The three flew south aboard the flying boat for another stretch before Lu Zhiyuan brought it down in the forest.
Once they had disembarked, Lu Zhiyuan put the flying boat away. He then led the way out of the forest, bringing the other two to a stop atop a cliff.
No, not a cliff, but a vast ravine.
"Could that cave abode be down in this ravine?"
Jiang Xunzhen looked down into the ravine, where the darkness was so thick he could not see his hand before his face, and asked the question.
Lu Zhiyuan nodded slightly.
"That day, my Lineage summoned me, so I went home for a visit. Halfway there, I remembered that my father liked the wine from a place called Spring Water Workshop, not far from here, so I changed course and flew there."
"On the way, I happened upon a Bandit Cultivator committing a robbery. Following the sect's teachings, I acted decisively, killed the bandit, and saved the innocent victim while I was at it."
"Afterward, the innocent female cultivator repaid me. She told me that a great Foundation Establishment cultivator had once appeared among her ancestors, but had unfortunately fallen, leaving her family in decline. Having seen the Bandit Cultivator's brutality, she no longer wanted to keep looking, so she gave me the token in repayment and went down the mountain."
"After that, I followed the token's guidance and discovered that the cave abode was in this ravine. But the ravine is enormous, and one tree alone cannot support the structure, so I thought to find a helper or two."
Jiang Xunzhen looked at Lu Zhiyuan in some surprise.
"I never expected you to have such an immortal opportunity, Junior Brother Lu. Fortune truly favors you!"
"Not at all. I was simply helping maintain peace in the territory under the sect's rule," Lu Zhiyuan said modestly.
For a stable sect to develop and grow strong, it needed a stable environment in which to do so.
As the undisputed ruling power of the three prefectures, the Jade Spring Sect could not allow its disciples to stand by when they encountered such incidents outside.
Bandit Cultivators wreaking havoc, Demon Beasts coming down from the mountains to harm people, and local officials committing all manner of evil were all targets for Jade Spring disciples.
But...
Chen Shuangbai frowned slightly. Why does this story seem so suspicious?
Isn't it all a little too convenient?
Could someone have set a trap?
Chen Shuangbai's eyes darted around, and he told the other two what he suspected.
Jiang Xunzhen pondered briefly before saying, "Now that you mention it, Junior Brother Chen, I do think it's quite a coincidence."
"Junior Brother Lu, we should be careful."
Lu Zhiyuan broke out in a cold sweat as well.
He was not so arrogant as to truly believe his good fortune reached the heavens. On the contrary, as a member of a cultivation Lineage who had been supported in entering the higher sect, he had honed a keen mind.
"I thought it was a little strange before, but the news rather went to my head... Thank you for the reminder, Junior Brother Chen."
Chen Shuangbai waved a hand, indicating that there was no need for such thanks between fellow disciples.
One of the Jade Spring Sect's rules required its disciples to support one another when away from the sect. They were forbidden to fight among themselves, much less harm fellow disciples.
Otherwise, once discovered, the offender and his friends and relatives would face endless pursuit from the Evil Hunting Hall.
"However..."
Jiang Xunzhen gave a faint, cold laugh. "Anyone who dares set a trap on Jade Spring territory to ambush us must truly be tired of living."
It might have been a different matter in another prefecture, but these were the three prefectures under the Jade Spring Sect's rule. This was Jade Spring territory.
No faction or cultivator could be allowed to cause trouble here.
"Let's go."
With that, Jiang Xunzhen leaped down.
Chen Shuangbai and Lu Zhiyuan followed a moment later.
Before descending, however, Chen Shuangbai summoned Feiguang from the token. Feiguang shot into the sky, plunged into the clouds, and vanished from sight.
Down in the ravine, the darkness was so thick they could not see their hands before their faces.
Lu Zhiyuan and Jiang Xunzhen intended to cast the Luminescence Technique to illuminate the three zhang around them, but Chen Shuangbai beat them to it and took something out.
It was a luminous pearl the size of a chicken egg. Activated by Chen Shuangbai's magic power, it floated quietly above their heads, lighting everything within ten zhang as brightly as day.
"That's a Bright Light Pearl, isn't it?"
Bright Light Pearls were a special kind of shell pearl cultivated by the Jade Spring Sect, and most were used in the hundred arts of cultivation.
But none were as large as Chen Shuangbai's.
The pearls were not rare; the two of them had simply never seen one the size of a chicken egg, and were a little surprised.
Lu Zhiyuan took out a peachwood tablet and activated it with his magic power. A glimmer of spiritual light rippled forth, extending into the depths.
The three followed the spiritual light and soon arrived at a cave.
Lush moss and vines grew around the entrance. Without a careful look, they probably would not have noticed the opening behind them.
Only after a Fire Kindling Technique burned the vines away did the three see several formation flags planted in cracks in the stone on either side of the entrance.
Judging by the blurred formation patterns on the flags, they guessed that years of neglect had caused them to lose their original function.
Jiang Xunzhen and Lu Zhiyuan raised their feet to step inside, but Chen Shuangbai told them to wait.
The two then watched as Chen Shuangbai took out a set of formation flags and replaced the ones that had lost their function. With a surge of magic power, he set up a formation at the cave entrance.
"Is that... a Lesser Illusory Light Formation?" Lu Zhiyuan asked.
Jiang Xunzhen, however, noticed another of Chen Shuangbai's merits and praised him. "You truly are cautious, Junior Brother."
Chen Shuangbai said, "When you're away from home, it's always good to keep a few extra wits about you."
The Lesser Illusory Light Formation was an obscuring formation, so it served only to provide warning and delay.
Chen Shuangbai had bought it at a shop in Cloud Peak Small Market especially for this trip.
"It's good to be cautious."
The three continued onward.
Following the winding tunnel, they finally arrived inside a spacious cave abode.
The cave abode was enormous, as though half the mountain had been hollowed out.
Around the outer edge was a ring of water that had clearly been dug by hand, with many spiritual flowers and herbs planted along it.
But because no one had tended them, and the Spirit Gathering Formation here had ceased to function, most of their medicinal properties had been lost, leaving them of little value.
Chen Shuangbai looked away from the medicinal field and toward an exit at the other end, where a formation had clearly been set up.
Before long,
Jiang Xunzhen and Lu Zhiyuan also finished looking around. They exchanged a glance and both shook their heads slightly.
Aside from some aged Solomon's seal, fleeceflower roots, and the like, there was little of value to be found.
"Looks like it should be on the other side."
They came to the formation, and Lu Zhiyuan examined it closely before saying, "It's a Jade Water Circling Array."
It was a low-grade, first-tier formation. It had little offensive power, relied on a water source, and had a fairly resilient form.
"The spiritual influence in the pool has mostly dispersed, but the foundation supporting the formation is fairly solid... Senior Brother Jiang, you do it."
He meant to break the formation by force.
Jiang Xunzhen nodded slightly and stepped in front of the other two. He slowly raised his right hand, and with a whoosh, a ball of crimson fire sprang from his palm.
Then, with a thunderous boom, a crimson flaming palm print slammed into the formation.
A vast surge of water vapor burst forth, but it could not withstand the immense power contained in the crimson flaming palm, and the formation collapsed with a crash.