He stepped through the cave entrance.
He followed the passage upward.
The cave twisted and turned, growing wider as he went, its spiritual energy ever more abundant. Bathed in it, he felt the energy flow naturally into his body, and even his cultivation began to rise by tiny increments. The water around him gradually receded, replaced by damp air, and stone steps appeared beneath his feet-traces of human workmanship.
Lu Changfeng raised an eyebrow.
Carved by human hands?
He continued onward.
After another incense stick's worth of time, the passage suddenly opened up.
It was a small limestone cavern, its ceiling some twenty feet high, with stalactites hanging overhead and stalagmites rising in uneven, varied shapes. Strange crystals studded the surrounding walls, giving off a soft, pale-blue glow that lit the entire cavern as brightly as day.
Flowers and grasses grew inside.
They sprouted between cracks in the stone, their leaves thick and their colors vivid. Clearly, they were no ordinary plants either.
But what caught Lu Changfeng's attention most was-
In one corner stood pots, bowls, and other utensils.
Several earthenware bowls, an iron pot, and a damaged water jar. Beside them was even a stone bed, covered with dry grass. A ragged garment lay tossed atop the grass, looking like a Daoist robe.
Someone had lived here.
No, someone was still living here.
Lu Changfeng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Who would hide inside this mountain?
Just as he was wondering-
Snap.
An exceedingly faint sound came from deeper in the cavern.
Lu Changfeng flashed forward, gliding like a phantom across more than a hundred feet and rounding a bend.
Behind the corner hid a figure in tattered clothes, his hair disheveled and his face filthy.
The man huddled in the corner, so dirty that his original appearance was