The group of six was outside the city, in a clearing where the dirt road began to narrow between bushes and wild grass. At that distance, the bustle from inside barely reached them as a distant murmur. The wind gently moved the leaves of the nearby trees and raised small clouds of dust under their feet.

  In front of Jin, the young girl with the two ponytails stepped forward.

  She was short for her age, with cheeks still rounded by a soft childish fat that gave her a curious air somewhere between innocent and proud. Her eyes were large and lively, and although she tried to adopt a haughty expression, the gesture looked slightly clumsy. Even so, she lifted her chin decisively, crossed her arms, and looked at Jin as if she were granting him a great honor.

  "You have the pleasure of meeting this young genius. My name is Bai Lingshuang, disciple of the great master of the Crimson Hall."

  Jin opened his eyes slightly, pretending a surprised expression.

  Inside, however, his mind was completely blank.

  Crimson Hall?

  He had absolutely no idea what that was.

  Even so, he nodded with a slight inclination of his head, as if the name really meant something important.

  The other four girls, who had been observing behind Bai Lingshuang, exchanged glances before introducing themselves as well.

  One by one they said their names, each mentioning the elder of the Crimson Hall under whom they cultivated. Although their personalities seemed different, they all shared a familiar air, as if they had spent years growing up together.

  Apparently, since they had entered the sect they had always been in the same group, training and cultivating side by side under the guidance of their respective masters.

  When they finished, the five of them looked at Jin.

  Their expressions were different—curiosity, expectation, even a hint of evaluation—but they all expected the same thing.

  Seeing their expectant eyes, Jin did not know what to say.

  The girls in front of him were not ordinary disciples. From the way they spoke about their masters and from the emblems embroidered on their clothes, it was evident that they had strong backing. They were probably direct disciples of powerful elders… perhaps even cultivators of the Nascent Soul Realm or higher.

  Simply saying he was an outer disciple felt strange, not because he was ashamed of it, but because in front of them it sounded like a very poor introduction.

  Even so, lying was not in his plans.

  Jin cupped his hands modestly.

  "I'm only an outer disciple," he said calmly.

  To his surprise, after his words there was no immediate reaction. For a few seconds an odd silence reigned.

  Then murmurs began.

  The girls exchanged looks among themselves, leaning toward one another while whispering with amused expressions. Finally, one of them stepped forward, laughing softly.

  "Senior brother Jin, please don’t be modest," she said with a mischievous smile. "My master always says that a man must be confident and proud."

  Her eyes shone with amusement, as if Jin’s introduction had been a particularly good joke.

  Hearing that, Jin opened his eyes in surprise and looked at the others. Several nodded with exaggerated seriousness, as if they had discovered an obvious secret.

  Before he could say anything else to clarify the strange misunderstanding that was forming, Bai spoke.

  The girl crossed her arms with an important air, slightly raising her chin.

  "Senior brother Jin, even if you try to hide it, my great experience cannot be deceived."

  As she spoke, she extended a small finger and pointed directly at the spear Jin carried on his back.

  Her expression was that of someone who had just uncovered an extremely obvious conspiracy.

  Bai looked at him with absolute confidence, as if she were revealing an obvious secret that everyone else had overlooked.

  "You may fool others, but not me," she declared firmly. "That spear you have is Earth-rank."

  Hearing that, Jin tilted his head, not understanding what the girl was referring to.

  Before he could ask, the young girl proudly raised her hand and, with an elegant gesture, took something out of a spiritual ring she wore on one of her fingers. In an instant a delicate fan appeared, whose ribs seemed to be made of shining metal and whose leaves were made of a silk so fine that it almost seemed to glow.

  "And I know because my master gave me one just like it. Look."

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  Bai lightly waved the fan in front of him, clearly satisfied with herself.

  "See? I can tell just by looking at it. Please, senior brother, if you are going to try to lie… do it better."

  After saying that, she laughed with the satisfaction of someone who had just solved a great mystery.

  Jin, for his part, did not know how to react for a few seconds. His gaze first moved to the fan and then to the spiritual ring on Bai’s finger.

  A storage ring…

  Even in his own sect, at least as far as he had seen, those objects were rare and valuable.

  He had not seen anyone with one apart from outer elders and his senior sister Mei, not even the deacons. And the weapon she had just shown… even without knowing much about spiritual weapons, he could feel it was not something ordinary.

  An Earth-rank weapon… many cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm would kill for something like that.

  …What a background.

  His impression of the girl changed slightly. That seemingly arrogant young girl was not only confident in speech: she clearly came from an environment ridiculously rich in resources.

  But then his mind returned to what she had said earlier, making him frown slightly.

  Wait a moment…

  What did she just say about my spear?

  Jin frowned.

  Earth-rank weapon?

  The idea lingered in his mind, remembering the moment when he had received it and why someone would claim so confidently that it was an Earth-rank weapon. But before he could organize his thoughts, Bai spoke again.

  "Alright, it’s time to move. Let’s not waste any more time."

  The other four girls nodded immediately and began talking among themselves with excitement, clearly thrilled about the adventure they were about to begin.

  Sighing in resignation, Jin decided to postpone that doubt. He was about to ask whether they should return for his horse when he saw Bai move her hand toward her spiritual ring.

  From it she took out a small object—a piece of wood that looked like a carved bird.

  It was a very well-made puppet, with wings folded against its body and fine details on each feather. For a second Jin thought it was just some kind of decorative toy… until Bai took out several spiritual stones that emitted an intense glow.

  She inserted them into small cavities in the puppet’s body.

  The small wooden figure began to vibrate slightly. Then it expanded, growing before his eyes as if the space inside it were stretching. The wings unfolded, the joints adjusted, and within seconds the small bird turned into an enormous spiritual wooden crane, large enough for several people to ride on its back.

  Jin stared in disbelief at the object he had only seen described in novels.

  What the hell…?

  A damn spiritual puppet?

  Bai, on the other hand, seemed very proud. She placed her hands on her waist and slightly raised her chin.

  "Look, senior brother Jin. This is a gift from my master. With this little crane we can fly to the entrance of the cave."

  The other girls were already climbing onto it naturally, as if it were completely normal.

  Taking a few seconds longer to react, Jin simply nodded with an ironic smile at such a display of wealth.

  Inside, however, he could only think one thing.

  I am definitely heading toward a lot of trouble.

  Once everyone was on top of the wooden crane, Bai activated the puppet with a small gesture. The spiritual stones embedded in its body shone more intensely and the wings began to move with a soft humming sound. The enormous crane slowly lifted from the ground and, after a moment of stability, began flying away from the city.

  From that height, the roads and fields looked small, like simple lines crossing the landscape.

  Bai explained confidently that the place they were heading to was about seventy Li away from the city, near a small hill hidden among the forests.

  That information only made Jin feel more paranoid.

  Seventy Li… and no one has explored it.

  In a region close to a large cultivator city, it was hard to believe that a mysterious cave could have remained undiscovered for so long.

  Although he had a bad feeling, he said nothing. Maybe reading too many novels had made him paranoid.

  As the crane advanced, the five girls began asking him questions nonstop. They seemed incredibly excited now that the adventure had begun.

  "Senior brother Jin, what is your spiritual root?"

  "What martial art do you practice?"

  "How long have you been cultivating?"

  "Is your master very strict?"

  The questions came one after another, sometimes even overlapping.

  Jin answered with a polite smile, keeping a calm tone so as not to appear rude. However, inside the situation was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

  His instinct kept pricking him. It was not a clear danger, nor a direct threat… but there was something about the whole situation that did not quite fit.

  While he thought about it, the crane continued flying over forests and hills.

  Approximately half an hour later, Bai moved her hand again and the puppet began descending slowly toward a more secluded part of the forest.

  When the crane completely descended, the group found themselves in the middle of a small forest. Trees grew densely around them, filtering the sunlight into scattered beams that fell over the ground covered with dry leaves.

  When everyone climbed down from the puppet, Bai walked toward the wooden crane naturally. With a simple gesture of her hand, the enormous structure began shrinking again.

  The wings folded, the body contracted, and within seconds it became once again the small wooden bird that fit in the palm of her hand.

  Then she carefully removed the spiritual stones and stored both the puppet and the stones in her storage ring.

  Once that was done, she turned toward Jin with an expression full of enthusiasm.

  "This way, senior brother Jin."

  Without waiting much, she began guiding the group in a certain direction. The other four followed her without hesitation, and Jin walked behind them while observing the surroundings cautiously.

  They advanced for a while between the trees until finally they arrived in front of the wall of a small hill covered with vegetation.

  Bai stopped and pointed forward excitedly.

  "Look, senior brother Jin. That’s the cave I found by chance. Isn’t it unusual?"

  Jin directed his gaze to where she pointed and could not help but be surprised, because after all it was indeed unusual.

  There was absolutely nothing there, only the rocky wall of the hill.

  There were no cracks, no entrances, not even an opening large enough for an animal to enter. It was simply rock covered in moss and dirt.

  …

  That sight confused Jin greatly, after all they supposedly saw something there.

  Just when he began to think that perhaps these girls were under some kind of illusion and he was about to ask what they were supposed to be seeing…

  Something changed.

  The surface of the hill became blurry for an instant, as if the air in front of it had begun to ripple.

  Then, suddenly, reality distorted and a cave entrance appeared out of nowhere.

  Jin almost jumped.

  What the hell… this is definitely very strange. I don’t think it’s a good idea to enter there.

  But before he could give his opinion, Bai had already stepped into the cave, closely followed by the other four girls, whose faces reflected overflowing excitement and curiosity.

  Without even having time to warn them, Jin sighed resignedly at the situation. He had no choice but to move forward as well and cross the entrance.

  As he crossed the threshold, a chill ran down his back and he felt the air become denser and heavier. Seeing the girls walking ahead, it seemed they had not felt that change at all…

  Great… I hope I get out of here alive, he thought as the darkness enveloped him and he went deeper following those foolish and naive girls, wondering what kind of madman had created this cave.