10,000x Cultivation: I Gain Power by Adopting Training Acolytes

The iron box's base revealed an intricate architectural diagram of the underground sanctuary. Zhang Yun's eyes narrowed at a marked section. "The exit... is beneath us?"

According to the blueprint, the elegant cottage concealed a subterranean chamber housing a teleportation array linked to Southern Wind Forest. The vertical abyss they'd fallen through earlier was a one-way passage—now depleted. Countless others had likely been lured here over two centuries, only to perish under Zuo Qiubei's schemes.

Thud!

The ground trembled as Wu Xiaopang's accidental step triggered hidden mechanisms. Stone slabs groaned, revealing a descending staircase. "M-Master! I just—"

"Fortuitous clumsiness," Zhang Yun chuckled, eyeing the newly exposed passage. After stripping the cottage bare—tea sets, landscape scrolls, even the puppet's remnants—he led his disciples downward.

Unseen, Huang Laodao emerged from shadowed tunnels. The wily daoist had circled back, gambling that safety lay in the devil he knew. His saffron robes whispered against mossy stones as he approached the staircase.

"Plundered cleaner than a locust swarm," he muttered, surveying the barren herb beds. Inside the ransacked cottage, his wrinkled face twisted in outrage. "Thieving magpie! May your—"

"—pill furnace explode?" A familiar voice chilled his spine.

Zhang Yun leaned against the doorframe, sword gleaming like a predator's fang. Huang Laodao's throat tightened—he'd walked straight into the spider's parlor.

Subterranean Stairwell - Earlier​

Damp air clung to the trio as they descended. Bioluminescent fungi painted their path in sickly greens. Xu Ming's Golden Dragon Qi instinctively flared, casting long shadows that danced like restless spirits.

"Why stop here?" Wu Xiaopang whispered as Zhang Yun suddenly halted.

"Patience," the master replied, extinguishing his torch. "Our guest needs time to… investigate."

Cottage - Present​

Huang Laodao's banner trembled as he summoned his mightiest spirits—a three-tailed fox phantom snarling with icy breath, a serpentine wraith dripping venomous qi, and a wolf specter whose howl rattled teacups.

"Begone, and I'll spare your disciples!" The daoist's bluff rang hollow even to his ears.

Zhang Yun's blade sang.

Qingyuan Steps: Phase Shift.

The swordmaster's form dissolved mid-lunge, reappearing at Huang's flank. Steel met flesh as the daoist's left arm erupted in crimson—his meridians' fatal flaw exposed.

"GAAAH! Mercy!" Huang collapsed, clutching his ruined limb. "Name your price!"

"Your service," Zhang Yun declared, left hand weaving intricate seals. Azure energy coalesced into a pulsating sigil above the daoist's chest. "Or oblivion."

Thump-thump.

Huang Laodao's heartbeat faltered as the Heart-Suppression Art took root—an executioner's axe hovering over his core. "Y-You'd trust my loyalty?"

"Trust?" Zhang Yun sheathed his sword with a cold smirk. "I own your pulse."

Epilogue​

Emerging into moonlight-dappled forest, the expanded party paused. Huang Laodao—now robed in humility—bowed stiffly to the disciples. "This unworthy one greets Young Masters."

Xu Ming gaped. Wu Xiaopang's chubby cheeks quivered with suppressed laughter. Their master had tamed a Golden Core Peak expert like a stray hound!

Zhang Yun inhaled the crisp night air. This daoist's web of underworld connections would prove invaluable. Let sect elders posture in daylight—true power thrived in shadows.

"To the rankings monument," he ordered. "Our score needs… adjusting."

The forest swallowed their silhouettes, leaving only whispered legends in their wake.