Chapter 2719: Hidden

A long, narrow valley occasionally echoed with thunderous explosions. A huge red mushroom cloud rose, shaking the ground and sending dust flying.

After a while, the mushroom cloud dispersed.

The valley was a mess, with the ground heavily pitted. At its far end was a large cave, several tens of feet wide.

Inside the cave, a tall young man in a blue shirt, with sharp eyebrows and piercing eyes, lay in a golden magic formation. His body was covered in cuts. Judging by the emblem on his clothes, he was clearly a disciple of the Li family from Golden Leaf Island.

A girl in a golden dress, with exquisite features, stood beside him. She had a slender figure and profound eyes.

This was Jin Ye, a clone of Yan Ji.

Jin Ye chanted softly and cast spells one after another. The magic formation lit up brightly, and countless golden runes emerged, adhering to the blue-shirted youth's body.

She took out a golden gourd, pulled out the stopper, and a red light flew out, sinking into the blue-shirted youth's body.

The blue-shirted youth's body twisted continuously, his face contorted in pain, and veins bulged on his arms.

Jin Ye formed a hand seal, and the magic formation glowed with a golden light, enveloping the blue-shirted youth.

After about seven minutes, the blue-shirted youth opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

"Not bad," he said. "With these improvements, the success rate of the Soul Fusion Technique has greatly increased. It's a pity, though, that it's still difficult to advance to the Integration Stage."

"That's enough," Jin Ye said gravely. "Find a place to hide and just leave here safely. Then contact Li Fengyang. If you can help him rise to power, he might play a significant role in the future."

The blue-shirted youth nodded. "Alright then! I'll leave that matter to you. Is the information reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable," Jin Ye replied. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have personally entered the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven. If this succeeds, our Spiritfire Tribe's strength might reach a new level." Jin Ye's expression became excited as she spoke these last words.

"Alright, you stay here," Jin Ye continued. "Wait for the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven to close. It's up to you to contact Li Fengyang." After Jin Ye finished speaking, countless golden runes surged from her body, turning into a ball of golden flame and disappearing.

On a vast, boundless green grassland, continuous explosions echoed. A huge red fire cloud floated high in the sky, roiling violently. Large raindrops poured down from it, transforming into giant crimson fireballs that successively slammed into the ground below.

After the thunderous explosions, an area spanning several tens of miles became a crimson sea of fire. A large number of green demonic wolves were burned to charred corpses by the intense flames.

The Wolf King's body was covered in wounds, and thick smoke rose from it. Realizing the situation was dire, it emitted a brilliant green light from its body, and the surrounding flames flickered wildly before extinguishing.

The Wolf King transformed into a streak of green light and shot through the air, moving at an extremely fast speed.

A slender girl in a red dress stood in the sea of fire. She had an oval face, cherry lips, and a hint of heroism in her brows.

This was Lin Yurao, a late Spirit Transformation stage cultivator from the Nine Flames Sect, and the leader of their team.

Lin Yurao stretched out her right hand and made a grabbing motion toward the void. The intense flames suddenly condensed, forming a large, reddish-glowing hand that struck the Wolf King.

The Wolf King flew backward, was engulfed by the rolling flames, and let out a series of miserable cries.

Three flying needles, shimmering with red light, shot over, piercing through the Wolf King's head.

After letting out a final miserable cry, the Wolf King ceased to breathe. A miniature Wolf King flew out from its body, just as a red-glowing jade bottle descended from the sky, enveloping the miniature Wolf King.

Lin Yurao's delicate eyebrows furrowed. She formed a hand seal, and the flames roiled violently, transforming into a large, reddish-glowing hand that struck a certain spot on the ground.

With a thunderous roar, the ground cracked open, and a handsome young man in a blue shirt flew out from underground, followed by an earthy-yellow python emerging from the ground.

"You must be Sun Xiao, Senior Gongsun's disciple!" Lin Yurao mocked. "Did Senior Gongsun teach you to hide in the shadows and launch sneak attacks?"

The blue-shirted youth was Sun Xiao, Gongsun Yang's youngest disciple, and also a late Spirit Transformation stage cultivator.

"Fairy Lin, please don't misunderstand," Sun Xiao explained. "I was just drawn here by the sound. If I had wanted to launch a sneak attack, I would have done so much earlier."

"Hmph, I hope so," Lin Yurao said. "May each of us go our own way." After Lin Yurao finished speaking, she collected some of the demonic wolf corpses, transformed into a streak of light, and shot through the air, disappearing into the horizon.

A thoughtful expression appeared on Sun Xiao's face. He took out a golden-glowing disc from his person. The disc had an exotic beast pattern on its surface and a silver pointer.

The silver pointer spun continuously, eventually pointing northwest.

A fellow disciple was nearby. Sun Xiao put away his spirit beast and flew toward the northwest at a very fast speed.

A long, narrow valley, from which loud explosions occasionally echoed.

At the end of the valley was a pond several hundreds of feet wide. Three light golden lotus flowers floated on the water. A completely black giant python lay near the pond, with a fist-sized blood-filled hole in its head.

A nine-foot-tall young man in a golden shirt, with a broad back and muscular build, stood on the ground, panting heavily. In his hand, he held a constantly shimmering golden long spear, with some brown bloodstains on its spearhead.

This was Long Zilin, from the Long family, and also their team leader, possessing a late Spirit Transformation stage cultivation.

Long Zilin put away the black python's corpse, carefully dug up the three golden lotus flowers, and left the area.

The cultivators who entered the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven each employed their own methods, searching for rare treasures and exotic herbs, and gathering cultivation resources.

Outside the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven, Wang Changsheng and other Integration stage cultivators were chatting idly.

"Fellow Daoist Jin," Lin Youxin asked curiously, "I heard that the Spiritfire Tribe once broke open a gap and sent a group of their clansmen into the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven. Does this mean the Spiritfire Tribe can still do something similar?"

"Fairy Lin, you must be referring to the incident over forty thousand years ago," True Monarch Jinding said slowly. "A Grand Ascension stage cultivator from the Spiritfire Tribe personally took action, using the 'Primal Cleaving Ruler,' their clan's treasured artifact, to forcibly tear open a gap and send some experts into the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven. All those people have already died. The restrictions set by Celestial Venerable Profound Spirit are extremely profound, and after maintenance and refinement by our various major forces, any cultivator above the Spirit Transformation stage who enters the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven will have their spiritual power completely suppressed by the restrictions. Once they reveal a cultivation above the Spirit Transformation stage, they will be attacked by the restrictions. Demonic beasts that grew up in the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven are an exception; at most, six-tier demonic beasts appear, and their numbers are limited."

The Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven is the legacy left by Celestial Venerable Profound Spirit to the human race of the Profound Spirit Continent. All ten major forces can send people into the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven to search for treasures, and they must also provide materials to maintain and strengthen the restrictions.

That time, the Spiritfire Tribe wanted to send people into the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven to destroy it, causing the human race to lose this blessed land. Unfortunately, they did not succeed.

"I heard that before that, there was another disturbance in the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven," Nangong Hong said, puzzled. "It seemed someone had infiltrated it."

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Nangong, you must be joking," True Monarch Jinding said, his face full of pride. "Unless one possesses treasures like the World-Breaker Plate or the Primal Cleaving Ruler, or is proficient in spatial divine abilities, it's not easy even for a Grand Ascension stage cultivator to force their way into the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven. Ever since the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven appeared, many high-level rogue cultivators have also wanted to send their clones into the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven to search for treasures. Even with a key, they couldn't get in without the aid of a special formation."