The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

The mountain stream was dried up by the fire energy, and the rolling stones blocked the water of the Qiujiang River, so only a dry riverbed remained in the valley.

Zhong Ming turned around and looked around. The surrounding mountain walls were dark, but there were also some bright, brownish-yellow parts, like round stones on a river surface being caressed by the wind and water.

"I heard that this place was scorched by fire and turned black, but now it seems that's not entirely true."

Zhong Ming overheard a few words about the Five Elements True Man from Li Yi and thought to himself:

"Could it be that there are still true spiritual beings residing in these two realms, continuously maintaining the five elements within them?"

Meng Yunjie then explored the cave along the dry riverbed. In a space about five zhang square, there was a shallow pool at the depths, which was also dry. Further in, there was a solid wall, forming a closed pocket.

"Sir, we've arrived a bit early. Should we wait for the rest of our colleagues?" Horse Face asked as he stepped forward.

"No need, just make a mark at the entrance." Meng Yun's eyes never moved from the wall, but his right leg suddenly took half a step back and threw a punch.

The wall in front of them suddenly burst open, revealing a wide hole.

Horse Face fanned the air in front of him, and seeing a large space revealed beyond the cave entrance, his eyes widened. "There's actually another world inside!"

Meng Yunjie conjured a wooden stick in his hand, made of pine wood soaked in oil. He snapped his fingers, and flames ignited the stick, illuminating a section of the cave.

"This wall was temporarily filled in by the soldiers of Dali. In order to make it blend in with the surrounding walls, earth element cultivators even filled in the joints at the edges, resulting in residual earth energy... It was truly a case of trying too hard and making things worse."

Meng Yunjie's lips curled into a mocking smile as he stepped inside.

Zhong Ming then used his fingernail to draw a simple bird pattern at the entrance of the cave, which was a smooth, flat, round line segment in the middle, completed in one stroke.

This elite force, armed with small flags, marched along the passageway, only to be dumbfounded shortly afterward.

There were forks in the road all around, not only in front, behind, left, right, but also up and down.

If there were only two or three forks in the road, the officers might split up, but the current situation is much easier to handle.

Without hesitation, Meng Yunjie pointed to the widest passageway and said, "Let's explore this passageway first."

Horse-faced Man, unusually, put away his frivolous demeanor and said in a low voice, "Since the Dali side knows about this cave, it will be difficult to sneak in and they are likely to fall into an ambush."

"It's so complicated, they probably can't figure it out themselves, which is why they've sealed it off, right?"

"Impossible. This mountain range is the biggest barrier blocking our army. How could they just do a perfunctory job?"

"The intermarriages within the county are being carried out with great fanfare; it's impossible that the Dali side hasn't received the news. We should take advantage of their laxity and thoroughly explore this mountain range."

"This cave can't be filled by just ten or so people. If the brothers from other camps see the mark, they'll probably head straight up the slope. We'll have to call more people another day."

The scouts spoke in hushed tones, but as they ventured deeper into the mountains, they fell silent and began to explore cautiously.

The darkness here blurred one's sense of time's passage, making it feel as if a long time had passed. Yet, the many forks in the road remained unchanged, and a sense of unease began to permeate the small flag.

Zhong Ming glanced back at the horse-faced man. "You cultivate earth magic, so you should be able to discern the path along this route, right?"

Horse Face rolled his eyes. "Cultivating earth element doesn't stop people from getting lost."

He pondered for a moment, "It feels like I've taken a long detour."

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

The atmosphere eased considerably after the two interrupted them. After walking less than a mile further, the view suddenly opened up a bit. After walking through a narrow path, there were no more forks in the road on either side.

"There's light!"

Someone pointed ahead, and after walking a short distance, the view opened up again—another cave.

Meng Yunjie was the first to step out, and frowned as he looked at the cave, which was about five zhang square.

Zhong Ming and the others followed, also somewhat taken aback.

"They've come back?"

The group of eleven people ventured out of the tunnel and looked around. Although they couldn't remember the clear shape of the cave they had just seen, they could vaguely sense something was amiss.

"Go out and check if the ramp is still there."

As soon as Horse Face took a step, he heard a loud noise behind him.

"boom--"

Everyone turned around in astonishment and saw a huge rock blocking their way. Before they could react, they heard Meng Yunjie and Zhong Ming shout in unison:

"Contact the enemy!"

Two people walked out of the cave entrance with an air of nonchalance, standing against the light and blocking out most of the daylight.

"Do you really think our Great Li scouts are fools? This is such an obvious deception; if we don't play along, wouldn't we be letting down your pig-brains?"

The man who spoke held two short maces and was tall and imposing.

Although Meng Yunjie couldn't see her face clearly, he could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"Those two scout squads scattered throughout Manxing County, it seems you've treated them as expendable pawns?"

At the cave entrance, another tall, thin man said with a smile:

"Today is a good time to explore the mountain. I suppose all of you colleagues have already gone into the mountains."

They might have already been captured. Then they could just pick some useless Foundation Establishment cultivator and easily get a couple of men in return.

The man slowly raised his palm. "I think you're the right fit."

Meng Yunjie's eyes gleamed, and with a flick of his wrist, he grasped a long spear. Without turning his head, he thrust the spear shaft behind him, shattering the stone wall.

"Let's go. You are no match for two Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"grown ups!"

"Think carefully about what you can do. Don't worry, stalling for an hour or two is no problem—you might even be able to capture a prisoner."

Meng Yunjie twirled his spear, planted it on the ground, and cast a provocative glance.

"Arrogant and conceited."

"I don't know the depth of the problem!"

The two men burst out of the cave entrance simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right!

Meng Yunjie raised his spear and swept it horizontally, then immediately unleashed a palm strike behind him, shouting sharply:

"A bunch of idiots, get out of here!"

Zhong Ming gritted his teeth, but was finally pulled back by the horse-faced man and crawled back into the cave behind him.

The sounds of metal clanging and shouts echoed through the cave, but the group could not stop their march.

Commander Meng was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and he was fighting two opponents alone...

"Sound the bell!" Horse-faced man shouted, startling everyone awake. "Lord Meng is right. Think carefully, what can we do?"

Zhong Ming possesses the Golden Jade Body, making him virtually invincible among cultivators of the same realm. However, this is the first time he has faced such a perilous situation, and he is inevitably somewhat flustered.

He forced himself to remain calm in the face of nine pairs of eyes.

Although the group had been running for a while, they could still hear the sounds of battle and roars behind them.

Zhong Ming shook his head, thinking as he ran, when suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Lord Meng is right, we are indeed a bunch of fools!"

The Dali forces must have placed Foundation Establishment generals at certain key crossroads. We must call for reinforcements as soon as possible, and prevent the elite troops of each camp from being divided, so that they can all rush to Lord Meng's aid!

"Be careful, someone might block your way!"

"Don't worry, there aren't that many Foundation Establishment cultivators coming from!"

As they spoke, their pace quickened, and the scouts moved with the speed of a gust of wind.