95: Chapter 95 Observing the Snipe and Clam Seize the Opportunity, Probing the Cracks to Explore the Truth

On the opposite side of the rift valley, the battle was intensifying.

The three members of the Bone Demon Sect launched a continuous offensive, relying on their insidious Cultivation Technique and fearless skeletal Puppets.

The four shapeshifted Yao Race generals relied on their formidable Physical Body, strange innate Demonic Technique, and tacit cooperation to defend and counterattack.

Both sides were evenly matched in cultivation, each using different methods, making it hard to determine the victor for the time being. The fighting sent sand and stones flying, Yin Qi spilled everywhere, and the deafening roars from the collision of Spells and Demonic Qi were incessant.

Ye Qing hid behind a giant beast bone, watching coldly, his Divine Sense firmly locked onto the rock fissure beside the battlefield.

The Earth and Yin Spiritual Qi leaking from the fissure fluctuated in strength with the impact of the battle's aftermath, clearly linked to the state of the Restriction or Spiritual Vein below.

"Fight, keep fighting. It would be best if you both suffer mutual destruction, saving me the trouble of doing it myself."

He felt no ripples in his heart, waiting patiently.

The battle lasted for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

The Disciple of the Bone Demon Sect at the Foundation Establishment Perfection Stage seemed eager for quick success, controlling the strongest-aura skeletal Puppet to launch a fierce attack on the lead wolf Yao general, while he himself formed hand Seals and chanted, preparing to unleash some insidious secret technique.

A fierce glint flashed in the wolf Yao general's eyes; instead of dodging, he took the skeletal Puppet's strike head-on. His chest was clawed with several bloody gashes deep enough to see bone, but he used the momentum to lunge forward, biting fiercely into the protective spiritual light the Bone Demon Sect Disciple had hastily erected!

Crack!

The protective spiritual light shattered at the sound.

The wolf Yao's fangs pierced deeply into his neck, and with a violent jerk!

Blood sprayed wildly. The Bone Demon Sect Disciple let out a short, miserable scream, his head and body connected by only a sliver of skin and flesh. The light in his eyes quickly dimmed, and his corpse collapsed softly to the ground.

"Senior Brother!" The other two Bone Demon Sect Disciples were furious, their eyes splitting with rage.

However, the wolf Yao general also paid a price. Where the skeletal Puppet had clawed his chest, pitch-black corpse poison was spreading rapidly, causing the flesh of the wound to quickly turn black and rot; clearly, the skeletal Puppet's claws were coated with deadly poison.

"Big Brother!" The other wolf Yao, along with the eagle Yao and snake Yao, saw this and intensified their attacks, attempting to force back their opponents to rescue their injured companion.

The remaining two members of the Bone Demon Sect were shocked and furious. Seeing their leader fall, they felt the urge to retreat, but they were tightly entangled by the Yao Race and unable to escape for the moment.

The situation on the battlefield shifted instantly.

Ye Qing's gaze narrowed slightly. Now is the time!

His figure flickered, as if merging into the shadows. Under the cover of the swirling sand and chaotic Spiritual Qi fluctuations, he executed "Void Step," silently traversing several hundred zhang and appearing instantly beside the rock fissure.

The entire process was as fast as a ghost, without attracting any attention from the two sides engaged in fierce combat.

The fissure was only a foot wide, extending inward and bottomless. Cold Earth and Yin Spiritual Qi seeped out like a tangible substance, freezing to the bone. On the edge of the fissure, there were fresh traces of a forcibly broken Restriction, clearly caused by someone having broken in before.

"It seems someone has already gone inside. Was it the Bone Demon Sect, or the Yao Race? Or... other forces?"

Ye Qing did not hesitate. He took a "void concealment pill," suppressed his aura to the extreme, turned his body slightly, and slipped into the fissure like a swimming fish.

Inside, the fissure was initially very narrow, only wide enough for one person to crawl.

After descending about ten zhang, it suddenly opened up, revealing a naturally formed, rough, downward-sloping tunnel.

The four walls of the tunnel were made of pitch-black, ice-cold rock, with a thin layer of shimmering, grayish-white frost crystals on the surface, caused by the crystallization of dense Yin Qi. The air was bone-chillingly cold, and the Yin Sha Qi was several times denser than outside, suppressing his Divine Sense detection range to less than a hundred zhang.

Ye Qing was cautious, condensing his Divine Sense into a line to scout the path ahead, while the "Void Dao Seed" sensed the surrounding energy flow and spatial stability.

The tunnel wound downwards, seemingly leading to the extreme depths of the underground.

Along the way, he saw several traces of recent battles—scorched Spell residues on the rock walls, scattered bone fragments and Yao blood, and even a shriveled corpse wearing the attire of the Bone Demon Sect, leaning against the rock wall with a bloody hole in its forehead. It had long since perished, and the corpse, eroded by Yin Qi, appeared grey and decayed.

"Sure enough, conflict has already erupted below, and there have been casualties."

He became even more vigilant, avoiding the corpse and continuing his descent.

After traveling another hundred zhang or so, weak light and clearer Spiritual Qi fluctuations could be faintly felt ahead, along with... the indistinct, dull rumbling and shrill ghost wails that seemed to come from deep underground.

"Almost there."

Ye Qing slowed his speed, his figure completely merging into the shadows of the rock wall as he quietly approached.

At the end of the tunnel was a huge natural cavern illuminated by dark green phosphorus fire.

The cavern was dozens of zhang high and as wide as a small plaza, with the ground covered in craggy rocks and mountains of pale white bones. In the center of the cavern, the ground dipped downward, forming a massive, bottomless sinkhole. Dense, grayish-black Yin Sha Qi, like a tangible liquid, surged out from the sinkhole, permeating the entire cavern.

At the edge of the sinkhole stood several thick, pitch-black stone pillars inscribed with ancient, twisted runes. The spiritual light on the surface of the pillars was dim, with many damaged cracks; they were clearly ancient Restriction formation bases, but they were now broken and incomplete, their power greatly reduced.

At this moment, the cavern was not empty.

On the side near the sinkhole stood three Cultivators.

The leader was an old man wearing the black robe of a Bone Demon Sect deacon, with a withered face, deep-set eye sockets, and an aura as cold and venomous as a snake. His cultivation had remarkably reached the Golden Core Early Stage! Behind him followed two Bone Demon Sect Disciples at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, both looking vigilant and carrying injuries.

On the other side of the sinkhole, behind a pile of rocks some distance away, two vague figures could be faintly seen lurking, emitting a faint Demonic Qi. They were clearly shapeshifted Yao Race generals, with cultivation also at the Golden Core level, seemingly observing in secret and not appearing immediately.

In the center of the cavern, near the sinkhole, seven or eight corpses lay scattered about. There were Bone Demon Sect Disciples, shapeshifted Yao Race generals, and even two corpses of Loose Cultivators wearing other attire of unknown Origin. Clearly, more than one fierce battle had erupted here before.

At this moment, everyone's gaze was focused on the center of the sinkhole, within the churning grayish-black Yin Qi.

Deep within the dense Yin Qi, a huge phantom, condensed from pure Earth and Yin Spiritual Qi and resembling a giant Dragon of the Spiritual Vein, could be faintly seen swimming and struggling slowly. The phantom emitted a vast, pure, yet boundless cold and dead Spiritual Pressure; it was the main body of the sealed "yin vein"!

Around the phantom of the yin vein, on the four walls and the bottom of the sinkhole, countless more ancient, complex, pale golden rune chains that emitted heart-palpitating spatial and Seal fluctuations appeared and disappeared, entangling and binding the yin vein, forming a powerful Restriction Seal.

But at this moment, those pale golden rune chains were dim and broken in many places, causing the aura of the yin vein to leak out and creating many weak points in the Seal.

"It really is a sealed yin vein! Judging by its scale and aura, it is at least a medium-sized Spiritual Vein, and of extremely high quality! It is a great tonic for the Cave Heaven World!" Ye Qing was shaken in his heart, suppressing his excitement, and continued to observe while hidden.

He saw that the Bone Demon Sect Golden Core deacon was currently holding a pale white bone banner, constantly casting Spells toward the phantom of the yin vein in the sinkhole. The bone banner flickered with eerie light, emitting a force that absorbed Yin souls and ghost Qi, attempting to draw out and strip away the pure Yin Qi from the yin vein.

However, whenever the eerie light of the bone banner touched the yin vein, those dim pale golden rune chains would light up slightly, emitting a low hum, dispersing most of the bone banner's power. Clearly, even if the Seal was damaged, it was not so easy to extract the essence of the yin vein.

"Damn it! The remaining power of this ancient 'Yin-Suppressing Dragon-Locking Formation' is still not small! Relying on myself alone, it is difficult to quickly break through the core Restriction and extract the Origin of the yin vein!" The Withered Elder's face looked ugly as he cursed in a low voice.

"Revered Master, why not... use that thing?" A Disciple behind him suggested cautiously.

A flash of pain and hesitation crossed the old man's eyes, but he finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "It must be so! This place is not suitable for a long stay; delay will bring changes! Set up the 'Nine Nether Yin-Gathering Formation' to help me activate the 'Seal-Breaking Awl'!"

The two Disciples hurriedly agreed, took out several small black Formation Flags, and began to set up the formation at the edge of the sinkhole.

The two Yao generals lurking behind the rocks on the other side seemed to have also sensed the Bone Demon Sect's intentions, began to communicate in secret, and their Demonic Qi fluctuations became active, clearly preparing to interfere or seize the prize.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. And there is the Yao Race watching like tigers eyeing their prey. This Withered Elder wants to forcibly break the Restriction and extract the Origin of the yin vein; it won't be that easy."

Ye Qing calculated rapidly in his heart.

Should he wait for them to suffer mutual destruction and then seize it?

Or... catch them off guard and do something in secret first, such as using "Void Restriction Tampering Technique" to slightly influence that broken "Yin-Suppressing Dragon-Locking Formation," or leave his own "Void Imprint" at the weak points of the yin vein Seal to pave the way for subsequent actions?

"To be safe, do not intervene directly yet. Observe in secret and wait for an opportunity. If there is a chance, try to leave an imprint at the weak points of the Seal, which will be convenient for future sensing, positioning, and even... triggering it at a critical moment."

He made up his mind, suppressed his aura even more carefully, and at the same time attached a wisp of Divine Sense to the power of the "Void Dao Seed," drifting slowly toward the edge of the sinkhole like the finest dust, toward those broken, dim pale golden rune chains, searching for suitable, imperceptible nodes.

Inside the cavern, the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

The Bone Demon Sect Disciples' "Nine Nether Yin-Gathering Formation" was about to be completed. In The Withered Elder's hand, there was already a bone awl about a foot long, pitch-black all over, with a tip flashing with a chilling, intimidating cold light—the "Seal-Breaking Awl," which emitted a heart-palpitating aura of breaking magic.

On the opposite side behind the rocks, two Yao general figures also slowly stood up, their Demonic Qi surging secretly, clearly preparing to make a move.

A great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

Ye Qing was like the most patient hunter, hiding in the darkness, waiting quietly for the opportunity.