Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

After trekking through mountains and rivers, enduring countless hardships, they finally arrived at a desolate valley. According to ancient records, this was the location of the hidden passage.

"This seems to be the place," Yang Ling said, surveying the surroundings. "We must search carefully for the entrance."

The four split up to search. They meticulously examined every inch of land and every rock face, fearing they might miss a clue.

Suddenly, Dan Yan exclaimed, "We've found it!" He pointed to the inconspicuous rock and said, "This rock has strange patterns on it, which seem to be a hidden formation."

The four gathered together to examine it closely. Sure enough, they saw intricate patterns appearing on the rock surface, interwoven to form mysterious designs.

"This should be the entrance to the passage," Bai Yunzi judged. "We need to find a way to activate the formation."

The four searched the surrounding area carefully, looking for clues to activate the formation. After some effort, they finally found a stone tablet in the grass. The tablet was engraved with ancient characters and patterns, which seemed to be connected to the formation on the rock.

“It seems this stele is the key,” Yang Ling said. “We must carefully study the inscription to find the method to activate the formation.”

The four sat around the stele, studying the inscription. After careful consideration and discussion, they finally understood the content of the inscription and learned how to activate the formation.

"So that's how it is." Yun Feiyang suddenly realized, "We must follow the instructions on the inscription and inject spiritual power into a specific location on the rock."

The four stood before the monument, preparing to begin their battle according to the ancient instructions.

"Everyone, please prepare yourselves and circulate your spiritual energy together." Yang Ling, as the team leader, spoke first to calm everyone down.

Bai Yunzi closed his eyes, concentrated, and softly chanted: "Spirits of Heaven and Earth, heed my command! Begin!"

As they spoke, the four of them simultaneously channeled their spiritual energy into specific areas on the rock. The previously dormant patterns began to glow faintly under the stimulation of their spiritual energy.

"Look! The patterns are glowing!" Dan Yan exclaimed in delight.

Yun Feiyang stared intently: "The radiance is growing brighter, is success imminent?"

Just as the four were fully focused, the rock suddenly began to tremble, and intense energy emanated from within, as if it were about to devour everything around it.

"Everyone, retreat immediately!" Yang Ling shouted, while pulling Yun Feiyang beside him to retreat hastily.

Dan Yan and Bai Yunzi reacted quickly, and the four of them retreated to a safe distance, watching the rock intently.

The rocks trembled more violently, and suddenly a huge crack appeared, revealing a deep, bottomless dark passage.

"This is... the passage to the Netherworld?" Dan Yan asked, his voice filled with shock.

Bai Yunzi stared at the dark cave entrance and nodded: "It should be correct, this is the place we are looking for."

Yang Ling took a deep breath, turned around and said to the three of them, "There is no turning back. For the sake of the mortal world and the peace of the cultivation world, we must move forward."

Yun Feiyang gripped his staff tightly, his eyes flashing with determination: "Brother Yang is absolutely right. Now that we have come this far, how can we back down?"

The four looked at each other again, their eyes reflecting determination and courage.

“Then let’s set off,” Bai Yunzi said, taking the lead into the dark passage.

Dan Yan followed closely behind, gripping his longsword tightly, ready to deal with any potential dangers. Yang Ling and Yun Feiyang also followed without hesitation.

The passage was pitch black, as if it had swallowed all light. The four of them relied solely on their spiritual power and the faint glow of their magical artifacts to move forward.

"Be careful, everyone. There may be traps or mechanisms here," Yang Ling warned.

"Understood," Bai Yunzi replied. "I will keep an eye on the surroundings and inform you immediately if anything unusual happens." The four of them moved slowly forward in the darkness, each step cautious and vigilant at all times.

"Do you all feel that the atmosphere here is a bit strange?" Dan Yan suddenly asked.

“Yes, I feel the same way,” Bai Yunzi replied. “This place seems to be filled with cold and deathly silence, completely different from where we lived before.”

Yang Ling nodded: "This is the border between the Netherworld and the human world, so the aura here is different from that of the human world. Everyone, please be careful not to be disturbed by this aura."

Yun Feiyang gripped his staff tightly, his expression grave: "Will we encounter creatures from the Netherworld?"

“Very likely,” Yang Ling said in a deep voice. “The Netherworld is full of strange creatures, so we must always be vigilant and never be careless.”

The four continued forward, with eerie sounds echoing from the darkness, as if something was watching them from the shadows.

Suddenly a dark shadow swept past them and disappeared into the darkness, and the atmosphere became tense.

"What is that?" Dan Yan exclaimed in surprise.

"It's unclear for now, but please be careful," Bai Yunzi reminded. "Everyone, stay close together and don't get separated."

The four quickly moved closer together, warily scanning their surroundings. The shadowy figure moved with incredible speed; they could only catch a glimpse of its afterimage and had no way of recognizing its true identity.

"The atmosphere here is becoming increasingly eerie." Yun Feiyang's voice trembled slightly as he gripped his staff tightly, as if he could draw some peace from this familiar magical artifact.

Yang Ling frowned deeply, reaching into his storage pouch at his waist to confirm that the talismans and magical artifacts were all prepared. "Whatever they may be, we must continue forward. Our mission is to seal this passage; we must not allow beings from the Netherworld to flood into the mortal realm."

Bai Yunzi said softly, "Brother Yang is absolutely right. As cultivators, it is our duty to protect the mortal realm. No matter how many dangers lie ahead, we must forge ahead bravely."

Dan Yan took a deep breath and adjusted his sword grip. "I have a feeling that the shadowy figure is unusual. Everyone must be careful."

The four continued deeper into the passage, where strange runes gradually appeared on the stone walls on both sides. These patterns emitted a faint glow, adding a touch of mystery to the dark passage. The runes appeared chaotic at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one could discern some profound connection between them.

“These runes…” Bai Yunzi paused, his fingertips lightly touching the patterns on the stone wall, “They seem to be conveying some kind of ancient message.”

Yang Ling also leaned closer to examine them more closely. "These runes might be part of a sealing formation, or they might be warnings left behind by our predecessors. We need to investigate them carefully."

Just as the four were engrossed in their research on the runes, a strange, low growl suddenly came from the depths of the passage, making their eardrums ache, as if something was awakening from its slumber.

"This is bad. We may have alerted something." Yun Feiyang's expression changed, and the starlight on his staff suddenly shone brightly, indicating that he was ready for battle.

Dan Yan gripped his longsword tightly, the tip pointing into the depths of darkness. "No matter what it is, we cannot retreat."

As the growl drew closer, a massive black shadow slowly emerged from the darkness. It was a gigantic beast with crimson eyes and bared fangs, clearly extremely difficult to deal with.

"This is a demonic beast from the Netherworld!" Bai Yunzi exclaimed. "Everyone be careful, this beast's strength should not be underestimated."

Yang Ling quickly took out several talismans from his storage bag, chanted incantations, and then threw them at the demonic beast. The talismans transformed into several golden rays in the air, striking the demonic beast directly. However, the demonic beast had thick hide and flesh, and the talismans only left shallow marks on its body.

"This beast's defense is too strong!" Yang Ling exclaimed.

Seeing this, Dan Yan swung his longsword, unleashing a sharp sword aura towards the demonic beast. The demonic beast roared and dodged Dan Yan's attack with surprising agility.

"This monster is incredibly fast!" Dan Yan exclaimed in amazement.

At this moment, Yun Feiyang released streaks of starlight from his staff, attempting to disrupt the monster's vision. However, the monster seemed unaffected and continued its attack on the four. (End of Chapter)