"Greetings, fellow Daoists," the man who had finally seized the jade token and entered the mountain protection formation said, cupping his fists.
However, his greeting was met with cold faces and unconcealed displeasure in their eyes.
Seeing this, Li Buwei chuckled and introduced the man to the others, appearing quite cordial. After all, it seemed only he and Hong Lie were from the wilds, so it was natural to seek closer company.
Li Buwei then explained the rules they had agreed upon to Hong Lie. Upon hearing them, the latter nodded with an air of justification, stating he had no objections.
"Naturally, we will follow the rules set by you, my fellow Daoists!"
He swept his gaze around with a bright smile, appearing somewhat harmless. Yet, no one could forget how, moments before, this very man had attacked from behind, sending off a fellow cultivator who had broken through the encirclement, using them as a shield to delay pursuit. Although these people had only come together temporarily for their own benefit, such an action still left a bad taste in everyone's mouths. Even Ji Yuan, who usually acted decisively, felt a pang of displeasure. This wasn't about righteousness; he simply disdained such behavior from the bottom of his heart.
"Since everyone is here, let's each choose a path," Li Buwei suggested with a laugh, sensing the slightly heavy atmosphere.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man, known in the martial world as Nanxi, turned and directly chose the middle path, then ascended the mountain without a word. Not far away, Shi Shan, with his fire monkey, stepped onto an adjacent mountain path. Among the nine people, the two with the highest cultivation in the mid-Spirit Nurturing realm had respectively chosen paths leading directly to the summit. The rest naturally had no objections. After exchanging glances, Lü Xian led his junior sister, who was also his Dao companion, onto a mountain path on the left.
"Daoist Ji, you choose first," Li Buwei said, casting a deep look at the young Daoist not far from him, a flicker of apprehension flashing subtly in his eyes. He clearly hadn't forgotten the sharp sword intent that had flowed from the youth when they first entered the mountain sect, nor the feeling of unfathomable depth he always exuded.
Ji Yuan nodded slightly and did not stand on ceremony. He led Zhou Lianying onto the mountain path on the far right. This move surprised not only Li Buwei and Hong Lie but also the young girl beside him. In the normal course of events, one would choose the path closest to the summit. No one knew what awaited them on the mountain, and if there were no other restrictions, the fastest to reach the top would be the first to enter the cave dwelling. Everyone knew that the true opportunities lay within the cave dwelling, and while anything left outside might have some value, it would never compare to the treasures inside. Yet, Ji Yuan's action was the opposite, choosing one of the longest paths. If he were a bit slow or delayed, he would likely be the last to reach the summit.
After walking a considerable distance along the mountain path, Zhou Lianying couldn't help but ask, expressing her confusion about his choice.
"Li Buwei has some issues," Ji Yuan mused. After a moment, he took out a soundproofing talisman, activated it, and then said, "He likely knows something we don't." The proposal to wait for the fifth jade token came from him. The reason everyone hadn't objected was twofold: they also wanted to know who had finally obtained the token, avoiding the possibility of being followed and schemed against while ascending, and they feared that entry into the cave dwelling at the summit might require all five tokens. Such things were not uncommon. Seniors in many sects and factions often emphasized this point when teaching their disciples, and even ordinary rogue cultivators or those from the wilds could infer it from their experiences. However, Ji Yuan felt that this man's intentions were likely not that simple, and there was probably a deeper meaning. Yet, this was just a feeling. Li Buwei's actions were not suspicious in any way, so no clues could be found. But sometimes, a cultivator's intuition was more accurate than empirical evidence, especially for those with strong spiritual senses who were difficult to deceive.
"Then should we be extra careful of him?" Zhou Lianying's face showed a look of bewilderment after hearing this. She hadn't expected that a mere exploration of a cave dwelling would involve so many twists and turns. Seeing her expression, Ji Yuan sighed inwardly. Either this girl was pretending, or she was truly naive and rarely encountered such matters.
"Regardless of whether Li Buwei has problems or not, being cautious with everyone is never wrong," he said earnestly, speaking more than usual, deviating from his usual taciturn nature.
Zhou Lianying nodded as if she understood, then after a moment of silence, suddenly asked, "Then should I also be cautious of you?"
Ji Yuan's mouth twitched. He ignored the girl beside him and silently quickened his pace. Seeing this, a hint of a smile appeared in the girl's eyes, and she hummed softly, following closely behind him.
Actually, there was another reason for his choice of this particular mountain path. When they were at the edge of the deep pit, he had noticed the most spiritual energy emanating from this direction. Furthermore, among the three places on the mountain peak with the strongest spiritual energy, a waterfall was located on this path. The medicinal field halfway up the mountain was also accessible only by this route, while other paths did not lead there. The others were not unaware of this, but compared to the opportunities below the summit, they cared more about the treasures within the cave dwelling at the peak. Not to mention, one of the three most spiritually potent places, the Zitan tree, was on the summit. As long as they moved fast enough, they could ensure they wouldn't miss it.
After the two had walked a section of the mountain path, the way ahead suddenly opened up, and a clearing paved with bluestone appeared before them. In the dozens of feet of open space, a square tripod, taller than a person, stood silently in the center. Three sandalwood incense sticks, each as thick as an arm and more than half-burned, were inserted into it. The incense had long since extinguished, yet a rich, mellow fragrance could still be detected from afar, making one feel as if they were in a Taoist temple or a Buddhist monastery. Apart from the great tripod and the three incense sticks, there were no other objects, making the area appear quite empty.
After observing for a moment, Ji Yuan cautiously approached, his gaze fixed on the great tripod, carefully examining it for any formations or restrictions.
"This is actually a magical artifact!" Zhou Lianying exclaimed beside him, looking at the great tripod with disbelief. She found it hard to imagine someone leaving a magical artifact at the foot of the mountain, seemingly treating it as mere incense burner. For a small sect, possessing a decent magical artifact required all their strength, and only the sect leader was qualified to use it, treating it as a sect heirloom. Even ordinary Spirit Nurturing realm cultivators rarely owned a magical artifact; only disciples from major sects received them as gifts from their sect. For instance, Liu Donglai and Wang Xiaoxuan from the Nine Profound Sect each had a long sword, bestowed by the sect upon their promotion to inner disciples, but these were at best low-grade magical artifacts with only a single restriction.
"This great tripod is of decent quality," Ji Yuan said, after confirming there were no hidden traps. He caressed the great tripod and infused it with a strand of his spiritual power. In an instant, he felt the five restrictions contained within the tripod. Although all were postnatally inscribed, they were still of quite good quality. Most magical artifacts owned by cultivators in the second realm had only one to three postnatal restrictions, yet even those could fetch a high price in the outside world, costing tens of thousands of taels of silver. In terms of value, a great tripod containing five postnatal restrictions, not including the materials used for its casting, was comparable to a magical artifact with one or two innate restrictions.
"The truly astonishing value should lie in these three sandalwood incense sticks, which are only half-burned." Ji Yuan retracted his hand from the great tripod and then focused his gaze on the three incense sticks. This incense was far from the ordinary kind used in Taoist temples or monasteries. Just from the scent, he could detect many expensive medicinal ingredients. Observing the fine crystalline particles on its surface, it likely also contained precious ores. It was safe to assume that incense refined in this manner would have other uses.
"What's wrong with these three incense sticks?" Zhou Lianying asked curiously. She only found the fragrance pleasant and couldn't discern any profundity.
Ji Yuan pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "If my guess is correct, this incense should have the effect of calming the mind and spirit, cleansing inner demons and distracting thoughts. Burning and inhaling it would be equivalent to several days of arduous cultivation." This was only a partial guess based on the scent and the incense's surface; its actual effects would only be known after it was lit.
With a flash of light, Ji Yuan stored both items in his jade ring. He then carefully surveyed the surroundings, ensuring nothing was missed, before continuing his ascent with Zhou Lianying. However, obtaining a great tripod of decent quality and precious sandalwood incense with unknown effects right at the beginning greatly improved his mood and made him look forward to the journey ahead.
Meanwhile, as Ji Yuan and Zhou Lianying ascended, over a hundred miles away, Elder Hong Tian was piloting a small boat, flying rapidly through the air at an altitude of dozens of feet. A dozen disciples followed on the boat, including Zhao Yuansong, Wu Chengqing, and Yu Qingling. They had arrived at the Cai Xia Liu Yun Ti early and had informed the Nine Profound Sect elder stationed there about the matter of the half-pill furnace. However, due to multiple disciples calling for reinforcements and the need for someone to guard the Cai Xia Liu Yun Ti, there had been a delay. Once manpower became available, Elder Hong Tian was immediately dispatched with the disciples to rush to the location as quickly as possible. A spiritual object capable of condensing spiritual liquid, even if only half of it remained, was enough to move a renowned sect like the Nine Profound Sect to send an elder and disciples. Moreover, the matter now concerned the sect's destiny, as a key individual was in unknown danger and being pursued by dozens of cultivators. If things went awry, the Nine Profound Sect's advancement to a true sect might face unforeseen complications. Consequently, Elder Hong Tian, who had rushed to provide support, was filled with anxiety. Publicly, it was a matter of great importance to the sect, and no effort could be spared. Furthermore, he had grown to value this junior during their recent interactions. Privately, he had been stuck in the late stage of the third realm for a long time, with his lifespan dwindling. He was counting on the sect leader's promised opportunity to enter a forbidden area and the fortuitous encounters during the sect's advancement to take that crucial final step. Therefore, no matter what, he had to ensure Ji Yuan's safety, even if they failed to obtain that half-pill furnace!