fairy family

Chapter 175: People die for wealth, birds die for food, and old trees are reborn.
Outside the secret cave, the soldiers of Huangshan County surrounded the entire tomb chamber, and the surrounding camp was even more tightly packed than before Yu Que and his group entered.

Officers of all ranks would gather daily in front of the tomb chamber, discussing the contents inside.

As time went by, their expressions grew increasingly anxious.

"This grave pit only looks to be a few hundred feet in size. Why haven't the general and the others come out yet, after several days and nights?"

"Could it be that they're all trapped inside!?"

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

During this time, they did consider going down to investigate, but several groups of people had gone down and still hadn't come out, so no one dared to enter the dark bottom of the tomb anymore.

Especially since the wind and thunder howled inside, and the eerie atmosphere was palpable, it was clearly a dangerous place.

Finally, a figure flew out from the black mist.

The other person was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit and wore a mask. Although the mask was different from the one that Jun Baifeng usually wore, his stature and temperament could only be attributed to Jun Baifeng.

Several shouts immediately rang out in front of the tomb chamber: "General!"

"You've finally come out."

Jun Baifeng nodded calmly, then looked behind her, signaling everyone to be patient, as someone else was about to come out.

As expected, Yu Que and the others emerged one by one from the black mist, stood at the edge of the tomb, and bowed to the crowd.

Just as the people outside thought someone would come out, Jun Baifeng glanced at the few people and waved his hand: "Bury this place."

"this?!"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd outside:
"Old Zhao and the others, Old Fei and the others, they haven't come out yet."

"General, you mustn't! Wait a little longer!"

Jun Baifeng sneered, about to recount Fei Wu and his group's treasonous act, but the words caught in her throat. She simply said curtly:
"This place is dangerous. All the others who were greedy for the wealth inside have perished there. Only these people remain."

These words immediately caused an even bigger uproar, with many people disbelieving them.

It wasn't until they apprehended Yu Que and the others, especially the few soldiers who had gone down later and miraculously survived, that the crowd gradually quieted down.

"Hiss, is the inside actually an ancient cave dwelling?"

"No wonder, these cave dwellings and secret realms are extremely dangerous. I've heard that some people have even contracted an ancient plague as soon as they entered. That plague was nothing to people in ancient times, but for people today, it's an incurable disease that's hard to cure with any medicine."

In addition, many people's eyes lit up when they learned that the inside was actually a secret cave.

They stared at the grave pit shrouded in black mist, their eyes gleaming with a restless intent.

Needless to say, these people also had the idea of ​​going down to find out and see if they could earn some treasure.

In particular, through careful observation, they discovered that, apart from Jun Baifeng, whose expression was obscured, everyone else had a hint of joy on their faces after leaving the cave, looking as if they had made a considerable gain.

Finally, someone couldn't resist any longer and stepped forward, bowing respectfully: "General, since there is such an opportunity here, why don't we go down and explore as well?"

When one person stepped forward, two or three others followed suit, and even the regular soldiers in the county garrison were beginning to stir.

Faced with such expressions from everyone, Jun Baifeng sighed softly. She didn't stop them, but merely offered a word of advice:

"The spiritual energy inside this cave was almost completely depleted when it opened and closed. Once we emerge from seclusion, it will probably close completely soon."

"If you enter now, there's a good chance you'll get trapped inside and die, never to emerge again. If you're willing to take that risk, then go ahead."

Jun Baifeng warned again: "Remember, you must come out within three hours, otherwise once the spiritual energy dissipates, you will be unable to leave and will have no chance of survival."

These words immediately made the restless expressions on many people's faces disappear.

With only three hours, the time was indeed very short, and the possibility of being trapped in danger was not small.

In particular, Fei Wu and a large number of others have already perished inside, and the tomb itself still poses considerable danger.

Even so, someone gritted their teeth, cupped their hands to Jun Baifeng, and shouted, "I'm off!"

The figure leaped and rushed into the tomb chamber without looking back, disappearing into the billowing black smoke at the bottom.

Immediately afterwards, the greed of the others was also aroused, and they jumped into the tomb pit like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, and the number of people kept increasing.

This situation left Yu Que and the others deeply saddened.

However, Yu Que also noticed that many people suddenly changed their expressions just before entering, as if they had heard something, and immediately stopped and returned to the group.

Jun Baifeng stood calmly in front of the crowd, hands behind his back, appearing as an observer.

Three hours passed quickly.

Over these three hours, the black mist at the bottom of the tomb pit indeed became thinner and thinner, and after nearly three hours, the pit itself could be seen.

Apart from a dozen or so soldiers who jumped out of the black mist, no one else was able to jump out.

Of those who venture into the secret cave, only one in ten emerges alive!

This situation has once again astonished outsiders.

However, the dozen or so soldiers who successfully escaped all had joy on their faces, obviously having found something good in the cave. Some of them even carried several antiques and showed them off in front of everyone, asking others to help them take a look.

In an instant, the county soldiers' ranks were filled with sighs and envious whispers.

Amidst the commotion and noise, no one paid any attention to the fact that none of the officers who had gone down into the pit had come out.

After the black mist inside the tomb completely dissipated, rows of simple pits were revealed to everyone. At this moment, Jun Baifeng once again ordered everyone to bury the area.

With the work of hundreds of shovels, the entire mound was quickly buried again, never to see the light of day once more.

Yu Que also joined in, adding a few shovelfuls of soil.

And he gradually realized something, thinking to himself: "The old ghost in the coffin who calls himself the Corpse-Dissolving Immortal doesn't seem like an ancient Qi cultivator, but more like one of us immortals."

Could it be that this fiend is trapped in the secret cave because of this, unable to escape, and has been confined there ever since?

He had already secretly inquired with the old monkey and learned that such secret caves would automatically close their entrances and exits after exhausting their spiritual energy, hiding in unknown places, so that even immortals might not be able to find them.

Only after a long period of time, when the inner spiritual energy has accumulated enough bit by bit, will the gate reopen and the world reappear.

The time when spiritual energy can be accumulated most effectively and is most easily perfected is naturally the time of spiritual energy revival.

According to the old ghost who dismembered corpses, this fiend was waiting for the spiritual energy to revive so he could possess another body and be reborn. It's just unknown whether this person entered the cave voluntarily or was forced into it.

However, this had nothing to do with Yu Que; he merely thought to himself:
"So, does this cave dwelling simply open naturally when the spiritual energy is full, or has this round of spiritual energy revival already begun, but has not yet been known to the world?"

After a moment's thought, he found little evidence and could only keep the idea to himself. A short while later...

The county soldiers cooked a meal on the newly built mound. After the soldiers had a hearty meal, they poured wine on the ground as a way of commemorating their comrades who had perished in the secret cave.

Immediately afterwards, Yu Que and his men burned down the camp without hesitation and returned to the Huangshan military camp.

On the return journey, the army was initially worried that the long distance would lead to insufficient rations and that everyone would have to go hungry for several days.

However, they soon discovered that the return journey was much easier than the way they had come, and it was no longer winding. They arrived at the mountain stronghold in only half the time it had taken to get there.

Clearly, many of the routes the group took were detours deliberately arranged by Jun Baifeng to avoid revealing her intentions.

This woman was very thoughtful about this.

Because when the Huangshan County soldiers broke camp and left, while they were still on their way back, several groups of people had already followed the route they had taken and arrived at the location of the mound.

These people either used magic or dug through the night, hoping to get into that secret cave.

Unfortunately, even a sixth-rank immortal personally descended from Mount Huang and came to this place.

After searching for the dragon veins and pinpointing the acupoints, the man still shook his head regretfully. He merely noted down the location, terrain, and earth veins of this place, instructing the Dao Palace to come back and seek opportunities in the next dynasty.

at the same time.

In that dark and sunless cave, the soldiers who failed to leave in time and were trapped inside endured several days of hardship. When their rations ran out, they went mad one after another, even resorting to cannibalism, making the cave filled with terrifying resentment and rampant evil spirits.

Among them, the officers with high magical power roared incessantly:

"You lowly servant, why do you deceive me!"

Among these officers, some were cautious and wanted to leave the area as soon as possible.

Some people even tried to leave as soon as they arrived at the hanging coffins, after only a few minutes inside.

However, when they rushed into the black mist, they all missed their target and fell futilely onto the hanging coffin.

It wasn't until later, when soldiers arrived and some successfully left the cave, that the officers realized that anyone with a cultivation level exceeding the eighth rank was unable to escape the black energy.

Moreover, as time goes by, the black aura becomes fainter and is consumed more and more, and those who can leave have lower cultivation levels, with only those at the ninth rank able to leave.

Only then did they realize that they had probably all been tricked by Jun Baifeng.

………………

the other side.

While people devoured each other in the secret cave, the county soldiers in the main camp were overjoyed, with plenty of wine and meat.

Even Jun Baifeng, who is usually strict, drank dozens of bowls of wine with his soldiers, and his whole body was filled with the smell of alcohol.

Although no one could see her expression, they could clearly tell from her eyes that she was in high spirits today.

Yu Que sat cross-legged at the table, gazing at Jun Baifeng, and couldn't help but think, "I wonder if this woman's allure will be even more pronounced after drinking..."

In his daze, he noticed that Jun Baifeng seemed to have noticed his gaze and even glared at him from afar.

So he quickly withdrew his drink and, to cover it up, drank a few bowls of wine with the old monkey next to him.

When the moon was high in the sky and the banquet was halfway over, Yu Que took his leave of the banquet, intending to return to Bi Ma Fang alone to rest and consolidate his cultivation.

Unexpectedly, when he left the main tent, the old monkey, whom he thought would never leave without causing a huge commotion, also came out carrying a jar of wine, swaying unsteadily.

Yu Que was truly surprised that the old man was willing to leave early.

When they reached a secluded spot, he asked a few questions in a low voice. Seeing the other person's smiling but silent face, he immediately understood.

It wasn't just him and Jun Baifeng who reaped significant rewards in the secret realm; this person's gains were equally substantial. He likely shared the same thought, leaving early to digest his gains.

Realizing this, Yu Que looked at the old monkey again and found that the old man's decrepit air had disappeared, replaced by a vibrant vitality, making him a real "old rascal".

Upon reaching the meditation room, as the two were about to part, Yu Que suddenly cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said with a smile:
"When we meet again, may I address you as Senior Demon Immortal?"

The old monkey was taken aback by what he heard, then laughed and scolded with a mixture of joy and embarrassment:

"That's too much, how could such an opportunity come about? I'm already quite old, and being able to live a few more years would be an immense blessing."

Although he denied Yu Que's conjecture, the other party laughed with great satisfaction.

Yu Que immediately realized that even if the other party couldn't break through this time, they should still be able to replenish their energy, recover their strength, and have the possibility of making further progress in the future.

He immediately bent down and wished the other person all their wishes come true.

The old monkey accepted his bow without hesitation.

Just as the two were about to turn around, the other person suddenly pointed to Yu Que's waist:

"This time I will be in seclusion for quite some time, possibly even more than half a year."

Fortunately, you were lucky enough to obtain a magical artifact from Fei Wu. Even without me by your side, you can protect yourself.

The old monkey paused for a moment and then instructed:

"However, I see that your magic weapon is damaged and needs to be repaired before it can be used. After you leave the pass, you can return to the county town and catch up with that old eunuch."

Also, since you've been away from home for so long, it's time for you to go home yourself and let them know you're safe.

Upon hearing this, Yu Que's eyes lit up immediately.

That's right, the old leader is the head of the Alchemist Guild.

If we were to discuss who among those who know Yu Que is most capable of repairing magical artifacts and restoring spirits, it would undoubtedly be this person.

Moreover, having been away from home for several months, Yu Que really wanted to see his uncles and others and see for himself how they were doing in the county town.

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, senior." Yu Que bowed to the old monkey again.

Old Monkey laughed heartily, then turned and entered the quiet room.

Amidst the resounding crash of the stone gate closing, the other party's chanting echoed in Yu Que's ears:

"With white hair and all things done, I never expected that the old tree would be renewed in autumn."

"Though opportunities may not be plentiful, I have no regrets; what more could I ask for than to sprout new buds?"

(End of this chapter)