In a stone chamber spanning dozens of zhang, nearly seventy or eighty cultivators were gathered. Judging by their attire—azure long gowns, black robes, yellow short shirts—they belonged to at least fifteen or sixteen factions, comprising disciples from both major and minor sects. The lowest among them was at least at the seventh layer of the Qi Refining stage.

They occupied various corners of the chamber, murmuring amongst themselves or resting with closed eyes. Strangely, they neither clashed with disciples from other sects nor showed any inclination to leave the room.

However, their flickering gazes frequently fixed upon the exact center of the chamber.

In the center of the stone room stood a rudimentary, small-scale teleportation array.

Ye Qin swept a cold glance over the assembled cultivators before his focus settled on the array. It resembled the one in the Qingdan Peak Scripture Pavilion; usable simply by inserting a spirit stone into its recess. The array was quite small, capable of teleporting only one person at a time.

Among the dozens of cultivators in the chamber, not a single one dared to casually use it.

By calculation, these individuals were among the earliest groups to enter the cave. They had been navigating the tunnels for over ten days, scouring almost every passage, yet they still hadn't located the spirit stone vein of Wan Kuling. If they failed to find the vein, their desperate struggles within the tunnels would be utterly meaningless. Moreover, for the great immortal cultivation sects, the hope held by their higher-ups for exploiting the Wan Kuling spirit stone mine, only to find nothing, would be a crushing blow.

No spirit stones had been discovered anywhere else in the tunnels, only this teleportation array in the deepest chamber. Nearly every sect disciple was bewildered upon reaching this spot, unable to fathom why a small teleportation array would be placed underground in a mining tunnel.

The array seemed ancient, likely left over from millennia past, suggesting a definite purpose, perhaps directly related to mining the spirit stone vein.

Yet, they were unwilling to risk trying the teleportation array themselves. No one knew where they might be sent upon activation. If they were transported to a spirit stone extraction site, that would be manageable. But if they landed in the lair of subterranean demonic beasts, it would mean instant death.

The cultivators of the various sects sat still, unmoving.

Ye Qin and Shen Bao of the Qingdan Sect naturally remained still as well.

Qin inwardly mused, Wait. See who cracks first and dares to try this array. With so many cultivators from different sects present, driven by the eagerness to achieve merit, someone would surely lose their nerve and attempt to use the array. Once the array was proven safe, it would be no late for him to proceed.

After waiting for nearly half a day, a small team of cultivators in yellow robes burst into the chamber.

Seeing dozens of cultivators gathered, they were instantly startled. However, upon realizing the others belonged to various sects, they relaxed slightly. With so many representatives from different sects present, the chance of one group unfairly profiting over others lessened, making conflict less likely.

"Greetings to all senior and junior brothers!"

The leader of the new team, an elderly cultivator whose face was wrinkled like an orange peel, smiled and cupped his hands toward the assembly. Inwardly, he wondered why so many cultivators were crammed into this chamber spanning several zhang.

His gaze swept toward the center of the room and instantly fixed there.

"Haha, the disciples from the Tianmen Sect have arrived at a good time. You Tianmen disciples are most proficient in talismans and arrays. Come take a look at this teleportation array and tell us where it leads?"

In the chamber, a confident man dressed in golden robes spoke with a faint smile. This man was a disciple of the Guqi Sect, clad entirely in gold and carrying a high-grade spirit sword on his back. Judging by his confident and effortless demeanor, he likely held the status of a core disciple of the Guqi Sect.

The vast majority of cultivators in the room regarded the few Guqi Sect disciples with extreme caution. As the foremost immortal cultivation sect in the Lingwu Mountain Range, the Guqi Sect specialized in artifact refinement, particularly offensive spirit artifacts and magical tools; many of their disciples possessed flying swords that functioned as magical artifacts.

The newly arrived Tianmen disciples showed no hesitation, cupped their hands towards the Guqi Sect disciples, and then stepped toward the teleportation array in the center to examine it.

They stared intently at the array, pondering for a while, then exchanged glances.

The leader, the old cultivator with the wrinkled face, finally spoke hesitantly, "This ancient teleportation array, thousands of years old, shows no difference from modern arrays; it is easily recognizable. This single-person, small-scale array should be for short distances, likely not exceeding three to five li. Furthermore, it appears completely intact and usable. However, exactly where it transports one is uncertain. If we cannot locate a second receiving array within this cave, anyone teleported risks vanishing without a trace."

All the cultivators in the chamber were now focused on the Tianmen disciples. Many rolled their eyes upon hearing the assessment—Nonsense, we already knew that! If we could find a second array in this cave, we wouldn't still be waiting here.

The golden-robed man asked again, his voice soft, "How dangerous would the situation be immediately after teleportation?"

The old Tianmen cultivator showed difficulty, "That... is hard to say. It depends entirely on the safety of the 'receiving array.' If the location near the receiving array is free of demonic beasts and other cultivators, it should be safe. However, the Wan Kuling tunnels are rife with demonic beasts. Without absolute preparation, rashly teleporting is ill-advised. Perhaps a few of us Tianmen disciples can go first, check the situation at the receiving array on the other side. If it's safe, we can return to inform all of you seniors."

With that, he and his Tianmen disciples inserted a spirit stone into the array’s recess, preparing to step onto the platform.

"Absolutely not!"

From a nearby spot in the chamber, a sharp, icy voice rang out. A middle-aged, yellow-robed cultivator from the Dique Sect glared at the Tianmen disciples and sneered, "Do you take us for fools? This is a single-person array; only one cultivator can pass at a time. Once the five of you cross, you can surround the receiving array and instantly kill anyone who follows—five against one. Then, none of us will dare to teleport. Only one of you can go first, and then other sect disciples can follow in succession."

The Tianmen elder’s face turned extremely grim from being suspected. He instantly jumped up in agitation, "Our Tianmen disciples going first means we are taking the risk! What if we encounter demonic beasts on the other side? Won't it be our Tianmen disciples taking the brunt? Five of us must go to guarantee safety!"

"Whether you meet demonic beasts is none of my concern. Only one from each sect is allowed to go, taking turns. Otherwise, no one moves!" The middle-aged yellow-robed cultivator said coldly, his hand resting on the spirit sword at his waist. If anyone dared to attempt teleportation rashly, he would certainly intervene.

Soon, cultivators from several other sects voiced their agreement and support for the middle-aged yellow-robed man's stance.

None of the cultivators present in this chamber were idiots; they clearly understood the implications.

The first person to teleport would definitely face the immense risk of encountering a demonic beast. But there was an equally huge benefit: securing a strategic advantage to ambush those who followed. The more allies one had from their own sect, the stronger the ambush capability.

The Tianmen disciples' calculation was sound, but the disciples of other sects were not naive; they had already fully calculated the advantages and disadvantages. Only by entering one by one, keeping each other in check, could they ensure the safety of all sect disciples upon arrival.

The request by the Tianmen Sect to send five people simultaneously was something the other cultivators absolutely could not agree to.

Now, the biggest problem remained: which sect’s disciple would teleport first?

After all, the first cultivator to go might encounter a demonic beast and suffer the initial attack; the risk borne was undoubtedly the greatest. Those entering later would have a much easier time. This involved life and death, and no one wished to step forward.

The golden-robed man swept his gaze across the cultivators and calmly stated, resting his hands behind his back, "Solving this problem is actually quite simple. We have disciples from over a dozen immortal cultivation sects here. If no one is willing to act, we might remain in this stalemate indefinitely. Why don’t we draw lots? Whichever sect draws first sends one disciple in. We rely on fate; whatever happens, be it life or death, there will be no complaints."

Silence fell over the chamber as the cultivators considered the proposal made by the Guqi Sect disciple.

After a short while, a considerable portion of the sects agreed to this method. Besides drawing lots, there seemed to be no other immediate way to decide who went first and who went last. Even if a disciple from a certain sect disagreed, they would have to accept this measure, otherwise, they would face unified ostracization from the other sects. In this cave chamber, being ostracized by the majority of cultivators meant death was not far off.

Seeing that the disciples of the various sects had agreed, the Guqi Sect’s golden-robed man casually summoned a small golden sword and cleaved a piece of hard rock from the cave wall, carving out more than ten stone slivers of varying lengths. He then used the rock to fashion a stone cylinder, completely shrouding it with spiritual energy to prevent others from probing it with their divine senses.

"Senior and junior brothers, let us draw lots! We will teleport in order of the length of the slivers, shortest first. The last remaining sliver belongs to my Guqi Sect!" the golden-robed man stated slowly.

The display of skill by the golden-robed man left a bitter taste in the mouths of the disciples from other sects.

Ordinary disciples from smaller sects rarely possessed even mid-grade spirit artifacts. Here was this golden-robed man casually using a flying sword, an artifact, to cleave rock as if it were worthless. Of course, they understood that his display was mostly meant to show off and intimidate, ensuring other sects would not dare to underestimate the strength of the Guqi Sect.

With no significant objections, the various sects proceeded to draw lots in turn.

Shen Bao naturally went forward to draw for the Qingdan Sect, given his boastfulness about his good luck.

After Shen Bao drew his sliver, Ye Qin, Elder Kong, and the others wore strange expressions. According to the length of the sliver, the Qingdan Sect was scheduled to teleport thirteenth, with twelve other sects going ahead. Even if they encountered a demonic beast, the danger would be greatly mitigated. This luck was neither the best nor the worst.

The unluckiest was a small sect called Wushan Sect, drawn to go first. The disciples in their team wore utterly dejected expressions, agonizing over which member should risk venturing in first.

Drawing lots was straightforward; they would proceed in the order of the sliver lengths.

Cultivators from each sect stepped onto the teleportation array one by one.

With flashes of light, they swiftly vanished from the platform.

Ye Qin fully activated his protective shield and secretly gripped the red gourd in his hand, ready for self-defense, before stepping onto the array. After a brilliant flash of light, he found himself standing in a massive cavern, large enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

On the cavern walls, spirit stones of gold, yellow, blue, and red hues emitted a gentle, cyclical radiance. The dozens of cultivators who had arrived before him, however, were not looking at the spirit stones but were staring dumbfounded at the piles of skeletal remains scattered across the cave floor.

--－－－- Only two days left, asking for Monthly Tickets! (To be continued, for the rest of the story, please log on to wwwidiancomm for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!) First published.