On the path to immortality, I can see destiny.

Sun Yao pointed to a dimly lit corner on the right side of the cave.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, since you have nothing to do, why don't you go and take a look over there?"

"Yes, Miss Sun."

He dragged his injured leg and slowly made his way to that corner.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that it was not a simple rock face, but a shallow recess carved into the mountainside. It was not clearly visible from the outside due to the lighting and angle.

The recess was not deep, about ten feet square, and contained some rotten wooden frame remnants and rubble. It looked like an abandoned storage room, nothing unusual.

Zhao Fan stopped at the cave entrance, but did not go in immediately. Instead, he carefully scanned the area with his divine sense to confirm that there were no residual restrictions. Only then did he move in and use his foot to clear away the broken wood and dust on the ground.

Suddenly, he bumped into something.

He crouched down, enduring the excruciating pain in his ribs and legs, and brushed away the accumulated dust with his hands.

The stone slab was about two feet square, with neat edges, clearly laid by man. He tried pressing the edge of the slab, but there was no reaction. He then felt along the gaps in the slab and found a slight indentation in a corner on the inner side.

He pressed down hard with his fingertips.

"Click".

With a slight click of a mechanism, the stone slab moved slightly and slid to the side about a foot away, revealing a dark hole below, with stone steps leading down.

Inside, an even more stale smell wafted out of the cave.

Zhao Fan's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't go down immediately. Instead, he turned his head to look at Sun Yao by the spiritual spring and raised his voice.

"Miss Sun, there seems to be a downward entrance over here."

Upon hearing the sound, Sun Yao immediately looked over, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. She quickly walked over, glanced at the cave entrance and the stone steps leading downwards, and then looked at Zhao Fan.

Sun Yao squatted down, carefully examined the edge of the cave entrance and the stone steps, and then used her divine sense to probe downwards for a while before standing up.

"There is space below, the atmosphere is dull but there are no signs of life or obvious formations. It seems that this is where this senior usually meditates or stores important items."

"Now that you've discovered this place, you may go down and investigate. I'll stay up here, just in case."

Zhao Fan understood the meaning behind Sun Yao's words, but since the situation was now beyond his control, he could only nod in agreement.

"I understand."

Zhao Fan showed no objection. He carefully moved to the edge of the cave entrance and first used his divine sense to probe downwards.

The stone steps weren't long, only about a dozen, and below seemed to be a small space. He took a deep breath, enduring the pain all over his body, and used both hands and feet to slowly and laboriously climb down, one step at a time.

At the end of the stone steps was a small stone chamber, about two zhang long and wide, and less than one zhang high, which made it seem somewhat low and oppressive.

In the center of the stone chamber was a stone table and a stone stool, both covered in dust. Against the wall stood two tall stone bookshelves, on which were placed many items, most of which were also covered in a thick layer of dust.

This place looks like a simple study.

Zhao Fan steadied himself by holding onto the stone table, catching his breath a few times. Although the air in the stone chamber was stale, there was no strange smell or dangerous atmosphere.

The bookshelf was filled with a variety of items, including bamboo slips, animal skin scrolls, and paper books, but most of all, there were jade slips of various shapes.

Many bamboo slips and books are so old that they are rotten and break easily, while jade slips, due to their special material, are mostly well preserved.

He steadied himself, reached out, and carefully brushed away the dust from the three pale blue jade slips. He took one off, placed it on his forehead, and poured a wisp of his divine consciousness into it.

A flood of information rushed into his mind: a rather exquisite collection of water-based spells called "Three Layers of Cold Water," which contained three complementary high-level water-based spells. It was quite powerful, but had strict requirements on the spiritual root attributes.

Zhao Fan mainly cultivates the Heavenly Origin Technique, and his spiritual power does not have a specific attribute bias. This technique is not very suitable for him, but its value should not be low.

He put down the first jade slip and picked up the pale blue jade slip next to it. This time, it contained a wind-attribute escape technique called "Nine Steps of Wind Control".

This technique emphasizes changing footwork, using the wind to move, and is extremely fast and flexible, but it requires extremely high physical strength and control over spiritual power.

The third pale blue jade slip records a peculiar technique for concealing one's aura and hiding one's form, called "The Turtle Breath Concealing Spirit Technique".

He suppressed the urge to immediately memorize the incantation and put the three jade slips back as they were. Then, he picked up the deep purple jade slip.

As my consciousness sank in, the first few ancient characters appeared in my mind.

"The Shadow Escape".

Zhao Fan's breath hitched slightly. This was a technique of escape, and judging from its description, it was extremely mysterious.

Unlike the "Nine Steps of Wind Riding" which uses the wind to accelerate, the "Flowing Shadow Escape" emphasizes the change between reality and illusion, transforming the body into a flowing shadow, almost like teleporting within a short distance.

It can also pass through non-physical obstacles to a certain extent, such as low-level array auras, fog, and smoke.

The manual also points out that this technique has extremely high requirements for spiritual power, the ability of the meridians to withstand it, and the strength of the divine sense. Moreover, the cultivation process is risky, but once mastered, the ability to protect one's life is greatly enhanced.

Zhao Fan was deeply tempted by these secret techniques, and greed instantly surged into his heart.

But soon, Zhao Fan released the jade slip again, and shook his head with a sigh.

The secret technique is excellent, but given his current situation, there's no way he could keep it to himself.

Sun Yao isn't stupid; she asked me to come down, so why would she completely ignore it?

She might have some way of getting a general sense of what's going on below, or she might have done something to the entrance.

Once she discovers his secret stash, with her cold and rational personality and strength far exceeding his own, she can kill him without a burial place in an instant.

He was so badly injured that he didn't even have a chance to struggle.

He then quickly checked the other jade slips and books on the bookshelf, most of which were cultivation tips, travelogues, miscellaneous anecdotes, low-level spells, and so on.

Only in one of the drawers of the stone table did he find several ethereal stones of good quality, but whose spiritual energy had mostly dissipated, as well as a small bottle of pills that had long since lost their effectiveness.

There was nothing else of value.

Zhao Fan straightened up, took one last look at the four jade slips that he had deliberately placed in a conspicuous spot, and then, without lingering, turned around and climbed up the stone steps with difficulty.

Upon seeing Zhao Fan emerge, Sun Yao immediately turned her gaze towards him, her clear eyes filled with inquiry.

"How about it? What's next?"

Zhao Fan leaned against the cave entrance, his face even paler than before he went down, and his breathing was heavier, as if the exploration had exhausted him greatly.

"Reporting to Miss Sun, downstairs is a study with some bookshelves, mostly filled with jade slips and books, but many of them are already decayed."

"After inspecting the area, I found several jade slips that appear to be in relatively good condition. I dare not touch them without permission, so I have come to report this."

As he spoke, he stepped aside to make way for the entrance, indicating that Sun Yao could go down and take a look.

Sun Yao glanced at him, said nothing, and with a swift movement, leaped lightly down the cave entrance and entered the stone chamber.

Zhao Fan sat by the cave entrance, coughing violently a few times. In secret, he was fully activating the Heavenly Origin Technique to absorb the relatively rich spiritual energy in the cave, while listening intently to the sounds below.

The sound of light footsteps and rustling dust being brushed away came from below.

Soon, Sun Yao's voice came from below.

"Come down."

Zhao Fan climbed down the stone steps again and entered the room to see Sun Yao standing in front of the bookshelf, holding the four jade slips that he had specially arranged.

"Only these four are still acceptable, as they record several techniques and escape methods."

Sun Yao shook the jade slip in her hand and looked at Zhao Fan.

"As agreed, we can each make a copy of this technique. You can make your copy first."

As she spoke, she actually handed four jade slips to Zhao Fan.

Zhao Fan became even more wary, but a hesitant look appeared on his face.

"We were able to enter your cave dwelling thanks to Fellow Daoist Sun. You should make a copy of these techniques first. Besides, I don't know how to make a copy. The original is fine."

Sun Yao glanced at Zhao Fan with some curiosity, but didn't say anything. She simply took out a few blank jade slips and used her spiritual power and divine sense to inscribe the contents of the spells on them.

After all this was done, Sun Yao threw the jade slip she had copied to Zhao Fan.

"I've made a rubbing for you, here you go."

Zhao Fan took the jade slip with both hands; it was icy cold to the touch. He suppressed his doubts and carefully put it into his storage bag.

"Thank you, Miss Sun."

After the assignments were completed, the two climbed out of the cave entrance one after the other and returned to the cave.

Sun Yao had already picked all the medicinal herbs in the spirit field, leaving only loosened soil.

Zhao Fan looked at the spiritual spring, slowly stepped forward, wanting to drink a few mouthfuls.

Sun Yao looked at Zhao Fan with a calm gaze, then glanced at the spiritual spring.

"Although this spiritual spring is good, its spiritual energy is pure and surging. Your meridians are severely damaged and your dantian is depleted. Drinking it rashly may not be able to nourish your body properly and could even worsen your injuries or destroy your health."

Her tone was calm, as if she were stating a fact.

"Let's go outside and then figure it out."

Zhao Fan sneered inwardly. "Too weak to be nourished? I'm afraid that after drinking the spiritual spring and regaining some of his strength, he won't be so easy to control."

Although he knew it in his heart, his face showed a look of realization and gratitude.

"I see. I was being presumptuous. Thank you for reminding me, Miss Sun."

He stopped mentioning the spirit spring and instead dragged his legs toward the rock wall on the other side of the cave.

He pretended to continue his investigation, and after entering a room, he quickly grabbed a handful of low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag, held them tightly in his hand, and at the same time, fully activated the Heavenly Origin Technique.

The cool, pure spiritual energy within the spirit stone was forcibly extracted and flowed into his parched and damaged meridians through the Laogong acupoint in his palm, bringing sharp, stinging pains, but also quickly replenishing his nearly depleted dantian.

He groaned, veins throbbing on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and accelerated his absorption. A handful of spirit stones quickly turned to dust, and he swiftly took out a second handful.