Amid the Chaos

The underground cavern was eerily quiet. In such an environment, everyone subconsciously felt a touch of tension. Qin Sang had been pondering the cause of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire's agitation. Was there some powerful spiritual fire hidden in the cavern, or was it triggered by this bizarre cold mist? The subterranean cavity was not as deep as he had imagined. While Qin Sang was lost in thought, he noticed that the plump cultivator in the lead had suddenly stopped and whispered, "The first restriction of the cave dwelling is just ahead." Only then did Qin Sang notice that the stone steps beneath their feet had come to an end, opening onto a flat expanse of stone ground. The space here seemed vast, but the cold mist was so dense that their field of vision was extremely narrow. They could see virtually nothing, and even their spiritual senses were restricted. Qin Sang and the others quickened their pace for a few steps and finally caught sight of the shadowy outline of a black stone wall. Set into the wall was a neat, circular stone opening covered by a black wall of light. The wall of light was very thin, and through it they could vaguely make out a modest stone chamber on the other side. Its furnishings were sparse, with a shelf carved into the wall that was already bare—clearly, the treasures had already been taken by the plump cultivator. One by one, they stepped forward to inspect the restriction at the cave mouth. They found that the restriction on the light barrier was exceedingly profound. Its original power must have been formidable; otherwise, it could never have endured until now under the erosion of the cold mist. "Breaking this restriction is not difficult," said the plump cultivator. "I have already entered before. Breaking it on my own took too much out of me, but with the seven of us joining forces, it will be much easier. However, take care not to destroy the restriction entirely. These interconnected restrictions also serve to seal the cold mist. Beast packs roam nearby; if the cold mist bursts out of the cavern, the resulting disturbance could easily draw great demons..." Everyone patiently listened to the plump cultivator's instructions on how to break the restriction. At this moment, a female cultivator glanced back and asked, "Fellow Daoist Fan, where does the cold mist come from? What lies across this space? Are there other cave dwellings? Have you gone to look?" The plump cultivator paused, then looked up into the depths of the cold mist. "Across from here is not a stone wall, but a sheer precipice. There is a subterranean chasm there, immensely deep, uncharted, and mysterious. Cold mist fills the chasm, seemingly welling up from its deepest reaches." "Did you descend to take a look, Fellow Daoist Fan? Just what is down in the chasm that could produce such bizarre cold mist?" Qin Sang spoke up to ask. He suspected that if there was a spiritual fire, it might lie deep within the chasm, and the cold mist might be connected to it. If the cold mist was derived from the power of the spiritual fire, it would certainly carry the fire's distinct aura, which would explain why the Nine Nether Demonic Fire had reacted. All along, Qin Sang had been sparing with his words, rarely speaking. The plump cultivator glanced at Qin Sang with some surprise and nodded. "I once descended along the cliff face into the chasm, but the abyss seemed bottomless. Aside from the cold mist, there was nothing. After descending a certain distance, a sudden, inexplicable sense of dread gripped my heart, so I dared not continue. I returned and focused on breaking the cave dwelling's restrictions. "Later, seeing so many treasures in the cave dwelling, I knew that if only I could open the third layer of restrictions, the harvest would be beyond imagination. Why risk my life exploring the unknown?" The plump cultivator's reasoning was sensible and cautious. Everyone walked over together and indeed discovered a bottomless chasm. Putting themselves in his shoes, they would have made the same choice under similar circumstances. A Transformation stage beast hide, a Guanyang Talisman... Any single one of them was enough to secure their needs in the Core Formation stage, to say nothing of several appearing at once. "Fellow Daoist Fan, you mentioned earlier that the third restriction is exceptionally sturdy and formidable, likely taking quite a long time to breach. If things do not go smoothly and we linger in the cold mist too long, I fear we might not hold out. Let's waste no time and break the restriction at once," the scholar in green robes said gravely. The plump cultivator took on a solemn expression and nodded slightly. "Then please do as I instructed: join forces to strike a single point on the restriction. Forcing it open with brute power will trigger a counterattack from the restriction, but it will not be too powerful, so do not fear. Once a crack appears in the barrier, rush through as fast as you can..." Once he confirmed that everyone had memorized the key points, the plump cultivator waved his hand. Spreading out in a fan shape centered around him, the group sat cross-legged on the ground. The plump cultivator flicked his fingers repeatedly, sending out seven black bone nails in rapid succession. *Bang, bang, bang...* The bone nails landed on the wall of light, one in the very center and the other six arrayed around it in a circle. These bone nails were refined from some kind of beast bone. Qin Sang had some attainment in the art of restrictions and recognized that the bone nails were likely magic tools designed specifically for breaking restrictions. As for their potency, it was not yet clear. Deploying these bone nails seemed strenuous even for the plump cultivator; he panted for a few breaths before speaking: "Fellow Daoists, each of you choose one and pour your true essence into the bone nail, then follow my directions." The plump cultivator targeted the central one, while Qin Sang casually picked one and infused his true essence into it. To their surprise, despite swallowing so much true essence, the seemingly unremarkable bone nails showed no signs of being overwhelmed. As more and more true essence flowed in, a phantom image emerged from each nail, growing larger and larger. As the plump cultivator issued commands one after another, the others carried them out meticulously. Before long, these phantoms merged into one, forming a colossal phantom bone nail aimed squarely at the center of the wall of light. "Go!" His face flushed red, the plump cultivator let out a strained roar. The phantom bone nail trembled abruptly and blasted fiercely down toward the wall of light. In the next moment, with an ear-splitting boom, the ground shook violently. Being so close to the wall of light, everyone's ears rang from the deafening blast. Then an astonishing sight unfolded: a crack split through the center of the light barrier from top to bottom, followed immediately by two immense, water-like ripples surging outward as a burst of black light erupted violently from the wall. Everyone's expression changed, and they hurriedly dodged aside, Qin Sang retreating without the slightest hesitation. Like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, the black light effortlessly tore through the cold mist and scattered their formation, plunging the scene into chaos. Just then, an anxious shout from the plump cultivator rang out from ahead: "Don't panic! The restriction has been breached! Follow me inside, quickly!" Only then did Qin Sang realize he had retreated a bit too far. After his initial shock, he also sensed that although the black light seemed overwhelming, it did not possess much offensive power. He hastily checked his momentum, pushed off the ground, and charged forward through the black light, quickly returning to the wall of light. At that moment, a graceful figure flashed past Qin Sang—it appeared to be one of the female cultivators. He could vaguely make out several figures inside the stone chamber on the other side; it seemed the others had already entered. Seeing her pass safely through the barrier of light, and noticing that the crack upon it was rapidly closing, Qin Sang hesitated no longer. But just as he was about to dart through, his figure abruptly froze. A strange look flashed through his eyes, and instead of advancing, he actually drew back. "Fellow Daoist Qin, what are you waiting for? The restriction is about to reform! Why haven't you gone in?" Behind him, the scrawny old man's voice suddenly rang out.