Chapter 1758: The Hidden Place

Above the thorny shrubs, the five cultivators hovered just an inch above the ground. Throughout their journey, they had avoided flying high to escape detection. Yan Qingchen had absolute confidence in his own concealment, but the other four did not; they couldn’t hide from the Divine Sense of a Void Refining cultivator.

Still, their luck had held. Though they had encountered other cultivators, they had reached this place without incident.

“Junior Brother Yan, is this the place? It looks secluded, but the Inheritance Ancient Hall has been opened generation after generation. Countless disciples in our era alone have entered. And those who enter are either brilliant geniuses or people with incredible luck. How could no one have found this place? If this is the reason you give us, it seems a bit self-deceiving.”

A middle-aged cultivator with a long beard released his Divine Sense to probe the ground and asked with suspicion. He was one of the two veteran elites Yan Qingchen had recruited in the last few years.

Yan Qingchen had asked if they could enter the hall and help him with something in a remote area outside. Both had been to the hall before and had explored the outside regions thoroughly. However, they had lost interest after about half a month. Seeking indirect inheritances seemed like a waste of time to them; ninety percent of what people found wasn’t particularly valuable. Staying in the hall offered far more meaning.

When Yan Qingchen made his offer, they had asked for the reason, but he said he would only explain once they reached the location. They understood that he wouldn’t reveal his true purpose before they entered. Normally, they wouldn’t agree to such a treasure hunt, but this was the Inheritance Ancient Hall. Even if they encountered a Void Refining cultivator, the risk was low; seventy to eighty percent of the time, it was safe. After negotiating their conditions, they had agreed.

They had never been to this specific spot. It was remote, but not particularly hidden. After scanning the ground, they felt certain other disciples had been here; they could see traces of human activity. Furthermore, they detected no anomalies. Where was this “restriction” Yan Qingchen wanted them to help break?

They didn’t believe they were more capable than the generations of disciples before them. They were only mid-tier among the current elites. They knew the nature of cultivators well; if there were a formation here, more talented disciples would have found it long ago. And the harder a formation was to break, the more people it would attract. Why would it still be here for them to find?

The bearded man’s question reflected the thoughts of the others. Even Liu Siyu looked uncertain, though she tended to trust Yan Qingchen.

“Brothers, please be patient. I said we had to come here, but I didn’t say the place was right below us. And if it were easy to find, why would I pay such a high price for your help? My Master discovered that place by accident, and it is incredibly well-hidden. If you went looking for it normally, you almost certainly wouldn’t find it.”

“After studying it, my Master determined that specific means are required to enter. He returned twice more but still couldn’t open the formation. After he left the sect, he never had the time to return. That is why I am here now. Once you follow me inside and see it for yourselves, you will know I am not lying.”

Yan Qingchen spoke with a gentle, refined smile. But in his heart, he was sneering at their doubts.

“You sound so certain that no one else has found it. We don’t doubt you, but it’s been a long time since your Master was here. Who’s to say no one else has had the luck to find it?”

Aside from Liu Siyu, who was still scanning the ground, the others remained skeptical. They knew Yan Qingchen’s background; his Master had been a disciple of Huangqi Valley who left the sect for the sake of a romance. They had verified the man’s identity, but he had vanished after leaving the sect. Still, they weren’t children. The rich rewards he offered made them suspicious of his true goals. They had only agreed after a thorough investigation. The conditions weren’t harsh, and the payment was truly tempting.

Yan Qingchen had promised that if they opened the formation and found no treasure, they would still receive half of the promised payment just for their help. If there were treasure, they had the right to exchange his promised items for some of the treasures of equal value. And if the formation no longer existed, they would just keep the initial spirit stone deposit.

“We’ll know once we go down. The conditions are set; I won’t go back on my word. However… once we descend, do not act without my command. If someone causes a problem, the others won’t be happy! This is an ancient place; any unopened area is dangerous enough to kill us easily. I believe in your strength, but I say this because everyone thinks this area is safe, which leads to carelessness. That is when accidents happen.”

Yan Qingchen didn’t hesitate. Magical power rippled through his body. There were no other cultivators around; it was the perfect time to enter. He pointed a finger downward. A beam of light shot out toward the black thorns.

A series of faint crackling sounds followed, like the sound of burning wood. The sound moved deeper and deeper into the ground until it vanished after a few seconds. Beneath their feet, a circular hole about a foot wide had appeared, revealing a pitch-black void from which icy drafts rose.

“Let’s go!”

Yan Qingchen turned into a blur and dove into the hole. A dark green talisman appeared around him, shielding him. In the blink of an eye, he was swallowed by the darkness. Liu Siyu followed without hesitation, her protective barrier flaring as she dove after him.

The remaining three looked at each other, sensed the two figures descending rapidly, and followed suit.

After they vanished, the world returned to silence. The heavy clouds in the sky drifted slowly toward the horizon.

Though there were no ripples of energy, Li Yan hovered above the thorns like a ghost. He was still using his “Stealthy Night-Stow” to its full extent. With Shouyi, he no longer needed to expend much power on the “Ebb Tide” technique. He was now completely transparent, a shadowless form in the air.

He slowly extended his Divine Sense into the shrubs below…

The hole created by the spell had already vanished; everything looked normal. Soon, Li Yan understood the situation. He was standing above a hidden abyss. The thorns were so thick that their roots and stems were intertwined into a dense, net-like layer several miles thick. The abyss lay nearly eight miles beneath this layer of vegetation. If a mortal came here, they could run and jump on the thorns without ever falling into the depths—as long as they didn’t mind being shredded by the spikes.

Below was pitch black. Li Yan’s Divine Sense probed only a few dozen miles deep before sensing ripples of energy. Those were the barriers of the three men who had entered last. He knew they couldn’t detect his Divine Sense, but he withdrew it anyway.

‘A place with a formation that requires a group to open… So Yan Qingchen didn’t come to Huangqi Valley for alchemy after all. According to them, his Master found an inaccessible place in this abyss… but his words might not be true. He’s hiding his true cultivation, and he’s been planning this since the internal selection…’

Li Yan recalled the selection. Yan Qingchen had been plotting this for a long time, always surrounding himself with other cultivators—cultivators he had found within the sect!

Li Yan didn’t have a good feeling about Yan Qingchen. That refined, gentle expression always made Li Yan feel there was an extreme coldness beneath the surface. It was a judgment based on his own vast experience. He believed Yan Qingchen’s true nature was the polar opposite of his friendly exterior.

He sensed the same coldness in the man that he saw in himself, as well as a very familiar scent of blood. It was the kind of coldness that only someone who had killed many people would have etched into their bones. Though the man hid it well, Li Yan had recognized that scent the moment they first met.

Since an unknown location had appeared, Li Yan felt this tailing mission was worth it. He couldn’t afford to give up now. After wandering for so many days, he knew he wouldn’t find anything significant in places other cultivators could easily reach. He needed an unknown zone.

Li Yan’s figure flickered as he dove into the thorns. He didn’t use a spell to part them; if Yan Qingchen were watching the entrance, even a sliver of light from above would give him away. But this wasn’t a problem for Li Yan. The shrubs weren’t a formation or a solid wall; they were a web of tiny gaps. With “Stealthy Night-Stow,” he could turn into a wisp of smoke and pass right through.

Within seconds, he had breached the miles of thorns. His Divine Sense swept out, revealing a black pit about fifty li wide. As he plummeted, he noticed the space widening as he went deeper. He accelerated his descent until he sensed the energy ripples below. He was about three hundred li behind them, so he slowed his pace. Yan Qingchen was in the lead, with the others acting as a barrier between them.

After his initial shock, Li Yan was calm. He had judged that Yan Qingchen’s Divine Sense wasn’t as strong as his own. That gave him the confidence to stay on their trail…

Time passed quickly in the darkness. Half a stick of incense later, Li Yan stopped and hovered in mid-air. The energy ripples below had also stopped. He didn’t probe Yan Qingchen’s position, choosing instead to hover above the others. He still hadn’t figured out the man’s true depth; he had to remain as cautious as possible.

‘Are we at the bottom?’

A few seconds later, he sensed the ripples drop a bit further, then suddenly turn and fly horizontally.

‘They were communicating. The others caught up to Liu Siyu, and now they’ve changed direction…’

Li Yan remained motionless. He had pulled back his Divine Sense the moment he sensed Liu Siyu’s aura. He waited until the energy ripples grew faint at the edge of his range before following them like a ghost.