Gateway of Immortality

Chapter 207: Secret Passage

At least hundreds of thousands of Cloud Beasts crowded the skies above the rift, and there were certainly even more within. If they disturbed them...

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

"There’s a secret passage up ahead. The entrance to the mining vein lies beneath it. Once we’re in the vein, it’ll be somewhat safer. But this passage is the most dangerous part. Everyone must exercise extreme caution, and no one is allowed to act on their own or leave any traces. If you do, I won’t hesitate to throw you down myself!"

Yin Xingge's cold gaze swept across the group, a heavy warning in her eyes.

They nodded solemnly; none of them dared to gamble with their lives.

The secret passage lay along the stone wall of the rift. Descending from there, they would practically be walking right alongside the Cloud Beasts. Allowing only Qin Sang and two others to control the Star Disk, as they had done last time, wouldn’t be enough to fully harness its power, and they would likely be detected by the Cloud Beasts.

The ten of them poured their spiritual power into the Star Disk, which suddenly emitted a dark light that enveloped everyone. Once the Star Disk stabilized, they vanished along with it.

"Let’s go!" Yin Xingge urged as she led the way, and everyone followed closely behind.

As they approached the rift, they could even see the feathers on the Cloud Beasts with their bare eyes.

These Cloud Beasts closely resembled a type of demonic beast called the Lingyun Hawk, yet their beaks and claws were fiercer, their bodies twice as large, and their feathers an even darker black—like sheets of feathered black iron.

The biggest difference lay in their eyes. Like their feathers, their eyes were as dark as ink, devoid of any life or intelligence. They might still retain a bit of animal instinct, but it was buried beneath an aura of savagery and bloodlust.

Qin Sang recalled the information he’d read before and knew that these Cloud Beasts were, in fact, the descendants of Lingyun Hawks contaminated by the essence of a Cloud Beast. Over countless years, they had evolved to resemble Lingyun Hawks only in appearance; in reality, they had nothing in common.

These Cloud Beasts, though similar to the Lingyun Hawk, had strength equivalent to that of Qi Refining Realm cultivators. However, this was only in the uppermost layer of the rift. Rumor had it that deeper within, there were Cloud Beasts as powerful as Core Formation Realm cultivators.

The secret passage was located along the cliff face of the rift. Knowing its location, they quickly found it. It was a narrow stone path, wide enough for only one person at a time, slanting downward with no end in sight.

They entered the passage in single file, forming a long line, with swarms of Cloud Beasts circling above. Qin Sang couldn’t help but feel uneasy, his mind firmly focused on the nine people ahead.

The space in the secret passage was narrow, or else the Five-Colored Glass could have covered half the sky. Once enveloped by this rain, no matter which direction one tried to escape, they would fall victim to its lethal downpour.

Yin Xingge, in turn, unfolded a celestial net, a net woven from dark iron that crackled with the energy of thunderclouds. It complemented Yunqiong’s Five-Colored Glass perfectly.

This artifact, the Cloud-Thunder Golden Net, contained the power of lightning chains. Its strength wasn’t in attacking with thunder, but in binding and restraining opponents, preventing them from escaping. It was exactly what they needed in this situation.

Mu Yifeng’s Nine-Fire Divine Blade had already been seen by Qin Sang. Nine fiery dragons spiraled around the blade, making it incredibly sharp.

All four of them had summoned top-tier artifacts, each powerful in its own right. With Qin Sang’s ebony sword included, their combined strength was more than enough to take down Cloud Beasts equivalent to Foundation Building cultivators in an instant.

The remaining six Qi Refining Realm Shadow Guards focused solely on controlling the Star Disk.

As expected, they encountered a stray Cloud Beast along the way. The four worked together seamlessly, the Cloud-Thunder Golden Net shooting out lightning chains to bind the creature. Qin Sang and the others seized the moment to strike, effortlessly slaying several Cloud Beasts as they pressed on. Soon, they arrived at the entrance to the mining vein.

The entrance appeared to be an ordinary stone wall to the naked eye, and even after scanning with their spiritual consciousness, there was no sign of anything unusual. In reality, it was sealed by a barrier created by a high-level cultivator from the Xuanlu Stronghold. To open it, they needed a special forbidden artifact.

They had already descended deep underground. The group moved carefully, trying not to make a sound. Yin Xingge retrieved a small cyan seal, pressing it silently against the stone wall.

The seal transformed into a mass of ethereal cyan mist, which seeped into the wall. The stone wall began to melt away, revealing a cavern behind it.

The group entered in single file, and the sight within the cavern left them in awe.

Whether naturally formed or created by human hands, the underground space had been completely hollowed out, forming a vast area comparable in scale to the rift above. The bottom of the space was illuminated by red phosphorescent stones, glowing like fireflies.

These phosphorescent stones were just ordinary gems, a byproduct of Qianyang Quartz.

The surface of the Qianyang Quartz had already been mined out. The group, alert, descended to the bottom of the cavern and found the marked path leading downwards. They did not know how deep the passage went, but eventually, they began to feel the temperature rising within the tunnel.