Chapter 117 (3): Chilled to the Bone

Mountainside Village was situated roughly fifty kilometers to the north of the prefectural city, and as its name suggested, the village was nestled up against the side of a mountain.

As Fang Che approached the village, he could see that it appeared completely deserted, but only because everyone was staying indoors to take shelter from the wind, and it didn't appear as if anything out of the ordinary had taken place here.

"I'm here, Master."

"Come to the valley in the mountains."

Fang Che did as he was told, and he spotted the white-robed Mu Linyuan standing on a large tree in the distance.

"What're you and master doing all the way out here on such a windy day?" Fang Che asked with a smile.

"Come with me," Mu Linyuan replied with a grim expression, clearly not in the mood for small talk.

He drifted off the tree and led the way for Fang Che to follow, and the latter's unease only deepened further.

Mu Linyuan led him to a deep cave in the mountain face, the interior of which was pitch-black and completely enshrouded in shadows.

Yin Shengong was standing in front of the cave with his hands clasped behind his back, and a smile appeared on his face at the sight of Fang Che.

He strode over to Fang Che, and the two of them faced the cave together as he said, "Take a look at this cave. Do you feel anything from it?"

You called me all the way out here just to look at this cave?

Fang Che was perplexed, but he still did as he was told, and as soon as he focused his attention on the cave, he immediately felt a sharp aura emanating from it.

It was a type of unmatched sharpness that was capable of piercing through heaven and earth, and it seemed to have been left behind some time in the distant past, but it continued to linger in the cave.

The entrance of the cave was incredibly round, forming an almost perfect circle, and it was unclear how deep it was.

Upon closer inspection, Fang Che was stunned to discover that the walls of the cave were completely smooth.

"Do you know how deep this cave is?" Yin Shengong asked with a smile.

"Surely it has to be at least several hundred feet deep," Fang Che guessed.

"Several hundred feet?" Yin Shengong scoffed. "Its full length is twenty-three thousand feet! It runs all the way through this mountain, then into the neighboring mountain, and it's only three feet short of running through that mountain as well!"

Fang Che was astonished to hear this.

"What else have you observed?" Yin Shengong asked.

"The cave is incredibly round, and its walls are so smooth, as if they've been polished," Fang Che replied.

Indeed, it was as if someone had gone through the entire length of the cave and meticulously polished its walls.

"How was this accomplished?" Fang Che exclaimed. "Who could've gone to all of this effort? And for what?"

"It's not as complex as you think," Yin Shengong said with a faint smile. "This is actually quite a renowned place for us warriors, and it's been around for at least tens of thousands of years. Many powerful warriors have come here, including Master Duan Xiyang, who lived in this cave for ten years in his youth!"

Fang Che was astonished to hear this.

What was so special about this cave that convinced Duan Xiyang to stay here for ten years?

Considering the aura of sharpness he had just sensed from the cave, an extraordinary idea began to take shape in his mind.

"Was... Was this cave created by a spear thrust?"

"Have you heard of the One Strike Spear Demon?" Yin Shengong asked.

Fang Che had indeed heard of him, but only recently.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"I've heard that he was one of the most powerful warriors from ancient times, but I'm not familiar with his feats."

"I'm already impressed that you even know of him," Yin Shengong remarked. "Do you know how he received the title of the One Strike Spear Demon?"

"Was it because of this cave?"

"Precisely! His original title was the Black Gold Spear Demon, but it's said that during a battle against a formidable foe, he unleashed a spear strike that his opponent evaded, and the tremendous spear intent from that single strike pierced this cave into these two mountains. From that point onward, he became known as the One Strike Spear Demon.

“Over time, many of the nearby landmarks have already been transformed beyond recognition, but these two mountains have remained the same, preserved by the spear intent in this cave. At some point, Master Duan Xiyang also came to consolidate these mountains, and as a result, all plants on these mountains grow extremely slowly because it's too difficult for them to take root here. What do you think a mountain like this would give rise to over time?"

"An ore vein!" Fang Che immediately replied. "A jade ore vein."

"That's right. Following the aforementioned battle, the Black Gold Spear Demon went into seclusion, and after he came out of seclusion, he had full control over his spear intent, so there was never a repeat incident of him losing control of his spear intent and piercing a hole into a mountain. Hence, this cave serves as a relic that pays homage to a more raw and unrefined Black Gold Spear Demon."

Fang Che was astonished to hear this. What Yin Shengong was implying was that the One Strike Spear Demon hadn't reached the very peak of his powers back when he created this cave.

With that in mind, Fang Che couldn't help but wonder how powerful he would've been at his peak.

***

"You told me you wanted to pursue the spear the other day, and I immediately thought of this place. This cave predates even the existence of the White Cloud Prefecture, yet even after all this time, the spear intent still lingers."

Fang Che couldn't help but shudder as he tried to envision the One Strike Spear Demon performing this godlike feat.

He slowly made his way into the cave, stroking its smooth walls as he went, and his heart was filled with a sense of yearning, a yearning to reach the same heights as the One Strike Spear Demon.

Yin Shengong also made his way into the cave, followed by the three elders, all three of whom were looking very grim, but were doing their best to hide it from Fang Che.

"Any other cave like this would be howling with such fierce wind blowing into it, but that doesn't apply to this cave as the wind can't blow into it at all. Even after all these years, the lingering spear intent in this cave is still fighting against the elements.

“At this point, the spear intent has already waned significantly. Perhaps in a few thousand more years, the falling snow would be able to cover the cave entrance, but that won't happen so long as the spear intent remains."

"Do you know what the One Strike Spear Demon's cultivation base would've been at the time of this feat?" Fang Che asked.

"I don't know, but he would've surely at least been close to the Warrior God tier. There's no way I'll ever get anywhere near those heights in this lifetime, but infinite possibilities are still open to you. You told me that day that you wanted to become the pope of the main church.

“Now, it's time to put your money where your mouth is! I can tell you that right now, Master Duan Xiyang's cultivation base has already surpassed that of the One Strike Spear Demon at the time of this feat."

Yin Shengong continued to speak while leading Fang Che deeper into the cave, and Fang Che walked along while continuing to observe the cave's walls.

He felt like was walking through a massive tube, and it was still difficult for him to wrap his head around the fact that all of this had been created by a single spear strike.

The further they went, the darker the cave became, and Fang Che was growing a little restless.

How much further are we going?

However, Yin Shengong was showing no signs of stopping, so Fang Che could only follow along.

While walking along, Fang Che nudged the little fairy in his consciousness to draw its attention to the spear intent in the cave.

The little fairy was in the process of molding the divine metal into a spear, and it had made some decent progress.

As soon as it detected this burst of sharp spear intent, it immediately understood what Fang Che wanted, and it began capturing the spear intent and injecting it into the divine metal.

All of a sudden, Fang Che stopped cold in his tracks as he exclaimed, "There's someone up ahead!"

"Indeed, there is," Yin Shengong confirmed in an indifferent voice as he continued onward.

"Who's there?"

The sense of unease deep in Fang Che's gut had returned.

"Don't worry, they're all people you're very familiar with."

Yin Shengong swept a sleeve through the air as he spoke to release a faint spark, which ignited several candles that had been placed here earlier.

The cave was instantly brightly lit, and several unconscious figures were revealed, laying on the ground.

As soon as Fang Che caught sight of their faces, his heart instantly sank, and he felt as if he had been plunged into a glacial pit.

The one at the forefront of the group was none other than Zuo Guanglie!