On a dilapidated mining mountain in the Inner Region of the Great Yan Ancient Mine, more than a dozen figures sat cross-legged. Their leader wore purple-and-gold Daoist robes and sported three long strands of beard. He was none other than Li Changfeng.
Glancing back at the cultivators around him, Li Changfeng's eyes flashed with gloom.
They had suffered grievous losses on this expedition into the Great Yan Ancient Mine. First came a terrifying beast tide, followed by an encounter with the maddened Xuan Wuchang. With those who had fallen in the Slaughter Formation also counted, only thirteen cultivators remained at his side. Of the rogue cultivator Guest Elders, Shen Changyun alone survived.
"I wonder how badly the other three factions suffered. According to Grandfather, the Calamity-Averting Yuan Magnetism was born in Ghost Cry Valley up ahead."
"Unfortunately, Ghost Cry Valley is one of the Inner Region's perilous grounds. A single sect could never enter it on its own."
Li Changfeng sighed softly and withdrew his gaze from the distance.
Ghost Cry Valley was the name Danyangzi had given that eerie valley. A type of spirit ore riddled the rocky slopes on either side. After years of being gnawed upon by demon beasts, countless tiny holes had gradually formed in it. Whenever the wind blew through them, they produced strange, grating sounds, hence Danyangzi's name for the place.
Danyangzi knew this place so well because a miner from the Crimson Sun Sect had thrown out a Projection Pearl just before his death.
Whenever Li Changfeng recalled the final images in that Projection Pearl, his scalp tingled, and a chill ran through him.
In the final images, the cultivator had been devoured by a dense swarm of bizarre insects. Deep within the swarm lay what appeared to be an enormous nest, and