Brother Lingru, you and this poor monk will remain here to guard the cave entrance, sealing off all escape routes from this Spirit Stone Cavern. Furthermore, Daoist Zheng, Bart, Che Long, and Brother Qian, you four will divide into four small squads, each taking three or four Black Robed Cultivators with you, and search the interior thoroughly. Strive to find this person before dawn."

Basha's deep, raspy voice directed the cultivators into action. Among this group, he was not only the most advanced in cultivation but also seemingly held the highest status. The other five Foundation Establishment cultivators largely deferred to his arrangements.

"Dividing into four squads, with only one Foundation Establishment cultivator per squad? Isn't that too dangerous?"

"Hmph. That cultivator surnamed Qin is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Which one of you is not stronger than him? As long as you can delay him for a moment, the others nearby will have enough time to arrive and strike him down. We don't have much time to waste right now; spreading out the four squads is the quickest way to locate him."

"Understood!"

The cultivators offered no further objection, filing into the cavern to begin their dragnet search.

Ye Qin's expression remained blank. With a slight push of his feet, he vanished into the shadows near the cave mouth.

He retreated rapidly toward the deeper recesses of the cavern, intending to maximize the search area for his pursuers, thereby widening the gaps between their squads and avoiding a coordinated assault.

Simultaneously, his mind raced, calculating strategies.

This Spirit Stone Cavern was a contested site between the Zhou Clan and the Lü Family. To prevent illicit mining, they certainly dispatched patrols regularly. If cultivators from the Zhou or Lü families arrived, conflict with the large group outside was inevitable. Under such circumstances, Ye Qin could seize the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.

However, Ye Qin had no idea when the cultivators from the Zhou or Lü families might return. One point troubled him greatly: if this group had accomplices who arrived before the Zhou or Lü families, he would be trapped inside this small Spirit Stone Cavern, a situation fraught with danger.

Therefore, he absolutely needed to find a way out of this natural cave quickly.

Ye Qin retreated while thinking, only to discover with growing frustration that he had reached the very back of the cavern—there was nowhere left to go.

The worst part was realizing someone was following him.

Dozens of Frost Thorn seeds appeared in Ye Qin’s hand. He began setting traps throughout the cavern. This second-tier thorn was ineffective against Foundation Establishment cultivators, but it was perfect for restraining Qi Refining stage cultivators.

After finishing the trap placement, Ye Qin calmly formed a hand seal and channeled a pillar-like stream of spiritual power. "Shadow Clone Technique!" Instantly, a smooth mirror surface formed about ten feet in front of him. This mirror perfectly reflected an identical Ye Qin.

The mirror then began to warp and transform into a human shape.

After only a short while, Ye Qin was already slick with sweat, straining to maintain the output of spiritual power. Every second he held it made the pressure exponentially increase. After all, creating an illusion that could emanate the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was no simple feat.

Finally, the mirror successfully transformed, and Ye Qin immediately ceased the technique.

Employing the Shadow Clone Technique had drained nearly a tenth of his spiritual power.

Now, two identical Ye Qins stood in the cavern, each grasping a Golden Sword magical artifact. Even Ye Qin himself could not discern any difference between himself and his shadow clone; even the emitted auras and the magical artifacts in their hands were exactly the same.

The main distinction was that this exquisitely detailed shadow clone, manifested from spiritual power, was merely a construct of energy and could not move on its own; it required Ye Qin's divine sense to control it.

Moreover, Ye Qin noticed he could not stray too far from the clone; once beyond the range of his divine sense, control would be lost. The clone’s duration was limited, destined to dissipate automatically once its spiritual power was exhausted.

This Shadow Clone Technique was a spell he had recently mastered, and he had to rely on it to save his life. The fewer people who knew about it, the better.

"Aah—!"

A sudden cry echoed from the depths of the cavern.

A burly Black Robed Cultivator, gripping a Raging Flame Saber, advanced cautiously. He accidentally stepped on a Frost Thorn seed beneath his foot, and immediately, over a dozen frosty thorn branches lashed out, completely binding him. Unable to break free, he shouted in alarm.

What truly terrified the brawny Black Robed Cultivator was the figure standing quietly before him: a "Green Robed Cultivator" holding a Golden Sword magical artifact, staring at him with a cold sneer.

The Black Robed Cultivator was genuinely frightened this time. After his initial scream, he dared not move at all; as a Qi Refining cultivator, he wouldn't last a single sword strike from this Foundation Establishment cultivator.

However, for some unknown reason, the Green Robed Cultivator made no move, simply standing there, watching him with a cold smile. (1&６&K&x*s Novel Station PC www.1&６&^X*S.c&om)

Accompanying this Black Robed Cultivator were the Foundation Establishment cultivator Che Long and two other Black Robed cultivators. Che Long paused at the sound, leaping forward in a few swift movements, arriving at the scene in the blink of an eye.

Che Long, like Basha and Bart, hailed from the Tianqiong Plain. His cultivation was at the lower end among the group, possessing only the first layer of Foundation Establishment.

Yet, he felt no concern for his own safety. The Green Robed Cultivator opposite him was barely at the second layer of Foundation Establishment. He was certain that if he could just stall for a moment, the cultivators searching elsewhere in the cavern would hear the commotion.

"Die!"

Che Long let out a cackling sneer, swinging the meter-long Ghost Fork entwined with thick green mist he held. The fork, carrying rolling green vapor, lunged directly at the Green Robed Cultivator ahead.

To Che Long's surprise, the Green Robed Cultivator remained standing, not even blinking, and commanded his Golden Sword to intercept the Ghost Fork.

An uncontrollable surge of wild joy filled Che Long’s eyes. His Ghost Fork was exceptionally venomous; ordinary magical artifacts, once touched by the green mist, would immediately suffer significant power reduction, and the artifact itself might even be damaged.

But reality unfolded differently from his expectation. The thrusting Ghost Fork pierced through the Golden Sword as if it were nothing, then passed right through the "Green Robed Cultivator," slamming into the cavern floor with force, gouging out a pit nearly ten feet deep. Yet, the "Green Robed Cultivator" remained "alive" and intact, though his aura had dimmed considerably.

Che Long was stunned. What kind of spell was this?

Just as Che Long was frozen in confusion, trying to understand what had happened—

He failed to see an extremely faint shadow emerging from behind a rock near him. A golden gleam shot from the shadow's hand.

"Pfft—!"

Che Long stared dumbly at his own chest, a beam of golden light piercing through, leaving a massive, bloody hole in his ribcage. Turning back with deep reluctance, Che Long saw a Green Robed Cultivator standing three feet behind him, looking down at him with an indifferent expression.

"The one just now was an illusion? This one here is the real one."

This was Che Long's last thought before collapsing. He could not comprehend how an illusion could be so exquisitely detailed that he could not discern the truth from the fabrication.

Ye Qin looked at the corpse on the ground and let out a faint, cold laugh, beckoning the Golden Lesser Sword back. He walked to the large pit, carefully retrieved the wicked Ghost Fork from the bottom, avoiding contamination. Even though it was an evil artifact, it was worth a considerable amount of money.

The two Black Robed Cultivators had just arrived to find Che Long already dead. They looked at Ye Qin with sheer horror. The Black Robed Cultivator bound by the Frost Thorns was already shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

Ye Qin swept his gaze over them. A flash of golden light, a few screams, and three more corpses lay on the ground.

They had to die.

His "Shadow Clone Technique," while elegantly termed a technique for observing one's state of mind, was, crudely put, the creation of a duplicate shadow. If his opponents discovered this, they could easily devise countermeasures, drastically reducing its effectiveness.

The entire engagement consumed only a few breaths of time.

When the ten-plus cultivators from the other three squads in the cavern heard the violent magical detonations and rushed to the scene, all they saw was Che Long, dead with wide, astonished eyes, and three dead Black Robed Cultivators.

Looking at the three corpses sent shivers down their spines.

The battle scene suggested extreme efficiency—every strike was fatal. Aside from the large pit in the ground, there were no other signs of a struggle. Che Long's strength wasn't insignificant; he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, certainly not weak. Yet, he hadn't lasted long enough for them to arrive in time.

Daoist Zheng, inspecting Che Long's body, said gravely, "This opponent is cunning, likely using a sneak attack from behind. Che Long was clearly surprised when he died. But how did he deceive Che Long?"

"Everyone, be careful!"

The three squads resumed their scattered search, but this time, they dared not spread too far apart, and their pace slowed considerably.

Just as the cultivators inside the cave were lamenting their fruitless pursuit, two green shadows were rushing toward the entrance at incredible speed—this person was Ye Qin and the clone he controlled.

He had used a small trick to lure all the cultivators who had entered the cavern deep inside.

There were six Foundation Establishment cultivators in total; four were now deep within the cave. The number of cultivators remaining at the entrance had dropped to the absolute minimum.

This was the perfect opportunity for him to leave the Spirit Stone Cavern.

The Shadow Clone had been struck by the Ghost Fork and had become significantly faded, its emitted aura dropping to only the Qi Refining level, close to collapse. Ye Qin tentatively channeled a stream of spiritual power into it and was pleasantly surprised to find it restored to its original state.

Basha, standing with his eyes closed outside the cavern, suddenly sensed a sharp, killing intent surging out from within.

He instantly snapped his eyes open, waved his staff, formed a hand seal, and struck the ground with a column of yellow light, roaring, "Stone Dragon Technique! Emerge!" The ground before him shook violently, and with a great whoosh, an earth dragon composed of stone blocks, over ten yards long, burst from the soil, blocking the front of the cave.

The female cultivator Lingru stood quietly to the side, holding up her right hand, fingers together, rapidly chanting an incantation, "Ice Cone Technique!" One by one, massive ice cones materialized above her head, already numbering more than ten. Once all were unleashed, the entire cave exit would be within their range, leaving no escape. Even if the ice cones failed to shatter a defensive shield, they would significantly slow any escapee.