Although the Jade Spring Sect excelled in the two aspects of water and wood, it did not refuse disciples with Spirit Roots of the other three aspects.
Compared with water and wood, however, the other three aspects were somewhat weaker.
Jiang Xunzhen clearly had an aptitude for a fire-aspect Spirit Root. His presence was like a blazing fire, and he acted like the wind. Chen Shuangbai reckoned that he cultivated the Qi Refining Stage portion of the sect's only fire-aspect Cultivation Method, the Vermilion Crow Bathing in Fire True Explanation.
The array was broken, sending smoke and dust billowing into the air.
Jiang Xunzhen suddenly shouted, "Watch out!"
Fire Qi spread at once, coiling around Jiang Xunzhen and forming a shield that protected him. Then dozens of blue-glinting flying needles suddenly shot from the black depths of the cave entrance, hurtling toward the three men.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Jiang Xunzhen released spiritual fire, forming a shield that blocked them.
A layer of earthy-yellow spiritual light appeared over Lu Zhiyuan's body. Clearly, the clothes he wore were no ordinary garments.
Only Chen Shuangbai...
Jiang Xunzhen and Lu Zhiyuan's expressions turned grim as they looked toward Chen Shuangbai. As far as they knew, he had devoted himself to cultivation as soon as he joined the sect and had not come out since. He had almost no experience traveling in the outside world. They feared...
But the next instant, the slightly turbid water in a nearby pool shot toward him, condensing into a translucent curtain of water that flowed without cease and precisely blocked the blue-glinting flying needles!
The blue-glinting flying needles sank into the water curtain as though into a swamp, immediately losing their force.
Jiang Xunzhen and Lu Zhiyuan both breathed a sigh of relief.
"You cast that spell very quickly, Junior Brother."
This was not an attack by an outsider, but a countermeasure triggered when the cave abode master's array was broken. It could also be called a trap.
Jiang Xunzhen stepped forward and entered the passage.
He stirred his spiritual fire and condensed it into a fire crow, which burned the remaining traps in the passage to ashes before finally settling on his shoulder with a remarkable show of intelligence.
"Senior Brother, your Fire Crow Technique has reached the peak of perfection."
Chen Shuangbai had never studied the Vermilion Crow Bathing in Fire True Explanation, but he could see that refining the Fire Crow Technique to this level was proof enough of the Cultivation Method's profundity.
Clearly, there was a reason the inner sect held Jiang Xunzhen in high regard.
A small, three-story building stood inside, its eaves swept high, its style simple and elegant. Though it had been uninhabited for a long time, it remained free of even a speck of dust. Clearly, an array to ward off dust or something similar was still in operation.
This building was clearly the heart of the cave abode.
Inside the building, the first and third floors were simply furnished, with clear signs that someone had lived there for a long time. Aside from that, there were also traces nearby of Law Techniques having been practiced.
But the building was also protected by an array, and it was clearly stronger than the Jade Water Circling Array they had encountered earlier.
Lu Zhiyuan went forward to examine it, his expression growing a little more serious.
"It's a Water-Wood Life-Generating Array!"
Chen Shuangbai had been so engrossed in pill refinement that he had not studied arrays as a secondary pursuit. Fortunately, Lu Zhiyuan had chosen to study arrays, and he immediately explained the array's intricacies.
He continued.
"This is a first-tier, mid-grade array. It isn't very powerful, but it's extremely resilient. It draws on the principle of water nourishing wood and bringing it to life. It should rely on an underground water vein and a Spirit Plant serving as the array's core..."
He paused and looked around in every direction, but his brows knit slightly.
"Where's the Spirit Plant serving as the array's core?"
The courtyard in front of the building was empty, with no sign of a Spirit Plant.
Jiang Xunzhen spoke up. "I think... perhaps it's inside the building."
"Then we'll have to break the array by force."
A short while later.
The three men took positions at the points of a triangle. At Jiang Xunzhen's command, three streams of Law Power burst forth, striking three nodes of the array.
Rumble!
The Law Power struck the array's light barrier with a considerable noise.
Jiang Xunzhen wielded scarlet Law Power in one hand, its momentum magnificent.
Lu Zhiyuan's Law Power was earthy yellow, weighty and silent.
Chen Shuangbai circulated the Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method. Law Power of utmost clarity and purity surged out and struck an array node, churning like clear water, yet suffused with a faint trace of frost.
Creak, creak, creak...
Soon, under their combined efforts, the array burst apart with a boom, sending clouds of smoke and dust rolling outward.
When the dust cleared, the three-story building still stood steady in its original place. The timber used to build it was evidently quite sturdy.
They entered the building.
The first thing they saw was a landscape screen standing before the central hall. Beyond it were ordinary furnishings; this was clearly where the cave abode's master usually rested.
The second floor was a display room.
There were bookshelves, an offering table, and a display rack holding weapons.
Three Law Treasures lay on the display rack: a flying sword, a green gourd, and a small shield.
The flying sword appeared to have developed a little rust. The gourd was earthy yellow, and when shaken, it did not sound as though it contained pills. The small shield was engraved with the likeness of an unknown beast.
Jiang Xunzhen stepped forward and examined them one by one, looking a little surprised.
"Two of them are actually Spirit Artifacts!"
Although they were only low-grade, they were still the three men's greatest haul so far in their exploration of the cave abode.
He turned to Chen Shuangbai and Lu Zhiyuan. "I'll put them away for now, and we can divide them when we get back. How does that sound?"
Both men nodded.
They had not finished exploring the cave abode. If they divided the treasures now and any of them felt the division was unfair, squabbling would be hard to avoid. It was better to wait until they returned to the sect. Even if they disagreed then, they could ask a senior to ensure a fair division.
On the bookshelves were antiques, paintings, calligraphy, and treasured spiritual objects collected by the cave abode's master, along with more than ten bottles of pills. The pills' medicinal properties had diminished too severely, however, greatly reducing their value.
Besides these, they also found a letter on a desk.
The letter gave the identity of the cave abode's master and explained that his aptitude had been too poor, holding back his cultivation and ultimately causing him to fail in his attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. As a result, he had died and his Dao had perished. It also contained his instructions from his final moments-
"My given name was Xu Changlin, and I styled myself Listening to the Waves Rogue Person. My cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. Held back by my aptitude, I failed in my attempt to reach the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. Knowing that my life would soon end, I leave this letter to inform those who come after me."
"After my death, you may dispose of an item within this abode as you see fit. The three Law Treasures are the Listening to the Waves Sword, the Life-Accepting Gourd, and the Whirling Waves Shield. Each was refined with the effort of this old man's entire life, and each has its own wondrous uses. I hope those who come after me will treat them well."
"Furthermore, behind the third compartment of the bookshelf is a hidden compartment containing a volume of Listening to the Waves Notes, the work of this old man's lifetime. It records my insights into cultivation and several water and wood Law Techniques. There is also half a volume of the Green Wood Pill Explanation, which records the method for refining the Green Wood Life-Generating Pill. I obtained it by chance, but alas, the main ingredient was hard to find, and I never succeeded in making the pill. I leave it for one with the affinity to find it."
"Furthermore, I have but one request. I came from the Lingnan Xu Clan of Qing Province in the Jing Kingdom. In years past, I left my home and native land to seek the immortal Dao. I failed to fulfill my filial duties, and I left no children to carry on my bloodline. Now that I am passing away, my parents have presumably also departed this life. I had but one younger brother, who was already married. If fate allows you to meet his descendants in the future, I hope that, for the sake of the legacy I have left, you will look after them a little."
"If they have already turned to dust, or fate does not allow you to meet them, then let the matter rest."
"The immortal Dao is vast and distant, and the Great Dao is hard to attain. This old man has spent more than two hundred years in vain, and in the end it has all been flowers in a mirror and the moon in water."
"You who have the affinity to find this, I hope you will take my experience as a warning."
"Xu Changlin, final words."