Unforeseen Changes, Entering

After traveling for half an hour, Ling Feng suddenly stopped in his tracks. Xu Yang looked stunned and asked him, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Ling Feng crouched down to examine the ground beneath his feet and said, "Bad news, it seems others have been here!" Hearing this, Qin Shuang's expression changed immediately. He hurried forward to take a look at the ground where Ling Feng was pointing, and his face turned grim.

Xu Yang lowered his head to inspect the ground but found nothing at all. He looked up and asked, "What is wrong with this ground? I don't see anything."

Ling Feng explained to Xu Yang, "The valley where the cave dwelling is located is just ahead. This is the only entrance to the valley. We set up a restriction here earlier—not for defense, but as a warning. If anyone passes through here, the restriction will automatically vanish, thereby alerting us."

"I see. Now that the restriction is gone, it means someone has entered the valley. But those who entered might not necessarily be here for the cave dwelling; perhaps they just stumbled upon this place by accident!" Xu Yang said to Qin Shuang and the other with a serious expression.

Qin Shuang's expression shifted after hearing this, and he said, "Fellow Daoist Xu makes a good point, but it is a fact that there are already people inside the valley. This will greatly hinder our actions, and what if they are indeed targeting the cave dwelling? We should enter the valley immediately!" Having said that, Qin Shuang led the way toward the valley.

Xu Yang and Ling Feng immediately responded and followed behind Qin Shuang into the valley. A short while later, the three arrived inside, and Xu Yang found it strange that there were no demonic beasts in the valley, not even large animals. The surroundings were completely calm, quiet to the point of being eerie.

Qin Shuang and Ling Feng did not pause at all, leading Xu Yang straight toward the depths of the valley. From a distance, Xu Yang saw a towering cliff standing ahead. When they reached the foot of the cliff, they saw four cultivators—three men and one woman—standing there.

At the same time, the other party spotted the three of them, and both sides immediately became guarded, sizing each other up. Among the four cultivators opposite them, the leader was an old man with a sallow complexion, white hair and beard, and a dignified air in his earthy-yellow brocade robe. He was a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

The other two men and one woman looked quite ordinary, with no distinct features—even more unremarkable than Xu Yang—but their cultivation levels were not low. The two men were both at the Qi Refining ninth-layer middle stage, and although the woman was slightly weaker, she was at the peak of the Qi Refining eighth layer.

Fortunately, Xu Yang had learned the Detection Technique from Qin Shuang. As long as the target was not a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, he could discern their level, which allowed him to see the cultivation of the four people opposite clearly.

The Detection Technique was a spell specifically for checking a cultivator's level, far more effective than simple spiritual sense scanning. It was something Qin Shuang had taught Xu Yang while they were on the flying boat. Trying it out now, it proved to be incredibly useful; he could better assess his opponents' strength in the future and avoid provoking powerful cultivators who might wipe him out.

After seeing the cultivation levels of the four people, Xu Yang felt a great sense of relief. Qin Shuang was a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, enough to suppress the old man at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and he and Ling Feng could handle the other three, so there was no need to fear them.

Clearly, Qin Shuang and Ling Feng had reached the same conclusion. Xu Yang noticed from the corner of his eye that they had also secretly relaxed, their expressions softening slightly.

Conversely, the four people opposite looked rather grim. They didn't care much about Xu Yang and Ling Feng, but they were extremely wary of Qin Shuang; his Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation was enough to suppress the entire scene.

The yellow-robed old man stepped forward with a serious face and said to Qin Shuang, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist. This old man is Huang Ting. May I ask your surname and the purpose of your visit?"

Qin Shuang replied with a smile, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Huang. I am Qin Shuang. I think I should be the one asking you that! We have been here for many days and even set up a restriction outside the valley. May I ask why Fellow Daoist Huang has intruded?"

Hearing Qin Shuang's words, Huang Ting's expression changed. He hadn't expected Qin Shuang and his group to have arrived at the valley so early. It seemed they must also know the secret of the valley, which made things difficult.

"This... I am truly sorry. We did not know you were here and just happened to enter the valley. However, we have urgent business here, so I hope you can understand." Huang Ting replied after some thought.

Qin Shuang's expression shifted upon hearing this. Realizing that Huang Ting and his group had already discovered the secret of the valley, murderous intent surged within him. Just as he was about to strike, he was interrupted by a voice transmission from Xu Yang. Qin Shuang immediately turned to look at Xu Yang, not understanding why he was being stopped.

"Senior Qin, please stay calm. Given the situation, they have certainly discovered the secret of the valley. Attacking now won't solve anything. They have one more person than us; if even one of them escapes, this matter will be completely leaked, which would be disastrous. It would be better to be open and honest, and invite them to explore the cave dwelling together. This is the cave of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, after all—who knows what dangers lie inside? Wouldn't it be better to have three extra cannon fodder?"

"Besides, once we enter the cave, it will just be you and Huang Ting outside. If you are confident in taking him down, it won't be too late to act then. Otherwise, just wait for Ling Feng and me to return, and we can surround him together!"

Upon hearing Xu Yang's words, Qin Shuang pondered for a moment before nodding at him, agreeing with his suggestion. At the same time, he sighed inwardly, It seems I was too impatient and nearly ruined a major event. Thinking of this, Qin Shuang looked at Xu Yang with newfound respect; he hadn't expected him to have such schemes.

Afterward, Qin Shuang said to Huang Ting with a serious expression, "Fellow Daoist Huang, let's stop the pretense. Since you have already discovered the secret of the valley, I have nothing more to say. If our two sides fight to the death, it might only benefit others. Therefore, I propose that we join forces to explore and retrieve the treasures. As for how the treasures are distributed, we shall follow the rules of the cultivation world: distribution based on the strength of cultivation. How about that?"

Hearing the first half of Qin Shuang's words, Huang Ting's expression changed drastically, and he was about to fly backward to defend himself. But when he heard the proposal to join forces, he stopped in his tracks. His mind raced as he considered Qin Shuang's intentions and weighed the pros and cons of an alliance.

After some deliberation, Huang Ting realized that Qin Shuang's proposal was the best solution for now. He lowered his guard slightly, stepped forward, and said to Qin Shuang, "Your suggestion is not bad, Fellow Daoist. We have no grudges between us, so there is indeed no need to fight to the death; that really might benefit others. I agree to our alliance, and we shall distribute the treasures based on cultivation strength as you said!"

"Haha! Since Fellow Daoist Huang has agreed, there is no need for us to be so guarded. Let us introduce ourselves! After all, since we will be exploring together and facing the dangers of the cave dwelling, it is better to be familiar with one another." Qin Shuang was overjoyed that Huang Ting had agreed to his proposal and immediately turned to give a wink to Xu Yang and Ling Feng, signaling them.

The two understood immediately and stepped forward to the three men and one woman behind Huang Ting, saying, "Greetings, three fellow daoists. I am Xu Yang, and this is Ling Feng. We look forward to working with you."

Seeing this, Huang Ting signaled the three behind him. Upon receiving his cue, they hurried forward and said to Xu Yang and Ling Feng, "You are too kind, please guide us as well." Afterward, the three introduced themselves.

Of the two male cultivators, the taller and thinner one was named Liu Peng, and the other, who was stout and had a face full of fat, was named Hu Xinrong. The female cultivator was named Zhao Man, who was the daoist partner of the fatty Hu Xinrong. They were all disciples of Huang Ting.

Afterward, both sides dropped their guard and walked to a spot to converse. Only then did Xu Yang learn that the four of them were disciples of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, which meant they were technically from the same sect as Qin Shuang. Qin Shuang and his wife were also members of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, but the alliance was too scattered and lacked the cohesion of the righteous or demonic factions; it was merely a loose organization.

After some conversation, both sides reached a formal agreement to join forces, and the five Qi Refining Realm cultivators also became familiar with one another. Seeing this, neither side delayed any further, fearing other accidents, and they walked together to the foot of the cliff.

Xu Yang looked up and saw that the cliff was towering and extremely steep. The surface was very smooth, with no footholds to be found. Other than that, it was quite ordinary, with no special characteristics.

Qin Shuang and Huang Ting exchanged a glance and nodded at each other. Together, they raised their right hands and struck the middle of the cliff. A yellow and a silver stream of true essence soared into the sky, rushing toward the center of the cliff. Just as the two streams were about to hit, a black restriction appeared, blocking the attack.

As the restriction emerged, a powerful and majestic aura surged out, pressing down on Xu Yang and the others, making it difficult to breathe and nearly causing them to suffocate. Fortunately, this aura flashed and vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Xu Yang and the others did not lose consciousness, but even so, they were trembling and gasping for air. The two Foundation Establishment cultivators fared better, though their faces were slightly flushed.

After the black restriction appeared, it slowly transformed into a portal. Black light swirled within the portal, forming a black vortex that, from the outside, looked like the gaping maw of a monster, as if it were waiting to devour anyone who entered.

Seeing the portal appear, Qin Shuang turned back to Xu Yang and Ling Feng and said, "Enter the portal quickly. This portal can only be maintained for a moment and will disappear soon. Also, be careful; everything depends on you now."

The two nodded to show they understood and immediately flew toward the portal. At the same time, the three disciples behind Huang Ting also followed behind them, rushing toward the portal.

While in mid-air, Xu Yang noticed that the portal was rapidly shrinking, so he accelerated. Suddenly, Ling Feng, who was beside him, changed his expression and raised his hand, striking a palm toward Xu Yang. Xu Yang was stunned and hurriedly raised his hand to block the attack.

However, his body was involuntarily propelled forward into the portal, and he vanished inside. Three attacks from behind Ling Feng struck toward him; he managed to block two, but was hit in the chest by the third and flew into the portal.

Afterward, Huang Ting's three disciples also entered the portal, and the black gateway gradually shrank and disappeared.