Chapter Fifteen: Poverty

  The dark cave seemed to have no end, but Zhou Futong was enthusiastic and walked in the front. The torch made of dry branches lit up the entire cave. The entrance of the cave was not big, but the interior was extremely spacious, and there was no feeling of suffocation. It was clear that Zhou Futong had punched a ventilation hole somewhere. This underground palace was safe on one hand, and on the other hand, it was prepared for after successfully cultivating the demonic heart, to concentrate on practicing in the underground for a period of time. During this time, he would absorb the Great Dao flower obtained from Zhou Liang, and impact the higher stage of Tongdao. Once he absorbed Zhou Liang's Great Dao flower, his progress would be extraordinary, and it would not be in vain that he spent so much time setting up this situation.

  Zhou Futong is a genius in his own right. According to Zhou Liang's knowledge, he was not even a hundred years old and had reached the stage of Tong Qiao without relying on the help of his sect. If he continued further, his status would be different.

  The demonic sect is different from the Taoist sect, which is strict in entry and loose in exit. The demonic sect's approach is to be lenient in entry but strict in exit. Except for their core secret techniques, most of their methods are widely disseminated. Even their core secrets are shared with a relatively large number of people. Among these individuals, perhaps only one can rise to the top, and the result of this person rising to the top is that others fall away. This is the way of the demonic sect, which, despite being suppressed by the Taoist sect, can still produce astonishing geniuses every few generations.

  On the contrary, Taoist schools have extremely high requirements for innate qualities, talents, and even enlightenment. Generally, once you enter, you won't easily put down your pursuit of the Tao. The Taoist school takes the lead, and its disciples face the world, with many geniuses traveling all over the world, increasing their numbers.

  Looking at Zhou Futong's back, Zhou Liang silently shook his head and followed Zhou Futong into the cave. From the entrance of the cave, he was very careful, as the exit was deep in the dense forest, and the surroundings were blocked by a large number of vines. If one didn't know clearly where it was, even if they moved away the blocking vines, they wouldn't be able to see anything. When entering the cave, at least six broken dragon stones could be seen, each one consisting of an entire ten-zhang-long, ten-zhang-wide, and ten-zhang-high massive green stone pillar. These green stone pillars were on the top of the cave, and Zhou Futong carefully covered them up. Once they were put down, even with Zhou Liang's current strength, even if his arm strength was as strong as a thousand kilograms, he wouldn't be able to easily open it.

  The yuanling mapping technique was activated, and Zhou Liang faced forward, with everything around him under his observation. The Duanlong stone, once put down, would make it difficult to get out, he was very clear that the location of the move was definitely in the depths of the mountain cave, if they couldn't find the switch for these Duanlong stones, getting out would be really troublesome.

  The divine consciousness was greatly discounted in the closed rock layer, and the switch of the dragon stone was found. Zhou Futong also made things easy for himself, casually setting up a few mechanical switches on the wall corner, without even covering them up. It's clear that he had never considered the possibility of failure.

  A layer of carefully crafted stone steps, leading down step by step. After descending over a hundred feet, the surroundings became slightly eerie. Zhou Futong looked at Zhou Liang, his heart filled with excitement. So many years of waiting were finally about to come to an end. At this moment, he didn't even bother with any pretenses, and directly made an excuse to scout ahead before hastily departing.

  Zhou Liang's divine consciousness had been following him, almost watching him, as he took a detour to close several Dragon-Sealing Stones. Three ten-zhang-long Dragon-Sealing Stones were closed one after another, equivalent to thirty zhang from the entrance of the cave. It was layer upon layer of Dragon-Sealing Stones, with thirty zhang of cyan stone. Even a master in the Embodiment Stage would find it difficult to detect them, and with the disguise from the outside world, it was almost impossible for anyone to discover them. In the surroundings of Yangzhou, there were not many powerful sects, and even if there were, the small Western Mountain was less than 300 zhang high, covering an area of only a few dozen li. In the mortal world, it could be called a mountain, but in the Cultivation Realm, it would be called a mound at most. How many people would pay attention to it?

  Honestly, Zhou Futong was indeed cautious. Feeling the arrival of the final moment, Zhou Liang calmed down and put down the Broken Dragon Stone. After that, all Zhou Liang could sense was within the range of the cave. His past self had not thoroughly explored this cave, which was extremely vast and divided into many categories, with several escape routes. Zhou Futong did not just use it as a place for his next move, but also as a decent lair to operate from, especially in the central area where there was an excellent extreme yin hole. He suddenly understood that Lao Liu, the zombie, had never chosen a grave in the back mountain, and he had always been here.

  A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, standing alone in the empty cave, without a hint of fear. This was a hurdle he had to overcome, and he must get past it. If he couldn't get through, everything would be for naught, but if he succeeded, the world would be vast and wide open. After such a long wait, he finally had to see the results.

  "Good boy, I've found it! The road is over there!" Zhou Futong exclaimed excitedly, without anyone knowing when he had returned.

  Zhou Liang didn't say anything, and followed Zhou Fu Tong down about 100 meters to a cave made of stalactites. In the darkness, the stalactites emitted a faint glow, creating a breathtaking natural beauty that seemed to be crafted by divine hands. Seeing this sight again, he couldn't help but feel a shock. In his past life, after escaping from danger, he had not found this cave of stalactites. Over the centuries, the changes in the world had caused this beautiful scene to be forever lost.

  Zhou Futong held the torch and searched around, unexpectedly finding a row of incense sticks. Who knows, in this abandoned cave for many years, there would also be fresh incense. After lighting them up, the scenery became even more pleasant. Zhou Futong said: "My son, you take a short rest, I'll go find some water!"

  Zhou Liang nodded, but his heart was filled with calmness and a hint of excitement. The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Sitting on the ground, the dampness of the underground cave didn't bother him at all, and he casually found a place to sit down. Yuan Ling's mapping technique continued to track Zhou Fu Tong.

  Zhou Futong's torch had long been discarded to one side, the dark cave having no effect on him. His footsteps were as agile as a wild cat's, rapidly descending, and in just a few breaths he traversed the winding tunnel, arriving at the very core of the entire cave, where three pieces of Broken Dragon Stone lay.

  Zhou Liang slightly shook his head. This Zhou Futong, was a clever and cunning person, yet in the mundane world, he was also so cautious. However, it was precisely his caution that made him lose his last opportunity, and many of his arrangements were now unnecessary.

  A few light rumbles, the Dragon Stone was put down, and the Yuan Ling Mapping Technique made it impossible to sense Zhou Futong's presence. Zhou Liang didn't feel a hint of fear; all the routes were under his control. All he could do now was wait. His entire body sat quietly like a sculpture, motionless. About half a minute later, his body was once again restricted.

  Here is the translation:

  He's here, finally waited for, Zhou Liang's mouth corners slightly curved upwards, a hint of smile appeared on his face, reaching the strong spiritual awareness of Tongguan San Chong, directly sweeping over his whole body, especially the place where the magic pattern was drawn, the position of Yintang, faintly shining, confidence gleaming in his eyes, binding his physical strength, with one glance, his body almost instantly regained its mobility, he struck a comfortable pose and lay down on the ground. The Duan Long Stone interrupted his spiritual awareness, naturally affecting Zhou Futong's as well. Now both sides couldn't see each other. Zhou Liang had made thorough preparations for this day, while Zhou Futong was careless.

  A faint blue glow flickered within the burning frankincense cave, like flowing river water, the spiritual energy circulated within the magic pattern, transforming the power in a mysterious way. Zhou Liang's robust divine consciousness suddenly increased by a large margin, feeling the surging divine consciousness throughout his body, he quietly gazed at the stone stalactite above, waiting for the final moment to arrive.

  In about a moment, a dark aura suddenly came, and all kinds of distracting thoughts rushed to his mind, countless chaotic thoughts, countless complex thoughts, all filled his heart, the devil of the Taoist heart had arrived.