Chapter 25

Chapter 25: The Strange Cave Dwelling

Inside a hidden, empty, ruined cave dwelling, a woman in a red feather gauze dress finished her last breath cycle and opened her sharp eyes.

After four months away, Shen Sang Ruo’s presence had grown even stronger. She had broken through to Foundation Establishment (Mid-stage).

The speed of a Top-grade Single Fire Spiritual Root was truly amazing.

She had come to this cave dwelling two months earlier. It had belonged to a Nascent Soul, Late Stage Cultivator. After that cultivator fell, treasure seekers swarmed in and stripped the place. In her last life, she had also picked up quite a few low-level techniques here.

Thinking she might find something new, Shen Sang Ruo came back for another careful search.

But as soon as she stepped inside, the Blazing Heart at her chest began to heat. Whenever she tried to leave, it flared hotter and hotter until the pain was too much to bear. Only when she returned into the cave did it cool down.

She didn’t think this was a coincidence. Among the techniques she had found here was the very Fanning Wind and Stirring Fire Art she practiced now. It was very likely that the artifact Immortal Lord Chang Li needed was somewhere here.

At first she was secretly pleased to have found the right place so fast. But after searching the entire cave over and over, even checking the ceiling, and still finding nothing, Shen Sang Ruo grew frustrated.

[Maybe there’s a mechanism or a secret room? Another space inside?] she thought, rubbing her chin.

A search this careful should not have missed anything. She had no clue left.

She planned to leave for a while, look elsewhere, and come back once she had an idea. But the Blazing Heart didn’t agree. The moment she stepped outside, it burned red hot, bouncing up and down. Sometimes it even let out sharp popping sounds.

[Is this stone that looks a bit, no, very neurotic really formed from a wisp of Immortal Lord Chang Li’s soul?] she wondered.

Either way, she was stuck in the cave for now. Luckily the place had been abandoned for years and almost no one came here, so it was quiet.

She stayed and focused on cultivation. The cave was much hotter than outside. That might be hard for other Cultivators, but for Shen Sang Ruo, who had a Fire Spiritual Root, it was an excellent training ground. With the guidance of the Blazing Heart, her realm advanced by leaps and bounds. Without finding any new technique, breaking into Foundation Establishment (Mid-stage) would have been very difficult.

Besides training, Shen Sang Ruo searched the cave in a carpet sweep at least three times a day. The cave of a Nascent Soul Cultivator was enormous and full of clutter. When she was in a bad mood, she burned one or two pieces. When she was in a good mood, she burned a whole area.

Even so, it took her nearly two months to burn away most of the furnishings. The cave was now clear from end to end, and nothing looked strange.

If the walls and floor hadn’t been made of a special crystal stone, hard as could be, she really would have dug three feet down.

Even with no furniture left, she still set a fire out of habit. She needed to let off steam. The cave was built from special crystal stone anyway. It wouldn’t be damaged.

The next moment, her hand paused: “…”

Her eyes widened. The crystal she had just burned looked as if it had melted.

Feeling a bit guilty, Shen Sang Ruo stepped closer. Sure enough, a small patch of black crystal had melted, revealing a bright red rock wall beneath. On the wall ran a thin golden line, no thicker than a little finger, stretching under the black crystal.

Taking an all-or-nothing approach, she burned along that golden line. The more she burned, the more crisscrossing golden lines appeared.

By the time she used up all her Spiritual Power, she had melted only a small patch of crystal. Pulling herself back from her focus, she noticed the Blazing Heart had come alive at some point. It flashed on and off, excited.

[Did I stumble on a clue by accident?] She stared at the exposed golden lines, thinking hard. [But why did all those earlier fires leave the crystal untouched?]

[Maybe my cultivation wasn’t strong enough before?] It made sense. She had just broken through to Foundation Establishment (Mid-stage) today.

[Hidden really deep.]

[No wonder no one found the secret, even after several raids.]

[After all, who would loot a cave and then set a fire inside it? That would be too mean.]

She didn’t dwell on it. [Good thing I found a clue. The important task now is to melt all of the crystal as fast as possible.]

The cave was huge. By her rough estimate, at her current strength she would need at least two months. But with pills from Su Xi Yu and talismans from Bai Ruo An to restore Spiritual Power, she could push faster. At best, she might melt all the crystal in about a month.

After that, Shen Sang Ruo dutifully set fires for a month.

At last, the cave’s true face appeared. The walls were fiery red, and golden lines spread across the entire cave. Countless golden lines wove together overhead into several complex totems. Underfoot, golden lines formed geometric figures that looked very much like a Formation.

The sight filled Shen Sang Ruo with shock. She had never seen a Formation so massive and complex. Most Formations lay flat on a single plane, but this one seemed to be three-dimensional, formed by the totems above and the figures beneath her feet.

This Formation should be the entrance to another space. The artifact she sought lay in that other space.

But how to open it?

Studying the lines, Shen Sang Ruo noticed they seemed to point to one spot: the left corner of the cave, one meter above the floor.

If she was right, that was the Formation’s core.

A Formation without its core is incomplete and cannot open.

Touching the Blazing Heart at her chest, she thought, [Could the Blazing Heart be the core?]

She lifted the Blazing Heart and set it where she believed the core lay. At once, the chain on the Blazing Heart unlocked, and it floated in place. The golden lines all through the cave blazed with light.

Shen Sang Ruo’s heart leaped, and she said, “Found it!”

She waited a few minutes, but the Formation only shone without doing anything else. Shen Sang Ruo frowned in surprise.

Then a cold voice sounded from the Blazing Heart: “Activate Fanning Wind and Stirring Fire Art.”

Startled but quick to act, she activated Fanning Wind and Stirring Fire Art, and the Formation finally began to move.

At the same time, outside the hidden cave, Wen Xuan and the others arrived quietly. Spotting Shen Sang Ruo inside, Wen Xuan brightened and called, “Fifth Junior Sister!” Then the group stepped into the cave.