Chapter 172: Confrontation

"Since we entered the cave heaven to explore treasure, we ought to step forward and observe." Jiang Yu, as a cultivator, lacking the chance to wound the harmony of heaven, has no reason to give up.

Thus she, holding a Thunder Bamboo Fan, strode like a meteor toward the grass hut, while carefully hiding a Nascent Soul Sword Talisman inside her sleeve.

She peered at the doorway; the furnishings inside the room remained that simple, the only addition being a shelf between the bed and the Eight Immortals Table.

On the shelf were jade slips, bamboo slips, ancient books, beast hides, and various ornaments such as jade carvings, bottle-shaped, disc-shaped, cup-shaped, inkstone-shaped, and brush-like items.

Of course, upon close inspection, those ornaments were not ordinary; their grades were all at the artifact-level starter tier.

Jiang Yu clasped her hands and said, "Since the senior invited me, the junior will now intrude."

She received no response, but it did not stop her from stepping inside; the moment she stood in the room, the door closed silently.

Jiang Tu leapt out of the Dragon Orb, tried to pull the door open to no avail, and then shrank and hopped back onto Jiang Yu's shoulder.

However, it no longer concealed its aura; in fact, the room could not hide its original dragon head form, and it said, "I should have stood on the threshold from the start."

"No problem, I suppose the senior is offering a chance." Jiang Yu made this inference based on the empty spot on the shelf.

Looking again at the main hall wall, although no decorations hung, there was an unnamed spirit tablet, and an incense burner before her; the color of the ash indicated that no one had offered incense for a long time.

Jiang Yu thought for a moment, pulled three incense sticks from her storage bracelet, flicked them with her fingertips, lit them, and inserted one in the middle then the others on the left and right.

Then, following the proper gate etiquette, she performed the ritual once more.

Jiang Tu did not disturb, but used his seven-stage spiritual perception, equivalent to the Core Formation level, to scan the room several times, yet found no flaw in any formation.

Jiang Yu, however, turned a few steps to the shelf and, without hesitation, reached for a talisman brush.

But a spiritual light shield surrounding the brush successfully blocked her hand.

Recalling the earlier herb field gathering and examining the brush's shaft material, Jiang Yu chose to convert her internal spiritual energy into wood spiritual energy before reaching out again.

This time, her hand smoothly penetrated the light shield, but just as she grasped the shaft to pull it out, she subconsciously glanced at the bamboo slip in the lower compartment.

Bamboo slips are a rather ancient recording method; cultivators usually prefer jade slips or beast hides for documentation.

"Huh, this bamboo?" After looking at it a few more times, Jiang Yu immediately gathered spiritual energy in her eyes; seeing the bamboo slightly browned, she deftly released the talisman brush and stepped back, "Jiang Tu, the Supreme Profound Cave Thunder‑Fire Technique?"

"Where?" Jiang Tu followed her gaze and looked down.

Jiang Yu had already bent over, activated the Thunder‑Fire Technique, retrieved the bamboo slip, and was about to unroll it on the spot.

Honestly, her Sea of Knowledge currently only contains techniques up to the Foundation Establishment stage, and she is occasionally quite curious about the ones beyond.

Unfortunately, she has not yet dispersed her cultivation and reformed, and the library does not permit her to view techniques from the Core Formation or Nascent Soul stages.

"The sect already has this technique; quickly fetch another one," Jiang Tu thought taking only one was a loss, but Jiang Yu, once again converting her body's spiritual energy to seize the talisman brush, not only failed to get it but was knocked a zhang away.

"Such petty greed," Jiang Tu flew close to the shelf, directly channeling his internal water spiritual energy, and stretched his claws to snatch the talisman brush.

Then, the automatic restriction on the shelf flashed even brighter, instantly blasting him to the opposite wall.

Jiang Yu was too late to help, so she scooped it up from the ground and said, "No need to be greedy; you go rest for a while."

Just as she finished speaking, she heard Jiang Tu say, "The shelf vanished; only the incense is burning."

At that moment, a cultivator's voice came from outside, "Change location; the spiritual rice has already been claimed by someone."

"Grass hut."

"Can't enter; the elders say those who don't personally harvest the rice have no fate to enter."

"Let me see what's inside," a cultivator's spiritual perception quickly swept into the grass hut.

"Don't look," Jiang Yu swiftly slapped on an invisibility talisman, and with a push of spiritual energy sent Jiang Tu into the Dragon Orb.

Strangely, she clearly sensed three Core Formation auras still outside, yet saw no one's spiritual perception inside the room.

After a short while, she heard that cultivator say, "Just a table and a bed, nothing else."

"What you see is an illusion."

"I'll try to open the door."

"Don't."

Boom— the cultivator's force hit the door, was completely reflected back onto him, and he fell in a sprawling pose.

"Junior brother, let's leave quickly," another voice urged haste, lest anyone see us and laugh.

Immediately after, Jiang Yu heard the sound of light vanishing through the air, then silently counted hundreds before quietly releasing her spiritual perception outside the door.

Unexpectedly, the door opened at that moment, but fortunately no one was outside.

She no longer hesitated, placed a spiritual energy shield over the unburned incense to prevent any sparks from escaping.

Afterwards, she quickly departed, the Thunder Bamboo Fan flying three li, and when she looked back the grass hut door was closed, and the room no longer contained the incense burner or tablet.

"Phew, truly amazing," Jiang Tu exhaled, suggesting she enter the Dragon Orb to examine the bamboo slip.

"No need, reading outside is better," she replied, not wanting to endure the dragon bone's dragon aura inside, and she sent the bamboo slip into the Dragon Orb.

She then instructed, "You can read, recite it for me."

"Alright, be careful, don't get distracted while flying and crash into a Core Formation cultivator," Jiang Tu, upon unrolling the bamboo slip, immediately inspected it.

He prepared to read it all before reciting, but said, "Jiang Yu, this technique seems capable of reaching the Great Vehicle."

Jiang Yu, after hearing, tilted the flying bamboo fan, "Great Vehicle? Is it something that can be cultivated, or merely written on the bamboo slip?"

"Oh, the bamboo slip only records up to the Transforming Spirit stage, and mentions that the second half is in the Library of the Spiritual Realm Cultivation Alliance."

"Alas, what a waste, isn't this the same as what's in the sect? What a wasted opportunity."

Jiang Yu suppressed her curiosity, "Quickly recite it for me; I will walk."

She again sensed a Core Formation aura; rather than being drawn out by someone's flying spiritual waves, walking was safer.

She landed quickly and found a hillside to dig a cave and enter; otherwise, flying with the Thunder Bamboo Fan and scattering spiritual energy outward would have already attracted the attention of some Core Formation cultivators.

Jiang Tu saw her fashion the cheapest battle flag into a defensive array and asked, "Do you still need to change location?"

"Yes." After being scanned by several Core Formation spiritual perceptions, she was stunned and held her ground halfway; Jiang Yu used two invisibility talismans consecutively, then indeed walked like an ordinary person, without needing the Seven‑Star Step or lightness skill.

But because of this caution, she did not attract further attention.

She kept walking until midnight; along the way she saw no monsters, only occasional Core Formation cultivators, and only then did Jiang Yu dare to use the Seven‑Star Step to speed her travel.

Jiang Tu started to worry again, "You better not fly the wrong direction, or you'll release Old Xuan?"

"Not scared; at worst I can pick up some spirit medicine or spirit herbs along the way." Picking spirit herbs is forbidden, but Jiang Yu meets a severely injured Golden Core cultivator halfway.

She really didn't notice there was a person beside the woods; while accelerating the escape technique, she walked over the person's body and almost got tripped.

"Unconscious and not waking up?! Still hit by the beauty's tears."

"Take away her things." Jiang Tu likes spirit stones, especially those taken by force, which gives him a greater sense of achievement.

Jiang Yu stepped back to think, but the injured Golden Core female cultivator struck like lightning, firmly gripping her ankle.