Chapter 2262: Earth Palace

Two demon holy ancestors, a man and a woman, immediately stepped forward in response.

The remaining Mahayana cultivators and their disciples, led by Baohua, continued their advance towards the center of the Primeval Seal Land.

It was clear that the Primeval Seal Land contained extremely powerful anti-flight restrictions. Even with the formidable abilities of these Mahayana Grand Ancestors, they could only lead their disciples in slow, low-altitude flight.

Of course, this was slow compared to their usual evasion speed. For ordinary mortals, their speed was still extraordinarily fast.

In less than half an hour, they had flown over ten thousand li.

Suddenly, an unusually long canyon appeared ahead, from which wisps of thin purple mist billowed out, soaring straight up into the sky.

Even more bizarre, these thin mists carried a faint, fishy stench that, upon inhalation, caused dizziness, blurred vision, and a distinct slowing of divine sense.

“This is…” The faces of some Mahayana Grand Ancestors changed slightly after their divine sense swept over the purple mist.

“Fellow Daoists, be careful. Do not let these things get too close. These mists are the evil aura leaking from the Mother of the Spirit Devourer. It was this evil aura that transformed all the demonic insects in our Holy Realm into Spirit Devourers,” Baohua warned.

The Mahayana Grand Ancestors felt a chill in their hearts. Some immediately intensified their protective spiritual light, making it a few shades thicker than before, while others simply released one or two protective artifacts.

However, more Mahayana cultivators, confident in their formidable abilities, remained outwardly unfazed.

When they finally flew above the canyon and looked down, all the Grand Ancestors from other realms involuntarily gasped.

Amidst the rolling purple mist, the bottom of the canyon was unfathomably deep. Gusts of malevolent wind occasionally surged out, causing a chilling sensation upon contact, so cold it pierced to the bone.

“Is this where the ancient seal is located?” Han Li murmured, narrowing his eyes.

Hearing this from not far away, Baohua turned back with a light chuckle and said, “Indeed, Fellow Daoist Han, the ancient seal is deep underground. In ancient times, our Holy Race excavated the entire underground area within a ten-thousand-li radius around this seal, constructing a colossal underground palace and laying down layer upon layer of profound restrictions. The Mother of the Spirit Devourer resides deep within the center of this palace. Because the Mother of the Spirit Devourer controls part of the ancient seal’s power, we originally couldn't easily enter the palace. However, these past few days mark a periodic surge in the essence of heaven and earth, a time when the ancient seal’s power is unstable. This allows us to seize the opportunity to infiltrate. Otherwise, even if we could force our way in with our abilities, we would definitely awaken the Mother of the Spirit Devourer.”

“Is the Mother of the Spirit Devourer really that vigilant? To my knowledge, all powerful insects, when in a slumber to recover strength due to essence damage, are extremely difficult to awaken. The only exception would be if someone approached extremely close and made a move to threaten its life,” an elder with triangular eyes, dressed in a silver-threaded daoist robe, remarked with a frown from nearby.

“Ah, so it’s Fellow Daoist Gu. No wonder you understand insect beasts so well. However, Fellow Daoist, do not forget that the Mother of the Spirit Devourer is no ordinary fierce insect. Some of your assumptions may not be suitable when applied to it,” Baohua replied indifferently, glancing at the triangular-eyed Mahayana cultivator.

“Hmph, I hope that’s truly the case,” Daoist Gu snorted, seemingly unconvinced by Baohua’s words.

“If Fellow Daoist doesn’t believe it, feel free to go down and try now.” Baohua, seemingly unconcerned with Daoist Gu, replied with a somber expression, then ignored him, merely gazing into the depths of the canyon as if silently waiting for something.

Hearing this, Daoist Gu’s expression changed, a fierce glint flashing in his triangular eyes. Yet, he remained sullenly silent, and naturally, he wouldn’t rashly venture into the canyon’s depths.

Han Li, seeing this, regarded Daoist Gu with considerable interest.

Knowing that Baohua was no ordinary Mahayana cultivator, Daoist Gu still dared to speak to her in such a tone, indicating he was also a person of significant background.

“Fellow Daoist Han, Daoist Gu is extremely sarcastic, and his Gu arts are so formidable that even I find them troublesome to deal with. It’s best if you don’t get involved with him!” This was a direct telepathic message from Baohua to Han Li.

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded slightly, without any intention of speaking.

The other Mahayana cultivators also suspended themselves above the canyon, waiting quietly.

Whether due to the influence of the purple mist or the power of the underground seal, everyone’s divine sense dissipated involuntarily upon entering a hundred zhang into the canyon, making it impossible to detect any movement below.

Gazing at the gloomy canyon, some Mahayana Grand Ancestors couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. At that moment, Baohua, without anyone noticing, produced a glittering silver formation plate. With one hand, she formed a seal and continuously cast spell techniques onto it.

The silver formation plate flickered erratically in her palm, as if endowed with sentience.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, the silver formation plate suddenly hummed, then erupted in a brilliant silver light, from which countless silver runes surged forth, fluttering about. “Now! Fellow Daoists, quickly go in!” Baohua exclaimed with a delighted expression. With a delicate cry, she lifted the silver plate with one hand and transformed into a ball of pink light, shooting deep into the canyon.

Seeing this, the other Mahayana Grand Ancestors dared not delay. Their escape lights flared, and they swiftly followed her.

Han Li’s body shimmered with faint golden light, easily repelling the purple mist to about a zhang away. He descended among the others.

Something was unexpected!

The canyon was not as unfathomably deep as it appeared on the surface. After descending approximately a thousand zhang, a soft, hazy white light appeared below.

After their feet paused, everyone landed on an exceptionally solid ground.

Han Li swept his gaze left and right, discovering a colossal plaza paved with crystalline white jade, spanning over a hundred mu. At regular intervals, fist-sized crystal pearls were embedded in the ground, illuminating the area as if it were broad daylight.

Around the plaza, there were seven or eight winding paths leading to unknown destinations.

Han Li’s eyes flickered, and he looked up at the sky.

High above, purple mist slowly surged from all directions, then rolled upwards towards the canyon’s mouth, making the area around the plaza appear somewhat dim and blurry.

“Alright. Since we have safely arrived, it means the fierce insect should still be in slumber. Now, let’s proceed according to the plan. I will lead a group to communicate with the spirit of the ancient seal. Fellow Daoist Bronze Crow, you and a few fellow daoists from the Heaven Crow Realm will go deep into the underground palace to try and establish contact with the trapped fellow daoists. The two fellow daoists from the Night Realm, you will first go to the deepest part of the underground palace to find the Mother of the Spirit Devourer’s sleeping place and monitor its every move, but absolutely do not disturb it yet. With the Night Realm’s stealth techniques, this should not be difficult. The other fellow daoists will divide into several groups to go to various formation hubs in the underground palace and restore some critical restrictions. Be careful in your actions, as the Mother of the Spirit Devourer’s true offspring might be guarding these places. Otherwise, this fierce insect alone could not control the ancient seal, even if it’s only a small part of its power. And the Mother of the Spirit Devourer’s true offspring are not comparable to the ordinary Spirit Devourers outside; they are extremely dangerous even to beings like us Mahayana cultivators.” After glancing around, Baohua immediately began giving instructions with a serious expression.

“Heh heh, no problem.”“I’ll go ahead then.”“Fellow Daoist Baohua, take care.”

The other Mahayana Grand Ancestors expressed no disagreement. They formed their own teams and unhurriedly departed from the plaza.

Han Li and Daoist Crab, along with two other Mahayana cultivators, disappeared into a path near the plaza.

Of the other two Mahayana cultivators, one was indeed Xie Lian, and the other was the foreign Mahayana cultivator, “Green Stone,” whose body was shrouded in green mist.

The quartet’s mission, like the others, was to repair a restriction at a specific formation hub in the underground palace.

Xie Lian walked at the front, smiling, playing with a jade slip in her hand.

Han Li and Daoist Crab walked in the middle, while Green Stone quietly followed behind.

None of them spoke, merely gliding a few feet above the ground.

However, their divine sense enveloped everything within a hundred zhang, meaning that unless one’s cultivation and abilities far surpassed theirs, they could not escape their notice.

Han Li’s expression was calm, but his gaze constantly scrutinized everything on both sides.

The path they took to the left led through a cluster of tower-like structures. Four-sided tall towers stood one after another on both sides of the road, spreading as far as the eye could see.

These towers had an ancient style, their surfaces covered with simple archaic runes, exuding an exceptionally weathered and ancient feel. Clearly, they had stood for tens of thousands of years, if not more.

The tower forest was exceptionally vast. Han Li and the others flew for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, yet they still showed no signs of reaching its end.

Suddenly, Han Li frowned and stopped abruptly.

“What is it, Fellow Daoist Han? Did you find something?” Baohua, sensing Han Li’s unusual halt, turned and asked.

Grand Ancestor Green Stone also slowed his steps, looking at Han Li with surprise.

“There seem to be some interesting things over there. Would the two of you like to take a look?” Han Li said with a sudden smile, his gaze directed towards the depths of the tower forest to one side.

“Your divine sense can reach that far?” Xie Lian’s expression subtly changed after her own divine sense swept the same area of the tower forest without discovering anything.

“Since Fellow Daoist Han says so, let us go together and take a look,” Grand Ancestor Green Stone slowly stated, a chill in his heart after his own divine sense found nothing.

Putting aside other things, it was clear that Han Li’s divine sense was far superior to both his own and Xie Lian’s.

Han Li smiled faintly at this. With a swift movement, he floated, taking the lead and flying towards that part of the tower forest.

Daoist Crab, naturally, followed closely behind him with an expressionless face.

After Xie Lian and Green Stone exchanged glances, they followed with some trepidation.