Immortal Road.

Among the four holy sites, the Yin-Yang Mysterious Ladder of the Ghost Valley Holy Site is the longest. It has already opened up the asthenosphere and extends for dozens of miles into the black mud space of the mantle layer!

The Sacred Land of Vastness and the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect followed closely behind.

Only the Tai Xuan Holy Land is showing its first signs of life, having just arrived and not yet noticed by the three great holy lands.

Lin Shan and Xiong Shan hid in the ley lines, secretly gazing at the other three holy lands through the mantle layer with their newly recruited Tai Xuan Holy Land followers, their eyes filled with shock.

Those were three unique beams of light in the darkness.

Like a ladder descending from nothingness, tiny figures clung to the ladder, banging and hammering, while materials were continuously transported from behind, layer upon layer being added upwards.

While they were still in a daze, the three sides added several more layers on top.

What we see and touch is an upward climb, but in reality, it's a crawl towards the depths of the earth's core. This is the terrifying aspect of how the earth's magnetic field disrupts the five senses.

Above them, the roots of the fixed earth veins still extend into the mantle layer.

If it breaks through this root system, it will be flooded by the abyssal mantle from the outside world. Putting aside how harmful this black and transparent soil is, the sheer weight of the earth alone is enough to make an ordinary person unable to withstand it!

Every single one of these Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining disciples must die!

Even a Golden Core cultivator probably wouldn't be able to struggle for long; only a Nascent Soul cultivator could stay inside for a short while.

"Boss, what do we do now?"

The disciples of Tai Xuan now regard Lin Shan and Xiong Shan as their superiors, and after these days of training, they have become their underlings.

All previous grievances against them have long been forgotten!
Especially after being appointed as the leader by Manager Wu, the disciples who had previously reported the two for hoarding the essence of the earth veins all came before him, weeping bitterly and repenting, almost kneeling down to acknowledge him as their godfather.

Lin Shan was incredibly magnanimous. He kindly comforted them, telling them not to dwell on the past and that as long as they followed him and worked hard, they would live a life of luxury.

He also made grand promises and boasted that he had connections behind the scenes and could transfer them to his own direct lineage when they returned to the Holy Land.

His followers were completely convinced and willingly served him like cattle and horses, following his lead in everything.

The honest young man from Xiongshan was terrified, fearing that his secret would be exposed.

If the thunder explodes, and they are trapped inside, wouldn't they be like turtles in a jar by the Taixuan Holy Land?

"This important matter of digging through to the next level still needs to be reported to Supervisor Wu. Xiong Er, you should go and make the trip."

Normally, Lin Shan is the eldest, and Xiong Shan is the second eldest, so he is usually called Xiong Er.

Xiong Shan obediently climbed down the ladder.

A little while later, Manager Wu climbed up again, peeking out with his head out, looking left and right.

"This is the fourth layer? The mantle layer?"

His eyes widened as he saw the other three holy lands far ahead, and he couldn't help but sigh, seemingly unsurprised.

"You wait here for a moment, I'll go back and report to the elder and see what he says."

Not a moment later.

The Nascent Soul elder who had previously appeared also climbed up. He saw the mysterious staircases of the three holy lands hanging high outside, like three waterfalls cascading down. His own family could only look up from the darkness. At this moment, his silence was deafening on another level.

The difference is too big!
"Alas, Tai Xuan shouldn't have participated in this top-tier spiritual tide in the first place. Our foundation is no match for the three old holy lands. It's just a pity that the price we paid to build the Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder was too high. Even if there's no hope, we have to go for it."

Manager Wu stood to the side and smiled wryly.

"This is, after all, the Holy Lord's will. We have been conservative enough in the first two waves of spiritual tides. If we are not more aggressive in the third round, wouldn't it be a pity to miss the Great Tide of the First Year, which comes around every 120,000 cycles?"

"That's true, but with such a huge investment, almost depleting most of our accumulated resources over ten thousand years, it's hard to say whether the Holy Lord can break through to the Nascent Soul stage. We can only hope to cultivate one or two more great supernatural beings."

The Nascent Soul elder was deeply worried. Before leaving, he ordered his men to continue digging along the earth's veins on the fourth level and to lay out the Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder.

Elder Wu followed him down and ordered Lin Shan and the other two to follow up on the matter.

"Let's do it!"

Lin Shan and Xiong Shan rolled up their sleeves and happily started digging.

A group of Tai Xuan disciples assisted in the work, and anti-gravity stones were brought up one by one using a crane and rope. Before long, the light from this place also attracted the attention of the three holy lands.

When they saw the Tai Xuan Holy Land, they couldn't help but show a mocking expression.

Every time they got tired of building the ladder, they had to endure the disciples of the three holy lands pointing and whispering at them from afar.

"Don't worry about what others think. Just do your jobs well. The outcome is still uncertain until the very end."

While Lin Shan calmly reassured his underlings, he secretly stuffed the essence of the earth vein into his pocket.

He discovered that this new floor was far more resource-rich than the previous one!
The essence of the earth's veins isn't all tiny pebbles like fingernails; it transforms into fist-sized boulders.

He and Xiong Shan happily lined their own pockets, digging with great gusto.

Before they knew it, the progress accelerated, and they worked harder every day, gradually narrowing the gap with other holy sites!

After all, two late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators were digging day and night. No family would have a high-ranking member willing to condescend to do such hard labor. Wouldn't it be better to have readily available disciples?
The higher they dug, the harder the earth veins became, and the stronger the pressure became.

Lin Shan and Xiong Shan were alright, but their lackeys were struggling. They were all drenched in sweat and had to take turns resting every half hour to recover from exhaustion.

They then realized why the excavation of the three holy sites was progressing more and more slowly; everyone was advancing under pressure.

Meanwhile, in the asthenosphere behind, a fierce battle raged in the magma ocean!

Good news keeps pouring in from the Ghost Valley Holy Land, with continuous victories on the front lines, bringing exciting news of the battle.

Both Confucian schools suffered repeated defeats, and in terms of large-scale military campaigns, the military formations of the Ghost Valley Holy Land were indeed superior.

More often than not, the opponent won by being weaker and turning the tide by relying on their numerical advantage, while many high-level cultivators of the Nascent Soul and Golden Core stages died on their side.

They began to change their approach, secretly contacting the Tai Xuan Holy Land, hoping to use the relationship between the two to sow discord and remove the constraints on this side.

As long as we can completely free up our hands, we can suppress the Ghost Valley Holy Land and beat it so badly that it can't recover.

Once we actually got in touch, we found it went much more smoothly than we expected!
It turns out that because of Hui Miao's matter, Tai Xuan Holy Land had long been dissatisfied with Gui Gu Holy Land, and these days they had been secretly colluding with the two holy lands and frequently contacting each other.

Just as this event was about to ignite and explode, reshaping the underground power structure, a new Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder appeared in the lowest fourth layer of the Mantle Flow, in addition to the four holy lands!
"Make way, the elder is coming, don't block the way!"

The sound of someone clearing the way came hurriedly from behind.

Several Nascent Soul elders climbed the mysterious ladder and observed the fifth beam of light on the opposite side in the darkness.

The other side was a completely blue staircase, woven from thick vines, with layers of blue ore laid out, being constructed at an extremely rapid pace. And what appeared on it were races of various shapes and appearances.

"Inhumans!"

The Nascent Soul elders of the Tai Xuan Holy Land exclaimed in shock, shouting in disbelief.

"How could the Inhumans appear on the fourth level? This is clearly deep within the mantle, and the previous levels are heavily guarded by our Holy Land. How did they get in?"

"With such a large amount of supplies and people, it's impossible for us not to discover us when we pass through the upper three levels."

"This is simply illogical! Our four holy lands are fighting to the death, and they've secretly sneaked in, their progress is almost catching up with ours!"

"What about the Ancient Seeking Cult? What are they doing? How could they let the alien race sneak in?"

"I think the Seeking Ancient Sect was unreliable to begin with. Guigu Holy Land handing over its escape route to them is tantamount to digging its own foundation. Look at the situation now, the upper two levels are dominated by the Seeking Ancient Sect, and we, the various holy lands, have become blind to their influence!"

"What about the other forces in Lu? What about the Confucian school? I refuse to believe that none of them noticed anything amiss!"

The elders were so excited they were incoherent, and they were absolutely furious. Anyone who had worked so hard for so long would feel a huge sense of loss upon suddenly discovering that an outsider had interfered. They began to search for the reasons behind it.

Lin Shan, who was in the crowd, was also puzzled upon hearing this.

Could there really be a problem on the main body?! Have the upper two levels been breached by the Inhumans?
The person in charge of the Tai Xuan Holy Land waved to them to stop shouting.

"Hold off on wild speculation. Immediately send people to other holy sites to inquire, as well as our own Star Society and Ephemeral Flower Society on the two upper levels, and see what they have to say."

Although the elders were anxious, they could only wait for the result and watch as the other side overtook them at an extremely fast pace.

Upon closer inspection, one can see a dazzling array of ethnic groups, including the White-haired Clan, the Mist Horse Clan, the Stone Clan, the Shadow Clan, and the Thunder Clan.

This is the Star Palace of the Hundred Clans of Kongsang Sea, located on the Dixi Plateau!
The elders were increasingly alarmed as they looked around. When they turned to observe the Yin-Yang Mysterious Ladders of the other holy sites, they saw equally shocked faces. Clearly, no one had anticipated this scene.

"No matter what, we must speed up our progress. If we let these low-level disciples dig slowly, they will catch up in no time."

The Nascent Soul elders said this, but they still wouldn't personally go into battle. Instead, they transferred dozens of Golden Core cultivators from the main battlefields in various places to be in charge of digging and building ladders.

It includes people from all factions, including those from the direct line. This time, they're serious!
When asked who was originally in charge of this place, the elders wanted to learn more about the situation and experience. Manager Wu looked left and right.

"Hey? Where did those two brats go?!"

He asked his disciples about the whereabouts of Lin Shan and Xiong Shan, and they were all surprised to find that their leader was missing!
It turned out that when these two saw the high-ranking members of the Tai Xuan Holy Land coming up, they immediately and quickly hid.

After all, his identity is not something that can be revealed. He can fool Manager Wu, but if he really encounters someone from the inner circle, he might be exposed.

However, they were just two nobodys and not important to the higher-ups.

"They probably had something come up. I'll send someone to find them right away!"

Manager Wu still wants to find someone.

"No need."

The Nascent Soul elders waved their hands and randomly selected a few representatives on the spot to hand over the specific tasks.

Then we can see that all four holy sites in the darkness have accelerated their progress and are frantically building ladders.

About two days later.

The messengers and spies returned one after another, reporting the news they had gathered.

"The top two floors are currently under the control of the local forces in Lu State. Starfall True Monarch of the Starry Sky Society and Green Ivy True Monarch of the Ephemeral Flower Society are completely unaware of this."

"The Ancient Seeking Cult still holds a dominant position in the first two levels, and there are no signs of it being infiltrated and controlled by the alien race."

"The other three holy lands also had no related oversights and were all investigating the ins and outs of the matter."

Upon hearing this, the elders couldn't help but frown. Since there were no signs of infiltration in any of the layers of the Thunder Wave Sea, how did this alien race manage to get involved?

Someone thought of another aspect.

"Do you think it's possible that the Star Palace Hundred Clans never actually entered from the Thunder Wave Sea, but instead infiltrated underground in other parts of the Lu Kingdom?"

"After all, the Earth's crust and mantle are interconnected, so it's not impossible that they could cut into the spiritual tide from somewhere else."

"The Dark River Layer and the Jade Shattered Cold Pool are limited by their geographical boundaries, but the Lava Sea is vast and boundless, giving them the opportunity to take a detour and exploit loopholes."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized and exclaimed that it was possible.

The scope of the spiritual tide is a narrow concept. In a broader sense, as long as one goes deep into the Earth's crust and mantle, there is a possibility of accidentally entering the spiritual tide!

Not to mention that the Star Palace Clan had premeditated and targeted their search, so they were sure they could find the location beneath the Thunder Wave Sea.

It took a lot of time to go around in circles and find the right location, and we took many detours to get here, which is why we were much slower than the four holy lands. But in the end, we all arrived at the same destination and joined the spiritual tide!

"The Star Palace Hundred Clans... They are truly audacious! The Thunder Wave Sea has clearly become the exclusive domain of our four human holy lands, yet they came without notice. How are they any different from bandits?"

"They do indeed pick their time and place. If they enter from the first three levels, our four holy lands will definitely join forces to fight them off. But the fourth level, outside the Yin-Yang Mysterious Ladder, is dangerous and terrifying, which has become their protective umbrella."

"What should we do? Their arrival has disrupted the original balance of power. Should we send someone to try and make contact?"

"Don't act rashly. It's best to discuss it with the other three holy lands first, and then make a plan."

The Nascent Soul elders knew that the Star Palace's various clans joining the Spirit Tide struggle at this time might not necessarily be a bad thing for them.

Because they were already at the bottom, if things continue at this pace, they are very likely to fall behind and be defeated in the spiritual tide.

The external interference actually created more opportunities, and they secretly harbored some expectations.

Correspondingly, the Ghost Valley Holy Land was in the worst mood!

Because they already held a leading position, they were the last to want any changes. The arrival of the Star Palace Hundred Clan shocked and worried everyone.

Liang, the sect leader, immediately took the lead in contacting the leaders of the four holy lands to meet and discuss the issue of the alien race.

The great battle over the lava sea was thus suspended, while a new storm was brewing in secret.

Lin Shan and Xiong Shan are currently swimming in the fourth layer of black mud.

After leaving the Tai Xuan Holy Land, they didn't want to return to the third level, so they chose to wander in a new space.

After the change of leadership at Tai Xuan Holy Land, they also discovered the secret of the earth vein essence and realized that the previous majority of the profits had been monopolized. Enraged, they punished Manager Wu and the Nascent Soul Elder behind him.

The two who had slipped away could not be found no matter how hard they searched, unaware that they were slowly approaching the fifth light in the darkness—the Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder of the Otherworldly Race. (End of Chapter)