I Have a Compass for Opportunity

Clearly, he had already discovered Tian Qiweng, but he merely glanced at Tian’s hidden position, pretending as if nothing was amiss, and leisurely walked to the center of the magic cave, facing the sword scar left by Xuanyi.

Thin raindrops fell on his cheeks, and he gazed at that sword scar in the rain, his dark golden pupils flickering with a bizarre color.

"Xuanyi!" He muttered to himself the name that had instilled fear in Linlang Domain for fifty years.

These two words were like a nightmare that had lingered in the hearts of many cultivators in Linlang Domain for years.

"The situation is different now, old fellow."

"Linlang Domain is ushering in a prosperous era, ruled by the Five Masters. The old-timers of the bygone era will eventually be crushed by the tide of history."

...

Elsewhere, Liou Yuan and Little Ming King entered and exited at just the right time to miss each other.

So neither Little Ming King nor Liou Yuan knew of each other’s existence.

Guided by the spirit bird, he ventured deeper into the underground passages, which were so dizzying that his head spun.

In this magic cave, one passage alone had at least a dozen branches, and you never knew where those branches might lead.

Upon entering one passage, even more splits awaited you.

Moreover, the cave was constantly shrouded in a red mist that obstructed vision—the most complex terrain Liou Yuan had ever encountered in his lifetime.

If not for the spirit bird leading the way, Liou Yuan even doubted he could ever escape this cave.

Luckily, the spirit bird was perceptive, allowing Liou Yuan to avoid taking a wrong path.

About half an hour later, Liou Yuan encountered the first living person within the magic cave passages.

That person was clearly a Demon Cultivator, with cultivation techniques rendering his spiritual power exceptionally dark, possessing a malice beyond the orthodox cultivators of the Jin Dynasty and Jiuli State.

Of course, if Liou Yuan wanted to kill him, it would only take a single stroke.

But he didn’t know how many more of them there were, whether killing him would alert other Demon Cultivators here.

Thus, he refrained from taking action, instead utilizing the Night Concealing Mask to meld his body to the passage’s rocky wall, squinting to observe the man’s actions.

"What’s this guy doing?"

It was visible—the Demon Cultivator was carrying something out from a hidden room within a branch of the passage Liou Yuan traveled.

That cultivator’s arms were held high, struggling immensely with his load.

After moving the items out, the cultivator piled them alongside the passageway, then returned to the hidden room to repeat the cycle.

Due to the red mist, Liou Yuan could not clearly see.

Taking advantage of the maneuver, Liou Yuan slowly approached the pile of items inside the passage, finally seeing what he was moving.

They were the corpses of cultivators, seemingly processed with a secret technique. The surface of the bones started to grow blood-colored veins resembling blood vessels.

He didn’t know what purpose they served.

"Demon cultivation techniques are uncanny; these cultivators’ bones must be of great use to Demon Cultivators."

"Is this why they came to this magic cave?"

Sweeping his gaze over the bone pile, Liou Yuan vaguely understood why these Demon Cultivators ventured here.

Though the Demon Cultivators were expelled from Jiuli State fifty years ago, with the magic cave cleaved apart by Xuanyi’s sword, some precious items remained inside, feared for the restrictions and arrays within. The Jiuli State cultivators naturally dared not approach.

Moreover, the treasures of Demon Cultivators may not benefit orthodox cultivators.

Nobody would do such a thankless task, thus it remained preserved.

Now, with the changes in Linlang Domain’s situation, and the emergence of the Five Masters.

Demon Cultivators began infiltrating Jiuli State and Jin Dynasty, naturally won’t miss these treasures.

"Given this reasoning, Yan Yingsi was pretty unlucky, running right into this team of Demon Cultivators infiltrating the magic cave."

The sequence of events became clear—as Liou Yuan held back the urge to slay the Demon Cultivator on the spot, he bypassed the bone pile and continued further into the cave.

"Meeting Yan Yingsi should be the priority, no need for momentary recklessness." Liou Yuan muttered.

With the emergence of the first Demon Cultivator, more and more Demon Cultivator silhouettes appeared along the passageway.

Just like the first one Liou Yuan encountered, they were all moving the spiritual objects required by Demon Cultivators, including spiritual iron for crafting magical artifacts and various spirit medicines.

Liou Yuan couldn’t help but eye them covetously.

What truly moved Liou Yuan was seeing a massive blood pool along the way.

Nearly a hundred meters wide, it was unclear how much blood from living beings would be needed to fill this pool.

The blood pool contained the most cultivator bones, densely floating inside.

Blood bubbles occasionally rose from the pool, releasing a blood-colored mist.

The sensation was akin to simmering a large pot of hot soup.

The air was permeated with a pungent stench of blood and nauseating rot, combined with the scene before him, endlessly assaulting Liou Yuan’s senses, inducing a feeling of nausea.

Around the blood pool, a dozen Demon Cultivators were continually fishing out bones, each ecstatic as if discovering treasure.

Liou Yuan’s expression grew increasingly cold.

At last, he realized why the Five Extremes Mountain’s ways were so extreme yet still labeled as virtuous.

Comparing the style of Demon Cultivators, Five Extremes Mountain was astoundingly righteous.

Counting the Demon Cultivators he saw along the way, Liou Yuan estimated a hundred Demon Cultivators had infiltrated Qingyuan State.

The more Liou Yuan traveled, the greater his anxiety grew, thinking: "Among this many people, there surely will be a leading expert."

While still undiscovered, Liou Yuan ignored the subsequent Demon Cultivators he encountered, pressing deeper into the magic cave.