Walking further inside, she saw spring water flowing down the stone walls everywhere, dripping down and leaving behind streaks of wet tracks.
Following the path deeper in, the stone walls on both sides grew increasingly narrow, with the passage shrinking to less than two meters wide.
However, countless roots crawled along the stone walls, stretching downward until they touched the spring water.
Jiang Lu looked up, but she could only see a tiny speck of green far above the root system.
She was on the right path. Tucking her map away, she continued forward.
Soon, she spotted the spring they had mentioned.
The mouth of the spring was very small, and the water was shallow and crystal clear, revealing nothing but scattered pebbles at the bottom.
She stopped to wash her face before moving on. Gradually, the vegetation around her grew denser.
They had said they forgot the exact coordinates, only remembering that they kept harvesting spiritual plants as they walked, and the area with the highest concentration of spiritual plants was where the Wild King Mushrooms grew.
This spiritual plant couldn't be found anywhere else, only here.
She swept her divine sense across the surroundings and quickly found traces of it.
She walked over and followed its trail for a few more li. Various shrubs and vines began to appear on the stone walls.
The stone walls were brimming with life.
Just as she was about to keep going, she heard a familiar voice.
Pushing aside the leaves blocking her view in disbelief, she immediately felt a cold sweat break out when she saw the group of people ahead.
What kind of wretched twist of fate was this?
Who else could that group of people be but Liu Qingqing and her fellow direct disciples?
But on second thought, since the protagonist group was here, she wouldn't have to do any of the scouting herself.
Sure enough, she soon heard Liu Qingqing speak to the others, her voice filled with doubt.
“Senior Brother, are you sure it's here?”
Her expression was skeptical, her face tinged with a hint of bewilderment.
She felt like everyone had been acting strange lately. Although they still granted her every request, something was just... off.
And the longer she stayed here and the more she saw, the more she felt that this wasn't some virtual world. Everyone here was actually real.
But she could never tell anyone her secret of transmigrating. She had undergone a soul transmigration!
In the cultivation world, soul transmigration was equivalent to possession, which was a technique used by demonic cultivators.
She bit her lip, a glimmer of tears pooling in her eyes.
Xi Siyu paused and looked at the others for help, but they simply stared at each other, pointedly avoiding his gaze.
Xi Siyu: ...
The others: We share the blessings, but we don't share the burdens.
“Little Junior Sister, I think it is. What do you think? We'll all listen to you!”
As he spoke, he looked at her with a resolute expression, his eyes filled with absolute confidence in her.
Liu Qingqing: ...
Sometimes she suspected she had walked into some sort of trap, but she had no proof.
She quickly shook her head. Her Third Senior Brother was the easiest to fool; how could he possibly scheme against her?
She must be overthinking things.
Pointing her finger, she aimed in the direction to Jiang Lu's right.
“Over there!”
The rest of the group immediately followed.
After they left, Jiang Lu waited a bit longer. Sure enough, Fu Yao and Lu Lingfeng's figures appeared.
“Eldest Senior Sister, do you think she can really lead us to that private small secret realm?”
Lu Lingfeng stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a long spear tucked under his arm, its tip gleaming under the sunlight.
Fu Yao raised an eyebrow and chuckled, giving him a sidelong glance.
“Second Junior Brother, you still don't understand our Little Junior Sister. Even if she seems unsure herself, a casual point like that usually yields the best results.”
Watching them follow after Liu Qingqing, Jiang Lu immediately slapped an Invisibility Talisman and a Breath-Concealing Talisman onto herself.
Those were Golden Core cultivators. As a mere Qi Condensation cultivator, she had better not try to play any tricks.
But her heart ached terribly; these talismans were not cheap.
No, she must learn how to make them as soon as she got back. She wanted to become an all-around powerhouse and absolutely could not waste a single extra spirit stone.
With Liu Qingqing, the child of fortune, leading the way, the group quickly arrived at the entrance.
Watching them leap in one by one, Jiang Lu thought for a moment, swallowed a pill, and immediately followed behind.
When Jiang Lu opened her eyes, she found herself inside the secret realm they had spoken of.
There was nothing else to it.
She saw dense, tangled clusters of Mad Rock Vines and other demon plants tightly entwined with one another.
However, there was no sign of the others. Had they been teleported to different locations?
Suddenly, her eyes widened. A look of vacancy and confusion washed over her face, and her eyes glazed over.
In the next instant, she snapped out of it.
An illusion right at the entrance. On second thought, she was glad it was only an illusion and there was no other danger, otherwise she would have lost her life during that moment of daze.
She swallowed a Heart-Clearing Pill and walked forward.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
The three little ones emerged from her pouch and scampered forward.
Mengbao's nose twitched constantly as it sniffed the surroundings, with Chi Li and Cang Chen following closely behind.
Seeing them lead the way, Jiang Lu immediately followed.
After a few twists and turns, she soon saw translucent, crystal-clear walls all around her.
The walls were polished incredibly smooth, reflecting like mirrors.
She paused, staring at herself in the mirror. She had reverted to her original appearance.
The mask's effect had actually worn off here.
She felt a secret jolt of fear. Thank goodness she hadn't revealed her true face during her previous trials. If she had run into them like this, she would have been in grave danger.
The space was vast and empty, with only a circular platform in the center holding a stone coffin.
Could there be someone inside?
Thinking of scenes from The Lost Tomb, she shuddered. Hopefully, nothing that shouldn't be there would pop out.
Chi Li and Cang Chen had no such worries, chasing after Mengbao.
Suddenly, Jiang Lu felt the air ripple in front of her, and the three spirit beasts vanished before her eyes.
She hurriedly ran over, and feeling like she was passing through a soft wave of water, she stepped onto the circular platform.
She followed the three spirit beasts toward the stone coffin and saw that it wasn't sealed, but half-open.
Jiang Lu felt a surge of curiosity, but remembering scenes from TV dramas, she hesitated.
Then she gritted her teeth. I've already come this far!
When she approached and looked inside, the expected scene did not unfold. There was no corpse in the stone coffin.
Instead, there were only four ancient books.
With a wave of her hand, she channeled her spiritual energy to lift the four ancient books.
《Myriad Arrays》
《Endless Elixir Recipes》
《Drawing Talismans in the Air》
《Star River Swordplay》
Jiang Lu blinked at the four ancient books in her hands, then peered back into the coffin in disbelief.
“This...”
For a moment, she was at a loss for words. She had expected some inheritance from a great expert, but she never imagined it would just be a few ancient books.
But...
These books were exactly what she wanted!
Could she be the real child of fortune?
She shook her head. It was better not to overthink things.
She swept the ancient books into her space, only to see Mengbao drooping its head.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak—”
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