Chapter 356 - Hidden Cave

Even after discovering a trace of the mysterious energy, Lu Tianzi did not allow himself to get overly excited.

He remained seated with his eyes closed, using only his perception to investigate the trace of mysterious energy.

It was only the faintest of traces, but Lu Tianzi was still able to lock onto it amidst the dense vegetation that was creeping all over the rocky cliff wall.

However, that was it.

Despite having found a trace of the mysterious energy, he had absolutely no idea what he could do with it.

Unlike when he was at the War Intent Cliff, it did not give off any immense pressure that could aid them in their cultivation.

For a moment, Lu Tianzi was at a loss as to what he should do next.

After all, such a faint trace of the mysterious energy would provide little to no benefit for them.

"How is it?" Nanlan Qianxue asked upon seeing that Lu Tianzi had finally opened his eyes, her words rousing the nearby Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling from their meditation as well.

"I managed to find something, but I'm afraid it's not what I was expecting," Lu Tianzi admitted while getting to his feet. "Let's go take a closer look."

"Mm," Nanlan Qianxue nodded.

At this stage, Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling had no choice but to follow as well. If they were to leave now, they would have gotten nothing out of this trip, and also failed to play a good host on top of that.

That would truly be a waste of their time.

After letting them know of his intentions, Lu Tianzi led the way as he headed straight for the spot where he had detected the faint trace of energy.

Earlier when Lu Tianzi detected this trace of energy tucked deep within the dense vegetation, he had assumed that it had gone unnoticed all this time.

It was only after Lu Tianzi got nearer that he discovered obscure signs of people having ploughed their way through the vegetation to reach the spot.

Perhaps it was due to the passing of time, but these signs were now hidden by the elements of nature, no longer obvious to the casual passer-by.

While Lu Tianzi was paying attention to these minute details, his three companions were shocked by the scene before them.

Now that they had come this close, the three of them finally managed to sense the faint trace of mysterious energy.

"This is... Battle Intent!" Young Master Xuan Hao exclaimed in surprise. "Even though there is only a faint amount, it is obvious that this trace of Battle Intent is at least of a similar level to the one at the War Intent Cliff!"

"Battle Intent?" Lu Tianzi asked.

Nanlan Qianxue looked at Young Master Xuan Hao in curiosity as well.

"Did you guys not feel it earlier at the War Intent Cliff?" Young Master Xuan Hao looked back in confusion before he suddenly realised something. "Come to think of it, unless you have ties to the upper echelons of the central regions, it is unlikely for you to know about this."

"By Battle Intent, are you referring to this form of energy?" Lu Tianzi gestured towards the spot on the cliff wall where the trace of mysterious energy could be felt.

"That's right," Young Master Xuan Hao nodded. "I am not too clear on how it works either, but I was told that when martial artists reach a certain level of strength, they will be able to materialise their Battle Intent and wield it freely in combat, increasing their might by multiple times. However, it is also said that not even ordinary Overlords will be able to wield Battle Intent effectively. How surprising it is for there to be a faint trace of it here as well!"

"Brother Xuan Hao is right," Ruan Ling added. "Even my clan has no one who can wield Battle Intent effectively. Before coming to Mount Asui, the only time I came across Battle Intent was when father brought back a treasure that has some lingering Battle Intent on it."

"It is that rare?" Lu Tianzi revealed a look of surprise.

By now, he had surmised that Ruan Ling's status was probably not much lower than Young Master Xuan Hao's.

To be comparable to one of the four ancient sects, the clan that she belonged to had to be rather influential as well.

For such a clan to not have a single person capable of wielding Battle Intent, it showed just how difficult it was to muster the materialisation of Battle Intent.

Then again, Young Master Xuan Hao had already mentioned that not even ordinary Overlords were able to wield Battle Intent effectively, so that was only to be expected.

"Haha, you should trust us on this one," Young Master Xuan Hao laughed. "Finding this trace of Battle Intent is probably not a coincidence. If my guess is correct, this place might be indirectly linked to the War Intent Cliff!"

"Is that so?" Lu Tianzi asked with a meaningful smile.

At this point, it was not surprising for Young Master Xuan Hao to have come to such a conclusion.

"That's right!" Young Master Xuan Hao answered confidently before carefully observing the cliff wall before them. "Unfortunately, this trace of Battle Intent is too faint to be of any use... wait, there's something amiss about this place!"

The cliff walls were rocky in nature, yet dense vegetations was growing all over it, blocking it out from the outside.

It was almost as though the vegetation was deliberately put in place to hide it from outside eyes.

"There is something within the cliff wall," Lu Tianzi said, drawing everyone's attention towards him.

He had not been sure before. But after coming into such close proximity, Lu Tianzi was finally able to sense a similar trace of Battle Intent directly within the cliff wall!

"There is something within the cliff wall?" Young Master Xuan Hao frowned.

No matter how he tried to probe the cliff wall with his perception, it showed no signs of there being anything within.

So how could Lu Tianzi speak with such certainty?

"If there is something behind, surely we would have sensed it by now," Ruan Ling spoke the exact words that were in Young Master Xuan Hao's head.

"Move aside," Lu Tianzi ignored their comments and took a step forward.

Sensing that he was about to do something, everyone immediately cleared the way for him.

Standing before the cliff wall where the trace of Battle Intent lay, Lu Tianzi started to drive his true origin core, channelling Origin Force to his two hands.

"Brother Tianzi?" Young Master Xuan Hao felt the corner of his lips twitch.

From the looks of it, Lu Tianzi was intending to dig into the cliff wall!

But what could such an act possibly accomplish?

Then again, it was not as if Young Master Xuan Hao had a better solution, so he could only stand aside and watch.

However, contrary to what Young Master Xuan Hao had expected, Lu Tianzi did not begin to just frenziedly dig into the cliff wall.

Instead, he slowly reached out with one hand, pressing it firmly against the rocky cliff wall.

What happened next caused everyone present to widen their eyes in disbelief.

Lu Tianzi's hand started to sink into the rocky cliff wall, as though he was pressing against a wall that was made of mud instead of rocks.

"What's going on?!" Ruan Ling exclaimed in shock.

"This...!" Young Master Xuan Hao could not hide his astonishment either.

Even Nanlan Qianxue could not help but snicker in surprise.

In fact, Lu Tianzi was just as surprised as the rest of them were.

He had guessed that there should be a way into the cliff wall, and was merely trying to figure out the method of entry.

Who knew that he would immediately chance upon the actual way in?

"Let's enter!" Lu Tianzi reached out towards Nanlan Qianxue with his other hand, and she took it without question.

Gripping her hand tightly, Lu Tianzi turned back and took one huge stride, his figure disappearing into the rocky cliff wall with Nanlan Qianxue in tow.

Left behind, Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling exchanged uncertain looks once again.

"Let's go too," Young Master Xuan Hao said after a few moments of silence.

"Mm," Ruan Ling swallowed her saliva nervously before she reluctantly agreed.

***

The rocky cliff wall seemed extremely thick and sturdy from the outside, but when Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue actually stepped through it, the wall actually felt as thin as paper.

With a single stride, they had already crossed over to the other side.

But even before they could see what the surroundings were like, they were slammed with an immense pressure that threatened to force them to their knees.

"Damn it!" Lu Tianzi cursed subconsciously as he immediately circulated his Origin Force through his body to alleviate the heavy pressure.

It was just like the immense pressure from the War Intent Cliff, only much stronger!

Lu Tianzi hurriedly took a look at Nanlan Qianxue, and was relieved to see that she was still able to resist the pressure, albeit with some difficulty.

"W-Where is this?" Nanlan Qianxue asked through gritted teeth, her pretty brows furrowed due to the pain.

"If I am not wrong, this should be the origin of the indentation at the War Intent Cliff," Lu Tianzi shared his thoughts.

As he spoke, Lu Tianzi took a good look around.

They were in a rocky cave, with light entering from behind them. It was now apparent that the rocky cliff wall was nothing but an illusion, put in place to mask this cave from the outside world.

An narrow underground stream cut horizontally across the cave, dividing it into the outer and inner halves. There was also a huge tunnel that started from an awkward height of two metres, leading deep into the darkness.

But perhaps most importantly, this place was filled with an overwhelming amount of lingering Battle Intent!

This lingering Battle Intent in turn created the heavy pressure that bore down upon everyone within.

"The origin?" Nanlan Qianxue was surprised by what she heard. "Here?"

"That's what I believe," Lu Tianzi nodded. "That would also explain why the pressure is even stronger here."

At this point, Nanlan Qianxue could not bear it any longer.

She quickly sat down cross legged and closed her eyes, focusing all her energy and strength on resisting the pressure within the cave.

Her cultivation level was still rather low, so it was already quite impressive that she had been able to last this long.

At this moment, Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling finally stepped into the cave.

"Tch!" Ruan Ling anxiously channelled her Origin Force in defence upon feeling the onslaught of the immense pressure.

On the other hand, Young Master Xuan Hao was dumbstruck.

As a Sixth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist, it was relatively easier for him to resist the pressure within the cave. Just like Lu Tianzi, he still had the luxury to look around.

"The lingering Battle Intent here... it is even stronger than that of the War Intent Cliff!" Young Master Xuan Hao said out loud in his excitement.

"Someone deliberately put up an illusion to hide the entrance? How selfish!" Ruan Ling complained.

"Haha, it is only natural," Young Master Xuan Hao laughed. "The War Intent Cliff is considered a sacred cultivation area, but this place is even better! On the other hand, it is nowhere near as large as the War Intent Cliff. If this place is made known to the public and everyone starts flocking over, it will never be able to accommodate everyone."

"That's true..." Ruan Ling sulked.

"All right, let's not waste this chance opportunity and get cultivating!" Young Master Xuan Hao smiled. "Look, Brother Tianzi and Sister Qianxue have already begun!"

Indeed, in this time where Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling were chatting, Lu Tianzi had found a spot to sit down and meditate.

Just as Young Master Xuan Hao had said, cultivating here was actually even more effective than cultivating at the War Intent Cliff.

On top of that, the fact that the cave was deliberately hidden meant that there had to be others who already knew of this place. And depending on their nature, there might be some complications if these people were to suddenly return.

Before that happened, Lu Tianzi wanted to make full use of every single moment to obtain as much benefits out of this place as possible!