Chapter 127: Deceive, Keep Deceiving

This guy seems incredibly naive.

Simply put, he’s like a fresh university graduate—easily trusting others, susceptible to being fooled by grand promises, and gullible enough to believe that working harder will lead to a raise. Little does he know, those are just management tactics.

Once Cao Chengyu realized this, he managed to guess ninety-eight percent of Ning Ruolian’s intentions: she simply didn’t want her mother to know, and she wanted to bring Lin Yuan inside. If her mother found out, Lin Yuan likely wouldn’t be allowed in, and he himself would be in trouble—potentially dragged off for interrogation. Such is the way of the world, where the strong prey upon the weak.

Because of this, Cao Chengyu took the initiative to propose the idea. Ning Ruolian was pleasantly surprised and quickly agreed, asking him to wait while she went to fetch Lin Yuan. Cao Chengyu had no objections; it was a free opportunity, and there was no harm in taking a look. His true objective lay elsewhere, anyway.

About an hour later, Ning Ruolian returned with a swarthy-skinned youth in tow. This must be Lin Yuan. He had shoulder-length, messy hair and looked somewhat unkempt. There were several bruises on his body, but they were carefully placed to avoid vital points, hitting only the tougher, thicker-skinned areas.

When body-cultivators first begin their training, they usually rely on medicinal baths and elixirs, tempering their flesh through physical strikes to strengthen their skin, muscles, and bones. Judging by his condition, these injuries were likely from just starting his training, and his cultivation technique was clearly lackluster—it didn't even possess the slightest regenerative effect. It was far inferior to the *Year-Tiger Technique* he had started with.

As they approached, Lin Yuan didn't pay any mind to the strange looks from the Black Emperor Sect members. He walked straight up to Cao Chengyu, bowed respectfully, and grinned. "Senior, Lian’er has told me everything. Thank you for allowing us to enter."

Cao Chengyu smiled. "A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall. I think highly of you."

A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Yuan’s eyes. He understood what Cao Chengyu was implying, yet he feigned ignorance, acting like a simple-minded young man. "Senior, when shall we head in?"

"If you are both ready, we can go now."

Lin Yuan looked toward Lian’er.

"Yes, Senior, let’s go."

"Hey, you lot, come here. Once we’re inside, stand guard here. Don’t let anyone else enter."

Seeing her naively ask the Black Emperor Sect members to watch the door for her, Cao Chengyu shook his head. This was practically begging the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus to come and catch them. She would probably receive word that the Saintess, Lin Yuan, and a stranger had entered the Liangyi Grotto within ten minutes. Given her reputation as a doting mother, she would likely show up, but for now, it was best to get inside and see what there was to see.

He had long wanted to study formations but lacked a sufficiently powerful lineage of knowledge. Since one was presented here, he might as well make use of it—sharpening the axe would not delay the woodcutting.

The three of them entered together. Lin Wangyuan had already slipped away when Ning Ruolian went to find Lin Yuan. It sounds unbelievable, but he was genuinely afraid of his brother, mostly due to being bullied too many times during their childhood. It had left him with a psychological shadow.

This was Cao Chengyu’s first time inside the Liangyi Grotto, and it looked no different from an ordinary cave. There were scriptures and Daoist texts carved into the walls, but they were purely theoretical and lacked any practical application.

As they moved forward, Cao Chengyu communicated with the Yin-Polarity Yang-Fire and the Heaven-Scent Spirit Cat. Both could point toward the true secret chamber of the Liangyi Master. The Yin-Polarity Yang-Fire was particularly useful; one of the most representative aspects of Liangyi is the duality of Yin and Yang, one and two, water and fire, heaven and earth—all of which could be considered "Liangyi."

The master was clearly a learned Golden Core cultivator, and his mastery of formations could be glimpsed through these fragments.

During their progress, they sometimes encountered stone walls containing deep truths. These held the actual heritage; how much one could glean depended entirely on one’s own comprehension. When it came to comprehension, Cao Chengyu had never felt inadequate. With a sweep of his divine sense, he would grasp the techniques within in less than a breath.

*General Commentary on Formation Inscriptions*, *Viewing the Mountain and Sea Patterns*, *Seventy-Two Basic Formations*, and *The Imprisonment Array*. These were the four techniques that interested him; he gained other things as well, but they were less significant.

Lin Yuan and Ning Ruolian, walking beside him, watched him with confusion. They had studied these walls more than once; some they understood, others they could not. Yet, Cao Chengyu lingered for only a single breath at each wall. It was baffling—did he leave just after reading the title?

The two exchanged a look, and Lin Yuan spoke first. "Senior, are you looking for something in particular? Perhaps you could tell us; we might know where it is."

"That’s right, Senior. You brought us to the true inheritance, so I believe you’re a good person."

"..."

*What a naive Saintess.*

"No need. Just help me take a quick look at all the stone walls containing heritage in the outer cave. Be fast; we don’t have much time."

"Not much time? Why? Do you have an urgent matter, Senior?"

Looking at Ning Ruolian’s innocent expression, Lin Yuan felt like slapping his own forehead. He had protected her too well when they were children, and now she lacked any ability for independent thought. He, however, understood. He pulled Ning Ruolian forward to lead the way, explaining, "Your mother will likely know we’re here soon. She’ll probably show up before long, so we need to reach the inner level quickly."

"(?????)", went Ning Ruolian.

Cao Chengyu said nothing and followed behind. In just three minutes, he had brushed past every location. His sea of consciousness was now filled with a massive amount of basic knowledge on formations. This would be a great help for his future derivation of powerful arrays; a "database" was always the most crucial part of deriving divine abilities. No wonder the *Yellow Court Classic* could enhance one’s comprehension—without high comprehension, one couldn't master such arts.

Standing in place, he closed his eyes for a moment, and the vast knowledge of formations in his mind fused together. It eventually condensed into a new skill: [Elementary Understanding of Liangyi Formations (Peak First Grade)]. Here, "Liangyi" referred to the person's name.

Once he had mastered the knowledge left behind by the Liangyi Master, unraveling the remaining mysteries was simple. After all, the master had left this grotto behind for the sake of passing on his legacy.

With Cao Chengyu leading the way, they soon reached a stone chamber used for secluded meditation. Looking at the wall in front of him, Cao Chengyu ignited silver flames on the five fingers of his right hand. Seemingly casual but actually precise, he inserted his fingers into the wall, twisting, turning, and twisting again...

It was essentially the same as cracking a password. With a way to navigate the path and the ability to calculate the combination to the "safe," he just needed to input the code to enter.

Wait... there was still one core missing.

Much like an iris scan, after cracking the complex password, there was a second layer of authentication.

"Lin Yuan, insert the object into the wall."

"..."

Lin Yuan scratched his head in embarrassment, pulled a black-and-white jade pendant from his pocket, and inserted it into the slot Cao Chengyu had specifically left open.

It stood to reason; as a descendant of that lineage, he would likely know of its existence.