Su Ba advanced slowly, without any discernible movement, yet the void before him seemed to suffer intense compression, rolling outwards in waves. In the blink of an eye, the vista at the entrance to the Ancient Senluo Cave transformed drastically; the path, which had appeared flat, now revealed layers of descending steps.

Beneath the stairs lay utter darkness, leading to an unknown destination. Nie Kong was utterly astonished. He had entered and exited the Ancient Senluo Cave countless times, yet never suspected it concealed an illusion—a failure he deeply regretted.

Seeing Su Ba, Gu Changgong, Yang Tian, and the other six Hall Masters descend into the gloom via the stairs, Nie Kong quickly followed, his solitary footsteps echoing in the vast space. After walking a short distance, a feeling prompted Nie Kong to glance back, only to find the stairs behind him continuously dissolving.

As for the outermost exit, it had long since vanished without a trace.

After descending several dozen more steps, the ground finally leveled slightly. They proceeded through a winding path for nearly a quarter of an hour, leaving Nie Kong somewhat disoriented, unsure if they were heading toward the depths of the Ancient Senluo Cave or some other location within the Inner City.

Finally, a creaking sound announced Su Ba, who was leading the way, pushing open a stone door. Bright light spilled out, revealing an archaic stone chamber to Nie Kong. Aside from a meditation cushion, the room held no other furnishings. Su Ba then moved to open another stone door inside that chamber.

It was then that Nie Kong noticed the expressions of Gu Changgong and the others turn solemn. His heart stirred, and he peered through the doorframe, immediately spotting that the subsequent room was lined entirely with memorial tablets. Upon deciphering the inscriptions, Nie Kong felt a chill; these were the ancestral tablets of every City Lord in the history of Lingyu City.

Not only Gu Changgong and the rest, but even Su Ba bowed deeply to the tablets after entering. In such a moment, Nie Kong felt it inappropriate to remain standing.

“Nie Kong, our Lingyu City was founded over three thousand years ago, and the position of City Lord has passed through more than two hundred generations. Nearly every City Lord cultivated to the Ninth Grade of the Celestial Spirit realm, yet not one managed to break through to become a Spirit God. Do you know why?”

Su Ba straightened up, his voice deep and measured, his tone heavy.

“It is because of the Yin Ruins Spirit Vein,” Nie Kong surmised. If a Spirit Master at the Ninth Grade of the Celestial Spirit realm was considered a supreme expert, then a Spirit God was the absolute pinnacle among them. In the history of the Celestial Spirit Continent, Spirit Gods were exceedingly rare; one might not appear among a hundred Ninth Grade Celestial Spirit Masters.

To Nie Kong’s knowledge, the miraculous medicine that could form a human body, the ‘Fluttering Jade Butterfly Spring,’ must have been in human form, and the ancestors of the Dragon Spirit Clan, Feather Spirit Clan, Serpent Spirit Clan, and Fish Spirit Clan must also have been Spirit Gods. As for Spirit Masters, sects like Mount Moluo, Ink Snow Sect, and Heaven and Earth Sect should have produced Spirit Gods in the past, as should the exceedingly mysterious Spirit God Temple J today, rumored to have been established by a Spirit God himself.

“Correct. It is precisely because of the Yin Ruins Spirit Vein,” Su Ba sighed, his voice laced with desolation. “Though the successive City Lords possessed the ‘Spirit Extreme Sacred Water’ to easily suppress the ‘Yin Ruins Spirit Vein,’ that water carried a terrible consequence: it caused Celestial Spirit Masters attempting to break through to the Spirit God realm to face a Spirit Tribulation magnified countless times!” A Spirit Tribulation? What was that?

Nie Kong was stunned; this was the first time he had ever heard the term.

However, Su Ba and the other six Hall Masters seemed to disregard Nie Kong’s gaze, which was burning with curiosity. With a wave of his sleeve, the surface before Su Ba gradually turned transparent.

In an instant, a swath of green became visible. Within moments, the green intensified to an extraordinary density, evolving into a winding, flowing river. Nie Kong stared blankly. This jade-green river seemed to sever the areas on both sides of the Ancient Senluo Cave’s cold current, leaving only the central passage open.

“This is the Yin Ruins Spirit Vein,” Gu Changgong stated solemnly. “Nie Kong, while the cold current deep within the Ancient Senluo Cave flows north to south, this Yin Ruins Spirit Vein meanders for miles beneath the Inner City before disappearing somewhere unknown. For thousands of years, countless predecessors of Lingyu City have investigated it, yet none have succeeded. During that time, some City Lords considered cultivating several Wood Spirit Masters to scout the Yin Ruins, but they worried about causing misunderstanding from the Yin Ruins, so the plan was never executed. Now that the Yin Ruins have not sent the ‘Spirit Extreme Sacred Water’ for 120 years, our Lingyu City has no further reservations.”

Nie Kong nodded inwardly. Although the scarcity of individuals with wood-attribute physiques had long branded Wood Spirit Masters as synonymous with trash in the history of the Celestial Spirit Continent, it was not impossible for Lingyu City, mobilizing the entire strength of the sect, to cultivate a few master Wood Spirit Masters.

Su Ba gazed at the jade-green river for a long time before turning back. “Nie Kong, are you prepared?”

“I am,” Nie Kong breathed in deeply.

“If so, I shall now send you into the ‘Yin Ruins Spirit Vein.’ This vein is alive; following the water flow upstream will lead directly to the Yin Ruins.”

With that, Su Ba flicked his wide sleeve, and Nie Kong’s body floated up, passing straight through the transparent wall, landing in the emerald river.

To Nie Kong’s surprise, the inside of the Spirit Vein was nearly as warm as the central area of the cold current in the Ancient Senluo Cave; the cold was scarcely perceptible. Even more surprising was that the density of life energy here was even more intense than in the Ancient Senluo Cave. Nie Kong was suddenly gripped by a strong urge to test his ‘Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art’ here, but remembering Su Ba and the others watching from the room, as well as his own lineage, he ultimately suppressed the distracting thoughts. He waved toward Su Ba and the six Hall Masters outside, then began walking forward step by deliberate step.

“…”

Watching Nie Kong advance deeper into the Spirit Vein until he soon disappeared from view beyond the transparent wall, the room fell into a profound silence. After a long pause, Gu Changgong finally spoke. “Grandmaster, do you think this lad Nie Kong can successfully leave the Yin Ruins? Traveling via the Spirit Vein is manageable for someone with a lower cultivation, but once he reaches the Yin Ruins, if he encounters danger, his current Spirit Transformation realm cultivation might not be enough to cope.”

“Hard to say.”

Su Ba slowly exited the room, sighing. “In my current state, I can only suppress this Spirit Vein for two years at most. If, after one year, the young man has not returned safely, you must begin preparations for the relocation of Lingyu City. Have you all taken note?”

“Yes, Grandmaster!”

Gu Changgong, Yang Tian, and the six others dared not delay and quickly agreed.

Seeing Su Ba return to the outer stone chamber to sit cross-legged, the others exchanged glances, worry clouding their brows. If Lingyu City were forced to move, they might not notice the decline immediately without the ‘Spirit Cultivation Illusionary Realm,’ but over time, the city’s strength would surely plummet.

Yet, if Lingyu City remained in the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Range, and the ‘Yin Ruins Spirit Vein’ spun out of control, the city, with its three-thousand-year legacy, would face utter annihilation.

Even if Nie Kong returned with news about the ‘Spirit Extreme Sacred Water,’ it might not be good news for Lingyu City. The sole reason Lingyu City had failed to produce a Celestial Spirit expert breaking through to the Spirit God realm was the necessity of using the ‘Spirit Extreme Sacred Water’ to suppress the Yin Ruins Spirit Vein. As long as the Yin Ruins Spirit Vein needed suppressing, achieving the Spirit God realm would remain a dream for Lingyu City! Unless they could find a way to permanently stabilize the ‘Yin Ruins Spirit Vein.’

But how easy was that? If it were simple, would the successive City Lords of Lingyu City have been shackled by that Spirit Vein until this very day?

A true dilemma!

Gu Changgong cast his gaze back toward the Spirit Vein, pondering inwardly. As Gu Changgong had described, this ‘Yin Ruins Spirit Vein’ twisted and turned with extreme complexity beneath the Inner City.

Initially, Nie Kong had the leisure to observe the surroundings of the Spirit Vein.

But soon, he lost all such inclination. The Spirit Vein was almost entirely embedded in the earth, offering not an inch of space to breathe. If he could not traverse the entire length of the vein swiftly before exhausting his breath, the outcome would likely be grim.

Nie Kong mobilized his internal spiritual power, maximizing his use of the ‘Flower Shifting Evasion Technique,’ but his speed within the vein was incomparable to his pace in the outside world. Fortunately, Nie Kong had developed commendable breath-holding skills while training in the Ancient Senluo Cave.

Time slipped by, and Nie Kong’s speed steadily decreased.

The further he proceeded, the stronger the pressure bearing down from ahead became. Coupled with his increasingly labored breathing, in just a moment, Nie Kong’s chest felt so tight it seemed ready to explode.

Hadn't he been told that because he could stir the ‘Yin Ruins Spirit Vein,’ he could withstand its pressure?

Nie Kong cursed inwardly, quickly settling cross-legged at the bottom of the vein, beginning to circulate his spiritual technique. The dense life energy surged fiercely within the vein, like a waking leviathan.

Great masses of life energy poured into his body through his pores. As his Spirit God Apertures vibrated, they absorbed this energy completely. At this point, Nie Kong’s Spirit God Apertures resembled a bottomless black hole, seemingly capable of devouring every trace of vitality in heaven and earth. “Hmm?”

Suddenly, Nie Kong detected a peculiar phenomenon: the suffocating pressure on his chest had eased considerably as his ‘Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art’ operated, as if his body had been replenished with a breath of fresh air. This change brought him immense surprise.

With the ‘Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art,’ at least he didn't have to fear suffocating to death within the vein. However, the external pressure showed no sign of abating. Nie Kong recalled the scene from the bottom of the Ancient Senluo Cave when he fused his ‘Four Spirit God Apertures’ into the ‘Single Spirit God Aperture,’ gaining a subtle glimmer of understanding.

“Boom!”

In that instant of realization, the vibration frequency of the Spirit God Apertures escalated to an unprecedented height. In a mere flash, Nie Kong was enveloped by an intense, verdant aura, all of which seemed to madly drill into his body, threatening to burst his thirty-six thousand pores.

“Whoosh!” A massive vortex began to form within the green expanse…