The four disciples from Danmen quickly looted the bodies of the deceased Da Luo Men disciples, taking every item of any significant value. Old Man Kong didn't even spare the corpses of the two Tier Two Pangolin Beasts, spending nearly half a day with his Golden Light Sword carefully peeling off their scales.

After this cave trial concludes, if they could find a decent Artifact Refiner, forging these scales into armor-type spirit artifacts would yield, at the very least, mid-tier defensive gear.

Ye Qin walked to the spot where they had previously fought the Da Luo Men disciples and picked up a black iron tube from the ground, frowning. This evil artifact felt genuinely sinister, radiating an extremely potent, foul aura. It had immense destructive power, having completely ruined one of his low-tier Fine Iron Shields and a mid-tier Flame Blade. Both spirit artifacts were now tainted by the black, corrupting energy and unusable, fit only to be discarded.

Ye Qin carefully used a piece of black iron to collect the nine Jiu Lu Da Hun Ding (Nine Slayers Soul Nailing Talismans) scattered on the ground, placing them into his storage pouch. He disliked using such evil implements, but keeping them for self-defense, just in case, was never a mistake.

After the search, an indeterminate amount of time passed before the four of them seemed to finally remember that Senior Sister Yan Xuan from Qing Dan Men was still lying on the ground. In the chaos of that fierce battle within the mine passage, the fact that Xuan emerged completely unharmed was itself a strange stroke of luck.

Shen Bao looked at the untouched Yan Xuan lying there, his expression peculiar. He chuckled, "Senior Sister Yan’s eyelids and the skin on her body have flushed a seductive red. It looks like poisoning, yet it lacks the violent symptoms of common toxins. Could she have been hit by the noxious fluid sprayed by a Vixen Demon? I’ve seen the potency of Vixen Demons during my travels across the various states. The higher the rank of the Vixen Demon, the stronger its fluid, capable of paralyzing cultivators. However, only a Multi-Tailed Vixen Demon of Tier Five or higher can instantly penetrate a protective barrier and incapacitate a cultivator at the ninth layer of the Qi Refining stage. A Tier Five or Six Vixen Demon possesses strength equivalent to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator might struggle to capture such a beast. Since Senior Sister Yan has been poisoned, who knows how long it will take for her to awaken. What should we do with her?"

Old Man Kong chose a clean spot on a rock to sit down, meticulously wiping the scales he had peeled off, and snorted in dissatisfaction, "Someone inexperienced like her won’t last long in this mine passage. She deserves to die if she can’t survive."

Zhang Yuzi said, "I have no opinion. Senior Brothers can decide amongst yourselves."

Shen Bao looked toward Ye Qin.

Ye Qin leaned against the cave wall, thought for a moment, and asked coldly, "How long until she wakes up?"

Shen Bao replied, "It's uncertain. It depends on the power of the fox fluid, and how much she was exposed to. Being hit by a Fox Demon's noxious fluid, it could be as short as three to five days, or as long as a month, before she wakes up."

Ye Qin fell silent. "Then let's wait five days. We'll see if she recovers on her own. We are required to stay in this underground mine for several months at least. Having one fewer person means one less unit of strength."

The assembled cultivators fell silent, each choosing a spot to sit: some meditating to recover their spiritual power, others cleaning their spirit artifacts.

In the mine passage, a crimson gourd floated in mid-air, periodically expanding to emit an intensely dazzling red light. Quickly, the red gourd would shrink again, and the light would vanish. After a moment, the red gourd would enlarge once more, bathing the area in brilliant light, repeating this cycle incessantly.

Ye Qin controlled the gourd, pouring his own spiritual power into it repeatedly to make it expand, then allowing the gourd’s energy to dissipate naturally.

He wasn't just waiting five days for Yan Xuan to wake up; more importantly, he wanted to use these days to completely purge the residual spiritual power left by the Da Luo Men disciples on this magical artifact, synchronizing his aura with the gourd as quickly as possible so he could control it fluidly and unleash its true power.

Otherwise, merely possessing the artifact in his hand, he feared he couldn't even manifest one percent of its capability.

If Yan Xuan failed to awaken within five days, they would have to abandon her. In this perilous trial cave, no one had the means or the inclination to care for an unconscious cultivator. Whether they were Blue-clothed or Green-clothed disciples, the outcome for anyone severely injured and rendered combat-ineffective in this place was the same.

Shen Bao, Zhang Yuzi, and Old Man Kong occasionally glanced at the red gourd, perplexed. Having never acquired a spirit artifact themselves, they were ignorant of their inherent flaws and couldn't fathom why Ye Qin was obsessively fussing over the gourd.

During this period of rest, the others familiarized themselves with the various spirit artifacts they had just taken from the Da Luo Men disciples.

A small incident occurred during these few days.

A small team of three or four cultivators from a minor sect accidentally stumbled into the mine passage where they were situated. Seeing the signs of an intense battle left behind, they became overjoyed. After a fight, cultivators usually expend vast amounts of spiritual power and are severely weakened—the perfect time to pick up easy spoils.

However, they froze almost instantly when they saw the crimson, glowing gourd floating in the air. Then, they spotted the five or six corpses of Da Luo Men disciples on the ground, and the four or five disciples from Qing Dan Men staring at them with fierce eyes, as if they were already dead men. This sudden sight startled them badly. A team possessing a magical artifact that had managed to kill members of the Da Luo Men was not something they could contend with.

"Forgive us, this is..." "Senior Brothers from Qing Dan Men, please rest well. We apologize for the intrusion and take our leave!"

The minor sect's team turned pale, frightened, and hastily retreated.

Ye Qin glanced over but couldn't be bothered to give chase. Fighting another battle would expend too much strength and risk personal injury. Deep within the underground passages, unless absolutely necessary, one should conserve strength. After all, his primary goal here was to locate a spirit stone vein, not to hunt down disciples from other sects. He’d rather spend the time refining his red gourd.

Since Ye Qin showed no intention of moving, Shen Bao and the others naturally did not pursue.

This minor episode passed quickly. No other teams passed through their location, and three days of relative calm elapsed.

Suddenly, Yan Xuan stirred. With a swift, agile flip, she sprang up, cast a cold glance at the four of them, and let out a sharp hum. Immediately afterward, her pair of clear, beautiful eyes fixed fiercely on the red gourd Ye Qin was controlling.

The fact that she awoke within a mere three days was directly linked to Wei Ming of the Da Luo Men. After subduing Yan Xuan with the Hong Su Wu (Crimson Brocade Mist), Wei Ming hadn't wanted to waste too much of it and quickly retracted the rest back into the red gourd.

This Hong Su Wu was extremely potent; even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be affected. However, the mist itself had no lasting side effects—it merely stripped away control over spiritual power and physical body. Even one's spiritual sense remained conscious.

It was precisely because she was exposed to so little Hong Su Wu that she was able to completely neutralize all the mist that had infiltrated her body in just three days. She pursed her lips, glaring intensely at the red gourd—this object had caused her downfall and nearly cost her everything. Her gaze swept over the group as she looked at Ye Qin with complex emotions.

Ye Qin was slightly surprised that Yan Xuan woke up so quickly. He then recalled the red gourd floating in the air, which had already dispelled nearly half of the foreign aura, and drew it into his palm. He stood up and said coldly, "Let's go! Junior Brother Shen, Junior Brother Kong, Junior Brother Zhang, take the lead. Senior Sister Yan, you will guard the rear."

Shen Bao and the others, already growing impatient, rose upon seeing this and headed into other passages in sequence.

Yan Xuan immediately glared, her eyes wide with indignation. Guarding the rear? Why should she take the rear?

Ye Qin completely ignored her sudden anger and turned to follow behind the other three.

Fortunately, Yan Xuan had learned her lesson this time. Recognizing the reality before her—that as a Blue-clothed disciple, she held no status in this underground mine—she kept her head down and followed without protest, daring not to throw a tantrum. Otherwise, if the four decided to abandon her, she wouldn't last long alone in these tunnels.

The five of them proceeded deeper into the mine passages.

The general layout of these ten thousand li of cave passages was that they dug downward, getting deeper and deeper.

To advance further into the cave system, one had to move toward the lower elevations. To exit the cave, one needed to follow the passages leading to higher ground. Although there were numerous diverging tunnels, some dead ends and some active routes, making it easy to get lost, generally, by discerning the elevation changes, one could reach their intended destination.

Along their route, they occasionally encountered small teams from other cultivation sects, and sometimes several teams at once. However, actual fierce fighting was rare. Teams of cultivators with similar strengths were mutually wary; engaging in a fight that resulted in casualties and reduced manpower would put them at a severe disadvantage, allowing other sect disciples to exploit the situation and gain an easy advantage.

Almost every team hoped that other groups would fight amongst themselves so they could swoop in for the spoils. Thus, the more sect disciples they encountered, the more cautious they became, and the less likely they were to initiate conflict.

Only when disciples of one sect gathered several teams together, achieving an absolute numerical superiority to surround a weaker team, would they attempt a surprise assault, aiming to annihilate the opponent with minimal losses. Of course, in these chaotic tunnels, no one knew how many fellow sect members were nearby, making such situations uncommon.

As they moved deeper down the passages, the opportunities for disciples from various sects to cross paths began to increase frequently.

Ye Qin's team encountered several other teams belonging to the same Qing Dan Men. Several Qing Dan Men squads gradually converged, maintaining close proximity, significantly enhancing their safety. Simultaneously, they received a piece of sect news: the main trial teams from all sects had begun entering the caves in batches. Each small team was only required to stay within the caves for three months; regardless of whether they achieved notable results, they could return to the surface to rest.

The disciples held little significance for this news. They were undertaking this cave trial to earn the reward of the Foundation Establishment Pill; who would waste time returning to the surface for rest? Only those who were severely injured or had lost all confidence would return.

Especially the earliest disciples who entered the caves for reconnaissance—they had already reached the deep underground but still hadn't discovered a single spirit stone vein; how could they be willing to return now?

The fact that no spirit stones had been found so far in the cave passages of the Ten Thousand Withered Peaks was a question perplexing not just the Qing Dan Men disciples, but also those from other sects.

The final three days, requesting one monthly ticket! (To be continued. For future developments, please log in to wwwidiancomm for more chapters, support the author, and enjoy authentic reading!) First published

For more novels, visit storyread.net.