The cave entrance was tiny—barely a few dozen centimeters high. An adult would have to crawl sideways to squeeze through, and even a child wouldn’t fare much better.
Put simply, this was the kind of hidden cave that only someone blessed with protagonist-level luck could ever stumble upon. An average person?
They wouldn’t find it in ten lifetimes.
Ye Ping’an took the lead, crawling into the cave first. In the original plot, the protagonist had simply leapt inside without hesitation, but Ye Ping’an wasn’t so reckless.
He had no idea how deep it was, so he moved carefully.
Luckily, once they passed through the shimmering veil of light at the entrance, the terrain improved. Though still narrow, it was much roomier compared to the entrance.
A single adult could barely manage to squeeze through, so for the three children, it was just manageable.
After helping the other two down, Ye Ping’an led the two girls deeper into the cave along a narrow, descending path.
After about a hundred meters, a glowing screen of light suddenly appeared, blocking their view of what lay ahead.
Having already encountered something similar earlier, Ye Ping’an wasn’t surprised. Without hesitation, he stepped right through.
The two girls exchanged a glance, then quickly followed after him.
The moment they passed through the light, an overwhelming wave of spiritual energy surged toward them.
The concentration was so intense, it was almost terrifying—richer even than directly absorbing a low-grade spirit stone.
The space inside wasn’t huge—only about thirty meters in diameter—but right at the center was a shimmering pool nearly twenty meters wide.
The water glowed softly, illuminating the entire cave and casting the surroundings in an ethereal, dreamlike light. It was like stepping into a celestial paradise.
Just standing in this dense spiritual atmosphere, little Mengyao immediately felt the bottleneck that had been troubling her begin to loosen.
Without hesitation, she sat down and began cultivating on the spot.
Within moments, using the “Condensed Essence Manual,” Mengyao began drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy, trying to break through to the eleventh layer of Qi Refinement.
Seeing her enter cultivation, the other two didn’t disturb her. In fact, Ye Ping’an looked on with quiet satisfaction. “What a monstrous talent,” he thought.
“She just arrived, and she’s already on the verge of a breakthrough.”
Even Ning Yue was stunned by the spiritual energy here—it rivaled even the resources of her own family. Especially that luminous pool… was that even water?
No. That was clearly liquefied spiritual energy.
If she and her little fox companion could train here, they might really have a shot at reaching the thirteenth layer of Qi Refinement—and maybe even breaking through to Foundation Establishment!
Ning Yue even felt the urge to jump right into the pool and swim around. But with the young master nearby… Would he think she was some kind of shameless hussy if she suddenly started stripping down?
Besides, in his eyes, she was still just a “mortal.” Cultivation would have to wait.
She stared longingly at the pool. Even back home, only disciples with high merit contributions could access resources like this. Yet here it was, hidden in a place like this. Why?
And how did the young master even know about it?
Suddenly, Ye Ping’an seemed shrouded in a layer of mystery.
“Young Master, what is this place?” Ning Yue asked, feigning innocent curiosity.
Ye Ping’an smiled faintly, adopting a sage-like expression.
“Strictly speaking, this is an offshoot of a spiritual vein—not a major one, but a lower tributary.”
“However, after branching off from the main vein, this section sank too deep underground, so its energy couldn’t rise to the surface.”
“Only at the very end did a faint trickle begin to emerge—until one of the seniors discovered it.”
“To maximize the spiritual flow, that senior laid a Spirit Gathering Formation, drawing the entire tributary’s energy into this cave and preventing any of it from escaping.”
“Over time, that buried spiritual vein continued pouring its energy in, creating a hidden sanctuary that rivals even the holy lands.”
“And the key detail?” He tapped his head.
“There are concealment arrays at both entrances. If I hadn’t found an ancient treasure map, I wouldn’t have discovered this place either—not in this lifetime.”
“A treasure map? Whoa, Young Master, you’re so lucky!” Ning Yue’s eyes sparkled.
“No wonder you were able to find such a divine cultivation spot. All that time I spent following you around, and we never found anything this amazing…”
Suddenly, it all made sense. So that’s why he was so obsessed with chasing down every so-called opportunity—it was all because of the treasure map.
That explained how he met her and Mengyao too.
Sure, maybe he hadn’t found any big opportunities—except her. And maybe, just maybe, he had captured her heart in the process.
Not to mention, they’d also picked up Mengyao—clearly a reincarnated celestial powerhouse in disguise.
Suddenly Ning Yue felt a jolt of urgency in her chest. Please, heavens above, no more pretty girls falling for the young master.
If even one more shows up, I’ll have to reveal my true form just to stay in the game!
“Hehe, why do you think I’ve been chasing down every lead?” Ye Ping’an chuckled.
“Unfortunately, finding this place probably used up all my luck.”
He even sighed with practiced regret, thinking to himself, Looks like that explanation worked on her.
“Well, don’t give up hope just yet,” Ning Yue said with a meaningful smile.
“I’m sure there’s even bigger fortune waiting for you ahead.”
“Sigh… I hope so,” Ye Ping’an said wistfully. What he really hoped for was to stay alive in this absurdly dangerous cultivation world.
Lofty dreams were a luxury he couldn’t afford anymore.
Well—unless someone could grant him a stunning, curvy dao companion.
Wait a minute. Why was his brain immediately associating “dao companion” with… body type?
Am I just naturally into mature women?
Whatever!
Being an “onee-san” type fan was still better than being into lolis, right?
Just as he was spiraling into this existential dilemma, a surge of spiritual energy erupted around Mengyao. The next instant, all that gathered energy converged on her.
Her aura spiked—and with it, she broke through. Success!
Qi Refinement, Eleventh Layer.
In a backwater like this, that was nothing short of heaven-defying talent.
Even in a place like Tianxuan Holy Land, she’d be considered a prodigy. And given her age, they’d probably fight tooth and nail to recruit her.