At the far end of the cave was a square stone chamber large enough to hold thirty to forty people. The restrictions reinforcing the chamber were layered one over another, showing that this shelter had existed for a very long time. For it to endure here for so long was truly a rare feat.
Thanks to these restrictions, though the stone chamber lay underground, it remained remarkably dry. With their taut nerves relaxed, everyone found a spot to sit down, setting to work patching the restrictions around the chamber while waiting for the celestial phenomenon to subside.
Qin Sang's attainment in formations and restrictions was limited, derived mostly from Senior Sister Qingting's formation notes, yet he still fared better than the others. After busying himself for quite a while, he sat down in a corner. His gaze swept over his companions, lingering slightly on Yin Xingge before nonchalantly drifting away as he recalled what Mu Yifeng had discussed with him via voice transmission.
Mu Yifeng might appear rough and burly on the outside, but he was meticulous down to the last detail.
Before their departure, Yin Xingge had suddenly cut in, taking over command of the team without giving them any time to react.
Suspecting that there was something fishy behind Yin Xingge's journey, Mu Yifeng had feigned dissatisfaction and managed to deceive everyone, leaving a message to enlist a friend's help in investigating the matter back at Xuanlu Pass—a discreet move not even Qin Sang had caught.
The reason Mu Yifeng had delayed for so long in Gubei Town was precisely to wait for word.
To his surprise, he actually turned up some clues: in Yin Xingge's sect, the Medicine King Sect, a Core Formation stage cultivator was preparing to forge a magic treasure and had been scouring everywhere for extreme Yang spiritual items.
Not long ago, this Core Formation cultivator had gathered several helpers and ventured deep into the core zone of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield to explore an ancient immortal's abandoned abode called the Huangyan Secret Realm.
The entrance to the Huangyan Secret Realm was suffused with terrifying heavenly fire that not even a Core Formation cultivator dared withstand with their physical body alone. They had to borrow a set of restriction implements from Xuanlu Pass—something that could easily be verified with a little digging.
Putting the pieces together, Mu Yifeng deduced that Yin Xingge was almost certainly acting under that Core Formation cultivator's instructions, coming here for a Qianyang crystal—and harboring intentions to pocket it for himself!
If they were lucky enough to find a Qianyang crystal and bring it back to Xuanlu Pass, it would become public property of Xuanlu Pass, which even a Core Formation cultivator would not dare seize for themselves.
Publicly, the three great sects also had to abide by the rules and bid for it in open competition.
A Qianyang crystal was an extreme Yang spiritual item that no one could ever have too much of. As long as one was not forging an extreme Yin magic treasure, incorporating a grain of Qianyang crystal into a magic treasure would imbue it with a wisp of Qianyang power and grant it several miraculous properties, so quite a few people would compete for it.
Having already drained his financial resources to gather spiritual materials, that Core Formation cultivator of the Medicine King Sect definitely would not be able to outbid the others.
***
Mu Yifeng was no reckless man either. After weighing the matter, he felt that he and Qin Sang alone could not take down Yin Xingge, so he relayed the information back through sect channels. Contacting Senior Brother Qi far away at Xuanlu Pass would likely be too late, but Shaohua Mountain had stationed outposts in the towns of the middle zone, where sect experts were certainly presiding.
If Yin Xingge honestly shared the benefits, nothing would happen, but if he dared to monopolize the Qianyang crystal, they would make him spit out every bit of what he swallowed!
This course of action aligned perfectly with Qin Sang's thinking. Yin Xingge was a stage higher than them in cultivation; facing him head-on, he and Mu Yifeng combined might not be his match unless they caught him completely off guard.
Yet Yin Xingge was also a cautious person, so scheming against him would not be easy. Furthermore, it was uncertain whether Yunqiong Sanren knew of this affair; in a two-on-two scenario, they would be at an even clearer disadvantage.
Moreover, after entering the ore vein, they had to work together with one heart to conceal themselves from the cloud beasts' perception. An internal rift would have only one outcome: being torn to shreds by cloud beasts!
A Qianyang crystal was not spiritual wood and could not enhance the ebony sword, so Qin Sang had no need to risk his life. For now, all he needed to do was secretly keep watch over Yin Xingge's movements and await developments.
*Thud, thud...*
Just as Qin Sang was deep in thought, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed down the restriction-sealed cave. The footsteps drew nearer and nearer, and soon a middle-aged cultivator caked in windblown sand hurried over, appearing at the doorway of the stone chamber.
Anyone who dared travel alone in this place certainly lacked no strength. Likely having rushed all the way here, his aura had yet to settle; it was comparable to Mu Yifeng's, only a hair's breadth away from the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
Clutching a spirit sword with a wary expression, the middle-aged cultivator was visibly startled when he suddenly saw ten people sitting tightly packed inside the stone chamber.
Qin Sang and the others had made no effort to conceal their presence, making it obvious at a glance that they belonged together.
Standing before the doorway, the man's expression flickered uncertainly. Especially after noticing Yin Xingge's cultivation, he hesitated even more, not daring to step inside. Just then, another set of footsteps sounded from outside; the newcomers made no effort to hide their approach either, as there was no need to do so here.
Judging by their auras, there were two people.
The middle-aged cultivator looked as though he had received a general pardon. Once the pair walked in, he hurriedly stepped forward to meet them, cupping his hands. "Fellow Daoists, the celestial phenomenon is treacherous and unpredictable. Why don't we travel together for a while to look out for each other?"
As he spoke, he shot them an urgent, meaningful glance.
The newcomers were puzzled at first, but upon sensing the auras inside the stone chamber, both of their faces shifted slightly. One of them, a mature-looking cultivator, gave a hearty laugh. "That is precisely what we desire, though we hardly dared ask!"
The three possessed similar cultivation, and joining hands gave them enough strength to hold their own against Qin Sang's group. Only then did they enter the stone chamber together. The mature-looking cultivator cupped his hands toward Yin Xingge. "I am Wang Daohe. Since we are all far from home, I ask that our fellow Daoists accommodate us so we may share the space. Wang offers his sincere thanks."
***
The wind and sand roared with thunderous rumbles as the earth veins trembled. With the shelter's restrictions battered by the celestial phenomenon and fluctuating wildly, everyone had to set aside their private thoughts and put all their effort into repairing the barriers.
After Wang Daohe and his two companions, several more cultivators arrived one after another, all looking utterly bedraggled.
Strangely enough, the atmosphere inside the stone chamber grew noticeably more harmonious.
This celestial phenomenon did not last long, returning to normal in less than two days. The crowd filed out of the cave, greeted once again by an endless expanse of yellow sand that seemed entirely unchanged.
After leaving the shelter, Qin Sang and his group quickened their pace and spent more than half a month before finally reaching their destination. Fortunately, they were not struck by any more celestial phenomena along the way, and the few times they crossed paths with cloud beast packs, they managed to avoid them in advance.
They had long since left the confines of the desert. Before them, mountain ranges sprawled across the ground like giant dragons, the tallest peaks reaching high enough to touch the astral winds aloft.
To the naked eye, the dark, iron-black earth and rock glinted with a metallic luster. There was not a shred of vitality across the surface of the ranges—not a single speck of green—looking like an utterly dead land.
At this moment, Qin Sang and the others lurked above a mountain slope. Although the aura of the astrolabe cloud tool masked the fluctuations of their bodies, every single one of them, Qin Sang included, wore a look of terror. They lay prone, not daring to move a muscle or breathe too loudly.
In front of them, an immense rift valley stretched between the mountains. Above the rift valley, black clouds blotted out the sky and sun—only upon closer look did one realize that the dark clouds were actually eagle-like cloud beasts massed together.
Chapter 205