113: Chapter 113 Golden Core Cave

There, a faint, ancient, and pure Spiritual Qi was buried deep beneath the rock layers; it was certainly not naturally occurring in the wild, but the unique, settled spiritual aura of a Cultivator's Immortal Cave!

At the same time, the Spirit-Seeking Mouse's furry body tightened slightly, and it let out a low, warning growl toward the dense forests on both sides of the valley.

Li Changqing understood instantly; the valley ahead harbored killing intent.

Li Changqing immediately restrained all the Spiritual Qi in his body, employing the breath-concealing technique of his Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique. His figure merged with the surrounding vegetation and mist, resembling a silent, motionless bluestone, devoid of any trace of living presence.

Most Yao Beasts in the middle of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range relied on scent, innate talents, and Divine Sense to hunt prey; as long as he left no openings, he had a chance to sneak through.

Stepping out, his footsteps were as light as feathers, treading on the grass without a sound, as he slowly snuck into the western valley along a desolate mountain path.

Along the way, vegetation grew wildly. In the waist-high patches of Spiritual Plant, one could see the skeletons of Yao Beasts, broken claws, and fangs everywhere. The soil on the ground was soaked with old black blood, emitting a dense, fierce Evil Qi.

Occasionally, the faint hissing of Yao Beasts came from the depths of the dense forest, layered and overlapping, with an oppressive feeling rushing toward him.

Throughout the journey, the Spirit-Seeking Mouse always walked in front to scout the path. Whenever there were hidden pits in the ground, toxic miasma springs buried underground, or highly poisonous insects hidden in the grass, it would immediately stop to warn him, helping Li Changqing avoid fatal crises one by one.

Walking to the depths of the valley, the surrounding violent beast aura suddenly faded.

It was a very strange scene.

Despite being in the heart of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range, where Yao Beasts were densely packed, this valley was deathly silent. No Yao Beasts occupied it, and even the chirping of insects and birds had ceased. The air contained only a simple, ancient spiritual aura that had settled for hundreds of years—cold, mellow, and carrying the vicissitudes of decaying time.

"This is the place."

Li Changqing put away the treasure map and lifted his gaze to look ahead.

At the end of the valley, a hundred-zhang-high black cliff stood before him. The rock wall was pitch-black and hard, covered in cracks weathered by a thousand years. Dense ancient vines tightly wrapped around the cliff, covering it completely. If not for the precise positioning of the treasure map, anyone passing by would only assume it was an ordinary desolate cliff.

Most importantly, the entire cliff was shrouded in a layer of nearly transparent, ancient Restriction spiritual light.

The spiritual light was dim and thin; if one did not investigate carefully, it would be impossible to detect.

This was the protective Formation laid by a Golden Core Cultivator personally. Having endured hundreds of years of wind, rain, and the dissipation of Spiritual Qi, it was already on the verge of shattering, with less than a tenth of its power remaining, yet it still firmly sealed the entrance to the Immortal Cave.

The Spirit-Seeking Mouse ran quickly to the bottom of the cliff, its small claws constantly scratching at the ancient vines, its nose pressed tightly against the rock wall. It squeaked urgently, nodding its head repeatedly; beneath the rock wall, a rich, treasure-filled spiritual light was slowly seeping out!

Li Changqing stepped forward slowly, his fingertips gently brushing against the rough, cold rock wall. He released a trace of his Foundation Establishment Spiritual Qi, tentatively touching that layer of broken Restriction.

Hum—a low, spiritual vibration resonated through the valley.

Pale golden Formation patterns emerged from the rock wall, incomplete and fragmented. The patterns were broken and dim in many places, and the weak, residual rebounding force of the Formation gently repelled his spiritual exploration.

"A Tier 3 Formation Restriction, it truly is extraordinary. Even after being dilapidated for a hundred years, it is still far superior to the Tier 2 Formation that a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could set up."

Li Changqing sighed inwardly.

Ordinary Tier 2 Restrictions, without a Cultivator's maintenance, would completely collapse after several decades. However, a Tier 3 Restriction could hold for hundreds of years and still retain its barriers, even automatically repairing gaps in the Formation, which was sufficient to show the profound cultivation level of the person who had set up this Formation in the past.

Li Changqing did not rashly break the Formation. Being alone in the heart of Yao Beast territory, forcibly breaking the Formation would inevitably trigger massive fluctuations in Spiritual Qi, easily attracting nearby Tier 3 Yao Beasts. Once surrounded by a group of Yao Beasts, it would be a dead end.

"Xiao Jin, find the weak point of the Formation where you entered last time."

Li Changqing instructed softly.

The Spirit-Seeking Mouse immediately scuttled quickly along the rock wall, its small body weaving through the gaps in the vines. A moment later, it stopped at a cracked depression on the lower left of the rock wall, pressed its paw firmly against the stone surface, and squeaked repeatedly.

That was precisely the gap in the Qi flow of the entire dilapidated Formation, and also the weakest point of the Formation eye!

Li Changqing's gaze narrowed as he stepped forward.

He took out the cyan longsword from his Storage Pouch and poured all his Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Spiritual Qi into the sword body. Cyan-blue spiritual light swirled around the blade, condensed and sharp, yet he restrained all sword momentum, seeking only to break the Formation precisely, not to unleash explosive lethality.

"Break!"

With a low shout, he tapped out with his sword.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a faint, crisp cracking sound.

The Formation Restriction, already on the verge of collapse, shattered inch by inch starting from the weak Formation eye. The pale golden spiritual light patterns crumbled like broken glass, turning into a sky full of tiny spiritual stars that dissipated with the wind in the valley.

On the rock wall hidden by vines, a simple and heavy bluestone gate was suddenly revealed.

The stone gate was over a zhang high and carved entirely from millennium-old bluestone, with an incredibly hard texture. The gate was carved with complex ancient Yao Beast patterns; Dragon, tiger, mysterious turtle, and spiritual sparrow patterns were intertwined, lifelike, containing the Dao of suppressing Evil Qi and gathering spiritual energy. It was the gate totem of this Immortal Cave.

In the center of the stone gate, there was no keyhole and no mechanism, only a spiritual seal groove that had been silent for hundreds of years.

Li Changqing raised his hand and slowly channeled his pure Foundation Establishment Spiritual Qi into the spiritual seal groove.

Rumble—a dull and heavy sound of stone shaking echoed as the ancient bluestone gate slowly opened inward.

A cold aura mixed with the scent of ancient medicine, pure spiritual breath, and the decay of time rushed out through the gap, and the pitch-black, deep corridor of the Immortal Cave was completely revealed before his eyes.

The cave was pitch black inside, having not seen the sun for years, and was terrifyingly quiet, as if it were the mouth of a dormant giant beast, waiting for intruders.

The Spirit-Seeking Mouse lay on Li Changqing's shoulder, its fur slightly standing on end. While vigilantly probing the Evil Qi inside the cave, it let out excited chirps toward the depths of the cave; the layers of treasure-filled spiritual light inside made its innate treasure-seeking instinct restless.

Li Changqing took out a fluorescent spirit jade and injected Spiritual Qi into it. A soft white light shone, illuminating the area within a zhang in front of him.

His gaze was calm, without a trace of restlessness.

Li Changqing took a deep breath, gripped the longsword in his hand, and walked with restrained breath, taking the agile and alert Spirit-Seeking Mouse on his shoulder, and stepped into this Golden Core Immortal Cave hidden in the heart of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range.

Deep in the dark corridor, the Spiritual Qi became increasingly mellow.

Upon entering the cave, Li Changqing discovered that it was extremely deep and far-reaching. Inside, it was pitch black, and his Divine Sense could not penetrate very deep, only a distance of a dozen zhang.

Darkness meant nothing to Li Changqing; as long as it was within his Divine Sense, the scenery nearby was clearly visible.

The further he went into the depths of the tunnel, the more clearly Li Changqing perceived that the tunnel under his feet was constantly extending slowly downward along the mountain's terrain.

The man and the beast walked slowly, taking a full stick of incense's time before arriving at a spacious and magnificent cavern hall and standing still.

Estimating by his unhurried pace, the position he was in at this moment was already five or six li deep into the heart of the mountain from the outside cave entrance.