Was he threatening them into obedience, or egging them on to cause trouble?
Even after Yu Ci left the flying boat and entered deep into the turbulent earth strata, he kept turning over the Sunken Sword Cave master's contradictory, absurd words and actions in his mind.
The Manifestation Flying Boat had already been put away by the Sunken Sword Cave master. They were now all within the thick earth strata, using escape arts to part the mixed Five Elements energy and sustain themselves. Five Elements escape arts were the most basic of spells, yet they only became truly practical at the Core Restoration realm. No one present needed to worry about that, and even Yu Ci, after adapting for a little while, found that using the Earth Evasion Technique was much easier than before.
The Sunken Sword Cave master was still nowhere to be seen. Tie Lan, at the very front of the group, explained that the seals of the Sword Immortal Secret Realm and the Sword Garden were in fact one whole, naturally rejecting all cultivators above the Core Restoration realm. If the Sunken Sword Cave master revealed himself, he would surely trigger the seals' full retaliation, harming both others and himself. Thus, he had used a secret art to conceal his aura and hidden himself among them, ensuring their safety for the moment.
This was one of Yu Ci and the others' uses: human shields.
After the Pan Huang Three Swords had been driven out, only ten people remained on this side. Glancing aside, Yu Ci saw that Wen Shifei and the two from the Light Demon Sect were still gathered together, their expressions fairly calm. They made one faction; the four Rogue Cultivators made another; Yu Ci and Incense Slave barely counted as a third; and then