Amid the shrill alarms, deep beneath the Star Palace Main Altar, a silent hunt and counterhunt had already begun in an abandoned passage known as a branch of the Purefire Channel.
The passage was narrow and winding. Years of scorching earthfire had given its stone walls a dark-red, glassy sheen, and the air reeked of sulfur mingled with pill toxins, enough to suffocate a Foundation Establishment cultivator. This was one of the channels that drained earth-vein fire and waste liquids from the Star Palace's Pill Hall. Few ever came here, and only the simplest warning runes guarded it.
Three figures swept like ghosts through the heat-warped air. All wore fitted dark-red clothing that matched the stone walls, their auras suppressed to the utmost. Were it not for the faint ripples of heat stirred by their swift movements, they would have blended almost completely into their surroundings. Their leader was none other than the man Zhou Tong had suspected-Zhao Kui, deputy commander of the Chaotic Star Sea's Heavenly Jade Hall! His usual rough, boisterous manner had vanished, replaced by an almost ruthless focus and urgency.
"Quick! We must reach the Heavenly Pivot Earth Eye before the alarms completely seal off the earth-vein entrances!" Zhao Kui transmitted, his voice carrying barely restrained excitement and tension. He held a peculiar Bone Talisman that gave off a faint silver-red glow. It seemed to shield them from some of the earth veins' turbulence and the pill toxins' corrosive effects, while faintly pointing in a particular direction.
"Boss Zhao, can this damned place really lead to where that old demon is in seclusion?" one of the men behind him asked quietly. His voice trembled slightly; clearly, he dreaded venturing into this deathtrap.
"Relax. The information is absolutely reliable." A strange gleam flashed through Zhao Kui's eyes.