Underground Cave Entrance

Underground Cave Entrance

On the scorching sands, the members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group were still carrying out their meticulous search with great fervor. The sounds of digging and tools striking sand and stone rose and fell, and everyone was full of energy.

Yet in stark contrast to the bustle of this area was the eerie silence all around them.

"Strange..."

Xiao Li stood atop a dune with a spear in hand, vigilantly sweeping his gaze across the surroundings, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Logically speaking, after those bastards from the Sand Mercenary Group suffered such a huge loss yesterday, they should have come in force to retaliate today. Why is it nearly noon already, yet we haven't even seen a single shadow?"

Xiao Ding, standing beside him, wore a complicated yet proud smile when he heard this.

"They won't be coming, Second Brother."

"They won't be coming? Big Brother, what do you mean?" Xiao Li asked, puzzled.

Xiao Ding patted his shoulder, lowered his voice, and slowly revealed the earth-shattering news that had arrived from Stone Desert City the previous night.

"Last night, Mo Xing, the Sand Mercenary Group's second-in-command, died mysteriously in their headquarters hall. By the time he was found, he had been reduced to a pile of mangled flesh. Not even his bone fragments could be pieced back together."

"And their leader, Sha Luo, did not utter a word about it from beginning to end. Not only did he refuse to investigate the killer, but before dawn, he issued a death order forbidding anyone in the group from coming within even half a step of this patch of sand. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"

"What?!"

Xiao Li was dumbfounded, nearly losing his grip on his spear.

He was no fool. Linking those two events together, a scalp-numbing guess suddenly surfaced in his mind.

He abruptly turned and looked into the distance.

There, his third brother, Xiao Yan, sat cross-legged alone on the blazing sand, unafraid of the brutal sun. His eyes were tightly closed, and the space around him faintly warped. The dense fire-attributed energy between heaven and earth transformed into visible crimson streams that flowed endlessly into his body, as though he refused to waste even a second.

"Was... was it Third Brother?" Xiao Li's voice was filled with irrepressible shock.

Xiao Ding did not answer. He merely nodded heavily, his eyes brimming with amazement and emotion.

Their third brother's current strength and methods had already far surpassed anything they could have imagined.

"This kid..." Xiao Ding looked at the young figure quietly cultivating beneath the blazing sun, both proud and moved. "At such a young age, he possesses such talent and such an unyielding temperament. Our Xiao Family is truly about to produce a real dragon."

Just as the two brothers were stirred by their younger brother's growth—

"Commander! Second Commander!"

A mercenary in charge of surveying suddenly came scrambling over from one of the excavation sites, his face overflowing with uncontrollable delight.

"We found it! We found it!"

He pointed at a freshly dug sandpit behind him and shouted excitedly, "There's... there's a cave entrance beneath the sand!"

The moment those words came out, every member of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group present perked up!

Xiao Yan, who was not far away, immediately withdrew from cultivation. He snapped open his eyes, his figure flashed, and he swiftly arrived before the sandpit.

Beneath several meters of excavated yellow sand, a dark cave entrance roughly wide enough for two people stood quietly before them. Threads of warm air slowly seeped out from its unfathomable depths.

It was precisely the underground entrance they had been searching for over the past few days!

"Excellent!" Xiao Li excitedly swung a fist.

Xiao Yan said nothing. He took a moonlight stone from his Storage Ring, flicked it with his finger, and sent it flying into the cave.

The gentle light illuminated the cave walls and allowed everyone to see the scene underground.

The underground passage was not a straight route, but rather a web of winding, intersecting tunnels. There were countless forks, stretching beyond sight, and its complexity far exceeded everyone's expectations.

"This..." Xiao Ding frowned once more as he looked at the tangled underground labyrinth. "With terrain this complicated, entering rashly could easily cause us to lose our way. The difficulty of surveying it is simply too great."

He turned, intending to order all the surveyors to enter together and split up to investigate.

However, Xiao Yan stopped him first.

"Big Brother, there's no need."

Xiao Yan shook his head, his expression solemn.

"We have no idea what dangers may be hidden in this underground world. I can't let the brothers take such unnecessary risks for my sake alone."

He looked at the members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and said loudly, "Everyone, Xiao Yan appreciates your goodwill. But from here on, I can walk the rest of the path myself."

At those words, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li both shook their heads.

"Nonsense!" Xiao Ding's tone carried the authority and certainty of an elder brother. "We are brothers! Your business is the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's business! How can we let you take such a risk alone?"

He gave Xiao Yan no chance to argue further. Turning away, he began selecting men.

"All elites who have reached the Dou Master level will descend with me! Everyone else will remain on the surface under the Second Commander's lead. Keep outsiders from causing trouble, and be ready to provide rescue at any time in case the sand collapses!"

"Yes!"

The group answered in unison, their morale soaring.

Watching this, warmth welled up in Xiao Yan's heart, and he no longer declined.

Just as everyone began sorting out their equipment, preparing ropes, and making ready to depart—

"Kid, wait." Medicine Elder's voice suddenly rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.

"Teacher? What is it?"

"Have you forgotten? We have the finest guide there is." Medicine Elder's voice carried a hint of amusement.

The next moment, the black ring on Xiao Yan's left hand grew faintly warm again. A wisp of eerie white flame quietly rose from the ring, its flame dancing cheerfully as it pointed directly toward the depths of the dark cave.

"The Green Lotus Core Flame and the Bone Spirit Cold Flame are both Heavenly Flames. They possess a powerful mutual resonance. You only need to follow the Bone Spirit Cold Flame's guidance to find its hiding place precisely. Why send so many people down to search blindly?"

Xiao Yan's eyes immediately burst with wild delight when he heard that. Right! How could I have forgotten that? He promptly told Xiao Ding and Xiao Li about it.

After hearing him out, the two brothers clicked their tongues in amazement, their reverence for the legendary Heavenly Flames growing even deeper.

Now that they had a clear guide, there was naturally no need to send the main force into danger.

After some discussion, the candidates for the descent were finally decided.

The exploration team consisted of Xiao Yan, Yaoxin, Qing Lin, Xun'er, Xiao Ding, and ten Dou Master-level elite mercenaries personally selected by him.

Xiao Li would lead the remaining men in staying on the surface, responsible for receiving them and standing guard.

Before long, sturdy ropes woven from magical beast tendons mixed with metal wire were securely fastened to the rocks around the cave entrance.

All preparations were complete.

Standing at the entrance, Xiao Ding gave the ten elites below one final rallying speech.

"Stay sharp, all of you! Once we go down, every action follows my third brother's command! If anyone dares act recklessly, don't blame me for forgetting brotherhood!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Xiao Yan took a deep breath. He looked at his companions beside him, then at his two elder brothers, who gave him encouraging looks.

He no longer hesitated. Taking hold of a rope first, he smiled broadly at the others.

"Everyone, let's go!"

As his words fell, he leaped down, his figure disappearing first into the bottomless black cave entrance.

Immediately afterward, Yaoxin, Xun'er, Qing Lin, Xiao Ding, and the ten Desert Iron elites also gripped the ropes and descended one after another, their hearts filled with anticipation and tension.