As Qin arrived at the cave entrance, Yan Xuan, Zhang Yunzi, and Old Man Kong, along with the leading disciples, were already there.

Shen Bao stood at the mouth of the cave, clutching his spirit blade, staring into the pitch-black, bottomless mining tunnel. He didn't know what dangerous demonic beasts were lurking inside, and a wave of dread washed over him, causing him to hesitate.

Yan Xuan glared at him and barked, "What are you waiting for? Are you going in or not? If you don't, I'll send you in myself." She lightly shook a small sword artifact in her hand, pressuring Shen Bao to enter.

"Right away, I’ll go right now!"

Shen Bao looked at the small sword with fear and agreed repeatedly, shuffling sluggishly toward the edge of the cavern. However, his eyes darted continuously toward the other small teams from the Azure Pill Sect in the distance. Although he was supposed to be the vanguard for this team, if the other teams went in first, it might embolden him somewhat.

Shen Bao delayed until he saw several other teams enter various cave mouths. Only then did he feel slightly better. Clutching the spirit blade in his hand, he cast an earth-element defensive shield upon himself and prepared to enter.

Suddenly, a scream ripped through the air from deep within another cavern, "Ah—!" Several Azure Pill Sect disciples, who had entered a nearby cave first, bolted out in panicked disarray. "Demonic beasts! There are demonic beasts inside!"

The disciples participating in the trial from the Azure Pill Sect exchanged bewildered glances.

Shen Bao instantly stiffened, his face draining of color.

"You go in!"

Yan Xuan let out a sharp cry. She delivered a flying kick squarely to Shen Bao’s backside, kicking the momentarily stunned disciple into the cavern. Shen Bao shrieked as he tumbled inside.

Then, silence. The cave remained utterly still.

Yan Xuan, Ye Qin, Zhang Yunzi, and Old Man Kong waited outside the cave entrance, anxiously watching for any movement from within. If Shen Bao was unharmed, they could follow; if something happened to him, they would need to consider their countermeasures.

After a short while, Shen Bao's muffled, grumbling voice drifted out. "Hmph. A wretched ghost from millennia past. He even made it to the entrance, but couldn't escape. Still a pauper—only a few broken stones on him."

Kicked into the cavern, Shen Bao had been paralyzed on the ground. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he perceived no immediate danger from demonic beasts, he slowly and reluctantly pulled himself up from the ground and continued deeper, spirit blade in hand.

"Nothing... no demonic beasts! You can come in!"

Yan Xuan and the other three exchanged glances, then one by one, they flashed into the cavern.

Old Man Kong went second, Zhang Yunzi third, Ye Qin fourth, with Yan Xuan taking up the rear.

Judging by this order, Ye Qin had actually gained a slight advantage. Though all of them were cannon fodder, the degree of danger varied.

Yan Xuan detested Shen Bao's oily, glib nature, so she forced him to lead the way. Then, because Old Man Kong was only known for his meek compliance, she placed him second. After that was Zhang Yunzi; his excessively respectful, humble, and polite demeanor grated on her nerves, putting him third. Finally, only Ye Qin remained. Despite being ordinary, he lacked any specific trait that annoyed her, so he was placed fourth. In the event of real danger, Ye Qin would certainly be the first to die, allowing him maximum time to flee.

Even so, Ye Qin remained extremely cautious, carefully surveying the environment within the cave. The rock walls here were carved out by miners, much like the tunnels in North Camp Mountain. The air carried a faint, pungent odor of demonic beasts.

The cave was pitch black, but everyone had protective shields, and their spirit artifacts emitted a faint light, which was just enough to illuminate the path inside the mine shaft.

Ye Qin frowned. Why were there no signs of demonic beasts right at the entrance? Did the situation differ in every tunnel?

His foot suddenly caught on something. He looked down and saw the skeletal remains of a miner, a woven basket still strapped to his back, lying on the ground facing deeper into the cavern. Since Myriad Withered Ridge had been sealed for ages, these remains were likely thousands of years old.

Ye Qin half-crouched and used his Fire Blade artifact to prod the remains, discovering that neither the skeleton nor the basket held anything of value.

He frowned slightly. There should have been something on the corpse, but it was likely looted by Shen Bao, who had entered earlier. No wonder it took Shen Bao nearly half an hour to call out—he was probably searching this skeleton.

Ye Qin felt a slight disappointment. It seemed that although Shen Bao took the highest risk by being sent in first, he had certainly claimed the benefit of 'first come, first served.'

The five proceeded into the mining tunnel, walking nearly a hundred feet further without encountering any demonic beasts.

After his momentary scare, Shen Bao began boastfully recounting his incredible luck since embarking on the path of cultivation. He claimed his fortune was exceptional; wandering aimlessly through various states, he reached the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. He then vaguely joined the Azure Pill Sect, and after three years of idling without serious cultivation, he somehow reached the eighth layer.

"This cave trial seems to pose no great danger. Give me another five or eight years, and perhaps I can reach Foundation Establishment, haha."

Shen Bao’s smugness was palpable. No one listened to his nonsense; most cultivators had ascended through hardship and danger, not by stumbling forward blindly. However, Shen Bao's luck did seem quite potent. They had walked nearly a hundred yards into the cave and still hadn't spotted any sign of demonic beasts.

They proceeded at a steady pace until they reached a three-way junction. Any of the three paths could be taken, but a choice needed to be made.

Yan Xuan thought that since Shen Bao was boasting about his great fortune, he should choose the path.

Shen Bao casually pointed toward the middle tunnel, and the five continued down the central passage. After walking about a hundred yards more, the area gradually opened up into a rather spacious stone chamber capable of holding several dozen people. This was likely a temporary resting spot for the miners, or perhaps a large area hollowed out while digging for spirit stones.

Shen Bao peered tentatively into the chamber, decided there was no danger, and strode inside.

Then—

"Splat!"

A mass of sticky, viscous material dropped from the cavern wall. A sharp glint flashed in Shen Bao’s eyes; with a swift step, he retreated several feet with extreme speed.

A large, gooey spider web covered the spot where Shen Bao had just stood. Immediately, with eerie squeaking sounds, two furry spiders scuttled out, brandishing their claws, their emerald eyes fierce. One was enormous, nearly half a person in size, while the other was much smaller, about the size of a human head.

"Second-rank demonic beasts, Cave Wolf Spiders!" Shen Bao gasped softly. He flicked a talisman for the Fireball Art with his left hand, hurling it at the smaller spider. Simultaneously, he lunged forward with his spirit blade, aiming for the larger one.

The slightly smaller Cave Wolf Spider was blasted backward repeatedly by two fireballs. The other, larger Cave Wolf Spider was firmly pinned against the cavern wall.

Though Shen Bao achieved an immediate result, he didn't pause to think. Forgetting his spirit blade, he turned and activated the Wind Control Art, bolting away. He had only run a few yards when—

"Pfft!"

The spider pinned to the wall violently convulsed, its massive abdomen swelling rapidly several times its original size before exploding. A nest of countless thumb-sized spiderlings sprayed out, covering an area of several yards—dense, horrifying, and surging toward Shen Bao like a tide.

Shen Bao zipped past Old Man Kong.

Old Man Kong, who had been cautiously following behind Shen Bao, observed the scene clearly. Seeing Shen Bao flee behind him, he frowned. A cold smile flickered across his dull, grey face. Unhurriedly, he produced a thin silk net, tossing it out to cover the entire tunnel wall.

Though the net looked thin, it was extremely fine and tough. The hundreds of small spiderlings could not pass through; they were trapped on the other side, squeaking wildly, biting at the silk net, and constantly spitting out small blobs of sticky fluid. Any one or two that squeezed through the edges were incinerated by the fireballs Old Man Kong casually launched.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Shen Bao stopped and drifted back, his eyes wide. "A Spider Silk Net spirit artifact? Old Man Kong, crafting this kind of artifact isn't easy. Where did you get it?"

A rare smile touched Old Man Kong's withered face. "These small cave beasts are numerous. I was prepared long ago and commissioned a friend to refine this. With this Spider Silk Net, and utilizing the terrain, capturing demonic beasts is far more convenient. Didn't the Sect Master say that killing more demonic beasts yields Foundation Establishment Pills? That's why I made this preparation."

Yan Xuan, Ye Qin, and the other two had caught up.

Ye Qin glanced at the silk net and felt a flicker of surprise. This Spider Silk Net spirit artifact shared a similar principle with his own Thorn Intercepting Net; it was perfectly suited for use in this environment. Old Man Kong's spirit artifact was truly excellent.

Yan Xuan looked on with disdain, her fair face frosty. "Stop dawdling. Hurry up and clear out the demonic beasts ahead."

Old Man Kong and Shen Bao moved to the front. Old Man Kong weaved hand seals, and the silk net retracted, engulfing the swarm of several hundred spiderlings. He then subjected them to Yang Fire, burning them into a pile of ash. The remaining few spiderlings that slipped through were dispatched by Shen Bao and Zhang Yunzi.

There was one small Cave Wolf Spider left in the stone chamber that hadn't died; it was a male and wouldn't explode into a nest of babies. With two cultivators at the ninth and eighth layers of Qi Condensation attacking simultaneously, slaying one second-rank male Cave Wolf Spider was effortless.

Shen Bao retrieved the spirit blade he had discarded. The spider he had pinned against the wall was still twitching; he slashed it into pulp with a few quick strikes.

After entering the chamber, Yan Xuan surveyed the space and nodded in satisfaction. She took out ten spirit flags used for array formations from her storage bag, waved her slender hand, and shot them toward the inner sides of the passages on either side of the chamber, arranging them in a pentagonal pattern. She then placed a piece of low-grade spirit stone onto each flag.

Two thin walls of light materialized at the entrances of the passages leading in and out of the stone chamber.

"These are defensive light barriers. They can be passed directly by using our sect's tokens. Second-rank or lower demonic beasts cannot break through easily; even a third-rank beast would require a dozen strikes. This is our temporary stronghold. If we encounter danger, we can retreat here to make a stand. Subsequent disciples from the sect will arrive and establish a stable formation territory here for our sect's use, making it harder for other sects or demonic beasts to launch surprise attacks. Let's go; we need to find the next suitable point to defend."

Yan Xuan explained, lest they misunderstand the light barrier's purpose.

Ye Qin, Shen Bao, Old Man Kong, and Zhang Yunzi exchanged astonished glances. The high-ranking members of the Azure Pill Sect had made extremely meticulous arrangements for this beast clearing operation; their intent to seize the spirit stone mines in Myriad Withered Ridge seemed set in stone.

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