Starting at the Nascent Soul stage, a rogue cultivator is incredibly poor.

Qingyouzi stood solemnly at the edge of the metal avenue, not stepping in immediately.

The water in this pool is getting muddier and muddier.

The righteous path went to great lengths and exercised extreme caution, truly only for the Celestial Herb? What, then, is the Yin Xuan Sect's purpose? And what about that crystal sphere obtained from the skeleton…?

That's it.

He shook his head.

These things are none of his concern. Preserving his life and obtaining what he needs is enough.

With a soft sigh, I waited quietly.

About half an hour later.

A streak of crimson light pierced through the air and landed nearby; it was none other than the Seven Fiends True Man.

"We encountered some trouble on the way and were delayed." Qi Sha's aura was slightly unstable, indicating that he had gone through some twists and turns.

"It's alright," Qingyouzi said calmly. "I just arrived recently myself."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two said no more and led Lu Zhou into the metal avenue.

The moment you step in, it's as if you're passing through an invisible curtain of water.

The scene before my eyes suddenly changed.

The metal passageway still stretched as far as the eye could see, but looking back, the snowy cliffs that had led to it had vanished without a trace, leaving only endless metallic luster flowing through the void.

"Let's go." Seven Fiends led the way. "There are still some minor troubles ahead."

After walking for a while, Qingyouzi suddenly spoke:

"Fellow Daoist Seven Fiends, did you truly enter this Celestial Immortal Cave solely for the Celestial Immortal Herb?"

Qi Sha paused slightly, turned his head to look, and looked at her with a puzzled expression:

"My sect is on the verge of collapse, and I've been stuck at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage for a long time. Without the Heavenly Immortal Herb, how can I break through? If I could, I wouldn't want to come to this Heavenly Immortal Cave and take this risk. Why do you ask, fellow Daoist?"

Qingyouzi remained silent for a moment.

How much of what Qi Sha says can he believe?

"Just now, I ran into that scoundrel Hong Kaishan," he said slowly. "He has already joined the righteous path, did you know that?"

Qi Sha's expression froze.

"This... I didn't know." He frowned and recalled, "Kaishan Island has always been neutral. It took the initiative to contact me before, saying that its lifespan was coming to an end and that it wanted to join forces to explore the Heavenly Immortal Cave. At that time, I was worried about the danger of going down the Heavenly Immortal Cave alone, so I agreed. Later, I thought about recruiting a few more people."

Qingyouzi briefly recounted what he had seen and heard at the edge of the cliff.

Upon hearing this, Qi Sha was first taken aback, then burst into laughter.

"I see... No wonder I always felt this person's words and actions were strange." He shook his head, his tone growing colder. "I've inquired before; although Hong Kaishan has a fiery temper, he's not a brainless person. Now it seems he's already entered the righteous path."

He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the depths of the metal passage, and sighed deeply.

"What a pity. Given this situation, I'm afraid the Heavenly Herb... is out of my reach."

He paused, then continued:

"I suppose you're not aware that the Celestial Immortal Cave opens once every hundred years, producing at most three Celestial Immortal Herbs each time, usually only two. And every five hundred years, one of them will flower and bear fruit, producing a 'Celestial Immortal Fruit.' Judging by the timeline, it's been almost five hundred years since the last time it bore fruit."

Qingyouzi's eyes flickered slightly: "Celestial Fruit?"

"It's a Celestial Fruit." Seven Fiends shook his head. "But I don't know its specific effects. I only know that this thing is enough to make any Nascent Soul cultivator risk their life for it."

Qingyouzi lowered his eyes, his thoughts swirling within them.

Just then, he became slightly alert and looked up ahead.

"Fellow Daoist Qingyou, young friend Lu, be careful," Qi Sha said in a deep voice.

Before the words were even finished, all the metal spheres that were still and suspended in the sky suddenly trembled!

The next moment, a sphere the size of a head crashed down from the sky!

With a flick of his sleeve, Qi Sha sent out a small blood-red shield that spun out and split into thirty-six blood-red light shields in mid-air, easily blocking the sphere.

But then...

"Boom boom boom boom—!"

Countless spheres poured down like a torrential rain!

Qingyouzi scanned the spheres with his divine sense. These spheres were powerful enough, but what was truly terrifying was the giant sphere the size of a mountain above. If that thing were to fall, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would have to retreat.

Qi Sha used his blood shield to deflect the falling spheres one by one, but his face gradually paled, clearly indicating that he had expended a great deal of energy.

"We can't stay any longer!" he hissed. "Let's go!"

Just then, a sphere the size of a mountain slammed into the blood shield!

"Bang—!"

Qi Sha groaned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Without further hesitation, the three transformed into streaks of light and rushed forward.

The surrounding scenery blurred and changed, and when I looked again, I found myself in another world.

The overhead sphere was no longer visible, but rather countless metal cubes of varying sizes, interconnected, leaving only a narrow passage ten feet wide. Looking down, the bottomless abyss was also composed of countless stacked cubes.

Seven Fiends, panting heavily, quickly swallowed a pill, subtly taking two steps away from Qing Youzi, then turned to him and said:

"Fellow Daoist, this place is now in your hands. The attacks here are swift and fierce, unlike the heavy ones before."

Qingyouzi nodded, and countless threads shot out from his sleeve.

Thousands of strands of black hair intertwined and swirled, instantly transforming into an inverted giant blue bowl, protecting the three of them within.

The moment it was formed, the block above its head suddenly changed!

"Hiss hiss hiss—!"

Countless beams of light shot out from the surface of the cube, bombarding the green silk barrier like a torrential rain, exploding into bursts of spiritual light.

Qingyouzi's expression remained unchanged as he made a hand seal with one hand.

The barrier surface underwent a transformation, with countless black tendrils extending out like tentacles, precisely piercing the attacking blocks.

"Click, click..."

The sound of metal shattering was incessant as the pierced blocks crumbled.

Immediately afterwards, the entire azure silk barrier began to spin rapidly! The ancient azure demon fire attached to it rose up, transforming into an azure fire curtain above, shredding and incinerating all the incoming beams of light.

Lu Zhou stared in disbelief, his Adam's apple bobbing.

This is the power of the Nascent Soul stage...

Seven Fiends was also secretly alarmed. He had long known that Qingyouzi's magic weapon was strange, but he had not expected it to be so formidable in both offense and defense. Fortunately, he had not rashly made an enemy of this person back in Crystal Mountain City.

About half an incense stick later, a portal of light slowly appeared at the end of the passage ahead.

After a brief inspection and confirming that everything was in order, the three rushed into the doorway.

Light and shadow shift and change.

When I regained my footing, I was on a towering platform.

Looking around, the place resembled a giant sinkhole. Eight identical platforms were evenly distributed along the edge of the sinkhole, and they were standing on one of them.

Looking down, the pit was dark and deep. Divine sense could only penetrate a few feet before being blocked by an invisible force, making it difficult to go any deeper.

"This place..." Qingyouzi walked to the edge of the platform, her gaze deep and serious. "Could this be..."

"Not bad." Qi Sha stepped forward and scanned the other platforms. "This place is the real Celestial Cave."

He paused, his tone complex: "It seems we're among the last to arrive."

At this moment, four of the eight platforms are occupied.

Qingyouzi, Qisha, and Luzhou occupy one seat.

Daohe, Hong Kaishan, and Jiang Huai'an occupy one seat.

Xie Changyuan sat alone in one seat.

Wen Daoran was seated in the same room as another righteous Nascent Soul cultivator.

Eight Nascent Soul cultivators, each occupying a position in one of the four directions.

The air was deathly still, with only the faint sound of wind coming from the deep pit.

Eight pairs of eyes crossed in the void, wary, scrutinizing, murderous, calculating... all sorts of emotions spread quietly across the platform like an invisible spider web.

No one spoke.

But everyone knows the answer.

Gunpowder has been spread all over the ground; only a single spark is needed.