Ruo Xie had already slipped the sword from his wrist, poised to strike, but she retreated after Xie Lian saw through her. Xie Lian asked, "You... Yin Yu?"

A large pit, wide enough for two people to enter and exit, had appeared on the ground. Yin Yu half-poked out of the pit, a sharp shovel in both hands. He sighed, wiped the sweat off his face, and said, "Your Highness, it's me. I'm glad I didn't dig in the wrong place. Let's go!"

He had actually forgotten that Yinyu still had a divine artifact in his possession—the Earth Master's Treasure Shovel! It hadn't been confiscated; heaven was truly helping him. It seemed that sometimes, being insignificant was a good thing. For example, in a melee, the enemy wouldn't specifically attack this person, but conversely, our own people might accidentally injure this person. Just as Xie Lian was about to go up and pull him out, he involuntarily took a step back. Yinyu asked curiously, "Your Highness? What's wrong?"

Xie Lian was also puzzled. Why did he take a step back? Then, he remembered that it wasn't him who was retreating, but Shi Qingxuan who had moved into his body.

That earth master's shovel was incredibly familiar, and it was hard not to think of someone who had wielded it before. Xie Lian felt a sudden, unexplained palpitation, perhaps a subconscious reaction from Shi Qingxuan. Fortunately, Shi Qingxuan's reaction wasn't extreme, and he quickly returned control of his body to Xie Lian. Xie Lian forgot to ask Huacheng who the person who could help him ascend to the heavens was, and hurried over to jump into the pit, falling into the ground beneath Xianjing with Yinyu.

The pit above closed up soon. After crawling a short distance in the dark tunnel, Xie Lian suddenly remembered something and asked, "Yinyu, can this geomancer's shovel dig through the boundary that locks Xianjing?"

Yinyu said, "It's impossible to dig through it...right?"

"ah?"

Shi Qingxuan said, "That is to say, even though this treasured shovel is a divine artifact, no matter how much we dig, it will still be in Xianjing. Isn't that useless?"

Yin Yu scratched his head and said, "It's not completely useless... There are now formations set up outside the temples of the martial gods. That formation will weaken their magic power and slow down their recovery from injuries. I think if they continue to stay in their temples, they may not be able to recover their fighting strength for several years. Why not use a geomancer's shovel to dig a secret room somewhere underground, send all the martial gods there, and wait until they are almost recovered, then try to see if they can break out."

Shi Qingxuan said, "Wait! City Lord Hua said, you told those useless... those martial gods to hide and recuperate. Don't even think about trying to break out from under Jun Wu's hands. You're courting death."

Yin Yu said in surprise, "Your Highness, you... can communicate with the City Lord? Isn't it impossible?"

Xie Lian said, “No, no, no, it wasn’t me who was talking to you just now.”

Shi Qingxuan said, "It's me, it's me, Your Highness Yinyu!"

But it was just a mouthful to say it, and Yin Yu was confused: "It's you, it's you, isn't it you, Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

Shi Qingxuan said, "Oh, it's me, the Wind Master! No, now you should call me the former Wind Master. I used the Soul Transfer Technique. Oh, it's so tiring to pass on the message."

He went in here, listened and saw, then returned to his body over there to relay what he had heard and seen to Huacheng. In and out, over and over again, it was exhausting just thinking about it. Yinyu said hurriedly, "Oh, you've worked so hard. I see!" and dug even harder. After the two of them crawled forward for a while, Yinyu finally said, "This... should be about right! Your Highness, you stay here for now. I'll go get the next priest."

The hole they had come from gradually closed. Xie Lian said, "Ah? Are you going alone? I'll go with you."

Yin Yu said, "Forget it. To be honest, Your Highness, the bigger the hole this geomancer digs, the more energy he consumes. I might be able to do it faster alone. The nearest Martial God Temple is..." He seemed to think for a moment, then said, "Anyway, I'll be back soon."

Xie Lian was also tired from Shi Qingxuan's repeated use of the Soul Transfer Technique and the constant consumption of his mana. He sat on the ground and nodded reluctantly, feeling his head and body feel heavy. He rested his hand on his forehead and said, "...Okay."

So Yinyu dug a new hole and continued digging forward. Xie Lian lay there, closing his eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly woke up and asked, "Yin Yu?"

The surroundings were pitch black, a dead silence. It was obvious that Yinyu hadn't returned yet. Shi Qingxuan confirmed this when he spoke, "Your Highness, you're awake. Are you tired? Yinyu hasn't returned yet."

After resting for a while, Xie Lian regained his spirits and asked, "How long has he been gone? Why hasn't he come back yet?"

Shi Qingxuan said, "It's almost two incense sticks. Could he be lost?"

Xie Lian sensed something was wrong and said, “I’ll go find him.”

With that, he rolled over and crawled toward the tunnel Yinyu had left. Because Yinyu would need to return through this tunnel, the tunnel hadn't closed automatically after the geomancer's shovel had opened it. Xie Lian crawled cautiously inside. A moment later, Master Qingxuan said, "Xueyu Tanhua said, 'Brother, you'd better not go.'"

Xie Lian stopped crawling and said, “I’m afraid this is not going well, huh?”

Shi Qingxuan said, "Yes, I heard City Lord Hua sounded quite serious."

Xie Lian said, “That’s why we have to go look for him because things are not looking good. Otherwise, if Yinyu meets with something unexpected…”

At this moment, a chill suddenly ran up his spine. Xie Lian was startled and turned around abruptly.

Shi Qingxuan also felt the chill in his body and said, "Oh my god, what happened just now? I suddenly felt a shiver on my back!"

Behind him was a dark, empty tunnel, devoid of anything. Xie Lian stared at it for a long moment before saying, "It's all right."

Shi Qingxuan immediately shut up and held his breath. After Xie Lian had said, "It's okay," he mouthed five words silently: "Hold on, there's someone there!"

There were other people in this tunnel. Just now, they were right behind Xie Lian, but the moment he turned around, they disappeared.

Xie Lian's instinct for danger was unerring, so he couldn't let the other party know he'd noticed and feigned indifference. Shi Qingxuan hated this situation the most. Goosebumps covered his arms as he mouthed, "Isn't that His Highness Yinyu?"

Xie Lian said, “If it were him, there would be no need to be so sneaky.”

After a moment of silence, Xie Lian silently asked, "Did Sanlang say anything?"

Shi Qingxuan said, "Uh uh uh, your Sanlang looks scary... He said, 'Brother, if it's a last resort, use the Soul Transfer Technique to transfer into the Wind Master's body.'"

However, regardless of whether he currently possessed enough magical power to perform the Soul Transfer Technique, even if he did, Xie Lian couldn't just abandon the mess in Xianjing and walk away. Xie Lian said, "Don't worry, Sanlang."

Before he could say what he was relieved about, he suddenly looked up. Front!

The sense of danger had come from behind, but now it was coming from the front. But looking over, it was still pitch black, and nothing could be seen clearly. Shi Qingxuan mouthed, "Your Highness, what have you noticed? What should we do? Does this mean we should go forward or backward?"

After concentrating on observing for a moment, Xie Lian said, "This means that going forward and backward is the same, so it doesn't matter." With that, he began to crawl forward. As he crawled, he stopped again, slightly startled.

Shi Qingxuan couldn't help but ask, "How could this happen?"

What appeared before them was actually a fork in the road with two underground tunnels!

Shi Qingxuan asked, "This... Could it be that Yinyu dug one path, realized he dug the wrong one, and then dug another?"

Xie Lian thought to himself, "Yinyu must be familiar with the route to Xianjing. How could he dig the wrong way? I'm afraid it's even more terrifying." But he didn't say it out loud. He only said, "Qingxuan, please ask Sanlang for me which one to choose. Left or right?"

After a moment, Shi Qingxuan said, "Xueyu Tanhua said... this advice cannot be given. 'Don't choose any of them.'"

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Although he felt that bad things were probably waiting for him on both paths, he couldn't just stand still. After a moment's thought, he said, "Then Qingxuan, you choose one."

Shi Qingxuan: "Ah? Me?"

Xie Lian said, “Well. If you were to choose, there’s a 50% chance that you’d pick the better path. But if I were to choose…” Shi Qingxuan immediately said, “Okay, I understand.” He hesitated for a moment and turned his head to the left.

Xie Lian nodded and climbed in.

The deeper we went, the narrower the tunnel became, almost suffocating us, but it was still passable. After crawling through the twists and turns for a while, we finally found our way to a larger space.

Fortunately, despite the anxiety along the way, they didn't encounter any real danger. Xie Lian looked around for a moment and said, "Where is this?"

Shi Qingxuan asked doubtfully, "I don't know. I can't see clearly. But why does it feel a little familiar...huh?!"

Not only did he discover it, but Xie Lian also discovered it.

Sure enough, it looked familiar! Isn't this the underground secret room where Xie Lian had just rested for a while, waiting for Yinyu to return?

Absolutely true. There was another cave on the other side, the one that Yinyu had opened with the geomancer's shovel when he left. Xie Lian had also crawled out of this cave to find him!

Shi Qingxuan said with horror, "Why are we back again? Is there...is there the tunnel we crawled back through here?!"

Of course not! When they left, there was only one tunnel leading out of this underground chamber. And the tunnel they were crawling back through appeared out of nowhere. At the fork in the road they came to, the path on the left made a big loop and then led back!

This definitely wasn't Yin Yukai's doing. He wouldn't go to such great lengths to do something so meaningless. Perhaps he, too, had encountered something truly bizarre. Xie Lian thought to himself that he should have followed along. Without a second thought, he crawled out of the tunnel they had left through, quickly reaching the fork in the road. This time, he chose the cave on the right. As he climbed, Shi Qingxuan said, "It seems, it seems my luck wasn't much better this time. I chose the wrong path. I should have chosen the right one from the start!"

Xie Lian said, "No, I think you're still very lucky."

Shi Qingxuan asked, "Ah? What do you mean?"

Xie Lian tried to be as tactful as possible, “How should I put it… Because, this road on the right might be even scarier than the one on the left…”

Both of them heard the sound of something crawling and approaching rapidly from behind them.

Xie Lian untied Ruo Xie and flung her backward, saying, "Ruo Xie, help hold it off first!" He then struggled to crawl forward, nearly a foot with each kick. Shi Qingxuan was so nervous he almost lost his mind, shouting, "Hahahahaha, exciting! Exciting, exciting!"

Xie Lian said, “The more exciting things are yet to come! Come! Please look—!”

Shi Qingxuan: "What again?!"

Xie Lian stopped climbing frantically and let out a long breath. He saw another fork in the road appear before them!

Shi Qingxuan said randomly: "Right!"

Xie Lian decisively turned right. Forks in the road kept appearing along the way. Shi Qingxuan shouted, "Left! Right! Left! Right!" He lost track of what he was shouting. In this desperate, ever-changing situation, there was no time to withdraw from Xie Lian's body and return to Huacheng to ask what to do. The next fork in the road could very well lead to a completely different situation. The thing behind him, blocked for a moment by Ruo Xie, continued to advance. The tunnels on both sides grew narrower and narrower, until, finally, he couldn't even move his arms!

Xie Lian’s shoulder was already stuck, and he said, “I can’t climb down!”

Shi Qingxuan said: "What should we do? Should we retreat?!" The thing chasing behind was almost catching up!

Xie Lian said, “Don’t be afraid! A real man can bend and stretch. If he can’t advance, he can retreat. If he wants to retreat, then retreat! Come on!” He took two steps back, freeing one hand. Just as he was about to grab the hilt of Fang Xin’s sword and engage in a head-on battle with the thing chasing him, he suddenly felt a chill on his scalp.

Xie Lian's heart sank. He looked up, but couldn't make out what it was. It seemed as if someone chuckled softly in the darkness and reached out a hand to place on Xie Lian's head. He opened his eyes wide, and the next moment, he lost consciousness.

It was unknown how long it took before he slowly woke up.

After waking up, Xie Lian discovered that he was sitting on a chair, his entire body tightly tied up. After struggling for a while, he realized that the person who tied him up was Ruo Xie.

Xie Lian asked inexplicably, “Ruo Xie, what are you doing?”

Ruo Xie also felt aggrieved, rubbing against him with her hair hanging down. Xie Lian took a closer look and saw that Ruo Xie was actually tied up in a tight knot.

No wonder Ruo Xie couldn't resist. She was most afraid of being tied up. In her youth, she'd been fond of playing around, often getting herself into a mess of knots. Xie Lian would always reluctantly help her untie them. But she'd learned her lesson, become smarter, and never tied herself up again. Xie Lian, helpless, tried to tear the chair apart. Sadly, the chair wouldn't budge. Apparently, it was reinforced by the infusion of magical energy.

Since he couldn't move, he might as well observe his surroundings. Xie Lian looked around. This should be the interior of some temple. It looked quite new and magnificent. He just didn't know which one it was, but it certainly wasn't the Shenwu Temple.

Just as he was thinking this, a hand was placed on his shoulder, and a person above his head said in a gentle voice: "Xianle, Xianle, you are so naughty."

Hearing this voice, Xie Lian's scalp suddenly tingled. The man behind him turned around, hands behind his back. It was indeed Jun Wu.

His hand still resting on Xie Lian's shoulder, he spoke with each step, "In the past six months since you came up here, Xianjing has been ruined here and there, smashed here and there. Tell me, are you naughty? You're not a little mouse, digging holes and crawling around underground. Do you think it's fun?"

This gentle, benevolent tone, like that of an elder watching a beloved younger child's mischief, made Xie Lian's hair stand on end. He felt utterly uncomfortable and didn't know how to address him. Then, he suddenly felt a chill at his feet. He looked down and saw a white mass wrapped around his boots, staring at him with an extremely evil look.

It was the fetal spirit.

Xie Lian looked up, probably guessing what had happened. Yinyu had been digging a pit with a geomancer's shovel when Jun Wu caught him. Jun Wu had sent something underground to intercept him, which had led to his terrifying experience.

Xie Lian finally knew what to say. After a moment of silence, he said, “…You really have a terrible taste.”

That chase through the cave reminded him of the days when Bai Wuxiang chased him, leaving him breathless and terrified. If they wanted to catch him, they should have just done it directly. Why make it so terrifying and bizarre?

Jun Wu, however, looked very happy and said with a smile, "Xianle is much braver than before."

Unable to respond to this, Xie Lian asked, “Where’s Yinyu?”

Jun Wu placed his hand on the back of the chair, helped him turn around, and said, "Don't worry, you will see. Besides, it's not just him."

Xie Lian turned around and faced a mirror, but what was reflected in the mirror was not him, but the pale-faced Yinyu.

At his feet, there was a man lying with a bleeding head, bruised face and nose, unconscious. He could only be identified by his curly hair. It was Quan Yizhen.

Xie Lian immediately asked cautiously, “What do you want to do?”