Chapter 139: We Are Going to Be Rich

Wherever the light reached ahead, caves of every size spread out in all directions, their passages interlinked. Seen from here, they looked like a natural honeycomb. The largest cave was wide enough for a heavy truck to pass through, while the smallest was no bigger than a mouse hole. With Tang Wei’s half-baked tracking skills, finding the Fire Rabbit’s trail in a place like this would be anything but easy.

“Tang Wei, why don’t we just leave? This place is really frightening.” Wanwan gazed at the scene before her and began to lose her nerve. Unable to hold back, she asked Tang Wei outright.

“Mm. Could this be nothing more than a snake den?” Tang Wei somewhat agreed with Wanwan’s suspicion. Just looking at the natural honeycomb before her made her scalp prickle. Surely there weren’t any of those things inside, were there? With so many caves, only creatures like that would choose to live here. Of all the creatures Tang Wei knew, snakes frightened her most. Whenever she thought of them, gooseflesh rose all over her body. Even though she could now dispatch one with a casual wave of her hand, she still could not overcome the fear that had haunted her for years.

“Probably not. If this were a snake den, the entrance would be smooth, and the Fire Rabbit certainly wouldn’t have run in here. Snakes are their natural enemies, after all. Coming in here would be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den—it would be walking straight to its death. Besides, this is clearly a naturally formed cave. The reason I want to leave is that I’m afraid the two of us will get lost inside. By then, we could call to the heavens and receive no answer, call to the earth and hear nothing in return. If we became trapped in there, who knows how much effort it would take to get back out.”

Wanwan might have enjoyed fooling around at ordinary times, but when it mattered, she was extremely clever. Once she began giving her opinion, the words flowed without end. In terms of knowledge and experience, Tang Wei was utterly outmatched.

Wanwan’s reasoning made sense, and Tang Wei could only accept it. From these small details, she had also begun to guess that Wanwan’s family background was far from ordinary.

“If that’s all you’re worried about, there’s no need to be afraid. I can handle it. How about letting me try first?”

Tang Wei still had great confidence in her own abilities. As long as she did not run into some kind of soft-bodied creature, she could deal with the possibility of getting lost. Besides, she had already cast a tracking spell on the Fire Rabbit. Finding it should be easy.

“Are you sure you can do it? This concerns both our lives. If you can’t, don’t force yourself!” Wanwan asked doubtfully.

It was not that she did not trust Tang Wei. The matter concerned her life, after all, so caution was the wisest course. If they really became trapped and could not get out, that would be a miserable way to die.

“Tch! Stop looking down on me. How could I possibly fail at something this trivial? Take this and stand over there. Today, I’ll show you what I’m capable of!”

Tang Wei was deeply displeased by Wanwan’s unreserved skepticism. A mere Advanced Martial Artist actually dared to look down on her, a dignified Golden Core cultivator. She would have to teach Wanwan a lesson, or the girl might truly mistake her for a harmless house cat.

Fuming, Tang Wei casually handed the flashlight to Wanwan and began to perform her magnificent tracking technique.

Before Wanwan could reply, Tang Wei started reciting the incantation for the tracking spell where she stood. As it happened, she was remarkably lucky this time. Like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, she activated the spell successfully on her first attempt.

When the incantation ended, spiritual energy rapidly gathered. A beam of deep blue light shot from Tang Wei’s hand and flew straight into one of the caves ahead.

“Quick! Let’s follow it!”

Now that the tracking spell had succeeded, Tang Wei was naturally bursting with pride. Wanwan was still staring blankly at her, which Tang Wei took as a provocation. She would find that rabbit and show Wanwan exactly what she could do.

With that, Tang Wei charged ahead.

In truth, Wanwan had only stared because she had been stunned by the miraculous sight. She had not meant to look down on Tang Wei at all. She had simply misunderstood the situation herself.

Watching Tang Wei rush alone into the pitch-black cave, Wanwan began to worry that she might accidentally run headfirst into a wall. She had no choice but to clutch the flashlight and sprint after her.

It was only when Tang Wei suddenly stopped and stood foolishly in place that Wanwan finally relaxed. Panting for breath, she complained, “Tang—Wei— I never—said I didn’t—believe you. Why did you—run so fast? Chasing after you—nearly killed me.”

Only after looking up ahead did she realize that Tang Wei had not stopped to wait for her. She had been held up by something. Wanwan immediately took malicious pleasure in her misfortune.

“Tang Wei, the Fire Rabbit ran in there. How are we supposed to follow it now?”

The passage ahead narrowed into a hole barely half a meter wide. The Fire Rabbit could slip through easily enough, but the two women had little hope of doing the same. Though Tang Wei and Wanwan were both petite and graceful, they could not squeeze through unless they knew how to transform.

Tang Wei could not stand seeing Wanwan look so pleased with herself, and she racked her brains for a way through. If the Five Spirits within her had not fallen asleep, this tiny problem would have been effortless to solve with the power of the Earth Spirit’s supreme treasure. Unfortunately, the Five Spirits were currently fast asleep.

After considering the matter from every angle, Tang Wei decided that the most primitive method would be the most reliable: enlarge the entrance.

But what tool should she use?

Tang Wei began inspecting the weapons in her portable storage space. After searching from one end to the other, she finally selected her temporary flying device—the flying sword.

It was unfortunate that this flying sword had ended up with the wrong owner. In someone else’s hands, it might have become a treasured weapon of exceptional rank. But why had it fallen into Tang Wei’s possession? With the Five Spirits at her command, how could she possibly care about a mere piece of scrap metal?

So, regrettably, it would have to serve as an excavator for a while.

Tang Wei drew the sword and gave it a casual sweep. The stones in the cave fell away like crumbling tofu. After only two strokes, she had more than doubled the size of the passage.

It truly lived up to the reputation of the “trash” collected by Ziyang—it could cut through metal as easily as mud. No, that was not quite right. It could cut through mud as easily as tofu.

Even if the sword had been treated as rubbish, its inherent power could not be denied. In the hands of a cultivator of the same rank, it would surely have been worshiped as a divine weapon.

And yet Tang Wei still had the nerve to say, “Hey, this is actually pretty useful. It feels quite natural in my hand, too.”

Fortunately, there were no other cultivators nearby. Otherwise, someone would surely have thrown their arms around the flying sword and wailed, “How could you have ended up with a master like this? What a tragedy!”

Wanwan might have been widely knowledgeable, but she had never seen a weapon so powerful. She stood there dumbfounded for quite some time before finally coming to her senses.

This Tang Wei truly was extraordinary. Every day brought some new surprise. It seemed that her momentary curiosity had led her to follow the right person after all.

As a martial artist who cherished weapons deeply, Wanwan could not help interrupting her.

“Tang Wei, that’s your weapon! How can you treat it like this? It’s such an excellent sword, and you’re actually willing to use it this way? Besides, those of us who practice martial arts should regard our weapons as our second lives. How can you behave so recklessly…”

Wanwan continued lecturing her without pause. Judging from her expression, one would think Tang Wei had committed some unforgivable crime. The sheer anguish on Wanwan’s face made Tang Wei feel extremely awkward.

If she let Wanwan continue, she would lose both her dignity and her reputation. Tang Wei hurriedly cut her off.

“Hehe, sorry, sorry. I’m used to it. It’s fine, really. Just pretend you didn’t see anything. This sword is incredibly sturdy. I can use it however I want, and it won’t break so easily.”

“You…”

Wanwan looked as though she was desperately trying to keep a piece of iron from becoming steel. Seeing Tang Wei treat the sword so carelessly made her furious, but it was Tang Wei’s possession, and Wanwan could hardly say anything more.

She turned aside and sulked. Though she no longer wanted to interfere, every time she heard another shower of stone fragments hit the ground, her heart still clenched in pain for no apparent reason.

“If I’d known you liked this sort of thing so much, I should have brought a few spares when I came out. If you like one, I can just give you one.”

Tang Wei said this as though the swords were nothing more than cabbages, available in any quantity. Wanwan was rendered speechless with anger.

It was enough to drive anyone mad when comparing themselves to others. A treasure that someone of Wanwan’s status had never even seen was treated by Tang Wei as though it were worthless. While seething over Tang Wei’s behavior, Wanwan secretly began to speculate about her true identity.

Tang Wei had no idea what was going through Wanwan’s mind. She remained focused on her work as an excavator. Before long, the section blocking the passage had been cleared.

When the final stone fragment tumbled away and they walked out of the cave, they discovered an entirely different world beyond it. Judging from the surrounding landscape, the passage seemed to have connected them to the opposite side of the mountain.

The place was extraordinarily well hidden. Towering cliffs rose everywhere, enclosing a secluded valley untouched by the outside world. All kinds of trees and vines grew along the cliffs, while the ground was covered in lush green vegetation streaked faintly with purple. It looked almost exactly like the legendary realm of immortals.

Judging from the scenery, no one had probably ever entered this place before.

Only after Tang Wei had finished surveying the surroundings and turned around did she notice that Wanwan had gone completely blank. Her expression was even more ridiculous than it had been when she watched Tang Wei use a flying sword as an excavator.

“Hey, Wanwan, what’s wrong with you? Even if this place is a little prettier than elsewhere, you don’t have to be so entranced!”

Tang Wei rarely had an opportunity to tease Wanwan properly. She had just been lectured as though she were a mischievous child, and now that the chance to retaliate had appeared, she naturally intended to make the most of it.

Compared with what lay before them, Tang Wei’s earlier actions were utterly insignificant. After Wanwan was finally roused from her daze, the only thing she said was:

“Tang Wei, we’re going to make a fortune.”