Li Pingyi could not help sighing inwardly. When it came to the ability to find things, he was probably at the very bottom tier.
He slowly sat down by the stone table, holding the jade slip he had just struggled to fish out from under the bed. The entire process had taken him a good major part of an hour. He carefully placed the jade slip into the Qiankun Pouch, and the green beam of light on the chessboard vanished instantly.
Brother Qi had successfully harvested a delightful little treat, and his Consciousness Sea had grown just a fraction more refined.
Yet, perhaps because the beam of light had been too thin, it hadn't quite hit the spot.
Clutching the jade slip in his hand, he cautiously released his divine sense to probe it. Inside, the jade slip was a vast expanse of blank whiteness, revealing not the slightest trace of its contents.
"This jade slip must have been sealed with restrictions beforehand, making it impossible to inspect. I'll just hand it directly to the old man when I get back; he should have a way to break it."
With that thought, he put away the jade slip, stood up, and left the small cabin, making sure to pull the door shut behind him.
Walking out of the cabin, Li Pingyi made his way along the riverbank while keeping an eye on the changing light beams on the chessboard.
That dazzling purple beam of light was still emitting a fascinating radiance among the rest, making him swallow hard once again.
Daily drool count: +1.
"Just look at it, don't entertain any unrealistic ideas," Li Pingyi warned himself under his breath.
He adjusted his direction and set off toward the location of the red beam of light. However, he had barely run a few paces when he suddenly ground to a halt.
Because of the sudden movement, the snakeskin belt around his waist had gradually loosened and was now dragging on the ground.
"Huh? What's this?" He suddenly noticed that the black beam of light, located right beside the purple one at the edge of the chessboard, had actually started to move slowly, drifting toward the outer edge of the cluster of light beams!
"It's actually wandering off on its own," Li Pingyi thought, his heart stirring. "This is a chance." Much like how he used to keenly spot business opportunities in his past life, he clearly felt that an opportunity had arrived.
He immediately changed direction, retightened his snakeskin belt, and bolted toward that side with all his might.
"Let's go check out what's going on. Just in case there's an opportunity."
"I'm just going to look, I won't go inside..."
As Li Pingyi desperately tried to talk himself into it, he kept his eyes glued to the chessboard, his pace growing faster and faster.
When he confirmed that the black beam of light was indeed leaving that treasure-laden area, the corners of his mouth started turning upward uncontrollably, bursting into wild laughter: "Li Youdao, your Golden Core is secure. I said it."
His eyes shone brightly, as if he could already see himself packing all kinds of treasures into his Qiankun Pouch.
Two hours later, utterly exhausted, Li Pingyi gradually slowed his pace as he drew closer to the black beam of light.
"A fifty-zhang divine sense is required for Foundation Establishment, and a Qi Condensation Grotto-Heaven could never produce a Foundation Establishment entity. At the absolute worst, it's a Qi Condensation Great Perfection Monster Beast. Right, so if I observe it from a distance of a hundred zhang, I should be safe." Musing to himself, he cautiously crept toward the edge of the woods.
Before him lay a vast grassland, in the center of which a massive bear-like Monster Beast was tearing into a Qi Condensation 2nd Stage Spirit Deer.
"A Qi Condensation Great Perfection Earthly Fierce Bear—strength-type, slow runner. There's a chance."
Li Pingyi quickly calculated in his mind, pinpointing the location of the light beam cluster to be roughly inside the huge cave on the opposite side of the grassland.
He leapt up into a nearby tall tree to give himself a broader view.
Suddenly, he saw the Earthly Fierce Bear, having finished savaging the Spirit Deer, begin to lumber outward once more.
"It hasn't eaten its fill yet!" Li Pingyi's eyes lit up. He quickly scrambled down from the tree, circled around behind the Earthly Fierce Bear, and pressed himself flat against the mountain wall.
Though he knew deep down that this was most likely a fool's errand, he still couldn't give up; he wanted to take just one peek at the cave entrance—what if there happened to be another exit inside?
"Since I'm already here, I'll just take a look and not go in." Watching the Earthly Fierce Bear continue its trudge toward the forest, Li Pingyi let out a slight breath of relief.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he hugged the cliff face and inched step by step toward the cave entrance, his eyes locked firmly on that idiotic bear.
Meanwhile, a slender figure was also hugging the cliff face, sneaking up stealthily from the other side of the cave opening.
Utterly unaware of this, Li Pingyi reached the cave mouth and cautiously poked his head out to peer inside.
After a careful inspection, disappointment washed over him instantly.
From the entrance all the way to the very back, there appeared to be only this single, narrow passageway.
"Tsk tsk tsk... When the meat-eating bear comes back, it'll block me right as I finish picking up the treasures. With my frail little physique, a single claw would smash me to smithereens." The more he thought about it, the more dangerous it seemed, so he pulled his head back and prepared to retreat slowly.
"Pingyi, over here!"
Li Pingyi shuddered, his heart violently skipping a beat as he froze in place. Straining his neck, he turned around, and with just one glance, he recognized the newcomer.
The young woman was dressed in a tattered Qingxuan Sect standard robe, the cuffs and hem stained with patches of blood and dust, making her look quite disheveled.
Even so, it could not hide her fair and delicate features.
"Susu-jie!"
Ning Susu was the daughter of Li Youdao's good brother. The two families interacted closely on a daily basis. Ning Susu was over a decade older than Li Pingyi; she had entered the Qingxuan Sect Outer Sect at a very early age, and her future prospects in cultivation were exceptionally bright.
Realizing it was one of their own, Li Pingyi's legs turned to jelly, and he released the Wind-Control Spirit Talisman he had been clutching in his hand.
"What are you doing here?!" the two of them blurted out in unison.
"Get inside first. I've been watching this stupid bear for a long time; it takes quite a while to finish a meal," Ning Susu said, before flashing into the cave.
Gritting his teeth, Li Pingyi followed her in.
The two of them rushed swiftly inward. As she walked, Ning Susu said, "I searched for you for ages, thinking you were hiding. I happened to run into this idiotic bear and fought it once, but I couldn't beat it. I observed from the shadows and found that it leaves the cave every few hours to forage for food. There are good things inside the cave; last time I was too busy fighting it to salvage anything. Take as much as you can later! If it comes back, I'll stall it, and you run immediately, understand?"
"And by the way, your belt is quite unique."
Li Pingyi stared dumbfoundedly as Ning Susu rattled off a whole string of words, and subconsciously blurted out, "I've also got a big snake head hidden in my trousers; pull it out and it'll scare you to death."
Ning Susu stumbled mid-stride, turned around to stare at Li Pingyi with an incredulous look, and slowly drew the longsword from her scabbard.
Before Li Pingyi could explain, a furious roar echoed through the air, and he felt the ground begin to tremble slightly.
The bear was back.
"Oh no!"
Ning Susu's expression shifted drastically. She grabbed Li Pingyi by the collar and, without a word of explanation, hurled him forcefully toward the depths of the cave!
Li Pingyi felt a wave of immense force carry him through the air as if he were riding the clouds, before crashing heavily onto a soft pile of withered grass deep inside the cave, a mouthful of dry hay filling his teeth.
"Ptoo—spit, spit! This crazy woman, she's definitely settling a personal score!" Li Pingyi scrambled up in a disheveled state and spat angrily.
Almost the moment he landed, Ning Susu's crisp shouts and the explosive sounds of spells erupted from the entrance, mingling with the Earthly Fierce Bear's even more frenzied and enraged roars.
Metal clashed against metal, shockwaves surged, and the entire cave wall trembled as though it might collapse at any second.
"Pingyi, hurry! There's a jade slip on the stone platform to the left, and there's definitely more good stuff in the bear's nest! Take whatever you can carry, I'll try my best to stall it! Remember, you run first, don't worry about me!"
Ning Susu's hurried and resolute voice echoed intermittently through the gaps of the spell explosions, carrying a trace of imperceptible tremor.
Li Pingyi's heart tightened, knowing this was no time for hesitation.
With a jolt, his gaze became sharp as lightning, quickly locking onto the stone platform Ning Susu had mentioned. Sure enough, a jade slip emitting a faint cyan glow was resting quietly upon it.
He lunged forward with a stride and swept it into his Qiankun Pouch.
Immediately after, his gaze swept toward the deepest corner of the cave—a crude bear's nest cobbled together haphazardly from withered grass, beast bones, and unidentified animal pelts.
Right beside the nest, a foot-tall sapling caught his attention.
The sapling was entirely verdant. Though its branches were slender, they seemed brimming with boundless vitality. The edges of its tender leaves shimmered with a faint, translucent radiance, and wisps of pure Spiritual Qi were visibly swirling and converging around it, refreshing both body and mind.
"Good stuff!" Li Pingyi's breath hitched, his heart hammering wildly.
Without a moment's hesitation, he whipped out his small spade and, in a few swift strokes, carefully dug up the entire sapling along with the soil around its roots, transferring it straight into the Qiankun Pouch.
After a careful check to ensure nothing had been missed, he was about to head over and see how Ning Susu was holding up when he suddenly began to tremble all over.
Brother Qi, can you tell the situation apart?
Is this happening now, too?