96: Chapter 96 The birth of the cave

[ Torrential rain poured down, hanging an impenetrable curtain of water between heaven and earth. ]

[ Inside the imperial palace in Linyuan City. ]

[ You sat cross-legged on the Nine-Dragon Golden Couch in the center of the main hall. No candles were lit, and the hall was dark and vast. Only the True Qi circulating around your body illuminated this small space, flickering on and off. ]

[ You wore a dark-colored Dragon robe, the golden-threaded five-clawed Dragon embroidered upon it appearing lifelike as it rippled with your Protective Aura. Your crown with twelve hanging beads was cast aside on a jade table nearby, and your long, dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Having held a high position for these past few years, your appearance, bolstered by the "Peerless Elegance" trait, had become increasingly breathtaking. Your skin was fairer than snow, and your brows and eyes held the power of life and death characteristic of a ruler—a beauty that was a Fusion of extreme majesty and peerless allure. ]

[ At this moment, the sound of rain outside the hall was deafening. ]

[ "Thump, thump, thump—" ]

[ A burst of hurried footsteps broke the deathly silence of the hall. A personal female official scrambled into the hall, soaked to the bone, her hair in disarray. Forgetting all etiquette, she knelt heavily at the foot of the jade steps. ]

[ "Your Majesty! An urgent eight-hundred-mile report from Daliang Mountain!" The female official's voice carried undisguised trembling and ecstasy. "Due to the continuous torrential rain, a landslide occurred on the main eastern Peak of Daliang Mountain! Half the mountain has collapsed!" ]

[ You didn't even lift an eyelid, your True Qi circulating ceaselessly, your tone indifferent. "If it collapsed, it collapsed. Tell the Ministry of Works to provide disaster relief. Do you really need to bother Me with such a trivial matter?" ]

[ "It's not that, Your Majesty!" The female official looked up abruptly, gasping for breath. "After the landslide, the inside of the mountain... revealed an intact stone gate! The Black Tiger Division scouts stationed there risked their lives to investigate. Above the stone gate hangs a plaque made of neither gold nor jade, and on it are two large characters written in ancient seal script..." ]

[ The female official swallowed hard, her voice rising. "Qingling!" ]

[ "Hum!" ]

[ The True Qi around your body surged instantly, whipping up a gale inside the hall that made it impossible for the female official to open her eyes. ]

[ You rose abruptly, a piercing, captivating light shooting from your eyes. ]

[ Qingling! Master Qingling's Immortal Cave! ]

[ You had gone through endless hardships, using hundreds of thousands of laborers and resources to dig for five whole years without finding it, and yet it had revealed itself because of a landslide triggered by a rainstorm? ]

[ "There's such a good thing?" you couldn't help but whisper. ]

[ Memories of your past life flashed through your mind. In that life, you were just minding your own business hiking when a mudslide fed you tons of mud, and you 'Ascension' on the spot. In this life, the mudslide actually delivered an Immortal Cave right to you? ]

[ What is this? A Mudslide Immortal? ]

[ Your thoughts raced, and a wave of ecstasy surged in your heart: Could it be that the hidden luck attribute attached to the "Peerless Elegance" trait had taken effect? ]

[ "Pass down the order." You stepped off the golden couch, the hem of your Dragon robe fluttering without wind. "I am going there now." ]

[ The female official was terrified and kowtowed hurriedly. "Your Majesty! That must not happen! It is pouring outside, and the landslide at Daliang Mountain has just occurred; the mountain is extremely unstable and could collapse again at any moment! A person of great importance should not sit in a dangerous hall; Your Majesty is a body of ten thousand chariots, how can you risk yourself! Please reconsider, Your Majesty!" ]

[ You didn't even listen, your figure flickering as you swept past the female official. The speed of a Great Grandmaster at the Peak is terrifying; the female official only felt a blur before her eyes, and the hall was already empty. ]

[ "Quick! Quickly summon the Black Tiger Division guard! Prepare the horses! Hurry and follow Your Majesty!" The female official's anxious scream echoed in the empty hall. ]

[ You didn't need a horse at all. ]

[ You rushed out of the palace in Linyuan City, the torrential rain pouring down upon you. You snorted coldly, and the True Qi within your body surged out, forming an invisible Qi barrier three feet wide around you. ]

[ The rain hit the Qi barrier and was instantly deflected, unable to even dampen a corner of your clothing. ]

[ You exerted force with your feet, causing the bluestone slabs beneath you to crack inch by inch, and you shot into the vast rain curtain like an arrow released from a bow. ]

[ Because you had been living in the palace next to the Black Tiger Division headquarters in Linyuan City for the past two years to keep a close watch on the excavation progress of Daliang Mountain, it was only a few dozen miles away. ]

[ You traveled quickly through the rain. Every time you leaped, you could cover dozens of zhang. The extreme True Qi of a Great Grandmaster at the Peak, combined with the Perfection of the "Green Vessel Hundred Forging Record", allowed you to move as if on flat ground despite the severe weather. ]

[ In less than half an hour, the outline of Daliang Mountain appeared in the rain curtain. ]

[ By this time, Daliang Mountain had been completely sealed off by the army of the Black Tiger Division, heavily guarded with sentries every five steps and guards every ten. ]

[ As you rushed into the mountain pass, two rows of Black Tiger Division soldiers holding long muskets raised their weapons. The leading captain shouted sternly, "Daliang Mountain is a Forbidden Ground! Stop right there!" ]

[ You didn't slow down, charging straight toward the muzzles. ]

[ The captain, aided by the light of a lightning flash, clearly saw your stunningly beautiful face and your dark Dragon robe. Terrified to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, he suddenly threw his musket into the mud and fell heavily to his knees. ]

[ "Greetings, Your Majesty! This subordinate deserves to die!" ]

[ The surrounding soldiers knelt down in a clatter. ]

[ "It is fine, rise." You said casually, not stopping your pace. "Where is the Immortal Cave? Lead the way." ]

[ "Yes! Yes!" The captain scrambled up, snatching a large umbrella from a soldier nearby. He wanted to hold it over you but realized the rain couldn't get near you at all, so he could only awkwardly hold the umbrella while leading the way. ]

[ Following the muddy mountain path upward, you soon arrived at the mountainside of the main eastern Peak. ]

[ This place was originally a steep cliff, but now it had collapsed, revealing a huge opening. Muddy water rushed down through the opening, and deep within that opening, an ancient stone platform hung abruptly in mid-air. ]

[ Wei Feisen had already been waiting beneath the stone platform for a long time. ]

[ He was not using an umbrella, letting the torrential rain drench his entire body. His black robe clung tightly to him, outlining the lean, muscular lines of a leopard. His eyes were fixed intently on the Immortal Cave, a corner of which was exposed on the mountainside, his expression extremely complex. ]

[ Hearing your footsteps, he turned around abruptly. ]

[ The moment he saw you, the gloom in his eyes instantly dissipated. He strode toward you, not even caring about the mud splashing onto his face. ]

[ "Wanwan, you finally came. We finally found it." ]

[ You looked at him. After these few years of holding great power, the ruffian vibe of a street thug had lessened significantly, replaced by a trace of the dignified aura of a high-ranking official, but the madness in his bones remained unchanged. ]

[ You nodded, not taking up his topic, and looked up toward the mountainside. ]

[ Following the landslide, a brand-new bluestone door frame was revealed. The rocks around the door frame were uneven, clearly torn apart by immense force. ]

[ You focused your vision and looked from afar. Directly above the door frame, on a plaque made of an unknown material, the two large seal script characters "Qingling" were clearly engraved. ]