Void Rift

The next morning, Yun Yao had already selected five capable disciples from the Jade Clarity Sect to wait outside.

These five disciples, three men and two women, were all at the late or peak Earth Immortal cultivation level. They wore standard green robes, carried magic swords on their backs, and possessed steady auras with sharp gazes, clearly veterans of many battles.

They regarded Li Su, the "Bamboo Senior" favored by Martial Uncle Qingxu, with both curiosity and respect.

"Fellow Daoist Mo Xing, these five are Ming Feng, Ming Yue, Ming Shi, Ming Yue, and Ming Xin. They are all elite inner disciples of my sect, skilled in combined sword formations, and relatively familiar with the environment of Riftwind Canyon," Yun Yao introduced.

The five disciples bowed in unison to Li Su: "Greetings, Senior Mo Xing!"

Li Su, in his bamboo form, slightly bent to return the bow: "Thank you all for your trouble."

Yun Yao then produced a jade slip and handed it to Li Su: "This is a detailed map and precautions for Riftwind Canyon. It marks several relatively safe paths and known stable spatial rift areas. However, the situation within the canyon changes rapidly, so constant caution is still necessary."

"Thank you," Li Su took the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense, committing the information to memory.

After bidding farewell to Yun Yao, the group left the camp and headed northwest towards Riftwind Canyon.

The closer they got to the canyon, the more violent the energy in the air became. Biting gale-force winds, like invisible blades, howled from the canyon's direction, mixed with torn Evil Qi and thin spiritual energy from heaven and earth. They crackled against their protective spiritual light.

Occasionally, they could even see small, dark spatial rifts appearing in the air like scars, flashing in and out of existence, emitting a heart-palpitating aura of destruction.

Upon reaching the canyon entrance, the sight before them was even more breathtaking. Two colossal cliffs, as if split by a giant axe, stood opposite each other, forming a vast chasm hundreds of miles wide and bottomlessly deep.

Gale-force winds roared like angry dragons through the canyon, whipping up sand and stones, severely reducing visibility.

The cliffs were covered in wind-eroded marks, smooth as mirrors, yet faintly flickering with peculiar runes. They seemed to have formed naturally, or perhaps were the remnants of ancient powerful beings.

"Senior, the gale-force winds within the canyon are fierce. You must maintain your protective spiritual light at all times. Furthermore, the Evil Qi mixed in the wind can erode the mind, so you must guard your spiritual platform. The most dangerous are the spatial rifts that can appear at any moment, without pattern. Once caught, even a True Immortal would struggle to escape," the leading disciple, Ming Feng, warned with a solemn expression.

Li Su nodded. The Star Swirl Body Protection halo around his bamboo form lit up, shielding himself and Zhiwei within. The five Jade Clarity disciples also activated their protective jade pendants or Dao techniques, forming a small sword formation to protect everyone in the center.

"Go!" Ming Feng gave the order. The sword formation's brilliance surged, and they charged into the canyon, braving the fierce winds.

As soon as they entered the canyon, the pressure intensified! The gale-force winds pressed in like tangible walls, and the contained Evil Qi furiously assaulted their protective spiritual lights, creating a grating sound. Their divine senses were also heavily suppressed here, only able to probe about a hundred feet around them.

The Jade Clarity disciples' sword formation was extremely exquisite. Their five life forces were connected, their magical power circulating endlessly, acting as a single entity. They advanced arduously but steadily through the gale.

Li Su followed closely behind, his Star Swirl Body Protection halo flowing, deflecting and absorbing most of the gale-force winds and Evil Qi, making his progress relatively easier. He could even spare some attention to observe their surroundings.

Following the map's guidance, they chose a path along the left cliff face. The gale-force winds were slightly weaker here, and there were protruding boulders that offered temporary shelter.

They traveled for about a thousand miles, encountering no significant danger. They managed to avoid a few small spatial rifts that appeared suddenly by being alerted beforehand.

However, as they passed a massive wind-eroded rock pillar, an anomaly occurred!

Without any warning, a long, twisted, and unstable dark spatial rift, over ten zhang in length, suddenly tore open in front of them! A terrifying suction erupted from it, instantly swallowing the gale-force winds, sand, stones, and even light!

"Careful! It's a large rift!" Ming Feng's face changed drastically. He shouted sternly, maintaining the sword formation with all his might, trying to steady their bodies!

But the suction was too immense. The sword formation's brilliance flickered violently. The five disciples grunted, their bodies involuntarily pulled towards the rift! Zhiwei cried out in alarm, almost being sucked away, but Li Su's bamboo branch quickly wrapped around her, pulling her back.

As the sword formation was on the verge of collapse and everyone was about to be sucked into the spatial rift! Li Su's gaze sharpened. Without hesitation, his eight-zhang bamboo body plunged deeply into the rocky ground. Simultaneously, he activated his divine sense to its fullest, communicating with the earth's energy channels and the stellar power of the Cosmos (though interfered with by the gale, he could still draw upon a meager force)!

"Bedrock Stabilizes the Abyss!"

He let out a low cry, pushing the Dao rhythm of the "Bedrock Rune" to its extreme and integrating it into his Star Swirl Body Protection! Instantly, the protective halo became incredibly solid and heavy. The stellar vortex within the halo rotated in reverse, temporarily resisting the terrifying suction, like a reef in a raging current, shielding everyone behind him! At the same time, his bamboo roots spread wildly, gripping the underground rock strata tightly, stabilizing himself.

Gaining this moment of respite from Li Su, Ming Feng and the others finally stabilized their footing. The sword formation's brilliance flared again, and they jointly struggled backward!

Boom!

The very second they broke free from the suction, the spatial rift abruptly closed and vanished, as if it had never existed, leaving only a chaotic energy vortex in its place.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat, their hearts filled with lingering fear.

"Thank you for your assistance, Senior Mo Xing!" Ming Feng and the other four dispelled their sword formation and respectfully bowed to Li Su, their faces filled with gratitude and relief. If Li Su hadn't blocked that momentary suction, they would likely have met a grim fate.

"It was nothing," Li Su's bamboo body swayed slightly as he retracted his aura. Forcibly activating the "Bedrock Rune" Dao rhythm had also consumed a considerable amount of his energy.

After this near-disaster, everyone became even more cautious, and their progress slowed down.

They traveled another thousand miles. The canyon's environment grew increasingly harsh. Strange elemental creatures and spatial phantoms, nurtured by the gale-force winds and Evil Qi, began to appear. They were bizarre and difficult to deal with but were all repelled by the group's combined efforts.

Finally, a faint light appeared ahead, and the sound of the wind gradually subsided.

"We're almost there! The canyon exit is ahead!" disciple Ming Yue exclaimed joyfully.

Everyone's spirits lifted, and they quickened their pace.

However, less than a hundred miles from the exit, the "Bedrock Rune" deep within Li Su's Primordial Spirit vibrated slightly again. This time, the direction it indicated was not the exit but a hidden stone cave on the right cliff, eroded by the wind!

The cave entrance was hidden by rubble; without the "Bedrock Rune" sensing it, it would have been impossible to find.

Li Su's heart stirred, and he said to Ming Feng, "Fellow Daoist Ming Feng, I sense something unusual over there that needs investigation. Could you all wait a moment?"

Ming Feng looked at the hidden cave and swept it with his divine sense, finding nothing out of the ordinary. However, he was already very convinced of Li Su's abilities and nodded, "Please proceed, Senior. We will stand guard here."

Li Su left Zhiwei behind and flew towards the cave alone. He pushed aside the rubble and entered.

The interior of the cave was not deep but was very dry, shielded from the harsh winds outside. And at the deepest part of the cave, he saw a pair of legs... a golden skeleton!

The skeleton was not human, appearing both human and beast-like. Its bones were a pure gold color, emitting a faint pressure and an ancient, sacred aura, as if it had been sitting there in meditation for countless ages.

On the ground in front of the skeleton, written in some unknown blood, were a few incomplete ancient characters:

"...Van...Race...Betrayal...Escape...Beware...Light..."

And clutched tightly in the finger bones of the golden skeleton was a broken, milky-white jade pendant covered in cracks. The pendant was carved with complex and sacred runes never seen before. Though broken, it still emanated a faint but tenacious "guardian" Dao charm.

What the "Bedrock Rune" had sensed was precisely this broken jade pendant!