Ancestral Grotto

"This way, this way." - Zhu Feng lead the way.

A cave loomed before them, dark and foreboding. Zhu Feng, led the group into the depths of the earth, his eyes glinting with a sinister light.

"You live in this hole?" - Ye Jianhong sneered at him.

Zhu Feng gazed at him momentarily, but did not answer his provocation.

The air was heavy, and the ground was wet beneath their feet.

As they ventured further into the cave, Zhao Min began to feel a sense of unease wash over him. He tried to shake it off, but the feeling only intensified.

Suddenly, the entrance to the cave collapsed behind them, trapping them within its dark and winding corridors.

"What have you done, Zhu Feng?" - Zhao Min demanded, trying to remain calm despite the danger they were in.

Panic set in as they realized they were trapped, and their situation only worsened when a swarm of Phantom Mantises emerged from the shadows, their razor-sharp mandibles glinting in the dim light.

Zhu Feng chuckled, a sly smile spreading across his face. "This is my revenge!" - He hissed. "You ruined my cultivation, I have no hope left, and now I am willing to take you all to the grave with me."

Jin Ju let out a whimper. "Why are you doing this? We can still find a way out of here."

Zhu Feng's face darkened, he cackled maniacally.

"You! I'd strangle you to death with my own hands. But this is better. Let's be the witness of your comrades getting torn to pieces by these Phantom Mantises. Our deaths will be long and agonizing!" - His sharp voice was filled with malice.

Ye Jianhong puffed out his chest, trying to appear brave. "You will pay for this, Zhu Feng. I will not let you get away with this."

But Zhu Feng only laughed at Ye Jianhong's threats. "You are all doomed. I have no reason to fear death now that my cultivation is gone, I'm already a walking dead man."

Yu Lingxin stepped forward, trying to find a way to help the group. "We must work together if we are to survive this. Let's see if we can find a way out of here. If there's an entrance, there must be an exit."

They had no more time to converse, as the swarm quickly closed in from the depths of the cave.

The wild Phantom Mantis swarm attacked them relentlessly, their sharp mandibles could tear through flesh and bone. Even Zhu Feng, was not spared from their wrath.

Zhao Min, always one to take decisive action, quickly activated his killer move. A root emerged from the ground, wrapping around Zhu Feng and binding him tightly.

The Phantom Mantises proved to be a formidable foe. They were able to temporarily turn phantom, passing through objects and making them difficult to fight.

Jin Ju took out a Phantom Mantis gu that he had refined on the way and sent if flying towards the swarm. This gu confused the other Phantom Mantis gu, giving the group a chance to escape deeper into the cave.

As they fought for survival, the group knew they had to find a way out before it was too late.

After many twists and turns, the passage opened up.

"What is this place?" - Asked Ye Jianhong suspiciously.

"This is unnatural, the walls are too straight and smooth." - Zhao Min looked around.

The group's gaze soon landed on the bound-up Zhu Feng. But Zhu Feng paid no heed to their words, he only showed a bitter expression.

"Look, there is a stone pillar at the end and a plaque on it." - Jin Ju pointed at the far end of the place.

"Second stage of the inheritance ground?" - Yu Lingxin exclaimed in shock as she read it aloud.

Zhu Feng's face turned ashen, his eyes almost popped out in disbelief.

"How can this be? I was looking for this for five years already." - He cursed indignantly.

Ye Jianhong could not hold it anymore and grabbed Zhu Feng's arm and twisted it forcefully.

Zhu Feng was still bound by Zhao Min's method. Unable to resist, he wailed in agony as his joints were stressed to their limits.

"Speak." - Ye Jianhong said coldly.

The others did not stop him. Any lingering sympathy for this man had vanished in their eyes.

One time should be forgiven, a second time should be punished! This was their common thinking.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Zhu Feng clearly knew more about this place than them. They decided to interrogate him before going any further.

"Twist it that way and pull on it. He deserves it!" - Advised Yu Lingxin.

Ye Jianhong got better and better at torturing Zhu Feng.

It did not take an incense stick of time for Zhu Feng's tongue to get loose.

"Just kill me. I will tell you everything I know, just let me die." - Sobbed Zhu Feng.

The group surrounded him with renewed interest, before he began to tell his story.

"I found this inheritance place by accident when I was on a mission. There was a landslide that uncovered the cave entrance. So I naturally checked it out." - Zhu Feng stopped to catch his breath.

"The same kind of plaque was inside, it said 'first stage of inheritance ground'. I destroyed it, so others wouldn't know, even if they found the place."

"But I found out this place was bigger and harder to explore than I thought. I had to come back many times, so I purposely offended one of the academy elders. I knew what my punishment would be, exile. But this gave me the opportunity to focus on this place." - He stopped again before continuing.

"First, I discovered the troublesome Phantom Mantises. So I lured them out of the cave and managed to painstakingly capture some of them! With those of my own, I could produce an effect on the larger group. Soon, I discovered the group had a leader. I could not get past no matter how I tried, it would not be fooled by my methods. It commanded the swarm against me. So I continued to capture them! One by one, I amassed my own group and managed to get rid of the leading Phantom Mantis eventually in a decisive battle."

"Sound like you passed the first test then, no?" - Asked Zhao Min.

"After that point, I could explore the cave relatively freely, but I did not find this passage..." - He looked at them resentfully.

He did all the hard work, and they reaped the rewards.

"What else? Tell me everything." - Demanded Ye Jianhong.

"This is all I know, I've never been further than this."

"What shall we do with him then?" - Asked Jin Ju.

"Just put him out of his misery, he already begged for it." - Said Yu Lingxin.

"I'll do it." - Said Ye Jianhong solemnly.

The group looked at Zhao Min. The final say was his.

Zhao Min took a deep breath and sighed.

"This isn't a grudge we can resolve. Zhu Feng, your choices have forced my hand."

With that said, Zhao Min clenched his hand into a fist tightly. At the same time, the thick roots around Zhu Feng came to life and crushed his body with violent force.

Broken bones punctured the soft flesh and blood splattered in all directions.

The group was shocked, as Zhu Feng died in an instant.

When Zhao Min released the wooden root, the remains collapsed to the ground like a wet rag, twisted and unrecognizable.

Jin Ju gulped, not feeling well at the sight of this. The others had similar reactions.

"Let's move on. Our time is tight." - Zhao Min announced solemnly.

* * * * *

Xu Lian Blessed Land

Bao Zhi was absorbed in cultivation. Now that his aperture has finally awakened, he could step on the path of conventional cultivation.

"Walking on the beaten path is faster to yield results. I will make up for the lost time now." - He thought.

He focused on his aperture.

A surge of primeval essence, the color of green copper, began to amass and churn like a body of water. Under the direction of Bao Zhi's mental power, the waves steadily grew in magnitude and surged forward, crashing against the walls of the aperture with relentless force.

The aperture walls of a Rank one initial stage Gu Master were like a white barrier, and when the green copper primeval essence collided with it, it cast shadows of light that were indescribable, producing a captivating sensation.

It was so long ago he did mortal cultivation. This was like a nostalgic euphoria to Bao Zhi.

"I can feel it clearly. I'm making steady progress. The breakthrough is near."

A small fragment of primeval essence was spent each time, transforming into a delicate, unseen energy which permeated the white-hued aperture of light. This energy, however small, was the catalyst for a momentous change which was to come.

The waves of primeval essence continued crashing on the aperture walls and nurturing it without showing signs of abating.

Any gu master would quickly expend their primeval essence at this pace and would need to stop and recover.

Cultivation was akin to a long distance run. One needed perseverance and determination. But one couldn't sprint from start to finish, they had to adhere to their limits.

But Bao Zhi's primeval essence was simply unceasing!

He had the support of the Primeval Rafflesia gu house producing essence as well as his natural essence recovery.

Just based on his recently awoken aperture's ninety-five percent aptitude, he could be considered a cultivation talent. An A grade aptitude like this usually meant a smooth sailing till rank five, ignoring outside factors.

Rank five was the peak of the mortal world!

But in the eyes of Bao Zhi, all of mortal cultivation was just a step he had to take in his journey.

"It is here." - He focused.

"Rise!"

All his primeval essence gathered into a single wave and clashed against the aperture walls.

As the white light grew ever brighter, its rays seemed to twist and untangle, giving it a feeling of solidity. In the span of more than ten breaths, white strips of light bands appeared on the light aperture wall, seemingly dancing and colliding with each other as if they were an unceasing river.

As they collided, they continued to mingle and merge, forming a river of white flowing light, before finally congealing together and completely enveloping the wall of light in its brilliant glow.

The brilliant white light which had filled the aperture before began to dim, and in its place, a layer of shimmering white water appeared. It was smooth, and round in shape, and far thicker than the original light wall. The surface of the water was alive with ripples of light, flickering and dancing in its depths.

Success!

Rank one middle stage achieved!

Bao Zhi stopped for a moment to inspect his result. His sea of primeval essence came to a still, without a single ripple on its surface.

"There don't seem to be any problem. The other layer, from the fake aperture is also unaffected."

His human path aperture was elevated a minor realm, soon it started to produce its corresponding primeval essence, rank one middle stage pale green primeval essence.

The two kinds of essence did not mix, the pale green essence sank to the bottom, while the remaining initial stage jade green essence rose to the top. The two formed a clear line of separation.

It had to be mentioned, the Primeval Rafflesia gu house was rank one. It could produce the same stage of rank one primeval essence as the user activated it with. Now it was also turning the primeval stones into the middle stage jade green primeval essence, albeit with a slightly worse conversion rate.

Bao Zhi did not idle for long, his will whipped up another storm in his primeval sea.

The initial stage essence was soon all used up and fully replaced the middle stage essence.

As a result, the waves became heavier and more impactful. The water-like aperture walls shook and swayed under the hammer-like tides.

The middle stage was tougher to break through. But Bao Zhi was not daunted.

"I will succeed!" - He declared with absolute confidence, and then, the storm grew wilder, the waves grew larger and the walls of his aperture began to tremble as it tried to resist the onslaught.

* * * * *