Inside the Cave

4 hours later.

Ye Fan and his group had finally reached the base of the purple mountains.

Indeed, they could see numerous caves within sight and there were even a couple of beautiful waterfalls in the vicinity.

Fairy Xuan Xueqi said to them, "Although the caves are numerous but most of the time it will lead us to the other side. So it doesn't really matter which cave that we pick. We can pick a random cave and try it first."

With that she had walked to the nearest cave and everyone began to follow after her.

By now, Fan De could walk on his own already and he did not need Mei Yinxuan to support him. However, he was still quite weak and he was of no help to the group should there be a fight.

Ye Fan in the meantime was quietly observing the floras in the forest and the strange formations of the purple rocks in this place.

The place was eerily beautiful but there were also possible many hidden dangers in the thick undergrowth. 

As they approached the cave, Fairy Xuan Xueqi had suddenly stopped in her tracks and she was faintly frowning.

Ye Fan could see why she had stopped in her tracks; it was because he had also spotted 2 dead cultivators on the ground! 

Fairy Xuan Xueqi quickly inspected the dead cultivators before saying to them, "From their cultivation robes, they are cultivators from the Monument City Sect. And they are killed not by any profound beasts but by the other cultivators. They have visible sword slashes on them."

Ye Fan and the others were all startled.

He asked curiously, "By other cultivators? By the alliance?"

Ouyang Nana sighed heavily, "Who else? Only the alliance is in this place. They are really too vicious."

Fairy Xuan Xueqi slowly nodded as she inspected the dead cultivators further, "All their spatial rings and swords are gone as well…"

Huangfu Ming said, "We must be extra careful in this place lest we are set upon by the other cultivators."

Ouyang Nana nodded, "Luckily we have managed to find everyone in our group or else we would be like the two unfortunate cultivators."

Ye Fan was also inspecting the dead cultivators before he said slowly, "It seems that they are killed by the same cultivator. Their wounds are quite identical."

Fairy Xuan Xueqi nodded, "And he is also a high level cultivator too. These two cultivators had died almost immediately."

Ye Fan turned to look at Fairy Xuan Xueqi, "You seem to know who has killed them, right?"

Fairy Xuan Xueqi: …

She stood up from inspecting the dead cultivators and said to the rest, "Let's go."

With that, she had marched off and this caused the rest of the group except for Ye Fan to quickly go after her. 

Ye Fan: …

The Witch Xuan Xueqi has ignored me just like this… I take back all my goodwill that is from her back now…

Actually, Fairy Xuan Xueqi could identify the killer by the sword strokes that were being used. Even though it was extremely subtle and the killer had taken care to cover his track but he still could not escape from her sharp eyes.

It was because the killer was none other than Young Master Xi Wugui from the Divine Mist Peak and he was a 5th realm golden celestial and at the True Origin state of divinity! 

The Divine Mist Peak was also naturally 1 of the 3 most powerful celestial sects in the alliance! 

Fairy Xuan Xueqi did not want Ye Fan or the others to know about this because they were unable to deal with Young Master Xi Wugui and his powerful Divine Mist Peak.

But with her around, they would at least be safe for the time being.

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Very soon, Fairy Xuan Xueqi and her group had entered a large cave that was nearby. 

She had purposely picked a cave that seemed to be undisturbed as she did not want to meet any of the cultivators from the alliance just yet. 

This cave was colored from pinkish to purplish and were quite fascinating to look at. 

"This cave is so beautiful," Chen Yuyan smiled as she looked at her surroundings. "I wonder if we are able to find some rare stones for cultivation in this cave?"

Her question seemed to be directed at Mei Yinxuan who was nearest to her but Mei Yinxuan merely gave her a faint smile and not saying a word; it was because Mei Yinxuan was actually unhappy with Chen Yuyan for being with Fan De. 

However, her question was answered by Ouyang Nana who said. "With some luck, we may be able to find one. The spiritual aura in this place is actually quite thick."

Huangfu Ming who was walking next to her, was nodding. "That's right. This cave is the perfect place to cultivate. Unfortunately, we can only stay here for 7 days and we can't use the 7 days just to cultivate in this cave or we would have missed the profound treasures that could be found in this trial."

Fan De nodded weakly as he struggled with his injuries, "I am feeling much better now just by walking in this cave."

Ye Fan who was walking at the back of the group did not join in the conversations as he was still feeling a little sour after being ignored by his protégé mistress earlier. 

They soon come to a large cavern and there were 2 passages that were in front of them.

The cave on the left was bigger while the cave on the right was smaller and there were streams of water on the ground.

Fairy Xuan Xueqi hesitated for a while as she extended her divine sense into the two passages as she scouted for dangers.

Ye Fan said aloud, "We should pick the cave on the left side. It is bigger and drier. It is more suitable for walking."

Fairy Xuan Xueqi took a look at Ye Fan and she was thinking: Am I your protégé mistress or you are my protégé master? In this group, I call the shots.

So, she said to the group, "We shall take the passage to the right."

Actually, there were no dangers from either of the cave or at least that what Fairy Xuan Xueqi's divine sense had told her. 

She had actually meant to take the passage to the left as she agreed with Ye Fan's deduction but her pride had kept her from agreeing with him. 

But she just did not want to use Ye Fan's advice. 

With that, she had already marched to the passage that was on the right.

Ye Fan: …

The rest of the group quickly followed after Fairy Xuan Xueqi.

Chen Yuyan giggled to Ye Fan, "We should trust Fairy Xuan on this. Her divine sense is much stronger than any of us. What looks safe may not be safe at all."

Ye Fan could only smile bitterly at this conclusion.