They were struggling to deal with the Yin Qi.
Several of them had cultivated Thunder Path and Fire Path Techniques.
But these weren’t their main cultivation techniques, so their power was not particularly strong.
The effects on Yin Qi were very limited.
"Senior Brother Jian, what do we do now?"
"We’ve used up all our talismans. Relying on just our cultivation techniques, we can’t force all this Yin Qi back."
"If the Yin Qi in here leaks out and makes it uninhabitable on the ninth layer, we’ll be in serious trouble."
Leng Qingzhu was drenched in fragrant sweat.
Her hands didn’t dare to pause for even a moment.
Her face was full of anxiety as she spoke.
One of the members, with a composed expression, said, "Why hasn’t Li Shangqiu arrived yet?"
"I already contacted him earlier; he said he’d be here soon."
Li Shangqiu was another one of the Four Mythical Prodigies.
The team he led, Wuji, was currently the strongest team around.
The weakest of his subordinates were in the Jiedan Eighth Layer.
As their leader, he had even reached Ninth Layer Perfection in Core Formation.
In terms of cultivation realm, he was comparable to the four Vice Pavilion Masters.
However, constrained by his relatively shorter years of cultivation, his mastery of techniques, experience, and other aspects were far inferior to the Old Pavilion Masters who had been stuck at Ninth Layer Perfection for decades.
But he was still far above most stewards.
On top of that, his team included several Ninth Layer and Eighth Layer Core Formation cultivators.
The power of their seven-man group was terrifying, no weaker than the middle-tier or lower-tier sects of the Nine-Sect Alliance.
If they were willing to act,
it wouldn’t be too difficult to block the Yin Qi in front of them.
Jian Linyuan shook his head slightly and said, "They won’t come."
"Once the Yin Qi is blocked, this hidden space will inevitably become inaccessible for exploration."
"They won’t do something that yields no benefit."
"Their promise was just a way to placate you and brush you off."
everyone’s hearts sank.
Jian Linyuan turned to Yunyang at the front and calmly said:
"Master, we must retreat."
"Continuing to fight is just a futile effort."
"We’re simply wasting our spiritual power for nothing."
"When the Yin Qi fully erupts, and we don’t even have enough spiritual power left to flee, things will get really dire."
"If the Pavilion Master holds us accountable, I’ll take the blame."
Shang Shiqiu, looking guilty, said, "I’ll be responsible for my own actions."
"I was the one who shattered the Yin Marrow; I’ll bear the consequences myself."
Yunyang said impassively, "We’ll discuss it when we return."
"Prepare to withdraw!"
The disciples nodded.
Just as they were about to cease their techniques,
a sudden voice sounded behind them.
"Why don’t you let me give it a try?"
Before they had a chance to react,
a massive lightning-formed palm, about ten feet wide, swept over their heads and slapped the entrance to the spatial fissure.
the Yin Qi dissipated like snow meeting a raging fire.
Without the surge of Yin Qi, the spatial entrance gradually shrank until it completely closed, disappearing entirely.
"What a domineering Thunder Path Technique!"
"More accurately, this Thunder Path Technique has been cultivated with remarkable depth!"
"Except for the Pavilion Master, we’ve never seen anyone display such a powerful Thunder Dao Divine Power."
They murmured in astonishment,
all staring in shock at the person who had made the move from behind them.
At first sight, Jian Linyuan and Leng Qingzhu’s faces lit up with joy.
Even Yunyang looked surprised as she glanced over.
She examined the unfamiliar young man standing before them and asked, "Whose disciple are you?"
"Such exceptional mastery of the Thunder Dao Divine Power?"
Leng Qingzhu exclaimed excitedly, "Master, he’s…"
She got halfway through her sentence when Shang Shiqiu tugged her sleeve.
Shang Shiqiu flashed a mischievous smile and made a shushing gesture.
Then he signaled the other six with a glance as well.
Leng Qingzhu immediately understood.
Were they planning to mess with their master?
Well, it did seem amusing, so she quickly changed her tune:
"He’s a friend we met at the Nine-Sect Alliance."
Yunyang frowned and said, "Then why are you so excited?"
"I thought you were about to say he was my newly accepted disciple Jiang Fan?"
"Got my hopes up for nothing."
She only knew from Shang Shiqiu that her newly admitted disciple was named Jiang Fan, a member of the Green Cloud Sect, with a cultivation at the Sixth Layer of Core Formation.
Frankly speaking, it wasn’t bad at all.
After all, Leng Qingzhu had only recently broken through to the Sixth Layer herself.
Jiang Fan starting off at the Sixth Layer outpaced the foundations of many senior disciples.
But compared to the boy in front of her, Jiang Fan was far inferior.
In the underground world, yang-oriented Divine Skills were highly valuable.
They were even more critical than cultivation realms.
With the young man’s formidable Thunder Dao Divine Power, he could undoubtedly excel in the underground world.
This was something Jiang Fan could never compare to.
"Who is your master?"
Yunyang asked enviously, "Who’s so fortunate to take you as their disciple?"
Jiang Fan rubbed his nose,
speechless as he looked at Leng Qingzhu and the others, who were holding back their laughter.
Are you guys really going to trick the master?
And why are you dragging me into it?
Should he play along or tell the truth?
Shang Shiqiu’s eyes twinkled as he said, "Master, his name is Fan Jiang, and he’s the new disciple of Deputy Pavilion Master Chen."
Yunyang suddenly understood, saying, "That explains it."
"Deputy Pavilion Master Chen has always had an eye for talent."
"Ye Banxia was someone he picked out from a group of seemingly unpromising disciples."
"She ended up leading the pack, became one of the Four Mythical Prodigies, and was the first to break through to Ninth Layer Perfection in Core Formation."
"And now, he’s found Fan Jiang, a Thunder Dao Divine Power master in Great Success."
Jiang Fan’s mouth twitched slightly.
The disciples had ganged up to toy with their master.
If punishments were handed out later, it would be this bunch of unruly disciples getting disciplined anyway.
Yunyang looked at Jiang Fan and said, "Fan Jiang, you’ve done us a great service."
"I’ll give you a gift as thanks."
Jiang Fan was about to refuse but vaguely sensed two strong auras approaching rapidly from different directions.
He quickly said, "No need for a gift."
"If Yunyang Master really wants to thank me, just help hold off those two old disciples chasing after me."
He glanced at the now-sealed space and said, "I’ll hide in there for a while."
"How can I reopen this space?"
Jian Linyuan said in surprise, "Jiang… I mean, Brother Fan Jiang, you want to go in there?"
"That space is full of Yin Qi."
"Even your Thunder Dao Divine Power can’t shield you indefinitely. Eventually, it’ll get depleted."
Jiang Fan urged, "I have my ways."
Begrudgingly, Jian Linyuan explained:
"It’s a hidden space; it requires a trace of space power to activate."
"It was during a duel that I accidentally used a bit of space power and activated it."
He then pulled out a tattered talisman containing a faint trace of space power and tossed it to Jiang Fan.
Jiang Fan said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Jian."
Feeling the two auras getting closer,
he dared not linger and decisively threw the tattered talisman forward, hitting the air in front of him.
As the talisman’s space power collided with the air, the once-vanished black fissure reappeared.
Jiang Fan’s body shimmered with lightning as he swiftly entered.
Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue arrived with scowls on their faces.
They scanned the area and, seeing only Yunyang’s group with no sign of Jiang Fan, promptly dashed off in another direction, clearly angered but determined to continue their search.
Yunyang appeared astonished: "What did Fan Jiang do to them?"
"Judging by their expressions, it seems like they suffered a huge loss."
"Wu Manyue, cunning and shrewd as she is, and Ren Guhong, both powerful and meticulous—both of them getting outplayed by Fan Jiang?"
"He really has some skill."
Comparing her own disciples,
she couldn’t help but shake her head: "The best disciples are always someone else’s."
"Let’s go. We’ll head back to the surface."
"Later, we can obediently listen to the Pavilion Master announce the impressive achievements of other sects’ disciples."
Their exploration on this trip yielded little result.
The merit rankings to be announced later.
Would most likely leave them in the bottom rankings again.