Chapter 91 Camping Retreat

The cave abode of the sect master was carved out of the mountain itself, and it had an imposing and mysterious aura. The entrance was marked by two towering stone pillars engraved with intricate patterns and symbols that glowed with a faint light in the dark.

Only a handful of people had ever been allowed to enter the Sect Master's abode, and even then, it was only on rare and important occasions. The abode was said to be filled with treasures and relics that the Sect Masters of the past who lived here had accumulated over the centuries, as well as ancient texts and secret techniques.

The interior of the abode was shrouded in darkness, and the only light came from torches that flickered on the walls. The air was thick with the scent of incense, and the silence was broken only by the faint sound of chanting and the occasional rustling of robes.

The main hall of the abode was a massive chamber with high ceilings and walls lined with shelves that held countless scrolls and books. At the center of the room was a large stone platform, upon which the Sect Master would sit during important ceremonies and meetings.

There were also smaller chambers that branched off from the main hall, each one dedicated to a different aspect of the Sect Master's lifestyle and practices. One room was filled with herbs and medicinal plants, while another was devoted to the art of divination and fortune-telling.

Han Cai did not know his Master was interested in alchemy and divination too.

Sect master brought Han Cai to the hall in his abode, and they sat down. Then the sect master inquired," This is the first time you are visiting my cave abode. Must be something urgent?"

Han Cai's clone bowed and spoke, "Master, while cultivating, I had an epiphany. I will be going out for a few months. I ask Master not to worry as this disciple feels there is a lucky chance waiting for him outside the sect."

His recluse disciple wanted to go out of the sect.

This was intriguing news for the sect master.

The sect master spoke, "If you think it is important for you to leave, then you should, but just make sure to stay safe; as the sect has started mining the medium-sized spirit stones mine, Many people have noticed core elders' disappearances in the past months, and they are getting curious. We have to be very careful."

Han Cai spoke, "I will be a careful master."

Sect master continued, "If you sense any danger, run immediately. Insert spirit qi in your medallion once every day, so the sect will know you are fine".

Han Cai nodded and spoke, "Master, I will take my leave now."

Sect Master nodded and spoke, "Go on."

After bidding goodbye to the sect master, Han Cai immediately went down the mountain.

The sect master did not mind Han Cai leaving, as the dark hall elder was always following and protecting him. Thinking he had no reason to worry sect master gave Han Cai his approval.

Han Cai's clone went down the mountain and used the earth escape technique to leave the sect.

When the elder of the dark hall elder noticed Han Cai using the earth escape technique to leave the sect, he also used the earth escape technique and followed han cai. But after he followed Han Cai for 15 minutes, suddenly Han Cai disappeared. The dark hall elder spent hours looking for Han Cai but could not find him. The reason was simple thirty minutes were up, so the clone disappeared while the dark hall elder was looking for the clone.

Han Cai had been preparing for this moment for a long time. He had reached the foundation establishment, refined his skills, and gathered enough information about unexplored spirit stone mines. It was time to set out on his own and see what he was capable of.

He packed his things in storage space. While the clone was busy informing the sect master about Han Cai leaving. Han Cai had already left the cave abode using invisibility just after his clone left with the elder of a dark hall.

After getting out of the sect, Han Cai wanted to take his time, enjoy the scenery, and savor the freedom that came with being outside the sect.

As he walked, he felt the cool breeze of the mountains, smelled the fresh scent of the trees, and heard the sounds of nature. He felt alive and free. Han Cai thought coming outside was not that bad.

Han Cai took out the map from storage, looked at certain marked locations, and started flying toward cloud mountain city. Han Cai flew all night and only stopped to recover spirit Qi from time to time. When morning arrived, Han Cai reached the outskirts of Cloud Mountain City. There, he saw a familiar face. It was Yonginan.

When Yonginan saw Han Cai. He came forward and bowed. Han Cai nodded and took out the map again started planning their journey again.

Once Han Cai had memorized the path for their journey. They set off together, and Han Cai moved using Qinggong while Yonginan used some movement technique. Han Cai led the way, using his knowledge of the area and the information he had gathered to navigate through the wilderness. They moved for days, climbing hills, crossing streams, and navigating through dense forests. They only stopped to recover spirit Qi.

Finally, they arrived at the first small unexplored spirit stone mine. It was hidden in a small valley, surrounded by rocky cliffs and dense vegetation. Han Cai asked Yonginan to stay outside of the valley and to keep a lookout.

When Han Cai went inside to look for the mine, He already knew exactly where to look, and he quickly found a spot where he could feel the concentrated spirit energy.

Han Cai approached the small spirit stone mine; He saw a small cave entrance that seemed to have been naturally formed. The entrance was barely wide enough for a single person to enter and looked dark and ominous. However, Han Cai had been looking forward to this moment for a long time, and his excitement overpowered any fear he may have felt.

As he stepped inside, he was met with complete darkness. Han Cai extended his arm and activated his celestial energy to create a faint light that illuminated their surroundings. The cave was narrow, and the walls were rough and jagged, with various rock formations jutting out. The floor was uneven and covered with small rocks and pebbles.

As he walked deeper into the cave, he saw that the walls were sparkling with tiny, colorful crystals. Han Cai reached out to touch them and realized they were spirit stones. They were gray and had a rough texture, but each stone was worth thousand exchange points. The sight of them made Han Cai feel overjoyed. He knew that every spirit stone counted and would bring him closer to his goals.

The air in the cave was thick and humid, and Han Cai could feel the energy pulsating around him. He took a deep breath and felt the energy enter his body, filling him with a sense of vitality and strength. He knew that this was the power of the spirit stones, and he couldn't wait to collect as many as he could.

Han Cai asked the system to start extracting. In general, Han Cai would keep the spirit stones in his storage or in his hands to extract the energy. Here, he could do neither. But that was not much challenge for the system as long as he was close enough. All the spirit stones' energy in the vicinity was extracted by the system. Han Cai spent all day walking within the spirit stone mine and extracting exchange points. By the time Han Cai was done extracting energy, he had more than a billion exchange points.

Without waiting to go out of Mine, Han Cai used those exchange points to improve his cultivation to level two of the foundation establishment. His cultivation was almost close enough to Yonginan now, as Yonginan was already at level three of the foundation establishment.

Han Cai emerged from the small spirit stone mine, he found that the sun had already set, and it was getting dark. He looked around and saw that the forest was turning into a beautiful painting of the night sky. The stars were shining brightly, and the moon was casting its ethereal glow over the surroundings.

Yonginan was waiting for him outside the mine, and he had managed to catch a couple of animals for their dinner. As foundation establishment cultivators, they did not need to eat or sleep frequently, but still, they couldn't go on without eating for very long. The animals Yonginan had caught were lower-level spirit beasts, so besides the meal, they provided some spirit Qi too. Yonginan had already started a fire and was preparing the food. Han Cai could smell the aroma of roasting meat, and his stomach grumbled in anticipation.

As He sat down to eat, Han Cai felt a sense of peace and contentment. The forest was alive with the sounds of insects and animals, and the night was filled with a sense of tranquility. Yonginan had cooked the meat to perfection, and the taste was divine.

Han Cai felt grateful for having Yonginan as his servant. After the contract, Yonginan's loyalty to him was at a hundred percent. It was good to have someone serve you. Han Cai praised himself for being so farsighted. If he had come alone, he would be too lazy to hunt and cook. He might have just used exchange points to get some food from the system. But here, Yonginan was helping him have a perfect weekend camping retreat experience.