Before leaving the stone chamber, Old Man Kong meticulously used his tools to cut away the silk webs left by the two Cave Wolf Spiders, along with the spiders' feelers and eyes. He then sliced open the belly of the mother spider, extracting the unhatched egg sacs, which he carefully placed into several small vials and beast-hide pouches, storing them within his spatial ring.

Shen Bao wrinkled his nose in disgust upon seeing this, mocking, "Old Man Kong, you can stomach collecting such repulsive things."

Old Man Kong immediately adopted a stern expression and stated matter-of-factly, "This silk, feelers, and eggs are all materials that can be used for artifact refining and incubation; they can fetch quite a few Spirit Stones. I am but a poor old man; if I don't calculate every little gain, how am I supposed to get by in the future? You youngsters don't understand the value of accumulating small amounts; you will surely suffer for it eventually."

Shen Bao scoffed dismissively, "What's the point of earning pocket change? We need to aim for the big scores."

Because Old Man Kong possessed a spiritual artifact made of silk netting, Yan Xuan assigned him and Shen Bao to walk side-by-side at the front of the mining tunnel to clear the path.

Meanwhile, Ye Qin took up the rear this time.

As for the two Cave Wolf Spiders, although Yan Xuan said nothing aloud, the slight flicker of panic in her eyes revealed her lingering fear of those eight-legged, furry creatures.

This was likely instinctual; even holding a magic tool and being at the ninth layer of the Qi Condensation stage could not erase that deep-seated dread.

In the depths of this mining tunnel, monstrous beasts like the Cave Wolf Spiders could appear at any moment from the front or the back.

Ye Qin had been strategically placed behind her to guard against any sudden appearance of beasts from the rear.

Ye Qin had no complaints about this arrangement, merely following Yan Xuan cautiously while constantly monitoring the sounds behind him. His external aura was incredibly faint, often leading Yan Xuan to feel as if no one was behind her. She would occasionally look back to check and only relax when she confirmed Ye Qin was still there.

A flicker of suspicion crossed her mind. Ye Qin’s aura was weaker than even a first-layer Qi Condensation cultivator, almost comparable to a secular mortal. She would need to use the Spirit Sight Technique to perceive his true cultivation level. What strange cultivation method was he practicing?

However, cultivation techniques were the private business of every cultivator, so she refrained from asking too many questions.

Walking at the back, Ye Qin appeared lost in thought.

Shen Bao and Old Man Kong—one boasting incessantly about his luck, the other perpetually feigning hardship—both possessed considerable strength. With them leading the way, clearing out monstrous beasts should not pose a major issue.

Zhang Yun had shown no particular demeanor, being polite to everyone without seeming overly subservient or arrogant, making him hard to read.

Yan Xuan, with her apparent spoiled and haughty demeanor, projecting the image of a seasoned captain, was likely the most naive and inexperienced in actual combat among the group. Yet, her strength should be considerable; as a core blue-robed disciple from the highest echelon of the Azure Pill Sect, she possessed the necessary techniques, spells, and artifacts. In a direct confrontation, she was probably the strongest.

This hastily assembled group of cannon fodder still possessed overall capability.

Ye Qin gave a wry, silent shake of his head. His own strength could only be considered middle-tier within this small team. Among the first thirty to forty disciples who entered the mine from the Azure Pill Sect, those with similar strength were likely abundant. Furthermore, the initial batch of trial disciples sent by the other nineteen cultivation sects would certainly not be weak.

If they encountered others deep underground, a bloody slaughter would likely be unavoidable.

This mining tunnel trial was exceptionally arduous.

Only the most elite cultivators would survive this cavern trial in the end.

While thinking, Ye Qin continuously channeled Spirit Stones to replenish the mana consumed by his protective shield and the Wind Riding Art, steadily following Yan Xuan at an unhurried pace. He maintained peak condition, ready to strike at any moment; he dared not hold back his strength in this life-threatening trial.

Ye Qin’s squad moved cautiously through the mining tunnel for an entire day. Shen Bao and Old Man Kong discovered over a dozen monstrous beasts in succession. Their levels were not excessively high, and they managed to eliminate them with relative ease. However, as they ventured deeper, the density of beasts in the tunnel began to increase. Unless something unexpected happened, the deeper sections of the tunnel held a significant number of formidable monsters.

Another problem arose: they were lost.

The Spirit Stone mining tunnels in the Myriad Withered Ridge were excavated chaotically, riddled with countless forks—some wide, some narrow—turning left or right abruptly. Moreover, almost every branch tunnel looked nearly identical, making it impossible to determine the correct path.

They had tried various methods to mark their route: leaving minute directional symbols on the tunnel walls, dropping tiny beans, or smearing slight traces of medicinal herbs on the ground to log every passage they took.

Logically, such measures should have been sufficient for five Qi Condensation cultivators to track their way and avoid getting lost.

The issue was that their markings were being maliciously erased or altered, with new indicators left behind. This immediately raised their alertness, making them highly cautious.

The only beings capable of such actions were undoubtedly other disciples passing through the tunnels.

After a full day of traversing the tunnels, they had repeatedly gone through many sections. Because the markers were being deleted and altered by disciples from other sects, they completely lost their sense of direction and ended up utterly disoriented.

Fortunately, the water and food supplies they carried in their spatial bags, used sparingly, would last them two to three months, so being lost wasn't an immediate catastrophe.

"Three corpses, still warm—they couldn't have died more than half an hour ago!" Shen Bao stopped abruptly after rounding a corner, startled. He crouched down to examine the bodies, touching them before whispering urgently to the others behind him.

Everyone immediately gathered around.

Ye Qin moved forward swiftly, reaching the corpses first. He scanned them briefly.

Judging by their attire, these were disciples from two minor immortal sects.

The Ling Mountain Sect and the Blade Sect.

One of the corpses, a stout man in yellow, was a Ling Mountain disciple. His body was pinned to the tunnel wall about two zhang high by a golden light sword, hanging limply with his head bowed, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Based on the penetration point, he had clearly been ambushed by someone lunging up from the ground. The Golden Light Sword possessed a potent armor-piercing effect, which had pierced his protective shield and impaled him against the wall.

The other two corpses were twisted together. One was the Ling Mountain disciple in yellow, and the other was a gray-robed disciple from the Myriad Blade Sect. Both bodies were heavily fragmented, nearly reduced to smears of flesh. They appeared to have sustained at least a dozen spell attacks—hacked to death on the spot by spells like Wind Blades and Ice Arrows.

Deducing from the scene, after these two engaged in a fierce struggle, the remaining members of their respective teams likely launched a combined, furious assault, sacrificing both of them.

This was probably the site of a swift skirmish; both sides retreated immediately after the fight, leaving these three corpses behind, without even having time to retrieve the spiritual artifacts still clinging to them.

The other disciples from the two sects were nowhere to be seen; perhaps they had retreated in fear, or perhaps they were engaged in mutual pursuit and had no time to loot the spiritual artifacts.

Ye Qin mused silently, feeling a chill at the ruthlessness displayed by the methods used on these two teams.

Since the spiritual artifacts on these three corpses remained, and their spatial bags were still present, the five of them naturally showed no hesitation. They immediately took the spatial bags, emptied their contents, and divided the loot directly.

Each member of the squad received one or two spiritual artifacts, several talisman papers, and a few Spirit Stones.

Ye Qin ended up with a low-grade spiritual sword.

Shen Bao licked his lips, idly playing with the spiritual artifact he had obtained, his eyes glinting. "This tunnel is very narrow. To facilitate movement, each squad dispatched into the mine usually doesn't exceed four or five people. Three people are already dead here. The Ling Mountain group should have three left, and the Myriad Blade Sect should have four. After such a fight, their consumption must be severe, and they won't recover quickly. A single spiritual artifact is worth at least a hundred Spirit Stones. Why don't we go look for them? See if we can catch them—opportunities to strike it rich like this are rare. It’s much better than the worthless scrap materials Old Man Kong is hoarding."

Old Man Kong’s face flushed upon hearing Shen Bao’s taunt, and he snorted in clear displeasure, muttering something under his breath as he put away the spiritual artifact he received. He did not oppose Shen Bao’s suggestion. Such opportunities to pick up easy gains were infrequent, and he had no intention of missing out.

Zhang Yun cautiously sized up the expressions of the others, thought it over carefully, and finally nodded in agreement. "Senior Brother Shen’s suggestion is good. If we can acquire a few more spiritual artifacts, it won't have been a wasted trip into the caves. Senior Brother Ye, what do you think?" He turned to ask Ye Qin.

"Sure," Ye Qin replied calmly.

Since the direction of the tunnel was indistinguishable and the whereabouts of the other two squads were unknown, tracking them was impossible. Shen Bao’s suggestion to pursue would only result in aimless wandering within the tunnels. The chance of stumbling upon the decimated Ling Mountain squad was slim. They might instead run into masters from the Seven Great Immortal Cultivation Sects, in which case a fierce slaughter would surely ensue.

Yan Xuan furrowed her small nose, seemingly dissatisfied that the others had made a major decision without consulting her first.

Her face turned frosty, and without a word, she walked deeper into the tunnel.

Judging by the direction of the corpses, the Ling Mountain squad had been ambushed coming from the interior and had retreated along their original path after losing three members. Therefore, continuing deeper offered a much higher probability of encountering them.

By leading the way inward, Yan Xuan implicitly agreed to pursue the remnants of the Ling Mountain squad, though she was inwardly furious that her four subordinates—all low-status blue-robed cannon fodder from the Azure Pill Sect—had dared to make such a significant decision without gaining her consent. Not a single one of the four had sought her opinion; they were completely disregarding her presence.

Shen Bao and Old Man Kong exchanged a look, both wearing slight smiles of triumph, and followed leisurely behind Yan Xuan.

Seeking 1 Monthly Ticket~~~ First publication