
His heart grew a little more cautious, though he was not particularly afraid. With the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo bolstering him, his qi and blood were incomparably vigorous. No matter how fiercely the wind blew, he could recover it with a single breath.
After a while, he reached the platform where the stone houses stood. Just as he was surveying his surroundings, movement suddenly came from one of the stone houses to his left. Immediately afterward, a slovenly-looking man crawled out.
The man wore a Dharma robe nearly identical to Xu Yuan's, but it had long since become tattered. His beard had evidently gone untended for far too long, all clumped together, with bits of flour, meat scraps, and the like hanging from it.
His limbs were withered and thin, his eyes dull and lifeless... well, that was not quite right. When he heard movement outside and came out, his eyes had been bright. Only after seeing Xu Yuan did they dim once more.
"Boundless Amitabha-whatever-Buddha, why's it someone with a damn cock?"
After grumbling a curse, he turned to crawl back into the stone house. But now that Xu Yuan had found someone in the house, how could he let the man slip back inside so easily?
"Fellow Daoist, please wait." Xu Yuan stopped him. The other man cast him an impatient glance, but when he saw the two low-grade spirit stones in Xu Yuan's hand, his irritation slowly faded.
"Tch. Ask whatever you want. We were both punished and sent to this hellhole, so you and I count as fellow sufferers."
The withered man sat down on the threshold and looked at Xu Yuan before him. A month ago, he too had been this devastatingly handsome. Now, only the devastating remained.
"Punished?" Xu Yuan sensed that something was off. Hadn't Senior Rong Ling said this place was highly sought after, and that she had only given it to him because he needed it...
Damn it, this is the Hidden Moon Sect. How had I really believed someone so easily?
"Huh?" The withered man gave Xu Yuan a strange look, unable to understand why his expression had changed again and again. Then he said:
"Yeah. Didn't I just build a house at the edge of Biyou Market? Was there really any need to make such a huge fuss? They acted like I'd betrayed the sect—fines, the Punishment Hall, Cliff of Knowing Sin, and now this Lost Soul Cave. Sigh."
The man wore an expression as though he could not bear to look back on it. By now, Xu Yuan's face had grown extremely unnatural. He cautiously asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you know whether the sect has a mission involving guarding Lost Soul Cave?"
"Why are you asking that?" The man gave Xu Yuan an odd look, but did not hide anything. He said directly, "There is such a cursed mission. The merit reward is two hundred and fifty, and it requires three months."
"But Lost Soul Cave is truly deadly. An ordinary mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator will become as gaunt as a skeleton after staying here for a month. If they stay three months, they'll have collapsed long ago. So no one has ever accepted that mission."
"Later, Merit Hall simply stopped issuing it. Instead, every three months, they draw one unlucky mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator to come here. But every person sent here only stays one month. Once they meet the minimum requirement, they forcibly end the mission and leave, not even wanting the merit.
"Some who are better off, after being selected, even spend spirit stones to transfer the mission token to someone else."
By the time the withered man finished speaking, Xu Yuan's face was black as the bottom of a pot. In his heart, he did not know how many times he had cursed that bastard Rong Ling.
He took back what he had said. There were no good people in the Hidden Moon Sect!
Sigh!
With a long sigh in his heart, Xu Yuan could only accept that what had happened had happened. At the same time, his desire to become an inner sect disciple and gain true independence grew even stronger.
"You just said Lost Soul Cave is so terrifying, but from what I've felt, it seems to be nothing more than some cold wind."
He asked again, and the withered man rolled his eyes at him, now certain that this was another unlucky bastard who had been punished and sent here.
"Right now is when the winds are calm and the waves are still. The wind of Lost Soul Cave hasn't risen yet."
Before you continue