I asked you to go down the mountain and get married, not to shock the world!

Beneath the rift, the atmosphere was subtle.

When Luo Yang uttered that "Good," it seemed to drain most of his strength and also dissipate some of the tense atmosphere.

But a more complex atmosphere, filled with suspicion and vigilance, began to permeate the air.

The Qingcheng Yufa Sect disciples behind him exchanged glances. Although they breathed a sigh of relief, their gazes toward Jizhou and Ye Chuhan were still filled with distrust.

Ye Chuhan didn't care at all. He walked over with a grin and kicked the fellow disciple who was still pretending to be dead on the ground.

"Hey, stop lying around like a corpse, get back to the group, we still need you guys to lead the way."

The disciple hurriedly scrambled to his feet, covered in dust, and scurried back to the back of his own group.

“Now that the cooperation is established, we need to be frank.” Ji Zhou broke the silence and looked at Luo Yang.

"The crystals we encountered underground were destroyed, but the aura they emitted and the methods that caused the cultivators to disappear were definitely not formed naturally."

"Fellow Daoist Luo, your Qingcheng Imperial Law Sect has been lingering here for quite some time. Have you discovered anything about the unusual activity here? Or, when you were tracking us, did you notice any other abnormal areas?"

Luo Yang's expression was still not good, but since he had agreed to cooperate, he suppressed his resentment and said in a deep voice, "The orders our sect's previous teams received were to investigate the source of the anomalies and eliminate the hidden dangers. We did find several areas where the spiritual energy was abnormally chaotic and the monsters were behaving wildly, but these were only superficial and we did not go deep into the problem."

"The only thing that seems strange is... there is a valley in the northwest. The spiritual energy in the valley is abnormally abundant, but there are almost no living things, not even the chirping of insects. It is eerily quiet."

"We sent two teams to investigate, but they have not returned yet."

"Abundant spiritual energy but no living creatures?" Ye Chuhan stroked his chin. "It sounds like a trap, bait specifically designed to lure cultivators there."

Ji Zhou nodded in agreement: "Very likely. Those tentacles that devour spiritual energy might prefer this kind of environment. That valley is worth exploring."

Luo Yang snorted coldly: "Easy for you to say. That place is very eerie. My two teams of junior brothers went in and then disappeared without a trace. They couldn't even send out a distress talisman."

“That’s why we need to join forces.” Ji Zhou’s gaze was firm. “Acting alone is too risky. By combining our strengths, we can at least look out for each other.”

"If that valley is truly the key, perhaps we can find more clues, or even... rescue your people."

The words "rescue your fellow disciples" clearly touched the hearts of Luo Yang and his disciples.

Luo Yang was silent for a moment, then finally made up his mind: "Alright, we'll go there! But I warn you, if you dare to try anything funny..."

"Don't worry," Ye Chuhan interrupted him, patting his chest, "Although I don't like you guys very much, I never go back on my word."

"Besides, we're all in this together now. What good would it do us to harm you?"

The temporary community of shared interests has been initially established.

Both sides took a short break to treat their injuries and restore their spiritual power.

The atmosphere remained somewhat tense. The disciples of Qingcheng Yufa Sect gathered in separate groups, clearly separated from Ji Zhou and Ye Chuhan, with only occasional glances exchanged with scrutiny.

Half an hour later, the group set off, guided by Luo Yang, heading towards that eerie, silent valley.

The closer you get to the northwest, the sparser the surrounding trees become, and strange, pale rocks appear on the ground, as if eroded by some force.

The spiritual energy in the air was indeed becoming increasingly concentrated, even giving it a viscous feel.

But as Luo Yang said, the area was so desolate that it was unsettling.

Not to mention monsters, even birds and insects have disappeared. Only the wailing sound of the wind blowing through the pale stone pillars is like the weeping of ghosts!

"It's just ahead." Luo Yang stopped and pointed to a valley entrance shrouded in a light mist, nestled between two pale mountains.

The mist was not ordinary water vapor, but rather a dense, almost liquefied spiritual energy, making it impossible to see what was inside.

At the entrance of the valley, there were scattered fragments of magical artifacts and traces of a fight, left behind by the two disciples of the Qingcheng Yufa Sect.

"I'll go ahead."

Ji Zhou volunteered; he was perceptive and suitable for scouting.

Ye Chuhan followed closely behind, spiritual energy already flowing through her fingertips.

Luo Yang then signaled two disciples in better condition to stand guard at the valley entrance to provide support, while he and the rest of the men followed a few feet behind Ji Zhou and the others, both to provide support and to maintain a degree of vigilance.

The group cautiously stepped into the mist.

With their vision obstructed, their spiritual senses were also greatly disturbed, as if enveloped by viscous spiritual energy, making it difficult to extend too far.

Beneath my feet was soft, eerie white sand that made almost no sound when I stepped on it.

After walking about a hundred feet, the fog seemed to thin out a bit, and the sight before them made everyone gasp in astonishment…

The valley was not as barren as one might imagine, but rather filled with countless translucent objects of all sizes, resembling egg sacs!

They clung to the pale ground and rock walls, pulsating slightly, with distorted black shadows faintly visible inside.

In the very center of the valley, a gigantic, dark purple plant, resembling a vine yet wriggling slowly like a living thing, took root.

Its main trunk is inlaid with several dark red crystals of varying sizes.

It was exactly the same as the one that Jizhou and his group had destroyed before, only much smaller in size, but there were more of them!

This strange plant is connecting all the egg sacs in the valley through countless tiny purple veins, as if it is supplying them with nutrients, or rather... hatching something!

“More than one… core…” Ye Chuhan’s voice was hoarse.

Ji Zhou's eyes were extremely solemn: "It seems that what we destroyed before was only a sub-organism, or... an incubator. This is the real mother nest!"

In that instant, both of their hearts trembled violently!

They had already exerted tremendous effort to destroy that offspring, and they dared not imagine how much more effort they would have to expend next!

With such a terrifyingly large number, it's no wonder that even the Qingcheng Imperial Law Sect lost two entire teams!

For a moment, Ye Chuhan's voice trembled.

"Damn it, I should have brought more people. Now it's just the two of us from Qingfeng Yumen... If we die here, there won't be anyone to go back and collect our bodies!"

Ji Zhou rolled his eyes at him: "Shut up, stop talking nonsense. You're making up things that don't exist."

Just then, as if sensing the presence of living beings, the few egg sacs closest to them suddenly burst open, and several familiar, but darker in color and speckled with purple, black tentacles shot out like lightning, heading straight for Jizhou, who was at the head!

At the same time, all the dark red crystals on the mother plant in the center of the valley lit up with an ominous light!