Chapter 704: Chaos Within

The cave was unusually quiet. In this environment, everyone subconsciously felt a certain degree of tension.

Qin Sang had been pondering the reason for the Nine Nether Demonic Flame's unusual activity. Was it because a powerful spiritual fire was hidden within the cave, or was it caused by the strange cold mist?

The cavern wasn't as deep as they had imagined. As Qin Sang was thinking about this, he noticed the chubby cultivator at the front suddenly stopped and quietly said, "Ahead is the first restriction of the cave dwelling."

Only then did Qin Sang notice that the stone steps beneath their feet had ended, giving way to a flat stone area.

The space here seemed vast, but the cold mist was so dense that visibility was very narrow; nothing could be seen, and even spiritual sense was restricted.

Qin Sang and the others quickly took a few steps forward and finally saw the shadow of a black stone wall. On the wall was a perfectly round stone hole, covered by a layer of black light barrier.

The light barrier was thin, allowing them to vaguely see a small stone chamber on the other side. Its furnishings were simple, and a shelf carved into the wall was now empty, clearly indicating that the treasures had already been taken by the chubby cultivator.

Everyone approached the cave entrance in turn to examine the restriction. They found that the restriction on the light barrier was extremely profound and must have been very powerful in the past, otherwise it wouldn't have survived the erosion of the cold mist to this day.

"Breaking this restriction isn't difficult," the chubby cultivator said. "I've already been inside. Breaking it by myself would consume too much, but with the seven of us working together, it will be much easier. However, we must be careful not to destroy the restriction. These interconnected restrictions also have the effect of sealing off the cold mist. There are groups of demonic beasts nearby, and if the cold mist were to rush out of the cavern, the unusual phenomenon could easily attract powerful demonic beasts..."

Everyone patiently listened to the chubby cultivator's instructions on how to break the restriction.

At this moment, a female cultivator looked back and asked, "Fellow Daoist Fan, where does this cold mist come from? What's on the other side of this space, and are there any other cave dwellings you've seen?"

The chubby cultivator paused, then looked up into the depths of the cold mist. "On the other side isn't a stone wall, but a cliff. There's an underground rift valley there, extremely deep, unknown, and mysterious. The cold mist fills the rift valley and seems to emanate from its depths."

"Fellow Daoist Fan, have you gone down to see what's in the rift valley that could give birth to such strange cold mist?" Qin Sang asked.

He suspected that if there was a spiritual fire, it might be deep within the rift valley, and the cold mist could be related to it.

If the cold mist was a derivative of the spiritual fire's power, it would surely carry the unique aura of a spiritual fire, which would explain the Nine Nether Demonic Flame's reaction.

Qin Sang had always been a man of few words, rarely speaking.

The chubby cultivator glanced at Qin Sang with some surprise, then nodded.

"I once descended along the cliff face into the depths of the rift valley, but it seemed to have no end. Besides the cold mist, there was nothing. After descending for a certain distance, an inexplicable fear suddenly arose in my heart, and I didn't dare to continue. I returned to focus on breaking the cave dwelling's restrictions.

"Later, I discovered so many treasures within the cave dwelling. As long as we could open the third layer of restrictions, we would gain unimaginable rewards, so why risk my life exploring an unknown place?"

The chubby cultivator's words were a prudent choice. When everyone walked over, they indeed found a bottomless rift valley. Reflecting on their own circumstances, they realized they would have made the same choice if faced with a similar situation.

Shapeshifting phase beast skins, Sun-piercing Talismans...

Any single item would ensure their peace of mind during the Core Formation stage, let alone several appearing consecutively.

"Fellow Daoist Fan, you mentioned that the third layer of restrictions is very sturdy and difficult, likely requiring a long time. If things don't go smoothly, I'm afraid I won't be able to endure staying in the cold mist for too long. Let's not delay; let's break the restriction quickly."

The scholar in green robes said gravely.

The chubby cultivator's expression was solemn, and he nodded slightly. "Then, everyone, please follow my instructions and work together to attack one point of the restriction. Using brute force to break it will trigger a counterattack from the restriction, but its power won't be too great, so there's no need to fear. Once a crack appears in the barrier, you must rush in as quickly as possible..."

After confirming that everyone had clearly remembered the key points, the chubby cultivator waved his hand. With him at the center, the others fanned out and sat cross-legged on the ground.

The chubby cultivator extended his fingers repeatedly, releasing seven black bone nails one after another.

*Thump, thump, thump...*

The bone nails landed on the light barrier, one in the very center, and the other six encircling it.

These bone nails were refined from some kind of beast bone.

Qin Sang also possessed some skill in the way of restrictions, and he realized that the bone nails were likely a type of magical artifact specifically designed for breaking restrictions. As for their power, it wasn't yet apparent.

Releasing these bone nails seemed strenuous for the chubby cultivator as well. He took a few gasping breaths before saying, "Fellow Daoists, choose one nail and infuse your true essence into it, then follow my guidance."

The chubby cultivator aimed for the central nail, and Qin Sang also casually chose one, infusing his true essence into it.

Unexpectedly, the seemingly unassuming bone nails showed no signs of being unable to withstand the large amount of true essence they absorbed. As more true essence was infused, a phantom image appeared on the bone nail, growing progressively larger.

As the chubby cultivator issued commands, everyone meticulously followed them. Before long, these phantom images merged into a single, enormous bone nail phantom, precisely aimed at the center of the light barrier.

"Go!"

The chubby cultivator's face flushed crimson as he let out a strenuous roar.

The bone nail phantom suddenly trembled and violently struck the light barrier.

The next moment, a tremendous *bang* reverberated, and the ground shook violently. Being so close to the light barrier, everyone's ears buzzed from the deafening sound.

Then an astonishing scene unfolded: a crack appeared in the center of the light barrier, running vertically, followed by two massive, wave-like ripples suddenly spreading out. A burst of black light abruptly gushed from the light barrier.

Everyone's expressions changed, and they hurriedly dodged. Qin Sang retreated without hesitation. The black light, like a force of destruction, easily tore through the cold mist and scattered their formation, causing chaos.

Just then, the chubby cultivator's anxious shout came from ahead: "Don't panic! The restriction has been broken! Quickly, follow me in!"

Qin Sang realized he had retreated a bit too far. After the initial shock, he now perceived that although the black light appeared formidable, it wasn't highly aggressive.

He quickly stopped, pushed off the ground, and charged forward into the black light, quickly returning to the light barrier.

At this moment, a graceful figure flashed past Qin Sang, seemingly one of the female cultivators. He could vaguely see several figures in the stone chamber opposite, indicating that the others had already entered.

Seeing her pass smoothly through the light barrier, and with the crack in the barrier rapidly closing, Qin Sang no longer hesitated. Just as he was about to flash inside, his figure suddenly stopped at that very moment.

A strange look flickered in his eyes, and instead of advancing, he retreated.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, what are you waiting for? The restriction is about to restore itself! Why aren't you going in?"

The voice of the thin old man suddenly sounded from behind him.