Just a few days after Li Shiming moved out of the cave mansion on the second floor, a Golden Core cultivator named Hong Ting rented that cave mansion through normal procedures.
When Hong Ting opened the cave mansion with the token, he still couldnât quite believe it.
The matter of the âCloud Stepping Orderâ in this cave mansion was not known by him alone.
The original owner of the cave mansion, that late-stage Golden Core cultivator of Wutong Mountain, after being ambushed and seriously injured by enemies, fled back to his secular home.
Perhaps this was Wutong Mountainâs obsession after knowing he would surely die, wanting to quietly pass away in his own home.
His injuries were severe, and he fell shortly after returning to his secular home.
Before his fall, he left some things for his family, instructing them to use what he had left if descendants with spirit root seeds appeared.
But he misjudged human nature, having left his secular home for too long, his descendants extremely respected him while alive, but after his death, they sold off the things he left.
Itâs also unfortunate that this family had no foresight, selling the Golden Core cultivatorâs space ring as a common ring.
This space ring circulated among the secular for quite some time, eventually obtained by a Qi Refining Cultivator, who then sold it to a business.
The business copied the jade scroll inside, and sold the jade scroll repeatedly.
Apart from the cultivation technique, the jade scroll also contained Wutong Mountainâs most important secret, information about hiding the âCloud Stepping Orderâ.
The cultivator in charge of the business had no idea of the importance of the âCloud Stepping Orderâ, as even most Foundation Establishment Cultivators were unaware, such matters of the Grotto Heaven only circulated among late-stage Golden Core cultivators.
The final result was that multiple knowledgeable cultivators came to know of the cave mansion Wutong Mountain originally lived in, where the âCloud Stepping Orderâ was hidden.
Elder Tai Yi was one of them, as was this Golden Core cultivator Hong Ting.
Before coming, Hong Ting also investigated the intelligence on Wuqing Mountain, learning that a Great Elder had once fiercely attacked this cave mansion, ultimately failing and retreating.
Later, he heard the cave mansionâs owner had moved out, prompting an idea, and he used some top-grade spirit stones to rent the cave mansion.
Finding it so easy to enter a cave mansion Elder Tai Yi fiercely attacked without success, Hong Ting wondered if the âCloud Stepping Orderâ had already been taken.
According to the jade scrollâs records, he arrived at the storeroom; unlike Li Shiming, not possessing such abilities, he took out an Array Breaking Talisman and activated it against the wall.
He didnât dare to attack the formation like Elder Tai Yi; though he rented the cave mansion, he still couldnât violate Wuqing Mountainâs rules and mustnât damage the cave mansionâs formation.
The Array Breaking Talisman was bought from an Array Master, and with the token in his hand able to control the formation, he easily broke the formation on the wall.
He quickly dug into the wall, revealing the passage leading to the secret chamber.
Discovering the formations in the storeroom werenât damaged, and combining with the secret chamber hidden so well, he gained confidence that the âCloud Stepping Orderâ was still in place.
He awkwardly crawled into the secret chamber through the passage, seeing the wooden box placed there.
He stepped forward and lightly pressed the wooden box several times to open it.
This was the method recorded in the jade scroll; otherwise, if Wutong Mountainâs descendants came to open the box, wouldnât Wutong Mountain be setting a trap for his own family?
The mechanism in the wooden box was deactivated, revealing Li Shimingâs counterfeit âCloud Stepping Orderâ upon opening.
Although it was a fake âCloud Stepping Orderâ, not many cultivators had actually seen the âCloud Stepping Orderâ, relying only on some rumors for verification.
Hong Ting looked at the âCloud Stepping Orderâ in his hand; with his eyes, he couldnât tell its authenticity, using the only method he knew, he took out a flying sword treasure and slashed it against the âCloud Stepping Orderâ.
With a âdingâ, the âCloud Stepping Orderâ wasnât damaged at all.
He couldnât help but rejoice; although the flying sword treasure wasnât infused with much spiritual power, this attack wasnât too strong, but a jade token that could withstand a blow from a flying sword treasure was precisely the most important characteristic of the âCloud Stepping Orderâ.
Having obtained the âCloud Stepping Orderâ, he had no intent to linger; the rent was merely a few top-grade spirit stones, insignificant compared to the âCloud Stepping Orderâ.
Hong Ting flew out of the cave mansion, heading outside Wuqing Mountain.
A satellite drone was monitoring the cave mansion from ten thousand meters in the sky, observing Hong Tingâs entry and his departure.
This satellite drone was deployed by Li Shiming, who was gradually rebuilding the satellite drone system, still in the production phase, with only a few available, prioritized near his own vicinity.
"Turns out it really was for the âCloud Stepping Orderâ. Now the trouble should be transferred!" Li Shiming smiled to himself, watching Hong Tingâs movements through his life-bound treasure, IBMz15.
Having left a backup upon discovering the âCloud Stepping Orderâ, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator would never use such a secretive way to preserve a âCloud Stepping Orderâ if it were ordinary.
Upon knowing the true purpose of the âCloud Stepping Orderâ, he further confirmed the necessity of his actions.
Then he saw that shortly after Hong Ting left Wuqing Mountain, he was besieged by a group of cultivators.
The scene was somewhat chaotic, with the satellite drone too far to know exactly, only that after dispersal, several cultivators had fallen there.
"Master Li, do you know what was inside the cave mansion before?" A few days later, Yu An visited Li Shiming and asked with some mystery.