Fang Cheng followed the Jade Talisman's guidance to a dense forest on the mountainside.
Before him was a sinkhole, dozens of feet across. The inside was pitch-black, obscuring all sight.
The heavy rain continued to fall, and the water that poured into the sinkhole seemed to be devoured silently, without a sound.
Fang Cheng took a Fire Talisman from his storage pouch. With a surge of Magical Power, the Talisman burst into flames, burning fiercely and unextinguished even in the downpour.
He pointed, and the Fire Talisman fell into the sinkhole.
Then, two Vajra Gu flew out silently and dove into the sinkhole.
He stood at the edge of the sinkhole, concentrating his senses.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a slight change crossed his face.
'This sinkhole must be thousands of feet deep!'
At the bottom were several tunnels. Following one of them for a short distance, the passage suddenly opened up into a massive cavern.
The treasure seemed to be located within that cavern.
The Vajra Gu had encountered no danger on their path.
Fang Cheng didn't hesitate. He immediately rode his Escape Light down into the sinkhole.
He produced another Fire Talisman, its blazing light swirling around him and illuminating the surroundings.
After descending thousands of feet, he reached the bottom, where seven or eight tunnels extended in all directions, their ends out of sight.
Following the Jade Talisman's guidance, Fang Cheng chose one of the tunnels and headed forward.
Inside the tunnel ran a subterranean river. The sound of SPLASHING water was exceptionally clear in the quiet underground.
He continued on and soon arrived inside a massive cavern.
The subterranean river flowed into an underground lake, which seemed to be connected to the Abyssal Marsh.
Exiting through this underground lake would likely lead to the surface of the Daze's waters.
Fang Cheng surveyed the cavern. It was over a hundred feet high, its length and width spanning more than one hundred and fifty feet. On one side was the subterranean lake, and on the other, jagged, strange-looking rocks.
Countless sharp stalactites hung from the cavern's ceiling, creating a spectacular sight.
At this moment, the blinking dot of light and the stationary dot of light on the Jade Talisman had almost completely overlapped.
Fang Cheng took a deep breath. With a wave of his large sleeve, the two Vajra Gu flew back to him.
He then activated the Fire Talisman and circled the edge of the cavern, finally stopping before a stone wall.
He stared intently at the stone wall, his eyes glinting. With his Sword Heart Clarity, he sensed that this wall was different from the others.
He flicked his finger, sending a stream of Sword Qi slashing toward the stone wall.
The next moment.
Rubble crumbled from the wall, revealing a stone door that stood thirty feet tall.
The door was carved with ancient patterns, which faintly outlined the shape of an Array!
And upon this Array were five eye-like indentations, which looked as though they would perfectly fit the Jade Talismans.
'Does opening this stone door require five Jade Talismans?'
Fang Cheng didn't linger on the stone door. Instead, his expression hardened, and a sharp Sword Intent radiated from him. He suddenly turned his head toward the darkness nearby and called out in a low voice, "You've been watching for a while. Isn't it time you showed yourself?"
As his voice fell, a surge of Sword Intent locked onto a faint presence in the darkness. At the slightest unusual movement from the other party, the Red Feather Sword would fly out to strike without hesitation.
Just now, as he had blasted the rubble from the stone wall, the hidden presence had wavered slightly, a fluctuation his Sword Heart Clarity had detected.
"Fellow Daoist, I mean no harm."
A soft, charming, and pleasant voice sounded out.
Then, a glimmer of spiritual light appeared in the darkness, and from it emerged a beautiful, fair-skinned woman.
Fang Cheng looked closely and saw an alluring young woman with smooth, fair skin and a gorgeous face.
The woman was as radiant as a peach blossom in spring. Her face and figure were both top-class, a true stunner. The cinched waist of her long dress further accentuated her elegant and dignified bearing, as well as her proud figure.
Fang Cheng didn't relax his guard in the slightest. This seemingly delicate young woman's Magical Power fluctuations were greater than his; she should have a Fifth-Layer Sensing Cultivation.
The young woman slowly raised her hand, holding up a Jade Talisman, and said softly, "I was also drawn here by this talisman. I sensed a Gu Insect enter earlier, so I used a Concealing Breath Talisman to hide myself."
The Jade Talisman in the young woman's hand was identical to Fang Cheng's.
Fang Cheng nodded, his eyes sweeping up and down the young woman as he hesitated, wondering if he should strike, subdue her, and take her Jade Talisman.
The Cultivation Realm was a world of deceit and betrayal where trust was nonexistent. Beneath the chain of suspicion lay the classic law of the dark forest.
Especially since they were in the territory of a major Demon Sect.
'So, of course, the best strategy is to strike first!'
Seeing Fang Cheng remain silent, the young woman's heart pounded with alarm, and a chill ran up her spine.
She hurriedly said, "Fellow Daoist, if I destroy this talisman, you won't be able to get through that stone door."
"What do you propose?" Fang Cheng asked coolly.
The young woman's beautiful eyes darted about as she said, "From what I can tell, we'll need to gather all five Jade Talismans to get past the stone door. Why don't we wait here and see if anyone else arrives?"
Fang Cheng looked at her without speaking.
The young woman waited patiently, a smile on her face.
In reality, Fang Cheng was secretly directing his two Vajra Gu to land on the stone door and test it.
If it were an ordinary stone door, the Vajra Gu's corrosive bite could have easily chewed a few small holes through it.
As expected, a powerful restriction emerged and blocked the two Vajra Gu.
The Vajra Gu gnawed at it with great effort for a while but were unable to break through the restriction.
Fang Cheng recalled the Vajra Gu, his expression unchanged. He looked at the young woman and asked, "What if the people who arrive later are stronger than us and try to take our Jade Talismans by force?"
The young woman gave a faint smile. "I have a First-rank top-grade Breath Concealing Talisman. We can hide in the shadows, observe, and act as the situation dictates. If those who come are powerful or numerous, we can just slip away quietly."
"If they're just of average strength, we could perhaps..."
The unspoken implication was that they could seize the talismans.
Just as Fang Cheng was about to say that her Concealing Breath Talisman wouldn't be of much use, another fluctuation of presence came from the cavern entrance.
The expressions of both individuals changed slightly, and they both became vigilant.
A dim Escape Light drifted in and stopped at a distance, revealing a young man dressed in fine robes.
He was about twenty years old and also had a Fifth-Layer Sensing Cultivation. His face was pale, his cheeks were gaunt, and his gaze was sharp, holding a hint of untamable arrogance.
The man's gaze swept past Fang Cheng and the young woman before finally landing on the stone door.
When he saw the Array Patterns on the door and the five indentations for the Jade Talismans, his expression shifted slightly. He spoke, "So, you two also possess Jade Talismans."
Surprisingly, his voice was clear and gentle, quite at odds with his appearance and demeanor.
'Duh,' Fang Cheng thought. 'If we didn't have the Jade Talismans, who would come all the way out to this remote, hidden cavern in this weather?!'
The man in fine robes gave him a much more dangerous feeling than the delicate-looking young woman.
The man in fine robes cupped his hands and said, "I am Wang Xingzhi of Moon Demon Island. It is a pleasure to meet you, fellow Daoists."
His etiquette and bearing were very much in the style of a disciple from a prominent family.
The delicate-looking young woman performed a curtsy and said, "So you are the young master of the Wang Family. Forgive my lack of respect. I am Wen Qianqian, a humble Loose Cultivator."
Among the many Cultivation Families subordinate to the Yinluo Sect, there were four great ones whose heritage and power far surpassed the others.
Feng, Ye, Dong, and Wang.
The man before them was from the Wang Family, one of these four great families.
Seeing the two of them look toward him, Fang Cheng also gave a cool self-introduction: "Fang Feiyu, a Servant Disciple of the Yinluo Sect."