Nie Jingnian said, "I’ve already searched here more than once, and found nothing."
Zhao Ya said nothing.
In fact, he had anticipated this result long ago. Since even the important landmark peaks were drawn so cryptically, it’s highly likely that the positions on this map are also incorrect.
He pondered for a moment, then asked, "In the directions of the four corners of the Commandery, where are there mountain peaks?"
"Mountain peaks? Both the northeast and northwest corners have them. The northeast corner extends the residual veins of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, while the northwest corner connects to the Wuxiang Mountain range, the largest mountain system in Yunxiao County."
After a month of exploration, Nie Jingnian had already become thoroughly familiar with the geography around the Commandery.
"Let’s go to the northeast corner first."
If the map’s orientation is upside down, then the northeast corner is the most likely spot.
Nie Jingnian had no objection.
The two of them shuttled through the mountain forest.
At the start, Nie Jingnian deliberately slowed his pace, worrying that Zhao Ya wouldn’t be able to keep up.
But when they really started running, Nie Jingnian was extremely surprised to find that Zhao Ya’s speed was not at all slower than his own.
He was even slightly faster when traversing through the forest.
This successfully stirred Nie Jingnian’s competitive spirit.
He picked up speed, using his full Fourth Realm strength, to see if Zhao Ya could still keep up.
Yet after running for a few minutes, Nie Jingnian found that Zhao Ya was following him unhurriedly, without any sign of strain.
Only then did Nie Jingnian realize that, purely in terms of body technique speed, he was no match for Zhao Ya.
He was simply straightforward and soon dispelled the idea of determining a victor, slowing down his pace somewhat.
In this way, the two quickly reached the northeast corner of the Commandery.
Sure enough, several peaks stood here, but none were tall, belonging to the residual veins of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.
Zhao Ya and Nie Jingnian stopped in their tracks.
Zhao Ya took out the map and examined it again closely, pondered for a moment, and then pointed to one of the peaks.
"Let’s start searching around here first!"
Nie Jingnian had no objections, and the two disappeared into the mountains, one after the other.
They hadn’t been inside long when the forest rustled, the vegetation swayed, and then a group appeared at the foot of the mountain.
The leader in a body-hugging black outfit, revealing a graceful figure with hair tied high, showed a bright face, surprisingly a woman.
She raised her eyes to examine the peak in front of her.
"Are you sure it’s here?"
"Reporting to the Miss, according to the information provided by that informant, it’s definitely here." Someone respectfully replied from behind.
"Good, then let’s go into the mountain."
The woman was extremely decisive, with a wave of her hand, the group also entered the mountain.
At this time, Zhao Ya and Nie Jingnian were trekking through the mountain.
Although the terrain here wasn’t steep, finding an earth cave in this vast mountain forest was easier said than done.
Fortunately, Zhao Ya and Nie Jingnian were not in a rush, but searched slowly from one peak to another.
By now, the sun was high in the sky. Zhao Ya and Nie Jingnian stopped by a stream, took out the dry rations they carried, and had a simple lunch with the stream water.
After eating, Zhao Ya climbed a large tree to carefully observe the surroundings.
"How is it?"
When Zhao Ya returned to the ground, Nie Jingnian immediately asked.
"There are seven peaks here in total. We’ve checked four in the morning. The remaining three form a triangle. I feel the earth cave is most likely among them."
Hearing this, Nie Jingnian was invigorated.
"Then what are we waiting for, let’s set off now."
Zhao Ya didn’t rush to leave but turned back and glanced at the path they came from, looking a bit puzzled.
"What’s wrong?"
"Nothing."
Zhao Ya shook his head, dispelling the doubt in his heart, and then led Nie Jingnian away from the stream and into those three peaks.
They hadn’t gone far before the woman and her group arrived as well.
"Miss, someone has just stayed here." Someone reported after checking around the stream.
The woman was unmoved, "Before we caught that informant, he already sold several copies of the map, so it’s no surprise someone followed the trail. If they get in the way, just kill them."
"Yes, understood."
....
If you were to overlook these three peaks from above, you would find they form a standard triangle.
In the middle is a depression, lush with forest, rarely visited by people.
Zhao Ya and Nie Jingnian quickly shuttled through the forest, soon reaching the center area.
A small temple stood unexpectedly here, though it had been neglected for years and was long abandoned.
Zhao Ya and Nie Jingnian entered the temple and saw that half of the main hall had already collapsed, and the Divine Statue in the shrine had even lost its head.
The small temple was not large, and the two quickly made a round, finding nothing.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Nie Jingnian asked.
"It can’t be wrong. Who would build a temple in such an idle place for no reason? So there must be something strange here."
As he spoke, Zhao Ya leaped onto the shrine and knocked over the clay sculpture.
Sure enough,
a deep hole appeared beneath the Divine Statue.
Seeing this, Nie Jingnian couldn’t help but rejoice.
"We found it!"
"Yes, but let’s wait before going in."
With that, Zhao Ya jumped down from the shrine and made some arrangements around the temple entrance.
"Let’s go!"
The two lit torches, entered the hole, and proceeded along a winding downward slope.
At first it was quite narrow, but as they went further, it became more spacious, eventually wide enough for a carriage to pass through.