The Ge family had searched for over a thousand years without finding anything, and Long Xiao felt very disappointed, thinking he had come all this way for nothing.
Elder Xiao watched Long Xiao's disappointed expression but said nothing. After finishing their drinks and meal, they left the village chief's house. Elder Xiao quietly asked, "Long Xiao, do you really want to obtain the Nine Yang Divine Needle Manual?"
Long Xiao nodded and replied, "Of course, why else would I be here?"
Elder Xiao glanced around conspiratorially and whispered, "Long Xiao, as far as I know, the remains of that Ge family ancestor are in Shaoyang Valley. I don't practice medicine and wasn't interested, so I didn't come looking."
"Do you know the exact location?" Long Xiao asked.
Elder Xiao nodded and said, "The remains of the Ge family ancestor are in Shaoyang Valley."
Long Xiao was surprised that Elder Xiao knew the location of the Ge family ancestor's remains. He asked curiously, "How do you know this?"
Elder Xiao smiled and replied, "The Ge family told me. I traded a cultivation technique for this information."
Long Xiao understood that Elder Xiao wanted a cultivation technique from him. He was a bit puzzled, as Elder Xiao's strength far surpassed his own, yet he still wanted a technique.
The cultivation techniques in the *Long Zang* were divided into two categories: those unique to the Long family, which were closely guarded secrets, and those collected from other families and sects during the compilation of the *Long Zang*, which could be passed on to outsiders.
The 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' (Elusive Carefree Steps) that Long Xiao taught Xiao Ming and the others was a technique from the Xiao Yao Sect. The Long family's footwork was called 'Long Ying' (Dragon Shadow), and its speed was comparable to 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu'. Since Long Xiao had already learned 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu', he hadn't practiced 'Long Ying'.
"Daoist Master Xiao, if you help me find the Nine Yang Divine Needle, I will give you a cultivation technique," Long Xiao said.
Mei Ling quickly stepped up to Long Xiao's side and said, "Brother Long, my master is so powerful..."
Elder Xiao knew what Mei Ling was about to say and quickly interrupted, "Long Xiao, in fact, I have many cultivation techniques. I just enjoy collecting them. If you have any techniques that can be passed on to others, giving me one would be fine."
Long Xiao smiled and said, "Alright, it's a deal. You help me find the Nine Yang Divine Needle, and I'll give you a cultivation technique."
Back at their lodgings, Elder Xiao told Long Xiao that the Ge family ancestor had actually died in the Dragon Cave in Shaoyang Valley. Because the Dragon Cave was very large and the environment inside was complex, the Ge family had been unable to find his remains.
The location of the Dragon Cave was common knowledge among the people of Ge Family Fort; it was not a secret.
The next day, the village chief came to the village committee and made an announcement over the loudspeaker. Soon, many people arrived with samples of medicinal herbs, asking Long Xiao to set prices.
Long Xiao was busy all morning, acquiring over a thousand catties of medicinal materials, all piled in the village committee's courtyard. Because Long Xiao offered high prices, more people came in the afternoon, and the quality of the herbs was generally better than in the morning.
Long Xiao acquired herbs for another afternoon. The village committee's courtyard was piled high like a small mountain, so much so that a large truck couldn't carry it all.
"Long Xiao, why are you taking this so seriously? You're opening a clinic, and you're collecting so many herbs, you won't use them up in ten years," Elder Xiao said, looking at the herbs piled in the courtyard.
Xiao Ming and Mei Ling, who had just returned from playing outside, heard Elder Xiao's words and laughed, "Don't worry, Daoist Master Xiao. The more high-quality medicinal herbs, the better."
That evening, the village chief invited Long Xiao to his home for dinner and drinks. During the meal, Long Xiao took the opportunity to inquire about the Dragon Cave.
The Dragon Cave was located across the river at the western entrance of the village. One had to row a boat to enter, and after about a kilometer inside, they could disembark.
The village chief was very familiar with the Dragon Cave; he often went into the cave to play with the village children when he was young.
The village chief told Long Xiao that the environment inside the Dragon Cave was very complex, and they could only go about five to six kilometers in before it became impossible to proceed further. Going too deep would easily lead to getting lost.
Since they couldn't rely on the Ge family as guides to find their ancestor's remains, and even if they found them, they might not be able to obtain the Nine Yang Divine Needle Manual, Long Xiao and his companions had to act on their own.
Upon returning to the village committee, Long Xiao and the others discussed their plan. They decided to have Lin Wei stay at the village committee, while the others would enter the cave.
Lin Wei looked at everyone and asked, "Who among you can row a boat?"
Everyone shook their heads. Lin Wei said, "I'm the only one who can row. If you leave me behind, who will row the boat for you?"
After some simple preparations, everyone packed a backpack, mainly with food and drinking water.
During the day, Xiao Ming and Mei Ling went to the river to play and found out where the boats were. Under their guidance, everyone arrived at the boats.
They boarded the boat, and Lin Wei skillfully untied the rope and jumped onto the boat. The small boat drifted downstream and quickly reached the entrance of the Dragon Cave.
Rowing into the Dragon Cave required extremely high skill. Long Xiao and the others watched Lin Wei steer the boat, feeling very tense, worried that a single mistake would send the boat crashing into the cliffs.
They successfully entered the Dragon Cave. Xiao Ming squatted at the bow and turned on the emergency light, illuminating the way ahead.
Lin Wei's rowing skills were excellent. The small boat navigated nimbly through the Dragon Cave at a very high speed. It wasn't long before they saw land ahead.
"Let's disembark up ahead," Lin Wei said.
After everyone got ashore, they pulled the boat onto the land, shouldered their backpacks, and began to walk forward on the slippery ground.
The Dragon Cave was an ancient karst cave, filled with strange rock formations of various shapes, which appeared beautiful under the illumination of the emergency lights.
Elder Xiao walked at the forefront, his spiritual energy extending for a hundred meters around him. The darkness had no effect on him.
As they passed by stone pillars, the slippery ground gradually became drier. Elder Xiao walked at a varying pace, and after passing a massive stone pillar, he suddenly stopped.
"What is it, Daoist Master Xiao?" Lin Wei asked.
"Someone is coming. Hide quickly," Elder Xiao whispered.
Just as everyone hid behind a stalagmite, they heard faint, scattered footsteps approaching.
Lin Wei gestured a four with his hand, and Elder Xiao nodded. Soon, four elderly men in tactical jackets, carrying backpacks, walked out from inside the cave.
The four elders chatted in low voices as they walked, seemingly familiar with their surroundings.
"Big brother, next time, let's bring more explosives and just blow open that stone chamber," one of the elders said.
The elder at the front shook his head and replied, "No, what if we accidentally damage what's inside?"
"We've been here three times and still haven't opened it. We might as well blow it open," the elder at the back said.
After the four elders passed, Elder Xiao whispered, "They've found the place. We must succeed this time, or we'll have no chance later."
"Have you been here before?" Long Xiao suddenly asked.
Elder Xiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I have. That stone chamber is very strange. I stayed here for half a month and couldn't open it."
With Elder Xiao leading the way, Long Xiao and the others soon arrived at the entrance of a man-made stone chamber.
The stone door of the chamber was not large, about two meters high and one and a half meters wide.
Strange patterns were painted on the stone door. The surface of these patterns was very smooth, clearly having been touched by many people.
"Daoist Master Xiao, we're not looking for the Ge family ancestor's remains. Could the remains be in this stone chamber?" Long Xiao asked.
Elder Xiao nodded and said, "They definitely are. Otherwise, so many people wouldn't be trying to open this stone chamber."