Elsewhere.
With Feng Jitong leading the way, Jiang Xiaobai and the others followed a mountain trail deeper and deeper in.
Before long, they arrived in a bamboo grove.
The bamboo here grew exceptionally tall. As a breeze brushed past, the leaves rustled against one another.
Deep within the bamboo grove, a wooden house stood.
The wooden house had clearly been repaired several times, but the marks on its doors, windows, and roof beams still showed how long it had stood there.
"This is the Unopened Land!"
Feng Jitong stopped and looked at Jiang Xiaobai. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
"We've searched everywhere worth searching in here. The only thing we haven't done is tear the whole wooden house apart!"
"But to this day, we still haven't found the manual left by the first Sect Master!"
At this point, Feng Jitong smiled faintly. "If you think you have what it takes, go inside and have a look!"
"Who knows... you might actually find it?"
"Mm, let's take a look inside first!"
As Jiang Xiaobai answered, he led the way into the wooden house.
The furnishings inside were extremely sparse. Apart from a wooden bed and a table with chairs, there was only a wooden shelf for storing things.
Jiang Xiaobai made a circuit of the room and found that everything movable did indeed bear signs of having been shifted.
It seemed Feng Jitong had not lied.
This place had indeed been searched countless times.
Jiang Xiaobai stood in the middle of the room, looking thoughtful.
Since every possible hiding place inside had been searched without turning up anything, could the manual... not be inside the wooden house at all?
Jiang Xiaobai returned to the doorway and looked outside.
The bamboo grove stretched before him, lush and green. Apart from