David's Adventures in Wonderland

Chapter 3

"Purple Sun Cave" – finally, he understood that meeting Anna was not a coincidence and that their sect was nearby. David turned to leave, not wanting to be involved with Anna's sect. Their meeting today was calm, almost indifferent, even though she gave him money, it felt like she was looking down on him, as if she was giving him charity.

"Let me just live as an ordinary person without going down the wrong path. Am I really that worthless?" He laughed at himself, not feeling sad or angry. Everything passed by like a breeze. David thought that if they ever met again, it would be better to just smile and walk away, without holding onto anything. Sometimes, passing by each other lightly may be a better choice. David had already walked tens of meters away, but suddenly, he stopped again.

He had been thinking about how to evade the pursuit of the Jiang family's knights, and suddenly thought, could he use Ziyang Cave to resolve the danger? His strength was not strong enough to confront them head-on, and he could only use his mind to think. He said to himself, "I can't shake them off, there must be a reason. Even strong people can't have such sensitive perception to constantly track down clues." David felt that Ziyang Cave, as one of the six cave heavens of the Yan country, must have "Dao Patterns" engraved in the surrounding mountains and land, condensing mysterious power, making this place an isolated world.

If he went deep inside, he might be able to cut off the connection with the outside world. "Not bad, I can make use of this." After careful consideration, David walked towards the depths of the mountains. "What rich spiritual energy, indeed a paradise."

At this moment, it was already dark, but one could still see purple Qi lingering between the mountains. Ziyang Cave lived up to its name, with purple mist surging in the region, occasionally a bright sun light flashing across. Even in the outside area, one could feel its extraordinariness.

The peaks were green and the valleys were lush, with clear springs and dense vegetation. Many plants seemed to be spiritually aware, with a glimmer of light on their leaves. David approached Ziyang Cave and observed carefully, seeing if he could slip in directly, but found it difficult, as there were people patrolling the mountain gate, guarded by savage beasts.

Two weird beasts with lumps all over their bodies looked like giant crocodiles but had flesh wings like two small mountains lying there. When they opened their basin-sized blue eyes, rays of light shimmered. Even though it was outside, one could feel that it was amazing and wonderful. David heard and saw a few young people kneeling in front of the entrance.

"What's going on with them?" David was surprised. A patrolling cultivator passed by and said, "You better leave. Your aptitude is too ordinary, even if you work hard, it's useless."

"Immortal master, please give us one more opportunity." The cultivator sighed, "You have been kneeling here for several days. I am not an unfeeling person, but your aptitude is too mediocre to pass the assessment. You should leave the mountain as soon as possible."

"Immortal master, we only ask for one last chance." The young people knelt in despair, begging.

"Okay, I'll give you one more chance. In half a month, we'll screen disciples again. Whether you can stay or not depends on yourselves."

"Thank you, immortal master." Hearing this, David walked out boldly.

"Who are you?" The cultivator turned back.

"Immortal master, I have come to apprentice." David shouted loudly.

"It's not time yet, you came too early."

"My home is far away, and I walked all the way here, taking half a year to cross mountains and rivers, fearing delays. Please have mercy, immortal master." David had observed for a while and felt that this cultivator's heart was not very hard and could be negotiated with.

"This is against the rules."

David spoke truthfully, telling how he raised money, even begged, crossed mountains and rivers, and walked thousands of miles on foot for over half a year, to reach this place with great difficulty.

The so-called immortal master looked quite young, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Although he had a soft heart, he sighed and nodded after seeing David's shabby clothes and dirty face, allowing him to enter the Purple Sun Cave together with the other teenagers.

All of the immortal mountains in the cave were surrounded by purple mist, making them appear hazy and mystical. Palaces and buildings were located on the mountain peaks, giving off an enchanting fairyland vibe.

"The spiritual energy in this Purple Sun Cave is even richer than that of the Lingxu Cave," David muttered to himself, acknowledging its superiority. Arriving deep within the mountains, he saw flourishing greenery, numerous herbs, and a clear aura welcoming him. It was a very beautiful and peaceful paradise.

David was assigned to stay in a bamboo forest area together with the other teenagers. There were several wooden huts available for the miscellaneous apprentices to live in, with disciples who practiced typically not allowed to live there. After this happened, David's mind gradually calmed down. If he could still be tracked down like this, he would have to fight to the death; otherwise, there would be no other way.

"Most likely, there is something on my body that they can sense and track," David ruled out the green copper block immediately as anyone holding it couldn't identify its special attributes, let alone detecting it from him.

Is it possible that it's the Dao Scripture? David pondered, but if he didn't operate the scripture method, his golden sea of bitterness would be completely silent, without waves or ripples, making it difficult for outsiders to sense it.

"Could it be that this source is leaking my location?" David muttered to himself, "forget it. Let's leave it for now and refine this source instead."

For the next few days, the bamboo forest quietened down, with no outsiders disturbing their practice. It was an ideal place for cultivating. Jiang Family's powerful knights did not appear either. David began to refine the "source," holding it tightly in his hand and carefully melting it. Only a small amount was melted each day. He was afraid of using too much aggression, causing all of the life force and energy to come out, triggering violent waves that would alert someone.

On the sixth day, the bright moon shone in the sky. David had just finished refining a small amount of the "source" when his golden sea of bitterness suddenly emitted a roaring sound, alarming him. He quickly stopped his movements and hid the source.

"This is troublesome," David sighed because of his special physical condition, unable to control it as he'd hoped. The breakthrough still elicited a terrifying sound. The oddities of his bitter sea were too startling. It would create a huge uproar if detected by someone.

"It seems that I can't refine this source entirely. I'll have to continue when I leave," David said to himself. However, his reward was significant. At this moment, his golden sea of bitterness expanded once again, with eight additional "divine prints" circling it. David melted them into the initial "divine iron lump" and hammered away on the green copper block continually, repeatedly copying "dao prints."

The peace in the bamboo forest was broken the next day by several young cultivators who happened upon David.

"It's you, the little beggar," the few of them exclaimed in surprise. They were the Purple Sun Cave disciples David had met a few days ago, but Anna was not among them.

"How did you enter our Purple Yang Cave, are you here to find our senior sister Anna?" the group of them were surprised and sceptical; they never expected to meet David here.

"When I met your sect master, he said I had exceptional talent and insisted on taking me as his disciple," David casually lied.

Naturally, none of them believed him, and their faces turned sour. One of them, a female cultivator, said in a stern voice, "You have a thick skin face, little beggar."

At that moment, a middle-aged man appeared in the bamboo forest. After walking around a few times, he stopped and said, "I feel the breath of the Source."

"Greetings, senior uncle," a few young disciples immediately greeted him respectfully. David was shocked, as this person's spiritual awareness was too sharp. Even though he had sealed the Source, it was still detected.

"No need for so much courtesy," the middle-aged man with a rosy complexion and dark hair spoke, but his eyes were full of experience, not quite matching his apparent age.

"This person is probably over seventy or eighty years old," David secretly speculated, feeling that this was a terrifying expert.

"You are not a disciple of our Purple Sun Immortal Sect," the middle-aged man said.

No," David answered, bowing respectfully.

"You have a unique physique," the middle-aged man looked surprised, then shook his head and sighed. Obviously, he was knowledgeable and quickly came to a judgment. During that moment, David was extremely nervous. Luckily, his Sea of Bitterness was silent and dark, frozen like a dead zone. When the middle-aged man explored it, he did not find anything unusual. This surprised David, as he had deliberately concealed it, yet even such a powerful master failed to detect it.

"Do you have a piece of the Source on you?" the middle-aged man asked.

Unable to hide it any longer, David took out the small wooden box and said, "I don't know if this is the 'Source,' it is something passed down in my family."

The middle-aged man opened the box and took a brief look before saying, "Yes, this is the Source, although impure, it is still rare. I don't know if you are willing to part with it."

"This…"

"You cannot cultivate, and this piece of Source is useless to you. Don't worry, I will not cheat you. If you are willing to exchange it, you will have wealth that cannot be spent out in ten lifetimes."

"But, I don't want to exchange it," David looked troubled. Although he temporarily escaped from the knights of the Jiang family by entering the Purple Sun Immortal Sect, he did not expect to expose the Source. He felt helpless.

"Are you sure you don't want to exchange it?" The middle-aged man asked calmly, without exerting any pressure.

"I…"

"Forget it, since that's the case, I won't force you. It's just a piece of the Source, which is not essential to me."

He turned around and left. After taking a few steps, he disappeared before everyone's eyes. David's heart skipped a beat. This was definitely a powerful expert.

"Little beggar, I never thought you had a piece of Source on you. A small piece of impure Source is more valuable than spiritual herbs," a few young men and women were all shocked. They never expected David to have an immortal treasure, and some could not help but feel covetous.

"You really missed the chance to make a good impression. Do you know who that person was? He is the second most powerful expert in the Purple Yang Immortal Sect, who has been cultivating for just over a hundred years, but is stronger than some ancestors. If you had given him the Source, you would have made a good connection with such a strong person. The benefits would be endless." A few young men and women made offers, hoping to get the Source.David could not agree since he knew it was impossible.

As they left, Dsvid muttered to himself, "Although I have temporarily avoided the knights of the Jiang family, I have exposed the Source. I wonder if there will be any trouble."

Half an hour later, Anna appeared in the bamboo forest, accompanied by the young men and women who had just left. Anna didn't ask David why he appeared here, and said calmly: "David, you can't practice, and it's useless to hold this source. Why don't you exchange it for ten lifetimes' blessings?" David shook his head and refused, saying : "I won't change it for that."