The three continued on their way, and after a few close calls, they arrived at a seemingly ordinary mountain wall covered with moss and weathering marks.
The Black Emperor stood up, its expression becoming more serious. It raised a dog paw, the tip of which flowed with a faint dark light, and quickly drew several complex and mysterious runes full of ancient Daoist charm in the air. Then, it gently pushed the runes onto the mountain wall.
"Buzz!"
The mountain wall trembled slightly, the moss on its surface peeled off, and ripples spread across the rocks like water.
A narrow crack, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, appeared silently.
The interior is deep and dark, exuding an aura that is more ancient and weathered than the outside world, as if it has accumulated an ancient loneliness.
"This is it!"
Black Emperor wagged its tail smugly and lowered its voice.
"Very few people know about this secret passage. Back then, that kid Li Qingshan sneaked in through here."
Although there are some troublesome mechanisms and residual restrictions inside, it's a million times safer than those fools outside trying to fight against the imperial runes personally laid out by the Great Emperor Wushi with Emperor Weapon weapons!
"The path that Teacher Li has walked,"
Ye Fan's eyes narrowed, and he felt more confident and assured.
He always held his teacher, who was also from Earth and was exceptionally talented, in high esteem and felt a sense of kinship with him as a fellow countryman.
"Let's go! Hurry up!"
Stop dawdling!
Delay will only lead to problems; all the good stuff will be snatched up!
Upon hearing that it was indeed a shortcut, Duan De immediately perked up. He rubbed his fat hands together, swallowed hard, and was the first to try to squeeze in. His obese body caused stone chips to fall from the edge of the crack.
"You fatso, what's the rush! Go reincarnate!"
Black Emperor slapped Duan De's rear end with its paw, shoving him away; its dog face was full of disgust.
"The interior is riddled with traps and intricate formations, each linked to the next. Follow closely in my footsteps."
One wrong step, and you've triggered a killing formation. Even an Ancient Saint, let alone a deity, couldn't save you!
The three of them crawled into the narrow crevice one by one.
The passage was initially extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, and it took several dozen more steps.
The terrain gradually descends, and the surroundings become increasingly dark, requiring cultivators to rely solely on their spiritual senses to perceive the surroundings.
After walking another hundred feet or so, the view suddenly opened up, but instead of becoming brighter, it led into a wider, yet darker and more desolate underground passage.
The air was icy cold, filled with the scent of ancient dust and damp dampness. The rough stone walls were covered with thick sediment, etched with the marks of time.
Black Emperor led the way, its four claws seemingly containing some strange Daoist charm. With each step, it precisely avoided some subtle Daoist patterns on the ground that were invisible to the naked eye and difficult to detect with spiritual sense.
It would pause from time to time, its paws gesturing and deducing in the air, muttering incantations as it tried to break the invisible barrier in front of it;
Occasionally, it would open its mouth and exhale a breath of pure demonic energy, activating a teleportation node hidden in the ground or wall.
He carried Ye Fan and Duan De on a short-distance, almost imperceptible Void jump.
The entire process was completely silent, forming a stark contrast to the devastating roar and shouts of battle outside.
"Hehe, see that? That's what professionalism is."
What is meant by "foundation"?
While busy working, Black Emperor didn't forget to boast, his dog eyes full of smugness.
"Those idiots outside are fighting tooth and nail, leaving corpses strewn everywhere. They probably still don't even know which direction the real core area of Purple Mountain is!"
Brute force is always the least efficient method!
Duan De followed behind, dazzled by the sight, and secretly astonished by the Black Emperor's ability to break the formation.
However, his attention was more drawn to the passageway itself, his small eyes gleaming with shrewdness, as he muttered with a pained expression:
"Hey Black Emperor, slow down! Don't just keep walking!"
Look at this stone wall, these patterns, this material, wow, this is at least 100,000 years old Black Obsidian Profound Stone, and it might even contain Stone Gall!
And this ground, these paving stones, faintly exude a Daoist aura. If you were to cut off a piece and sell it, you could get quite a bit of resources!
"Alas, what a pity, no time at all, what a waste of talent."
Ye Fan remained focused, sensing his surroundings.
Its divine sense, far surpassing that of its peers, flowed like mercury, meticulously probing every inch of space.
He could clearly sense that this secret passage was not absolutely safe; powerful restrictive fluctuations lingered in some corners, and although they were quiet, they still gave people a sense of danger.
This isn't an advertisement, it's a recommendation for the treasure book " Shrouding the Heavens: Yuanshi of the Myriad Heavens ":
Some of the stone walls were even stained with dried, dark bloodstains that still exuded an astonishing aura of malevolence and resentment. Clearly, intruders who knew the secret passage had once triggered the restrictions here, instantly perishing and being annihilated, body and soul.
However, the Black Emperor seemed to know this place like the back of his hand, always able to precisely avoid all known dangerous points. This familiarity could not have been developed overnight.
After a long and winding, seemingly endless stealth journey, the three arrived at a fork in the road with three paths.
Without any hesitation, Black Emperor chose the leftmost slightly upward side path.
At the end of the side road, it carefully used its claws to press seven times in a specific order and with a specific force on an inconspicuous protruding rock that looked no different from any other rock.
Click.
A faint, almost inaudible click of a mechanism was heard, and the stone wall in front of them quietly slid open inward, creating a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through sideways.
A stronger, more nauseating stench of blood filled the air, along with chaotic, violent fluctuations of destructive energy.
Like a flood bursting its banks, it surged from the other end of the crevice, accompanied by angry roars, shrill screams, and the piercing clang of clashing divine weapons.
"Shh!" Black Emperor immediately made a shushing gesture, his fur standing on end, and transmitted his voice.
"We've arrived. This should be a natural cave above the main passage. It's in a very tricky location, and the battlefield is right below."
Be careful, conceal your aura with all your might, don't let even the slightest hint of it leak out!
Those guys down there are bloodthirsty, their senses are incredibly sharp!
The three immediately concealed their auras to the extreme. Ye Fan activated the Breath Concealment Technique, his figure seemingly merging with the surrounding rocks.
Duan De used some unknown method, and his plump body became ethereal, his presence drastically diminished;
The Black Emperor then unleashed a blurry array pattern, enveloping the three of them and further isolating them from detection.
Like three ghosts, they silently slipped into the cave, hiding in the shadow of a huge stalactite at the entrance, cautiously peering down.
The scene before him caused even Ye Fan, who was mentally prepared and had experienced many trials, to feel a strong sense of unease and shock.
Below was an incredibly wide passage, seemingly leading to the depths of the earth, its scale beyond imagination, large enough for several dragons to fly side by side.
However, at this moment, this magnificent passageway resembled a bloody Shura, a living hell.
Limbs and severed arms were scattered everywhere, some still wearing battle armor that shimmered with precious light, while others displayed the unique forms of Ancient Races, with silver wings, scales, and bone spikes strewn all over the ground.
The blood had almost formed a small stream, staining the dark purple ground a deep red and emitting a strong, fishy stench.
Broken fragments of magical artifacts were scattered everywhere, some still retaining faint divine energy, shimmering with their last light, like stars adorning this land of death.
Several powerful auras were colliding wildly in the passage, divine power surging and the laws of the Dao manifesting, seemingly distorting and shattering space itself.
The Jiang Family's group was enveloped in a blazing, Sun- like, yet Nirvana- like crimson divine light, with the Hengyu Furnace hovering above their heads.
It was only about ten feet tall, yet it seemed to hold the earth, water, fire, and wind still, with ten thousand Dao Fire laws descending from it, transforming into crimson Order Divine Chains to protect itself and incinerate external enemies.
However, the light emanating from the furnace body was noticeably dimmer than before, and the imperial might it exuded was not as vast and boundless as it had been initially.
Patriarch Jiang Yun's face was as pale as paper, with bloodstains still wet at the corners of his mouth, and his chest was stained red. He kept forming hand seals, transferring his own essence into the Hengyu Furnace.
The elders around him were even Tai Shang exhausted, one of them even lost an arm, and a strange silver light flickered at the wound, preventing the flesh from regenerating.
They were being besieged by a group of Ancient Races Spirit Valley, who had silver wings on their backs, cold faces, and a chilling aura.
The leading Silver-Winged Ancient King held a scepter embodying moonlight and flowing with divine power, with a constantly expanding and contracting silver eyeball embedded at its tip.
The terrifying cold waves that continuously blasted out could freeze the Void and even seal divine power clashed fiercely with the imperial fire falling from the Hengyu Furnace, emitting hissing sounds and steaming up white mist.
" The Jiang Family is likely to suffer a major setback this time."
Duan De shrank into the shadows and whispered, a complex expression on his chubby face.
"Although the Hengyu Furnace is powerful, being a weapon of Great Emperor, activating it consumes too much energy, especially when facing the backlash of Emperor-level runes and the reckless attacks of Ancient Saint."
It seems the meager resources the Jiang Family brought are about to crumble.
Unless they can fully revive the Emperor Weapon, but the price... hehe."