Journey 2

At noon of the following day, they finally reached the chasm. Fortunately, it seemed they hadn't caught the attention of the incredibly strong beast Damian had seen in his vision. They had, of course, made quite a big detour to ensure nos getting its attention.

The party took a moment to appreciate the sight; the chasm was only a few dozens meter wide and extended its length as far as the eye could see in both directions, the other side of the chasm was a few dozen yards below the level of the side of the chasm they found themselves, this side was above the canopy of the forest on the other side, all around where they could see was filled with forest and at the end of their sight, enormous mountains piercing the clouds could be seen.

Looking at the mountains, Damian felt something primal inside of him. His perception, of course, didn't reach that far, but something inside him knew if he were to ever step on those mountains with his current strength, he would inevitably die.

Damian decided to focus on the present and the reason they had come this deep into the forest. He focused on the Qi and heat concentration that could be felt all the way to where he was. Damian let out a sigh he didn't know he had been holding. He was relieved to be reassured that his vision had not been only a hallucination produced by the tea.

The party noted that the Qi coming from the chasm was nothing to scoff at. It was incredibly dense and a certain warmness could be felt even from hundreds of meters above.

When the party members besides Damian and Cedric saw the chasm, they began to understand the reason for the trip. They were searching for some kind of treasure.

Damian produced five swords with his [Ten Thousand Jade Swords Make One Copper Sword art], one for each member of the party, except Christine, and told them to hop on.

Anyone with weapon intent could use said weapon to fly. The only reason they didn't do it before was to not attract the attention of the demon beast in the forest. As Damian was unable to hide the party with his [A Drop In An Ocean art] while also making them fly.

Christine produced her own sword to fly.

The party members got on the swords and began to descend. The journey was slow, as they were not used to maintaining their balance on a flying sword.

An idea struck Damian while they were descending. He would have to check if he could inscribe some swords with a trace of sword intent that could be powered through Qi to replicate the flying effect. If he succeeds, he would secure a steady income source from lower-level cultivators.

They didn't let their guard down. However, one of the perks of having reached the Golden Core realm was splitting the mind to multitask without sacrificing any attention to the task at hand.

After a few minutes, they finally descended. The amount of Qi in the ambient was nearly as much as that in the Quartz room of the Lambert clan. In the chasm, the darkness was ever-present as well as a heat comparable to a summer day. The darkness didn't present an obstacle to them, as cultivators had an extremely good sight.

Damian sharpened his senses to the extreme. They were close to their goal. He didn't want to slip up after all the effort and Qi he had spent making sure they were not easily discovered by a demon beast.

It was easy to know where the cave was located. They just had to follow the source of the Qi and the heat.

As they approached the source, the heat and Qi continued increasing. The heat now was that of a desert. After a few minutes, they reached a hole in the side of the chasm big enough to fit one human at a time.

Even from where they stood. They could feel that the Qi and heat inside the cave were on another level altogether. It was obvious to the party that the Qi inside was a cultivation throve. There, they would be able to get double the results with only half the effort. Damian having had the vision was the first to enter forming a thin layer of Qi protecting him from both the heat and the dense Qi.

The ever-present darkness inside the chasm was no longer present, specks of white fire came floating from deep into the cave, illuminating the space. When Damian stepped inside the cave, he was already sweating. It was obvious to him that he would not be able to take more than a few dozen steps before the heat burned his skin and the Qi. The rock that formed the cave had clear scorched marks produced by the constant wearing of the intense heat.

After Damian, the rest of the team members went inside the cave. Christine was the first to say: "Are you sure this isn't the path toward the gates of hell?" as she cleansed a few sweat drops from her forehead.

Damian simply replied, "I what lays at the end of the cave and it is not a gate."

As Damian finished speaking, Nathan said: "Could you tell us what's inside? no need to be so secretive."

Cedric's guards didn't say anything, but it was clear in their expressions they also wanted to know what they were searching for.

Damian looked back at Cedric, and he nodded in return. It was time to inform the rest of the party of the white flame, and that they would be staying here to cultivate. Even if they most likely already had assumed as much. It was still better to tell them.

Damian looked at every team member and said: "I won't tell you how I came to learn of this location. However, I will tell you that what lies at the end of the cave is a special type of flame. All I know is that it can be used to booster cultivation, and we will be doing just that."

Damian took a few steps forward and seated in a meditative position.