"Spiritual Objects? What are those?" Lu Hanmo asked with some surprise. He had only just started cultivating not long ago, so he didn’t know much about Ancient Martial Arts.
"Any object that can release Spiritual Energy can be considered a Spiritual Object. Its form is myriad; it could simply be a stone or a blade of grass, or possibly an animal," Luo Shu explained.
All things in the world have a spirit, especially animals like foxes and snakes. They inherently possess spiritual intelligence, and with just a bit of opportunity, they can become spirits. Thus, from ancient times to the present, there have been many legends about Fox Spirits and Snake Spirits. Among these, the Legend of the White Snake is the most widely circulated.
Lu Hanmo nodded in understanding, "Why don’t we go and have a look?" He was very curious about what Spiritual Objects would look like.
"Sure!" Luo Shu agreed with a smile, as she also had this intention. Opportunities were not always encountered, and if one didn’t seize it when it presented itself, they might never come across another in their lifetime. After all, how many opportunities could one encounter in a lifetime?
Closing her eyes, Luo Shu carefully felt the concentration of Spiritual Energy and, taking Lu Hanmo’s hand, she walked in a certain direction, "It should be this way."
As they walked, both of them sensed the direction of the Spiritual Energy. After about half an hour, a cave appeared in front of them. The cave wasn’t very large, but it was deep and seemingly bottomless.
"Shushu, follow behind me," Lu Hanmo told Luo Shu as he protected her behind him, slowly making his way into the depths of the cave. The cave looked somewhat eerie, and he feared there might be dangers inside. His Inner Qi had now reached Level Six, which was one level higher than Shushu’s.
Looking at Lu Hanmo’s broad and powerful back, Luo Shu felt very reassured, "Hanmo, take this." She took out a flashlight from her space and handed it to Lu Hanmo.
"Hmm!" Lu Hanmo took the flashlight and turned it on. Under the weak light of the flashlight, they could see the cave’s rugged stones and occasionally, a few droplets of water would fall from the hanging stone pillars, creating a "drip-drop!" sound that echoed clearly in the silent cave.
The cave was extremely cold, the bone-chilling cold was as sharp as knives. Even though they were both cultivators, they could both feel a trace of the cold.
Sensing that Luo Shu’s hand was a bit cold, Lu Hanmo stopped walking, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around Luo Shu. His warm hand gripped hers tightly, passing strands of Inner Strength to help her dispel the chill, "Are you still cold?"
"Not cold, what about you?" Luo Shu asked with a soft smile, feeling incredibly happy inside.
"I’m not cold either!" Lu Hanmo said with a smile. He often trained bare-chested in the snow, so such temperatures naturally didn’t affect him.
Finally, the two reached the end of the cave and looked around, only to see that the surroundings were empty, with nothing special apart from some rocks inside the cave.
Luo Shu withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Lu Hanmo, "Hanmo, do you think there might be a Shielding Array here?" The only possibility she could think of now was this because she was certain that the Spiritual Object was inside this cave.
Lu Hanmo nodded, "I’ve already found the Formation, but with my current level of Formation knowledge, I can’t open it." The feeling of having such a treasure right before his eyes, yet being unable to obtain it, was simply unbearable. But there was nothing he could do.
Luo Shu frowned unwillingly. She didn’t understand formations, and Hanmo had only just begun to explore them, but if they were to simply give up now, she really couldn’t bear it.
"Hanmo, can you seal the spiritual energy here with a formation? I’m worried that other ancient martial artists might discover the spiritual energy here." If the other person happened to understand formations, then the objects here would become theirs. Although having a formation wasn’t completely foolproof, it was still better than having none; at least before the formation was broken, they wouldn’t be able to sense the spiritual energy here.
"No problem!" Lu Hanmo replied. Although he had only just started with formations, he could still set up a simple one.
The two stepped out of the cave, and Lu Hanmo asked Luo Shu to sit aside and watch as he began looking for materials to set up the formation. Stones, trees, and grasses could all serve as materials for a formation. For example, the formation at the entrance of the Divine Doctor Family was made with trees and rocks.
After setting up the formation, by the time the two returned to the base, the sky had already turned completely dark.
"You two are only getting back now?" Mo Shaoze leaned on the railing outside the dormitory, watching the two with a mischievous smile, his gaze scanning their bodies incessantly as if he wanted to find evidence of their misdeeds.
Lu Hanmo gave Mo Shaoze a cold glare. This guy who loved to stir up trouble!
"Luo Shu, I really don’t understand what you see in him. This guy is cold-faced all day long; aren’t you afraid he will freeze you to death?" Mo Shaoze teased with a smile.
"Mind your own business!" Luo Shu snorted and turned her head away, completely ignoring Mo Shaoze.
"Oh my! Listen to this, they’re not even married yet and they have already started presenting a united front. What’s it going to be like after they get married?" Mo Shaoze cried out with exaggerated shock.
"Why don’t you hurry up and find yourself a wife, then you’d have a helper wouldn’t you?" Luo Shu retorted with a laugh. Including this encounter, she had only met Mo Shaoze three times in total, but she quite liked his personality. Although he seemed somewhat naughty and irreverent, it was clear that he cared for Lu Hanmo. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be waiting for them here late at night.
"A wife isn’t so easy to find, you know? How about you introduce someone to me?" Mo Shaoze said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
"How about I call Auntie Mo tomorrow, and have a chat with her?" Lu Hanmo threatened with a hint of a smile, staring down Mo Shaoze.
"No, don’t! I surrender! I’m no match for the two of you on my own. I’m retreating, you two enjoy your spring night." Mo Shaoze smirked and winked at Luo Shu before scurrying into the neighboring dormitory.
"That guy!" Lu Hanmo shook his head with a resigned smile.
Opening the door, Lu Hanmo pulled Luo Shu’s hand as they entered the room, "Shushu, you stay here, I’ll go bunk with Mo Shaoze." Although it was not the first time they shared a room, this place was different from their Yunnan Province residence, which had a separate living room. Besides a bed here, there was nowhere else to sleep. If he were to share a bed with Shushu, he didn’t trust his own self-control.
"Alright!" Luo Shu nodded her head. On the way back, she had also been thinking about this issue. Although she and Lu Hanmo were mutually attracted to each other, they were not yet married, so naturally, they couldn’t do that thing. If she really did share a bed with Lu Hanmo, she couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t suddenly let him become her man in a moment of impulse.