The rest of Gu Wanhao's message explained his concerns and asked Gu Wanchang to bring the clan member who had secretly protected Gu Changhuan.

Gu Wanchang realized how badly his plan could have backfired. He had nearly got Gu Changhuan killed.

No one could be sure what another person was thinking. Even within a clan, cultivators sometimes murdered their own kin to advance their cultivation.

Moreover, Gu Shixin's parents were both mortals, and she had never married in pursuit of her cultivation, so she didn't have many ties to the clan.

If she had become greedy on the spot, she could have either killed Gu Changhuan and walked away, or secretly harmed Gu Changhuan, making him die at the hands of the Black Cloud Twin Fiends. In that case, it would have just been a failure to protect him adequately.

And Gu Wanhao wouldn't have blamed her too much. After all, it was Gu Wanchang who set up the scheme; the one who knew and agreed to it was Gu Wanhao himself, and the one who proposed it was Gu Xuanzhan, who was in Secluded Cultivation.

Gu Wanchang had no objections to Gu Wanhao's proposal.

Bringing Gu Shixin along was naturally not difficult. Gu Shixin was steady in her actions, bold yet careful, and had already been at the ninth layer of the Qi Condensation Realm for quite some time. She wouldn't hold them back.

Gu Wanchang immediately sent a message to Gu Shixin.

Gu Shixin had spent the past two days searching for the cave abode Zhao Pin'er had mentioned. She had considered going to Nine Perches Market to ask Gu Changhuan to join her, but for various reasons had decided to search alone.

To tell the truth, Gu Shixin had actually found some clues and had already traced them to the Wasteland Stone Forest.

The Patriarch's unexpected message gave her an inkling of what was happening. Excited, she read it.

"Meet at White Ram Slope at a quarter past seven tomorrow morning. Bring your treasures and weapons. We are going treasure hunting. Keep this to yourself."

Her chance had come!

Gu Shixin was overjoyed. Judging by the timing, it was highly likely the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode mentioned by Zhao Pin'er before.

It seemed this Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode was at least at the late Foundation Establishment level; otherwise, the Grand Elder wouldn't have requested clan support.

Gu Shixin figured out most of the key points in just a short while.

At the same time, Gu Shiwen also received a message from Gu Wanchang.

Naturally, Gu Shiwen didn't know the details, but being able to go treasure hunting was undoubtedly a great opportunity.

The next morning, at seven, White Ram Slope.

Gu Wanchang arrived early. Not long after, Gu Shiwen and Gu Shixin arrived one after another.

Gu Wanhao and Gu Changhuan arrived last, at half past seven.

In fact, the two had left home very early, but to prevent anyone from following, they took a long detour before arriving at White Ram Slope.

"Sorry for the wait. Let's set off now!"

Gu Wanhao said as soon as he landed.

"Everyone aboard my Wind-Riding Boat. Twelfth Brother, you can meditate and recover your True Essence on the way."

Everyone boarded the Wind-Riding Boat, then exchanged greetings. After Gu Wanhao recovered his True Essence, he explained the whole situation from beginning to end.

Upon hearing there was a Third-Tier Formation, Gu Shiwen's eyes lit up.

All the clan's third-tier formations were in use, so he could not study them. If he could examine this formation's array disc, he might reach the level of a low-grade second-tier Formation Master sooner.

About a quarter of an hour later, the Wind-Riding Boat stopped.

"We've reached the Stone Forest."

Everyone disembarked, and Gu Wanchang put away the Wind-Riding Boat.

Gu Wanhao led the way.

Not long after, they walked to that stone pillar.

"This is the place." Gu Wanhao took the lead and walked in.

The entrance to the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode was actually set up so ingeniously!

Without a guide, Gu Shixin thought, she might never have found a way inside, even knowing there was an ancient cave abode in the stone forest. She could only have stood outside, helpless.

Gu Changhuan was excited too. His first visit to an ancient cave abode, and already he had seen an entrance like this! He really was learning something new.

Gu Shiwen, on the other hand, was thinking about the Formation protecting the cave abode and hurriedly followed Gu Wanhao into the passageway.

Gu Shixin and Gu Changhuan quickly followed, with Gu Wanchang walking last.

By the time Gu Wanchang saw the white stone door, Gu Shiwen was already attempting to crack the Formation.

As a high-grade first-tier Formation Master, Gu Shiwen could not fully unravel a formation of at least low-grade third-tier. But finding a weak point would help them break through.

He crouched over the ground, scratching diagrams and notes with a stick. Now and then he muttered to himself, oblivious to everyone else.

To Gu Changhuan, Gu Shiwen looked like the tech obsessives of his previous life: so absorbed in their work that they forgot the world, including washing and grooming.

A little over half a year had passed, and Gu Shiwen had reverted to the appearance Gu Changhuan remembered from their first meeting.

His beard was a wild tangle. It looked as if he had not trimmed it since the Foundation Establishment Celebration.

Two hours passed. Gu Shiwen was still scribbling.

No one interrupted him. Another two hours went by.

Bored, Gu Changhuan called Mo Lin out. Gu Shixin involuntarily stepped back at the sight of it. Realizing she was afraid of snakes, he put it back in the pouch.

Gu Shixin forced a smile at this nephew of hers. She was truly afraid of this kind of slippery, crawling beast.

"I've got it!"

Gu Shiwen suddenly clapped his hands.

Everyone looked at him.

"This is a simplified version of a powerful ancient formation.

"It's middle-grade third-tier. Years without maintenance have probably reduced it to the strength of a low-grade third-tier formation.

"Its core is a Spirit-Water Source. It's meant for defense, not attack. With three Foundation Establishment cultivators and two at Qi Condensation, we have a chance if we strike its weak point!"

"Then where is this Formation's weakness?"

Gu Shiwen stood tall, chest out.

"I've worked out where it is! Use your strongest fire spells and aim where I strike. Let's try to break it in one go!"

"Good!" everyone answered in unison.

Gu Shiwen took out his Cloud-Splitting Staff, a low-grade second-tier water artifact. It had no special spells, but it was heavy.

He drove the Cloud-Splitting Staff to smash hard at a certain spot on the upper right of the Formation. Immediately after, various fire-attribute techniques followed one after another.

Gu Wanhao and Gu Wanchang both practiced fire cultivation arts, and their spells struck with great force.

Gu Changhuan and Gu Shixin both chose to attack using Spiritual Talismans.

For a moment, even the air became scorching.

The originally calm Formation rippled violently under the successive bombardments, then shattered like a bubble.

Seeing this, everyone's hearts leaped with joy.

Since the Formation was already broken, a mere stone door couldn't stop them.

They had expected a series of stone rooms. What lay beyond the door surprised them.

Beyond the door, the space opened into a cavern nearly a hundred meters across and five meters high. A river two meters wide ran through it, dividing the ground into two banks.

Weeds covered both banks. Across the river stood a row of wooden huts.

Gu Changhuan felt the water-attribute Spiritual Qi rushing toward him, making his whole body feel cooler.

"An underground river! The plain above looks so barren, yet down here there's a river full of Spiritual Qi!"

Gu Shixin exclaimed.