"Hold on."
"Senior experts, do you think we need to set up this array?"
As Chu Feng spoke, he sketched out an array diagram.
Long Moxiao and Long Mochuan took one look and recognized that this array was designed to prevent the barrier entrance from closing.
They knew how to construct such an array themselves, but the diagram Chu Feng provided was extraordinarily refined.
So refined that it left them in awe.
"Young friend Chu Feng, where did you obtain such a masterful array?" Long Mochuan couldn't help but ask.
"This junior obtained the Heavenly Dao Secret Tome through fortunate circumstances. This is the elementary volume within it." Chu Feng made no attempt to hide the truth.
"The Heavenly Dao Secret Tome of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace?"
"But I've never heard that the Heavenly Dao Secret Tome contains an elementary volume?"
Both Long Mochuan and Long Moxiao were thoroughly surprised.
After all, they had long heard of the Heavenly Dao Secret Tome.
"This junior obtained the Heavenly Dao Secret Tome within the ruins of the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect," Chu Feng explained.
Through their subsequent conversation, Long Mucheng and the others learned that Chu Feng had seized the ruins of the Ancestral Martial Realm Sect right from the hands of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace.
And as they talked, Long Moxiao and Long Mochuan—the two True Dragon peak Spirit World Masters—finished setting up the array.
Once the array was merged into the entrance, they finally stepped through.
"Perfect. With this array in place, the entrance won't close."
Looking at the merged entrance, Long Moxiao and Long Mochuan were both brimming with confidence.
"How about it? Wasn't inviting Chu Feng here the right call?" Long Mucheng said with a hint of pride.
"Goes without saying. Without young friend Chu Feng, who knows how many years we'd have been trapped in the Spirit Realm Emperor's territory," Long Mochuan sighed.
They had long since stopped doubting Chu Feng's abilities, but this time he had genuinely surprised them once more.
After that, Chu Feng provided a concealment array as well. Constructed by the two True Dragon peak experts, its power was significantly amplified.
With everything prepared, Chu Feng and the others finally stepped inside.
Passing through the barrier entrance, they entered a vast and boundless world.
Below was solid ground, but above there was no sky—only a canopy of rock that sealed the world off.
"As expected, the energy here is far more concentrated." Long Mucheng closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and her face lit up with elation.
Her excitement was understandable—the special energy in this place was several times denser than what lay beyond.
But Chu Feng turned his gaze toward the southeast.
There were no mountains or rivers here, granting an unobstructed view. Chu Feng could see a massive array in the distance.
It rose from the earth all the way to the ceiling, like a pillar supporting heaven and earth, connecting the ground to the stone wall above.
And that was precisely the direction from which they had come.
So Chu Feng knew that the array's position corresponded exactly to the location of a mine shaft in the Jinchuan Upper Realm.
"That appears to be a Refinement Array," Chu Feng said.
"A Refinement Array?"
The moment those words left his mouth, Long Mochuan, Long Moxiao, and the others all changed expressions.
They had been observing the array as well, but none of them had identified it as a Refinement Array.
Even as Chu Feng spoke, he was already flying toward the array.
Seeing this, Long Mucheng and the others followed close behind.
Once they drew near, they could sense the aura of martial cultivators within the array. Examining its finer details, Long Mochuan and Long Mochuan quickly confirmed it was indeed a Refinement Array.
"It's connected to the mine shafts on the outside."
"No wonder the miners had a nine-in-ten chance of dying. It turns out they were being refined by the array."
Long Mochuan, Long Moxiao, and even Long Mucheng all burned with fury.
Their cultivation was higher, and their field of observation far broader.
They could see that these Refinement Arrays were scattered across almost the entire world.
Nearly every single one overlapped with the position of a mine shaft on the outside—each one connecting directly to those shafts.
"The people being refined tend to have rather weak cultivation. What use is refining them?" she asked, perplexed.
Refining martial cultivators was a hallmark of evil factions, but typically only those with strong cultivation were targeted.
This Refinement Array was highly sophisticated, indicating its creator possessed considerable power. Yet it was being used on cultivators of low strength, which she found puzzling.
"This array is extremely intricate. Even I can't discern its exact purpose."
"But anyone caught within it has absolutely no chance of survival," Chu Feng said.
He had approached in hopes of gleaning more information, but unfortunately, he couldn't make anything out.
"However, the array doesn't carry any aura of antiquity. Could it be the work of modern cultivators?"
Long Moxiao voiced his own doubts.
"This array is likely powered by a treasure—or perhaps the array itself is a treasure. The thing is, the treasure may lie deep underground, and what we're seeing isn't the full picture."
"I suspect this isn't the true underground world. The real subterranean realm lies beneath our feet," Chu Feng said.
"Another layer of underground world?"
Long Mucheng and the others were stunned.
If Chu Feng hadn't pointed it out, they never would have noticed a hidden world beneath their very feet.
If what he said was true, it meant their enemy's methods were far more formidable than they had imagined.
At that moment, Eggie, who had been silent for a long while, spoke up: "Chu Feng, I have a bad feeling about this."
"Eggie, I understand what you mean." After responding to Eggie, Chu Feng turned to Long Mucheng. "Senior, if you're not in a rush to break through, perhaps we should head back and find another place to cultivate."
"Head back?"
"Chu Feng, have you sensed danger?" Long Mucheng asked.
"Whether modern or ancient, this place… harbors an extremely powerful faction."
"The person who told you about this place back then must have sensed the strength of the forces here as well."
"That's why they warned you not to come if changes occurred in the Jinchuan Upper Realm," Chu Feng explained.
"Chu Feng, you're well aware of the current state of the cultivation world. Without absolute power, there's no way to protect oneself."
"I want to break through to the Heavenly God Realm as quickly as possible."
"The energy here is difficult to find elsewhere. It's a rare opportunity."
"I have complete confidence in my breakthrough, and it won't take long," Long Mucheng said.
"Young friend Chu Feng, from what we can see so far, there are only arrays here—no people."