A Timely Pillow

“Master, there were so many... and they're all gone?”

Even though Mengbao had seen plenty of grand spectacles, it still found this hard to believe.

It stared with its round, wide eyes, its ears standing straight up.

Jiang Lu nodded. Of course she had to pocket them the moment she saw them. Her space was big enough anyway, so she could take her time sorting through them later. Why bother picking and choosing here?

“Don't worry. Once we're out, if there are any treasures suitable for your cultivation, you can just take them.”

Jiang Lu giggled as she looked at the three bewildered faces. It had been so long; how were they still not used to her style of doing things?

The three spirit beasts: It wasn't that they weren't used to it, but rather that she completely caught them off guard every single time. Who could possibly understand this feeling?

Once the natural treasures were cleared out, a cave was revealed behind them, which turned out to be another exit. Jiang Lu turned to look at the broken stone bridge behind her and clenched her fists.

Turning around, she stepped inside. The stone steps in the cave led to another area. Jiang Lu quickly headed upward and soon reached the end.

Looking at the blocked cave entrance, it was clearly artificial.

This proved that someone had once entered from this back entrance to claim the treasures, but later on, no one else knew about this entrance, which was why it had become what it was today.

She took a few steps back and threw several Explosion Talismans toward the blocked opening.

A deafening blast rang out, and light from the outside filtered into the cave.

Cautiously, Jiang Lu slapped a few Invisibility Talismans onto herself and darted out in a flash.

She perched on a tree, her figure concealed by the branches. Peeking out slightly, she spotted a group of cultivators rushing toward her direction, drawn by the noise.

Fortunately, she had moved quickly and used Invisibility Talismans; otherwise, she would have been spotted the moment she emerged.

They were incredibly close, and judging by their auras, their cultivation levels were not low.

“It's right here.”

The leader kicked aside a piece of shattered rock that had just been blasted away and pointed at the cave. “The sound came from here just now.”

The rest of the group nodded. A few cultivators stepped forward to examine the area closely. They had been less than a hundred meters away when they heard the noise and rushed over.

“Look!”

Suddenly, a male cultivator pointed at the sparking debris on the ground and said to the others, “These are sparks from an Explosion Talisman. The noise we heard earlier was someone using an Explosion Talisman to blast this place open and escape from inside.”

Hearing this, everyone peered into the cave, only to see the stone steps leading into the depths.

They fell into a momentary silence.

Another male cultivator looked at the leader. “Senior Brother, what do you think? Should we go in and investigate?”

The others exchanged glances, their expressions hesitant. Seeing that the leader remained silent, they hesitated to speak.

The leader shook his head. “No.”

“Why?” the male cultivator asked, looking puzzled.

“Do you know where we are?”

The leader pulled out a map and asked in return.

Seeing the other man remain silent, he pointed at the map and said, “Look here. This place is close to that cliff. Judging by the direction of this passage, it probably leads straight down there.”

“How is that possible? It's not like no one has tried going there, but the gales beneath that cliff are incredibly violent. Anyone who enters faces a near-certain death.”

Hearing this, the cultivator who had asked earlier looked incredulous. Although there were small-scale rumors that there were treasures beneath that cliff, no cultivator had successfully made it down there after all this time.

Only a few people knew about it, and by now, it had faded into mere rumor.

Even the cultivators who knew about it had never gone to check. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they simply couldn't.

“If that cultivator really went in there, got the treasures, and came out, it proves their strength is far beyond what we can match. Since they came out of here, they were most likely escaping.”

“Either the treasures have already been taken, making our entry pointless, or we might run into unknown dangers.”

Hearing his words, several of them fell silent.

“Senior Brother, I still want to go and take a look. If you guys aren't going, you can go ahead with your training. We can always keep in touch through our spiritual slips.”

The male cultivator was still unwilling to give up. With the secret of the cliff right before his eyes, he still wanted to investigate.

Seeing this, the leader swallowed the words of advice he was about to give. Spotting two others who were equally eager to try, he let out a sigh.

“Then go ahead. We will continue our training here. Just make sure to escape immediately if you encounter danger.”

The few of them nodded, and after making some preparations, they walked inside.

Watching their disappearing figures, another male cultivator looked at the leader and asked, “Senior Brother, are we really just going to leave them to their own devices?”

The leader sighed and shook his head, his eyes filled with helplessness. “It is fraught with danger inside. It is better not to take the risk.”

The others exchanged glances and said nothing more. Naturally, they didn't want to go either, otherwise they would have followed along already. They had only asked out of politeness to avoid being accused of standing by and doing nothing in the future.

They knew the legends of the Cliff of the Dead better than anyone, because their Martial Uncle had personally gone there. Every time the disciples of their lineage entered for training, they would be warned not to go near it.

Even though this wasn't the main entrance, did they really think another cave opening would be safe?

They certainly didn't think so. Moreover, they had been so close to this spot but hadn't seen a trace of the cultivator who had emerged. That person's strength was either above theirs, or they possessed powerful magic treasures.

Either way, it wasn't someone they could afford to provoke.

Later on, when those few disciples sent a distress signal after barely escaping with their lives, only to go completely silent afterward, they felt an even greater sense of lingering fear. Fortunately, they had listened to advice and had not set foot inside.

Once Jiang Lu saw them leave, she headed in a different direction.

“Junior Sister Liu, you're really amazing! We've made quite a bountiful harvest this time.”

Jiang Lu was perched on a tree branch, pondering how to find Liu Qingqing, when she heard a voice from not far away.

“Hmph, of course.”

Liu Qingqing's proud voice rang out.

To Jiang Lu's ears, it sounded incredibly sweet—talk about a timely pillow.

“So where are we heading next?”

The female cultivator walked beside Liu Qingqing, her tone filled with flattery. After all, although following Junior Sister Liu didn't guarantee them the lion's share of the spoils, they were still guaranteed to get a share of the leftovers!

If she had acted on her own, she might not have gotten anything at all. Her junior sister's luck truly lived up to its legendary reputation in the Liuyun Sect.

As for the dangers they encountered—well, they weren't dead, were they?

A broken arm or leg was just a matter of popping an elixir; it was nothing compared to the resources they obtained.

“Rumor has it that there are spiritual birds on Mount Qi. I'm short of a spirit beast, so let's go check it out,” Liu Qingqing said, pointing to a spot on the map.

This was her ultimate goal for coming in this time.

After all, what cultivation novel female protagonist didn't have a flashy divine beast?

She had a premonition that her opportunity lay right here, and the divine beast that belonged to her was already waiting for her.

“Ah, this...”

Hearing this, everyone shuddered. Mount Qi...

Exchanging glances, they tried to persuade her. “Junior Sister Liu, although there are many spirit beasts on Mount Qi, they are not easy to tame.”

The unspoken implication was that they couldn't defeat them!

“We must go! We will definitely reap a massive harvest there!”