The two did not plummet rapidly, nor did they dare to reach the bottom quickly. They circulated their internal energy and cast spells to descend slowly.
They soon encountered layers of chaotic obstacles, thick iron chains intertwined and crossing one another. The two continuously weaved their way down through them.
Before long, the two in the dense mist could see nothing at all, completely unable to see their hands in front of their faces. Yu Qing took out a luminous stone from a small leather pouch on his person to provide light.
The glow of the luminous stone was inherently soft and not very penetrating. Combined with the fog barrier here and the layers of chains above, he believed that unless someone above was paying close attention, they would not easily spot it. Of course, if he had not seen the environment below, he would not have dared to do this lightly.
Mu Aotie saw him dare to do this and thus had fewer reservations, subsequently doing the same.
Under the two points of light, the thick iron chains became increasingly conspicuous one by one. Upon them were the moist and rust-covered deposits of time, carrying a heavy sense of age. Vine branches clinging to them, some withered and decayed upon them, others still with emerald green leaves, covered with droplets of dew in the mist.
On the iron chains, on the vine branches, on the leaves, condensed water droplets occasionally fell, forming strange dripping sounds near and far in the valley, some even creating echoes.
When the two occasionally stopped to rest on the iron chains or vine branches to observe, the slightest sway would cause something like a rain shower.
The two now realised a problem. Using fire attacks in this damned place would probably be a joke.
But they had already descended. Having realised that the golden orchid fruit might be connected to the Mirror Flower Immortal Garden, how could they abandon it? The circumstances of Kunling Mountain and Spirit Valley were fixed here and difficult to change. If they did not search now, coming later would be equally difficult. Since they had already descended, they naturally had to look around. Retreating before encountering any danger would also be unreasonable.
The further down they went, the more obstacles there were. They could no longer fall directly and had to hop and dodge left and right to descend.
The penetrating power of the luminous stone was insufficient, and they could not see far in the mist. Yu Qing used the Observation technique to investigate but it was useless, because he detected no movement from any living creature. It was clear the vine spirit was not moving at this moment, making it difficult to determine where its core was.
After the two landed, they felt the temperature at the bottom of the cliff was very low, and their breath steamed.
Looking around, they found the ground covered everywhere with scattered rocks and gravel, all wet.
There was also some strange soil. Squatting down to grab a handful, they found it was not soil but rusted iron residue. From some of the original forms preserved after rusting, it was actually iron chains.
So many disintegrated iron chains after rusting was sufficient proof that the vine spirit at the bottom of the cliff had been locked up for many years.
The two walked in the main direction of the iron chain blockade, finally standing before a massive object intertwined with iron chains and vine branches like a gigantic bird’s nest. Water droplets constantly dripped from above, looking somewhat sinister and frightening.
They circled around a large distance but found no gap. The vine branches were truly dense. The two drew their swords and poked around a few times, discovering the blockade was so tight it was difficult to push through and enter. Unless they hacked wildly with large blades, they could not break in. However, this vine had already become a spirit. If they truly used blades and swords to injure its sinews and bones, it would inevitably cause a huge commotion.
After hesitating repeatedly, Yu Qing tried speaking. “Vine old monster, you have already developed spiritual intelligence. Can you understand human speech?”
After speaking he listened. It was very quiet, with no reaction from the vine spirit’s lair.
Mu Aotie suddenly said, “The thing is most likely inside.”
Yu Qing nodded slightly. Just as he was pondering what to do, a rustling sound suddenly came from the massive object before them. The movement came from the top of the vine spirit’s lair.
The two exchanged a glance and immediately flashed upwards, weaving and scrambling up through the densely entangled vines and iron chains.
After quickly reaching the top, they shone their luminous stones and saw vine branches at the top of the vine spirit’s lair bursting forth with leaves like a spring. The light of the luminous stone soon illuminated a golden glow. The golden orchid fruit wrapped in a mass of vine web was delivered out.
Judging by its momentum, it did not seem to simply emerge but rather to be lifted up into the sky. The two immediately flashed and jumped onto that vine arm, intending to seize the pearl and leave.
Who would have thought that leaves on the vine arm would suddenly burst forth growing like thousands of branches and hands, rapidly coiling and tangling like a soaring dragon, winding to avoid the iron chains one by one and rising into the air. The golden pearl was also instantly swallowed somewhere unknown.
The two clinging to it were somewhat startled, following the ascent as if riding a dragon through clouds and mist, not knowing what was happening.
Soon, seeing they were about to rush out of the cliff, they hurriedly grasped the luminous stones in their palms to hide and extinguish the light.
In the blink of an eye, they had broken through the mist. What greeted them was the radiance of stars and moon. In the distance they could faintly see a dim blue light, as if dawn could break at any moment. The height they had risen to already allowed them to overlook Spirit Valley.
This sudden turn of events gave the two quite a fright. For a moment they actually forgot to look for the golden orchid fruit, pressing against the vines and not daring to move, afraid of being discovered by the surrounding guards. Later they realised they might be overthinking. The vine was extremely nimble in posture, and its ascent made virtually no noise. Under the cover of night, unless someone was nearby, they would not be easily spotted.
The dragon-like coiled and tangled vines suddenly stopped ascending, like a huge raised arm, silently held aloft in the air.
The mass formed by the tangled vines was already thicker than several people put together. The two martial brothers lying on it looked at each other, then looked at their surroundings from this height where all mountains looked small, feeling both surprised and perplexed.
What was happening? Why? Various expressions of incomprehension showed on the two’s faces, along with cautiousness.
Suddenly, the two’s nostrils flared as if they smelled a fragrance. Just as their gazes were searching for where the scent came from, they suddenly saw pinkish-white flowers blooming on the vines before them, forming buds at a speed visible to the naked eye, then rapidly blossoming.
And they bloomed all the way, blooming down toward the top where the vine held them up, truly magical and beautiful, as if making some kind of guidance.
The flowers looked very much like morning glories. After blooming all the way to the top, they stopped moving.
The two quietly lay on the vines waiting for a while, completely unable to understand the situation. But regardless of the reason, they still had to find that golden orchid fruit. Lying there, they shook the vines to test their bearing capacity. After confirming it could support the weight of both, they got up and climbed toward the top on all fours.
After climbing to the top, where the golden pearl was no longer mattered. The two climbing on the vines like monkeys were already staring blankly ahead. First dumbfounded, then their faces showed shock.
Before them should have been empty void. Who would have thought that inexplicably, the two found they had actually climbed beneath the steps of a jade-carved railing.
Upon the steps stood a massive ancient jade archway, fully carved with various flower patterns. On the front of the archway were three conspicuous large characters, “Mirror Flower Garden.”
The archway seemed to be an entrance. Behind it they could see what appeared to be many orchids growing.
The space behind the archway and the outside world seemed to be under the same night sky.
After staring dumbfounded for a long time, the two martial brothers slowly looked around. They found the surroundings were still the original mountains and waters. Spirit Valley remained below as before. The cliff below still stretched across the earth unchanged. Only before them seemed to appear another space.
Looking again at the three characters “Mirror Flower Garden,” Mu Aotie could not help asking in a low voice, “Could this be the so-called ‘Mirror Flower Immortal Garden’?”
Yu Qing pondered for a moment. The void crack they had discovered earlier should be at this location. He slowly nodded and said, “It is likely the immortal mansion of the Hundred Flowers Immortal. For an immortal’s cave dwelling, it is quite normal for people to add an extra ‘immortal’ character when speaking of it.”
His tone contained both amazement and an inexplicable excitement. They had originally only planned to scout the situation. They had not expected the Hundred Flowers Immortal’s mansion to be found by them so easily. It was hard not to be excited.
Mu Aotie looked below. “Such a massive immortal mansion gateway, and the people below actually cannot see it?”
Yu Qing said, “It likely has the same marvellous effect as the entrance to Little Cloud Realm. Unless you stand at a certain angle, you cannot see it. After all, it is an immortal’s mansion, not something the world can see just by wanting to. This is probably what they mean by only those with immortal fate can see it.”
Mu Aotie said, “Little Cloud Realm only appears and opens when the time comes. There seems to be no time restriction here. Could experts like Xiang Lanxuan flying about not encounter it? Or does whether it opens or not relate to this vine spirit?”
Yu Qing frowned, feeling that Old Ninth’s words made sense. He could not help but examine the vine spirit beneath them again. Without much thought, it was obvious that the vine spirit had actively delivered them before the immortal mansion. This showed the vine spirit was definitely connected to this immortal mansion.
The many abandoned rusted iron chains at the bottom of the cliff flashed through his mind. The vine spirit had certainly existed for an extremely long time.
With this thought, looking again at the vines that had lifted them all the way up, Yu Qing reminded him, “Old Ninth, does it not look like a flower bridge?”
Mu Aotie immediately examined it. After looking, he nodded, gaining realisation. “You mean this vine spirit was originally the bridge for entering and exiting the immortal mansion?”
“Perhaps. Who knows what the truth is.” Yu Qing muttered, then crawled forward a bit more to the end of the vines, stretching out his hand to touch the steps.
Something that astonished the two happened. His hand actually passed through empty air.
Whether the steps or the archway, both were physical objects placed before their eyes. Yet when his hand reached over, it was like air, passing straight through without the slightest sense of obstruction.
Yu Qing tried several times to no avail, and could not help cursing, “What the hell?”
So Mu Aotie also crawled over and tried several times with his hand. The result was the same, still useless.
Yu Qing also took out a copper coin from his person and threw it at the archway. They saw the copper coin shoot through without any obstruction or delay, then fall into the darkness.
“Is it an illusion?” Mu Aotie asked.
Yu Qing retorted, “What would be the point of creating such an illusion here? If someone with insufficient cultivation came here and directly jumped onto it, they would definitely fall straight down and die.” Still dissatisfied, his gaze suddenly fell upon the characters on the archway, and he muttered thoughtfully, “Mirror Flower Garden, mirror?”
Mu Aotie also received the reminder and asked, “Does it mean mirror?”
The two subconsciously turned to look behind them, then looked at the surrounding void. They did not see anything identical that could be reflected in a mirror.
Just then, the dragon-like tangled vines suddenly moved, actually twisting their bodies and twitching as they retracted back under the cliff. The two immediately gripped tightly onto them.
When they looked up again, whether because their visual angle had deviated or not, the illusion of the immortal mansion’s great gate had already disappeared.
On the contracting vines, detached flowers danced about, some even drifting down to the cliff.
The two martial brothers once again seemed to be riding a giant dragon as they drilled into the ethereal mist and into the cliff. They did not flee to shore. First, they now knew the vine spirit was connected to the immortal mansion. Second, they still sought the golden orchid fruit. Additionally, they felt this vine spirit seemed to bear no malice. Thus, to explore the truth, they firmly held on and followed it back.
The vines retracted with very nimble posture, cleverly avoiding the thick blockade iron chains one by one, rapidly and silently shrinking back to the bottom of the cliff.