Ouyang Ye naturally dismantled one formation after another, opened one stone door after another, and entered one cave dwelling after another. She was like a free-spirited fish, swimming leisurely in the vast ocean; no matter how high the waves or how deep the whirlpools, they could not hinder her nimble figure.
Ouyang Ye was excited, so excited she hummed a little tune.
Indeed.
All the way down, she had already entered the sixth connected cave dwelling, having opened over fifty stone doors in total and plundered a vast amount of cultivation resources, most of which were Storage Bags.
Storage Bags—these were Ouyang Ye's favorites.
In her mind, these weren't Storage Bags at all, but surprise bags. Each one held countless surprises waiting for her inside. It might be priceless Yuan Essence, or rare and precious raw stones, perhaps some ancient treasure, or even...
Every time she thought of this, Ouyang Ye felt so excited she wanted to sing a song.
The only thing that annoyed her was that the fellow who called himself a rogue cultivator earlier had been following her the whole time. Although Ouyang Ye couldn't see how this fellow posed any threat to her, and he hadn't snatched any resources from her hands along the way, she was still very annoyed.
No one liked being followed, and Ouyang Ye was no exception.
That wasn't the real reason for her annoyance, however. The truth was, while she was dismantling formations, she had also been secretly observing that handsome and dashing fellow. She found his behavior to be very strange and utterly baffling.
When entering an ancient cave dwelling, especially one like this filled with Mechanism Formations, wasn't everyone supposed to be treading carefully?
Even those with high cultivation wouldn't dare be the slightest bit careless.
But this fellow? His cultivation was merely at the Golden Core stage, with no trace of any Creation Aura about him—just a pure Golden Core cultivator. He didn't even have a single defensive spiritual treasure on him. Not even the essential protective robe that everyone had; he just wore a very ordinary robe.
Yet this fellow, who had nothing to his name, was openly strolling around inside the cave dwelling.
That's right!
Ouyang Ye felt this fellow was just taking a leisurely walk.
He just swayed the folding fan in his hand, wandering idly through the cave dwelling with such ease and leisure. The feeling he gave off wasn't that of someone treasure-hunting in a dangerous cave dwelling, but rather like someone strolling through a marketplace. He'd glance at this formation, examine that mechanism, and occasionally even pull out a wine gourd for a small sip.
Ouyang Ye really wanted to ask this fellow what gave him such confidence?
Even though he was only walking paths she had already cleared, with no danger present, this fellow still shouldn't be this relaxed, should he?
Wine?
Hmm?
Observing secretly, Ouyang Ye suddenly had another illusion—she felt this fellow was familiar.
But she was certain she didn't know this person.
She had never seen him before either.
Why did he feel familiar then?
Soon.
Ouyang Ye realized it wasn't the fellow himself that felt familiar, but rather that leisurely, carefree air about him.
That leisurely, carefree air about this fellow was really too similar to That Person from three years ago...
Too similar...
And the natural, unrestrained ease he exuded while drinking wine...
As she watched, Ouyang Ye even began to wonder if this fellow could be That Person from three years ago?
Both at the Golden Core cultivation level, both with that same leisurely air, both drinking with that same unrestrained ease...
Could it be...
No!
Impossible!
That Person from three years ago was dead, utterly annihilated, not just his physical body but his soul as well.
Although both were at the Golden Core stage, this fellow's Golden Core was utterly ordinary, lacking the vastness of that fellow's from three years ago.
Although both had a leisurely air, this fellow's seemed overly confident, while that fellow's from three years ago carried more laziness.
Although both drank with unrestrained ease, this fellow drank from a wine gourd. Ouyang Ye still clearly remembered that the fellow from three years ago always used a strange, reddish-copper wine cup. Every time before drinking, he would give it a shake, and after shaking, the wine inside would become strangely icy and fiery at the same time.
Utterly dead...
Completely.
That Person from three years ago could not be reborn, let alone still be alive.
Suddenly!
While dismantling a formation, Ouyang Ye realized something was wrong. She had been distracted just now, leading her to form incorrect Seals and Mudras. She knew full well the terrifying consequences of forming incorrect Seals and Mudras while dismantling a formation.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, a series of crackling, crisp sounds erupted. Ouyang Ye inwardly cried out in alarm and immediately acted, forming Seals and Mudras once more.
She knew that if this formation collapsed, all the Mechanism Formations set up by the cave dwelling's owner would activate. Then, the entire cave dwelling would become impassable.
After roughly the time of a few breaths, only after Ouyang Ye had formed thousands of Seals and Mudras did the chaotic formation, teetering on the edge of collapse, gradually stabilize. The stone hanging in Ouyang Ye's heart finally settled.
Back when she first entered this cave dwelling, she had carefully probed it with her divine sense. Its structure was extremely complex, with hundreds of Mechanism Formations arranged inside—Red Star Annihilation Formations, Nine Extremities Demon-Subduing Formations, Four Directions Soul-Severing Formations...
These were all formations of immense power.
Although Ouyang Ye's current mastery of formations was profound, and she could dismantle many of them, that was only dismantling them.
If these Mechanism Formations were to activate, it would be too late to dismantle them then. She might be instantly obliterated.
To be safe, Ouyang Ye didn't dare move recklessly. She once again released her divine sense to probe the cave dwelling's structure and all its Mechanism Formations. Only after repeatedly confirming there were no issues did she finally allow herself to deeply exhale, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.
What followed immediately was annoyance!
Great annoyance!
Because during her earlier probe of the cave dwelling, she discovered that fellow was still there, leisurely swaying his white jade fan and sipping his little drink.
Just thinking about it made Ouyang Ye furious.
She directly flashed over.
At this moment.
Gu Qingfeng was in a spacious hall within the cave dwelling, admiring a Painting on the hall wall.
It was a rather crudely drawn Painting.
It depicted a creature that was neither fully human nor fully ghost—a monster.
The Painting was ordinary, with no profound mysteries, at least none that Ouyang Ye could detect. However, she knew this hall was special because roughly eighty percent of all the Mechanism Formations in the entire cave dwelling were concentrated here. If the cave dwelling's structure collapsed, anyone staying here would undoubtedly die—not even the Heavenly King himself could save them!
And yet this fellow, oblivious to the mortal danger, stood there looking utterly carefree, admiring the wall Painting.
He admired it while drinking, nodding in appreciation from time to time, a faint, elusive smile even playing on the corner of his lips.
Enough!
Really enough!
Ouyang Ye couldn't take it anymore. She rushed over and shouted, "I say, you! Do you have any idea you almost ended up with no place to be buried just now!"