Qin Jue thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He turned his head to look aside, blinked, then closed his eyes to focus his mind, briefly clearing his heart and dispelling distracting thoughts, before opening his eyes again to look at the opposite cave wall. He thought it was an illusion caused by his coveting of the immortal mansion’s treasures.
But those twelve characters were still there, perfectly clear.
What was going on?
He was pondering what this line of characters meant. He could of course understand the literal meaning, but he did not know what was going on, or why they had appeared here.
When the three of them had entered the cave earlier, they had held torches to explore this tunnel. It seemed they had not seen this line of characters. Had none of the three seen it?
Strangely, how could these plant roots twist into such characters? If it was said to be a coincidence, the coincidence was far too perfect.
He did not believe this was a coincidence. He felt it must be man-made.
He slightly rose, about to move closer to see what was going on with these roots, when suddenly his face filled with shock and suspicion. He saw the twisted roots slowly loosening, the characters beginning to blur until they dissipated completely. Those roots became like ordinary plant roots on the cave wall.
Qin Jue was horrified. His body, about to rise, actually froze there. He focused his mind for a long time, his breathing growing heavy.
It was obvious now. These twelve characters were written for him to see.
What person? “Desires immortal treasure?” Just what kind of person could say such words?
He very much wanted to wake Long Xingyun and Cui You, but the implication contained in the twelve characters made his mouth go dry and his Adam’s apple bob.
Waking the two beside him, Cui You was easy enough to talk to, but Long Xingyun, this sworn third brother, actually had more of his own opinions than him, the eldest brother. Nothing else, it had nothing to do with ability. Who told the other to have a good background? Having backing and connections was not the greatest ability?
To put it plainly, although he was the eldest brother, Long Xingyun was more used to having the final say. His position as eldest brother was actually one of attachment. If they truly discovered something good together, it would not be his turn to control it.
He turned his head to look deeper into the cave. What did “proceed to the cave bottom” in the twelve characters mean?
When they had entered the cave and settled, they had definitely checked the surroundings. They had not discovered anything at the end of this tunnel before.
After hesitating and struggling repeatedly, he still got up, took a torch and lit it.
Although the movement was not loud, the distance was too close. Long Xingyun and Cui You still opened their eyes to look at him.
Qin Jue waved his hand to indicate nothing was wrong, pointed inward to show he was just going for a walk to look around, and asked Cui You to take over guard duty for him.
Cui You nodded in agreement.
Qin Jue reached out and grabbed a handful of soil from the cave wall, rubbed it between his fingers, then sniffed it before his nostrils. After that, he openly went deeper inside.
Under the gaze of Long Xingyun and Cui You, Qin Jue walked on with the torch, stopping now and then, occasionally shining it on the cave walls to examine them.
After gazing for a moment, Long Xingyun, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, did not take it seriously and slowly closed his eyes again.
This cave was not deep. Qin Jue remembered that when they had checked before, it was only about twenty zhang deep. However, after walking for a while, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine, clearly sensing something was wrong. If he had not miscalculated, he had walked far more than twenty zhang. He probably had already walked over thirty zhang.
Moreover, there was still no end ahead, and a large curved bend appeared. The cave bottom they had explored before was clearly gone.
What was going on?
For an immortal’s cave dwelling to present such a strange situation, he did not know whether it should be so or not.
He stopped and stood silently for a while. But driven by desire, thinking what if he was the lucky one? So he still gritted his teeth and turned into that large curved bend.
He had only advanced a few steps inside the bend when threads of light suddenly appeared on the cave walls. The light was soft and white, abruptly forming a ring of light around the cave walls. The rippling light then surged forward like ripples, and in the blink of an eye illuminated the end of the cave.
Ahead was the end, a spherical space, now filled with soft white light, like a dreamlike scene.
Inside was a platform. On the platform lay a barefoot woman in white on her side, one elbow propping up her cheek, as if sleeping in a dream. Such a person wrapped in soft white light, also dressed in white, with pale skin as well, if not for a head of black hair, would have been nearly impossible to spot.
Qin Jue was dumbstruck. His arrival seemed to have awakened the light, or perhaps the light was welcoming his arrival.
After his emotions stabilised slightly, he understood. He had been led here. Very likely it was the white-clad woman sleeping on her side on the platform who had led him here.
No need for doubt. This white-clad woman was definitely not someone who had entered with them. She was certainly someone from the Little Cloud Realm.
He took out the “Blue Enchantress” and rubbed it on his eyelids, then stared carefully at the white-clad woman on the stone platform.
No human aura, no demon aura. As for what immortal aura was like, he did not know either. In short, he could not see any type of aura on the white-clad woman. She was like a stone statue.
But he could be certain that she should not be a stone statue.
An immortal? He suspected so. Otherwise how could there be the prompt “desires immortal treasure,” and this soft light like an illusion.
Thinking of this, he was extremely excited, and also very nervous.
In the end, driven by desire, he first used his power to extinguish the torch in his hand, gently placed it on the ground to show respect, then moved forward with small, careful steps.
Walking to a distance of one zhang from the platform, Qin Jue respectfully cupped his hands in salute. “A junior cultivator, guided by the immortal above, pays respects to the immortal visage!”
The white-clad woman lying on her side, propping her head with one arm, slowly opened her eyes. The person could not be called very beautiful, but had a pair of deeply affectionate eyes.
After briefly meeting her gaze, Qin Jue quickly lowered his head to avoid it, discovering that she was indeed not a stone statue.
The white-clad woman appraised him and asked, “Qin Jue?”
Qin Jue looked up in surprise. “It is I. How does the immortal above know this junior’s name?”
The white-clad woman said with a bland expression, “The Little Cloud Realm is this seat’s Little Cloud Realm. Your every move in the Little Cloud Realm cannot be hidden from this seat.”
The corners of Qin Jue’s mouth tightened. He tried asking, “Is the immortal above the legendary ‘Fairy of the Clouds’ from ancient times?”
White-clad woman: “Merely a title. If mortals wish to address me so, then so be it.”
“So it truly is the immortal above!” Qin Jue respectfully saluted again, though a trace of doubt still flashed in his eyes. “The Little Cloud Realm is the immortal’s cave dwelling. Why has it fallen into desolation, and why does the immortal reside in an underground cave?”
White-clad woman: “This seat’s true body is already in the immortal realm beyond the starry river. This is merely a projection of this seat’s will.” Having said this, her entire figure wriggled and changed, and in the blink of an eye transformed into Qin Jue’s appearance, lying there on her side.
Qin Jue was startled, and only then understood. He quickly cupped his hands and bowed again. When he raised his head once more, the white-clad woman who had taken his appearance had already returned to her original form.
White-clad woman: “Although the Little Cloud Realm has been abandoned by this seat, it is not a place that any crawling insect can trespass upon. A group of foul, smoky things, ignorant of heaven’s height and earth’s depth, daring to trespass and wreak havoc in this seat’s cave dwelling. Truly rude!”
Qin Jue broke into a slight sweat, knowing she was talking about people like them. He bowed his body and lowered his head, very nervous.
“It seems this realm also needs to be put in order. This seat wishes to select one person to manage the order of all things in this world on this seat’s behalf. Observing that you are a person of purpose, are you willing to undertake this duty?”
“Ah?” Qin Jue suddenly raised his head, greatly shocked and also greatly delighted. He had not expected to encounter such a great opportunity. With a thud he knelt down, first kowtowing three times in succession. When he raised his head again, his face was already glowing red. Eagerly clutching his chest to express loyalty, he said, “This junior naturally could not ask for more, and is willing to exert himself to the utmost and serve with his life for the immortal above. But this junior is weak and alone, with meagre magic power, hard-pressed to match the numerous experts outside. I fear my strength is insufficient. Please let the immortal above judge!”
The white-clad woman looked down contemptuously at him as he kowtowed. “You need not rejoice too early. To obtain what this seat has left behind, you must first show your capability. This seat must know whether you are worthy or not. This seat asks you, were the peaches in that peach orchard to your liking?”
Qin Jue raised his head, stunned for a moment. He roughly understood that the other party wanted to test him, but did not know what it had to do with the peach orchard. Hesitantly he said, “Naturally they are good things, but unfortunately they have been tainted by evil qi and cannot be used. A pity.”
White-clad woman: “This seat shall first pass on to you the method to dispel evil, allowing you to fully enjoy the deliciousness of immortal peaches and helping you to solidify your cultivation foundation early.”
Qin Jue was delighted and kowtowed again. “Thank you, immortal above, for granting this.”
White-clad woman: “This seat said, do not rejoice too early. On your way here, you once shouted ‘Fire Cricket,’ so it is evident you know this object.”
Qin Jue was stunned, not expecting that she even knew this. He immediately nodded. “Yes, that was originally this junior’s possession. This junior bought it from the other party with money. I failed to keep it properly and it ran away. I did not expect it to run back to the other party’s hands. When I saw it upon entering the Little Cloud Realm this time, I could not help calling out. I did not expect it to have already been perceived by the immortal above.”
White-clad woman: “So that is how it is. It seems that Fire Cricket holder is no good thing! The Fire Cricket is the essence of earth fire, born from the nurturing of earth fire spiritual energy. It is a thing of extreme yang, invulnerable to all evil. It only emerges from the earth fire once every eight hundred years. This object can dissolve the evil qi of the immortal peaches. You go and bring this object here, dead or alive. At that time, this seat will naturally pass on to you the method of use. Only with a body invulnerable to all evil can you obtain the things left behind here.”
The wildly excited Qin Jue gradually hesitated. He had not yet been completely carried away by excitement. Yu Qing was being watched by three parties. Wanting to seize the Fire Cricket from Yu Qing’s hands was basically impossible.
The key point was that his status before the three parties was too lowly. He had no voice at all. The matter of having several of his teeth knocked out was still fresh in his memory. How could it be his turn to make moves?
“Go, first bring the ‘Fire Cricket.’ If you cannot even accomplish this small matter, how can this seat believe you have the ability to manage the order of all things in this world on this seat’s behalf? Remember, you must not reveal this seat’s existence, nor are you allowed to obtain it under this seat’s banner. Apart from this, no matter what method you use, it will be counted as your own capability. Otherwise, the consequences are yours!”
Qin Jue understood. This was a test for him. He immediately kowtowed again and said, “Yes!” He had already calmed down considerably. Raising his head again, he could not help but try asking the doubt in his heart, “May I ask the immortal above, why did you select this junior to serve the immortal above?”
White-clad woman: “When you entered the cave dwelling last night, did you think the conversation among you three after separating from the group could be hidden from this seat? This seat knows that you three are not of the same group as those three parties, and among the three, you have the deepest mind. It is also not that it must be you. If you are not capable, this seat will naturally choose someone else.”