At the canyon’s end stood three barren peaks, rising sharply like giant swords thrust into the ground.
Ye Qiu’s astonishment came from the massive pit before the peaks.
The pit, larger than a football field, loomed ominously.
Even before approaching, Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow felt an eerie chill.
“Let’s go take a look.”
Ye Qiu slowed his pace, leading Master Longbrow cautiously toward the pit.
The closer they got, the colder it became.
After a few minutes, they reached the pit’s edge. Peering down, it was a dark abyss, bottomless, as if it led to hell itself.
“Why is there an abyss here?” Ye Qiu frowned, puzzled.
Master Longbrow picked up a stone and tossed it in. After a long wait, no echo returned.
“This abyss is at least a kilometer deep. Should we go down?” Master Longbrow asked gravely. “Little brat, could we have come to the wrong place?”
Ye Qiu wasn’t sure. He drew another tracking charm, and soon a wisp of black energy, thinner than a hair, appeared.
The black energy swirled before Ye Qiu, then plunged into the abyss.
“I’m certain my father went down there,” Ye Qiu said.
Master Longbrow studied the pit, frowning, “Strange. Why would Wushuang go down there? This place doesn’t seem like it holds a dragon vein.”
“Old man, you going down?” Ye Qiu asked.
“We’ve come this far, of course we’re going down. Who knows, we might find more treasures,” Master Longbrow grinned.
He’d eaten ten thousand-year snow lotuses, his cultivation soaring, ready to break through any moment.
“Let’s do it!” Ye Qiu said, leaping into the abyss without any precautions.
“That little brat, so bold with his skills, not even afraid of falling to his death,” Master Longbrow muttered, sliding down the pit’s edge.
Five minutes later—
*Thud!*
Ye Qiu landed.
He’d activated his Heavenly Eye during the descent, spotting the ground and flipping mid-air to land lightly, unscathed.
Looking around, he found himself in a cave.
He waited a few minutes until Master Longbrow landed.
Holding a flame talisman, Master Longbrow grumbled, “Damn it, what kind of ghost place is this?”
“Let’s go!” Ye Qiu took the lead.
Moments later, they emerged from the cave into a breathtaking scene.
It was like a hidden paradise.
Towering peaks, lush greenery, verdant grass, blooming wildflowers, and nearby, peculiar rocks and ancient trees radiated serenity.
The air was warm, like an April day on earth.
Ye Qiu and Master Longbrow exchanged surprised glances.
They hadn’t expected such beauty at the bottom of the pit.
Suddenly, Ye Qiu’s gaze fixed on an ancient pine.
The pine, ten meters tall and massive, had mottled bark and roots entwined with an old vine, coiling like a dragon.
Ye Qiu’s eyes locked on the tree’s crown.
There, a colossal snow lotus bloomed, a meter wide, its petals larger than dustpans.
The snow-white petals were pristine, exuding a divine aura, like a celestial maiden.
“A ten-thousand-year snow lotus!”
Ye Qiu’s breathing quickened.
“I smell snow lotus again. Little brat, you smell it?”
Master Longbrow turned, saw Ye Qiu staring excitedly in one direction, and followed his gaze to the snow lotus.
“Holy crap, that’s a huge snow lotus!”
His eyes blazed as he lunged forward, declaring, “I found this one. It’s mine.”
*Boom!*
Ye Qiu punched, sending Master Longbrow flying, then landed atop the pine.
Master Longbrow shouted, “Little brat, this snow lotus is mine! Get out of the way, or don’t blame me for getting rough.”
Ye Qiu retorted, “Old man, have you no shame? Who said they wouldn’t take any more snow lotuses, no matter how many we found? Forgotten already?”
“It’s not the same!” Master Longbrow argued. “I meant I wouldn’t take any more thousand-year snow lotuses. This isn’t a thousand-year one, so why can’t I have it?”
“Besides, I calculated—this one’s fated for me.”
“Little brat, move!”
Ye Qiu glanced at the snow lotus, his eyes narrowing, and said, “Old man, it’s not that I won’t let you have it—this snow lotus is already mine.”
“Don’t believe me? See for yourself.”
He pointed at a petal.
Master Longbrow leaned in and saw a line of small characters etched on it.
“This flower is reserved for my son, Ye Qiu. —Ye Wushuang!”
Damn!
Master Longbrow’s face turned green, but his eyes darted, and he grinned slyly, “Little brat, can we make a deal? This snow lotus…”
Before he could finish, Ye Qiu stored the ten-thousand-year snow lotus in his Qiankun bag.
“Stingy!” Master Longbrow glared, full of resentment.
Ye Qiu laughed, “Old man, don’t be mad. Next time we find a ten-thousand-year snow lotus, I’ll let you have it.”
“Next time, my foot! Ten-thousand-year snow lotuses are rare. Don’t think I don’t know you’re tricking me, hmph!”
Master Longbrow snorted, then said, “Since Wushuang left his mark on the petal, he was here. Little brat, quick, check where he went!”
Ye Qiu drew another tracking charm.
The black energy floated briefly before shooting forward like an arrow.
“Let’s go!”
Ye Qiu dashed ahead, Master Longbrow close behind.
Minutes later, they reached a sheer cliff.
The cliff, thousands of meters high, merged with the clouds, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting their images.
The tracking charm swirled before the cliff, then vanished.
Ye Qiu frowned.
“This should be where my father was last,” he said.
Master Longbrow said, “But why don’t we see Wushuang? Where’d he go?”
Ye Qiu was equally puzzled.
“Let’s look around.”
They searched around the cliff for a while but found nothing.
“Strange, where did my father go?” Ye Qiu was baffled.
“Little brat, could we have come to the wrong place?” Master Longbrow suggested.
“No, this is definitely where my father was last…”
