Courtyard Check-in: Starting with a Small World of Cultivation

On the eleventh day of the first lunar month in Guangzhou, the warmth of the Spring Festival had not yet dissipated, and the sweet aroma of rice cakes and fried glutinous rice balls still wafted through the streets and alleys. Chen Yu stood by the window on the second floor of the guesthouse, holding a cup of freshly brewed Pu'er tea in his hand, but his gaze was fixed on the newly opened herbal tea shop across the street.

The two men had been sitting in front of the shop for half an hour, slowly sipping their bowls of herbal tea for treating rashes, their eyes occasionally glancing towards the entrance of the guesthouse. One of them wore a brown baseball cap, and the other had a gray-white towel draped around his neck—these were the characteristics of the Dragon Seeking Society's stalkers described by Pseudo-Man No. 7.

"Master, should we get rid of them?" The voice of Pseudo-Man No. 7 sounded in his consciousness.

"No need, let them keep an eye on them." Chen Yu took a sip of tea. "You continue monitoring and see if they have any accomplices."

"Understood. Also, Gu Wenyuan went to the Ancient Books Department of Zhongshan Library this morning to consult the 'Zhaoqing Prefecture Annals' and 'A Study of Famous Scenic Spots in Lingnan'."

"He's looking for clues about the Water Moon Cave," Chen Yu said knowingly. "Has the man in black made any moves?"

"The group from Guangxi checked into a small hotel near the train station. Today, they sent two people to the black market to buy equipment, including underwater lighting equipment and diving knives."

A diving knife? Chen Yu frowned slightly. It seemed the man in black had also guessed that Water Moon Cave might be related to the underwater world. Time was of the essence; they had to make thorough preparations before the Lantern Festival.

"System, check-in for today." He put down his teacup.

[Ding! Japanese visa successfully obtained]

[Received: 3 compressed dry rations, basic diving knowledge (small), 1 night vision goggle (1964 Soviet model, already compatible), 15 yuan in cash]

The diving knowledge came at just the right time. After using it, Chen Yu gained knowledge of underwater breathing techniques, pressure equalization methods, and prevention of decompression sickness. The night vision goggles were an unexpected bonus—night vision technology was still in its infancy at this time, and this equipment was truly cutting-edge technology.

He immediately began preparing his equipment for exploring the Water Moon Cave. He retrieved a waterproof cloth bag from his system space, sealing the Qi-Nourishing Pill, Hemostatic Powder, and Heart-Clearing Powder in wax before placing it inside. Night vision goggles, a miniature camera, a compass, ropes, waterproof matches… he checked each item one by one. Finally, he carefully wrapped the Xuan-character token and the two scrolls of records in oilcloth.

At noon, Pseudo-Man No. 7 sent another message: "Master, Gu Wenyuan has come out of the library with a copy of the map in his hand. They are currently having lunch at Tao Tao Ju. Judging from their conversation, it seems they have confirmed that Shuiyue Cave is near 'Yuping Rock' in Xinghu Lake."

Jade Screen Rock? Chen Yu unfolded the animal hide map for comparison. The blue dot in Star Lake was indeed close to Jade Screen Rock, but its exact location wasn't marked. He needed to investigate in person beforehand.

"Pseudo-humans number two and three," Chen Yu ordered through his mind, "You two go and scout the terrain near Xinghu Yuping Rock, paying special attention to caves or crevices near the water. Be careful to stay hidden."

"Yes."

In the afternoon, Chen Yu went to the Guangzhou Shipyard. Lin Wanru's special coating sample had passed testing, and mass production had been handed over to Engineer Li. When Chief Engineer Zhang saw him, he handed him a brown paper bag.

"Xiao Chen, this is your technical consultant appointment letter from China Resources Company, along with this month's allowance." Chief Engineer Zhang lowered his voice. "Also, a telegram came from Hong Kong saying that Ms. Lin arranged for you to stay at the Overseas Chinese Hotel in Guangzhou."

Overseas Chinese Hotel? Chen Yu took the paper bag. It seemed Lin Wanru had already noticed the Dragon Seeking Society's pursuit and wanted to find him a safer place.

"Thank you, Chief Engineer Zhang. I'll think about it."

"What are you still hesitating about!" Chief Engineer Zhang patted him on the shoulder. "The guesthouse is too crowded and unsafe. The Overseas Chinese Hotel is a hotel for foreigners; ordinary people can't get in. Listen to me, let's move today!"

Chen Yu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. Since the Dragon Seeking Society could find Guangxiao Temple, it was only a matter of time before they found the guesthouse. Changing locations would not only shake off the surveillance but also give them a few days of peace and quiet.

In the evening, he checked out of the guesthouse and hailed a pedicab to the Overseas Chinese Hotel. As the pedicab drove out of the alley, Chen Yu saw in the rearview mirror that the two people who had been watching him hurriedly got up, clearly not expecting him to leave so suddenly.

The Overseas Chinese Hotel is located on Avenida Marginal do Campo, a seven-story European-style building with uniformed waiters at the entrance. After Chen Yu showed his identification and Lin Wanru's telegram, he was led to a suite on the fifth floor.

The room was spacious, with a private bathroom and balcony, and views of the Pearl River from the window. What pleased Chen Yu most was that only a few foreign guests and compatriots from Hong Kong and Macau stayed on this floor, and security was strict, making it difficult for strangers to sneak in.

After settling in, he immediately contacted Agent Two: "What's the situation at Yuping Rock?"

"Master, we have discovered a cave entrance about one meter in diameter, located two meters underwater on the west side of Yuping Rock. It is covered by aquatic plants and vines. Three tour boats passed by during the day, but no one noticed. The situation inside the cave is unknown, and we need to dive to explore it."

"Wait for my instructions and do not act rashly for the time being."

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, Chen Yu stayed in his hotel room, focusing intently on studying diving techniques and animal hide diagrams. He repeatedly examined the diagrams using his spiritual eye technique and discovered extremely subtle water ripple patterns around the blue dot on the star lake—a hidden mark indicating an underwater entrance.

In the afternoon, he tried to activate the token with spiritual energy. When the spiritual energy was injected to a certain critical point, a three-dimensional star map appeared on the surface of the token, in which the two stars Tian Shu and Tian Xuan were bright, Tian Ji was slightly flickering, and the other four stars were dim.

"Tianji Star corresponds to Shuiyue Cave..." Chen Yu noted the star position and used pen and paper to calculate the specific location. Based on the star map projection and the animal skin icon markings, he finally located the water area fifty meters west of Yuping Rock—which matched the location where the fake man discovered the cave entrance!

In the evening, Pseudo-Man No. 7 reported bad news: "Master, the Dragon Seekers have located the Overseas Chinese Hotel. Gu Wenyuan, through his connections in Shanghai, found Lin Wanru's booking records. Now there are two groups of people monitoring the hotel, one group is from the Dragon Seekers, and the other is men in black."

Chen Yu walked to the balcony and looked down through the gap in the curtains. Sure enough, there were figures moving around in the window of the teahouse on the second floor across the street; a black sedan was parked by the roadside, and there were people inside.

"They dare not enter the hotel, but they will keep an eye on things," said Pseudo-Man No. 7. "In addition, Gu Wenyuan visited the cultural relics department in Zhaoqing this afternoon and applied for a 'scientific research permit' for Xinghu Lake on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, under the pretext of studying underwater cultural relics."

"Official permission?" Chen Yu sneered. "This means they're going to search the lake openly and legitimately."

"Also, the men in black have brought in five people from Guangxi, all equipped. They've chartered a fishing boat and are preparing to take action on the fifteenth of the first lunar month."

Three forces, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, at Xinghu Yuping Rock... It seems a clash is inevitable that day.

After a moment's thought, Chen Yu made a decision: "Number Seven, you make arrangements to stage a 'tomb raiding case' in Liwan District on the night of the fourteenth day of the first lunar month to draw the attention of the police and cultural relics departments. Number Two and Number Three, you two will create a fake underwater cave entrance on the east side of Yuping Rock and set up some misleading clues."

"Is the master trying to use a diversionary tactic?"

"Yes. They will definitely go to Yuping Rock on the night of the full moon on the fifteenth of the first lunar month. We'll act a day earlier and enter Shuiyue Cave on the night of the fourteenth!"

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Chen Yu continued his preparations at the hotel. He purchased basic diving equipment—in this era, there were no professional scuba divers, so he could only use a homemade diving mask and snorkel. Fortunately, he had spiritual energy protecting him, allowing him to hold his breath underwater for longer periods.

He retrieved the recipe for the "Water-Repelling Pill" that he had previously refined from the system space. This was a low-grade pill recorded in "The Records of Xuanzhen, Part Two," which allowed one to breathe underwater for an hour after taking it. However, the medicinal materials were hard to find, and he only managed to gather one set of ingredients.

The alchemy process took place in the hotel bathroom. The bronze furnace was placed over an alcohol lamp; the earth fire talisman couldn't be used—the smoke would trigger the fire alarm. Chen Yu carefully controlled the heat, refining the houttuynia cordata, seaweed powder, borneol, and other medicinal herbs into three pale blue pills.

[Successfully Refined: Water-Repelling Pill (Inferior Quality)]

[Effect: Assists underwater breathing and can extend breath-holding time by 50 minutes]

[Quality: Inferior (Incomplete medicinal materials, poor refining environment, only 40% of the medicinal efficacy remains)]

He only had 15 minutes, but that should be enough. Chen Yu packed up the water-repelling pills and all his equipment, waiting for night to fall.

On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, at dusk, Chen Yu changed into a dark blue work uniform with a black jacket over it, slung a waterproof bag over his shoulder, and left through the back door of the hotel—a route scouted in advance by the spies to avoid all surveillance points.

He hailed a pedicab to Shamian Wharf, where a small wooden boat rented by the puppet regime was available. After boarding, he rowed himself, heading west along a tributary of the Pearl River towards Zhaoqing.

As night deepened, only a few fishing boat lights flickered on the river. Chen Yu rowed while communicating with the fake person through his mind: "Is everything ready in Liwan?"

"Ready, Master. We've set up a fake 'ancient tomb' in the basement of an old house from the Republican era, with several imitation pottery jars and copper coins inside. Someone will 'accidentally' discover it at 9 PM and call the police."

"Where is the fake cave entrance at Yuping Rock?"

"The setup is complete. We dug a shallow hole underwater on the east side, placed a stone slab with indistinct runes inside, and sprinkled some rust and bone fragments. The entrance to the hole was marked with fluorescent powder, which will glow faintly at night."

"Very good. You will remain on guard near Xinghu Lake and report any unusual activity immediately."

"Yes."

At midnight, the small boat entered the waters of Xinghu Lake. The full moon was still a night away, but tonight's moon was already very bright, its silvery light spilling onto the lake's surface, making it shimmer. Under the moonlight, Yuping Rock stood in the lake like a giant screen.

Chen Yu rowed the boat to the west and tied it to a reef. Activating his spiritual eye technique, he could clearly see the underwater cave entrance concealed by seaweed. There were faint fluctuations of spiritual energy around the cave entrance—this was an illusion set up by the Xuanzhen Master years ago; ordinary people wouldn't notice anything unusual even if they dived to the entrance.

He swallowed the water-repelling pill, and a cool sensation spread from his throat throughout his body. His lungs seemed to have undergone some kind of change, reducing his oxygen demand. After putting on his diving mask, biting down on the snorkel, and slinging his waterproof bag over his shoulder, Chen Yu silently slid into the water.

The lake water was icy cold, but it wasn't unbearable under the protection of his spiritual energy. He dived down to a depth of two meters and swam towards the cave entrance. Pushing aside the aquatic plants and vines, the cave entrance was revealed—slightly larger than the fake man had described, about 1.5 meters in diameter, and pitch black inside.

Chen Yu turned on his waterproof flashlight, the beam shining into the cave. The cave sloped downwards, its walls smooth and showing obvious signs of human excavation. He took a deep breath and crawled inside.

The cave passage was narrow at first, but after swimming about ten meters, it suddenly opened up into an underwater stone hall. The top of the stone hall was above the water—there was air here! Chen Yu surfaced and shone his flashlight around.

This is a space combining a natural cave and a man-made excavation, approximately thirty square meters in size. Stalactites hang from the cave ceiling, and there are shallow pools of water on the ground. Directly in front, three stone steps lead to a stone platform, on which sits a jade box.

This time, however, the stone platform was protected by an array. Under the Spirit Eye Technique, a pale blue light curtain could be seen enveloping the stone platform, with water-like ripples on its surface—this was a water-based defensive array!

Chen Yu swam to the stone steps and stepped onto the water. He felt a solid surface beneath his feet; there was a transparent crystalline platform beneath the water, which he could stand on. He carefully observed the formation and discovered that its energy was connected to the water vapor inside the cave, flowing continuously.

"Water Moon Cave... its reputation is well-deserved." Chen Yu pondered a way to break it. Water-based formations are most vulnerable to earth, but there are no earth-elemental materials here. Or... use water to break water?

He took out a Xuan-character token and two scrolls of ancient texts from his cloth bag. As the three items appeared simultaneously before the formation, a sudden change occurred—the token automatically floated up, emitting a soft blue light. The two scrolls of ancient texts also trembled slightly, and words appeared on their surfaces.

The text was projected onto the light screen and merged with the array runes. The light screen began to fluctuate, gradually thinning, and finally opened a portal directly in front of the stone platform.

Chen Yu stepped inside. This time there was no obstruction, and he walked directly to the stone platform. The jade box was opened, revealing the third scroll of bamboo slips: "The Lost Records of Xuanzhen, Part Three".

Unfolding the bamboo scroll, its contents made his heart race. This scroll contained the basics of array formations and introductory material for weapon crafting, including methods for setting up several practical arrays, as well as... the fundamental techniques for crafting magical artifacts!

More importantly, the bamboo slips contain the complete clues to the "Seven Keys": "Tian Shu is hidden in a stone chamber, Tian Xuan is hidden in Yunmen, Tian Ji is submerged in the moonlit water, Tian Quan is buried in Danxia, ​​Yu Heng is suspended in Luofu, Kai Yang is sealed in Xiqiao, and Yao Guang is suppressed in Baiyun. When the seven keys are gathered, the seven stars are aligned, and the cave door opens."

Besides the first three keys already obtained, the remaining four keys are hidden in Danxia Mountain, Luofu Mountain, Xiqiao Mountain, and Baiyun Mountain—all famous mountains in Lingnan!

The bamboo slips also mention: "Each of the seven keys contains a test; one must possess the previous key to unlock the next. Whoever obtains this scroll can craft the 'Key-Finding Disc' to guide the way."

Find the key disk! Chen Yu immediately checked the crafting method. It required black iron, star sand, and spirit spring water... The materials were hard to find, but not impossible. Especially the spirit spring water; he had a spirit spring from his small world, and its quality was sufficient.

He put the third bamboo scroll into his small world and was about to leave when he suddenly noticed a line of small characters engraved on the bottom of the stone platform: "Those who inherit my legacy must swear a great oath to the heart: not to do evil, not to violate the Dao, and not to bully the weak. If they violate this oath, the seven keys will be destroyed and the cave will be sealed forever."

Chen Yu stood solemnly and bowed respectfully to the stone platform: "This junior, Chen Yu, having received the inheritance of my senior, will surely uphold this oath. I will not do evil, will not violate the Dao, and will not bully the weak. If I violate this oath, may Heaven and Earth punish me."

As soon as the words were spoken, the stone platform trembled slightly, as if in response. The small characters gradually faded and disappeared.

Chen Yu knew that this was the final test left by Master Xuanzhen. For cultivators, character is more important than aptitude.

He composed himself and prepared to leave. But just then, he heard the sound of water outside the cave!

Someone's coming!

Chen Yu quickly turned off his flashlight and hid behind a thick stalactite. He activated his Spiritual Eye Technique and looked through the water curtain towards the cave entrance.

Two dark figures swam into the cave and surfaced. A flashlight beam illuminated their faces—two of the men in black! They had found this place too, and a day earlier than expected!

"Boss, there really is air here!" a young voice said.

"Keep your voice down!" another deep voice said. "Look ahead, there's a stone platform... the things have already been taken!"

The two swam to the stone platform and examined the jade box. The younger one suddenly exclaimed, "Boss, there are words inside the box!"

Chen Yu's heart tightened. Had he not noticed the writing on the bottom of the box when he took the bamboo slips?

"What did you write?" a deep voice asked.

"It seems to be... a vow? 'Not to do evil, not to go against the Way...' What does that mean?"

"Whatever it means, someone snatched it first! Search! The thief might not be far away!"

Two beams of flashlight began sweeping through the cave. Chen Yu held his breath, concentrating his spiritual energy to its limit. Fortunately, the stalactite he was hiding in was thick enough that the light only illuminated the edges of the pillar.

The two men in black searched for ten minutes but found no one. The younger one said, "Boss, could they have already left through another exit?"

"Possibly. This cave must have ventilation shafts, otherwise the air wouldn't be so fresh." The deep voice pondered. "Let's go out and keep watch on the lake! Everyone else will be here on the fifteenth of the first lunar month; then we can easily spot who's carrying something!"

The two swam out of the cave. Chen Yu waited another fifteen minutes, and only surfaced after confirming it was safe. He didn't leave immediately, but carefully observed the cave ceiling—sure enough, in one corner of the stone hall, there was a fist-sized ventilation hole, through which moonlight shone, forming a beam of light.

"I need to find another exit..." Chen Yu didn't want to encounter the men in black on the lake. He searched along the direction of the ventilation opening and found a narrow crack behind the stone wall, which he could barely squeeze through.

Beyond the crack were natural stone steps leading upwards. After walking about twenty meters, light appeared ahead. Emerging from the crack, Chen Yu found himself standing on a secluded platform halfway up Jade Screen Rock, with Star Lake below.

Under the moonlight, the lake was calm. But he could see two boats slowly drifting on the western side of the water—the boats of the men in black.

"Pseudo-human number two, come and meet me," Chen Yu ordered through his mind. "On the south bank of Yuping Rock, avoid those two boats."

"Understood, Master is already on his way."

Half an hour later, Chen Yu returned safely to his small boat. He lay on the bottom of the boat, gazing at the starry sky, and let out a long sigh of relief.

I've obtained the third volume of the Lost Records, the complete clues to the Seven Star Key, and even the crafting method for the Key-Finding Disc. This adventure was worthwhile.

But the appearance of the man in black reminded him that there were more and more competitors. A fierce battle was bound to take place at Xinghu Lake on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

And he had already obtained the most crucial thing.

The small boat cut through the night and headed towards Guangzhou.

The Star Lake behind us slept under the moonlight.

But Chen Yu knew that tomorrow, on the night of the full moon, this place would no longer be peaceful.

He needs to make all the necessary preparations before that happens.