Chapter Forty: The Golden Core Cave Dwelling

The great fortune that the Daoist Pang spoke of was precisely what Fang Xiao had brought him.

More accurately, it was the result of Fang Xiao’s earlier slaying of the rat demon—Lord Zi Kan’s karmic aftermath!

At that time, Fang Xiao had handed the Soul-Capturing Bell he’d acquired from the rat demon to Daoist Pang.

This had aroused Pang’s suspicions.

Over the past few days, Daoist Pang had been searching for clues in the western foothills of Little Jing Mountain, where Lord Zi Kan made his lair.

Rats are exceptionally skilled at burrowing, and their nests wind deep underground in a labyrinthine maze. For an ordinary cultivator to explore such a warren would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

However, Daoist Pang was well-versed in a myriad of cultivation arts and quickly devised a clever solution.

He lured and took control of a dozen or so unawakened mountain rats.

Through these little creatures, he began to probe into Lord Zi Kan’s nest.

After seven days of tireless effort, Daoist Pang finally uncovered the secret hidden by this rat demon.

It was a cultivator’s cave dwelling!

“In my judgment, this should be a Golden Core cave!” Daoist Pang’s eyes gleamed as he spoke. “Perhaps because of its great age, the outer restrictions have failed, and that dead rat found a gap and squeezed inside.”

The Soul-Capturing Bell must have originated from here!

“I went in to take a look,” he continued, scratching his head. “But inside, there’s still a fully functional restriction!”

Such ancestral cave dwellings are typically protected by layers of powerful restrictions to ward off intruders.

Yet no matter how strong, no barrier can withstand the erosion of time.

In the cave Daoist Pang had discovered, the outer wards had crumbled away, but the inner chamber’s restriction remained formidable.

And surely, all the real treasures would be stored within!

The problem was, with his current strength, he could not hope to break the ward.

Attempting a forced assault risked triggering a backlash.

The consequences were completely unpredictable!

In such circumstances, Daoist Pang dared not act rashly.

After listening to the Daoist’s rambling account, Fang Xiao cut straight to the point: “Do you need my help?”

Cave dwellings, Golden Core wards—Fang Xiao had no interest in any of it.

But he could tell that all Daoist Pang’s words were inextricably linked to himself.

The old Daoist was not a man of deep cunning; his joys and sorrows were written openly across his face.

Fang Xiao could read him well enough.

“Yes,” Daoist Pang admitted, somewhat embarrassed, rubbing his hands together. “Fang Xiao, I’d like to use your unique constitution to test the restriction in the cave dwelling and see if we can find a weakness.”

Attacking the ward outright was too dangerous and hardly wise. Daoist Pang’s idea was to use Fang Xiao’s special natural body to seek the restriction’s weak points.

With no one maintaining or repairing the cave’s defenses for such a long time, the barrier would be far more vulnerable than before.

Daoist Pang, too, was well-versed in the arts of formations.

But—

Such a plan carried a degree of risk for Fang Xiao.

Daoist Pang did not conceal this fact.

As he spoke, regret suddenly welled up in him: “Forget it, this isn’t safe. I can’t bring harm upon you.”

At most, he’d just have to be more patient, grind away at it slowly. If it took a year or two, then so be it—if not, three or five. Even a pestle can be ground down to a needle! If it still couldn’t be done, perhaps he simply wasn’t destined for such fortune.

“Let’s go!” he finished.

But before he was done speaking, Fang Xiao shot to his feet. “Let’s try it now!”

“Wait!” Daoist Pang was taken aback; he hadn’t expected Fang Xiao to be so impulsive.

He regretted his words at once: “Fang Xiao, on second thought, it’s too dangerous. Let’s talk about this another time.”

Compared to whatever fortune might be hidden in the cave, Daoist Pang valued his young compatriot much more.

If anything were to happen to Fang Xiao, he’d feel guilty for the rest of his life!

“I’m not afraid!” Fang Xiao answered crisply, his chin held high. “Daoist, if we don’t try, how will we ever know if there’s danger?”

Daoist Pang was struck dumb.

He lowered his head in thought for a moment, then stamped his foot hard. “Fine! At worst, I’ll go home with you!”

Daoist Pang knew himself well.

He’d always been indecisive and overly cautious—a flaw carried over from a former life, a burden he bore into this one, for which he’d paid a price he’d rather not remember.

Now it was time to change.

No sooner had he spoken than he seized the horsetail whisk lying nearby.

The long silken strands instantly wrapped around Fang Xiao’s waist.

In the next instant, a fierce wind rose in the courtyard, sweeping both of them swiftly out of the temple.

Daoist Pang led the way, Fang Xiao following close behind, carried along across the undulating mountains at great speed, the wind howling in his ears.

To Fang Xiao, it was a novel and exhilarating sensation.

It felt like flying.

The darkness all around, however, made it impossible to see any detail.

After traversing at least several dozen miles of mountain roads, Daoist Pang brought Fang Xiao into the depths of a shadowy cavern.

There he came to a stop and released Fang Xiao.

Daoist Pang flicked his whisk, and hundreds of silvery threads glimmered with a faint light, illuminating the cavern evenly.

“Follow me.”

Daoist Pang called out and led the way into a side passage.

The tunnel was scarcely four or five feet high, forcing Fang Xiao to stoop and duck his head just as Daoist Pang did.

Fortunately, the passage was not long.

At its end, a spacious secret chamber appeared!

Within stood a stone table and stools, and a long bookshelf—though not a single book remained, and everything was thick with dust.

Yet the chamber, deep within the mountain, was not dark.

On either side, there were doors leading in and out.

The door on the right was sealed with a shimmering watery barrier, giving off a faint, lustrous glow and blocking their view.

Fang Xiao immediately understood: this must be the restriction Daoist Pang had mentioned!

Without hesitation, he strode forward and crashed straight into it.

“Fang Xiao—”

Daoist Pang had only just begun to speak.

But seeing Fang Xiao rush at the watery veil, he was startled out of his wits. “Heavens!”

In his panic, he raised his hand, two fingers pointing at Fang Xiao’s back from a distance. “Stop!”

But Fang Xiao showed no reaction at all, colliding headlong with the watery barrier.

With a soft popping sound, Fang Xiao vanished without a trace.

Daoist Pang stared, dumbfounded, his face twisted in disbelief.

He couldn’t help but wail, “Brother, father, grandfather—does your mother know how reckless you are?”

“How have you even survived this long?”

Daoist Pang was beside himself with regret.

He slapped himself hard across the face—smack!

With the sound of that slap, the watery barrier ahead abruptly vanished.

A new chamber appeared before Daoist Pang’s eyes.

And the recently “disappeared” Fang Xiao was standing right there inside, gazing with curiosity at a middle-aged Daoist who sat cross-legged and motionless upon a white jade couch, eyes closed.

Daoist Pang was utterly stupefied.

He touched his burning, reddened cheek, half-convinced he was hallucinating from a concussion.