Chapter 1766 — Go Back to the Cave, Part Two

"All right, then let's split up and move. We'll meet at my place later!" Wei Zhao was eager to inspect the cave behind the mountain and scout it out in advance. But there was no way he could take Ergoudan with him. Aside from Grandpa Wei, Wei Zhao was the only person who knew this secret. Ergoudan was trustworthy, certainly, but the matter was of such importance that Wei Zhao was afraid he might let something slip.

"All right!" Ergoudan agreed without hesitation. The two of them had often split up when they went hunting in the past, so Wei Zhao used hunting as an excuse to investigate the cave and see whether it was possible to open it ahead of time.

However, unless one reached the first layer of the Xuanyuan Yulong Art in complete perfection, there was no way to open the stone gate. Now that Wei Zhao had achieved that level, he wanted to see whether he could open it before the night of the full moon.

After parting with Ergoudan, Wei Zhao headed straight for the mountaintop. Here, he was the king of the jungle. Most of the beasts knew him, and most had suffered at his hands, so wherever Wei Zhao passed, the animals instinctively moved aside. His presence gave them an innate sense of danger, much like General Mighty had once done.

At the summit, Wei Zhao sprang forward and leaped straight down the sheer cliff. With his current strength, he could now fly back and forth across the precipice without the slightest strain.

When he reached the entrance to the cave he had visited dozens of times before, Wei Zhao placed his hand against the stone gate and activated the Xuanyuan Yulong Art. The stone gate did not react in the slightest.

Wei Zhao let out a bitter laugh and sighed. It seemed he really would have to wait for the night of the full moon. Coming here before then was completely pointless.

Fortunately, the full moon was only a few days away. Wei Zhao inspected the several small traps he had set around the cave before leaving and found no sign that anyone had disturbed them. It seemed no one had been here, so Wei Zhao left without further concern.

By the time he returned home, Ergoudan was already in the courtyard with Grandpa Wei, dressing the roe deer and other game. Tang Yun and the others wanted to help, but the scene was far too bloody. They could only lend a hand after the roe deer and the other animals had been cut into smaller pieces.

Tang Yun was fairly accustomed to life in a farmhouse, having lived in a single-story home before. Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, however, found everything wonderfully novel. Their villas were not all that different from ordinary houses, but this was the first time they had ever seen people build a cooking hearth in the courtyard and prepare their meals there.

"This is so much fun, Brother Arrow. Did you live here when you were little?" Shen Yushu wandered around the courtyard like an endlessly curious child.

"Give it enough time and you'll find it boring," Wei Zhao said. "There aren't any of the entertainments you get in a big city. At night, all you can do is watch television or spend a little time online."

"That's true." Shen Yushu nodded. "But as long as I'm with Brother Arrow, I find it interesting."

"Heh..." Wei Zhao chuckled and shrugged, saying nothing more.

That evening, everyone sat around the fire, roasting meat and eating. Grandpa Wei was delighted by the case of Erguotou Tang Yun had brought him. He opened a bottle as carefully as if it were a treasured possession, poured himself a glass, then poured one for Ergoudan. Finally, he poured Wei Zhao a glass of water.

The gesture left Tang Yun, Yao Yao, and Xiaoshu somewhat puzzled. Grandpa Wei couldn't possibly be that stingy, could he? Everyone else was drinking alcohol, yet he had given Wei Zhao water?

"Heh heh, it may be because of the special nature of the cultivation method I practice. Alcohol has never gotten me drunk, so giving me wine would be no different from wasting it. To me, it's practically the same as drinking water." Seeing the confusion on their faces, Wei Zhao smiled and explained.

"So that's how it is..." Tang Yun and the others finally understood.

Wei Zhao drank water, but everyone still had a wonderful time. Grandpa Wei in particular gazed at Wei Zhao, Tang Yun, Gu Mengyao, and Shen Yushu with a broad, tipsy smile. Taking advantage of the drink, he said, "Xiaoyi, you really are something. Ergoudan brought home one wife, but you brought back three. I even had a little trouble coming up with enough meeting gifts, so I didn't dare take them out..."

"There's no need, Grandpa Lin. Wei Zhao has already told us about you. He said you donated all your money to children who had been forced to drop out of school. We don't need any meeting gifts..." Tang Yun hurriedly cut in.

"Exactly. We're all family, so there's no need to stand on ceremony," Shen Yushu added.

"Pfft!" Wei Zhao, Grandpa Lin, and Ergoudan all burst out laughing at once. Shen Yushu truly did not regard herself as an outsider in the slightest!

After three rounds of drinks, Grandpa Lin had sobered up somewhat. He said, "Xiaoyi, I heard you want to find a suitable cultivation method for Yun Yun and the others, so they can become cultivators?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean." Wei Zhao nodded. "Xiaoxiao became a cultivator, and now they want to cultivate as well..."

"I see..." Grandpa Lin pondered for a moment before saying, "Everyone's constitution is different, and the cultivation methods and formulas suited to them vary as well. The method you cultivate, for instance, would have no effect on me whatsoever. Ergoudan and I are both unranked experts of the external school. Although we supplement that with internal cultivation methods, those methods are merely auxiliary. We have not yet reached the Heaven Stage, so we cannot suppress the conditions within our bodies. In other words, our circumstances are not suitable for them either..."

"Exactly. That's what makes this so difficult. My master has already left. Otherwise, I should be able to get some useful information from him. After all, he knows far more than we do." Wei Zhao sighed. "Do you have any other way?"

"I do... I can try contacting someone and asking him about it. Perhaps he has a solution, though perhaps he doesn't." Grandpa Lin said, "As far as I know, the cultivation method you practice is the most powerful one among those possessed by people like us. The others are mainly auxiliary methods for strengthening the body, such as the ones Ergoudan, your master, and I practice. Although we cultivate both internally and externally, and our external cultivation has reached a certain height, it has no established rank. As for internal cultivation, we have not achieved much there either..."

A flicker of surprise passed through Wei Zhao's eyes at Grandpa Lin's words. It seemed the old man had connections Wei Zhao knew nothing about.

"Then I'll leave this matter in your hands, old man. Keep an eye on it for me." Wei Zhao did not stand on ceremony with Grandpa Lin. "By the way, have you and Ergoudan still not found a solution? Is there really no way to take that spring water away from West Star Mountain Village?"

"After all these years, we've gotten nowhere. I've nearly given up." Grandpa Lin chuckled.

For the fastest updates, please read without pop-up ads.