Chapter 209 – Ancient Moon Grotto, Immortal's Daluo Cave Heaven

As more and more people arrived outside the bronze gate of the Ancient Moon Grotto, they began gathering according to their respective schools.

Although according to past accounts, the Ancient Moon Grotto would eventually require individual combat after reaching a certain stage, gathering together in the early phases still proved quite useful. At the very least, it ensured they wouldn’t be eliminated during the initial stage of the True Immortal Trial due to minor issues.

The Ancient Moon Grotto didn’t keep them waiting long. After about half a month, the crowd noticed the Ascension Stairway behind them gradually disappearing. Then a sea of clouds began enveloping their surroundings, completely cutting off their retreat.

Not only that, everyone also felt a gravitational force pressing down on them. Soon after, they noticed the surrounding sea of clouds sinking lower – or rather, they themselves were continuously rising.

When they reached a certain height, they could see the Celestial Arks representing the major schools. The Azure Cloud Sect’s island-like Seven Origins-class Celestial Ark now appeared no larger than a fist in their eyes, indicating they had reached a place quite distant from their original location.

Boom!

With a dull sound, the previously sealed Ancient Moon Grotto slowly opened. However, no one could see the actual interior through the opened gate because a mysterious vortex had gathered within the doorway.

“Fellow Daoists, we of Martial God Mountain shall take the lead,” said Wei Qifeng of Martial God Mountain as he stood up. Leading the remaining members of Martial God Mountain, he directly entered the Ancient Moon Grotto.

Although Wei Qifeng wasn’t the current generation’s Celestial Being of Martial God Mountain, his status as Great Senior Brother remained deeply respected. Thus, Martial God Mountain temporarily followed his arrangements.

Within Martial God Mountain’s team, there were also representatives from other schools, including members of Giant Spirit Gate. Since Giant Spirit Gate was originally supported by Martial God Mountain in the Eastern Divine Continent, its disciples who passed the first stage of the Ascension Stairway and entered the True Immortal Trial typically served as vanguards for Martial God Mountain disciples. This was similarly true for other minor schools.

The only exception was likely the Azure Cloud Sect. Although Azure Cloud Sect had numerous influences in the mortal world, these were generally not subsidiary schools but rather organizations with specific characteristics like the Misty Rain Pavilion.

Before long, everyone had entered the Ancient Moon Grotto. As Lu Chen stepped through the bronze gate, he immediately felt the world spinning around him. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a peculiar bamboo forest.

Appearing in this bamboo forest with him were Wu Xiao from Martial God Mountain, Shangguan Yunmeng from Jade Void Mountain, Meow King from Azure Cloud Sect, and three disciples from Giant Spirit Gate.

“Junior Brother Lu, it seems we’ve arrived at a Great Luo Cave Heaven,” said Meow King, observing their surroundings and the sun hanging overhead. After sensing with his spiritual consciousness, he added this remark.

The so-called Great Luo Cave Heaven was the current term in the Immortal Cultivation World. In Lu Chen’s modern world, such places were called Secret Realms.

As Lu Chen looked at the bamboo forest, before he could say anything, Meow King and Shangguan Yunmeng had already taken the initiative to approach him.Without a doubt, these two had decided to follow Lu Chen’s lead.

Apart from them, many others had made similar choices.

“Fellow Daoist Lu, it’s an honor to meet you. Would it be possible for us to join you?”

“Rest assured, our Giant Spirit Gate may lack many things, but we have plenty of strength. If you encounter any tedious tasks, you can leave them to us—we guarantee no complaints.”

Hou Zicheng, the third Senior Brother of Giant Spirit Gate, approached Lu Chen with two Junior Brothers by his side and inquired politely.

Unlike the typical burly disciples of Giant Spirit Gate, Hou Zicheng didn’t look like a Body Cultivator at all. Instead, he resembled a frail scholar who couldn’t even harm a chicken.

His narrow eyes and humble demeanor were quite deceptive, making it hard for anyone to dislike him at first glance.

However, Hou Zicheng had no idea that his actions appeared utterly ridiculous in Lu Chen’s eyes, no different from a clumsy clown.

But Lu Chen didn’t expose him.

He nodded and said, “No problem.”

Seeing how agreeable Lu Chen was, Hou Zicheng’s smile widened even more.

His two fellow Giant Spirit Gate disciples also scratched their heads sheepishly, projecting an image of complete harmlessness.

On the other side, after a moment of contemplation, Wu Xiao also decided to join Lu Chen’s team.

He was just somewhat not good with words and momentarily unsure of what to say.

But Lu Chen seemed to see right through his thoughts and said with a smile, “You can come along too.”

Wu Xiao nodded and decided to follow Lu Chen.

Many others also chose to follow Lu Chen’s lead for the time being.

After all, Lu Chen had already proven his status as a Foundation Establishment Stage prodigy of the Azure Cloud Sect during the Gathering of Heroes with his strength.

Following someone like him might mean that any Opportunities they encountered would likely be taken by Lu Chen alone, but it was still better than being inexplicably eliminated.

In no time, over half of the fifty-plus people present in the Bamboo Forest decided to join Lu Chen’s team.

As for the rest, they had their own plans.

After all, this world has never lacked those who consider themselves extraordinary or those who cling to wishful thinking.

They believed that if they acted alone, they might directly obtain the Legacy of Gu Yue True Immortal and ascend to the Peak of the immortal path.

Lu Chen didn’t pay much attention to this.

The True Immortal Trial was inherently about fighting individually.

It was only because everyone had been inexplicably teleported together that they temporarily joined forces.

Moreover, those who left were insignificant to Lu Chen.

As long as the seven Immortal Fiends by his side didn’t run off, that was all that mattered.

That’s right—aside from Hou Zicheng and the two others from Giant Spirit Gate, there were four more Immortal Fiends hidden near Lu Chen.

Two were from Formless Valley, one from Nine Profound Gate, and another from some unknown minor School.

Their eagerness to approach Lu Chen had two reasons:

First, as they claimed, they wanted to associate with Lu Chen, believing it’s easier to relax under the shade of a great tree.

Second, they had all sensed Lu Chen’s Ancient Fiend Power during the Gathering of Heroes and wanted to use this opportunity to communicate with him.

If Lu Chen showed any willingness to cooperate, they would be eight Immortal Fiends against the fifteen other Cultivators nearby.

Although they would be at a numerical disadvantage.But they were confident they could overwhelm others in terms of quality.

This way, the fifteen cultivators currently surrounding them would become easy prey for these Immortal Fiends.

And this was the fundamental reason they wanted to make contact with Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was well aware of this.

In fact, he even planned to exploit this point to trap and eliminate these Immortal Fiends.

As for how exactly to do it, Lu Chen already had a relatively complete plan.

However, he still hadn’t fully grasped the rules of the True Immortal Trial in the Ancient Moon Grotto.

So he hadn’t yet decided whether to take action.

“Fellow Daoist Lu, what should we do next?”

Adhering to the principle of asking when in doubt, Shangguan Yunmeng directly inquired of Lu Chen.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen replied, “For now, just head out of the Bamboo Forest.”

“Oh.”

Shangguan Yunmeng nodded, then turned her gaze toward Giant Spirit Mountain and the others.

Noticing Shangguan Yunmeng’s attention, Hou Zicheng immediately smiled.

But for some reason, Shangguan Yunmeng seemed quite averse to him.

So much so that Hou Zicheng’s smile caused her to instinctively frown.

This undisguised expression immediately set off alarm bells in Hou Zicheng’s mind.

Although he was confident his identity was well hidden,

there was no guarantee that Shangguan Yunmeng didn’t possess some special talent or Divine Ability that could detect his true nature.

Thinking this, Hou Zicheng mentally noted Shangguan Yunmeng and prepared to observe her carefully later.

After all, Shangguan Yunmeng had never met him before—there was no reason for her to show such obvious dislike.

What Hou Zicheng didn’t know was that Shangguan Yunmeng’s aversion to him actually had no special reason.

It was purely because she found his smile disgusting and felt he didn’t seem like a good person.

Although Shangguan Yunmeng couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was disgusting about it, she simply didn’t like Hou Zicheng or the Giant Spirit Gate disciples around him, always feeling there was something odd about them.

“Alright, follow me.”

Whether Lu Chen had noticed something or not, he immediately turned and walked alone toward a certain direction in the Bamboo Forest.

Seeing this, everyone quickly followed.

Before long, the group discovered a Small Thatched Hut within the Bamboo Forest.

In the courtyard of that hut, an elder was leisurely brewing tea.

At the sight of this elder, everyone’s eyes lit up.

Because this elder was none other than the Teahouse Elder they had encountered at the Ascension Stairway.

The last time the elder appeared, he had given them a choice:

to continue challenging Gu Yue True Immortal’s path or to walk their own.

Although they didn’t know what role the elder played here in the Bamboo Forest,

they suspected it couldn’t be simple.

Some even wondered if this elder might be an Incarnation left behind by Gu Yue True Immortal from back then,

or perhaps someone who had served Gu Yue True Immortal in the past.

Facing the sudden arrival of the group, the elder smiled and said, “Young friends, we meet again.”

Hearing the elder’s words, Lu Chen immediately stepped forward and said politely, “This Junior, Lu Chen of the Azure Cloud Sect, pays respects to Elder.”

The others followed suit, copying Lu Chen’s example and bowing to the elder.

To this, the elder merely smiled without speaking, accepting their greetings as a matter of course.Then, as if struck by a thought, the old man suddenly spoke: “You’ve come at just the right time. This old man has recently encountered some trouble—might you young friends be willing to help resolve it?”

Hearing this, Lu Chen sensed a familiar vibe.

If not for the absence of a golden exclamation mark floating above the old man’s head,

the scene would have felt all too familiar.

Guided by the principle of understanding before investigating,

Lu Chen promptly replied, “Please, go ahead.”

(End of Chapter)