Yan Xuan took the lead, with Shen Bao, Old Man Kong, Zhang Yunzi, and others positioned in the center, as Ye Qin quickly moved deeper into the mine shaft. The corpses left by the disciples of the Shan and Wanren Sects were from half an hour ago; those two factions' disciples had long since left, making the chance of them being caught unlikely.

Ye Qin followed them slowly, his divine sense alert for any movement behind him, guarding against any pursuers.

He wasn't particularly concerned about chasing down the disciples of those two minor sects; what truly occupied his mind was locating Spirit Stones within this cavern. However, what depressed him was that after entering the cave for nearly a full day, he still hadn't found a single trace of Spirit Stone along the tunnel walls. He wondered just how deep into this cavern they would need to venture to find any.

Still, Ye Qin was mentally prepared for this. At the Beiying Mountain mine shaft of the Qingdan Sect, it was entirely normal not to hit the bottom for over ten days. This Wan Ku Ridge spanned hundreds of miles, far larger than Beiying Mountain, so digging underground for several months might be considered routine.

However, surviving for several months in a trial within a cavern where seventeen different sects' disciples were participating was no simple task. One careless mistake could wipe out the entire team, leaving no one alive.

Ye Qin had to maintain the utmost focus, proceeding with meticulous caution.

As the five walked, Yan Xuan, who was leading, suddenly halted, waving for the others to stop. She strained her ears, listening intently for a moment, her delicate face shifting. In a whisper as fine as a silken thread, she transmitted a message to the team.

“I hear the scraping sounds of several demonic beasts ahead—possibly a demonic beast lair! Retreat!”

The entire team gasped in unison, sucking in a sharp breath.

Demonic beasts themselves weren't terrifying; even a third-tier beast could be taken down if they collaborated. But a demonic beast lair was something else entirely—terrifying. A swarm of beasts rushing forward in the narrow passage would leave them no room to maneuver; their only option would be to flee. Running haphazardly within the mine would be tantamount to seeking death.

The five members of the team suppressed their spiritual energy and aura almost simultaneously. Not daring to make a sound, they backed away stealthily. They retreated nearly a hundred zhang before finally letting out a slight sigh of relief, putting some distance between themselves and the lair.

Shen Bao questioned, "What kind of demonic beast lair is it? How many?"

Yan Xuan pondered for a moment, saying, "A small nest, roughly six or seven demonic beast breaths. Judging by the scraping sounds, they seem to be Pangolin Beasts. Ordinary Pangolin Beasts are second-tier, the young are first-tier, and the Pangolin King might be third-tier."

~Tou exclaimed excitedly, "Those scales are excellent materials! If we kill them and refine the scales into defensive Spirit Artifacts, they'll be at least high-tier defensive Spirit Artifacts. Moreover, wearing such armor would greatly conserve mana when using Earth Evasion techniques."

Zhang Yunzi frowned, "These are earth-elemental demonic beasts. Their scales are extremely thick. Ordinary spells and Spirit Artifacts can hardly penetrate them. Their claws are exceptionally sharp. For the few of us here, dealing with them might take some trouble."

Shen Bao chuckled, "A small nest like this will have at least one or two young ones, three or four ordinary Pangolin Beasts, and at most one third-tier Pangolin King. Calculated this way, we still have some chance."

Ye Qin leaned against the corner of a turn in the mine shaft wall, observing them coldly from a distance. If those four were to clear out the demonic beast lair ahead, someone would certainly need to guard the rear to prevent surprise attacks from behind. He, naturally, could not join in.

Suddenly, a jolt went through Ye Qin, and a sense of crisis flooded his heart. He spun around abruptly, peering down the mine passage behind him.

An extremely faint shadow flickered briefly not far behind in the tunnel before instantly receding.

Ye Qin’s chest pounded violently, his muscles tautening. He sprang from his previous position, shifting to a new spot to crouch, and with a flip of his hand, the chillingly cold Profound Yin Sword artifact, several inches long, materialized in his palm, ready to strike. In a sudden, short burst of combat within the confined mine shaft, one never knew the opponent's strength; the only approach was to unleash the most potent killing blow immediately, leaving absolutely no room for reservation.

Ye Qin broke out in a cold sweat upon discovering a tracker behind him.

After the shadow vanished, the trailing team did not immediately appear. Ye Qin pondered briefly and quickly understood: when that shadow crept up stealthily just now, it likely hadn't noticed him stationed at this cave turn. Only upon getting close did it suddenly perceive him, perhaps mistaking the spot for an ambush, causing it to immediately retreat, wary of making any rash moves.

Ye Qin inwardly cursed. Their Qingdan Sect team was cornered. Ahead lay a demonic beast lair, and behind them, an unknown faction's small team.

Perhaps this entire location was a trap! No wonder the disciples of the Shan and Wanren Sects had fled; they might have been ambushed here.

Ye Qin watched the passage behind him coldly. The team behind them had not advanced yet, likely still hesitating. He calmly analyzed the situation, tapped his foot lightly, and drifted towards Yan Xuan and the others, making a gesture and pointing toward the rear passage.

Yan Xuan, Shen Bao, and the others were murmuring about how to eliminate the demonic beast lair when they saw Ye Qin signal that people were approaching from behind, and they were instantly stunned.

The group exchanged calm glances and immediately drew their weapons, retreating to the corner of the passage to set up an ambush. They were all somewhat tense; after all, this was their first face-to-face encounter at such close range with another team participating in the cavern trial since entering the mine shaft. This confrontation might very well become their first bloody battle since entering the cave.

Yan Xuan quietly asked, "Which sect are they from?"

Ye Qin shook his head. "Unclear. I didn't see anyone, only a faint, dim shadow flash past. I suspect it was their scout, moving at the front. They were likely startled when they unexpectedly sensed my aura and retreated. They also don't know which sect we belong to or our strength, and are probably still debating whether to advance."

The group waited near the tunnel corner for almost half an hour, but there was no movement from outside.

"Have they perhaps left?"

Yan Xuan and the others were growing impatient and wanted to go look.

"Don't go," Ye Qin suddenly blocked the way, his tone cold.

Yan Xuan knitted her brows, staring at him suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

Ye Qin said indifferently, "This place might be a trap. The other party deliberately left those three corpses and Spirit Artifacts to lure us deeper into this cavern, then blocked the exit from behind. As long as they hold their position outside, they won't fear us escaping. This leaves us with two choices: risk going out the rear, which perfectly plays into the ambush they set outside, or continue forward and risk clearing out that small nest of demonic beasts. If they hear a commotion, they can immediately charge in from behind. Both paths lead to certain death for us."

Yan Xuan was startled, looking at Ye Qin in astonishment.

After a long pause, she asked, "Then what should we do?"

Ye Qin did not answer.

Shen Bao, however, let out a cold, low laugh. "Wait, what else? We just see who can't hold still first and rushes to make a move. Don't worry, let's set a few small traps at the entrance and see if we can trick them."

Shen Bao floated to the corner of the cavern and placed a Demon-Binding Rope Spirit Artifact on the ground. Anyone who accidentally stepped on this rope would immediately be restrained, exposed to the five of them, making death almost certain.

Seeing Shen Bao setting a trap, Old Man Kong was not to be outdone and took out his silk net, setting it above the passage, ready to drop down at any moment and envelop anyone who entered. Once caught, there was only death.

These few setups were extremely simple, but if they could make the opponent pause for even the blink of an eye, they could be jointly eliminated—a strategy both simple and ruthless.

Ye Qin nodded secretly at this. While this location in the cavern was very likely a trap set by disciples from another sect, it wasn't necessarily a complete disadvantage for them. As long as they waited patiently, the team outside would be the one to get anxious first.

After all, the outside was a thoroughfare; many sects' disciples might pass by here. It couldn't be that only these two teams were using this route. If other sect disciples happened to pass by, a fight might break out outside first, which would actually create an opportunity for them.

Ye Qin held two Fire Thorns in his hand, musing inwardly that it was hard to say who this trap would ultimately ensnare. If they could just bind the first cultivator who broke into the cave, he was certain that the flying sword artifact in Yan Xuan's hand would be enough to pierce the opponent through the heart instantly. That would turn the situation into five against four, shifting the advantage in their favor.

After some thought, Ye Qin began slowly carving a small hole in the solid rock wall of the rear passage using his Golden Sword to conceal himself. The rock in this mine shaft was incredibly hard; mana had to be infused into the sword just to make a cut, and even then, it only penetrated about half an cun at a time. To avoid making noise, he carved excruciatingly slowly, having to pause after each cut to replenish his mana.

Seeing him do this, the others followed suit.

After the traps were set, silence descended upon the group. The cavern gradually grew quiet, finally settling into absolute stillness. Apart from extremely faint breathing and minute sounds, no other movement could be perceived.

Three or four days passed slowly while they excavated the walls. Such waiting would be agonizing for mortals, but for cultivators, it was commonplace; sitting in secluded meditation for days was normal.

It wasn't until the third day, as Yan Xuan and Shen Bao were starting to wonder if the outside team had left, that a shadow flickered and withdrew from the corner turn. In that instant, it seemed to peer inside but dared not enter, likely still worried about an ambush.

The five instantly tensed, hiding within the small holes they had dug.

The team outside had indeed not left; they had been lying in wait the entire time. However, this team evidently hadn't anticipated that the team inside wouldn't emerge at all, prompting them to send someone to investigate again.

The fleeting shadow glanced into the mine shaft, saw no one, and retreated.

A while later.

Faint sounds of cloth rustling drifted from outside, and a dark-robed figure materialized at the bend in the mine entrance.

First appearance.