The centenarian Daoist priest had completely transformed into a humble assistant, eagerly helping Ning Beichen carry his luggage and leading the way with utmost diligence.
In reality, such tasks could have easily been delegated to younger disciples, but the old Daoist dared not. This was their sole opportunity to mend their relationship with Ning Beichen.
Several hours later.
The old Daoist stopped in a dense forest and respectfully addressed Ning Beichen.
"Mr. Ning, this is one of the places my senior brother mentioned. Please, take a look and see if it's what you're looking for."
Ning Beichen surveyed his surroundings. The dense forest was eerily quiet, with thick trees and abundant vines hanging from them to the ground, forming a natural labyrinth of foliage.
"My senior brother said that one must pass through these vines to reach a peculiar place," the old Daoist informed Ning Beichen.
"Then let's go and see," Ning Beichen replied.
Ning Beichen wasn't entirely sure if this was the place he sought, but the scenery was undeniably unique. Had it not been deep within the wilderness, inaccessible by any path, it would likely have attracted a throng of tourists seeking to capture its charm.
The old Daoist and Ning Beichen squeezed through the gaps in the vines.
They wound their way through the dense growth, and after finally breaking through the tangled vegetation, they were greeted with a scene of unexpected beauty, as if emerging into a hidden paradise. Nine small streams flowed down from the mountain, converging on a flat expanse to form a crystal-clear pool.
"Mr. Ning, this must be the peculiar place my senior brother spoke of," the old Daoist said.
Ning Beichen observed the surrounding environment and then checked the time. Regardless of whether this was the place he was looking for, it was already evening, and their journey for the day had to conclude.
"Alright, we'll spend the night here. Go and prepare," Ning Beichen instructed him.
"Yes, Mr. Ning."
The old Daoist promptly set about making preparations.
However, before long, the old Daoist was drenched in sweat. He had never set up a tent before and had no idea how to assemble one.
"I'll do it," Ning Beichen said. He didn't blame the old Daoist and quickly erected two tents with practiced ease.
While he disliked the old Daoist, he had no inclination to mistreat him.
To put it plainly, the old Daoist was merely arrogant and self-important; he harbored no deep-seated animosity towards Ning Beichen.
Soon, however, Ning Beichen discovered that the old Daoist's basic life skills were practically nonexistent. Not only could he not set up a tent, but he also lacked fundamental survival skills like cooking.
Ning Beichen had no choice but to prepare the meal himself. If he had left it to the old Daoist, they likely wouldn't have had dinner that day.
After eating, Ning Beichen bathed in the pool. He found the water to be somewhat unusual. After soaking for a while, he felt invigorated and full of energy, as if reawakened.
This phenomenon caught Ning Beichen's attention. He then submerged himself to the bottom of the pool, where he discovered a small, bubbling vortex.
As Ning Beichen approached the vortex, he found the concentration of spiritual energy to be alarmingly high, at least dozens of times that of the outside world, though the volume was somewhat limited.
"Could this be a 'Nine Dragons Arching for a Pearl' formation? A self-contained nexus," Ning Beichen mused, recalling the nine streams that formed the pool. These streams cascaded down from the mountain and converged here into a circular pool, resembling the legendary 'Nine Dragons Arching for a Pearl' formation in Feng Shui.
Such a nexus did not form easily. The number of places in the entire world capable of forming a 'Nine Dragons Arching for a Pearl' formation was extremely limited, fewer than ten. To find one was considered an extraordinary stroke of luck.
However, this 'Nine Dragons Arching for a Pearl' nexus appeared to be relatively young, certainly not exceeding a hundred years. The dragons were still nascent, and the spiritual energy produced was meager. He wondered if a dragon pearl had even formed.
Ning Beichen reached into the vortex and after a moment's probing, retrieved a pearl the size of a longan's seed. The pearl was a pale yellow, much to Ning Beichen's disappointment.
Although a dragon pearl had formed, it was of the lowest grade. To achieve a high-quality pearl, it would require centuries, or even millennia.
Ultimately, Ning Beichen decided not to take the dragon pearl and instead placed it back into the vortex, allowing it to continue its growth.
Meanwhile, the old Daoist had been waiting by the pool for a long time before seeing Ning Beichen emerge. He breathed a sigh of relief, now fearing nothing more than offending Ning Beichen.
"This is not the place I was looking for. We will rest here for the night and continue our search elsewhere tomorrow," Ning Beichen announced upon surfacing.
"Yes, Mr. Ning."
The old Daoist no longer dared to act as an elder, addressing Ning Beichen with repeated deference. Even his senior brother had to lower his status and shed his arrogance in Ning Beichen's presence, so how could he dare to presume upon his age?
"Get some rest as soon as possible," Ning Beichen said, feeling somewhat dejected, and retreated to his tent.
The old Daoist dared not utter any further pleasantries and, following Ning Beichen's example, retired to his tent to meditate and perform his evening prayers.
In the dead of night, a sudden tiger's roar from outside startled both Ning Beichen and the old Daoist in their tents.
They both flung open their tent flaps simultaneously and saw, by the moonlight, a striped tiger, over six meters in length, standing at the pool.
Ning Beichen and the old Daoist were equally astonished. However, the old Daoist merely perceived it as a common beast and did not pay it much mind.
Ning Beichen, on the other hand, felt a distinct aura from the tiger, identical to that of the leopard he had encountered with the woman in plain clothes previously.
The tiger was drinking from the pool and, after quenching its thirst, leaped into the water to immerse its body.
Ning Beichen's gaze grew peculiar.
He knew that there was a dragon pearl in this pool.
The tiger's appearance here, its practiced drinking, and its familiar immersion in the pool to absorb spiritual energy, all indicated that this was not its first time doing so.
The question then arose:
Did this tiger have an owner, or was it wild?
If it had an owner, could it be a pet of a cultivator, much like the leopard?
Before Ning Beichen could fully ponder this, the old Daoist, with incredible ferocity, sprang from his tent and launched himself towards the tiger by the pool.
Perhaps he wished to prevent the tiger from disturbing Ning Beichen, or perhaps he sought to impress him with his prowess.
"Old Daoist, come back!" Ning Beichen called out urgently, taken by surprise by the old Daoist's rash action.
But it was too late. The old Daoist landed directly above the tiger, his fist descending like thunder towards the beast's head.
"Die, beast!"
Despite his age, the old Daoist's body remained strong, and his imposing aura undiminished. His punch, delivered with immense force, was like a meteor plummeting from the heavens.
In his eyes, it was merely a tiger. No matter how colossal its size, it was still a beast, and with his intervention, it would be easily subdued.