Chapter 184: Perfected Jinli's Cave Dwelling

As he stepped onto the mountain peak, a sea of bamboo unfolded before his eyes. The shadows of the stalks danced, rustling as the wind blew past. Compared to the dense forest at the foot of the mountain, this place held a deeper, serene solitude.

Several bamboo cabins were scattered among the trees, their eaves drooping and window lattices half-rotted, already showing signs of collapse. Further away, a few faintly outlined mounds rose beneath the snowdrifts. They looked like ruined walls that had been buried for years, their original appearance no longer discernible.

Jiuyou slowly walked through the ruins without stopping. The dry branches snapping beneath his feet echoed with soft, crisp sounds that carried far across the empty peak.

He walked for a while, scanning the surrounding traces. The mountain's original master was likely someone who loved peace and quiet, disliking noise and shunning elaborate decorations. A thousand years had passed, however, and few marks belonging to that person could still be found. Only the remnant sword array at the foot of the mountain remained, still guarding this domain in his stead.

"No guests arrive at this wild court of shadowed bamboo; the empty mountain permits only a cultivator's peace."

Jiuyou chanted the line in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over the silhouettes of the distant mountains. His tone wasn't particularly emotional; rather, it sounded like he was simply speaking off the cuff. He passed through the bamboo forest at a leisurely pace.

As he walked, his brow suddenly twitched, as if he had noticed something. He stopped in his tracks and opened his hand. A wisp of golden light floated up from his palm, and an Ember Moon Sword appeared in response. The blade trembled slightly before turning on its own and flying deeper into the bamboo forest.

Jiuyou's gaze followed it. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and followed the sword.

Meanwhile, on another lonely peak of the Daoyang Sect, a pavilion hung over the edge of a cliff, held up by spiritual energy like a chess piece wedged into the mountain. Zhou Chengshan sat in the seat of honor, while Ge Jingyuan, Wang Zhiheng, and Song Wan sat below him.

Ge Jingyuan spoke first, his tone carrying obvious doubt. "Senior Brother, do you really trust that man so easily?" He paused. "He joined us midway, after all. Isn't it a bit too early to hand Ember Sword Peak over to him?"

Wang Zhiheng didn't reply, merely sitting quietly. Song Wan held the snow fox, gently stroking its fur as her gaze fell upon Zhou Chengshan, waiting for him to speak.

Zhou Chengshan set down his teacup and spoke at an unhurried pace. "This matter was not my idea, but the Eldest Senior Brother's decision." He glanced at the others. "A fellow cultivator at the Nascent Soul Late Stage being willing to return to the sect is a good thing no matter how you look at it. Although the Daoyang Sect can still maintain its facade today, if we want to return to how things were in the past, having one more person gives us that much more confidence. As long as he harbors no ulterior motives, we have no reason to push him away."

He changed the subject, his tone dipping slightly lower. "It's just that our current situation doesn't afford us much breathing room. The Guiming Sect has been staring us down, along with the monster race. Recently, there has also been news that some Ganzhou cultivators of unknown origin have arrived in Southern Frost, and we don't know what they are plotting. Therefore—"

He looked at the others. "—we naturally still need to keep a close eye on this newly arrived Junior Brother Qing. If you have the time, interact with him more. There's no need to force it, but don't avoid him either. As for his formal status, I will arrange a sect initiation ceremony. It will serve both as a show for outsiders and as a proper explanation to him, lest people think our Daoyang Sect is lacking in hospitality."

After hearing this, Ge Jingyuan's expression softened slightly, though a lingering trace of doubt remained between his brows. "But this..." The words reached his lips before he stopped, as if he didn't quite know how to say them.

Zhou Chengshan didn't respond. He simply waved his hand slightly, turning his gaze toward Song Wan. Wang Zhiheng also followed his line of sight.

Song Wan was looking down, petting the snow-white fox in her arms. Her fingertips gently combed through the fur along its back at an unhurried pace. Sensing several gazes landing on her at once, she raised her head.

She nodded slightly, her tone calm. "Baijian didn't smell any baleful aura on him, nor did it smell the bloody stench that bloodthirsty people usually carry. I've raised this fox for over a century, and it has never made a mistake." She paused, as if confirming something. "At least for now, this man is not from the Guiming Sect, nor is he some bloodthirsty evil cultivator."

Hearing this, Wang Zhiheng's expression relaxed a fraction. He nodded and said, "Since Junior Sister Song's fox couldn't detect anything, that at least proves our new junior brother is not some heinous villain." After saying that, he added, "That is enough."

Ge Jingyuan didn't speak again, silently nodding.

Seeing that none of them had any objections, Zhou Chengshan set the final tone. "Then we'll leave it at that. Later, notify the junior brothers and sisters who need to be informed. As for the ranking of elder titles, I'm afraid we'll have to discuss it anew. After all, this Junior Brother Qing is now our Daoyang Sect's sixth Nascent Soul Late Stage expert."

The hall fell quiet for a moment, the sound of the wind and snow outside the window filling the silence.

Meanwhile, on Ember Sword Peak.

Jiuyou stood before a stone door. The door was over three zhang tall and about one zhang wide. It had originally been mostly buried under the snow, but he had already cleared it out.

Several patterns were carved into the stone door, so eroded by the wind that they were almost unrecognizable, though a few traces of Sword Intent could still be faintly made out. He looked at the door, in no rush to enter. Guiding the sword light with his hand, an Ember Moon Sword surfaced from his palm and slowly drifted toward the crack in the stone door.

The stone door, which had slumbered for who knew how many years, seemed to sense something. It trembled lightly, letting out a low hum. The crushed stone and snow covering it began to fall away as the stone door slowly opened inward. A cold draft, carrying the stale scent of stone dust and old wood, rushed out to meet him.

A golden light flashed in Jiuyou's pupils as his divine sense preemptively swept inside.

A cultivation room, an alchemy room, a Spirit Nurturing Room, and a quiet room—the layout was not much different from an ordinary cave dwelling, just a bit more spacious and a lot older. After confirming there were no traps, he waited no longer, transforming into a streak of golden sword light and darting into the cave.

He advanced along the corridor, casually embedding a luminous pearl into the wall every time he passed a corner. The fist-sized pearls lit up one after another, illuminating the entire cave dwelling as brightly as day. The light cast upon the stone walls shimmered with a warm, gentle glow.

The main chamber at the deepest point was more spacious than expected. It was surrounded by water on all four sides, leaving only a narrow stone bridge leading to the center. The water babbled beneath the bridge. Although it was flowing water, he couldn't hear its source or see where it drained; it must have been artificially channeled inside.

The spirit-gathering array in the center of the stone platform had stopped functioning a long time ago. The array's lines had dried up entirely, and even the engravings along its edges had been mostly worn smooth by the years.

Bamboo Scrolls and books were neatly stacked on several wooden shelves to the side. They had gathered a thick layer of dust, looking as though no one had touched them for ages.

Jiuyou looked toward the wooden shelves, his gaze eventually landing on a round disc sitting on the counter.

He walked over and waved his hand. The disc floated into his palm. Embedded right in the center of the disc was a hexagonal stone. It was entirely grayish-white, stripped of any remaining traces of spiritual energy.

"A top-grade spiritual stone," he noted with a glance. "But it's already been drained. A sword array capable of completely exhausting a top-grade spiritual stone... no wonder a mere remnant array could still possess such might."

He was in no hurry to put it down. He carefully inspected the disc again, confirming its purpose before putting it into his storage pouch.

His gaze immediately shifted to a Bamboo Scroll resting beside the counter.

He picked it up and unfurled it for a look. The handwriting was steady and upright, concealing a sharp edge within its strokes. From beginning to end, it only talked about one thing: the sword.