With tears blurring his eyes, the farmer pulled his wife down to her knees beside him with a thud. "Thank you for saving us, exalted immortal."
Lin Ke waved a hand. "Deal with these people however you like. I'll take one with me."
"Keep all their belongings on you. I'll contact you again once this is done."
"Now, take me to the secret passage as quickly as possible."
The three left the tent, joined the two girls, and headed toward the secret passage.
A short while later, Lin Ke and the farmer arrived beneath a thick spirit tree.
The man pushed aside some grass, then moved away a large pile of branches and dead leaves.
But there was no entrance to be seen.
The man grew puzzled as well.
Finally, his wife could bear to watch no longer and stepped forward.
"Exalted immortal, he's always this careless."
"The entrance to the secret passage is over here."
She did exactly what the farmer had done.
She cleared away all the dead grass, fallen leaves, and branches beneath a tree.
At last, a tiny hollow came into view.
It was a size smaller than a well cover.
The girls slipped inside with practiced ease.
The farmer, meanwhile, stumbled and struggled his way down little by little.
Lin Ke waited until they had all descended and confirmed that no one was nearby before drawing on his spirit power to seal the spot again.
With a flash, he appeared inside the secret passage.
It was a typical cave peculiar to karst landscapes.
The sound of rushing groundwater flowed through the entire cave.
Who knew where these farmers had found the glowing mushrooms.
Clusters of pale green fluorescence stretched into the distance, faintly illuminating the entire cave.
Roots from spirit trees were embedded in