Entering the Valley (Seeking Follow-ups, Monthly Votes)

"What?"

"Someone dared to ambush disciples of our Divine Firmament Dao Sect?"

The two outer sect disciples' expressions shifted violently upon hearing this, their faces filled with disbelief.

"It is indeed the truth!"

Li Yunjing wiped away his tears and choked out, "If not for my top-grade magical artifact, the Gale Boots, I fear I would have been unable to preserve my life."

Having said this, Li Yunjing was so overcome with emotion that he could no longer speak.

"Damn it! This is a major incident! Follow me to see Deacon Wang immediately!"

The previously cold-faced outer sect disciple grew frantic; without further ado, he took Li Yunjing and headed into the valley.

Seeing Li Yunjing still standing there in a daze, the other man let out a low shout, "Hurry up and keep up!"

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

Li Yunjing sighed and followed behind the man in front, walking toward the depths of the valley.

Inside the valley, it was somewhat scorching—significantly hotter than outside, as if they had stepped into a different world.

It was a barren expanse here; aside from rocks, there was nothing but rocks.

Of course, in the distance, Li Yunjing saw clusters of houses all constructed from piled stone.

He surmised that those were the living quarters for the miners.

On the other side, there were some houses that were built quite well.

Those were likely the quarters for the outer sect disciples of the Divine Firmament Dao Sect.

Beyond that, many caves seemed to have been carved into the cliffs within the valley.

Li Yunjing did not know what was inside these caves, but they did not look like the mine shafts of the mining area.

This was because Li Yunjing had already spotted a massive entrance in the far depths; the cave was pitch black, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Outside that entrance, some raggedly dressed mortals were moving in and out.

These people were carrying baskets and crates on their backs, transporting something.

The distance was too great for Li Yunjing to see clearly, but as this was a spirit stone mining area, he could guess what was in the baskets without needing to look.

As they traveled, the road beneath their feet was uneven and rugged.

Li Yunjing faintly sensed countless gazes sweeping over him.

He did not know how many people were hidden in the shadows; such tight security truly left Li Yunjing startled.

After following this outer sect senior brother for three miles, Li Yunjing arrived in front of a stone cave embedded into a cliff face.

Upon reaching this spot, the outer sect senior brother stopped.

Under Li Yunjing's watchful gaze, he saw the senior brother chant a few lines of a mantra in a low voice and flick his hand, sending a streak of green light flying from his palm into the bottomless cave.

A moment later, there seemed to be a response from within.

At the cave entrance, a ripple appeared, and dazzling red light emerged in the air; the light twisted for a moment before finally dissipating, returning to its original calm.

Immediately following this, two inner sect disciples dressed in green robes walked out from the cave.

There is a restriction here! The defense is actually this tight.

Li Yunjing was slightly shocked; he had not expected such formidable defenses at the entrance of this cave. It seemed that if one were ignorant of the environment here and walked blindly, they would likely risk falling to their death.

Thinking of this, Li Yunjing became even more cautious.

He had to follow the footsteps of the outer sect senior brother; he must not be careless, for if he took one wrong step, he would likely be finished.

"Chen Zongfu, do you have business here?"

One of the inner sect disciples asked coldly.

"Reporting to Senior Brother Ma, this is a fellow disciple who was escorting grain and supplies; something happened on the trip," the outer sect disciple Chen Zongfu felt a tightening in his chest and quickly spoke while pointing at Li Yunjing.

"Hm? Explain in detail!"

The inner sect disciple called Senior Brother Ma paused, then asked in a low voice.

"It is like this..."

Soon, Chen Zongfu repeated everything Li Yunjing had told him.

"Heh! Interesting! There are actually people who dare to target our Divine Firmament Dao Sect? They truly do not know how to value their lives!"

The two inner sect disciples sneered repeatedly.

As for the deaths of the four outer sect disciples, the two felt no emotion; they were merely enraged that someone dared to show such disrespect to their Divine Firmament Dao Sect!

Within the hierarchy of the Divine Firmament Dao Sect, neither the servant disciples nor the outer sect disciples were considered "one of their own."

Only those who ascended to the inner sect were acknowledged by the sect as their own people.

Although the cultivation realms of inner sect disciples and outer sect disciples might not seem vastly different, the gap in their actual combat power was immense.

Inner sect disciples could truly study the sect's core cultivation techniques and divine abilities, possessing a full set of top-grade magical artifacts; some even had such vast supernatural powers that they could acquire spirit artifacts for protection.

Above low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade magical artifacts lay the spirit artifacts.

Spirit artifacts were also divided into four grades.

Spirit artifacts were generally used by disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage, and possessing such protective treasures made these inner sect disciples incredibly arrogant.

Of course, they had the qualifications to be arrogant.

Within the Divine Firmament Dao Sect, there had been many instances where inner sect disciples out on missions encountered Foundation Establishment cultivators hunting them down.

Escaping such pursuits was common, and turning defeat into victory was not unheard of; there had even been several cases where they had defied the odds to kill Foundation Establishment cultivators.

These exploits circulated throughout the Divine Firmament Dao Sect and were relished by every generation of Qi Refining disciples.

Everyone fantasized about one day achieving such a feat.

The heritage of the Divine Firmament Dao Sect was absolutely far superior to that of ordinary rogue cultivators, small families, or minor sects; the disparity in combat power was obvious, and they could never be treated like ordinary cultivators of the same level!

Therefore, these two inner sect disciples naturally looked down upon the outer sect disciples, and they seemed indifferent to their deaths.

"Since that is the case, the two of you follow us in!"

Senior Brother Ma nodded, turned around with his fellow disciple, and walked toward the cave.

Chen Zongfu and Li Yunjing followed the two of them into the cave, one after the other.

Inside the cave, it was not hot; there was even a cool sensation, and the temperature was similar to that outside Red Sun Valley.

Night-luminescent pearls the size of fists were embedded into the cave walls.

They were enough to illuminate the path inside the cave clearly.

Li Yunjing followed the three of them smoothly. The entire cave was three zhang high and one zhang wide, winding and twisting along the way. The path was covered in dark, unknown sand and stone, and throughout the entire process, not a trace of life could be seen—not even moss.

Moving forward, they walked for a full three miles, and Li Yunjing felt as if they were heading downward!

By now, they were even deeper underground.

After walking another two miles, a massive cavern space appeared ahead, glowing with light that was no different from the outside world.

Before long, the four of them were inside this stone chamber.

It was a square space, ten zhang in circumference, with a ceiling three zhang high. Glazed lamps hung on the surrounding black walls.

The floor was made of stone slabs, and the layout here resembled a study, clean and tidy.

Behind the desk stood bookshelves against the wall, filled with various books, and on several racks nearby, various items were displayed.