Chapter 93: Three Stars Cave

Ye Rong had been grinding monsters in the Tuo River for two days. He finally reached his previous target level, level thirty.

In these two days, he had killed countless monsters. He collected a pile of trash clothing equipment, over ten Inner Elixirs, and the only noteworthy find was a long, dazzling red jade that dropped from the belly of an Inkfish Spirit he killed.

This dazzling red jade was about the thickness of an infant’s forearm and extremely hard. Neither Ye Rong’s Black Phoenix Sword nor his Self-Restraint Sword could cut into it.

He racked his brains trying to figure it out, but couldn’t uncover its secret. He decided to save it and ask Senior Brother Chen Taizhen or other experts about its origins later.

Ye Rong stopped and looked into the distance. He pointed a finger, and the Black Phoenix Sword transformed into a black Sword Light that shot down, encircling several Black Carp. Right after, a milky white Sword Light followed, weaving amongst the Black Carp. The black and white Sword Lights worked together, swiftly finishing off the fish.

“Thanks, Boss Yijian!”

“Boss Yijian is awesome!”

Two Qingcheng Players who had escaped the school of Black Carp shouted from below.

The number of Qingcheng Players grinding near the Dujiangyan Waters had surged recently. Ye Rong learned from asking around that Ji Deng’s Daily Quests now included many tasks related to Aquatic Demonic Creatures, which explained the sudden increase in players leveling here.

However, this didn’t affect Ye Rong much. He didn’t party with them. He trained in the river itself, while most Qingcheng Players lured Aquatic Demonic Creatures to fight near the riverbanks. Even if they obtained a Water-repelling Pearl, they dared not recklessly enter the water.

But if Ye Rong happened to see a fellow sect member in danger, he would still lend a hand, as it was a simple matter for him.

Over these two days, he had saved over a dozen Qingcheng Players, sparing them the tragic fate of being eaten by fish or drowning. This also earned him a pretty good reputation.

“It’s time to use that Bronze Immortal Manor Key!”

After equipping the Leigong Hammer and the Shangqing Blessing Token, Ye Rong felt his confidence soar, and his mind became active.

The White Wood Immortal Manor Key had given him his first pot of gold and equipment that put him a step ahead of others. He had long wondered what rewards a higher-tier Bronze Immortal Manor Key might hold.

Once an Immortal Mansion Key was used, there was no turning back, or else the precious key would be wasted. Ye Rong decided to return to Qingcheng first to clear out his junk and buy more pills.

Immortal Manors could be strange; any kind of trial was possible. Worried that basic health and energy restoration pills might not be enough, Ye Rong decided to spend a significant amount to stock up properly.

“These prices are robbery! So unfair!”

Gritting his teeth, Ye Rong bought one Chaos Origin Rebirth Pill, a sixth-grade pill. Using it instantly removed all negative status effects below the third tier and restored 500 points each of Qi and Blood Energy. The Formal Disciple discount price was seventy-five taels of silver. He also bought one Purple Gold Pill, also a sixth-grade pill. Using it instantly restored 2000 points each of Qi and Blood Energy. The Formal Disciple discount price was sixty taels of silver.

His heart bled as he pressed the confirm button, his hand trembling slightly.

“When I have money, I’ll buy hundreds of Purple Gold Pills! Then I’ll dare to challenge any difficulty!”

Because that Golden Daily Quest was still unfinished, Ye Rong hadn’t been able to accept any Daily Quests recently. His income relied solely on materials or odd valuable items dropped by monsters, which was very limited.

Fortunately, Ye Rong’s strength was sufficient, and his pill consumption during normal grinding wasn’t excessive, allowing him to scrape by.

Now, after purchasing these pills, his funds were back to square one. The silver he had painstakingly saved was nearly gone.

Right outside the Qingcheng Alchemy Hall, Ye Rong took out the Bronze Immortal Manor Key and snapped it forcefully. Suddenly, a shower of starlight fell, enveloping his body. An irresistible, powerful force teleported him away, disregarding all the Restrictions and major defensive formations within the Qingcheng Mountain Gate.

Having experienced this once before, Ye Rong relaxed his body and wasn’t surprised.

Three Stars Cave, Mysterious Tier C-Grade Immortal Manor.

Following the System Notification, Ye Rong found himself standing before a stone cave entrance, where misty clouds scattered colorful light, and the sun and moon seemed to sway their radiance.

“The Langhuan Jade Cave I entered before was only Earth Tier D-Grade. This Three Stars Cave is Mysterious Tier C-Grade. Not only is it a whole major tier higher, but it’s also one minor grade lower within that tier. The difficulty gap might be even larger than I anticipated.”

Ye Rong raised his alertness to the maximum. The Langhuan Jade Cave was the lowest tier of Immortal Manor accessible through an Immortal Mansion Key, and calling it an Immortal’s Cave Abode was overstating it. It was more like a cave left behind by a powerful adventurer who had barely touched the fringes of cultivation and obtained some scattered Rogue Cultivator inheritances.

This Three Stars Cave was completely different, majestic and vast, with a magnificent formation array laid out before the stone cave.

Ye Rong strode boldly inside. Sure enough, he encountered no obstacles. His vision was filled with a vast, brilliant starry sky and the overlapping radiance of the sun and moon. The formation didn’t attack nor create an illusion to confuse him. One more step, and he officially entered the Three Stars Cave.

A narrow, dim corridor stretched before him, with oil lamps hanging every few dozen meters, casting a dull yellow candlelight.

As Ye Rong approached, he realized these oil lamps were all polished from ghastly white skulls, large as baskets, unsure from which exotic beast’s head they came. Some had two sharp bone spurs on the cheekbones, others had a single long horn in the center of the nasal bone, each strangely shaped and different from the next.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Several dark red bats flew out from the dark corners and crevices of the passage, flapping their leathery wings as they charged at Ye Rong. Their teeth and sharp claws glowed with a green, oily fluorescence.

Ye Rong raised his hand and shot out the Self-Restraint Sword. A milky white Sword Light flashed past, and the dark red bats all fell to the ground with soft thuds. Inside such an Immortal Manor, Ye Rong didn’t dare to be careless. He kept the Black Phoenix Sword guarding in front of him to avoid any sneak attacks or foul play.

Whoosh!

Sure enough, after advancing just a few steps, a swarm of dark red bats, seemingly startled by the previous noise, emerged from various corners of the passage. Incredibly, they filled the space around him, blocking him in from all sides.

Looking at the nearly solid wall of densely packed dark red bats surrounding him, Ye Rong suppressed the urge to use Myriad Birds Pay Homage. This was only the first trial of the Three Stars Cave; he needed to save that skill for later.

The black and white Sword Lights in his hands suddenly blazed with intense radiance. The few dark red bats closest to Ye Rong were crisscrossed by countless sword gleams and lost their lives in the first encounter.