Five days quietly passed, and Lin Tianming slowly opened his eyes.
After several days of recovery, his wounds had basically healed, and he was ready to set out again.
However, he must avoid life-and-death battles as much as possible. At present, he could only exert about eighty percent of his full strength, so he had to be even more cautious.
In over half a year since coming from Green Bamboo Mountain Clan Territory to Qingfeng Town, after several fierce battles, numerous brushes with danger, and many injuries,
Lin Tianming's combat skills had become extremely proficient. He could instantaneously unleash various Cultivation Technique Secret Arts and had reached the peak of his current level, his fighting strength unlike any previous time.
His cultivation had risen from the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement to the Late Stage of Sixth Level, not far from reaching the Seventh Level.
Indeed, tempering through life-and-death battles proved to be the best method of cultivation; only after undergoing trials between life and death could breakthroughs happen naturally when the time came.
In the Purple Cloud Mountain Range, there were many Second Order Demonic Beasts. Even though he hadn't encountered any on the way, they definitely existed, so he still had to be careful, not stray from the path, and if he fell into danger once more, it would be troublesome— not every time could he escape by sheer luck.
Taking out the map, and after identifying the right direction, Lin Tianming continued on the road to find the Cave Mansion Ruins.
Lin Tianming followed the indications on the map, undistracted by the occasional low-order Spirit Grasses he found around, pressing forward single-mindedly, solely to find the Cave Mansion Ruins as soon as possible.
Two days went by, and with the guidance of the map, exploring carefully and avoiding dangerous spots many times, Lin Tianming arrived at the base of a mountain.
The entire mountain was a thousand feet tall, with a bare surface, only very few trees growing in the crevices of the rock face.
A gigantic river at the base of the mountain wound around the structure, cascading stones forming over a dozen waterfalls of various sizes, and the entire gorge was shrouded in thick mist. The spiritual energy was denser than the outside world by a considerable margin, almost comparable to the richness of Green Bamboo Mountain—truly an earthly paradise.
Taking out the map, he carefully examined it, comparing it several times in detail.
"It should be this place without a doubt...," Lin Tianming muttered to himself.
Putting away the map, Lin Tianming could hardly contain his elation. After more than ten days of searching, several dire situations, and multiple pursuits by numerous Demonic Beasts along the way, he had finally found the location marked on the map.
But upon close inspection, he saw that this place simply had a considerably denser spiritual energy and beyond that, it appeared indistinct from any other place.
The mountain looked ethereal and otherworldly, but that did not ensure its authenticity. Possibly, it was just Illusion Technique or Formation Barrier, only meant to deceive the eyes and ears of others.
Without further ado, Lin Tianming released all his Divine Sense, surveilling the entire mountain and its surroundings.
An hour slipped by silently, after exploring twice, and still, nothing unusual was detected.
Continuing to expand the search radius, he combed through a more than ten-mile radius around the mountain.
"What's this?"
Suddenly, Lin Tianming noticed that behind the curtain of water from a waterfall, there seemed to be fluctuations of a Formation Barrier, intermittent and subtle. Though slight, they were still picked up by his senses.
Behind the Formation Barrier must be where the Cave Mansion lay. It looked as though the power of the barrier had considerably weakened. He decided to strike with full force to see if he could open it. If it opened, he naturally had to explore it, but if it couldn't be opened, he would have to give up for the time being.
Resolved, Lin Tianming invoked the Qingfeng Sword, leaped onto it, and flew towards the waterfall with the Formation Barrier fluctuations.
Passing through the curtain of the waterfall to the pond below, more than ten snow-white fish, each nearly the size of a small boat with sharp fangs and teeth, leaped out of the water surface and ferociously bit towards Lin Tianming.
"Snow Spirit Fish!"
Snow Spirit Fish, First Order Late Stage Water Attribute Demonic Beasts, usually live in groups. They dwell in the icy river canyons, with varying numbers in a group. Large groups can have more than ten thousand individuals. When they gather together, even Second Order Demonic Beasts can be devoured in an instant. They are indeed very ferocious.
There were more than ten Snow Spirit Fish, only three of which were at the Late Stage of the First Order, while the rest were Medium and Early Stage Demonic Beasts. Over ten Snow Spirit Fish attacking at the same time posed a threat not to be underestimated.
Lin Tianming, still injured and not fully recovered, didn't dare to face them head-on. He threw out a First Order Superior Defensive Talisman, which transformed into a several zhang large shield. It protected his entire body from behind.
Over ten Snow Spirit Fish slammed into the huge shield created by the talisman. It only held for a moment before exploding. The attack of the Snow Spirit Fish was blocked, and they fell into the pond.
Seizing this opportunity, Lin Tianming formed a hand seal and cast Huoyuan Slash. A streak of blue and red light shot directly toward the barrier behind the water screen.
With a loud boom, the flaming great sword transformed by the Huoyuan Slash hit the barrier.
In less than a moment, a half-zhang large gap appeared in the barrier.
Now was the moment. Lin Tianming turned into a lingering shadow as he rushed into the formation barrier.
After a spell of dizziness.
Lin Tianming appeared inside a hundred zhang large cave. The entire cave was dug out of the mountain body and must have been a temporary dwelling for a High Order Cultivator to cultivate; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so spacious.
Lin Tianming carefully observed his surroundings. The whole cave consisted of five chambers, the largest being over thirty zhang in size, and the smallest over ten zhang.
Lin Tianming cautiously stepped in, clenching the Qingfeng Sword in his hand. Still not feeling reassured, he took the single remaining First Order Attack Talisman and Defense Talisman from his storage bag and held them in his hand. Should any unexpected situation arise, they could save his life.
Upon entering the cave mansion, the first thing that caught his eye was a stone chamber of over ten zhang in size. It was a complete mess; many stone tables and chairs were already half-destroyed. Time had taken its toll, with ordinary stone materials unable to withstand the wear of years, splitting into uneven pieces. It appeared that this place was a reception hall and contained nothing of value.
Lin Tianming did not linger and continued to walk further inside. To the right of the reception hall was a chamber protected by a golden light screen, obviously a Formation Barrier. Despite its age, the power it retained was not insignificant.
Lin Tianming exerted his full strength to deploy the Huoyuan Slash, bombarding the barrier.
I saw several ripples flash across the barrier but it remained unshaken – the calm light screen rapidly returned to its tranquil state.
After the unsuccessful attack, Lin Tianming felt the fluctuations of the barrier, making multiple attempts to attack, but none could break the Formation Barrier. It seemed that a single person would have a hard time shattering the barrier.
After several failed forceful attempts, he knew he needed to think of a solution. The barrier was also a formation, so there had to be a weak point.
Lin Tianming began to study the entire Formation Barrier.
Unknowingly, he spent half a day pondering over it. Although he had not discovered its weakness, it wasn't without some clues.
Based on the remaining fluctuations and effects of the barrier, it must have existed for at least ten thousand years, and it wouldn't be surprising if it had been tens of thousands of years.
The grade of the Formation Barrier was at least Third Order, otherwise, it couldn't have lasted such a long time.
The power of the entire Formation Barrier had dwindled from its prolonged use, retaining barely a ten-thousandth of its original strength. Tian Ming estimated that even if he did not attack the formation forcibly, after waiting a few hundred to a thousand years for the central Spirit Stone of the barrier to deplete completely, the Formation Barrier would self-destruct.
But Lin Tianming could not possibly wait that long. The opportunity was right in front of him, and no one could resist a chance that was within easy reach.