For Cang Beichun, being tightly bound by Lao Liu was not about preventing his escape, but an insult.
He wouldn’t even need to exert force to shatter these vine ropes. He also couldn’t understand why Ding Huan would have this monkey bind him with vine ropes.
"Do you know what to do next?" Ding Huan asked with a smiling gaze directed at Cang Beichun.
"I do, I do. Please follow me, it wasn’t long ago that I came out from that ruin," Cang Beichun said, his face all smiles.
It seemed as if he hadn’t been bound at all but had teamed up with Ding Huan to come here in search of the ruins.
"Since that is the case, lead the way," Ding Huan said. He didn’t carry a backpack, trusting that whatever he left on the Blue Star couldn’t be taken by anyone.
He also had a communicator at his waist. As long as he didn’t stray more than a hundred kilometers from the Blue Star, he would know if any person or Fierce Beast touched it.
Should the Blue Star come under attack, the communicator by his side would go off with frantic alarms.
For Ding Huan, searching for the Ancient Daoist ruins in the Kunlun Mountains was merely a matter of satisfying his curiosity about what remnants existed on Earth before leaving it.
After all, Earth was one corner of the birthplace of the Ancient Immortals, and he thought it might truly be possible to find traces and locations associated with the Ancient Immortals here.
But to forsake Blue Star for the sake of ancient ruins was absolutely out of the question.
Perhaps because both of his hands were tied behind his back, Cang Beichun was very obedient.
As an Innate Cultivator, even on mountain paths and narrow cliffside trails, he moved exceedingly fast.
Ding Huan naturally needed not mention his own speed, and Qi Xinyue, being a level five gene cultivator who possessed the Wind Control Skill, kept up just fine.
As for Lao Liu, despite having weaker cultivation, being a monkey, he was naturally accustomed to navigating these cliffside paths.
Ding Huan followed behind Cang Beichun, feeling a sense of amazement.
He was certain that the destination Cang Beichun was heading for was the same one he had learned about from Nian Jinqing.
He wondered how on Earth these folks had found such a secluded spot, with some paths lying right at the edge of treacherous cliffs.
The location where Ding Huan had landed his spaceship wasn’t far from the Daoist ruins Nian Jinqing had detailed.
Cang Beichun always thought it was a coincidence, after all, following Ding Huan’s landing of the spaceship here, he didn’t immediately look for the ruins but stayed put, seemingly cultivating.
He didn’t believe anyone would know of the ruins here and still have the patience not to go there.
Cang Beichun wound through the mountains, maintaining a swift pace for nearly half an hour, before finally turning towards a peak and beginning to ascend.
After approximately thirty more minutes, Cang Beichun finally stopped at the end of a narrow trail on a cliffside.
This was a dead end. Ahead, there was only a precipice, below which lay a misty expanse.
"Right here. Jump down from here, and about fifty to sixty meters down, there’s a platform. We need to get onto this platform to enter the Daoist ruin," Cang Beichun cautiously stated.
"Are you certain it’s fifty meters or sixty meters?" Ding Huan asked coolly.
Cang Beichun pondered for a moment before answering, "It should be around fifty-six meters. I’ve gone up and down a few times; there shouldn’t be any mistake."
"Good, you jump down first," Ding Huan said.
"Yes." Without hesitation, Cang Beichun stood at the edge of the path and jumped.
The fog here was thick, swiftly swallowing Cang Beichun’s figure until he could no longer be seen.
"Big brother," Qi Xinyue looked worriedly at Ding Huan.
Ding Huan chuckled and said, "Don’t worry about that guy, he’s already hidden away. I’ll jump down first, then Xinyue, followed by Lao Liu.
Remember, from here, don’t jump directly down but jump forward about five meters, then down. It’s not fifty-six meters, but only about forty meters."
"Mm," Qi Xinyue didn’t ask how Ding Huan knew; to her, it was normal for Ding Huan to know.
If he didn’t know even this much, she thought, he probably wouldn’t have survived until today.
Ding Huan, of course, was well aware. His Divine Will had surveyed everything clearly, and he also knew Cang Beichun wouldn’t be honest.
So he simply allowed Cang Beichun to go in first, knowing that wherever Cang Beichun ended up would definitely be where the true ruin was located.
Ding Huan’s figure flashed, his descent graceful and light, as he landed on a protrusion below.
This rocky outcrop was connected to the cliff and appeared quite natural.
Ding Huan was truly impressed by these people, for behind this protruding rock was a natural cave.
There were countless such rocks jutting out from the cliffs in the Kunlun Mountain Range, but these individuals had managed to find this particular one—it was impressive indeed.
Though Nian Jinqing had acquired a map, Ding Huan had seen it and found it abstract.
Like the location where he’d stopped the Blue Star, it was dozens of miles away.
The general direction could be found, but to identify this exact spot, Ding Huan estimated that without Divine Will and the Wind Control Skill, an individual would need at least two to three years to locate it.
That was assuming luck was on their side.
He wondered if Nian Jinqing had involved the Beast King’s people in the search for this cave.
Most likely the Beast King alone couldn’t have found it.
It seemed Nian Jinqing was truthful in saying the Beast King had joined forces with the Genetic Alliance, the Blue Star Ten Great Colleges, Martial Arts Alliance, and others.
"Even with the Beast King, finding this location would be difficult if this fellow hadn’t come along."
Because there were so many people who came, the human traces near the entrance of this natural cave were heavy, indicating wave after wave of visitors.
But if these people had come together, why would Cang Beichun have stayed here without leaving?
If they hadn’t come together, then there was nothing to discuss; Cang Beichun must have found some real treasure and decided to stay here for cultivation.
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Qi Xinyue and Lao Liu followed and jumped down, both landing steadily on the rocks.
In fact, even without Divine Will, Cang Beichun’s little tricks couldn’t possibly make Qi Xinyue or Lao Liu fall off the cliff.
As for Ding Huan, that was even less likely.
If Wind Control Skill didn’t even have that much margin for error, then it would be useless.
"Xinyue, you and Lao Liu should still follow me into this cave," Ding Huan had already sensed with his Divine Will that Cang Beichun was hiding right inside the cave at the second entrance.
There was nothing in the second cave, and Ding Huan could guess what Cang Beichun intended.
Entering this cave led to a long passageway so deep that even Ding Huan’s Divine Will couldn’t scan to the end.
Along the passageway, there were also some side caves.
Cang Beichun’s reason for entering the second side cave was obvious: he was waiting for Ding Huan and the others to explore the first side cave, so he could rush out at the earliest opportunity to escape.
If Ding Huan and the others chose to go deeper rather than enter the first side cave, he could escape just the same.
Before entering the cave, Ding Huan said, "We don’t know if there are any side caves inside; if there are, you two go in and check them out, I’ll wait outside."
"Okay." Qi Xinyue felt a bit puzzled but still responded.
Ding Huan’s Divine Will was always on Cang Beichun. In fact, even if he hadn’t marked him with Divine Will, Cang Beichun would have remained within his perception in this location.
His previous words weren’t really for Qi Xinyue but for Cang Beichun.
Sure enough, after hearing Ding Huan’s words, Cang Beichun immediately rushed out of the second side cave and then charged inside without hesitation.
"Let’s go, we’re going in," Ding Huan said after he saw Cang Beichun rush deeper into the cave, and then he signaled to Qi Xinyue and Lao Liu.
Cang Beichun would certainly hide in that place where he secretly cultivated.
A place undiscovered by Nian Jinqing and the Genetic Alliance was definitely not an ordinary location.
Now, all he had to do was follow Cang Beichun.
The entrance to this cave was not very large, one had to stoop to enter.
After entering, the space inside grew increasingly large.
Within the cave, there was more than enough room for one person to walk; even if three or four people walked abreast, it didn’t feel crowded.
Seeing that Ding Huan didn’t send her and Lao Liu into the side caves to search, Qi Xinyue probably understood something and kept silent.
After all, Cang Beichun had disappeared after entering, and she felt that Ding Huan’s previous words were not meant for her but for Cang Beichun.
Ding Huan naturally didn’t need to search those side caves; his Divine Will could directly scan to the end of each one.
Even the deepest of these side caves didn’t extend beyond two thousand meters, and most contained nothing. Some deep in the caves had some broken stone stools or strange statues.
Ding Huan glanced at Lao Liu, suspecting that these statues were like Lao Liu, products of the Immortal God era.
However, as long as he didn’t act, these statues would forever remain as such, their memories never preserved.
Naturally, Ding Huan had no interest in extracting the Memory Gene from these statues. The memories of one Lao Liu were enough; let the other statues rest in peace.
Cang Beichun kept rushing forward frantically, obviously very familiar with the terrain inside; despite his speed, his footsteps made no sound at all.
Ding Huan’s Divine Will kept tracking Cang Beichun, and in addition, part of his Divine Will was exploring the side caves on both sides of the cavern.
After nearly an hour of walking, Cang Beichun suddenly stopped in Ding Huan’s Divine Will.
Ding Huan also stopped. Under his Divine Will, there was nothing special about the place where Cang Beichun had stopped, not even a side cave.
What was this guy up to?
Just then, Ding Huan saw Cang Beichun pull a small flag from his waist and place it into an unremarkable slot on the cave wall.
Unremarkable, because such slots were numberless on both walls of the entire cave.
What shocked Ding Huan happened next: the previously ordinary wall next to Cang Beichun started making cracking noises, and then a small entrance appeared under Ding Huan’s Divine Will.
"Follow me," Ding Huan said, and with a flash, he dashed forward.
He was worried that once Cang Beichun, the real Lao Liu, entered that entrance, he would never catch him again.
Ding Huan wasn’t just making it up because his Divine Will had never detected a hidden Stone Gate behind the cave wall.
Had Cang Beichun not taken out the small flag to open the Stone Gate, Ding Huan could have walked back and forth a hundred times without finding it.
After the Stone Gate opened, Cang Beichun immediately pulled out the small flag, intending to rush through the gateway.
(That’s all for today’s update, my friends. Good night! Request for monthly ticket support!)