"Brother Nanlong, you can't be serious — you intend to go to the Mulan Grasslands?" the cold-faced cultivator asked with a frown, as if he could hardly believe his own ears.
The expressions of the other cultivators were no better. But every old monster at the Nascent Soul stage sitting here had weathered countless storms to reach this point. And so, though their hearts were shaken, they managed to maintain their composure, quietly waiting to see how the Nanlong Marquis would respond.
"You've misunderstood, fellow Daoist. I said we would go to the Mulan Grasslands, but not deep into them — merely to within a hundred li of the border," the Nanlong Marquis explained impassively.
"That is still a tremendous risk. I've heard the Mulan people, after years of recuperation and rebuilding their strength, are growing restless again. The borders of those grasslands are where the real danger lies now. I imagine quite a few Law Masters of our level have gathered there as well. Their magical treasures may be fewer and simpler, but their cultivation and techniques are in no way inferior to ours. Moreover, the spiritual arts they excel at are extraordinarily powerful, and they are highly skilled at fighting in coordinated formations. If we were discovered, even if we managed to escape with our lives, retreating unscathed would be extremely difficult." The cold-faced cultivator shook his head, clearly wary of the proposition.
"How could I not know how troublesome the Law Masters are? Back in the day, I once fought a Nascent Soul–stage Law Master for three days and three nights. His cultivation was a notch below mine, and his magical treasures were far inferior to mine. Yet after all that fighting, neither of us could gain the upper hand." The Nanlong Marquis's expression darkened.
"If that's the case and you still plan to go to the Mulan Grasslands, then there must truly be something extraordinary to be found there. Otherwise, Brother Nanlong, you wouldn't take such a risk." Wang Tiangu suddenly offered a faint smile, leaning back and speaking in an unhurried manner.
"Ha ha ha! Brother Wang, you understand this Marquis's mind better than anyone. Have any of you ever heard the name 'Cangkun Shangren'?" The Nanlong Marquis changed the topic, mentioning a name that sounded somewhat familiar to those present.
"Cangkun Shangren! The heaven-crazed rogue cultivator who suppressed both the Righteous and Demonic paths five thousand years ago?" An elderly woman who had remained silent until now was visibly moved, a sharp gleam immediately piercing her clouded eyes.
"Madam Tai is quite correct. That was the madman who once terrorized both the Righteous and Demonic factions. Although no one ever formally acknowledged it, this audacious, heaven-defying madman was undoubtedly the foremost rogue cultivator in the Tiannan region of his era. His profoundly mysterious powers swept through Tiannan, and he could hardly find a worthy opponent. Even the Grand Elder of the Demonic Hehuan Sect and the Alliance Leader of the Righteous Alliance — the two widely recognized supreme figures of their respective paths — would not dare claim they could best this half-mad cultivator by even a fraction." The Nanlong Marquis spoke in a deep, solemn voice, a strange light flickering across his face.
"Why bring up this person now, fellow Daoist? Does this venture have something to do with him?" Wang Tiangu asked, a peculiar expression crossing his face.
"Heh heh! Brother Wang has hit the mark. The place we intend to visit is a secret cave dwelling that Cangkun Shangren meticulously arranged before his final passing." The Nanlong Marquis spoke with great gravity.
"Impossible! Wasn't that madman killed on the spot, overwhelmed by the combined assault of numerous cultivators after he provoked the fury of both sides?" The old woman shook her head vigorously, refusing to believe it.
The Nanlong Marquis let out a soft chuckle and was about to explain when the white-robed elder at the mid Nascent Soul stage suddenly spoke up.
"Cangkun Shangren was not killed that day. He was forced to detonate two puppet clones he had cultivated and, using that as cover, employed a heaven-concealing ruse to escape. The cultivators who besieged him were unaware. They always believed they had killed the real Cangkun Shangren and one of his clones. However, this battle left Cangkun Shangren gravely weakened. Restoring his former peerless powers proved nearly impossible. So, after recuperating for several years, he vanished from his original cave dwelling without a trace, and no word of him was ever heard again. It was only when fellow Daoist Nanlong and I discovered his final place of passing that we learned — from the information he had left behind — that after disappearing, this Shangren had set his sights on the Devilfall Valley. He risked his life to enter that valley and became the first person in history to return alive from the Devilfall Valley."
"Return alive from the Devilfall Valley?! How is that possible?!" The old woman's voice rose to a shrill pitch, her face flushed with agitation.
Everyone else present, aside from the Nanlong Marquis — and that included Han Li — drew a sharp breath.
Most of them were simultaneously stunned by the sheer audacity of this revelation and weighing its plausibility. For a moment, they exchanged uncertain glances.
"Even if this is true — what does it have to do with the Mulan Grasslands? Did this Cangkun Shangren really bury all the treasures he obtained from the Devilfall Valley in some hidden cave out there?" The dark-complexioned cultivator asked after a moment's contemplation, a cold laugh in his voice, clearly skeptical.
"Bing, your words aren't entirely correct, but you've guessed about seventy or eighty percent of it. According to the information left at Cangkun Shangren's place of passing, he seems to have spent a full several years inside the Devilfall Valley. Yet shortly after emerging, he passed away on his own. Whether his old injuries flared up or he had sustained some other grave wound within the valley, we don't know. But he should have brought quite a few treasures out of the Devilfall Valley. Items that caught the eye of the foremost rogue cultivator of his era would certainly be extraordinary. And beyond that, the secret techniques and magical treasures that allowed a mere rogue cultivator to dominate all others were themselves remarkable things. For this trip to the Mulan Grasslands — are you all really willing to pass it up?" The Nanlong Marquis stroked his long beard, his expression unchanged.
"Besides, with so many Nascent Soul cultivators traveling together, ordinary Law Masters won't be able to stop us. And if anything unexpected happens, we simply scatter and break through individually. If you're unwilling to risk even that, then I ask those who wish to decline to do as they please. The two of us will simply find others to accompany us. However, there is one matter I must make clear upfront." The white-robed elder added impassively.
Hearing the words of both the Nanlong Marquis and the white-robed elder, Wang Tiangu, the old woman, and several other cultivators showed expressions of hesitation. But at this moment, Han Li spoke up:
"There is one thing this Han doesn't understand. Since you two already know the treasure's location, why did you specifically summon the rest of us here? And why is it necessary that we possess powerful spiritual sense — is the location difficult to find, or does opening the cave dwelling require something related to that?" Han Li calmly voiced the doubt that had lingered in his mind.
"Had you not asked, Han, I would have explained shortly. If the two of us could retrieve the treasure alone, naturally we would not want to share it with others. However, the last time we secretly infiltrated the Mulan Grasslands to seek that cave dwelling — the location, though extremely well-hidden, was ultimately found after considerable effort, following Cangkun Shangren's clues. The trouble was that the cave dwelling was protected by a remarkably ingenious ancient formation. We racked our brains but could not break the restriction to enter. Since we were in the Mulan Grasslands, we didn't dare stay long. We had no choice but to memorize the formation's characteristics, return to the Tiannan region, and search through various records on formations to study that ancient restriction. In the end, we discovered that the restriction it projected was the long-lost 'Supreme Marvelous Divine Restriction.'" The Nanlong Marquis's face showed a trace of helplessness.
"The Supreme Marvelous Divine Restriction?! Isn't that one of the Ten Great Ancient Restrictions? How could it be there?!" Wang Tiangu's expression shifted, genuinely surprised.
Most of the others had never heard the name "Supreme Marvelous Divine Restriction," but upon hearing this, a chill ran through their hearts.
The Ten Great Ancient Restrictions! The name alone told you these were not things easily overcome.
Han Li's eyes flickered with a brief spark of surprise, but it quickly vanished, and his expression returned to normal.
"I've long heard that Brother Wang is a renowned formation master, and now I see the reputation is well deserved — even such a rarely known ancient restriction is within your knowledge!" The Nanlong Marquis was also somewhat surprised. After exchanging a glance with the white-robed elder, he smiled and offered repeated praise.
"Brother Nanlong flatters me. I've only heard the name. As for how to actually break the restriction, I know nothing at all." Wang Tiangu seemed to catch on to something and immediately responded with polite modesty.
The white-robed elder smiled a rare smile and continued:
"The two of us spent years studying before we discovered that to break this restriction, one must either slowly grind it down with brute force or find eight cultivators with powerful spiritual sense and use spiritual sense transformation to dissolve it. Brute force is certainly out of the question. This ancient restriction is extraordinarily mystical — even if we attacked it day and night for months, we couldn't guarantee we'd break through. And in the Mulan Grasslands, how could we dare unleash our powers without restraint? But with spiritual sense transformation, as long as your spiritual senses are strong enough, we can break the formation within a single day."
At this, everyone in the hall finally understood why the Nanlong Marquis and his companion had sought them out.
Perhaps other mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators with sufficiently powerful spiritual sense could have helped break the restriction, but the two of them clearly didn't want anyone too powerful joining, for fear of losing control of the situation.
After all, they were both mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. Together, they couldn't claim certain victory over Han Li and the others, but they could maintain a delicate balance. They had put considerable thought into this.
But faced with treasures brought out from the Devilfall Valley, every cultivator in the hall — Han Li included — found themselves thoroughly tempted.
Going to the border of the Mulan Grasslands carried some risk, but as the white-robed elder had said, compared to these treasures, the risk was negligible. Such an opportunity was something other cultivators could only dream of.
Quietly, each of them made their calculations. When the Nanlong Marquis asked several times and saw that no one was withdrawing, a genuine smile finally appeared on his face.
"However, there is one condition I must state beforehand. If everything goes smoothly and we do enter the cave dwelling, my companion and I will each claim one item first. Only then will the rest be divided equally. Do any of you have objections?" The Nanlong Marquis stated his terms.
(End of Chapter)