Was this a threat to make them obey, or an instigation for them to wreak havoc?

Even as Yu Ci left the Flying Boat, venturing into the restless strata of Primordial Qi, he was still pondering the absurd words and actions of the Sunken Sword Cave's master.

The Manifested Flying Boat had been stowed away by the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave. They now found themselves within layers of thick earth, using the Escape Technique to break through the mixed Qi of the Five Elements, thereby sustaining their vitality. The Five Elements Escape Technique was a basic spell, but only at the Golden Elixir Stage did it become practical. Those present didn't need to worry about this, even Yu Ci, after a brief adjustment, found using the Earth Escape Technique much easier than before.

The Master of the Sunken Sword Cave remained out of sight. According to Tie Lan, who led the group, the Sword Immortal's Secret domain and the Sword Garden's seal off were one and the same, naturally repelling all Golden Elixir Stage Cultivators. If the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave revealed himself, it would trigger a full-force counterattack from the seal off, endangering everyone. Therefore, he concealed his aura with a Secret Method, hidden among the crowd, ensuring temporary safety.

This was one of the roles Yu Ci and the others played: human shields.

After the Pan Emperor's Three Swords were expelled, only ten people remained. Glancing to the side, Wen Shifei and the two from the Light Demon Sect still huddled together, their expressions relatively calm. They were one group, the four solitary cultivators another, while Yu Ci and Incense Slave barely constituted a third. Then there was Xia Boyang, a proud loner. Despite the clear factional divisions among the ten, their motivations didn't differ much. They all wondered:

How can we escape his control?

"Where is the entrance?" Among the four groups, Wen Shifei's group was the most powerful, naturally assuming leadership. Wen Shifei, as the decision-maker, asked a straightforward question.

Every Secret Realm Cave Mansion had a Prohibition Mechanism on the outside to prevent enemy invasion. Some Great Mystical Power cultivators even distorted space-time, creating insurmountable barriers. Without the right method, rash entry would result in a grotesque death. Yu Ci and the others knew nothing about this Sword Immortal's Secret domain, and wouldn't dare to proceed without understanding the situation.

Tie Lan's answer was simple: "There's no need for an entrance. The master left a mark inside during his last visit. Once we calculate its location, we can enter directly."

As he spoke, he didn't care about the cultivators' reactions. He pulled out a fist-sized orb, chanted a mystical incantation, and a halo of light appeared on the orb. The halo itself was colorless, but it reflected the glow of the Subterranean Earth Traveling Qi, casting a dim yellow hue. What was more striking was the orb slowly becoming transparent, revealing countless tiny, abstract symbols inside, like tadpoles swimming around.

"The Heavenly Calculation Bead!" The voice came from Xia Boyang, a man who often kept to himself. His handsome face was etched with clear surprise at this moment.

The so-called Heavenly Calculation Bead was a famous set of auxiliary instruments in the Cultivation World. A single bead was already the prime choice for Deduction of Magical Calculations, Talisman, and Formation Map. It was said that when gathered in a set of three hundred and sixty, representing the Heavenly Cycle Numerology, they bore incredible powers. Their rarity was as legendary as the Magical Treasure from the Great Perfection of Refining Ritual.

Tie Lan cast him a glance and handed over the bead.

Before Xia Boyang could recover from his surprise, Tie Lan seemed to magically produce a second bead, this time giving it to Yu Ci. Then came the third, fourth, fifth... until each person held a bead that emitted a dull yellow glow, each with swirling symbols like tadpoles.

Yu Ci stared at the spherical bead in his hand, his divine consciousness penetrating it. It felt different indeed. The bead seemed to gather all incoming information from the outside world into something systematic. His divine consciousness took a spin inside and he felt his mind refreshingly clear. It was indeed a rare treasure.

At this moment, Tie Lan spoke, "The marks in the Secret Domain are hidden behind multiple Void Fragments, with a seal in the middle. It is difficult to calculate with the power of one person, so I need all of you to join in."

He recited the driving and calculation mantra once. It was not difficult to understand, but the required computational power was enormous. No wonder it required ten Heavenly Calculation Beads to operate... No, eleven!

Tie Lan produced another bead, hovering it in the middle of the group. The surging tide of Earth and Stone Primordial Qi could not move it. All the cultivators understood that this last bead would be personally controlled by the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave, and it would be the core when driven.

Except for Tie Lan, everyone held a Heavenly Calculation Bead. This generosity left everyone speechless. Then, Tie Lan added, "There is no need to return the beads. The master has gifted them to you."

Again...

Yu Ci was not surprised. It had been like this from the beginning: brutal invitations coupled with tempting treasures; throwing out the Secret Realm Fragrant Bait, then swiftly applying oppressive force. Even now, with the Secret Domain close at hand, there was a mix of threats and cajoling. At first glance, it seemed ostentatious, but it was actually shrouded in mystery. It seemed like a strategy of alternately slapping and offering sweets, but the methods were subtle. Upon closer inspection, it seemed more about stirring up chaos, making one question the true intentions of this person.

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It wasn't just him, Wen Shifei and others also understood this. Yu Ci realized that the previously meaningless conflict probably also had a probing or scheming purpose... Unfortunately, Yu Ci had no intention of being anyone's stepping stone.

As this thought passed, the eleven Heavenly Calculation Beads were already in motion. This highly esteemed magical artifact indeed had its unique qualities. When the eleven beads spun simultaneously, an intrinsic channel of connection formed within them. In an instant, the thoughts of eleven individuals collided. Initially, there was some discord, but it swiftly unified under the strange power of the Heavenly Calculation Beads, processing the massive amount of information generated by the calculation.

At that moment, it seemed to Yu Ci as if he saw countless overlapping voids, within which pavilions, ruins, and omnipresent Sword Qi existed. The scene changed a thousand times in an instant, in utter chaos. Under such circumstances, everyone collectively sifted through countless possibilities, finally confirming the most suitable location.

With a long "clang" sound, akin to an anchor chain thrown from a massive ship, a magical artifact called the "Void Anchoring" was cast by the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave. It connected everyone to the void fragments where the Secret Domain's imprint was located.

Suddenly, a resounding curse sound echoed from deep within the earth, triggering a violent reaction from the local Primordial Qi. The shock waves spread far and wide. With the aid of the Heavenly Calculation Beads, Yu Ci and the others could sense a similar response resonating from the distant depths of the void. As their powers clashed, a dark fissure was torn open. At first, it was as thin as a hair strand, but it gradually expanded into a black hole, its destination unknown.

The sight of tearing the void made everyone gasp in shock. They realized that opening a void tunnel to the depths of the Secret Domain was far more formidable than the spectacle they had seen in the Sunken Sword Cave. More astonishing was the lack of significant Qi reaction, a testament to their incredible control.

Indeed, the cultivation level of the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave was unfathomable.

The fissure opened slowly. After a dozen breaths, it had barely widened enough for a person to sidle through, and its rate of expansion was decreasing. Everyone, with their keen senses, felt an unusual fluctuation in the surrounding Primordial Qi, likely a sign of the Master's struggling to suppress his Qi.

Exchanging glances, no one moved. Perhaps it was a good opportunity to escape, but ignoring the shortcut to the Sword Immortal's Secret Domain would surely displease the heavens!

Just then, there was a disturbance from the periphery. A massive surge of earth Qi charged from afar, colliding with the spreading Resentful Spirit Golden Fiend Qi, causing a thunderous explosion. The surrounding earth layers shook and swayed, nearly blowing everyone away. The torn space tunnel began to flicker, but no one paid it any mind. For, at the moment of the collision, the void vibrated, and suddenly before their eyes appeared pavilions, corridors, palaces, and towers. The scene was eerily similar to what they had "seen" through the Heavenly Calculation Beads, only much clearer.

At this moment, Tie Lan spoke up, explaining, "The inside and outside of the Secret Domain Sword Garden are as one. When the Secret Domain opens, there's a chance to enter from the peripheral Sword Cultivator's Tomb. This is the tunnel we just opened, but it only leads to the periphery of the Secret Domain..."

Within the collective perception of all, the collision between the Earth energy and the Resentful Spirit Golden Fiend indeed formed a highly unstable tunnel, with several powerful auras rushing along this path.

As Yu Ci was observing carefully, the aura at his side suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, four figures had merged into the depths of the earth, rushing towards the distant unstable tunnel. They were the four loosely affiliated cultivators.

The next moment, Tie Lan's nine-foot ghost body burst open with a thud, transforming into more than a dozen discernible wisps of grey smoke that disappeared in a flash. When they reappeared, they were behind the four Escape Lights, unobstructed and penetrating straight through.

With a thunderous explosion, another wave of Resentful Spirit Golden Fiend Qi spread out, affecting everyone's perception. When they recovered from this wave, they saw that Tie Lan had already reformed his ghost body and was standing by. As for the four loose cultivators, the crowd vaguely sensed that it seemed some had managed to escape...

"They were decisive."

The four loose cultivators had given up the opportunity to enter the depths of the Secret Domain, seeking only to escape. Their decisiveness impressed Yu Ci, and he thought, what a good start!

The remaining six people exchanged glances, but still, no one acted rashly. At this moment, the Void Tunnel was finally fully formed. After emerging from the Flying Boat, the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave spoke for the first time, his voice much lower:

"Enter within five breaths!"

No one spoke, they all flashed into the two-foot-wide Void Rift as instructed.

In an instant, the void shifted upside down, countless twisted scene fragments fluttered before their eyes, dazzling them. When they recovered, they were standing on solid ground, and the sunlight was shining down.

"Eh?" Since entering the Sword Garden, this was the first time they had seen the sun, which made them wonder if there was a problem with the Void Tunnel that had sent them outside the Sword Garden.

"This is the projection of the True Solar Fire, brought here by the senior Sword Immortal, and it is also one of the foundations of the Secret Domain." Tie Lan explained.

Under the sunlight, it was clear that Tie Lan's figure was still somewhat illusory, and there was no shadow under his feet, which looked quite strange. But considering his previous transformation into smoke and his ability to severely injure four Golden Elixir level cultivators in one fell swoop, no one would underestimate him.

The place where they were standing seemed to be somewhere in a garden. Of course, there were no traces of people here. Next to them was a half-collapsed wooden building, and the slanting plaque still bore the words "Four Directions Pavilion".

The reason they could see so clearly was that Yu Ci had been fully focused on transforming his divine intent and collecting information about his surroundings as soon as he entered. Wen Shifei and the others were doing the same. Just as everyone was beginning to make plans, there was a creaking sound, and the door of the wooden building next to them opened.

"Other than those Demon Spawns, who else could have made it here?"

As the speaker stepped out of the door, the sunlight shone down, casting a sky-blue cold light.

...