In the vine demon’s lair, Du Niang’s face, as she looked up in a stare, suddenly gave off a twisted feeling. Black lines like earthworms suddenly spread across her neck and cheeks, instantly making her kind and amiable face look somewhat ferocious.
She twisted her neck, and the black lines seemed to shrink back, her face returning to normal.
A look of hope appeared in her eyes as she gazed upwards. The iron chains spanning across the mist in the sky were nimbly dodged by the ascending vine branches, which looked like a rising dragon, and the four people clinging to them were also nimbly carried past.
The glowing stones held by the group extinguished one by one. Even so, Baili Xin, carrying a bow and arrows on her back, still saw flowers blooming on the vine branches beside her, smelling their fragrance as they ascended.
Suddenly, the vine dragon broke through the sealed mist in the abyss. Before them was a bright moon in the sky and boundless stars.
The four people clinging to it were terrified, vigilantly watching their surroundings, terrified of being discovered by the Spirit Valley guards.
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie both noticed one thing. The position where they broke out of the cliff bottom and ascended seemed different from last time. From this, they roughly understood that the vine demon had been entrenched here for many years and must have a certain ability to grasp the situation around the abyss at any time, otherwise it would not dare to ascend so rashly.
The dim lights in the Spirit Valley remained the same, and the mountains far and near were hazy. The group felt that if the guards did not pay special attention, they might not notice them ascending in this form, and they might be mistaken for a cluster of clouds in the distant sky.
The vine dragon suddenly stopped ascending. Baili Xin looked up, her pupils shrinking suddenly, her face filled with infinite shock.
She found herself hanging in front of an ancient and giant jade archway. The three large words “Mirror Flower Garden” on the front of the archway were exceptionally clear under the moonlight.
Mirror Flower? She associated it with the legendary stories and had already guessed which immortal’s cave dwelling this was.
She subconsciously looked around, not understanding how the people of Kunling Mountain could not see such a conspicuous cave entrance.
Nan Zhu was also shocked. Although he had heard Yu Qing and Mu Aotie mention it beforehand, seeing it with his own eyes still made him feel doubly shocked.
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie had already turned over and half squatted on the vine bridge. They saw the golden bead emerge from the tentacle at the top of the vine bridge. When the golden bead touched the void, the void began to ripple with waves of ripples.
As the ripples became denser and denser, they suddenly saw the centre of the waves become calm. After the last ripple spread to the surroundings, the void completely stopped moving.
The tentacles of the vine bridge extended again, touching the jade steps under the archway. The top quickly tangled, twisted, and swelled into a human shape, a human shape tangled out of vine branches. The outline of Du Niang could be vaguely seen, and her vine hand was grasping the golden bead.
The outline of Du Niang slowly opened her arms, seemingly very comfortable, so comfortable that she let out a moan, murmuring, “It is this familiar nourishing energy. It is so good. After so many years, I am finally standing here again.”
Nan Zhu and Baili Xin, who were hanging under the vine bridge, also climbed up.
Testing the way forward, Yu Qing stepped out and tapped on the jade steps. He tapped and tested it several times, and only after confirming it was solid did he step up with both feet.
Mu Aotie signalled for Nan Zhu and Baili Xin to get on shore as well. Only then did he finally jump onto the jade steps, with a part of his attention always on Baili Xin.
Yu Qing reached out his hand to the vine shaped Du Niang, demanding the golden bead. “It is time to give it to me, right?”
Nan Zhu immediately looked at it eagerly. That was his treasure. Especially after knowing the wonderful use of this object, he knew deeply that he had a priceless treasure.
The vines that burst out from Du Niang’s hand immediately swallowed the golden bead. “I will hold onto this. Once you get what I want, I will naturally return it to you.”
Yu Qing said, “We might not be able to get what you want this time. Perhaps we only have enough time to scout the path. We must come out again before dawn tomorrow, otherwise Kunling Mountain will come looking for us.”
Du Niang said, “Then isn’t it more appropriate to keep it in my hands? You know the way in and out, and I am also afraid you will ditch me and do it on your own.”
Yu Qing said, “It seems I guessed correctly. As long as this golden bead is taken away, this entrance will close again.”
Du Niang said, “That is correct.”
Yu Qing said, “You cannot keep the bridge built here all the time. That would easily be discovered by Kunling Mountain. If the door is closed, we will have no way to contact you when we want to come out.”
Du Niang said, “Rest assured. This sealed door is slightly damaged and has cracks. When you want to come out, you just need to attack the sealed exit. I will be able to sense it when the overflowing aura in the immortal mansion changes, and I will naturally open the door to let you out.”
Yu Qing pondered for a moment and said, “You can keep the item for now, but it is best not to play any tricks. Otherwise, someone will naturally uproot you.”
These words of his were not empty lies. The last time he came in with Mu Aotie, he had told Mu Aotie that he felt this monster was unreliable.
Under the circumstance of feeling the other party was unreliable, he still dared to continue breaking in, naturally keeping a backup plan.
Before deciding to break into this immortal mansion, he had sent a secret letter to Gao Lao Er. Once they could not return, Gao Lao Er would have to take action.
It was not that he wanted Gao Lao Er to come and save them, nor did he want his junior martial uncle to come and rescue them. The power of his junior martial uncle and Gao Lao Er was limited, and coming would be useless. He also did not want to wipe out the remaining incense and followers of Linglong Temple.
What he wanted was for Gao Lao Er to release news to the cultivation world, informing them where the legendary “Mirror Flower Immortal Garden” was and clarifying the method of entering and exiting. When the time came, the major forces would naturally find a way to help open the immortal mansion, and this vine demon would naturally not have a good time either.
Du Niang seemed to be staring at Yu Qing. She was silent for a moment before replying, “Rest assured, I still need to wait for you to bring the item out.”
Yu Qing turned around and was about to enter, but suddenly remembered something. He turned back and asked, “A few days ago, I saw Kunling Mountain open the Spirit Valley grand array and cast the method of bringing dead wood back to life in spring. I witnessed with my own eyes the scene of countless secluded orchids blooming in an instant. Is it related to this immortal mansion?”
Du Niang said, “Yes.”
Yu Qing said, “That is to say, Kunling Mountain knows about this immortal mansion and also knows how to use it?”
Du Niang smiled and said, “What could they possibly know? If they really knew, how could you and I have the opportunity to meet? They only know that this is a rare blessed land full of spiritual energy, treating it as a treasure and regarding it as the most confidential matter within the sect. The so called array is just an ordinary spirit gathering array for collecting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It is just put out there to fool outsiders and maintain the decency of the number one spiritual plant sect in the world. The reason it can bring dead wood back to life is because when the array is opened and spiritual energy is collected with full force, it causes the spiritual energy in the cracks of the immortal mansion’s gate to seep out faster. Under the widespread irrigation of the immortal mansion’s spiritual energy, those flowers, plants, and trees are accelerated in growth and rejuvenation. Do not be fooled by Kunling Mountain’s mysterious tricks.”
“So that is how it is.” Yu Qing nodded slowly, finally resolving the doubts in his mind. After that, he said no more, turned around, and took the lead in breaking into the other world before them.
Nan Zhu and the other two immediately followed.
The fragrance of flowers was refreshing. As soon as the group broke into this world, they entered a sea of flowers, a sea of secluded orchids. Orchids of various colours bloomed elegantly and charmingly, opening all the way from the jade archway at the entrance to here, and the front was still boundless.
Reasonably speaking, orchids are not suitable for growing in such open areas, but the situation here obviously could not be viewed with common sense.
The vigorous vitality of the vegetation here could be tangibly and clearly felt.
Nan Zhu looked back at the archway dozens of feet behind them and asked, “Fifteenth Brother, are the words of this old monster credible?”
Yu Qing said, “Reasonably speaking, there is no need for her to harm us in a roundabout way, especially before getting what she wants.”
He raised his hand and pointed to a ridge on one side. “Let us go. Let us walk along the ridge first and try it out as she said. Everyone remember the terrain and objects so we do not get lost on the way back.”
Nan Zhu looked around, feeling a bit uneasy. He took out “Big Head” and placed it on his shoulder, whispering, “Big Head, good Big Head, if you find anything wrong, you must remind us in time.”
He knew that Big Head’s ability to sense danger was far stronger than theirs.
“Di di.” Big Head let out a cry in response, counting as an agreement.
Since Yu Qing’s promotion competition, Big Head had basically been kept with Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie. It was inconvenient to feed it when Yu Qing lived with outsiders, and it was also inconvenient to carry Big Head during competitions and fights where they were rolling and crawling. Today’s Big Head was not the same as before. After being enlightened by the Underworld Monk, it had gained spiritual intelligence, could understand human speech, and even recognised words. This truly surprised the three martial brothers and made them somewhat admire the Underworld Monk’s abilities.
Nowadays, Big Head was no longer like before. After being enlightened by the Underworld Monk, it had gained spiritual intelligence, could understand human speech, and even recognised words. This truly surprised the three martial brothers and made them somewhat admire the Underworld Monk’s abilities.
Therefore, Big Head would no longer bark randomly now. It could rationally distinguish situations. For example, when sneaking around, it definitely could not bark randomly and be discovered.
Baili Xin watched with eyes full of surprise. Could it be that this bug could understand human speech?
She felt that there seemed to be too many secrets on these three people that she had not yet grasped.
She had no mind to care about other things now. Vigilant of her surroundings, she flew with them towards this unknown world.
What they did not know was that at this moment in the Spirit Valley, even without the spirit gathering array being opened, the orchids in the mountain passes were full of vitality again, stretching their postures and blooming rapidly. Flowers, plants, and trees of various colours were all refreshed in the night.
Standing on the mountaintop, Xiang Lanxuan was still unadorned, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her clothes light and casual. Her gaze was focused, slowly scanning the surroundings under the night sky. Not long after, another old immortal in flowing white robes flew over and landed beside her. It was none other than Grand Elder Huan Yushan.
Xiang Lanxuan glanced at him and said, “I apologise. I did not expect to disturb the Grand Elder so late.”
Grand Elder Huan waved his hand and said, “Grand Envoy, you speak too heavily. This is a place managed by this old man. With the Grand Envoy’s honoured presence, this old man naturally should come to accompany you.”
He had also received an urgent report from Yan Yao here and rushed over in a hurry, truly worried.
It was hard not to worry, afraid that the secret of Kunling Mountain’s foothold in the cultivation world would be exposed. People at his level were the biggest beneficiaries of this secret, so they naturally had to resolutely defend it.
As they spoke, another person flew up the mountain, only daring to watch the two from afar, not daring to get too close.
The newcomer was none other than Qin Fujun, who had tracked Xiang Lanxuan here. She did not dare to forcefully break into the Spirit Valley directly like Xiang Lanxuan. She had to smooth things over outside before she could enter, so she arrived even later than Grand Elder Huan.
Xiang Lanxuan only glanced at her. Her mind was not on these two people at all at this moment. Her gaze, scanning everywhere, suddenly focused, staring tightly towards the abyss at the end of the Spirit Valley, feeling that a shadow there seemed somewhat wrong.
She had noticed it before, thinking it was the trend of the mountains under the moon, or the shape of clouds drifting by in the distance. In short, it was impossible for such a large, messy thing to be stuck in the air, so she had just swept her gaze past it.
After noticing it repeatedly, she gradually felt something was wrong. She could not tell exactly what was wrong, but it did not seem like the trend of mountains, nor did it look like drifting clouds.
Under normal circumstances, she would not care, and she truly would not think of such a large thing stuck in the air. But today was not normal. Since she had noticed an anomaly, she definitely had to confirm it.
With a thought and a flick of her sleeves, her figure immediately flew away from the mountaintop and flew over to investigate.
The vine human figure standing under the void archway was lamenting the past and watching the departing figures. Suddenly, it turned back as if startled in horror. The tangled human shape quickly disbanded, scattering into vine branches clinging to the ground, not daring to make the slightest movement.
Xiang Lanxuan floated in the air, stopping in front of the winding ascending vine bridge. She even sniffed the blooming flowers on it, her face full of shock and uncertainty.
She had come to this area more than once and could confirm that this thing stuck here did not exist before. Looking down at the growth of this object growing from the abyss, she realised it was related to the vine demon locked down below.
She just did not know what it meant to pop out so late at night and grow so high. Raising her head to look up, her figure floated up again, following the direction of the ascending vine bridge.
Deep in the abyss, in the gloomy lair of the vine demon interwoven with iron chains, Du Niang covered her hand with her five fingers, seemingly afraid that the light of the glowing stone in her hand would be exposed.
The light seeping through her fingers shone on her face, showing her very nervous expression. She looked up and stared, not even daring to breathe heavily.
She could feel that the newcomer’s cultivation was very high. Just from the fact that the other party could stand in the air, it could be seen that it was higher than the cultivation of all the Kunling Mountain personnel she had ever seen.
Moreover, she also knew Xiang Lanxuan, because Xiang Lanxuan had come to the Spirit Valley more than once, and had even brought people from the Great Enterprise Department to investigate the bottom of the valley before.
She knew that behind Xiang Lanxuan was a huge and powerful force, a force that made Kunling Mountain submit. But what she did not understand was how this person was attracted here. With such a confidential matter, with the brain of that number one genius in the world, he would not not know what it means to act cautiously and keep secrets, right?
In short, she was somewhat panicked.