So It Was a Secret...

As soon as Li Yingling finished speaking, a beam of light arrived in the blink of an eye.

Before San Dong could react, it saw four humans. Though their faces seemed friendly, it nervously retreated behind Li Yingling.

Li Yingling stood up, her tone brimming with pride. "Master, a major discovery!"

Chu Xingchen chuckled softly, not particularly surprised. After all, Li Yingling had been the main force behind this operation.

He patted her shoulder approvingly. "Well done."

Cui Hao's gaze swept across the sea of flowers, feeling a sense of serenity, before quickly locking onto San Dong, who was hiding behind their senior sister.

No surprise there—Cui Hao had never seen a flower spirit before and was curious.

Under Cui Hao's direct stare, San Dong immediately lowered its head, shrinking entirely behind Li Yingling.

"Is that a demon?" Cui Hao asked curiously.

Li Yingling glared at him. "What demon? Can’t you speak properly?"

Cui Hao quickly flashed an apologetic smile.

Chen Baiqing, who could now be considered well-read, had never seen a flower spirit in person before, but that didn’t stop her from identifying it.

She spoke up to enlighten the book-averse Cui Hao:

"This is a flower spirit, not a demon. In the cultivation world, it’s classified as a fairy creature."

Li Yingling nodded in satisfaction before admonishing Cui Hao:

"Learn more from your Third Senior Sister in the future. Read more books instead of fooling around and causing trouble all day."

Cui Hao hastily clasped his hands and replied with a grin:

"As Senior Sister commands."

Xie Lingyu, having heard the commotion, had already approached. She looked at Chu Xingchen, who wore a faint smile, and said:

"The situation over there is unclear. I only recognize that it’s an ancient ritual formation, and it doesn’t seem simple."

Chu Xingchen nodded agreeably. "Then we’ll trouble Lady Lingyu to lead the way."

Xie Lingyu shot Chu Xingchen a look for his playful tone, but with so many people around, she refrained from punching him. Pretending nothing had happened, she led the group toward the ritual formation carved into the cliff.

San Dong followed closely behind Li Yingling as they all proceeded.

Its gaze swept over the others, but when it landed on Chen Baiqing, an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up in its heart.

San Dong was certain it had never met Chen Baiqing before, and it generally felt wary of humans.

Yet… why did it feel such warmth when looking at Chen Baiqing?

Noticing San Dong’s cautious glance, Chen Baiqing offered a polite smile and a slight nod in greeting.

San Dong quickly responded with an ingratiating smile of its own.

Chu Xingchen’s eyes flicked sideways, observing San Dong.

[Target: San Dong]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining, Fifth Layer]

[Blue Trait: Spirit of Flora]

[Blue Trait: Moonlight Baptism]

[White Trait: Kind and Orderly]

[Black Trait: Naively Simple]

[Does not meet disciple criteria]

In terms of traits alone, this little flower spirit was unproblematic.

Had his senior disciple picked it up?

Chu Xingchen didn’t dwell on it. Once he confirmed San Dong posed no threat, he shifted his gaze back to Li Yingling, who was clearly waiting for praise.

So he lavished her with compliments. Though there were no tangible rewards, Li Yingling visibly reveled in her master’s approval.

The Ten-Thousand Flower Ridge was vast for ordinary humans—a stretch of over a dozen interconnected peaks.

But for cultivators, crossing it was as easy as a casual stroll.

Before the cliffside ritual formation, Chu Xingchen examined it carefully and quickly concluded—he had never seen this before and genuinely didn’t know how to handle it.

However, before setting out, he had asked the Tianyan Sect’s leader, Lv Xuan, whether this place was dangerous.

Lv Xuan’s reply had been cryptic—danger was relative, but he knew Chu Xingchen would be fine.

Chu Xingchen wasn’t fond of people who spoke in riddles.

Even though Lv Xuan’s eyes and expression seemed to say—Young man, I’ve already seen through you.

Chu Xingchen bluntly demanded—Out with it, you riddle-monger!

Under pressure, Lv Xuan could only explain that he truly didn’t know more than what he’d said.

No matter how Chu Xingchen tried to pry, Lv Xuan repeated the same helpless line.

Seeing Lv Xuan stubbornly clinging to his enigmatic act, Chu Xingchen had no choice but to drop it.

But if Lv Xuan claimed he wouldn’t be in danger… surely he wasn’t lying?

Chu Xingchen lightly traced the ritual formation with his hand before calmly declaring:

"I happen to know a bit about this formation. What’s inside is indeed hazardous. All of you, retreat to the town. Leave this to me alone."

Chen Baiqing’s expression turned worried as she looked at Chu Xingchen and softly suggested:

"Master, going alone is too dangerous. Let Baiqing stay with you."

"If I can’t handle it, your presence won’t help," Chu Xingchen replied with a smile, shaking his head. He then shot Li Yingling a meaningful glance.

Li Yingling recognized it as her master’s signal to cover for him, though she too felt uneasy.

But… it was true. If her master couldn’t resolve this, her Golden Core cultivation would be useless.

She might even become a liability.

Li Yingling hesitated, considering suggesting they call for Senior Bai’s help—but her master’s confident expression stopped her.

Her master wasn’t one to take reckless risks. He must have a plan.

Otherwise, he would’ve already called for backup.

Besides, Li Yingling trusted her master.

"Trust Master," she said, patting Chen Baiqing’s head reassuringly.

With the two most senior figures in the sect speaking, Chen Baiqing pressed her lips together but eventually nodded.

Xie Lingyu spoke calmly. "I’m at the Nascent Soul stage. I’ll stand guard. The rest of you, return."

Chu Xingchen tried to dismiss her too:

"No need for a guard—"

Before he could finish, Xie Lingyu’s voice transmission cut in:

"You don’t even know where to start drawing this formation, do you? You can fool your disciples, but not me. Who always fixed your ritual formation problems in the past?"

Chu Xingchen froze mid-sentence.

His disciples trusted him blindly, making them easy to fool.

But Xie Lingyu knew him too well.

Seizing the advantage, Xie Lingyu pressed on:

"I have protective treasures. Instead of worrying about me, worry about yourself. If things go wrong, I can call for help."

Chu Xingchen met Xie Lingyu’s gaze and found her expression unyielding.

"Fine…" He relented, turning to Li Yingling. "You all withdraw first. As senior sister, keep an eye on your juniors."

Li Yingling nodded solemnly and led the group away.

Caught in the strange atmosphere—perhaps out of timidity—San Dong didn’t dare speak and was swept along by Li Yingling.

Watching their retreating figures, Chu Xingchen turned back to the ritual formation and asked:

"Can you unravel this? If not, I’ll just smash it."

Xie Lingyu sighed faintly as spiritual energy surged around her, activating the formation.

As the formation shifted, wisps of spiritual energy began to seep out.

A set of ritual apparatus glowing in deep blue light was revealed.

Beyond the ritual array lay what seemed like another world.

Xie Lingyu frowned slightly and spoke, "It's a secret..."

"So it's a burial mound..."

Chu Xingchen stroked his chin and nodded.