Chapter 268

It was a spacious stalactite cave with passages extending in all directions. While he couldn't determine its exact size, he knew it wouldn't be small. Han Li held up a moonstone and surveyed his surroundings, coming to this conclusion.

The instant the tunnel collapsed and debris rained down, Han Li swiftly activated his protective shield. Though he was buried deep underground amidst a series of violent tremors, he at least had enough space to breathe and recover.

However, the terrain had shifted so drastically during the tremors that Han Li had no idea where he was or which direction to go. Left with no choice, he released several lizard puppet beasts, instructing them to dig in multiple directions simultaneously in hopes of finding an exit.

He deeply regretted not having learned the Earth Escape Technique earlier. If he had, a simple spell would allow him to traverse the earth freely. Instead, he was now forced to crawl slowly, following the paths excavated by his puppet beasts.

The thought of using magical artifacts to clear a path crossed Han Li's mind only briefly; he would never actually attempt it. Wasting spiritual power without knowing his exact location or direction was far from wise. Moreover, using magical artifacts within earth and rock was incredibly dangerous. A single misstep could trigger another collapse.

Consequently, each time, Han Li would first direct several puppet beasts to scout a specific area, then select the most probable direction for an exit. After several hours of tedious crawling, he finally emerged into this unknown stalactite cave, and the tension that had gripped his heart finally dissipated.

The feeling of surviving a disaster truly was wonderful!

Han Li glanced back at the hole he had emerged from, knowing that other individuals must have also survived the tunnel collapse. However, whether they could find a way out from the piles of mud and rock was another question entirely. In an airtight environment, even Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn't be able to last very long. As for Qi Condensation disciples, their chances of survival were grim.

Despite his relief, Han Li was still somewhat puzzled. Why did the tunnel collapse and earthquake occur so soon after they entered? Could it be the work of demonic cultivators? Han Li strongly suspected this to be the case.

On the surface, the demonic cultivators were extensively destroying the entrance to the spiritual mine, using their magical artifacts to smash everything inside the cave to pieces. Meanwhile, high above the spiritual mine, the old man in yellow robes spoke with regret to the girl in red:

"Junior Sister Lian, aren't you making a mountain out of a molehill? Why use an Earth-Shaking Talisman just for a few stragglers? That's a very rare mid-grade talisman!"

"Hmph! Do they think it's that easy to escape from Lian Feihua?" the girl in red scoffed, pouting indifferently. "Even though clearing this spiritual stone mine was just a secondary objective, letting them get away so easily would leave a bad taste in my mouth!"

The old man in yellow robes could only smile wryly at her words. Wasting a rare talisman for such a trivial reason was simply absurd! But then again, she was the sole daughter of the Demonic Flame Sect Master. *Cough.* As a Protector of the Heavenly Fiend Sect, it was probably best for him to mind his own business. With that thought, the old man decided to remain silent.

Soon after, the group of demonic cultivators, having completely destroyed everything in the spiritual mine, flew away from the area and gradually vanished from sight.

A day later, the Seven Sects' extensive medicinal herb cultivation garden, hidden quite far from that location, was ambushed by the same group. All medicinal herbs intended for alchemy were plundered, and even the young seedlings were incinerated by the Green Sun Demonic Flame. This incident immediately seized the attention of the Seven Sects' high command. In comparison, the spiritual stone mine where Han Li was located, also attacked, became almost insignificant. While a destroyed spiritual mine could eventually be restored with time, the stolen and incinerated spiritual herbs would not regrow for several decades.

Enraged, the Seven Sects' high command dispatched their top experts to pursue the attackers. However, halfway there, they were ambushed by the enemy's reinforcements, suffering yet another minor defeat. Such consecutive setbacks naturally infuriated the Seven Sects, who refused to tolerate them any longer. Feeling they had regained some of their strength, they initiated the second wave of large-scale conflict with the Six Sects.

Underground, Han Li furrowed his brows. He finally identified an opening with a noticeable draft and sent two puppet beasts to scout ahead while he followed. After traversing dozens of caves, the stalactite cave's chambers grew progressively larger; the largest could easily accommodate over a hundred people. The draft also grew stronger, which somewhat relieved Han Li, as a strong wind indicated a passage leading to the surface.

As Han Li stepped into a new cave, he unexpectedly encountered six or seven people, among them Xuan Le, Lu Tianmeng, and to his surprise, Zhong Wu. They paused, slightly taken aback, upon seeing Han Li and his two puppet beasts.

Just as Xuan Le smiled and was about to speak, a piercing scream suddenly echoed from another direction. Everyone's expressions changed to surprise. Xuan Le and Lu Tianmeng exchanged glances. Without bothering to question Han Li, they immediately hastened towards the source of the scream, activating various defensive spells and preparing their magical artifacts. No one dared to be careless.

Han Li hesitated for a moment upon seeing this. He eventually took out his White Phosphorus Shield and slowly followed. However, instead of defensive spells, he simultaneously cast both the Lightness Technique and the Wind Control Art on himself. He had always believed that in confined spaces, speed was more crucial than defense.

As their group traversed three or four large caves and entered an even more massive stalactite cavern, they were immediately startled by the scene before them. In the center of the cave, a crystalline white spider, several zhang in length, was gnawing on a bloodied corpse with its enormous fangs. The tattered white robes on the body indicated the victim was a Hidden Moon Sect disciple who had escaped being buried alive. Scattered nearby were three or four severely damaged magical artifacts.

Even more striking, however, was what lay behind the spider: nestled among piles of raw spiritual ores was an exceedingly ancient six-sided teleportation array. To one side of the array, a five-colored skeleton floated three feet above the ground in a cross-legged meditative pose, clutching a shimmering blue token that emitted a soft glow.

"What is that?" A Qi Condensation cultivator swallowed hard before asking dryly. No one was sure if he was referring to the bizarre spider, the teleportation array, or the skeleton and token. Naturally, no one answered him.

Perhaps the cultivator's voice startled the spider, as the creature stopped gnawing, raised its head, and fixed its icy gaze on the group that had just entered the cave. This made Han Li and the other cultivators' hearts tighten, and they quickly readied themselves. However, after a brief look, the monster lowered its head and resumed tearing at the corpse, completely ignoring them. This left everyone exchanging bewildered glances.

"Die!" A Hidden Moon Sect disciple, perhaps overcome by a sense of grief seeing a fellow sect member perish in the spider's fangs, suddenly raised his hand and launched a fiery red dart-shaped magical artifact directly at the creature. This startled seasoned cultivators like Lu Tianmeng, who inwardly cursed the man for his rashness.

With a crisp "thud," the dart struck the spider's head, which hadn't moved an inch. It merely bounced off, leaving no mark whatsoever on the creature. The tip of the dart, however, was slightly bent. "This is absurd!"

"Attack together!" Xuan Le shot a harsh glare at his reckless sect member but had no choice but to call for a joint attack, as the spider had ceased feeding and was slowly crawling towards them. At his command, over a dozen magical artifacts were unleashed simultaneously, manifesting various divine powers as they struck the giant spider. Han Li also released his Golden Blade.

Immediately, the white spider was engulfed in a barrage of colorful lights from the attacks, its form momentarily obscured by the intense glow, as if it had been instantly annihilated. But after a cacophony of cracking and popping sounds, the radiance from all the attacking artifacts rapidly faded. Five or six lower-grade artifacts even fell lifelessly to the ground, completely drained of spiritual energy. Seeing this, Han Li and the other cultivators were aghast. They simultaneously recalled their magical artifacts to inspect them closely.

The top-tier artifacts were unharmed, but the high-tier ones showed significant damage. As for those that had fallen to the ground, they were undoubtedly of even lower quality. The white spider, now fully visible again, showed no trace of injury and continued to crawl unhurriedly towards them.

"Retreat!" Lu Tianmeng and Xuan Le exchanged a look and spoke in unison. While both had been intrigued by the teleportation array and the token, engaging such a demonic beast in a head-on fight, even if victorious, would come at an exorbitant cost. Returning to the surface was far more important.

Just then, the white spider opened its mouth and spat a stream of viscous white liquid directly towards the center of their group. After witnessing the monster's power, no one was foolish enough to intercept the unknown liquid. They all instinctively dodged to either side.

"Not good!" Han Li's mind flashed with an idea, and he couldn't help but cry out as he remembered something. The other cultivators paused, slightly perplexed. The liquid suddenly transformed mid-air into a massive net, which surged towards the cave entrance and adhered to it, instantly sealing off their only way in. The expressions of the other cultivators changed. Only then did they realize that this stalactite cave appeared to have only a single entrance!