The jade pendant, known as the Friend Invitation Pendant, was once again summoned and slowly floated towards the painting.

In the corner of the painting, near the seal, there was a black lion.

Though small in form, the black lion had its mouth wide open.

The jade pendant flew before the painting, then merged into it, transforming into a piece of green jade within the painting, held in the black lion’s mouth.

Che Ning paid no attention to the other Cultivators, simply walked forward on his own, and then disappeared into the painting.

"It’s not an Illusion Formation..."

Song Yan was dumbfounded: "The painting forms a world of its own!"

The other Cultivators were equally surprised but did not hesitate.

The three Loose Cultivators went together, Wu Zheng and his old friend Wei Dao went together, and Song Yan, Rong Xiaofeng, and Wu Huaguo went together, all stepping into the painting.

The remaining scar-faced Cultivator also walked in alone.

Approaching the scroll, the colors of the paint on the painting dispersed like ink wash. Touching the scroll with a fingertip felt like touching flowing water.

"Buzz—"

Stepping through, and opening his eyes again, the scene before him was completely different.

"This feeling is exactly like being cleansed by a Water Curtain Daoist Magic..."

"Fellow Daoist Song, we are not Cultivators who go back on our word. If there is truly some supreme Spirit Treasure in this Immortal Cave, we two are willing to do our utmost to help you obtain it."

"My husband and I seek nothing else; we only wish to earn some Spirit Treasures for our Family’s juniors. If there are Spiritual Artifacts or Medicinal Pills in this Immortal Cave... we hope Fellow Daoist will concede them."

Song Yan nodded: "It should be so."

It wasn’t until they stepped into the world within the painting that the few of them realized that their entry point into the Small World seemed to be related to where they chose to enter on the painting itself.

There was no one around.

This was a mountain forest, unique in that it was covered in purple flowers and leaves.

The three of them stepped forward, ascending the steps.

To the left was a vast open plain and dense forest, while to the right was a shallow gully, like a small canyon.

Looking into the distance, the other side of the canyon seemed to be a completely different landscape.

The two areas were connected by a suspension bridge.

"In my opinion, that Che Ning must have, by chance, obtained the Relics of a Cultivator who was acquainted with Senior Lin Qinglong back then, which is why he possesses the Friend Invitation Pendant."

The Friend Invitation Pendant was equivalent to an invitation in the mundane world.

Among Cultivators, it was used to invite others to their homes for visits, discussions on the Dao, etc., but it had some additional functions compared to mortal invitations.

Song Yan, however, was not thinking about this.

He was thinking about Wu Huaguo’s ability to discern the truth of words.

The scar-faced Cultivator’s question just now had enlightened him.

If Che Ning said, ’Of all the items in the Immortal Cave, I only want the ink paintings.’

And there was only that one item in the Immortal Cave.

From a linguistic perspective, he wasn’t lying..."..."

When he first learned of Wu Huaguo’s ability at Lingyuanze Market, he didn’t know the full scope of it, yet he was still startled.

Now it seemed there must be numerous limitations.

Moreover, if one knew about this beforehand, there were many ways to guard against it.

He inexplicably felt a little more at ease.

"Although Senior Lin Qinglong is a Foundation Establishment Realm powerhouse, Spirit Treasures like this Immortal Mansion inherently consume a vast amount of Spiritual Qi..."

"I speculate that this world within the painting either isn’t very large, or there are certain Spirit Treasures that can automatically absorb Spiritual Qi to maintain the operation of this Small World."

"Or both."

"If we want to contend for treasures, we must act quickly!"

"Good!"

The three of them urged their Spiritual Qi, speeding up.

Instead of immediately crossing the suspension bridge to the valley on the right, the group headed left.

Ahead was a crescent-shaped clearing, where purple leaves drifted down from the trees, forming a purple path on the ground.

Beside the path was a small wooden house.

"..."

The three exchanged glances, then cautiously pushed open the door with Spiritual Qi.

Nothing happened.

The wooden house was small, with only a wooden table and a wooden bed. It didn’t look like a place where that Foundation Establishment Senior would usually rest.

On the wooden table was a handkerchief, but it seemed to be a mortal object, ancient and already somewhat corroded and broken.

Other than that, there were no other gains, only some miscellaneous items.

"Rustle rustle rustle—"

"Hmm?"

A sound came from behind them, and the three of them stepped out of the wooden house.

Outside the house, a gust of wind suddenly swept up the purple fallen leaves on the ground, transforming into blue-purple spiritual light, gradually coalescing into a human form.

"Sighing creates clouds and rain, laughing creates thunder..."

"Connecting heaven and earth, emerging from darkness into light..."

A blue-purple Talisman Spirit appeared before them, its voice ancient and distant.

"I am a Talisman Puppet, commanded by my master to guard this realm. Any trespassers shall be slain on the spot!"

Whoosh—

A fierce gust of wind swept over!

Song Yan felt a trace of chill in the wind, and as the whirlwind swept through, his protective spiritual armor felt as if it was about to shatter!

Wu Huaguo warned: "Although this Talisman Puppet has no intelligence, it possesses the Spiritual Qi level of a Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator!"

Song Yan had heard of Talisman Puppets.

They were usually human-shaped spiritual puppets refined from Spirit Talismans. While they lacked the intelligence of ordinary people and only acted according to the commands of their refiner,

Their effective duration was extremely long, and some Talisman Puppet spirits could even absorb and store Spiritual Qi on their own.

They were mostly used by Cultivators to guard Immortal Caves or Sects.

Logically speaking, once the Immortal Cave’s master died, the Talisman Puppet should not be triggered. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

But for some unknown reason, these Talisman Puppets were reactivated.

The strong wind swept up the leaves, obscuring the sky and sun.

The three of them felt their vision darken.

Song Yan suddenly felt a wisp of blue-purple Spiritual Qi slowly gathering around him, and its speed of gathering was increasing rapidly... "Be careful!"

The Unmoored Boat was instantly summoned, cutting through the barrier formed by the purple leaves, and the three of them flew backward.

Boom—

A surging bolt of thunder descended from the sky, blasting a large pit where the three of them had been standing.

"Click."

Rong Xiaofeng made a strange Daoist hand seal with his left hand, and dense black light specks flew out from behind him.

Buzz buzz buzz... Song Yan gazed intently, realizing they were countless small black insects, the sound being the flapping of insect wings.

The Spirit Insects approached the Talisman Puppet’s spiritual body, passing through its form.

Some Spirit Insects fell to the ground, emitting wisps of black smoke.

Rong Xiaofeng suddenly frowned and said, "Both hands are missing."

Song Yan naturally understood that this meant the Talisman Puppet’s vital points had been discovered. By disturbing these two points simultaneously, the Talisman Puppet could be dissolved.

He secretly admired how decisive Rong Xiaofeng was.

For an Insect Cultivator, these Spirit Insects were like a Sword Cultivator’s Flying Sword.

If the Spirit Insects died, the Cultivator would also be greatly affected.

The Talisman Puppet had no intelligence, only knowing to relentlessly release Thunder Daoist Magic towards the three of them.

The three barely dodged.

Seizing the window when the thunder magic was released, without wasting time, Song Yan and Wu Huaguo exchanged glances and acted simultaneously.

The Unmoored Boat was as fast as lightning, heading straight for the left wrist.

Meanwhile, Wu Huaguo pressed her palms together, and a green spiritual light suddenly flared.

A slender branch burst out of the ground. Though thin, it was incredibly fast, instantly piercing through the right wrist.

"..."

The Talisman Puppet’s movements suddenly paused, and its body’s spiritual light gradually became stiff and rigid.

"My Master..."

Even with the spiritual power equivalent to a Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator, with its vital points pierced, the Talisman Puppet began to gradually collapse and dissipate.

A moment later, it transformed into a cinnabar Spirit Talisman, drifting down with the purple fallen leaves, with a pale purple fluorescent stone pressed on top of it.

"Mid-Grade Spirit Stone?"