Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 714

Chapter 714: Chapter 714

"Do you still have doubts about this? It’s undoubtedly the case," Mr. Fan said in a low voice.

After hearing the words "Spiritual Energy," he was even more wary than Yang Fan, afraid that someone nearby would overhear them.

"The existence of those two stone caves reversed the geological features of this place. What was once Jiyin Land, externally appearing as extremely yin, has now become a Blessed Land filled internally with refreshing energy. The senior who cultivated here before must have been an extraordinary figure, cleverly utilizing the terrain to set up a superb defense for his Dong Mansion," Mr. Fan continued.

"When normal people encounter such a peculiar terrain, they wouldn’t even need to understand what it is. Their first instinct would be intense discomfort. Rather than being curious enough to investigate, they’d keep their distance and steer clear."

"This way, that senior already avoided nine out of ten intrusions. His Dong Mansion must employ additional measures too, right?"

Yang Fan nodded. "At first, I thought the cave entrance was just open. From the outside, it looked pitch-black, and I couldn’t see anything. But when I tried to enter, I realized that the pitch-black thing I saw wasn’t the interior; it was some kind of protective measure I couldn’t recognize."

"It creates the illusion that the cave is dark, but inside, it’s actually quite refreshing."

"You went in?" Mr. Fan asked in disbelief.

Yang Fan nodded. "Thanks to those embroidered shoes."

The shoes seemed to be exceptionally skilled at identifying weak points, far more intelligent than Yang Fan had expected.

"But I only managed to enter one of the caves; the other one was impenetrable," Yang Fan added.

"Those shoes are indeed powerful. It makes sense that they could break through a Prohibition," Mr. Fan said, nodding. "Remember, what you’re referring to isn’t just a protective measure. It’s called a Prohibition, a type of defensive setup. There are many ways to arrange Prohibitions, and it’s an independent field of study within cultivation. I’ll explain it to you bit by bit later; it’s not something I can cover in a few sentences."

"Once we go down the mountain, let’s come back here again together. I want to see what’s going on with that stone cave."

"Master, you can’t wait until morning?" Yang Fan asked, startled.

Mr. Fan said solemnly, "That’s Spiritual Energy we’re talking about. Do you think I can wait? You stole my precious granddaughter; it’s not too much for me to take a bit of Spiritual Energy in return, is it?"

"Of course not. I told you about this so we could share it, to begin with," Yang Fan said with a grin. "Don’t think I’m that petty, Master. I’m quite generous about these things."

Mr. Fan gave a smug laugh. "Now that’s more like it."

"If we don’t get to the bottom of this tonight, there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep. You’re going to have to tough it out, kid, and let this old man see what Spiritual Energy really looks like."

Yang Fan shot Mr. Fan a disinterested glance. "Master, stop pretending. There’s no way you haven’t seen Spiritual Energy before."

"I haven’t. I’ve traveled very little and haven’t witnessed much of the world at large," Mr. Fan said, shaking his head.

Yang Fan didn’t press the issue, but he had a strong feeling that Mr. Fan had indeed encountered Spiritual Energy before—and had seen much of the broader world too.

No proof, no logic—just a feeling.

"But there’s another issue," Yang Fan paused and said. "I dealt with a dry corpse down there. If it’s not the Yun Family’s ancestor, then we can let it go. But if it is their ancestor, we might owe them some kind of explanation, don’t you think?"

Mr. Fan’s expression froze.

He turned to Yang Fan with a vacant look, then gave a sharp hiss, dug into his ear, and asked, "What did you just say? You killed a dry corpse? Are you sure you’re talking about a dry corpse and not just some common Mysterious entity?"

"It was a dry corpse, Master. My eyesight hasn’t deteriorated that much," Yang Fan said in exasperation. "That guy looked like a walking black whirlwind under the Heavenly Eye Technique, lugging around a massive clump of sinister, bone-chilling evil aura."

"Impressive. You just keep surprising me," Mr. Fan said with a laugh.

"Looks like I’ll have to take back what I said earlier. You do seem ready to handle the Martial World. Just master a few more techniques, and you’ll practically be ready to graduate."

"Master, don’t make it sound so easy to graduate. That terrifies me!" Yang Fan said deliberately.

With his current skills, graduating seemed far-fetched.

He wondered if Mr. Fan hadn’t woken up properly or if his skills were really that extraordinary.

"I’m being practical. Handling general issues should no longer be a problem for you," Mr. Fan said earnestly. "Dry corpses, in my experience, shouldn’t even have been enough to tire out ten of you. But you actually defeated one. Even with the strong assistance of those embroidered shoes, I’m still amazed."

"The shoes were definitely the MVP. I stayed in the background, playing support," Yang Fan said.

Mr. Fan waved a hand dismissively. "Doesn’t matter how the fight unfolded. A win is a win, and it’s proof of your strength. In cases like this, there’s no shortcut apart from actual skill."

"If the embroidered shoes count as part of my strength, then I suppose that’s true," Yang Fan said.

Mr. Fan glanced at Yang Fan. "Why wouldn’t they? Those shoes are yours; they’re a part of you."

"Alright, enough about that. Let’s go have a look. If my guess is right, that dry corpse might really be the Yun Family’s ancestor. There can’t be more than one zombie lurking in these mountains. Get ready; we might need to go pay our respects to the Yun Family!"

Yang Fan: ???

He was utterly baffled by this statement.

Pay respects to the Yun Family? How would that even work?

Mr. Fan didn’t explain further. Instead, he sought out an elder from the Yun Family, and the two whispered a few things to each other. Shortly thereafter, the Yun Family elder gathered a few younger men, all of whom prickled their fingers to draw blood, smearing it onto a piece of tattered cloth the elder had torn from his clothing.

Then, Mr. Fan took the cloth, along with Yun Miaoyi’s father and two other middle-aged men, and approached Yang Fan. Speaking in a stern tone, he instructed, "Once we head down, don’t wander off or speak carelessly. Follow my lead at all times."

"This is critical—burn it into your memory. This place is dangerously treacherous, and it’s only more perilous now. If anyone ignores my instructions and gets killed, I’ll do my best to save you if I can. But if it’s too late, don’t hold me accountable."

All three middle-aged men nodded gravely.

Yang Fan suddenly felt like Mr. Fan might be scheming something.

The dry corpse was long dead and even fed its Inner Qi back to him. What danger could possibly remain?

If nothing unexpected happened, Mr. Fan’s warnings were likely just a pretext to ensure smooth access to the two stone caves.

He was preparing the stage here.

"Anything else we need to settle? Let’s head down!" Mr. Fan said.

With that, Yang Fan, Mr. Fan, and the three Yun Family members descended the pitch-black depths of the ravine again using ropes. In the night, the chasm was even darker than the surrounding nighttime—like a pool of impenetrable black ink.