54: Baby received

The mountain path was overgrown with withered grass, and within it lay a beast trail.

Lu Xuan hid the Demon Tiger in a tree; carrying it along was simply too much of a hindrance.

Lu Xuan tracked the path that had been trampled out and soon arrived at the entrance of a cave located halfway up the mountain.

The scent of the Demon Tiger was thick here; it was likely its usual place of residence.

A gentle breeze stirred, dispersing the foul air inside. Only then did Lu Xuan take out a fire starter, ignite it, and cautiously grope his way forward into the depths.

The soil in the cave was dry, and a trace of heat even continuously rose from underground. The further in he went, the warmer it became; the temperature inside the cave was over ten degrees higher than outside.

“This place is quite miraculous.”

Lu Xuan had naturally noticed this unusual phenomenon as he walked.

Recalling the Opportunity of the earth core profound jade marrow, he speculated that this might be related to some kind of fire-attribute treasure.

Deep within the cave entrance, a large number of white bones were piled up. Even though Lu Xuan had already used a gentle breeze to clear the air, it remained nauseatingly foul-smelling.

“This beast!”

Those white bones consisted not only of various wild animals but also human remains.

Ignoring these things, Lu Xuan carefully searched the ground.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn passed.

“Nothing? How can there be nothing? Is this not the tiger's lair?”

“No, this is definitely the tiger's lair. It’s impossible for there to be nothing!”

The prompts from Immortal Fate Whispers had never been wrong in all these years; it couldn't possibly be wrong this time.

Moreover, the aura was strongest here, and there were traces of the fierce tiger living on the ground.

“Hmm?”

Just as he was deep in thought, a faint current of air brushed against the hem of his robe.

“This is?”

Immediately, he seemed to think of something, and his True Qi surged.

The all-pervading gentle breeze began to permeate the walls surrounding the cave.

“Found you!”

Lu Xuan stepped forward quickly, stood before the rock wall, and tapped it lightly.

“There's a secret chamber!”

He searched carefully and finally found a smooth protrusion at the height of a person.

He pressed it gently.

Clang~

The stone wall in front of him opened like a stone door.

He drew his long saber and walked in cautiously.

Inside was a stone chamber; the space was relatively large and the air was fresh, not turbid like the outside.

The place where Lu Xuan stood was like a main hall, with stone tables and chairs placed in front of him. They were already covered in a thick layer of dust, appearing as though no one had been there for many years.

The surrounding stone walls were also smooth and rounded, and dozens of priceless night-luminescent pearls on the ceiling provided illumination, emitting a soft white light.

There were also three stone tunnels nearby, resembling three rooms that had been carved out.

Lu Xuan walked into the first room, which contained only a stone bed. The bedding on it crumbled at a touch, and there was nothing else.

In the second room, there were several rows of bookshelves.

Lu Xuan was initially ecstatic. After all, the Lu Family had been developing for too short a time; while resources and money were fine, their reserve of cultivation knowledge was far too meager. This place clearly wasn't something an ordinary person could have carved out.

But while the imagination was beautiful, reality was harsh. Those books had also rotted into a pile over time due to a lack of maintenance.

“I couldn't be this unlucky, could I? Since that thing isn't here, it must be in the last room.”

Lu Xuan immediately entered the final room.

As soon as he entered, he was startled.

Because there was a person sitting there.

However, it wasn't a person, but a skeleton—or rather, the bones of a Cultivator.

A faint white glow emanated from the bones.

Lu Xuan used his saber to pull aside the clothing on the remains. He saw that the white bones inside were as lustrous as jade and reflected the white light under the glow of the fire, appearing quite extraordinary.

“This person must have been a Cultivator when they were alive!”

Lu Xuan's heart pounded wildly.

He saw a red crystal-like object floating in the person's palm, and within that crystal object, there seemed to be a stream of light flowing.

It was like a dream or a fantasy, like clouds or mist.

“This must be the earth core profound jade marrow and the flame marrow earth core qi.”

“Senior, please forgive my offense.”

Lu Xuan apologized.

Using the wind as his hands, Lu Xuan directly swept the earth core profound jade marrow carrying the flame marrow earth core qi to his front and grasped it.

“Is this the ‘spiritual essence’? What’s the difference between this and the Spiritual Qi of cultivation? To think it’s a Foundation Establishment Opportunity.”

“This person was likely a Cultivator at Qi Refining Perfection who was in secluded meditation here to break through to Foundation Establishment, but ended up failing and dying.”

“Never mind. Since I have taken your Foundation Establishment treasure, I have accepted your Karma. I shall let you rest in peace in the earth.”

Lu Xuan quickly used his saber to dig a deep pit there.

Using the wind as hands, he placed the remains into the pit.

“Senior, rest in peace here.”

After Lu Xuan buried the person, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

“Even the high and mighty Cultivators don't know which day they might die in some remote corner.”

“The path of cultivation is difficult, difficult, difficult indeed!”

“For now, I can't use this Foundation Establishment spiritual essence, so I'll put it away for the time being.”

With a thought, Lu Xuan stored the spiritual essence into the space provided by the Treasure Tree.

If he carried it on his person and was discovered by a Cultivator hiding in the shadows, Lu Xuan was certain he would never make it out of the Thousand Peaks Mountain Range alive.

Therefore, the space was the only absolutely safe place for him.

Leaving the cave, he retrieved the Demon Tiger and headed back.

Just as he entered the camp gates.

“Lord Lu, you're back! Are you alright?”

The elderly Centurion let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Lu Xuan return.

“Ah! My Lord, that... you killed that Demon Tiger?”

Then he saw the Demon Tiger that Lu Xuan was dragging back.

“My goodness, the beast that Grandmaster Li couldn't even kill was killed by you, my Lord. This is a great achievement!”

Following his exclamation, many people who were resting in their tents after the battle came out one after another.

Most of them had seen the Demon Tiger's ferocity. In their eyes, the incredibly fierce Demon Tiger had now died at Lu Xuan's hands, and they all began to offer words of congratulations.

“Grandmaster Lu is truly a dragon among men; that Demon Tiger was actually killed just like that!”

“Isn't that right? You didn't see how powerful that Demon Tiger was—spitting black smoke. Even Grandmaster Li couldn't do anything to it and let it escape.”

“Doesn't that mean Grandmaster Lu is more powerful than Grandmaster Li?”

“Not necessarily. It's possible that Grandmaster Li's previous strike had already wounded the Demon Tiger, allowing Grandmaster Lu to slay it.”

“That's still very impressive.”

“...”

Lu Xuan dealt with a few remarks before heading toward the central army tent with the tiger carcass.

“By the way, Lord Lu, have you seen Lord Zhao? He went to meet you, so why didn't you return together?”

“Lord Zhao? I didn't see him. Which way did he go? Has he not returned yet?”

“He hasn't returned yet. Could something have happened?”

At the thought of such a possibility, the Centurion's face turned pale instantly.

He couldn't imagine how much of a shock it would cause if a Grandmaster died in battle on the very first day of the campaign.

“Perhaps Grandmaster Zhao is just lingering outside. Don't worry, I'll go and inform the General.”

“Besides, he is a Grandmaster. If he wanted to leave, those Barbarians today wouldn't be able to keep him.”

Hearing Lu Xuan's words, the Centurion nodded seriously, accepting Lu Xuan's reasoning.

“Then I'll have to trouble Lord Lu.”

“It's a small matter~”