You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

If one had entered the gates of death or injury, they would likely be facing certain death by now.

Hearing Chen Yang's explanation, Liu Piaopiao felt a little relieved, but her palms were still sweaty.

This formation is indeed mysterious; once you take a step out, there is no turning back.

"Let's go, follow the correct path, we should be fine."

Following Li Rou's instructions, Chen Yang stepped into the cave and immediately took three steps to the left. Sure enough, he felt that the stone slab under his feet was slightly different, as if he had avoided some kind of slight depression or energy node.

Then he continued forward along the main direction of the passage.

This passage was indeed different from the one we had taken before.

Although the air was still stale, it didn't feel stuffy; instead, there was a faint, steady airflow on my face. The walls were smooth and flat, without any extra patterns or traces of mechanisms.

The two walked anxiously for about half an incense stick's time, but they didn't trigger any formations or restrictions, nor did they encounter any forks in the road or obstacles.

Liu Piaopiao's tense nerves gradually relaxed, and she looked at Chen Yang's back with a look of admiration in her eyes.

This "Brother Chen" not only possesses unfathomable strength, but also seems to have unique insights and sensing abilities regarding the Dao of Battle? What exactly is his background?
Finally, a glimmer of light appeared ahead, unlike the darkness of the passage.

The two quickened their pace, the light grew brighter, and a wave of air, carrying the smell of dust but not scorching but rather somewhat cool, swept over them.

Suddenly, everything became clear!
They walked out of the passage and stood at the entrance to a huge, empty, yet awe-inspiring hall.

The hall was several dozen feet high and several hundred steps in circumference. Four golden dragon pillars, each requiring several people to encircle, supported the dome. Although two of them had broken and fallen, the remaining two still stood tall, radiating a brilliant golden light that had endured through the ages.

The floor was paved with shimmering spirit jade bricks, which, even covered in dust, could not conceal their warm and smooth nature. The walls were inlaid with countless gems and pearls that had long lost their spiritual power but were still precious in material, outlining the blurred contours of murals of flying apsaras and mythical beasts.

Although the entire hall was empty and desolate, with traces of the passage of time everywhere, its former glory, solemnity and luxury still overwhelmed the senses of the two.

What attracted their attention most were the dozen or so jade and metal treasure chests of varying sizes scattered in the center of the hall! Some of the chests had their lids open, while others were half-closed, but without exception, they all exuded a rich and pure spiritual energy, as well as... dazzling colors of light!

"That's... a spirit stone?! Such pure spiritual energy!"

Liu Piaopiao's eyes lit up instantly, and she ran over first.

Chen Yang quickly followed.

The open boxes were filled with neatly cut, lustrous spirit stones of extremely high quality, mostly mid-grade or even high-grade. In some smaller jade boxes, they even found dozens of crystal-clear, almost liquid-like, top-grade spirit stones!
"I'm rich... I'm rich!"

Liu Piaopiao picked up a top-grade spirit stone, feeling the vast and pure spiritual power within it, and her hands trembled with excitement.

Her sect wasn't wealthy, and they had never seen so many top-grade spirit stones before!
Chen Yang's heart was also racing.

These spirit stones are a tremendous fortune for any cultivator, and are priceless whether used for cultivation, trading, or setting up formations.

Especially in this perilous trial ground, an abundance of spirit stones means greater endurance in combat and recovery.

"Quick, pack it up! Be careful, check the box for any traps."

Chen Yang suppressed his excitement and reminded him.

The two acted quickly, carefully inspecting each box. After confirming its safety, they began to sort the spirit stones into their respective storage bags.

Liu Piaopiao's storage bag had limited space. After filling it with a large number of high-grade and mid-grade spirit stones, it was almost full, and she could only look on with longing at the rest.

Chen Yang's Sumeru Space had a much larger capacity, and he unceremoniously took in most of the remaining spirit stones, including those of the highest grade, leaving only a small portion for Liu Piaopiao as a supplement.

"Brother Chen, your storage magic treasure has a really big space!"

Liu Piaopiao said enviously, but without any dissatisfaction. She knew that if it weren't for Chen Yang, she probably wouldn't even have had the chance to enter this place.

After dividing the spirit stones, the two were satisfied and began to carefully examine the empty palace, searching for other possible treasures or clues.

"Unfortunately, besides spirit stones, there don't seem to be any magic treasures, pills, or cultivation manuals on jade slips..."

Liu Piaopiao muttered to herself, her eyes scanning the surroundings with a hint of greed.

Just then, Li Rou's voice suddenly reached Chen Yang's ears again, carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency.

"Master, quick! Pick up those two broken golden pillars that have fallen to the ground!"

Chen Yang was taken aback and looked at the two enormous, clearly broken golden pillars on one side of the main hall.

Although they were broken, each piece was several meters long and as thick as a giant vat, with a dark gold color and exquisite dragon patterns carved on it. Despite being covered in dust, they still looked heavy and luxurious.

"This? Isn't it the main pillar? Although the material is special, possibly some kind of spirit metal, it's too big and it's broken. What's the use of storing it?"

Chen Yang asked himself, puzzled.

"Listen to me, Master, put it away quickly!"

This material is far from ordinary spirit metal! I sensed an extremely subtle... Daoist aura of 'immortality' and spatial fluctuations within it! Take it back, and I'll explain it to you slowly; it might be very useful!

Li Rou's tone was unusually urging.

Chen Yang always took Li Rou's judgment seriously. Upon hearing this, he no longer hesitated and walked to a broken pillar, attempting to use his Sumeru Space to collect them. Fortunately, the Sumeru Space was vast, and although it occupied a considerable amount of space, it was barely enough to accommodate the two giant pillars.

With a thought, he first put away one of the broken pillars, and then another.

"Brother Chen, why are you taking these two big pillars?"

Seeing Chen Yang's actions, Liu Piaopiao walked over curiously.

"It's so heavy and it broke. Even if it's made of good materials, it won't be easy to refine."

"This pillar seems to be made of a fine material. I'll take it back and take a look. Maybe I can extract some rare metals to make weapons and armor."

Chen Yang casually explained, without revealing Li Rou's warning.

Liu Piaopiao said "Oh" and didn't pay much attention.

For her, the glittering spirit stones and the possible magical treasures and pills were the real currency; these two heavy pillars held no interest for her.

She turned and continued her careful search in the corners of the palace, behind the murals, and even in the broken parts of the dome, hoping to find any treasures she had overlooked.

However, after a thorough search, apart from dust, broken tiles, and a few decorative, now-lost fragments of gemstones, the magnificent palace was indeed empty and disappointingly desolate.

"Sigh, what's the point of getting so many spirit stones?" Liu Piaopiao sat down on the ground, somewhat dejected, and wiped the dust off her face.

"If we can't find a way out, aren't we just going to be trapped and die in this godforsaken place? Those people up above might come looking for us anytime."

"That's not necessarily true."

Chen Yang's gaze did not linger on the palace's magnificent decorations, but rather swept across every corner like a hawk, especially the seams between the walls and the floor, and the shadows behind the collapsed structures.

"Since this place is protected by the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation and contains so many spirit stones, it can't just be a warehouse."

There must be another clue. Let's look more carefully, especially... places that don't look like doors.

The two rallied and began searching almost inch by inch. Finally, at the deepest part of the hall, beneath the wall behind what should have been the main platform, in a corner covered by half a collapsed relief stone slab and thick dust, Liu Piaopiao discovered something unusual.

She brushed aside the dust and rubble, revealing a hole—a very low, narrow, and dark opening, only slightly larger than a typical dog hole. The edges of the opening were irregular, as if it had been forcibly broken open by something, or formed by years of neglect and collapse. It was dark inside, its destination unknown, with a faint, indescribable flow of air seeping out.

"There...there's a hole here?"

Liu Piaopiao pointed to the cave entrance, her tone clearly showing disdain.

"It's so small, could it be a hole dug by the spirit dogs that used to keep in this palace? Or a rat hole? That's so careless."

Chen Yang crouched down and carefully examined the edge of the hole. The damage was old, covered with a thick layer of grime that blended in with the surrounding area, not something that had recently formed.

He tried to probe the cave with his divine sense, but found that there seemed to be a strange substance or force field deep inside the cave entrance, which greatly hindered the depth of his divine sense. He could only vaguely sense that it was winding and downward inside, and that the space might be larger than the cave entrance appeared.

"Whether it's a dog hole or a rat hole."

Chen Yang stood up, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"Perhaps this is the key to our escape."

Liu Piaopiao pouted.

"Crawl out through this dog hole? Who knows what's outside? What if it's a dead end, or leads directly to the feet of those thugs outside?"
"I think we should go back the way we came. Since we were able to get into that Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, maybe we can find a way out? Those people up there might not find the entrance to the formation so quickly."

Chen Yang shook his head, rejecting her idea.

"Once you step into the Gate of Life of the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, the path to survival lies ahead, but there is no turning back. Forcibly reversing the flow of power will likely unleash the full power of the formation, which is extremely dangerous."

As for those people above... since they were able to track them all the way to the city lord's mansion, it's only a matter of time before they find the underground entrance.

This hole may be inconspicuous, but its location here is no accident. I'll go scout ahead and see what's going on outside. You stay here and keep watch, ready to provide backup at any time.

As he spoke, Chen Yang bent down, preparing to explore the deep and narrow cave entrance.

Seeing Chen Yang bend down without hesitation to crawl into the dark hole, Liu Piaopiao's expression of inner conflict deepened.

She really didn't want to crawl through that dirty and narrow "dog hole," but she was even more afraid of being left alone in this empty palace where she didn't know when her pursuers would find her.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Seeing that Chen Yang's upper body had already disappeared into the hole, Liu Piaopiao stomped her foot, finally resigned herself to her fate and shouted, gritted her teeth, and followed suit, bending down and bracing herself to squeeze into the narrow hole.

The entrance was narrower and lower than it appeared, and the two could only squeeze in by crawling. The cave walls were damp and slippery, covered with unknown moss and sticky sediment, emitting a strange smell that was a mixture of earthy and musty odors, making one want to vomit.

The space was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. The only light in front of them was the faint glow from the moonstone in Chen Yang's hand, illuminating the winding path less than ten feet long.

After crawling for about ten zhang, Chen Yang, who was crawling ahead, suddenly stopped.

"what happened?"

Liu Piaopiao, who was following behind, felt a tightness in her chest and asked in a low voice.

"There's something blocking the way ahead, but it's not a rock."

Chen Yang's voice carried a hint of solemnity.

"It feels like an invisible 'membrane' or an energy barrier."

Liu Piaopiao stretched her neck to look ahead, but Chen Yang blocked most of her view. She could only vaguely see that the passage ahead seemed to have ended. The air was slightly distorted, and the light from the moonstone shone on it, as if it was absorbed by a layer of transparent, slightly rippling gel, unable to penetrate.

"Another restriction?"

Liu Piaopiao's heart sank.

"Why are there restrictions everywhere in this godforsaken place!"

What do we do now? Go back?

"The way back is probably gone."

Chen Yang said in a deep voice, as he tried to reach out and carefully touch the invisible barrier.

The moment my fingertips touched it, a familiar yet strange heaviness suddenly came over me!

Although it wasn't the same all-encompassing terrifying pressure as before on the arena, it was extremely similar in nature—a kind of "force" that targeted the penetrator and carried a strong sense of repulsion and restraint!
This barrier is also a kind of "gravity" or "potential field" restriction, and it is of the same origin as the one on the outside arena, only its shape and strength have changed. It is more like a thick "glue wall" that needs to be "squeezed" through!
"As expected... it's the same kind of restriction as the one used in the arena outside."

Chen Yang withdrew his hand, feeling the lingering stiffness and heaviness at his fingertips, which actually calmed him down.

If it were another type of aggressive or hallucinatory restriction, it might be more troublesome, but he had just gained a preliminary understanding of this "force field" type restriction on the verge of life and death!
"Step back a little, let me try."

Chen Yang spoke to Liu Piaopiao behind him, then adjusted his posture to sit cross-legged as comfortably as possible in the cramped space—although the space was cramped and the movements were awkward, it was still better than lying down and not being able to concentrate.

He closed his eyes, banishing the unpleasant smell in the cave and the feeling of suffocation in his body. He calmed his mind and tried to recall and recall the wonderful feeling of being in sync with the fluctuations of the "force field" that he had painstakingly comprehended with Li Rou on the arena.

Within his dantian, the Pure Subtle Primordial Descent Technique circulated slowly, carrying a peaceful yet resilient rhythm.

His soul, like the most delicate antennae, cautiously reached out towards the barrier in front of him, no longer with the aim of resisting or penetrating, but trying to "listen" and "touch" the energy flow trajectory and the inner "pulse" contained in this "potential field" barrier itself.

At first, it was still heavy, sluggish, and full of rejection.

But his will, honed through the ring, became even more refined.

He patiently guided his breathing, heartbeat, and even the most subtle flow of his magical power to approach and imitate the faint, fundamental rhythmic fluctuations within the barrier's energy. (End of Chapter)