Having made up his mind, Yang Kai didn't immediately give his answer. Instead, he adopted a hesitant expression, stroking his chin and sinking into thought for a good while. Just when Shen Shitao was secretly fretting, fearing that Yang Kai might refuse, he finally spoke: "Going down first to scout the path is no problem. But what about any gains we find? How would they be divided?"
"Rest assured, little brother. We're not the Battle Heaven Alliance—we don't act so overbearingly. Whatever we find down there, we'll split equally per head. There are seven of us here, so we divide everything into seven shares. Everyone takes one. How does that sound?"
This arrangement might seem to favor the Qiantian Sect, given that they had more people and would walk away with a larger total haul. But in truth, it was entirely fair!
After all, they had five Sacred Kings at the second or third stage. Had this been the Battle Heaven Alliance's martial artists, they would have simply driven Yang Kai and Chang Qi off—or even killed them—let alone share anything. The fact that Shen Shitao could propose such terms was remarkably equitable.
What they didn't know was that if anyone actually tried to force them out, they would only end up worse for it.
"What if there aren't enough spoils to split seven ways?" Yang Kai raised a rather sharp question.
"Easy enough. If there truly aren't enough to divide evenly, we put everything up for auction—the highest bidder wins. That way, those with wealth get the treasures and those without get the Sacred Crystals. That's generally how we operate when adventuring outside." Shen Shitao had clearly encountered this sort of situation more than once; she immediately offered a solution that satisfied Yang Kai.
With such sincerity on the table, Yang Kai naturally had no further objections. He nodded at once: "Good, then we'll do as you say. I'll go down first and take point. I'm young and sturdy—I don't fear whatever dangers might be down there, so there's no issue with me leading. But this Elder Chang is getting on in years…"
"I'll bring up the rear myself. How about this venerable gentleman walks just ahead of me?" Shen Shitao offered a faint smile, understanding exactly what Yang Kai was worried about. She promptly volunteered to shoulder some of the risk.
"Deal." Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction. He had to admit that this beautiful woman called Shen Shitao truly had a knack for handling things. She was the sort of person who could thoroughly consider others' risks and concerns and put herself in their shoes. No wonder the other four men and women all deferred to her.
This earned her some of Yang Kai's goodwill. People like her were rare these days.
He figured Shen Shitao must have quite a reputation within the Qiantian Sect as well—probably a Core Disciple or someone of similar standing.
Once the discussion was settled, Yang Kai wasted no time. He leaped headfirst into the hole.
This left Shen Shitao—originally intending to offer him a few words of caution—stunned on the spot. By the time she thought to speak, Yang Kai had already vanished.
"This…" The five Qiantian Sect members exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions peculiar.
They were now even more convinced that Yang Kai was a person of tremendous fortune. This fellow acted so recklessly and on such hot-blooded impulse—jumping into an unknown pit without even bothering to take out a defensive Artifact for protection. And even if he didn't use an Artifact, he should have at least activated his Sacred Yuan to shield himself!
But he had simply jumped straight down.
If he weren't someone blessed by heaven with great fortune, acting the way he did, he would have died countless times over by now. How could he possibly still be alive?
"Ahem, shall we follow?" Chang Qi saw the five standing there frozen and couldn't help but speak up. If Yang Kai actually encountered danger down below, it wouldn't be right for them to just keep standing up here.
"Let's go…" Shen Shitao nodded with resignation. The other four Qiantian Sect men and women immediately circulated their Sacred Yuan and jumped into the hole one after another. After they had all gone, Chang Qi followed close behind. True to her word, Shen Shitao herself brought up the rear.
The hole was very deep. After jumping in, Yang Kai kept sliding downward. The pit appeared to have formed naturally—the walls were smooth as jade, requiring no effort whatsoever as he glided smoothly down.
Although Yang Kai hadn't deployed a defensive Artifact or activated his Sacred Yuan, his Divine Sense had remained on constant alert below. If any danger truly materialized, he would respond with defense in an instant.
To his surprise, the hole contained not a single trace of danger. After sliding down for a full half an incense stick's worth of time—Yang Kai estimated he had descended at least three to four hundred zhang underground—he had remained completely unharmed.
Suddenly, an extremely pure surge of energy rushed upward from below. Yang Kai's spirits lifted immediately, and an expression of disbelief crossed his face.
The energy was so dense and refined that it actually surpassed even the aura of the spirit liquid in that stalactite cave. For such a rich presence to exist, there had to be something remarkable down below.
After sliding down another hundred-odd zhang, Yang Kai finally touched solid ground. He swayed slightly, moving aside to clear space for those behind him, and produced a luminous stone from his ring.
A soft glow emanated outward. By its light, Yang Kai took in his surroundings—an underground cavern, with a subterranean river flowing past not far away, its waters crystal clear to the bottom.
The cavern was modest in size, perhaps several dozen zhang across. Along its walls, several tunnels branched off in every direction, leading into unknown depths.
And from each tunnel, an extraordinarily dense aura of heaven and earth spiritual energy wafted forth.
Yang Kai scanned left and right, and his eyes suddenly blazed bright when he caught sight of a particular tunnel entrance.
He had discovered a faint trace there—identical to what he had seen when tracking the small snake-shaped heaven and earth spirit earlier. Though the aura was exceedingly faint and dissipated almost at once, there was no doubt whatsoever that it had been left behind by the same creature.