They advanced slowly through the interior of the cave. The place would have been completely dark if not for a small luminous orb that Bai had taken out of her spiritual ring.

  The object floated beside her and illuminated the surroundings with a soft and steady light that allowed them to see several steps ahead. The rock walls stretched damp and cold, covered in some places by dark moss that grew between the cracks. The air had that old and heavy smell of places that have remained closed for a long time.

  The group of girls walked with obvious enthusiasm, looking all around them as if at any moment they would find a hidden treasure. Some approached the walls, others examined the ground with childish curiosity, their low voices filled with contained excitement. For them, every corner of the place seemed like a promise of adventure.

  However, in reality there was almost nothing.

  From time to time broken bottles appeared scattered on the ground, some completely pulverized by the passage of time and others barely recognizable among the dirt. Aside from that, there was only bare rock and patches of moss spreading like shadows over the walls.

  Jin walked behind the group observing everything carefully. His eyes moved across the ceiling, the walls, the floor, searching for any sign out of place. Every small detail passed through his mind as he calmly analyzed the environment.

  Up to that moment, nothing had happened.

  No traps, no beast had appeared, no ambush, not even the typical strange fluctuations of Qi.

  In fact, the only thing that had accompanied their advance since they entered the cave had been something much simpler.

  Boredom.

  Everything was too quiet.

  Several minutes later, Jin slightly raised an eyebrow. He had just realized something that did not quite fit well in his mind: they had walked much farther than he expected.

  When he observed the entrance of the cave from outside, it had not seemed that deep. However, the tunnel kept extending forward and, what was even stranger, the farther they advanced the wider the space became. The walls gradually opened and the ceiling rose, as if at some point the place had stopped being a simple natural crack and had turned into something more worked.

  From a certain point onward, the moss that covered the walls disappeared completely. The rock looked smoother and drier, with an appearance slightly different from the previous section. It was then that one of the girls let out a small exclamation.

  "Look, there are bottles here!"

  Several containers rested near a wall. Unlike the ones they had seen before, these were not broken. The five hurried to pick them up with obvious excitement, their movements quick and full of expectation. One of them opened one of the bottles and poured the contents into her palm. A small rounded pill fell softly.

  "What is it?" another asked, leaning closer to look.

  The girl holding the pill observed it carefully before answering in a somewhat dull tone.

  "They are Foundation Establishment pills…" said the one holding it, as if it were something routine.

  For a second there was silence.

  Then several made faces almost at the same time.

  "Eh? Just this?" another complained with disappointment. "I thought it would be something more impressive."

  "I thought it would be something much better…"

  "My master gave me several when I entered the fifth level," commented a third with a proud tone.

  One even puffed her cheeks slightly in a small pout before putting the pill away again with obvious disinterest.

  Hearing that, Jin’s serious expression twitched slightly for a moment, although it quickly returned to normal. For many cultivators, even obtaining a single one of those pills would be a rare opportunity… but for these young girls it seemed so common that it did not even awaken interest.

  Bai observed the long faces of her companions and clicked her tongue energetically, waving one hand to encourage them while taking a step forward.

  "Hey, don’t make those faces!" she said with a confident smile. "If we find things like these here, so close to the entrance, that only means the real treasures must be deeper inside."

  She turned toward the tunnel that continued in front of them and slightly raised her chin.

  "Come on, let’s keep moving forward. I’m sure the best treasures are waiting for us at the bottom of the cave."

  The other four exchanged looks, their enthusiasm gradually returning.

  "Well… that makes sense."

  "Yes! Maybe there are techniques or spiritual weapons further ahead!"

  "Let’s go!"

  The group resumed their march with renewed energy. Jin, who walked behind them, followed in silence, but now his expression had become a little more serious while his eyes continued to carefully observe the surroundings.

  The closer they got to the depths, the sharper Jin’s attention became. His eyes moved across the ground almost by instinct. It was then that he saw something strange.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Footprints.

  They were not particularly clear, but they were there—faint marks on the thin layer of dust on the ground, as if someone had passed through that place not long ago.

  Jin’s brow furrowed slightly.

  So we are not the first… he thought while his gaze followed the marks that disappeared further ahead into the tunnel.

  Without wasting time he quickened his pace until he reached Bai, who walked at the front guiding the group with the luminous orb floating beside her. He leaned slightly toward her and spoke in a low voice so that only she could hear him, although both continued walking.

  "Umm… junior sister, I think it would be a good idea not to continue."

  Bai slightly turned her head, looking at him with a confused expression.

  "Why not, senior brother Jin?" she asked curiously, narrowing her eyes slightly as if trying to understand his concern. "Don’t tell me you are afraid."

  Then she smiled confidently and lifted her chin a little, proudly pushing out her nonexistent chest as if she were proclaiming something important.

  "Don’t worry. If something happens, my master gave me many things to defend myself."

  Her tone was full of absolute confidence, as if for her that solved any possible problem.

  Hearing that, Jin could not help but roll his eyes for a moment.

  Great…

  He looked forward again, toward the footprints that continued deeper into the cave.

  At that moment he understood something with total clarity.

  Convincing this brat would be completely impossible.

  Just when Jin was starting to wonder if they would walk through that cave forever, something changed at the end of the tunnel. A faint light appeared in the distance, filtering from the end of the passage as if the tunnel finally opened into another space.

  The group of girls saw it almost at the same time and immediately became excited, their voices filling the silence of the place.

  "Look, look! There is light!"

  "It must be the center of the cave!"

  "I told you we would find something!"

  "Maybe it’s the place of an inheritance!"

  "Like in the stories from the library!"

  The theories began to appear one after another, each more exaggerated than the last, fueled by their youthful enthusiasm.

  Jin sighed to himself when he heard that.

  Inheritance… sure.

  Even so, he had no choice but to quicken his pace and place himself in front of them, if only just in case.

  As they approached, the light became clearer until they finally exited the tunnel and entered a much wider space.

  It was a large underground chamber. The ceiling rose several meters above their heads and some luminous stones embedded in the rock emitted a pale light that illuminated the place with an almost ghostly glow.

  In the center of the space there was a silver altar, built from a strange metal that reflected the light with a cold tone.

  The young girls saw it and their eyes shone with excitement.

  Bai immediately took a step forward, clearly ready to approach and explore the altar while the others followed her without hesitation.

  But just as they began to move—

  "Stop!"

  Jin’s voice echoed through the chamber. It was not a loud shout, but it was firm and authoritative enough to make them stop instantly. The five froze and looked at him in surprise.

  Jin had planned to observe the place for a while before doing anything, but at that moment he could not allow these girls to make a mess. Since he had entered the chamber he had felt something strange, as if the air were heavier. His breathing felt slightly restricted and his nerves were tense like strings.

  On the outside, his posture looked calm, as if he were completely in control of the situation.

  But inside, his mind would not stop working.

  Alright… a secret chamber, a mysterious altar…

  He tried to analyze every detail of the place while his instinct continued screaming at him.

  What comes next?

  Traps? A formation that activates when someone approaches? The corpse of an ancient cultivator waking up? Or an enemy appearing to claim whatever is here?

  His gaze moved across every corner of the chamber while he tried to predict what cliché situation might suddenly occur when a slightly annoyed voice pulled him from his thoughts.

  "Senior brother Jin…" said Bai, puffing her cheeks slightly in an obvious pout. "Why did you stop us?"

  The other four girls also looked at him. Some seemed confused and others a little disappointed at being interrupted just when they were about to approach the altar.

  Jin let out a small sigh when he saw their expressions.

  For a moment he realized something quite obvious: for them, this was still an exciting adventure taken from some story they had read.

  For him, however… it was a possible trap waiting to be activated.

  He turned toward them and spoke calmly.

  "I’m not saying we shouldn’t investigate it," he explained in a calm tone. "But it is not wise to run directly toward something like this as soon as we discover it."

  As he spoke, he slightly pointed toward the silver altar in the middle of the chamber.

  "Think a little. This place is hidden, there are remains of resources scattered on the ground, and a strange altar in the center. What if it’s a trap? Or a formation that activates when someone gets too close?"

  The girls exchanged looks with each other. Some slightly frowned, as if that possibility had not crossed their minds before.

  Even so, several still seemed a little annoyed at having been stopped.

  Seeing that, Jin felt like he would go bald from stress.

  "Alright," he finally said with a mocking smile. "I will go first to investigate."

  Even though it is probably the stupidest option, he thought to himself.

  But at least, if something activated… it would be him who faced it first. After all, he had confidence in his “experience.”

  Jin walked toward the altar at a moderate pace, keeping his senses alert while each step echoed softly in the wide chamber.

  Behind him, the group of girls watched attentively… although their way of “supporting him” was quite particular.

  "Senior brother Jin, be careful!" said one of them while clasping her hands in front of her chest, although her voice sounded more excited than worried.

  "If you find something good, remember we saw it first!" added another with a mischievous little smile.

  A third leaned slightly forward trying to see better.

  "Senior brother, if it’s a formation, maybe you should throw a stone first… my master says ancient formations sometimes react like that."

  Meanwhile Bai crossed her arms with an important air, as if she were supervising the entire operation.

  "Don’t worry so much," she said confidently. "Senior brother Jin already passed my detection test, so surely he won’t fall into something so simple."

  The others nodded as if that were a completely valid argument.

  Hearing that, Jin could not help but smile with some irony.

  What a peculiar group…

  he thought while continuing to advance.

  Despite that, the uncomfortable feeling in his chest had not disappeared. Something about that place still caused a faint sting in his nerves.

  He breathed slowly and tried to suppress that sensation so he could observe the situation more clearly.

  The altar was already a few steps away when something caught his attention.

  Footsteps.

  The sound was faint, almost imperceptible, but unmistakable.

  On the other side of the altar, someone was moving.

  Instinctively, Jin stopped and his body tensed. He adopted a defensive posture, ready to react in any direction while evaluating the threat.

  From the other side of the altar, a figure appeared.

  It was a man with a strange and emaciated appearance. His skin was pale, almost sickly, and his face was thin to the point of looking like a skull covered by a layer of skin. His eyes were sunken in their sockets, but they shone with an unsettling intensity.

  He wore a long robe of blood-red color. The fabric was worn in some places, but the crimson tone remained intense, as if it had been dyed with something darker than simple pigment.

  The man had also stopped.

  He first looked at Jin and then at the group of girls, surprise reflected on his face.

  For several seconds, no one moved.

  The chamber remained in absolute silence as both sides observed each other, trapped in a tense and unsettling moment.