Chapter 1514: The Cave

Chapter 1514: Chapter 1514: The Cave

"Let’s go check the mountain! Be careful, don’t draw others’ attention!"

Yu Yang’s tone was somewhat excited, it was an undeniable joy.

Lin Tian looked up at the summit and finally realized that the stone platform protruded halfway up the mountain, and they were still quite far from the top. However, this distance was nothing for Lin Tian, merely a few steps of Lightweight Skill.

But avoiding attention was indeed difficult. Not to mention others, Xu Xianrong was always following him, not easy to shake her off.

Suddenly, Lin Tian’s eyes spun, pointing up the mountain, "Auntie, I need a call of nature, be right back."

"Alright." Xu Xianrong nodded, not suspecting anything.

Lin Tian immediately darted into the woods, like a monkey, heading straight for the summit.

In no time, he reached the top and discovered that there weren’t any vegetation. Under his feet were stone blocks of the same material as the platform, so hard that it’s indeed difficult for plants to grow.

"Keep moving forward, don’t stop." Yu Yang’s voice instructed.

Lin Tian lightly complied, continuing his steps. Soon, he caught a strange scent in the air, a faint freshness, making him sniff a few more times, feeling invigorated.

This made Lin Tian quicken his pace, but hadn’t gone far when Yu Yang suddenly said, "Stop! You’ve got a tail behind you!"

Lin Tian halted, looked back, couldn’t see anyone. Shouted loudly, "Come out! Stop sneaking around!"

A few seconds after he spoke, a familiar silhouette appeared in front of Lin Tian. Upon close inspection, wasn’t it Xu Xianrong holding the Thousand Cyan Threads?

Seeing her, Lin Tian was speechless for a moment. Bitterly smiling, he asked, "Didn’t expect Auntie to have such interest, watching me use the bathroom?"

Xu Xianrong showed no embarrassment, rather she chuckled mischievously, "Hmph, your words are only useful for deceiving children. If you truly needed to go, you’d head to the eastern ravine, why bother running here? Besides, you looked sneaky just now, definitely hiding something from me."

Then, she glanced around, "Why did you run up here? There’s nothing at all."

"..." Lin Tian suddenly didn’t know how to respond. Claiming there’s a treasure didn’t sound right, nor was driving her away likely to work.

Just then, Lin Tian heard Yu Yang’s voice again, "Let her follow, I reckon this place isn’t as peaceful as it seems, having her along can be a backup. Earlier, my excitement made me send you alone, which was a bit careless."

Upon hearing Yu Yang’s reassurance, Lin Tian told Xu Xianrong, "Just thought there might be treasures on the mountain, wanted to check it out."

"Oh, originally you wanted to hog it? I’m not interested then." Saying this, Xu Xianrong turned, waved at Lin Tian, and started to descend the mountain.

She’s not a person without discretion. Being caught in her curiosity was already embarrassing, to persist would be to earn a reputation for greed, inevitably annoying others.

Natural treasures are fated for those destined to find them; Xu Xianrong didn’t believe she was that person.

"Wait!"

"Anything else?" Xu Xianrong slightly turned her head. Truth be told, her profile was quite beautiful, her delicate nose slightly prominent, lips slightly parted, making Lin Tian a bit dazed.

"I can’t monopolize mountain treasures, since you’re here, let’s do it together; we’ll split it evenly." Lin Tian generously stated.

"Well..."

Xu Xianrong scrutinized Lin Tian’s expression, seeing he wasn’t being courteous, she didn’t pretend either, readily agreeing. After all, she wouldn’t lose anything.

The two walked together, soon Lin Tian smelled the fragrance growing stronger. Apparently Xu Xianrong’s nose was keener than Lin Tian’s; after sniffing a few times she headed wherever the scent was strongest, and Yu Yang said nothing more, obviously they were on the right path.

Perseverance pays off. Surely, the duo reached a cave on the mountain top, the entrance was two meters high, easily walkable. The fragrance emanated from within, standing at the entrance the scent rushed directly to the nose, greedily inhaled.

Looking into the cave, visibility was only about three to five meters. The walls weren’t smooth, instead showing signs of chiseling, but not man-made, rather like an animal’s claw marks.

What animal could dig a two-meter high cave?

"Could this... be where the wild bull resides?" Xu Xianrong hesitantly asked.

Lin Tian pondered, quickly rejecting the guess. "Shouldn’t be, the bull’s filthy and stench nauseates. If it lived here, either the cave is reeking or its body has this scent."

"Makes sense. But with the cave so dark, should we just enter?" Xu Xianrong asked another question.

Lin Tian couldn’t promptly answer. With unknown dangers inside, entering blindly without sight seemed a death wish.

Soon, Yu Yang’s voice advised, "Go in! Extend your Spiritual Qi outward, try sensing the surroundings. You’re in Middle Stage of Golden Elixir now, not difficult at all. The girl is Early Stage Golden Elixir, she should give it a try."

Lin Tian was surprised, not expecting such a use for Spiritual Qi.

Since Master suggested it, it wasn’t baseless; Lin Tian closed his eyes, slowly extending Spiritual Qi around him. Indeed, the miraculous effect appeared, even without vision, he sensed surrounding objects, it was a fascinating feeling, not as direct as sight but useful in darkness.

Then Lin Tian shared this method with Xu Xianrong, encouraging her attempts. Though not as quick to grasp, she managed adequately, at least entering the pitch-black cave wouldn’t leave her blind.

As the man, with higher realm than Xu Xianrong, Lin Tian instinctively led.

Entering the cave, Lin Tian sensed the air was quite humid. If stayed long, he might be covered in a layer of mist.

The cave was lengthy, winding downwards; the damp terrain fostered moss, making it extremely slippery, compelling them to slow pace.