Chapter 1234: Delving Deep Underground

"Is that true?" Han Li asked in an elated manner.

"I wouldn't dare to proclaim full confidence in anything else, but when it comes to finding other Gold Devouring Immortals, there's no one I would count on more than myself," Qu Lin replied in a confident manner.

Unbeknownst to him, Han Li's question was posed at Weeping Soul in the Flower Branch domain.

"Judging from his soul fluctuations, he seems to be telling the truth," Weeping Soul verified.

"That's great! Take us to that Gold Devouring Immortal right away!" Xiaobai exclaimed in an excited manner.

Han Li glared at Xiaobai in a stern manner, and the latter stuck out his tongue in a sheepish manner, realizing that he had reacted with too much excitement.

"Can I trouble you to lead the way, Fellow Daoist Qu?" Han Li asked.

"We're in the Nine Origins Temple right now, and the valley up ahead looks like it's fraught with peril. Don't you think you're asking too much for me to serve as your guide?" Qu Lin scoffed with a cold sneer.

Han Li wasn't irked by his derisive demeanor. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his face as he said, "I understand that this is indeed a rather tall order. What would you like from me in exchange?"

"I've reached a critical juncture in my cultivation recently, and I require a great deal of resources. I won't ask for too much, just give me fifty million Immortal Origin Stones or the equivalent value in natural treasures, and I'll take the plunge for you," Qu Lin said with a smile.

"Fifty million Immortal Origin Stones?! This is blatant extortion!" Xiaobai yelled in an enraged manner.

Qu Lin paid no heed to Xiaobai as he said, "I've stated my price, the decision is up to you, Fellow Daoist Han."

"Alright, I agree to your condition, but I can only give you the Immortal Origin Stones once we've found that Gold Devouring Immortal," Han Li replied.

"Looks like we have ourselves a deal then!" Qu Lin chuckled.

"In that case, let's enter the valley right away. Xiaobai, you go stay in the Flower Branch domain with Weeping Soul. Fellow Daoist Qu, Fellow Daoist Lan, and I will enter the valley," Han Li said.

Xiaobai wanted to protest and ask to be allowed to remain outside, but he was deterred by the sight of Han Li's stern gaze.

With a sweep of his sleeve, Han Li sent Xiaobai and Weeping Soul into the Flower Branch domain, following which he used his black mask to conceal himself, Qu Lin, and Lan Yan before drifting down to the entrance of the valley.

As soon as the trio entered the valley, a gust of yin wind that was tinged with incredibly potent baleful qi and resentment instantly swept over them.

A horrific scene filled with mountains of heads and never-ending rivers of blood instantly filled their minds, threatening to devour their souls.

Han Li was able to dispel the killing intent by channeling his Spirit Refinement Technique, while Qu Lin was also able to do the same with ease as a layer of golden light flashed over his body.

In contrast, Lan Yan's complexion paled slightly, but she was also able to somehow steady herself.

"Fellow Daoist Lan looks a little frail. Are you sure it's a good idea to have her accompany us, Fellow Daoist Han?" Qu Lin asked.

"Fellow Daoist Lan, if you're unable to bear the baleful qi in this place, then you can take shelter in the Flower Branch domain as well," Han Li said.

"It's alright, I can persevere. I know the most about the Nine Origins Temple, so I can be of use by your side," Lan Yan replied with a determined shake of her head.

"Alright, but don't force yourself," Han Li said, and the three of them continued deeper into the valley.

Inside the valley was a barren, stone landscape that was devoid of buildings, and there was also a complete lack of vegetation from the constant ravages of the yin wind.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Upon reaching this point, Qu Lin suddenly stopped in his tracks and declared, "This should be the place."

"I've heard that Gui Lingzi constructed his palatial manor underground, but where's the entrance?" Lan Yan asked as she scoured her gaze over the surrounding area.

Han Li activated his Infernal Devilish Eyes to inspect the area upon hearing this, but he refrained from releasing his spiritual sense.

Before long, he discovered something amiss, and he made his way over to a large, black rock.

"That's the entrance?" Lan Yan asked.

She hadn't detected anything abnormal about the rock.

Han Li offered no response as he made a grabbing motion with one hand, and five streaks of azure light shot out of his fingertips, each of which transformed into an azure sword projection that was several dozen feet in size before crashing down upon the rock with tremendous power.

A burst of radiant, black light erupted out of the rock, forming a pillar of black light to oppose the azure sword projections.

A cold look flashed through Han Li's eyes as he swept his other sleeve through the air, releasing a bolt of golden lightning that instantly struck the side of the pillar of black light, causing it to disintegrate.

The black rock down below also quickly fell apart, and the ground beneath it collapsed to reveal a black cave that was several dozen feet in size.

Inside the cave was a winding staircase that led deep underground.

"It's very impressive that you were able to identify that secret entrance so quickly, Fellow Daoist Han," Qu Lin praised.

"There's no way I would've found this secret entrance if you hadn't narrowed it down to this area. Please continue to lead the way, Fellow Daoist Qu," Han Li said.

Qu Lin didn't waste any more time with words as he leaped into the cave.

Gusts of black yin wind were sweeping through the air down below, forming a series of vortexes of different sizes within the cave, and these gusts of yin wind were around twice as formidable as the ones outside.

The three of them hurriedly conjured up layers of protective spiritual light over their bodies to ward off the gusts of yin wind, and Han Li noticed that the walls on either side of the cave were encased in a layer of black ice that was giving off an incredibly potent glacial aura.

"This is Profound Yin Ice, a type of ice that only takes shape in places with an extreme abundance of baleful qi and ghostly qi, and it's an exceptional material for refining ghostly immortal treasures," Han Li remarked.

There was a very large quantity of Profound Yin Ice here, and if all of it could be harvested, then it could be sold for a sizable amount of wealth. However, that wasn't the priority, and given the peril that could be afoot at every turn in this place, the three of them chose not to do any harvesting.

The cave was very deep, and the three of them only reached the end of the staircase after walking for a full fifteen minutes, upon which a square hall that was around two hundred to three hundred feet in size appeared up ahead.

There were several fist-sized white stones embedded into the ceiling of the hall, providing just barely enough light to illuminate the surrounding environment.

The ground and walls of this place were all paved with black tiles with some patterns engraved upon them, and the entire hall was completely empty, with the exception of a dark passageway at the very back that led somewhere unknown.

The howling ying wind gradually abated here, but the ghostly qi in the air was even more potent.

Han Li and Qu Lin were still able to fend for themselves just fine, but despite her best efforts, Lan Yan was beginning to struggle. Her body was trembling, while her teeth were chattering audibly, and her blood was beginning to freeze in her veins.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon noticing this.

Right at this moment, a purple bead suddenly appeared in his hand amid a flash of dreamy, purple light.

"Give this to Lan Yan to help her ward off the ghostly qi," Weeping Soul said to Han Li through voice transmission, and Han Li did as he was told, tossing the purple bead at Lan Yan.

"You can use that to protect yourself from the ghostly qi here."

Lan Yan faltered slightly as she caught the purple bead, then injected her immortal spiritual power into it, and a layer of faint, purple light instantly appeared over her entire body, keeping most of the surrounding ghostly qi at bay.

"Thank you," Lan Yan said with a grateful sigh of relief.

With that, the three of them continued onward, quickly passing through the hall before entering the passageway on the other side.

Up ahead was a crossroads that led in three different directions, all of which were so dark that Han Li couldn't see to the end even with his Infernal Devilish Eyes.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he extended his spiritual sense into the three paths, but as soon as his spiritual sense left his body, a burst of peculiar, glacial qi instantly began to infiltrate his body, spreading along his spiritual sense toward his soul.

"Make sure you don't release your spiritual sense here," Han Li hurriedly warned as he withdrew his spiritual sense while channeling his Spirit Refinement Technique to eradicate the glacial qi that had infiltrated his consciousness.

Lan Yan nodded in response, seemingly very thankful for the warning, while Qu Lin offered no response, seemingly having already made the same discovery as Han Li.

"This place appears to be enormous and riddled with restrictions, so we'll have to count on you to serve as our navigator, Fellow Daoist Qu," Han Li said.

Qu Lin nodded in response, then closed his eyes momentarily before reopening them as he pointed to the path on the left and said, "That's the way to go."

Han Li nodded in response and began making his way down the indicated path.

This path was also very long, taking roughly fifteen minutes to traverse through, and at the end was a spacious stone hall.

Once again, the stone hall was completely empty, but there were two passageways connected to it, leading in different directions.

Qu Lin's services were employed again, and the three of them continued down the path that was pointed out by him.

This underground space was astonishingly massive, and it was filled with confounding crossroads. Thankfully, there was only yin wind and ghostly qi here, and no ghostly creatures or other hazards were encountered.

With Qu Lin leading the way, the three of them were able to make relatively smooth progress.

By Han Li's estimates, they had already traveled for several hundreds of kilometers, and according to Qu Lin, they weren't far away from where Jin Tong was.

Despite this piece of good news, Han Li was only growing more apprehensive.

The journey thus far had been far too smooth. This was the cave abode of one of the four holy envoys, so surely it shouldn't have been so easy to traverse through, particularly when Gui Lingzi himself appeared to have been absent.

With that in mind, he was making sure to be extra vigilant, keeping a close eye on his surroundings at all times.