A chill crept up Qin's spine. He had initially assumed that Daoist Priest Zheng was merely greedy for the spiritual stone vein of this border mine. That was why he had ventured into this border valley late at night, but he never expected to witness something so astonishing.

He had a vague sense that something was amiss. A great war between the three major Cultivation Worlds—this was not something he should be entangled in. A single misstep, and he might not even have bone dust left.

However, with six Foundation Establishment cultivators present, each possessing astonishing divine abilities whose spiritual senses could easily sweep several miles in any direction, Ye Qin dared not make a move to leave immediately, lest he expose any trace of his presence.

He would wait until they departed this natural cavern before making his own exit.

Daoist Priest Zheng directed over ten black-robed cultivators from the Wulong Cult to disguise the corpses of the Zhou and Lü family members before leaving the cavern along with Foundation Establishment cultivators like Ba Sha and Ling Ru.

As they left, Zheng uttered a few words, his tone laced with deep regret that he could not take the spiritual stones from this place.

Seeing this, Ba Sha said indifferently, "Daoist Priest Zheng, once the bloodshed between the Zhou and Lü clans is incited, weakening the strength of those two major cultivation families, this territory will belong to your Wulong Cult. You can mine as much as you like; does delaying it by a year or two really matter?"

"Who knows what the future holds."

"The territory of the Spirit Mist Immortal Realm is vast enough for the cultivators of our Sky Dome Plain, the cultivators of Wan Yue Lake, and those from the Chaotic Lands to divide. Our Sky Dome Plain Cultivation World will uphold its promise and support the cultivators from the Chaotic Lands," Ba Sha stated plainly.

Daoist Priest Zheng gave a cold, detached laugh, unimpressed. The cultivators of the Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake, while outwardly supporting the cultivators of the Chaotic Lands to attack the Spirit Mist cultivators, were in truth using them as cannon fodder—a probe to gauge the reaction of the Spirit Mist Cultivation World.

The Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake had long coveted the Spirit Mist Immortal Realm and had been plotting how to encroach upon its territory for ages. If the Spirit Mist Cultivation World proved weak, the cultivators from the two major cultivation worlds would sooner or later personally intervene to seize territory.

Of course, the cultivators from the Chaotic Lands would gain some meager benefits during this process. They would no longer have to remain in the Chaotic Lands and naturally would not refuse the cultivators from the Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake.

As the group reached the mouth of the cavern, Ba Sha suddenly stopped, staring at a small, thumb-sized indentation on the cavern wall, his expression one of shock.

"Master Ba Sha, why have you stopped?"

Daoist Priest Zheng could not help but halt, questioning him.

Ba Sha frowned, pointing to the small pit on the wall, and turned back to ask, "Daoist Priest Zheng, when you came, was it only you and Zhou Xing? Did no one else enter the cavern?"

Daoist Priest Zheng replied with confusion, "No, this old man only lured Zhou Xing here; I didn't notice anyone else. Master Ba Sha, did you find something amiss?"

Ba Sha stated, "This poor monk recalls that when we entered an hour ago, there was a Water Spirit Stone embedded in this wall, but it is gone now. Daoist Priest Zheng, when you and Zhou Xing entered, you didn't touch that Water Spirit Stone, did you?"

Daoist Priest Zheng responded, "That's right; we both entered directly and certainly didn't touch the spiritual stone on the wall. As for whether there was a spiritual stone here, this old man is unsure."

The surrounding cultivators were astonished.

Although cultivators, due to their practice, possess clear minds and astonishing memories, they rarely commit to memory small details like the presence of a tiny item in a location they pass through. After all, they visit so many places daily; remembering such minutiae would be exhausting.

Yet, Ba Sha had only passed through here once and actually remembered a spirit stone. Such an ability was extraordinary and could not help but surprise them.

Ye Qin, hidden inside the cavern, almost wanted to bang his head against the wall upon hearing the cultivators' conversation outside. He only intended to check the quality of the local spiritual stones, which led him to chip off a small piece from the wall. He never imagined this minor issue would reveal a flaw to Ba Sha—that someone else had been here.

Daoist Priest Zheng's expression shifted slightly. After a moment of thought, he suddenly said, "There are three Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding the pass I monitored. When this poor Taoist left the pass, only Zhou Xing was trailing behind. There was another cultivator surnamed Qin inside the pass. I have seen this person before. Could it be him?"

Ba Sha pondered, "I have some impression. This cultivator surnamed Qin, with a cultivation at the second level of Foundation Establishment, is very young and conducts himself extremely discreetly; it's hard to gauge his true depth. This poor monk cannot be certain if it was him."

"Inside the pass, he is the only one with the ability to track Zhou Xing without my detection. If it is indeed him, all our actions here could very likely be exposed."

Daoist Priest Zheng's face became grim.

The expressions of the other cultivators changed drastically.

They had meticulously planned for years to incite conflict between the Zhou and Lü families, using this spiritual stone vein to trigger a decisive battle. But at this crucial moment, being discovered by someone else was something they absolutely could not accept.

"But if this person obtained such vital intelligence, he has likely already left. Even if we wanted to pursue him, where would we go?"

"Could this person still be inside the cavern?"

"Unlikely."

"It seems we need to immediately readjust our plans. Let's go!"

The tone of these cultivators was utterly dejected as they soon summoned their magic artifacts and swiftly flew away into the distance.

Outside the natural cavern, it was silent and still.

Ye Qin waited inside the natural cave for a full half an hour. Seeing no further movement outside, he finally let out a breath of relief. The tension in his nerves gradually eased, and his hand dropped away from his storage pouch.

"Bad luck!"

Ye Qin was speechless.

Daoist Priest Zheng, Ba Sha, and Ling—the three Foundation Establishment state-protecting Immortal Masters invited by the Great Zhou—were actually cultivators from the factions of the Chaotic Lands, the Sky Dome Plain, and the Spirit Mist Cultivation World, all plotting to ensnare the Zhou and Lü families. The other three Foundation Establishment cultivators traveling with them wore the tokens of state-protecting Immortal Masters of Northern Qi on their waists, suggesting they were spies infiltrating the Northern Qi Kingdom.

Once he confirmed the group had departed, he tapped his foot and sped out of the cavern.

He planned to immediately travel to the Northern Qi Kingdom to inform the Lü family of the situation here and report to the high-ranking officials of the Green Elixir Sect.

This was no longer a simple matter of the Zhou and Lü cultivation families fighting over a small spiritual stone vein; it involved the very safety of the entire Spirit Mist Cultivation World. The conflict between the Zhou and Lü families was a minor issue. If internal strife erupted in the Spirit Mist Cultivation World and foreign cultivators used it as an opportunity to invade en masse, he, as a disciple of the Green Elixir Sect, would certainly not escape unscathed.

When Ye Qin landed near the cavern entrance, still ten zhang away, he abruptly stopped, gazing warily at the silent exterior of the cavern. He sensed a profoundly dangerous aura lurking outside.

Once he stepped out, he would undoubtedly be met with a thunderous strike.

"It's a trap! That group of cultivators never left; they were lying in ambush outside, preparing to strike him!"

A cold glint flashed in Ye Qin's eyes.

He had encountered ambushes like this many times during the trial in Ten Thousand Desolation Ridge.

Although he couldn't detect anything outwardly wrong outside the cave, and hadn't used his spiritual sense to probe the surrounding jungle for hidden figures, he possessed a powerful, intuitive feeling that something was wrong.

He was certain that the group of cultivators just now were extremely seasoned and cunning. How could they leave without thoroughly searching the cavern? Their declarations about leaving were merely a ruse.

If he slipped up even slightly, he would perish.

With this realization, Ye Qin slowly retreated deeper into the cavern, preparing to wait patiently. He was not in a hurry; the impatient ones should be the group trying to kill him.

The cultivators outside the natural cavern were currently immensely frustrated.

They lay concealed in the cold jungle of the deep ravine, suppressing their breaths and focusing, waiting for the cultivators inside the cavern to emerge. Yet, after a full hour, not the slightest sound had escaped the cave.

Many of the black-robed cultivators even began to doubt that any other cultivators were inside, reasoning that if the person had left, they would have shown themselves by now.

However, Ba Sha, Daoist Priest Zheng, and the other cultivators vehemently disagreed.

Their expressions were unusually grave.

Although, like Ye Qin, they had not yet discovered the opponent's location, their vast experience allowed them to detect an opponent's presence based on mere wisps of evidence.

Their patience was also far beyond that of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

Just now, when Ye Qin had moved close to the entrance, a faint trace of his aura had been detected immediately. But the opponent was too cautious; as soon as that faint breath appeared, he instantly retreated, vanishing without a trace, and had not dared to reappear.

Now, they were certain: the opponent was inside the natural cavern.

"This opponent is more difficult to handle than anticipated. Master Ba Sha, what should we do?"

Daoist Priest Zheng held his horsetail whisk, his pale red eyes filled with killing intent as he stared intently into the deep cavern. Despite having survived countless battles, he felt considerable pressure; the opponent's patience was exceptional, matching that of these veterans.

Daoist Priest Zheng inquired of Ba Sha.

Ba Sha glanced at the darkening sky and said gravely, "We cannot wait any longer. The cultivators from the Zhou and Lü families send patrols to inspect this spiritual stone mine every dawn. If they discover us here, it will be disastrous. Prepare to enter the cave and slay this person within, preventing any chance of his escape."

Ye Qin, hidden deep within the cavern, heard the faint sounds of footsteps approaching the entrance, clearly indicating the group was preparing to enter and besiege him. He cursed inwardly, "Bad situation." But he quickly calmed himself.

This natural cavern was about ten li deep—not huge, but certainly not small. The terrain inside was complex; it would not be easy for these cultivators to find him within this maze. Otherwise, these cultivators would have rushed in long ago instead of setting up an ambush at the entrance and waiting fruitlessly for an hour.

To expect these ten-plus cultivators to locate him within this cavern would be far from simple.

Ye Qin had spent time in the caverns of Ten Thousand Desolation Ridge and knew well that, let alone ten cultivators, even a hundred, once they entered a complex cave system, would disappear without a trace, like water seeping into sand. (To be continued. For subsequent events, please log on to www**m, where more chapters are available to support the author and genuine reading!)