"The water reached the Buddha's knees, and the Lingyun Cave was burned down."
"There's nothing special about Lingyun Cave."
Duan Lang a divine weapon longsword awarded by the system, Duan Lang casually stepped into Lingyun Cave.
Although he said there was nothing special about it, his vigilance was already at its highest.
Unfortunately, the side quest description clearly states that this quest is extremely dangerous and also indicates that the mythical beast Fire Qilin may appear.
Although Duan Lang's strength has improved by leaps and bounds, he is not confident that he is now invincible.
Most people are intimidated by the mere mention of the legendary Qilin. If he hadn't been attracted by the system's rewards, he would never have come to face such a creature.
The roads inside Lingyun Cave are not narrow, but there are too many forks in the road, making it easy for people to lose their way.
Since he didn't know what the system meant by "exploring the inside," Duan Lang decided to go through everything.
As he walked, he used a charcoal pencil to draw on the wall, marking the places he had passed through.
After spending most of the day exploring all the side paths on the outskirts, Duan Lang began to advance into the interior of Lingyun Cave.
The further you walk, the hotter it gets, and you can also see some scattered bones, some of livestock like cattle and sheep, some of wild beasts like tigers and leopards, and of course, quite a few of human bones as well.
"It seems the story about the Qilin in Lingyun Cave is true. That beast must have caught quite a lot of things to eat."
Duan Lang walked forward cautiously, his longsword already imbued with Internal Energy, ready to defend himself at any moment.
As he walked, he came across a complete skeleton. He was about to pass by it, but he was inexplicably drawn to it.
To be precise, it was a crimson longsword that attracted it, located next to the skeletal remains.
The longsword was stuck horizontally in the ground, and although it was covered in dust, it still exuded an extraordinary aura.
Even without the guidance of the Sword Saint in the original story, Duan Lang still found his family heirloom Fire Qilin Sword, as if it were destined.
However, Duan Lang was unaware that the skeleton in front of him was his Duan family ancestor, and without any respect for the ritual, he directly snatched the sword from his hand.
The sword trembled slightly upon being held, and the dust on it fell away, revealing an eerie, blood-red blade.
Holding this sword, Duan Lang felt a familiarity welling up from his blood.
"A fine sword, a fine sword. Although I don't know why it feels somewhat familiar, it unexpectedly resonates with my martial arts."
Duan Lang primarily practices his family's Sun-Eclipsing Sword Technique, so holding the Fire Qilin Sword naturally feels exceptionally fitting.
Although the divine weapon awarded by the system was made of high-tech composite metal, capable of cutting through iron like mud and being exceptionally tough, it was still slightly inferior to the treasures passed down through the Duan family.
Duan Lang completely abandoned the common system features and happily used the Fire Qilin Sword as his own accessory.
"I obtained a peerless weapon as soon as I entered the cave. It seems I'll definitely be able to complete my mission successfully this time!"
With a good mood, Duan Lang continued his exploration of Lingyun Cave.
Meanwhile, in a manor somewhere in the Central Plains, Xu Xiao, dressed as a scholar, sipped tea and absorbed everything into his mind.
"As expected, this fateful arrangement is unavoidable. As long as Duan Lang enters Lingyun Cave, he will inevitably encounter the Fire Qilin Sword first."
"Although I didn't feel like anyone was controlling it very closely, it felt surprisingly smooth."
Xu Xiao had the ability to see all of Duan Lang's actions clearly through the system.
The other party circled around Lingyun Cave several times before entering, where there were several forks in the road.
Unaware that the Duan family's Fire Qilin Sword was in Lingyun Cave, he chose the secret passage containing the Fire Qilin Sword as his first path, which he had to admit was all part of a mysterious cause and effect.
Xu Xiao is very open-minded about this. Whether they are protagonists or villains, their fates are predetermined in the course of world evolution.
"However, the more you arrange cause and effect, the more I will intervene. Let's see how impatient you are."
"Whether it's a matter of Wind and Cloud Millennial Great Calamity, I'm going to stir things up and see if you can sit still."
"I've laid so many traps; this time, a single 'Xiao Sanxiao ' won't be enough to neutralize them."
" Millennial Great Calamity, a karmic destiny, I'll try to completely disrupt your rhythm and see if you'll just sit back and watch."
The story of Wind and Cloud is not complicated; it's about a guy who accidentally gained immortality but did something bad with good intentions.
As one of the earliest immortals in the Wind and Cloud, Xiao Sanxiao believed that by resolving all the calamities in advance, he could protect the peace of the human world.
As a result, all these disasters that were averted in advance accumulated and erupted at once.
The calamity that arose in response to the times inspired the talents of this small island nation, giving it the power to stand against the Central Plains.
The snake tries to swallow the dragon, intending to drag the Central Plains into calamity, and then use its small territory to devour the Central Plains in return.
According to the original plot, Xiao Sanxiao was the forehand, while his son was the backhand, and together they propelled the evolution of the Millennial Great Calamity of Wind and Cloud.
In the end, all the apparent crises in the entire Wind and Cloud were handled by the protagonist and Xiao Sanxiao.
This time, however, Xu Xiao not only strengthened the Dongying side but also the Central Plains side. Both sides believed that their strength had greatly increased and that everything would develop much faster.
Most importantly, the originally destined protagonists, Wind and Cloud, have not yet grown up, nor have they had time to grow up.
Xu Xiao wanted to see if Xiao Sanxiao sides receiving buffs.
Tathagata he loses his composure, will Buddha intervene? Or will Nüwa also take notice?
Xu Xiao will ultimately determine his approach to this world based on their choices.
Inside Lingyun Cave, Duan Lang not only found the Fire Qilin Sword, but also explored the depths of the cave, finding the place where the Qilin had briefly stayed.
The fiery Blood Bodhi adorn the green vines; even a fool could see their extraordinary nature.
'What is this? It looks rather tempting.'
'Why don't I pick one and try it? With my martial arts skills, I won't be afraid even if it's poisonous.'
Driven by a desire to try it out, and confident that he could neutralize even poisonous fruits with his internal energy, Duan Lang Duan Lang stepped forward and picked one.
As soon as I put it in my mouth, I felt a surge of heat within my body, and then my Internal Energy rose rapidly as if I had taken a tonic.
"This is a good thing. Since it can enhance Internal Energy, I truly am the chosen one selected by Heaven."
With Duan Lang's insatiable greed, once he had consumed a Blood Bodhi, he simply couldn't stop.
He was only focused on picking the Blood Bodhi one by one and putting them into his mouth, constantly refining their medicinal power.
The resources that belonged to the protagonist, Nie Feng, were enjoyed by him first.