41: Seeking death in a dead end, the medicine has an effect and meets Xiaobai again (Part 2)

Chen Cuo first searched around the cold pond and waterfall, and finding no one else there, he immediately felt at ease.

However, the magnificent sight of the waterfall greatly shocked Chen Cuo’s heart; the waterfall flowed like ten thousand horses galloping, pouring into a bottomless abyss.

The deafening roar stirred Chen Cuo’s emotions, and his Great Boundless Ocean Skill subtly resonated with it, even causing its proficiency to slowly increase.

“This is truly a Holy Land for Cultivation!” If he were to Cultivate here, his Great Boundless Ocean Skill would soon reach Perfection.

But now was clearly not the time to delve into this; he should go check out the other dead end first!

“Yin Wind Cave, which way?” Chen Cuo collected his thoughts and pointed at Second Brother Lin, asking.

Second Brother Lin hadn’t even gotten close to the waterfall, yet he was still shivering from the cold.

He then pointed in a direction, and after Chen Cuo understood, he immediately took him and ran at an extremely fast speed.

Soon, they arrived at the outskirts of a deep ravine in the depths of the mountain range, where the path ahead was rugged and winding, making it difficult to traverse.

Instantly, Chen Cuo sensed someone approaching ahead; with the situation unclear, he didn't want to expose his whereabouts too early, so he immediately covered Second Brother Lin’s mouth and nose and swiftly climbed up a large tree with him.

“No one there! That damn Wang Er, daring to trick me!” A black-faced man holding a long saber, dressed in clothes embroidered with dragon and tiger patterns, kicked a scrawny young man in gray clothes.

“Ouch, Brother Hu, I really didn’t lie to you, I just heard someone approaching.”

“Enough, this place is eerie, let’s go back to the stronghold!”

The gray-clothed youth limped, following closely behind the black-faced man, and they left.

Arriving at the tree’s bifurcation, Chen Cuo, like a nimble ape, hung from the treetop, raising his self-made telescope to observe the two people who had just left. He saw them quickly heading into the depths of the ravine, arriving at a large open space where nearly thirty to fifty people were gathered.

This was the stronghold they mentioned. Chen Cuo looked forward from their campsite, and about two hundred meters away, there was a grotto. He could see that strong winds were blowing from the grotto entrance, as the grass leaves growing at the opening were all bent in the direction of the wind, accompanied by a low, mournful roar emanating from deep within the cave.

Clearly, this area was the Yin Wind Cave, a fact Chen Cuo confirmed from Second Brother Lin’s continuous nodding.

As Chen Cuo observed closely, he discovered that around the stronghold where the black-faced man was located, there were also two other teams, one on the left and one on the right, forming a circle in three directions, completely surrounding the Yin Wind Cave.

The leader of the black-faced man’s team was a wizened old man with wrinkled skin, resembling a withered piece of wood. Chen Cuo looked at him and found that his appearance bore some resemblance to Wu Duo, clearly a member of the Wu Family.

To the left of the Wu Family’s team was a group of Martial Artists dressed in black and white attire, each with a blooming lotus flower on their clothes.

The leader of the team on the right was clearly a young Young Master dressed in white, wearing a sky-blue jade crown and a treasured sword at his waist. He had a handsome appearance, exuding an air of grace and nobility.

His subordinate Martial Artists were all strong in Qi and blood, with a formidable Aura.

Based on their attire, Chen Cuo deduced the identities of the two teams: the one on the left was the mysterious White Lotus Sect, while the team on the right, with everyone wearing sky-blue standard uniforms, was easily identified as Disciples of the Martial Alliance.

Among the three teams, the leaders were all masters of the Acquired Perfection Realm. Besides that young Young Master, the Martial Alliance had three other Acquired Martial Artists. The White Lotus Sect had two Acquired Perfection Martial Artists, while the Wu Family team only had the old man.

The rest included Lian Zang Realm, Bone Refining Martial Artists, and Skin Refining Stage.

All three factions stared intently at the cave, their eyes burning with anticipation.

“And not just them, there are others!” Chen Cuo gestured to Second Brother Lin to be quiet and looked around his vicinity; other Martial Artists were slowly approaching.

However, before they could get close, Martial Artists hidden in the grass immediately rushed out and killed the approaching individuals.

These people were like the black-faced man from before, specifically tasked with blocking Martial Artists not belonging to the three major forces from approaching.

Such actions made Chen Cuo realize that the Mountain Spirit was inside the Yin Wind Cave, and the three factions clearly regarded it as their own, not wanting others to share in it.

As for who could obtain the Opportunity, that would depend on their own methods, and a struggle for supremacy was inevitable.

“Why don’t they break into the cave and directly capture the Mountain Spirit?” Chen Cuo asked softly.

Second Brother Lin was a bit surprised, only then realizing that Chen Cuo was unaware of the peculiarities of the Yin Wind Cave. He then said, “Benefactor, you may not know, but the wind blowing inside the Yin Wind Cave carries a hint of evil, it’s incredibly foul-smelling and bone-chilling. The deeper you go, the more powerful it becomes. Legend has it that the strongest winds at the very end can even scrape off a person’s flesh and blood.”

“So that’s it, the Mountain Spirit can use earth evasion to hide there.”

Chen Cuo suddenly understood, secretly thinking that this was not good. If this Mountain Spirit hid inside the cave for ten or twenty years, wouldn’t there be no hope left?

“Benefactor, you don’t need to worry. The Mountain Spirit will emerge from the cave on every full moon night to collect moonlight essence.”

“The Mountain Spirit has only recently developed sentience, and its growth instinct is still strong. If it hides in a dark cave for too long, its spirituality will inevitably degenerate, turning it into an ordinary object.”

“The past few nights, there was no full moon.”

“That’s why those factions have been unable to act, but they haven’t given up hope. This is the reason, so Benefactor, you still have a chance to seize the treasure.”

Second Brother Lin saw the worried look on Chen Cuo’s face and immediately spoke about the Mountain Spirit’s situation, which greatly astonished Chen Cuo.

Chen Cuo heard this and asked with a chuckle, “How do you know all this?”

“My father told me all of this. My Lin Family has lived in the mountains for generations, and our ancestors also encountered situations where Mountain Spirits were born. We have some secret information about Mountain Spirits.”

Chen Cuo immediately became interested and quietly conversed with him, learning about the secrets concerning the Mountain Spirit.

It was high noon, and there were still several hours until nightfall, but with no clouds covering the sky during the day, it was likely that a bright moon would grace the sky tonight.

Soon, the sun set in the west, and night had arrived.

A white jade disc rose into the sky, its clear, icy glow spilling across the land. The moonlight poured down like flowing water, and a ray of moonlight shone around the Yin Wind Cave.

“Quick, quick, it’s about to come out! This time, with the combined strength of our three factions, we’ve forced this treasure to this dead end. If it doesn’t emerge to collect moonlight essence, it will inevitably suffer the loss of its spirituality.” The Wu Family elder watched the moonlight fall upon the Yin Wind Cave, his entire being visibly flustered, as he directed his subordinates to stare intently at the cave entrance.

The other factions were also the same, their eyes all fixed on the cave entrance, filled with anticipation.

Even Chen Cuo could not let go, his eyes also intently fixed on the Yin Wind Cave.

Just then, a sudden change occurred. A figure flew past Chen Cuo, dozens of meters away, moving incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, the person was already more than ten meters away.

However, the other party was in a hurry and didn’t notice Chen Cuo. Chen Cuo took a closer look and realized that this person was actually Chang Shi, but his black hair had turned snow-white, making him almost unrecognizable.

What Chen Cuo didn’t expect was that the other party went straight into the middle of the several teams, completely disregarding them, and rushed directly towards the entrance of the Yin Wind Cave.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the cave entrance.

“Where did that scoundrel come from? How dare he!”

“Audacious!”

From the Martial Alliance and the White Lotus Sect, roars of disbelief erupted; they couldn't believe someone dared to preempt them right before their eyes.

The Wu Family elder, upon seeing Chang Shi, immediately showed a hint of worry on his face, because he realized that Chang Shi had arrived at this place, but Wu Duo and Wu Xing had not yet returned.

He immediately had the thought of retreating.

And as the leader of the Martial Alliance, the white-clothed Young Master, upon seeing Chang Shi rush into the Yin Wind Cave, also brought an Acquired Realm subordinate and followed. The black-clothed Acquired master from the White Lotus Sect also followed him in.

Although the Yin Wind Cave was eerie, as long as one didn’t go too deep and stayed near the entrance, it was nothing for an Acquired Martial Artist!

Chen Cuo remained calm, with no intention of following them in. Instead, he hid in the tree, quietly waiting.

Time passed minute by minute. As everyone watched anxiously, it seemed something unexpected happened. Just above the Yin Wind Cave, about two to three hundred meters from the entrance, a small bulge suddenly appeared.

A faint, ethereal medicinal fragrance permeated the entire ravine.

Instantly, the bulge burst open, and a white figure immediately appeared. It was a small white fox! The fox was pure white all over, with sleek, bright fur, enchantingly beautiful, and two fluffy tails behind it, running incredibly fast!

And on the fox’s back, there was a small green figure. The little figure had hands and feet, tightly clutching the fur on the little fox’s back. The little figure had a red tassel on its head, topped with three leaves, and an expression of bitter suffering on its face.

“Little White?” Chen Cuo was greatly surprised by this sight and let out an exclamation.