Chapter 708: Void Cavern (II)

Ji Haozhong shot Qiu Kun a sidelong glance and curled his lips. "Give it a rest. That battle practically turned the entire demon cave upside down, and 99% of the yao inside were killed! Quite a few Nascent Soul realm and Golden Core realm cultivators died as well, while those below the Golden Core realm suffered even heavier losses. Many talented cultivators perished. If you had been in the demon cave too, we might not be seeing you here today."

It was best to stay as far away as possible from a battle at the Void Cavern realm. Anyone who tried to watch such a spectacle could easily lose their life.

"Hehe, it wouldn't be that bad. I'd only watch from a distance and sneak a glimpse from far away," Qiu Kun said with a chuckle.

He was merely indulging in empty talk. If such a battle truly occurred, he would never dare approach it. Forget the Void Cavern realm, Qiu Kun would even go out of his way to avoid a battle between Nascent Soul realm cultivators. Although he was fond of fighting, he was also exceedingly cautious.

Ignoring Qiu Kun and Ji Haozhong, Zong Linjing turned to Bai Lin with curiosity. "What's the situation at the demon cave now?"

Since a Void Cavern realm expert had intervened, the demon cave must have been completely destroyed... right?

"Many space-time nodes closed due to the battle's impact, but nearly half of them remain. Now, while the space-time nodes are still somewhat unstable from the battle, the formation experts are seizing the opportunity to rearrange the grand sealing formation," Bai Lin explained.

"Even after a Void Cavern realm expert intervened, they still couldn't completely destroy the demon cave?" Qiu Kun asked in surprise.

"How could it be that easy? Rumor has it that the Void Cavern realm expert intervened to suppress a nine-pattern yao attempting to invade this world from the deepest reaches of the demon cave. Not only did a nine-pattern yao appear, but the Painful Holy Sect also deployed a Void Cavern realm expert. If the Painful Holy Sect hadn't interfered, they might truly have been able to erase the demon cave entirely," Bai Lin explained.

He had been utterly shocked when he first heard the news, and had never imagined that the deepest reaches of the demon cave could now support the passage of a nine-pattern yao. Even the most powerful space-time nodes could only allow eight-pattern yao to pass through. For a nine-pattern yao comparable to the Void Cavern realm to enter this world, a space-time node first had to stabilize completely and coalesce into a passage between the two worlds.

"Hiss! Even a nine-pattern yao appeared!" Ji Haozhong drew a sharp breath and hurriedly asked, "Has the passage between the two worlds in the deepest region been closed?"

"It has. I suspect that a Void Cavern realm expert intervened precisely to close the passage and prevent the nine-pattern yao from successfully invading this world," Bai Lin said, voicing his conjecture.

Qiu Kun breathed a soft sigh of relief. "That's good."

He heartily drained an entire pot of wine before continuing, "Who knows when Fellow Xiao will emerge from seclusion? Are any of you interested in making a trip to the demon cave?"

Ji Haozhong said with a smile, "Let's go together!"

"Count me in. After spending so long in seclusion, it's time I took on some missions," Zong Linjing said with a smile.

"If all of you are going, then I'll join you!" Bai Lin said with a hearty laugh.

"I'll leave Fellow Xiao a message. Once he emerges from seclusion, if he also plans to head to the demon cave, we can all act together then," Qiu Kun said with a chuckle.

***

Amid the lush forests of the remote mountains, an elderly man with the ethereal bearing of an immortal slowly descended from the void.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, fellow friend." Fan Hongwei smiled and cupped his hands toward the burly man leaning against a tree trunk.

"I only just arrived myself." The burly man looked at Fan Hongwei and continued, "When will he arrive?"

"I just received a message from Xiao Yu. It will take him around four more months. He has only just emerged from seclusion and said that he has some important matters to handle first," Fan Hongwei replied somewhat helplessly.

The burly man frowned, visibly displeased. "More than four months?"

Fan Hongwei cupped his hands and said, "I'll have to trouble you to wait a while longer, fellow friend."

"Forget it. Let him live for a few more months. But given how dangerous those ruins are, even Nascent Soul realm cultivators risk perishing inside. Once the two of you enter, you'll probably die in there before we even have to act," the burly man said with a cold laugh.

"Rest assured. Whether or not you need to act when the time comes, I will not go back on what I promised you," Fan Hongwei replied indifferently.

He sneered inwardly as a trace of disdain flashed deep within his eyes. A crude martial brute remained a crude martial brute. What could he possibly understand? With his Competence in divination and aura observation, Fan Hongwei knew just how extraordinary those born in response to a great tribulation of heaven and earth could be. These people were all favored children of destiny in this era. Many of the ruins and secret realms that emerged from time to time had been prepared by the will of the Heavenly Dao to nurture cultivators like them.

Fan Hongwei harbored immense ambitions. He intended to forcibly employ a secret art to seize Xiao Yu's opportunities and providence, usurp his destiny, and become the favored child of destiny in this great tribulation of the world! To that end, Fan Hongwei had made extensive preparations.

"Good. Notify me in advance before you set out for the ruins. I'll be leaving now." The burly man waved his hand and turned to leave.

"Wait. I need all of you to enter the ruins and assist me with this matter," Fan Hongwei called out, stopping the man.

The burly man curled his lips. "Oh? Why not simply kill him? What assistance could you possibly need?"

"I have my reasons. I reached an agreement with your fifth elder, so all you need to do is cooperate with my plan. Besides, don't you want to capture that brat alive and question him about the truth behind Woo Yiyan's death?" Fan Hongwei replied indifferently.

"I'd nearly forgotten until you mentioned it. In that case, explain exactly what you need us to do," the burly man said with a chuckle.

"Very well. Find a time to gather the others. We will visit the ruins together, and I will familiarize you with the ambush locations and explain how you should act when the time comes," Fan Hongwei said calmly.

"That troublesome? If I'd known, I wouldn't have accepted this mission..." the burly man muttered, though he still agreed.

This mission arose from an agreement between Fan Hongwei and Elder Woo Jin before being assigned to the burly man and his companions, so he had no grounds to refuse.

***

In Yanwu City, Lin Zheyu's figure abruptly appeared within the courtyard. With a light beckoning motion of his right hand, he put away the Primordial Chaos Pool and formation disk.

Lin Zheyu exhaled softly. Golden sunlight poured into the courtyard and bathed his body. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he raised his head toward the sky and admired the natural scenery he had not seen in so long.

Lin Zheyu spread his arms, stretched his body, and smiled. "It's still much more comfortable out here!"

He took out the Spirit Resonance Sphere and looked through the messages inside. Most of them had been left by Bai Lin and the others.

"I never expected such a momentous event to occur while I was in seclusion. A Void Cavern realm expert... I wonder what terrifying level of power an expert like that has reached." Lin Zheyu sighed, a trace of yearning appearing on his face.

After checking all the messages, he put away the Spirit Resonance Sphere.

"I won't go to the demon cave. I'll head to the Eastern Sea instead and deal with the yao wills inside Kong Yujing and the others while I'm there," muttered Lin Zheyu as he decided.

Over the past few years, Kong Yujing had worked diligently and recruited more than a dozen demonic cultivators, including two at the Golden Core realm. Only a few years had passed, yet the seedling he had casually planted back then had already begun to grow and flourish.