Skeleton Altar

The moment he entered the mine vein, it grew dark inside.

The air was thick with the smell of ore and terribly murky. Tiny particles entered the body with every breath, and over time, they made one feel unwell.

Following the mine tunnel, which was only about two meters wide, Zheng Yi carefully proceeded under Qi Lin's lead.

After walking an unknown distance and depth, the space ahead began to widen. Eventually, the two arrived at a fairly large mining pit.

The surrounding stone walls bore traces of excavation, with marks from various tools left across the hard ore surfaces. The area was empty, clearly abandoned, and all the ore within had already been cleared out.

Reaching out to touch that streak of dark metallic sheen on the stone wall, Zheng Yi snapped it off.

It was a tiny piece of raw Black Iron Essence ore. Though it had yet to be purified or smelted, he could still feel its hardness.

Farther ahead lay pitch-black tunnels extending deeper inside, passages the miners had dug in search of Black Iron Essence deposits.

Having reached this point, Zheng Yi had more or less finished inspecting the mine vein and did not intend to go any farther.

"My lord, the passage at the far right is a place Qi Yuanzong has decreed that no one may enter. Members of the main lineage guard it year-round. Even I have no idea what is inside."

Qi Lin suddenly spoke.

He looked up, his tone somewhat hesitant.

The mine passage was black as the throat of some colossal beast, radiating an invisible aura of gloom and terror that made one fear to even look at it.

"Tell me in detail."

Zheng Yi stopped, asking with interest.

"My lord, this passage is strictly forbidden by the Qi Family Main Lineage. Apart from permitted members of the Qi Family, anyone else who intrudes into this mine tunnel, whether intentionally or not..."

"If discovered, they are executed on the spot."

Qi Lin explained carefully.

"Even people like me, mid-level members of the family from the Qi Family Collateral Lineage, are no exception."

"I heard this passage is a place that eats people without spitting out their bones."

"Every month, the number of miners drops by thirty percent. Aside from the small number who are worked to death, the rest of the missing miners are said to have been sent into this passage, never to appear again."

"Over time, the miners began to keep their distance from this passage, secretly calling it Devil's Alley."

"Later on, even without Qi Family members guarding it, no one dared come here."

The so-called Devil's Alley piqued Zheng Yi's interest.

"Playing up ghosts and goblins, laying out a smokescreen..."

"Looks like this is the place!"

Zheng Yi scoffed.

Clearly, the Qi Family Main Lineage had issued such extreme and unreasonable measures in order to conceal something and prevent anyone from prying into their secret.

But anything guarded so tightly was bound to have some scheme behind it.

Before Qi Lin could finish, Zheng Yi summoned the Soul Devouring Banner. Dark, heavy mist enveloped his entire body, raising his defenses to the fullest, while several Netherworld Soldier Vengeful Spirits were sent ahead to lead the way.

After confirming it again and again, Zheng Yi entered without further delay.

Qi Lin had wanted to follow, but Zheng Yi left him outside.

Perhaps Qi Lin had wanted to prove himself before his new master, but seeing his legs trembling almost beyond control, Zheng Yi decided not to bring him along.

If they encountered any danger, Zheng Yi would have no time to worry about Qi Lin. Alone, he could come and go freely, which suited this expedition better.

Moreover, Zheng Yi was extremely interested in the secret hidden by the Qi Family Main Lineage.

For a Qi Refining cultivation family to arrange matters over several generations and treat them with such grave caution, it could not be anything simple.

If it involved some cultivation secret and Qi Lin happened to see it, Zheng Yi did not want to kill him to silence him.

After all, the Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array was no simple formation!

As Zheng Yi entered the mine passage on the right and proceeded onward, the way remained dark and silent, so quiet it was frightening.

This passage had undergone long-term alteration and repair, and even the rock walls overhead had been artificially smoothed.

Yet since this place had been sealed off as a forbidden area, it was clear that no one had entered for a long time.

At first, Zheng Yi did not know whether it was merely an illusion, but the farther he went, the more he felt a chill rising from beneath his feet.

That icy cold seemed to seep up from the soles of his feet, passing through the hard rock floor and straight into his heart.

From some unknown ventilation opening in the passage, gusts of sinister wind swept through.

The freezing air blew across his face like a sharp blade scraping over his skin, making every fine hair on his body stand on end.

Later, as he ventured deeper, the chill no longer rose from beneath his feet alone. It surged in from all directions, making it impossible to defend against.

"What dense yin energy."

"It is even more sinister than the Ghost School and Ghost Underground Parking Lot Ghost Domains in the Apocalyptic World..."

"This Qi Family has a huge secret!"

Interest and excitement appeared on Zheng Yi's face as he continued forward.

The cold grew heavier and heavier, nearly freezing his entire body within it. Even the air had become frigid mist, endlessly spilling out from ahead and pouring into the passage.

"There's no way forward?!"

As he walked, he turned a corner and found himself in a dead end. The end of a rocky mine tunnel blocked the way ahead.

It seemed that everything ended here.

Only heavy, murky air remained in the passage, along with deathly silence and the cold air that surged without pause.

Naturally, Zheng Yi did not believe in such a crude attempt at concealment.

It might have been enough to confuse ordinary mortals or low-level Rogue Cultivators, but for someone who had come with purpose, it was far from convincing.

Bang!

A glint of cold light flashed. A Flying Sword appeared in Zheng Yi's hand. With a point into empty air, cold light surged forth, and he slashed at the wall.

The thick wall was cleaved open with a massive gash, and Zheng Yi lifted his foot and stepped inside.

"Damn..."

Zheng Yi nearly cursed aloud.

"The Qi Family really has some nerve!"

As he entered the concealed space and saw everything before him clearly, even Zheng Yi could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

Everywhere he looked were bones.

With Zheng Yi's slash, a secret chamber had been revealed behind what had seemed like a natural rock wall. This was the secret the Qi Family had been so desperate to hide.

What made even Zheng Yi's scalp prickle was that within the cracks of this spacious secret chamber stood an enormous Skeleton Altar.

Countless bones were piled layer upon layer. No one knew how many victims there had been. Every scrap of flesh had vanished from their bodies, stripped clean as though some bizarre thing had devoured and absorbed it all. The remaining icy-white bones were twisted, showing that they had suffered immense pain before death.

Skull after skull, their eye sockets black and hollow, all faced the altar. Endless strangeness and coldness seeped from those empty eye hollows.