The twelve Innate experts from Qinghu Island wore grim expressions, each secretly cursing the sudden appearance of 'Qin Lang' with intense hatred. But no matter how much they resented it, there was nothing they could do—this 'Qin Lang' had a full forty-eight Innate experts backing him. Naturally, those Innate experts would support 'Qin Lang'.

"Gu Yong, please," all forty-nine Innate experts looked toward the group from Qinghu Island.

At this point, to lie or argue further would be an insult to the intelligence of everyone present.

"Since everyone wishes to proceed, so be it," Gu Yong immediately walked toward the bottomless pit. When he reached Teng Qingshan's side, he paused, looking solemnly at Teng Qingshan. "Qin Lang?"

"I am but an unknown nobody; there's no need for Island Master Gu to remember my name," Teng Qingshan replied with a faint smile.

"You are quite impressive!" Gu Yong's four words carried significant weight, and a cold glint flashed through his eyes simultaneously.

"Everyone, follow us down," Gu Yong said, then promptly jumped into the bottomless pit.

Whoosh!

Zhao Danchen, Yuwen Liufeng, and the other Innate experts jumped in one after another. A very sturdy rope was secured inside the bottomless pit, dangling all the way to the floor.

"We're going down," the 'Beast King' Wu Hou was the first to jump, followed by the assembled crowd of Innate experts, who also leaped in. During the descent, they frequently used the rope to absorb the impact force. In a moment, all sixty-one Innate experts had reached the very bottom of the bottomless pit.

...

"This wretched place is completely dark." The sixty-one Innate experts advanced in a massive formation through the waterway. There were no other light sources in the tunnel; the complete blackness made many Innate experts uncomfortable. A protective shield of Innate True Yuan flared around their bodies, and the soft halo from their True Yuan allowed them to dimly see about ten Zhang away.

The group from Qinghu Island walked at the very front.

"Gu Yong must be feeling terrible inside. The Emperor Yu Treasure that rightfully belonged to their Qinghu Island is likely slipping away," Teng Qingshan certainly wasn't about to watch the Qinghu Island people secure the Emperor Yu Treasure. "Once we reach the Celestial Flood Palace, the struggle between the various factions will make it easier for a large number of Qinghu Island people to die!"

If he were to launch a solitary sneak attack as initially planned, finding the right opportunity would be incredibly difficult. Especially against an Innate Golden Core expert, relying on himself alone might not offer a chance to kill one.

But now...

Teng Qingshan, blending in with the crowd of Innate experts, could easily stir up trouble or let the opposing factions intensify, leading to the deaths of many high-level experts from Qinghu Island!

"Ahead is the underground lake water. This lake area is vast," Gu Yong stated indifferently, activating his own Innate True Yuan shield before stepping into the water.

Sixty-one 'lanterns' moved forward beneath the immense, pitch-black lake. To avoid revealing his ultimate techniques, Teng Qingshan also raised his Innate True Yuan shield... though his shield was noticeably smaller than the others.

Swish, swish~~~

In the silent depths, the fish scattered in terror as the sixty-one 'lanterns' approached. However, several powerful demonic beasts launched repeated sneak attacks, catching some Innate experts off guard and causing injuries. Once everyone became cautious, no major incidents occurred.

Any ordinary demonic beast that dared to obstruct them was essentially committing suicide.

"Gu Yong's group hasn't even mentioned how large this lake is. I thought a few miles wide would be the limit," the white-robed youth 'Liu Xiu' muttered under his breath.

"Me too. The supply of air carried by the Innate True Yuan shield is running low," Teng Qingshan added.

Liu Xiu sneered, "We can only conserve it and try to minimize fighting." Intense battles consumed oxygen much faster.

Of course, the Innate experts of the Nine Provinces land were unaware of the term 'oxygen,' but they understood that suffocation could lead to death. Humans needed to breathe air.

"Hmm?" Teng Qingshan noticed a vaguely discernible massive shape about sixty Zhang away, surrounded by numerous shadows that looked like pythons. "What is that?" Teng Qingshan focused his gaze, analyzing carefully. As they drew closer, he finally saw it clearly: a colossal blue entity coiled at the lake bottom, occupying a surrounding area of nearly thirty Zhang—like a small mountain weighing them down. The most terrifying aspect was the thick tentacles, each as large as a massive water vat, suspended in the water.

Every single tentacle was comparable to a thirty-Zhang-long giant python!

Teng Qingshan sucked in a sharp breath.

"A demonic beast this huge? It looks somewhat like a deep-sea octopus, but its tentacles are far more astonishing," Teng Qingshan glanced at the leading group from Qinghu Island, a chilling light flickering in his eyes. "This is a rare opportunity... If someone has to die, it will certainly be them first!"

In the dark, murky lake water, the other Innate experts could only vaguely see seven or eight Zhang ahead, and that was due to the sheer number of people present.

"What's that smell? It's awful," an Innate expert remarked.

Teng Qingshan, however, kept his focus fixed on the monstrous beast underwater.

"Everyone be careful," Gu Yong, leading the way, scanned his surroundings and whispered, "Such a foul odor... We didn't smell this last time—" Before he could finish speaking.

"Ah!"

A piercing scream suddenly erupted.

Gu Yong spun around violently to see one of his Qinghu Island members, the white-haired 'Elder Wen,' being coiled up by a monster as thick as a water vat. Elder Wen was currently being squeezed to death, his body twisted into a grotesque knot, eyes bulging, blood pouring from his seven orifices—a truly horrifying sight!

"A python!" someone shouted.

"Vile creature!" a furious roar followed.

Whoosh! A dazzling light shot from Zhao Danchen's hand; the sword light sliced across the water-vat-sized 'python,' and with a 'thwack,' the serpent was cleaved in two. One severed section of its body thrashed, while the other, extremely long segment recoiled instantly.

"Waaa~~~"

A piercing, infant-like cry echoed out. This shrill sound made even the Innate experts instinctively want to cover their ears.

"Everyone, watch out!" Gu Yong shouted loudly.

"Boom!" "Boom!" ...

The water surged violently, and numerous thick, massive tentacles, resembling giant pythons, thrashed wildly toward the Innate experts.

"So many pythons!" The Innate experts all sprang into action, transforming into streaks of phantom light to attack the 'pythons.'

'Pythons'? Teng Qingshan secretly shook his head. Due to the limited visibility, the Innate experts could only see individual tentacles... but not the fact that beyond twenty Zhang away, all those tentacles belonged to a single monstrous entity.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Sword shadows and blade lights flickered. When experts like Gu Yong and Zhao Danchen, who were Innate Golden Cores, struck, those tentacles were severed directly. However, for Innate Solid Core experts, they could only injure the tentacles, not completely sever them. Still, there were too many high-level experts present—over a dozen Innate Golden Cores!

In an instant, all the attacking tentacles were severed.

"That python is escaping." Seeing the severed 'python' bodies rapidly retracting, everyone realized the 'pythons' weren't dead and gave chase.

But upon pursuing, they were horrified to discover...

Every 'python' they had cut was, in fact, a tentacle. And it appeared that each tentacle was a full thirty Zhang long; the parts they had severed were only a few Zhang long.

"Waaa~~~" The infant-like piercing cry sounded again.

All the severed and intact tentacles suddenly thrashed, disturbing the water surface.

Whoosh! The colossal entity instantly shot away into the distance, vanishing from the sight of all the Innate experts.

The lake water remained murky and dark!

But at this moment, a chill settled deep in the hearts of the assembled Innate experts.

The long-browed old monk frowned and looked at Gu Yong. "Island Master Gu, what lake is this? Why are there so many demonic beasts? And that one creature... even if I encountered it alone, I fear I would perish." That monster had twenty to thirty tentacles. If a full fight had broken out...

If twenty or thirty tentacles had swarmed one person, even an Innate Golden Core would meet their doom. Fortunately, the monster had the misfortune of running into so many Innate experts, resulting in the rapid severing of numerous tentacles.

"This is the Celestial Flood Lake," Gu Yong's face darkened. "Regarding the Celestial Flood Lake, my Qinghu Island only knows... that there are quite a few demonic beasts here. The last time Qinghu Island came, we lost one Law Enforcement Elder. Now, another one is dead. Please, you all guide the way from now on! Qinghu Island will point the direction, but we will no longer lead."

Losing two elders in two separate expeditions—Gu Yong was naturally heartbroken.

What he didn't know was... among this crowd was one person who had spotted the demonic beast long ago. If that person had spoken up, they wouldn't have lost anyone.

"A pity only an Innate Solid Core died. Given that beast's strength, if its numerous tentacles had surrounded one person, it absolutely could have killed an Innate Golden Core expert," Teng Qingshan held absolutely no pity for the Qinghu Island people. It would be best if Island Master Gu Yong and the other Innate Golden Cores all perished. That would be ideal!

"You point the way, and we will lead?" The Innate experts from the major sects looked toward the Qinghu Island contingent.

"Gu Yong, your Qinghu Island people are the most familiar with this area!" 'Beast King' Wu Hou said deeply. "How do we know you aren't intentionally pointing us toward a dangerous path, leading us into peril?"

"Let's compromise," Gu Yong stated solemnly. "Our Qinghu Island forces will mix in with yours."

The experts from the various sects exchanged glances. They understood that forcing the Qinghu Island people to lead further now would be pushing them too far.

"Agreed." Everyone consented.

...

They journeyed onward. The sixty Innate experts formed a terrifying force, plowing straight through any obstacles until they arrived before the gate of the Celestial Flood Palace.

Many experts gazed upon the cyan-green stone stele inscribed with four characters—Celestial Flood Palace!

"This Celestial Flood Palace spans at least ten miles in circumference," Gu Yong stated. "Last time, we only managed a brief survey; we don't know the true scale of the Celestial Flood Palace."

"Hah! To construct such a massive palace underwater, only someone like Emperor Yu or the Heavenly Emperor of Qinling could achieve this," many Innate experts exclaimed in awe.

"Yes, the Emperor Yu Treasure must be inside."

Many experts were certain of this.

Teng Qingshan's gaze swept over Gu Yong: "I wonder if Gu Yong mentioned the matter of the Golden Tortoise? Entering the Celestial Flood Palace rashly could easily draw an attack from the Golden Tortoise. Given the Golden Tortoise's strength... even an Innate Golden Core cannot withstand it."

"Island Master Gu, please lead the way ahead," many Innate experts looked back toward Gu Yong and his group.

"Hmph," Gu Yong's expression darkened. "Everyone, the last time we entered the Celestial Flood Palace, we hadn't gone far before we encountered a demonic beast. We discovered the palace is teeming with monstrous creatures. So, we retreated temporarily. Even so, we lost an elder. Obtaining the Emperor Yu Treasure within the Celestial Flood Palace is too difficult! As for this palace, we only know the treasure is inside; as for where, we don't know... Without knowing the path, naturally, we cannot lead."

"It seems Gu Yong intends to hide the existence of the Golden Tortoise," Teng Qingshan sneered inwardly. Unfortunately... apart from the Qinghu Island members, Teng Qingshan was also very familiar with these matters.