Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

Looking at these people who they usually looked up to, yet were now treating her with such politeness, Li Xiaocao felt a sense of bewilderment.

All of this is because of the miracles created by the sect leader and his senior brothers in Yunmengze.

"Well... let's leave it here for now." Li Xiaocao bit her lip and had no choice but to compromise. "We'll make a decision after the sect leader returns to the mountain. Everyone, please go back."

"Alright, alright! Then we won't bother you any longer!" Seeing that the gifts had been given out, everyone left their visiting cards with satisfaction and took their leave.

Looking at the gifts piled up in one corner of the mountain gate, Li Xiaocao and Ayuan looked at each other, both seeing a trace of confusion and heaviness in each other's eyes.

"Sister Xiaocao... what... what should we do?" Ayuan asked softly, somewhat at a loss.

Li Xiaocao tried to calm herself down. She remembered her senior brother's parting words: "Be calm and think things through when faced with problems."

"Let's take stock of the gifts and make a list first," Li Xiaocao said. "Then...then we'll wait. We'll wait for the sect leader and the others to return."

From this day forward, Qingyun Sect can no longer remain as inconspicuous as before. Whether these gifts and acts of kindness bring fortune or misfortune remains to be seen. She must protect this family until the sect leader returns.

Meanwhile, Shen Mo, far away in the Liuyun Water Mansion in Yunmengze, was unaware that his door had already been trampled down.

He was leading his disciples, carefully navigating a deep, damp passageway, facing a new challenge.

The interior of the Flowing Cloud Water Palace is far more spacious than it appears from the outside. Stepping through the water-like light curtain, one does not enter the palace directly, but rather a long, winding passageway leading downwards.

The passageway is flanked by slippery, bluish-black stone walls covered with moss that emits a pale blue glow, providing a dim illumination.

The air was thick with moisture and the smell of decay; the stone slabs underfoot were covered in moss and very slippery. Faintly, the sound of flowing water could be heard in the distance.

"Watch your step." Shen Mo walked at the front, his divine sense highly concentrated, carefully probing every inch of the area in front of him.

He held a moonstone in his hand, which emitted a soft white light, illuminating an area of ​​several feet in front of him. Although he had previously scared off a powerful enemy by using the "Ancestral Master's Manifestation," he knew very well that the interior of this water palace was probably the truly dangerous place.

The cave dwellings left behind by ancient cultivators are absolutely not places that anyone could easily break into.

"Sect Leader, this place... feels eerie..." Zhao Qingyan whispered, subconsciously moving closer to Su Xiao.

She was sensitive to the aura of the formation and could vaguely sense that there seemed to be some extremely subtle spiritual energy fluctuation hidden in this passageway, which made her uneasy.

"Hmm." Shen Mo nodded. "True Master Liuyun is a water-attribute cultivator, so his cave must be full of traps and mechanisms, especially those related to water. Everyone, stay close to me and don't touch anything that looks strange."

The five people held their breath, slowed their pace, and cautiously explored forward.

Shi Tie held an iron rod, watching the stone walls on both sides warily; Zhang Daniu gripped an axe, glancing back every now and then, afraid that something might appear behind him.

Su Xiao extended his divine sense to sense the subtle changes in the surrounding spiritual energy; Zhao Qingyan, on the other hand, tried hard to discern the seemingly chaotic patterns on the stone wall, attempting to find traces of the formation.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, three paths appeared ahead. The three passages looked exactly the same, deep and mysterious, their destinations unknown.

"Sect Leader, which way should we go?" Shi Tie asked.

Shen Mo stopped and carefully observed the three intersections. He noticed that the left passage was the most humid, the middle one was drier, while the right one had a faint medicinal fragrance wafting through the air.

"System, scan the three channels and analyze the risks and potential benefits," Shen Mo silently instructed. Although the causal points had been exhausted, the system's basic detection and analysis functions were still usable, only the accuracy and range were far less than before.

[Command received. Scanning... Scan complete. Left passage: Water elemental energy abnormally active, high-intensity energy reaction and life signs detected (suspected guardian creature), risk level: high. Potential benefits: unknown (possibly related to the Water Mansion core).]

Middle passage: Stable energy response with no obvious trap fluctuations; Risk level: Low to medium. Potential benefits: May lead to the living room or library.

Right passage: Faint wood-attribute spiritual energy and residual medicinal aura detected. Risk level: Low. Potential benefits: May lead to a herb garden or alchemy room.

"As expected..." Shen Mo understood. High risk often means high reward, but with their current strength, going through the left passage would be tantamount to suicide.

The middle passage seems safe, but the rewards are likely the most modest. The right-hand passage carries the lowest risk and may lead to a herb garden or alchemy room—resources that the Qingyun Sect urgently needs!

"Let's go to the right." Shen Mo made a quick decision. Prudence was the top priority.

Having chosen the right-hand passage, the five continued forward. As the system had predicted, this passage was relatively flat, and they encountered no obvious traps. However, the medicinal scent in the air grew increasingly strong.

After walking for a while, the view suddenly opened up! A huge cave appeared before us! Several luminous pearls were embedded in the cave ceiling, emitting a soft glow.

In the center of the cave was a cultivated medicinal field. Although most of the area was overgrown with weeds, a few plants that emitted a faint spiritual light were still growing tenaciously!

"It's a spirit herb!" Su Xiao exclaimed in surprise. She recognized one of the small herbs with leaves like ice crystals; it was the "Ice Heart Orchid" from the records, the main ingredient for refining various ice-attribute pills, and it was extremely valuable!

"And over there! It looks like 'Earth Dragon Root'!" Zhao Qingyan shouted, pointing to a spot.

Besides these relatively common medicinal herbs, in a corner of the herb field, there is a small tree about half a person's height, with three longan-sized, bright red fruits on it, emitting an enticing fragrance.