Chapter 261: The Xiang Siblings

Shen Yi had experienced illusion arrays before.

But this was the first time something had made a martial artist of such a realm feel dizzy and disoriented.

A strong wave of nausea struck.

Causing him to instinctively take a few deep breaths.

Could it be that the master of this cave dwelling had to vomit every time he returned?

"Hah."

Shen Yi shook his head and steadied his stance.

Then he looked ahead with some surprise.

He had thought he might see a magnificent mountain villa, or perhaps an elegant stone cave immortal dwelling.

But he truly did not expect to see a towering mountain.

Lush greenery, cool mountain breeze.

Except for the absence of living creatures, there was little difference between here and the desolate wilderness outside.

Could this even be called a cave dwelling?

"Damn it, the teleportation array has malfunctioned!"

More than ten others were nearby, some of whom were looking around, searching for their companions.

"What's the rush? It's all the same no matter where you enter."

A cultivator radiating Jin Guang glanced coldly in their direction; under the pressure of his formidable aura, the remaining few fell silent.

Logically, since they entered via the array, they should have been sent to the main hall of the cave dwelling.

Perhaps due to years of disrepair, the array malfunctioned, causing the current situation.

However, for a group of cultivators coming to seek treasure, they would have to explore everywhere anyway, so it didn't matter where they started.

It would also allow them to avoid the people from the Profound Light Cave.

"Senior speaks wisely."

Someone hurriedly forced a smile in agreement, but his gaze involuntarily turned toward the woman beside the speaker.

The Xiang siblings were also quite famous.

Both were Slain Hunyuan Realm experts, and moreover, they had paired up; of course, they had no need to rush, standing around talking without feeling the pain.

"You all follow me."

Xiang Tianxiong spoke with a hint of arrogance, disregarding what others thought, and directly issued orders.

He then looked at the young man in black robes in the distance, pondered for a moment, and said: "That young friend, I recall you seem to be alone. My sister and I have ventured through many cave dwellings and have some experience; you might as well come and act together with us."

Though not as domineering as with the others, there was no tone of inquiry in his words.

Shen Yi glanced at Lady Qinghua beside him.

He noticed that although her face was expressionless, the stupidity in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Clearly, she too had never encountered a cultivator's cave dwelling.

"Mm."

Shen Yi nodded slightly and did not refuse.

If the other party had some experience, that would be best; if not, using them to scout the path was not a bad idea.

Seeing this, the Xiang siblings exchanged a smile; a cultivator who was taciturn and good-tempered was always easier to handle.

The others also showed joy on their faces.

If it were only these two Slain Hunyuan Sect masters from the Xiang family, where would they have any chance? They needed an outsider capable of opposing them so that they themselves could seize the opportunity to get a sip of soup.

At this critical moment, no one had the intention of idle chat.

Soon, under Xiang Tianxiong's lead, they walked toward the mountain.

Although Slain Hunyuan Sect masters possessed the ability to soar, that still consumed their aura; in such a place, even the slightest difference could be the distinction between life and death.

Moreover, flying in the sky made one too obvious a target and easily attracted unnecessary trouble.

Shen Yi followed behind at a leisurely pace.

Yet he felt countless strands of aura connections inexplicably arise in his heart, some faint, others thick.

Sensing the nearest strand, he decisively stopped his steps and moved slightly away from the crowd.

Moments later, a bright red large flower came into view, its petals thick like flesh, slightly closed.

"This is Blood Juice Spirit Grass; placed outside, it would count as a fine treasure medicine, but within a cultivator's cave dwelling, it is treated no better than a weed, carelessly left on the mountain... However, truly good things are usually guarded, making them hard to obtain directly."

A scholar with a clear and clean face approached.

Holding a booklet and a brush in his hand, he smiled and said: "Master, please do not take offense; I just came in to broaden my horizons."

"Thank you."

Shen Yi casually tore off the fleshy flower and tossed it into his storage treasure.

He actually just wanted to test whether those connections were the treasure-hunting talent he had accidentally gained by swallowing a demon core.

He hadn't expected it to be true.

It's just that these things didn't sound very valuable.

He closed his eyes, sensing the thickest strand of aura, and found it happened to be the direction their group was moving.

"Guarding? Usually what?"

Seeing the way he violently plucked it, the clean-faced scholar suddenly couldn't help but laugh and said: "Probably to prevent people like you, Master, they set up some arrays or puppets, so you don't just pick them up at will."

"..."

Shen Yi opened his eyes and said nothing.

Originally, thinking he had the treasure-hunting talent, he might have been able to act alone, but if he encountered those flashy things, he might not be able to smash through them with brute force.

At this thought, he glanced to the side: "You know a great deal about these?"

The scholar said shyly, "A little, a little."

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze, forming a plan in his heart.

Just then, a cold rebuke came from afar: "Who allowed you to wander about?"

Xiang Tianxiong approached with the crowd, eyes fixed on the scholar, displeased: "Clumsy and rash, you do not understand the rules."

"My apologies! It won't happen again."

The scholar hurriedly nodded and apologized; the others' expressions grew slightly strange, for these words were clearly meant for others to hear.

Indeed, after Xiang Tianxiong spoke, he glanced casually at Shen Yi, then resumed his steps, walking down the mountain.

"Uh."

Once the crowd had gone far away, the scholar, somewhat at a loss, tightened his grip on his brush and forced a smile: "The Grand Masters from outside are all so fierce..."

Outside?

Shen Yi's expression remained untroubled as he likewise set out.

Continuing to wander through the woods with the young scholar, he went to check out any aura that was not too far away.

"..."

The young scholar feared being scolded, yet the Grand Master before him, though seemingly silent, gave him a feeling even more dangerous than the previous one.

He could only obediently explain the effects of various precious herbs to the other party.

Yet in his heart, he was utterly puzzled.

Did this young Grand Master not worry that something good might be snatched by others first?

Though they did not ride clouds, this group all possessed cultivation; in merely half a shichen, they had walked out of this continuous mountain range.

Whether by coincidence or not,

the Xiang siblings led the way ahead, and their route matched exactly the auras Shen Yi had sensed, without even the slightest deviation.

Soon, a slope appeared before their eyes.

But the scene below the slope caused everyone to pause in surprise for an instant.

On an ordinary flat plain, there unexpectedly appeared a "moat" about ten zhang wide.

It guarded not a city, but a small herb hut.

What flowed within the river was not water, but strange waves of fire; clearly fierce flames, yet thick and viscous like a slurry, entirely different from lava.

It looked more like a fire dragon coiled within it.

A distance of ten zhang; let alone a Slain Hunyuan Sect Grand Master, even a martial artist of the Initial Realm could leap across it.

Yet as the stifling heat waves surged forward, Xiang Tianxiong stopped his steps without hesitation.

Then he turned back, casually picked out one person, and said lightly, "You go over and try."

"Try... what?"

That black-bearded man was stunned; once he understood the other's meaning, his entire face drooped like a bitter melon.

What kind of joke was this? Who knew what strangeness lay within?

Moreover, even if he crossed over and retrieved something, could he really stuff it into his own bag?

Xiang Tianxiong said no more; only the Jin Guang upon his body grew slightly more intense.

This posture caused the faces of everyone behind him to change abruptly.

"I'll give it a try."

The black-bearded man hurriedly yielded, cursing inwardly without end, yet still walked step by step toward those fire waves.

His body tensed; should anything go wrong, he could turn back immediately.

Having made his preparations, he then fully activated his displacement technique, and his entire form vanished from the spot like a faint breeze.

A distance of ten zhang, a single step away.

But when he reappeared, his face was filled with shock and bewilderment.

His entire body appeared above the fire waves; his limbs struggled desperately, yet the familiar displacement technique now proved useless.

His entire aura was completely sealed; he could only watch helplessly as he fell downward.

Immediately, a fierce flame engulfed him; without even a cry, all returned to calm.

Plop.

The young scholar and Shen Yi, each holding a snow-white fruit, happened to walk up the slope from afar and witnessed the scene before them.

The fruit in his hand dropped; he hurriedly rushed down: "Don't charge in like that!"

Shen Yi took a bite of the fruit, chewing slowly.

He glanced lightly at the Xiang siblings.

(End of this chapter)