The old man, seeing his persistence, didn't say much more and readily took down the painting, gifting it to Lin Xiaotian.
After receiving the painting, Lin Xiaotian bid farewell to the old man and left his home.
However, upon exiting, Lin Xiaotian did not return to Songzhou City. Instead, his gaze, deep and profound, turned towards the direction of the mountains.
He had calculated that there were malevolent spirits in the mountains, but he hadn't truthfully informed the old man of the specifics.
In reality, he had foreseen that a monster, having cultivated for hundreds of years, resided within these mountains. The strange noises the old man had heard were emanating from this monster's lair.
Yet, the divination indicated that safety could be found amidst peril. The monster showed no intention of descending the mountain to harm people. As for why it appeared here, Lin Xiaotian did not know the truth.
Therefore, he decided to ascend the mountain to investigate and ascertain what lay within.
As he walked alone up the mountain, step by step towards the summit, he vaguely sensed that someone had been here before. The footprints were remarkably fresh, suggesting a recent visit.
Continuing his ascent, Lin Xiaotian increasingly felt the potent malevolent energy pervading the mountain. Even the celestial phenomena were in constant flux. The ground beneath his feet corresponded to a highly inauspicious celestial sign.
"It seems to be nearby. The footprints also stop here. That person must have reached this point and halted."
Lin Xiaotian paused, carefully analyzing the footprints on the ground.
He then looked into the distance, observing a dark, gaping mountain cave directly ahead. Malevolent energy swirled around it, giving it a terrifying appearance.
Driven by curiosity, Lin Xiaotian gradually approached. Waves of intense heat radiated into the air, causing Lin Xiaotian to break out in a sweat.
Whoosh!
As soon as he reached the cave entrance, a blast of scorching hot air erupted from within. Reacting swiftly, he retreated rapidly, dodging the wave of energy. As he did, he saw several torn pieces of clothing being swept out from the cave.
"Could the person who came up the mountain have met with misfortune?"
Seeing the tattered clothes, Lin Xiaotian suspected that the person had indeed encountered trouble.
Curiously, he walked over to the clothes, picked them up, and examined them closely. He felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
After a moment of thought, a flash of inspiration struck Lin Xiaotian. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I know! These clothes belong to Qian Shou Zhang!"
"So, all the clues from the footprints along the way were his. He met with trouble inside this cave."
"But that doesn't make sense. Didn't I cripple Qian Shou Zhang's limbs, rendering him unable to walk freely? How could he have appeared in the mountains? And how did he enter this cave?"
Lin Xiaotian's mind was filled with questions. He re-examined the surrounding clues and gradually noticed that, besides his own footprints, there were at least two other sets. Their sole patterns and sizes differed.
"Did Qian Shou Zhang come up the mountain with someone else? What happened to him after he entered this cave?"
Lin Xiaotian grew increasingly perplexed. He attempted to perform a divination, but the hexagrams were unable to reveal what had just transpired, as if the feng shui of this place had been deliberately sealed.
Qian Shou Zhang was a feng shui master. If he met with misfortune here, it was undoubtedly not he who sealed the feng shui, but another feng shui master!
"Heh, it seems this Qian Shou Zhang came with a companion. Only his torn clothes are here; I fear he was exploited."
Based on the clues before him, Lin Xiaotian deduced a general outline of the truth.
However, he was still unaware of what lay within the cave and decided to enter personally to investigate thoroughly.
He cautiously approached the cave mouth, illuminating the interior with his phone's flashlight as he gradually walked inside.
As expected, there were a few new footprints on the ground inside, but none belonging to Qian Shou Zhang. It was certain that his companion had entered only after Qian Shou Zhang's demise.
There must be a secret hidden within this place.
Whoosh!
Lin Xiaotian had not gone far when a fierce blaze suddenly erupted from the depths of the cave, coalescing into a massive fireball that flew out.
"Holy crap!"
Lin Xiaotian's eyes widened in astonishment. He hadn't expected such a large fireball to emerge from within.
At this moment, escaping seemed impossible, as the fireball was traveling far too quickly.
He firmly planted his feet on the ground, circulating his internal energy rapidly from his dantian. A wave of energy began to manifest on his hands. Just before the fireball struck, he pushed his own energy wave outwards.
Boom!
Instantly, the two waves of energy collided violently. The entire cave shook intensely, and a considerable amount of earth loosened from the ceiling, making it seem as though the cave might collapse at any moment.
The fireball was forcefully blocked by Lin Xiaotian's internal energy!
After a brief moment, the fireball's power gradually dissipated. A thick cloud of smoke billowed ahead, obscuring Lin Xiaotian's vision.
He fanned away the smoke, brushed off the dust from his clothes, and steadied himself before continuing to walk further inside.
After taking only a few steps, he began to hear heavy breathing sounds, and the fiery red glow ahead became increasingly pronounced.
As he moved closer, Lin Xiaotian finally got a clear view of the monster's appearance.
It turned out to be a colossal fire serpent, coiled in a deep corner of the cave. It appeared weak and seemed incapable of resistance.
Lin Xiaotian watched as it opened its eyes and attempted to attack him several times, but it could not even straighten its body, failing each time.
"Deep cave holds fire, yin and yang reborn, evil star has departed, time of great leakage, utmost auspicious!"
Lin Xiaotian secretly performed a divination on himself and discovered that today was a highly auspicious day, and this was precisely the opportune moment.
"Master once said that places of rebirth through fire, though dangerous, also offer many opportunities. Observing the layout of this cave, it seems to have been deliberately constructed by ancient people for the fire serpent."
"This fire serpent is sentient, its foundation is fire, and it has resided here for a long time without harming people. It must have its own mission. If nothing unexpected occurs, it is likely guarding something here."
Lin Xiaotian analyzed the scene around him with seriousness.
He moved closer to the immobilized fire serpent, noticing its instinctive desire to resist, but its body was too weak to stand.
After Lin Xiaotian's observation, he finally saw that there was a spiritual talisman attached to the fire serpent's body.
So, this talisman was what was trapping it.
Lin Xiaotian smiled slightly, recalling some of the beast languages his master had taught him since childhood. He made gestures, trying his best to make the fire serpent understand.
He moved his hands back and forth, pointing to his mouth, then patting his stomach. The fire serpent seemed to understand his intentions, miraculously losing its ferocity. It nodded earnestly and let out a few hisses.
Lin Xiaotian understood its meaning and then used gestures to tell it not to worry, that he could save it with a feng shui talisman, but in return, it had to help him find the person who had recently entered the cave.
It also nodded in agreement!