Upon reaching the bottom of the cliff, it was pitch black. The two martial brothers clinging to the vines were terrified of being struck by the iron chains, so they quickly fumbled for their luminescent stones for illumination. They watched as the iron chains swiftly swung past them, which was indeed a perilous experience.
Fortunately, the vines seemed to take their presence into consideration and swung them out of harm’s way.
Suddenly, the massive lair of the vine demon appeared in their line of sight, and the retracting vines carried them straight towards it.
Naturally, the two could not just watch themselves crash into it. They exchanged a hasty glance and reached a tacit understanding. They both sprang up and grabbed onto an iron chain, looking down.
The vine branches that had carried them had already retracted into the lair. Above the lair, only a hollow cavity remained. Under the glow of the luminescent stones, it looked like the eye of a demon. Under the same glow, many flowers were drifting about. Some spun and swayed as they fell, dropping into that very cavity.
The flowers were beautiful, adding a touch of serenity to this dark, damp, and chilling environment.
The feet of the two men hanging from the iron chains were directly above the cavity of the vine demon’s lair. Flowers continued to scatter and fall from above, occasionally hitting them and even brushing against their faces. The continuous fragrant scent greatly diminished the eerie atmosphere.
Suddenly, the two fixed their gaze downwards once more. They saw changes occurring within the cavity, with things surging and sinking, as if something was being laid out.
After a good while, the two finally understood what it meant. It seemed that circular steps had formed inside the cavity, spiralling deep into the vine demon’s lair.
What did this mean? The two men hanging from the chains looked at each other in dismay. The steps had already been laid out below, seemingly to welcome them.
To go or not to go?
Judging from the series of actions by the vine demon, it seemed to harbour no malice. Coupled with the fact that they had come with a specific purpose, Yu Qing was the first to let go. He jumped down first, continuously dodging several iron chains before landing on the top of the vine demon’s lair.
The top had already been levelled.
Mu Aotie landed beside him shortly after. The two looked around vigilantly.
Without hesitating for long, and for the sake of their own goal, Yu Qing placed one hand on his sword hilt and held the luminescent stone in the other. He took the lead and stepped onto the stairs, walking down step by step. Mu Aotie followed behind, helping to guard their rear.
As they walked, the two realised that the stairs spiralled down around a colossal ancient vine. The old vine was vigorous, weathered, and damp. Its main trunk and some major branches were pierced through by iron chains.
The further down they went, the larger the space became. The iron chains pulled taut everywhere remained conspicuous, seemingly reminding intruders at any moment who was in charge here.
The two reached the bottom of the lair. Both sides were still covered with scattered rocks and iron slag, but a path of vine branches had been laid under their feet, leading to the roots of the colossal ancient vine.
The two followed this path to the base of the old vine. There was no way forward, and the surroundings were completely silent.
Suddenly, a large bulge appeared on the trunk at the roots, as if something was about to burst out. This made the two retreat vigilantly, and they had already drawn their swords.
The bark on the bulge peeled off piece by piece, falling continuously as if carved by an invisible blade. Soon, the outline of a person was sculpted.
The outline gradually gained a nose and eyes, and colour was slowly applied. It gradually turned into a lifelike sculpture in the form of a woman, with green hair and eyebrows, and a long green dress.
Apart from being shocked and doubtful, Yu Qing and Mu Aotie looked at each other again. Could it be that this vine demon had already achieved a human form?
After the statue detached from the vine trunk, it opened its eyes. The opening of the eyes had the effect of adding the finishing touch. The entire statue instantly came alive. A kind-faced woman smiled at them, and her hands began to move.
She brought out a hand that had been hidden behind her back. In her palm rested a golden bead, which was precisely the golden orchid fruit that Yu Qing had brought.
At the same time, she began to speak in a gentle voice, “You are indeed here for the immortal mansion, and you have actually been to the Little Cloud Realm.”
Upon hearing this, Yu and Mu instantly realised that their previous conversation in front of the illusion of the immortal mansion had been overheard by the other party. They also realised that the reason they were shown the illusion of the immortal mansion was actually to test them.
Yu Qing immediately realised that this vine demon was quite scheming and was by no means incapable of taking a human form as the Kunling Mountain believed. He immediately asked, “Who are you?”
The woman smiled and said, “Who am I? Could it be that you still cannot guess?”
Yu Qing replied, “We only know that you should be related to the Mirror Flower Immortal Garden, but we do not know who you are.”
The woman said, “It seems you do not know much about this place.” Saying this, she sighed with a hint of resentment, “I was originally the guide welcoming guests at the gate of the immortal mansion. People back then called me ‘Ferry Lady’. I used a flower bridge to escort guests coming and going from the immortal mansion. You have already seen the flower bridge I built.”
The two martial brothers exchanged a glance. They had this guess before, and they did not expect it to be exactly true.
Yu Qing looked at the iron chains pulling and piercing through the main body of the vine demon above, and asked in puzzlement, “The one guarding the gate for the immortal mansion should not be weak in strength, and you have lived for so long. With your strength, how could Kunling Mountain lock you up?”
The Ferry Lady sighed deeply, “If it were me back then, the mere Kunling Mountain would naturally be no match for me. However, the ways of the world are unpredictable. After a drastic change, a dragon stranded in shallow waters can only be mocked by shrimps.”
Yu Qing immediately pressed, “What drastic change?”
The Ferry Lady shook her head, “I do not know either. I only know that something must have happened inside the immortal mansion. No one told me what happened. They just sent someone out to behead me directly.”
Behead? The two martial brothers were both shocked.
Mu Aotie sized her up and asked, “Are you not still living perfectly fine?”
“Do I look like I am living perfectly fine? I can only say I have come back to life.” The Ferry Lady slowly looked up at the sky, her face full of recollection and thought. “Back then, the High Immortal gave no reason and suddenly struck. I indeed died, but I do not know how many years passed before my spiritual intelligence gradually awakened.”
“After awakening, I learned that the entrance to the immortal mansion had been sealed. But the seal seemed to have suffered some erosion, and cracks appeared. The essence of plants and trees occasionally leaked out. The reason I could bloom again from dead wood and awaken once more should also be because of this.”
Yu Qing thought of that spatial crack and asked, “So, the scene of the immortal mansion we saw before was not an illusion, but real?”
“It is both an illusion and not an illusion.” The Ferry Lady sighed and held up the golden bead in her palm again. “Logically speaking, this object can only be bred in a source land like the Golden Ruins. Once mature, it could have been transformed into an extremely rare golden spirit. It is a pity that some meddlesome person picked it too early and ruined it. Even so, it is still a rare golden source entity in the world, capable of turning stone into gold. It should be an immortal object. Did you get this thing from the ‘Little Cloud Realm’?”
Yu and Mu looked at each other again, finding that this person was indeed no ordinary individual. Things they had not figured out until now were seen through at a glance by the other party, who even knew it was picked too early by some meddlesome person. She truly had the insight of someone beside an immortal.
Yu Qing gave a noncommittal hum.
The Ferry Lady suddenly frowned again, “Wait, you could bring this thing here and know the location of the entrance to the immortal mansion. How could you not know what the previous illusion was about?”
Yu Qing replied casually, “We only have a smattering of knowledge. Otherwise, how could we not know who you are?”
The Ferry Lady thought it made sense and nodded slightly.
Yu Qing was also polite no more. He was still holding his sword and asked her directly, “The entrance to the immortal mansion is clearly right above. Why is it an illusion?”
The Ferry Lady said, “I said the entrance has been sealed.” She gestured with the golden bead in her hand, “If I had not held this object up, you would not even be able to see the illusion of the entrance.”
Yu Qing asked humbly for advice, “What do you mean by this? Please enlighten us, Senior.”
The Ferry Lady said slowly, “How can the cave dwelling of the Hundred Flowers Fairy be peered at by mortals? Just as you said before, people without immortal destiny cannot see it. Without finding the right angle and position, one cannot see the entrance to the cave dwelling. After the entrance was sealed, even if the right angle and position are found, it still cannot be seen. It can also be said to have vanished from this world.”
“However, the cave dwelling of the Hundred Flowers Fairy is a land of wood essence. Although the entrance is sealed, it is not an absolute dead end that cannot be opened. This golden bead can be used as the key to open it. You must know that metal overcomes wood. Once this object approaches the entrance to the cave dwelling, under the restraining effect, it can make the entrance to the cave dwelling appear.”
“The so-called metal overcoming wood does not mean that all metal objects can make the entrance appear. The restrictions of an immortal cave dwelling are extraordinary after all. How can they be overcome by ordinary metal objects? Only this rare golden source entity can make it appear, and only this immortal object that can turn stone into gold can transcend the sealed door of this place.”
Hearing this, the two martial brothers were very surprised. They never expected that the meddlesome fatty Old Seven had casually swiped something from the Golden Ruins, and it actually turned out to be the key to opening the cave dwelling of the Hundred Flowers Fairy. Where was the justice in this? It was simply unimaginable even in their dreams.
Before, they only suspected whether the orchids in the Golden Ruins and the orchids here were related, adopting an attitude of beating the bushes just in case. It turned out they had missed the mark, yet they had luckily stumbled upon the right answer by a stroke of luck.
The Ferry Lady looked at the golden bead in her hand and sighed again, “If I had not sensed this object on you, I would not have manifested to see you. Otherwise, seeing you would be of no help.”
Speaking of this, Yu Qing could not help but ask, “Does Senior also want to return to the immortal mansion?”
The Ferry Lady said, “Naturally I want to return, but for now, I cannot go back. After I was beheaded and awakened back then, I not only found that the immortal mansion was sealed, but also found that my life soul had been stripped away. Without my life soul, not only is my cultivation progress slow, but I also cannot leave this place. Otherwise, how could the mere trick of piercing me with iron chains lock me up?”
“I can sense that my soul should be stored inside the immortal mansion. Therefore, I am willing to help you enter the immortal mansion, on the condition that you help me find my life soul and give it back to me.”
Yu Qing hesitated for a moment and said hesitantly, “It is naturally a good thing to be able to help Senior, but I am afraid there is a guardian beast sitting in the immortal mansion. Its strength is probably not something that those who break in from the outside can easily fight against.”
The Ferry Lady said, “The one guarding inside is a ‘Bee King’. I know its weakness. As long as you can help me find my life soul, I will naturally give you the method to deal with it.”
Yu Qing nodded and suddenly asked, “Rumour has it that immortals have three immortal springs of Heaven, Earth, and Man. I wonder if the cave dwelling of the Hundred Flowers Fairy has them?”
The Ferry Lady was visibly stunned for a moment and quickly thought before saying, “There are no three immortal springs in the cave dwelling here. It seems there is only one. As for exactly what spring it is, my status was not high enough back then, and I have never seen it, so I do not know the details.”
Yu Qing said, “Good, then it is settled. We are willing to help each other, Senior. It is just that Kunling Mountain is currently holding the Morning Sun Assembly. We sneaked in as participants. If we are found missing after daybreak, it will cause unnecessary trouble. We cannot stay long for now. Please allow us to come back another day.”
Having finished speaking, he reached out his hand, clearly demanding the golden bead back from the other party.
However, the Ferry Lady conveniently hid the golden bead behind her back. She seemed to have heard about the Morning Sun Assembly here as well and said magnanimously, “Since that is the case, just leave it with me for now. I will give it back to you when you come next time. It is not too late.”
The figures of the two martial brothers flashed. They were already lifted up by the vine branches under their feet and pushed directly upwards, being shown the door directly.
In the line of sight of both the hosts and the guests, they quickly disappeared into the darkness from each other’s view.
After coming out from the top of the vine demon’s lair, the vines saw them off properly and directly sent the two up to the cliff before retracting.
At this time, Yu Qing muttered, “This old monster might have a problem.”
Mu Aotie was slightly surprised and asked, “How so?”
Yu Qing reminded him in a low voice, “She said she did not know what happened in the immortal mansion back then, and said she only knew the immortal mansion was sealed after she woke up. Then how would she know that a ‘Bee King’ is guarding inside the immortal mansion?”