Chapter 45: Three Heads and Six Arms

Inside the cave abode, once all the cultivators had left, Lu Yuan’s divine sense circled the cave abode, taking stock of the gains from this second time multiple people had entered.

On the cultivators’ side, more than twenty people had come in, and over ten had lost their lives inside the cave abode, all for the sake of fighting over the cave abode’s spiritual herbs.

Among them, the high-level Qi Refining cultivators had been wiped out to the last man over the fight for the Sword-Nurturing Gourd. As for the other dead cultivators, most had perished in the chaotic melee over the first-rank spiritual herbs.

Lu Yuan thought back. The last time multiple people had entered the cave abode, a few had died at the hands of the Blood-Devouring Vine and the Ghost-Faced Spider because they had intended to do something improper to the spirit beasts inside the cave abode.

This time, however, not a single person had died to the cave abode’s weird entities or spirit beasts. All of them had died killing one another.

“Honestly, why make it a matter of life and death? Just divide the spiritual herbs in the cave abode equally. I already gave out even the third-rank Sword-Nurturing Gourds, let alone the ungraded and first-rank ones.”

“Another death rate of over half. If word gets out, it’ll damage this cave abode’s fine reputation for safety and reliability…”

Lu Yuan was extremely worried that his reputation might be affected.

On the cave abode’s side, the losses were fairly minor. Most were only ungraded spiritual herbs and first-rank spiritual herbs. The two Sword-Nurturing Gourds had been sent out by Lu Yuan of his own initiative, and most of the spirit beasts were safe and sound. Only a few Yinfire Ants that had been running around were caught in the crossfire and killed by the cultivators.

After all the Sword-Nurturing Gourds were harvested, it would take some time for new third-rank ones to grow. Previously, because they had been second-rank, and because they were nourished by the spirit energy inside the cave abode while Lu Yuan controlled the spirit energy to hasten their maturity, they had grown relatively quickly.

After their accidental evolution to third-rank, they now required constant nurturing by sword implements, and their maturation cycle was also longer than before.

Once he finished taking stock, Lu Yuan’s divine sense returned to the stone cave and began his favorite regular program after every cave entry: opening the white light orbs!

This time, the more than twenty people had brought him over fifty white light orbs. Opening them would be even more satisfying.

The first things he opened were still the most numerous spiritual energy light orbs. Lu Yuan used them to warm up his hands and prepare for the grand prizes later.

One white light orb after another burst open, sending down round after round of spirit energy rain. The spirit energy inside the cave abode grew even richer and fuller.

“Hm? Isn’t it already over? Why is someone trying to enter the cave abode again?”

Suddenly, Lu Yuan’s divine sense sensed two cultivators moving through the mist, trying to enter the cave abode once more.

“Coming in once wasn’t enough, and now you want a second round?”

His exclusive prize-opening moment had been disturbed, leaving Lu Yuan in quite a bad mood.

Inside the Mist-Concealing Confusion Array, one cultivator held a formation plate in his hand, while the other had a flying sword circling around him, alert for any changes that might appear in their surroundings.

“Senior Brother, will this really be all right? The paper slip that guided us in earlier didn’t show anything unusual, but if we come uninvited like this, won’t it make that mysterious Paper Figure unhappy?”

The cultivator in the back asked the cultivator in front, who was holding the formation plate.

“Why is your head such a block of wood? The paper slip guided us before because we didn’t know the secret realm’s location. Now that we know where it is, what do we need the paper slip for? We can come whenever we want!”

While paying attention to the formation plate in his hand, the front cultivator lectured the one behind him in a tone of exasperated disappointment.

After gaining experience from their recent entry into the cave abode, the two of them had become much more familiar with the Mist-Concealing Confusion Array, and the process of entering went very smoothly.

“But I keep feeling that the paper slip wasn’t just a map. It also represented some kind of qualification.”

“Just tell me this: do you want the spiritual herbs inside the secret realm or not?”

“I do!” the rear cultivator answered without hesitation.

“Then that settles it! Besides, I feel that strange Paper Figure doesn’t have much ill will toward us human cultivators. If entering the secret realm makes it unhappy, we can just apologize then.”

“It’s rare to get a chance to find this many spiritual herbs, and everyone else has already left. This bit of risk is still worth taking.”

“Senior Brother is right.”

As the two talked, they followed the guidance of the formation plate and smoothly entered the secret realm again.

The instant they entered, a streak of blade light came slashing toward them like a white ribbon of silk.

The flying sword circled nimbly and met the blade light head-on.

The two looked in the direction the blade light had ambushed them from. A white-jade mantis with a silver thread on its back was hovering in front of them, raising a pair of forelimbs covered in sharp sawteeth, looking fierce and aggressive.

“A first-rank demonic beast, a Silver-Thread Mantis. It’s still in its juvenile stage too. No real problem.”

The formation-plate cultivator took out several talismans. Stimulated by spiritual power, the talismans turned into seven or eight blazing fireballs that attacked the Silver-Thread Mantis from different directions.

The Silver-Thread Mantis fixed its triangular eyes on the fireballs, then rapidly slipped through the gaps between them. A palm-sized formation plate was already lying in wait, radiating light in all directions and trapping the mantis inside a small array.

The Silver-Thread Mantis spun around everywhere inside the array like a headless fly.

Seeing his spirit beast trapped, Lu Yuan gave a cold laugh.

Originally, he had only planned to have the Silver-Thread Mantis drive you out. I didn’t expect you to push your luck like this. In that case, don’t blame me for being impolite.

The masked Paper Figure floated out of the stone cave with a giggle. In the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of the array. Its little hands stretched longer, wrapped around the array, and bound it tight. Then, ignoring the array’s piercing rays of light, it crushed the array apart bit by bit, revealing the blankly stunned Silver-Thread Mantis inside.

When the two cultivators saw the Paper Figure take action to rescue the mantis, their hearts filled with terror. The cultivator skilled in arrays took a step forward, cupped his fist, and explained to the Paper Figure.

“I was wondering why this mantis was already so valiant in its juvenile stage. So it was raised by Senior. We are deeply sorry for disturbing Senior’s spirit beast. Please forgive the two of us for our reckless behavior.”

The Paper Figure’s face was covered, so no change in expression could be seen. Its body kept expanding as words rapidly appeared on it.

“Didn’t I tell all of you to leave the secret realm? What are you doing back here?”

“The secret realm is blessed by nature, overflowing with spirit energy, and flourishing with spiritual herbs. It makes one linger and forget to return. We only wish we could stay inside the secret realm at every moment.”

“Is that so? Since you like this secret realm so much, then don’t leave again.

Become one with the secret realm.”

When the final word was written, inside the cave abode, the Ghost-Faced Spider, the Blood-Devouring Vine, the Silver-Thread Mantis, and the others all moved out together.

They consumed their flesh and blood, swallowed their souls, and broke their bones. The whole sequence flowed smoothly from start to finish.

The flying swords left behind by the two cultivators were buried by the Ghost-Faced Spider beneath the Sword-Nurturing Gourds, where they would nourish the gourd vines that had just formed flower buds.

“What rotten luck. They broke my prize-opening rhythm. No, I need to open a big white light orb to wash away the bad luck.”

Lu Yuan’s divine sense returned to the stone cave. He selected a white light orb that was relatively large and fairly deep in color, then touched it lightly.

Three Heads and Six Arms Art, cultivation method category.

“Three heads and six arms? Is this the reward brought by that twin cultivator after he fused into two heads and four arms?”

Lu Yuan guessed inwardly. Judging by the power the cultivator had shown when using the cultivation method, this Three Heads and Six Arms spell art should be extraordinary. It was just that name…

Lu Yuan could not help recalling how, in his previous life, someone had once asked him to guess a riddle from a series that ruined idioms.

“Three men, six women. Guess the idiom.”

Three heads and six arms was precisely the answer to that riddle.

Next Chapter >