The Cave Entrance Hidden Beneath the Lake, Ye Mingyuan Calls for Ye Haipeng!

Half an hour later, a vast desert appeared before Ye Wudao's eyes.

The moment he stepped into the desert, Ye Wudao felt a wave of dry heat rising from the soles of his feet.

"Grandmaster, why is it still so hot in the desert at night?"

Ye Wudao asked Qin Tianlong, who was beside him.

According to his understanding, deserts usually had a large temperature difference between day and night—scorching during the day and freezing at night.

The fact that he could feel the heat even with his cultivation at the peak of the Houtian Realm proved that it was truly sweltering here!

Qin Tianlong replied softly, "This desert is just like this; the temperature doesn't drop at night. It's as if there is some heat source beneath the sand, continuously releasing heat into it."

After speaking, he glanced at the three people beside him and said, "Everyone be careful. This desert is filled with Tier 3 demonic beasts, and Tier 3 beasts are capable of using True Qi for long-range attacks."

"Especially you two, Old Hu and Little Zhang, you must be cautious."

"With your combat strength, if you get hit by a Tier 3 beast's attack, you'll lose half your life right here."

Hu Lianfeng and Zhang Hankuang nodded with bitter smiles upon hearing this.

Elder Qin had singled them out, yet he hadn't offered a word of caution to Ye Wudao.

This wasn't because Elder Qin didn't care about Ye Wudao, but because Ye Wudao possessed combat strength no less than his own; walking through this desert was far safer for him than for the others.

They could never have imagined that Ye Wudao, who was a mere mortal ten days ago, would be able to fight Elder Qin to a standstill just ten days later.

Only the four of them from Cell No. 1 knew about the battle that took place that afternoon.

After witnessing Ye Wudao's combat power, Zhang Hankuang, also at the peak of the Houtian Realm, had wanted to challenge him, only to be knocked down by a single punch from Ye Wudao.

Once Ye Wudao activated his perfected Mysterious Tracking Steps, Zhang Hankuang couldn't lock onto his position at all and could only take a beating.

If Ye Wudao hadn't held back his Penetrating Power, he would likely be nursing his injuries in Cell No. 1 right now, unable to come to the Rift World.

At this moment, Hu Lianfeng was also feeling fortunate that Elder Qin had warned him back then, prompting him and Ye Wudao to clarify the matter regarding the Northern Dark Divine Art.

Otherwise, it was hard to say who would be absorbing whose internal energy right now!

He believed that if Ye Wudao had kept a low profile for two more days without revealing his strength, he would surely have been the one to die.

Rising from a mortal to the peak of the Houtian Realm in just ten days—who would believe that if it were told?

In ten days, most people hadn't even finished their body tempering!

The four of them chatted idly while keeping close to the main group.

After entering the desert, the entire party had dwindled to fewer than a thousand people, a third of whom were being brought in by their family elders.

After running through the desert for about ten minutes, an oasis suddenly appeared before them.

Wang Pengwen led everyone into the oasis and finally stopped in front of a small lake.

Ye Wudao looked around curiously and whispered, "Where is the Spirit Rhino Grass?"

Qin Tianlong replied, "It shouldn't be here. I've been to this oasis before, and there is no Spirit Rhino Grass."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wang Pengwen's body suddenly erupted with a massive amount of Xiantian True Qi; in the dim sky, he looked like a giant white lightbulb.

The next second, he struck the lake below with his palm.

In an instant, a massive white palm print surged toward the lake.

"Boom..."

A colossal splash erupted, reaching seven or eight meters high.

"Whoosh..."

As the water settled back into the lake, a massive whirlpool suddenly appeared.

"There's an underground space beneath this lake!"

Hu Lianfeng exclaimed in a low voice as he witnessed the scene.

Qin Tianlong frowned, watching as the water in the lake was slowly sucked away by the vortex.

After about seven or eight minutes, only a tiny bit of water remained in the lake.

A natural cave entrance was revealed at the very center of the lake floor.

Ye Wudao looked at the entrance with some surprise and asked, "Grandmaster, with such a large hole at the bottom of the lake, how did the water stay gathered in the lake in the first place?"

Qin Tianlong looked at the opening and said softly, "It's a formation!"

"There is a formation at this entrance that gathers the surrounding spiritual energy and keeps the water out."

"Wang Pengwen's palm strike just now shattered the formation's barrier, so all the water drained into the cave."

Ye Wudao pursed his lips and murmured softly, "A formation?"

Qin Tianlong glanced at Ye Wudao and said, "It's something that has been lost to time. No one in the current martial arts world knows how to set up formations."

"On Blue Star, there are some ruins of formations, but they have all lost their effectiveness."

"My father studied formations for a period of time and knew the principles, but he couldn't set one up; it seems they lack formation stones."

Ye Wudao pursed his lips and said in a deep voice, "Doesn't that mean someone set up the formation at this entrance, and this cave has an owner?"

Qin Tianlong shook his head and said, "Not necessarily! Some formations are actually natural. They were formed unintentionally by the surrounding terrain during crustal shifts, automatically converging into a spiritual energy barrier."

Just as he finished speaking, Wang Pengwen, hovering in the sky, let out a low shout: "Everyone, get in! You only have three minutes. After three minutes, the lake water will condense again."

"If you can't get in by then, don't blame me!"

As his voice fell, he dove into the cave entrance like a falcon.

The disciples of the major families in the first wave also rushed into the entrance one after another.

Qin Tianlong shouted in a deep voice, "Let's go too!"

With that, the four of them bolted toward the cave entrance like wild horses breaking free from their reins.

The entrance faced the sky, and beneath it lay a bottomless, pitch-black abyss.

Qin Tianlong went down first, followed closely by Hu Lianfeng, with Zhang Hankuang and Ye Wudao bringing up the rear.

The entrance was not far from the ground, only about five or six meters high; for a martial artist in the Houtian Realm, this height was nothing more than a minor step.

After landing, Ye Wudao looked around.

The cave was not as dark as he had imagined; there was still a faint, dim light.

The source of this light was a type of grass on the ground.

The grass was entirely blue and emitted a soft, azure glow.

The entire cave was densely packed with this vegetation.

"What you see is Spirit Rhino Grass. Everyone, spread out and start harvesting."

"Take note: the medicinal efficacy of the Spirit Rhino Grass lies in its roots. You must be careful when digging."

"Damaged roots are useless."

"If you damage too much of the Spirit Rhino Grass, I will have you thrown out!"

At this moment, Wang Pengwen, still floating in the air, continued his instructions.

Qin Tianlong glanced at the other three and said softly, "Split up to harvest. With Wang Pengwen here, no one will dare to act recklessly."

"Give priority to Wudao for any Spirit Rhino Grass collected, so he can accumulate enough points to get out of prison."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wudao shook his head and said, "Master, there's actually no need. I've already accumulated over two thousand points from killing demonic beasts these past few days."

"I only need to harvest thirty more stalks of Spirit Rhino Grass to clear all my prison sentences."

Qin Tianlong shook his head. "Don't worry about that; just focus on harvesting your grass."

"Be careful. I'm worried Zhang Jianye might try to strike at you from the shadows. Stay away from the Zhang Family's group."

As he finished speaking, Hu Lianfeng and Zhang Hankuang had already begun digging.

Ye Wudao nodded, found an empty spot, and crouched down to start harvesting the Spirit Rhino Grass.

This underground space was vast; even with nearly a thousand people inside, there was no sense of crowding at all.

There was so much Spirit Rhino Grass here that it was uncountable; it would likely take the thousand of them five or six hours to finish harvesting.

Ye Wudao carefully pushed aside the leaves of the Spirit Rhino Grass and slowly extended his fingers into the soft soil.

Then, he gently brushed away the dirt around the roots.

Five minutes later, a complete stalk of Spirit Rhino Grass appeared in Ye Wudao's hand.

He carefully placed the grass into a prepared cloth bag and continued digging.

"Whew..."

An hour later, Ye Wudao sat on the ground and let out a long breath.

It was no wonder this thing was so valuable; it was incredibly delicate.

In that hour, he had managed to dig up ten complete stalks.

Two stalks had snapped directly because he had used too much force.

On average, it took him about five minutes to harvest a single stalk.

This kind of delicate work required constant, meticulous care and was mentally exhausting, forcing him to stop and rest for a while.

"Ye Wudao?"

Just as he was resting, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

Ye Wudao turned his head, looked at the familiar yet strange face, and sneered, "Ye Mingyuan, long time no see!"

Ye Mingyuan looked at Ye Wudao with surprise and scoffed, "I thought I had mistaken the person! I didn't expect it to really be you!"

He then realized something and shouted in a low voice, "Wait! You're just a mortal—how did you get in here?"

At that moment, Qin Tianlong walked over to Ye Wudao's side, looked at Ye Mingyuan, and said, "I brought him in. Do you have any questions?"

Ye Mingyuan frowned, sensing something off in Qin Tianlong's tone. He quickly called out to an old man behind him, "Grandfather! Come quickly!"

Hearing Ye Mingyuan's call, Ye Haipeng stood up and looked toward him. When he saw Qin Tianlong standing opposite his grandson, his brows furrowed, and he muttered, "Qin Tianlong?"

Sensing that the two sides seemed to be in conflict, he quickly walked to Ye Mingyuan's side and cupped his hands toward Qin Tianlong. "Brother Tianlong, long time no see!"

Qin Tianlong looked at Ye Haipeng and let out a cold snort. "Are we that familiar?"

"When your father was alive, he had to address me as Brother Qin. How is it that when it comes to you, his son, you call me Brother Tianlong?"

"Do you not know how to distinguish seniority?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Haipeng felt somewhat awkward. He cupped his hands again and said, "Uncle Tianlong! I am not sure what conflict my grandson has had with you."

"I only hope you will spare him this time for the sake of the Ye Family!"

Qin Tianlong snorted coldly. "Does your Ye Family have any face in front of me?"

"Let alone you, even if your father, who has been dead for decades, crawled out of the dirt, he would have no face here."

"Your grandson provoked my disciple. You say spare him, and I must spare him?"

Ye Haipeng pursed his lips in embarrassment; he truly had no standing to speak before Qin Tianlong.

Although the Ye Family was a prominent family in Sea City, there was still a gap between them and the Azure Dragon Gang.

Even if the Azure Dragon Gang had been destroyed, Qin Tianlong was not someone Ye Haipeng could afford to provoke.

"Oh! I was wondering who it was! So it's the Azure Dragon Gang leader, Qin Tianlong!"

"What? A prisoner like you can still throw your weight around in front of a prominent Sea City family?"

"Using seniority to pressure people here—aren't you ashamed?"

"And you, Ye Haipeng, your Ye Family is ranked seventh in Sea City, at least. Are you really that afraid of him?"

Just then, a mocking voice came from behind Ye Haipeng.

Zhang Jianye's figure slowly emerged from behind Ye Haipeng.