"Master," the little girl’s eyes lit up as she extended her delicate white hand and pointed to one of the paths, "We can take this path! It seems like there’s treasure!"
Chen Ye felt a surge of joy in his heart—just as he expected!
He knew bringing Qing Jun here was undoubtedly a good choice!
"Alright, let’s follow Qing Jun’s suggestion."
Chen Ye held her hand and followed Qing Jun’s guidance, winding through the cave.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the stone wall ahead suddenly widened—they had reached the end.
The little girl, with a grunt, broke free from Chen Ye’s hand and quickly walked up to the stone wall.
Her brows furrowed, her small hand pressing on the stone wall to carefully sense it.
Hmm?
It seems...the Emotion Crossing Technique can open a mechanism?
But after opening it, how would she explain the Emotion Crossing Technique to her master?
No time to think about that now!
Besides, she could feel there was no danger...
Qing Jun clenched her little fist and decisively activated the Emotion Crossing Technique.
The next moment.
The seemingly solid ground suddenly cracked with a "crack" sound, without warning, revealing a deep dark hole below!
"Not good!"
Chen Ye’s face changed dramatically; he instinctively wanted to use spiritual power to throw Qing Jun out.
But the suction force beneath was astonishing, leaving him unprepared; both he and Qing Jun fell straight into the abyss-like endless darkness below!
Once they both fell, above the black hole, the shattered ground silently reassembled itself.
...
"Boom!"
After an unknown period, Chen Ye fell heavily to the ground. Despite his robust physique, the impact caused his blood and qi to surge.
He got up quickly, the first thing was to look for Qing Jun.
But as he scanned the surroundings, there was no trace of Qing Jun anywhere.
"Qing Jun!"
Chen Ye was extremely anxious; he was in an even more expansive underground grotto heaven!
Above him were densely packed, pulsing purple-black veins, like blood vessels. These veins extended like a spider web, continuously absorbing the chaotic qi emitted by demonic plants from the East Valley above.
And in the moment of his daze, numerous pairs of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up in the surrounding darkness!
"Caw—!"
A piercing scream tore through the eardrum. Numerous twisted, transparent resentful spirits, like sharks smelling blood, madly rushed toward Chen Ye!
"Damn it!"
Chen Ye roared angrily, and with a thought, Qingzhi immediately stood in front of him, smashing the incoming resentful spirits into pieces.
At the same time, the Iron Sword unsheathed with a sound, the sharp sword light like ink splashing, the Overlapping Waves Triple Slash was unleashed without reservation, exterminating the pieces of resentful spirits completely!
But these resentful spirits seemed endless. Eliminate one wave, and more surged from the darkness.
What he worried most was Qing Jun’s safety!
"Qing Jun! Where are you!"
Chen Ye frantically deployed Divine Sense around while controlling the sword.
This underground cave was equally extensive, and the Demonic Qi was more than ten times denser than above, yet, ironically, there wasn’t any Spirit Plant here.
He gazed at the veins overhead absorbing the Demonic Qi and suddenly realized!
"So, the Demon Cultivator’s purpose for planting Demonic Medicine wasn’t for the medicine itself but to collect the essence of these medicines to nourish something below!"
Upon realizing this, Chen Ye became even more anxious.
He didn’t stay to fight, took out the Thousand-Mile Communication Talisman given by Luo Heng from his Storage Bag, infused it with spiritual power, and urgently transmitted:
"Qing Jun! Respond if you can hear me!"
The Jade Talisman in Chen Ye’s palm was slightly hot, Spiritual Light flickering, but there was no response.
"Qing Jun!" Chen Ye’s anxiety grew, he increased the spiritual power infusion and transmitted again, "Respond if you can hear me!"
This time, from the other end of the Jade Talisman, finally came an extremely cold voice, one not the usual crisp childlike voice of Qing Jun, but a tone almost indifferent:
"...So noisy."
Who was it?
Who was this?!
Chen Ye’s pupils shrank, this voice was utterly unfamiliar, definitely not Qing Jun!
Could it be Qing Jun encountered misfortune, and the Jade Talisman fell into someone else’s hands?
"Who are you? Where’s Qing Jun?" Chen Ye’s voice was as icy as frost.
After a moment of silence, the other end of the Jade Talisman replied with that same tone without any change:
"...Follow the veins."
With that said, the Jade Talisman fell silent again.
Holding the Jade Talisman, Chen Ye stood frozen in place, his mind filled with uncertainty.
Countless questions swirled in his mind, but at this moment, he had no other choice.
He put away the Jade Talisman, forcing himself to calm down, and carefully distinguished the flow direction of the Demonic Qi in this underground grotto heaven.
He found that all the chaotic Demonic Qi absorbed from above eventually flowed toward one direction, like rivers merging into the sea.
There, it must be the core of this place!
"Could this be the veins she mentioned?" Chen Ye muttered to himself.
Chen Ye no longer hesitated, gripping the Iron Sword, his body moved like lightning, charging toward the depths of the cave following the richest Demonic Qi veins.
The deeper he went, the more viscous the Demonic Qi became, almost condensing into a substance.
On the stone walls around, even a thin layer of black frost crystals formed, emitting a piercing chill.
During this time, there were occasionally resentful spirits howling.
Thankfully, these resentful spirits’ strength was only comparable to a Qi Cultivator in the Early Period.
Chen Ye cut them down all the way, finally passing through a narrow and steep corridor, where the scene suddenly opened up before him.
He had come to an unbelievably large underground cave.
In the center of the cave stood an altar constructed of Obsidian.
On the altar was a dark pool, not of water but filled with viscous ink-like, incredibly pure Demonic Qi.
In the center of the pool, a supremely holy lotus grew silently.
The lotus was completely white like jade, unstained by any dust. Its petals layered upon each other, emitting a gentle white light that dispelled the darkness above the altar.
Its fragrance purifying, purging the thick Demonic Qi around it.
On the lotus pod lay seven lotus seeds, of which six remained verdant and immature.
Only the one in the center had matured, golden all over, suffused with a magnificent glow.
"Purifying Heart Lotus?!"
Chen Ye’s pupils shrank violently, his heart stirred by waves of shock.
As a Spirit Plant Master, he naturally had impressions of this renowned Spirit Plant.
It’s said to grow unstained from grime, needing to root in the most yin and evil ground to be nurtured.
The lotus seeds, when consumed, cleanse the marrow and rid the body of hidden ailments.
But...
Where was Qing Jun?
Could it not be that his fair-skinned Qing Jun transformed into this fair and tender lotus?
Just as Chen Ye felt uneasy, his gaze suddenly paused.
Beside the altar, there was another person!
That person seemed down and out, with tattered clothes and an extremely haggard expression.
As Chen Ye saw the person’s face clearly, he froze abruptly.
And that person, hearing the commotion behind, also turned around warily.
As their eyes met, both showed unparalleled surprise.
"Ji Yueze?"
"Chen Ye!"
Their exclamations came almost simultaneously.
Chen Ye couldn’t believe that this long-missing president of the Stone Mirror Association in Yunxi District would appear in such a mysterious Demon Path lair!
But...
This person had colluded with the Demon Cultivators of the Emotion Crossing Sect early on, appearing here was within reason.
Could it be Qing Jun was hidden by him?