"This person’s name is Jian Gu, a well-known sword fanatic within the Refining God Sect."
Bu Feifan, seeing Chen Ye’s solemn expression, quietly added,
"It’s said that to hone his Sword Heart, he once spent three years in bitter seclusion deep within the Three Thousand Great Mountains. When he emerged, he had already reached Foundation Establishment. Within the sect, even True Disciples rarely dare provoke him."
Chen Ye nodded slightly, committing this name to memory.
Jian Gu did not make a name for himself in the original story, but he is by no means an average person and is considered among the top prodigies within the Yan Kingdom.
"Although it is a newly opened Grotto Heaven, there are still many talented cultivators inside... Bai Susu, Jian Gu. Hmm, that Yuan Haoxuan barely counts too. Though his talents are exceptional, he is still young and lags behind the previous two."
Recalling Yuan Haoxuan, Chen Ye felt apprehensive.
In his mind, the threat level of Yuan Haoxuan was even higher than that of Wei Shu.
To put it bluntly, Wei Shu was forcibly pushed to Foundation Establishment First Layer by the Wei Family’s strength.
How could a person who typically stays deep within the sect be compared to these battle-proven prodigies who have been continuously tempered?
At this moment,
after Wei Shu disembarked from the Spiritual Ship, he immediately tidied up his appearance and put on a smile.
He walked straight toward the family cultivators and began chatting with the leader, obviously discussing cooperation after entering the Grotto Heaven.
Meanwhile, many Inner Sect Disciples, with varying expressions, walked toward the Sinful Cultivators after Wei Shu left.
Leading them was Zhao Yin, who had previously spoken for Chen Ye.
He took out a wooden box, and upon opening it, revealed several tens of black beads the size of pigeon eggs.
"Everyone."
Zhao Yin picked up one of the beads and displayed it to the crowd,
"This item is called the Floating Shadow Bead, a unique Magical Artifact of our Lingyin Sect. After entering the Grotto Heaven, you need to wear it on your person. This bead can record everything you see and hear along the way."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd’s bewildered faces, then continued to explain:
"Within the Songyang Cave Heaven, you are completely isolated from the outside world, and no information can be transmitted out. However, this bead can transmit your location to Guardian Wei’s mother bead."
"This way, even if you fall within the Grotto Heaven, as long as the Floating Shadow Bead remains intact, the information you traded your life for will not be lost. If Guardian Wei returns unharmed, he can deliver the complete data back to the sect."
Although,
everyone already knew they were going to their deaths, when they heard Lingyin Sect so bluntly state their intention, an uproar broke out among the crowd.
Soon after, came the irrepressible curses and despair.
"Damn it! Isn’t it obvious they’re using us as cannon fodder, leading lambs to the slaughter?"
"To them, our lives are just a piece of data?"
"Ah, stop talking, or we’ll suffer again. Dead is dead, better odds of finding some opportunity after entering the Grotto Heaven..."
This person’s words came to pass.
The next moment, a disciple expressionlessly activated the Spirit Lock Nail, turning the curses of many Sinful Cultivators into howls.
However, Chen Ye’s Spirit Lock Nail was a more advanced Second Tier Magical Treasure, controlled by Wei Shu, hence he was spared from this torment.
Zhao Yin closed his ears to the crowd’s howls and walked up to Chen Ye, handing over a Floating Shadow Bead.
Chen Ye accepted the cold bead.
The moment the bead came into contact with his hand, it melted, merging into his meridians, eventually converging at the Tianling, outlining a vertical eye pattern at the center of his brow.
Suddenly, Chen Ye felt a chill all over, as if an invisible pair of eyes was watching him.
"Damn..."
Chen Ye cursed inwardly.
The Floating Shadow Bead is indeed a sharp tool for the sect to gather intelligence.
But for Chen Ye, it was a shackle.
This meant that every move he made after entering the Grotto Heaven would be exposed under Wei Shu’s watchful eyes!
Just as everyone was lost in their thoughts, a barely audible Divine Sense Transmission quietly slipped into his mind.
"Steward Chen, take care."
Zhao Yin casually introduced the use of the Floating Shadow Bead, while continuing the Divine Sense Transmission at a rapid pace:
"...Be careful when entering the Grotto Heaven. The place is larger than imagined, full of mist, with Divine Sense not reaching ten zhang."
"Currently, our sect only knows about the eastern part that our predecessors explored. The outskirts of this area are a vast swampy wetland called Mingyandang. It is perennially shrouded in humid miasma and thick fog, with very low visibility."
Though Chen Ye’s expression remained unchanged, his mind was full of doubts.
Strange...
If something unusual happens, there must be a reason.
Why was Zhao Yin suddenly so friendly, and even went out of his way to convey information?
Just then, Zhao Yin’s voice continued: "Within the Mingyandang, there is a large number of Demon Beasts lurking, and the first recon team reported frequent encounters with Late Period Qi Cultivation-level Demon Beasts. That’s just what has been discovered so far, no one can be sure if there are Foundation Establishment, or even stronger beasts hiding there. In addition... Steward Chen, listen to me, upon entering the Grotto Heaven, as long as you stay away from the crowd, you might be safe."
"The first recon team, in their haste, chose to force their way through. It’s said that beyond the Mingyandang, there is a strange forest of stone tablets. Survivors have reported that this stone tablet forest seems to be... the site of the ancient Songyang Sect’s Cultivation Technique inheritance!"
The Divine Sense Transmission abruptly stopped here.
Zhao Yin nodded slightly to him, then turned and began distributing Floating Shadow Beads to others.
Chen Ye subconsciously rubbed the pattern between his brows, lost in thought.
Regardless of Zhao Yin’s intentions, the information he provided was quite valuable.
"Could it be that the Lingyin Sect suddenly dispatched more people to explore because they discovered this forest of stone tablets?"
Chen Ye speculated silently.
Having a sect’s inheritance ground within the Grotto Heaven is fairly normal.