As soon as the woman's figure vanished from view inside the Spring and Autumn Palace, everyone went into an uproar. A few opportunistic cultivators near the entrance she'd created by freezing and shattering the mist rushed towards it, hoping to follow after her.

However, the moment they drew near the mist suddenly surged forward and filled the gap. One man had been halfway inside when the mist consumed his body. His screams were a pertinent reminder that only one's own efforts would be rewarded.

At first everyone had been content to let others try and enter, knowing that the longer they waited the more they would learn about how to get inside. However, now that someone had succeeded, the atmosphere changed in an instant.

If the rest of us took too long to get through the wall of mist, that woman could clean out the entire palace and keep the treasures to herself. We were on a timer.

On the bright side, her success had shown us the way forward. Dispelling the mist was possible if we used the right techniques and with enough force.

"There's something I want to try, let's head over. Hopefully you can all enter with me, but be careful if I succeed. I don't want that mist to devour any of you," I said with a dry chuckle.

I walked up to the mist, with the rest of the group following after me. Plenty of eyes from the crowd followed us, hoping to gain insights into the mist wall from our attempt.

However, most of them were now focusing on their own attempts. The ice woman's success had lit a fire inside all the gathered cultivators.

My plan was based on her success. She had been able to freeze the mist into a solid form and then shatter a path through.

I had no way to control ice and copy her strategy, but I had something equally as potent—the grasping demon finger. It was a technique that had begun by corrupting flesh, but now it could also twist qi against its owner.

I believed that property would allow me to destabilise the mist wall long enough to create a path for myself and my allies. I took a breath and stepped up to the wall.

Gingerly I reached out my hand and placed it against the mist. I was absolutely shocked when instead of being blocked, my hand passed right through.

It took some effort to stop myself from falling forwards into the mist. I had seen it devour those other cultivators. I didn't want to follow in their footsteps.

However, when I pulled my arm out it was completely unharmed. I felt a strange resonance coming from inside my spatial bag, realising it was the object I had received from the old geezer in the cave.

Did possessing it allow me to pass through the mist array without requiring brute force? If that was the case it would save me a lot of effort. Unfortunately I wasn't sure it would let me bring my allies with me.

"Hey Ren, come over here. I want to test something," I called out. If it allowed him to come with me, it should work for the beasts as well.

"What's up, Sect Leader?" he asked as he walked up beside me.

"The artifact that the ancient cultivator from the cave gave me seems to let me pass through the mist, but I'm not sure if it will allow me to bring others along. Are you willing to give it a try?" I asked, knowing it would hurt if it didn't work.

As always, Wang Ren was fearless and reliable. "Of course. What kind of coward would I be if I was scared of a little mist? Let's do it," he chuckled.

Having said that I started to walk into the writhing mists with Wang Ren following after me. I passed through without effort, but the moment Ren's outstretched finger touched the mist he yelped and snapped it back.

After exiting, I glanced over and saw that the tip of his finger had melted as though dipped in acid. It was a nasty wound, but he barely grimaced.

After healing it and receiving a tiny burst of qi in return, I sighed in annoyance. "I guess that's not going to work then. We'll try the other method."

"No, you should go in ahead of us. We will make our own way, don't worry about it. After all, opportunities go to those who have the fortune to claim them. This time that's you, Sect Leader," Wang Ren said while waving an arm dismissively.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not going to abandon you here," I replied.

"No, your friend is right. You should go in. There's a reason you are able to pass through and we aren't. That's simply the heavens' will. Or do you have so little faith in our skills?" Shuanghu said with a frown.

I realised I'd inadvertently been insulting their capabilities by assuming only I could take them through. Then again, I had yet to try my original idea.

I felt that it couldn't hurt to at least give it a go, but I could see that might cause even more friction. It seemed that the beasts' pride would be wounded if they weren't able to do this with their own strength and skills.

Knowing it was pointless to argue further I decided to head inside. After all, if I found this key they were looking for then the beast ancestor would still consider the mission a success and I'd receive my reward.

Anything else I found was simply a bonus for my hard work.

"Alright then, I won't push the matter. I will see you inside the Spring and Autumn Palace," I replied, making my way back towards the wall of mist.

I passed through with ease. I couldn't see anything with my eyes and even with my energy senses it was like staring into the sun. The mist was filled with dense spiritual energy that obscured any details.

However, I was able to find my way by following the resonating pulses of energy that came from the object in my spatial bag. I decided to take it out and hold it in my hands, thinking it would probably be easier or perhaps have a more potent resonance that way.

****

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Back outside the mist walls, every single cultivator gathered near Zhao Dan's group watched as he walked into the mist as if taking a leisurely afternoon stroll. They fell silent, embarrassed at their own pitiful attempts and vowing to redouble their efforts.

The most motivated of all were Zhao Dan's own allies. Wang Ren especially realised how much he'd been relying on Zhao Dan in recent times. His strength and ability to protect his allies had once been a source of pride, but he had felt rather lost since the death of his master.

Beating this array with his own wits would be a small step towards proving he was still able to stand on his own two feet. The same went for the beasts, albeit for different reasons.

Beasts were naturally more prideful than other species and they refused to allow themselves to be carried through this trial by another cultivator, especially a human. Hence they all wished to figure out their own method to pass through.

To someone like Zhao Dan who knew the value of cooperation and sharing ideas and knowledge, such individuality seemed foolish. However, it was also the case that always collaborating and relying on others could lead to a feeling of uselessness.

It was said that cultivation was ultimately a battle against the heavens. At the beginning and the end all you could rely on was yourself. Some things had to be faced alone.

****

In the end it only took me about a minute to get through the mist array. The main obstacle was the devouring properties of the mist and its resistance to most techniques.

For someone like me who had the cheat artifact, the only difficulty was finding the right direction to walk in. Which again, was made easy by the pulses of spiritual energy the artifact gave off.

They seemed to be resonating with something else inside the Spring and Autumn Palace. I hoped it would be more treasure or techniques to learn from, hopefully related to healing.

However, even if they were martial or spiritual techniques I couldn't personally make use of, I could simply add them to the sect's library or have them as rewards for disciples who made contributions towards the sect.

Thinking of the sect made me worry about those I'd left behind on Million Flowers Celestial Peak. Even though we'd wiped out the main threat in the Azure Tiger Bandits, I couldn't help but fear for my disciples.

Even with the protection of the serpent, a powerful wandering cultivator could decide to wipe them out. The worst case scenario would be if the Cloudy Falls Sect or the Soaring Sword Sect learned of our appearance and decided to wipe us out before we could become a threat.

However, I knew that was just my paranoia at work. Dwelling on those thoughts would help no one. Instead I needed to focus on what was in front of me.

What was in front of me was a beautiful garden filled with neatly trimmed trees, tidy beds of flowers, and two small ponds with koi fish darting about inside their waters. I wondered how an ancient palace inside a secret realm was kept in such marvellous condition, but put it down to cultivator bullshit.

Probably whichever old monster built this place knew a method to use qi or an array to do the gardening for them. I was busy admiring the cherry blossom trees when I caught sight of a woman in a blue robe walking along a path ahead of me.

It was the cultivator who had used ice to break through the walls of mist. I wondered why she hadn't made it further into the palace, but I could find out by asking her.

There was no harm in being friendly. Even though we were competing, I still believed it was best to approach things with an open mind.

Floral aromas kissed my nostrils, making me a little lightheaded as I walked through the garden. The stone path that led through it took me onto a tiled stone floor. It seemed to be a ring that ran around the outside of the sprawling palace.

The endless spires of gold and jade towered above me just beyond the ring of stone. The woman was standing ahead of me, at the edge of the stone tiles. She stared forwards at something out of view.

She turned around at the sound of my footsteps, a look of surprise on her face. The contrast between her shiny black hair and pale white skin was quite beautiful, but it was overshadowed by her sparkling eyes the colour of glaciers.

"That was quick," she remarked. "I hadn't expected someone else to pass through that array so soon. However, it's great that you're here. Help me figure this out," she added, pointing at an image inscribed into the palace walls.

"What is it?" I asked, glad she was open to cooperation.

"I think it's a puzzle, but I wasn't able to make much progress. There's no other way inside the palace except solving this. I checked," she said when I started to look around.

"I see. It makes sense. Letting us ransack such a place without first proving our talents would be foolish. Is this the only puzzle or are there others?"

"There are four. One at each cardinal direction. The stone encircles the entire place. It took me a while to walk around," she explained.

"Why did you choose this one?" I asked, already having a few ideas about how the puzzle lock might work. If she shared her insights it might help me narrow it down.

"I felt that the image inscribed was the prettiest of the four," she replied with a dazzling smile.

I choked on what I had prepared to say. What kind of answer was that!? I thought she might share something about the puzzle's workings or her attempts to solve it, not that it was a purely aesthetic choice.

Then again, the people of this world put a lot of value in those things. Fortune and first impressions. "I suppose it's as good a reason as any," I chuckled. "Have you tried to solve it?"

"Not really? I sent some qi into it, but it simply dissipated without anything happening. I was considering using the same method I did for the mist," she said with a sigh.

"I see. That might work," I said, remembering the beauty of her sword slash and the power it possessed.

It was possible that brute force might get her through every obstacle in her path, but I doubted it. She was in the Foundation Building Realm, but whoever built this palace had to be a Nascent Soul Sage. I doubted her efforts would overcome the ingenuity and craftiness of an old monster.

"Let me take a look. If I can't figure anything out either then you can try your method," I said, walking forward to get a better look at the inscription.

The closer I drew to the palace, the stronger the resonance of the artifact grew. I held it up against the inscription, wondering if the simplest method might be the correct one.

However, nothing happened when they touched. Whatever, it was worth a try. Putting it away for now I reached out a hand and placed it against the rough carving.

The image resembled a tree in full bloom, with thick branches reaching to the sky and a full canopy of leaves. I wondered if that was a clue. "What did the other carvings look like?" I asked the ice cultivator.

"All of them were trees. Some of them looked quite sad though, I didn't like them. That's why I chose this one!" she said, her smile still bright and eyes sparkling.

It was odd. This was a cultivator more powerful than me, yet her attitude and demeanour were like that of a naive child. It was quite refreshing after the bloodthirsty attitude of most cultivators I met.

"Sad, as in they had less leaves? Specifics, please."

"Yes, one of them was almost dead! No leaves and withered branches. I wonder who would carve such an image. Perhaps they were upset at the time. Maybe they had just been abandoned by a lover," she exclaimed, slapping a fist against her palm. "That must be it."

I wondered how her mind had gotten to that point, but everyone had their quirks. Clearly this girl had read too many romance stories for her own good. Definitely a sheltered upbringing.

Even though her whimsical tone and excessive yet unnecessary details were hard to decode, she'd actually given me some pretty decent clues. Four carvings of a tree in various states of bloom. Spring and Autumn Palace. Four seasons.

"That has to be it!" I said out loud, clapping my hands together and making the girl jump in fright.

"You mean I'm right!?" she cried, a tear appearing in the corner of her eye. "The answer is a heartbroken lover?"

"What?" I spluttered. Seriously, this woman was living in a world of her own. "The solution is related to the four seasons. We need to start from the beginning."

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