Ezio appeared in front of a familiar cave. It was dark initially, but the further he walked inside, the brighter and warmer it became. Although there were fewer stones in the cave that was shining with a red luster, the cave was the same one Ezio discovered after he killed the Fire-Tiger.
Ezio walked to the further end of the cave and met with familiar faces. Elder Solon was leading the excavating team inside the den of the Fire Tiger. There was no protection at the entrance of the cave, but it was normal. Elder Solon was strong enough to fight even with the Leaders of the two other sects to buy enough time for Abbot to arrive. Furthermore, protecting the inconspicuous cave was the same as planting a flag to let the other sects know there was something valuable inside the cave.
Ezio looked at the three Qi Solidification Realm cultivators and Qi Crystallization Realm Elder Solon, and couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
The entrance of the Royal Forest
Abbot was still preventing the other two from entering the forest. He was an old fox who has ruled the sect for more than two decades. He has already figured out their purpose in entering the forest, but there was nothing else he could do to stop them. He could only delay.
At the moment only Qi Solidification Realm cultivators were following Ezio. If he were to enter to protect Ezio, he would be letting two other beasts chase after him.
"Abbot, you are being too much!" Cane Cotton was furious. He had lost pitifully months ago and even his hand was severed. Now, he and Riley Lynx weren't able to win against Abbot. This was a humiliation!
Cane Cotton didn't know what was happening inside the forest. But Riley Lynx promised him 5 Spirit-Cleansing Pills. It was enough for him to fight against the Cleansing Buddhist Sect, but here he was being held back. He was still going to claim those pills of course, but if Riley Lynx wasn't able to accomplish what he wanted, he would surely refuse to pay.
"Abbot, I suggest you clear the way." Riley Lynx's eyes were sharp and his eyebrows were knit. "We are fighting for days but we never went too far, but if you continue to stop me, I will use my Signium Skills!"
"Be my guest." Abbot wasn't going to yield with their threats. He wouldn't let these two beasts chase his disciples. Even if he had to fight with both of them to death.
As Abbot was about to take out some attack talismans, a message arrived in his ears. "Abbot, it is me Ezio. Qi Solidification Cultivators of three sects are chasing after me. I managed to shake them off, but two of our sect had been killed. I am moving towards the cave I discovered, Elder Solon should be there. Please meet me there."
Ezio deliberately avoided giving too much information. Even though message talismans were usually safe, there were some backdoors to spy on them.
Abbot was shocked by the content of the message. He was sad because two of his elders were killed, and was happy because Ezio was able to shake them off. He canceled his attacks and sighed.
"You can go." He didn't know how Ezio was able to shake those cultivators, but as long as he was fine, the rest wasn't important.
The other two were surprised by Abbot's change of heart but weren't going to wait and analyze why Abbot changed his mind. After they walked further inside, Abbot started to run towards the cave Ezio should be in.
Not long after he was in front of the cave. Just in case, he fished out two talismans and placed them in front of the cave. They were trap-type talismans. One upon triggering would attack, the other would notify him.
Inside the cave, Ezio was sitting on a piece of rock and drinking water. Even though he was able to get rid of his pursuers, he was worn out. When he heard footsteps, he wasn't alarmed at all. All Leader level cultivators were able to hide their presence to some extent and wouldn't let others hear their footsteps easily and if it wasn't a person at that level there was nothing to be afraid of.
"Greetings, Abbot," Ezio said as he clasped his hand, the others followed suit.
"Hmm." Abbot nodded faintly. "It is good that you are safe, Ezio. Tell me what happened." Abbot said as he looked at the Qi Solidification Realm cultivators.
Qi Solidification Realm cultivators took the hint and left the cave with some excuses. They knew it wasn't a conversation for their ears.
"After you warned us..." Ezio recounted what had happened to his group. "After I entered the cave, I hid in one of the chambers at the cave wall. I thought I would be caught for sure, but they passed through me without noticing my presence. Just to be safe I waited for a while, but when they noticed the monsters in the cave, I had no choice but to run away."
"Oh, what monsters dwelled in the cave?" Abbot asked.
"Wuchuge," Ezio said expressionlessly.
"What?!" Abbot was stumped. "Why didn't you let me know when you sent me a talisman? We should go and claim the cave as soon as possible."
"Because we already claimed the Millenium Yin Cherries!" Ezio said again calmly. "Brother Xuan, Sister Yang Yu, Sister Xun Bai, Sister Lai Shi and I consumed one each, and the last one is also in my possession."
Ezio was certain that Abbot wouldn't take the Cherry from him. He worked so hard to give Ezio a chance to consume the one and only Millenium Yin Cherry in the sect treasury. Although he failed in the end.
"Good disciple." Abbot was on cloud nine.
"Good boy!" Elder Solon also praised him.
"You said you consumed one?" Elder Solon looked excited. "Show me your Signium."
"Let him finish first," Abbot said helplessly. He was also curious about Ezio's first Signium, but the matter at hand was more urgent.
"I left the cave and was not far away yet when Adam Lynx killed two cultivators of our sect…" Ezio looked scared. "He had three Signiums!"
"What?!" Both Abbot and Elder Solon were dumbstruck. "He is so young. How can he break through at such a young age?"
"There was nothing I could do to help them." Ezio shook his head. Even though he wasn't devastated, he was sad. After all, those two were there to protect him.
"It is good that you are safe," Abbot said. "Show me the Signium."
Ezio released the Signium. The bloodthirsty eyes of the wolf looked down on Abbot and Elder Solon. He howled inside the cave and sent shivers down their spines.
"What a strong presence!" Elder Solon was scared out of his wit.
"Fourth Curtain, Low Tier?" Abbot was surprised, he looked at Ezio questioningly. Ezio was able to hide anything from prying eyes. He could even hide his cultivation level from the strongest cultivators. If he wanted to, he could show his Signium from the First Curtain, but he didn't. Because lowering it to such a low level would give away his abilities.
Ezio was a genius. He had the Seamless Body. He had an early awakening. Abbot was always suspecting him of cultivating both Qi and Mana. How could he have such a low-tier Signium? But flaunting it would also put lots of trouble on his head. Like how he was being hunted because he had the Seamless Body.
"I could already pass through the Fourth Curtain, Advance Tier even before I used Millenium Yin Cherry, but I held back when I saw this Signium," Ezio said and put on a thinking face. "I felt an innate connection with this Signium."
"No wonder." Abbot was relieved. "It is a good Signium. Well done, Ezio."
"Well done, Ezio."
***
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