On a solitary peak rising a thousand zhang into the sky, Cang Yan, Fei Yu, and Yang Kai landed halfway up the mountainside. After carefully surveying the area for a good while, the two Transcendent Stage Three experts pinpointed a specific zone.
Yang Kai could also faintly detect a subtle energy seeping from this patch of ground.
But looking around, the area before him appeared no different from its surroundings—just an ordinary stretch of earth.
"It must be an illusion technique. Impressive work—no wonder no one has uncovered the secret here all these years," Cang Yan said, eyes flickering with surprise as he scanned the area.
"It was probably revealed by accident. Some disciple from the sect must have stumbled upon it by chance—it's been too long," Fei Yu agreed. "Let's not waste time. Get to it."
Cang Yan stamped his foot on the ground, and with a wave of scorching heat, Yang Kai watched as strange runes lit up across the earth's surface.
The runes writhed like tadpoles, squirming and wriggling across the ground. After a brief moment, they all burst into flame and crumbled to ash.
Cang Yan cultivated a fire-attribute technique, and his True Yuan flames were exceptionally pure. With the strength of Transcendent Stage Three, breaking through an illusion left behind who-knew-how-many years ago was child's play.
A dark, yawning hole appeared in the ground, barely large enough for one person to pass through at a time.
Without a word, Fei Yu dove straight in and vanished from sight.
Cang Yan waved his hand. "Go on in."
"I'm going too?" Yang Kai was stunned. He had assumed he would wait up here. After all, more than a dozen Tianxiao Sect disciples had met terrible fates inside—there was bound to be danger everywhere. Rushing in after these two would only be a burden.
"Of course you are," Cang Yan said with a somewhat sly grin. "This time, it's going to depend on you."
"Depend on me?" Yang Kai grew more bewildered. "Senior, you must be joking."
"I'm not joking. If it were just me, I would never have agreed to Fei Yu's request. But with you along, it's a different story. You'll understand once we're inside." With that, Cang Yan simply tossed Yang Kai down the hole.
Yang Kai had no choice but to quietly circulate his True Yuan and focus his mind, bracing for anything unexpected.
The hole seemed incredibly deep. Yang Kai slid downward for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before his feet touched solid ground. He steadied himself and stepped aside, and Cang Yan landed shortly after.
"Slow!" Fei Yu complained, pouting her lips.
Cang Yan said nothing. A brilliant fireball materialized beside him, illuminating their surroundings.
"This is a blessed land, no doubt about it. I wonder which senior master's dwelling this was!" Cang Yan's eyes lit up as he sensed the ambient heaven and earth energy.
Fei Yu looked equally excited. "If it's a blessed land, then there must be treasures."
"Very likely!" Cang Yan nodded. "Let's go."
He took the lead, with Fei Yu and Yang Kai following close behind, every sense on high alert.
As they walked, Fei Yu suddenly leaned close to Yang Kai and whispered softly in his ear, her breath warm against his skin: "Don't probe with your Divine Sense. There are Soul-Devouring Insects here—they feed on Divine Sense energy. The moment one latches onto you, you're done for. That's exactly how those dozen-plus disciples met their end."
Yang Kai's expression turned grim and he nodded quickly. Then a question struck him. "If they met such a tragic end, how did you learn what happened? Did someone manage to send a message out?"
"No." Fei Yu shook her head. "Our ancestor told us. He's incredibly powerful—if he wants to know what's happening within a five-hundred-li radius, everything is under his control."
Yang Kai's face went pale with shock.
The Tianxiao Sect's ancestor was truly formidable. Yang Kai's own Divine Sense was already quite strong, with a detection range of roughly a hundred li. But the farther the reach, the fuzzier the perception and the greater the energy consumed. Yet this ancestor could monitor an area of five hundred li. The difference between them was like heaven and earth.
Cang Yan suddenly halted. Before them lay a martial artist in Tianxiao Sect robes, face-up on the ground, eyes wide open. Cang Yan knelt to examine him and slowly shook his head.
The man was clearly dead.
Fei Yu stopped whispering to Yang Kai. Her beautiful face set in a grave expression, she produced a bell-shaped Artifact and activated its power, shielding herself and Yang Kai as she followed closely behind Cang Yan.
It appeared to be a soul-type Artifact—at least Spirit grade. The moment it was activated, Yang Kai felt as though he were immersed in warm water, a deep and pleasant comfort washing over him.
"Stay close to me. Don't stray too far. With your meager cultivation, if the Soul-Devouring Insects fixate on you, you won't survive," Fei Yu warned in a low, serious tone.
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, not daring to let his attention waver for even an instant.
Cang Yan, bold and skilled as he was, continued scouting ahead. From time to time, they came across one or two Tianxiao Sect disciples who had fallen victim. Upon closer examination, most were already dead. The three or four still alive were unconscious, their faces contorted in agony.
For every unconscious disciple they found, Cang Yan unceremoniously fed them medicinal pills.
After an indeterminate stretch of time, a massive bronze gate appeared before the trio.
The moment they drew near, a surge of black mist erupted from the gate. Within the mist, countless tiny things—too small for the naked eye to see—hurtled toward them with savage ferocity.
Cang Yan's expression changed drastically. He leaped backward, blazing True Yuan erupting from his body. Balls of fire detonated in rapid succession, but the black mist refused to burn. At best, it merely slowed the mist's advance.
"Soul-Devouring Insects!" Fei Yu cried out in alarm, her face drained of color. Her True Yuan burst forth, and wave after wave of indestructible water arrows took shape, streaking toward the black mist with tremendous force.
"How are there still so many?" Fei Yu's voice trembled slightly. Between attacks, she shouted: "Cang Yan, run!"