The Inner Valley

“This is the inner valley?” Looking at everything in front of him, Han Li could not help but mutter to himself with a strange expression.

About 100 feet behind him, there was a cliff that was over 10,000 feet tall. At the bottom of the cliff, there was a small cave.

It had only been a short while since Han Li walked out of the cave.

Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying stood side by side and looked at the scene in front of them with astonishment.

In front of them was a huge mountain range with countless mountain ranges of various sizes. It seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, but at the same time, it was a colorful world.

Regardless of whether it was the sky or the open space, there were patches of faint light floating everywhere.

These patches of faint light were of different colors and sizes. The larger ones were several kilometers in size, like the sunset in the sky, while the smaller ones were only a few feet in length. They were like thin gauze and were all exceptionally gorgeous. What surprised Han Li and the others was not the clouds, but the extremely chaotic spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in this place. Regardless of the attributes of the spiritual Qi, they were mixed together and gave off an irritable and uneasy feeling, as if a light touch could anger them.

Marquis Nanlong let out a long sigh and said, “This place is truly worthy of being a place where ancient cultivators fought. Even the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth here has been completely destroyed. As such, no matter who casts a spell here, they will most likely be affected.”

“These are secondary. The most important things are those. They are the real trouble.” Han Li suddenly raised his hand and pointed to a certain spot in the sky as he said with a bitter smile.

Several thousand feet away from them, there were a dozen or so foot-long objects slowly floating in the air.

Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying were greatly shocked upon seeing these items.

“How can there be so many spatial tears? They can even move on their own!” Lu Weiying cried out.

Han Li glanced at Marquis Nanlong and chuckled, “This is normal. Since this is an ancient battlefield, it is only to be expected that there will be more spatial tears than on the outside. Otherwise, how could so many exceptional Nascent Soul cultivators have been unable to return? In order to prevent any mishaps, we can only follow Master Cang Kun’s route. Otherwise, hehe…”

Marquis Nanlong pondered for a moment before calming down. “Brother Han’s words are reasonable. We mustn’t take unnecessary risks. Who knows where the invisible spatial tears will appear? However, these slithering spatial tears may sound terrifying, but so long as we pay attention to them, they won’t pose a threat at their speed.”

“However, the spatial tears here are at least ten times denser than those in the outside world. Furthermore, Brother Nanlong’s method can only be considered reliable if the invisible spatial tears don’t wander around. If they run around like those open spatial tears, the map left behind by Master Cang Kun might not be reliable right now.” Lu Weiying frowned as he stared at another area with dense spatial tears.

Han Li was stunned when he heard this. He tilted his head slightly, and the blue light in his eyes shone brightly. Immediately, he discovered a blurry arc of light floating motionlessly in the air more than 1,000 feet away.

Han Li stared at the invisible spatial rift for a moment before calming down.

But just as he was pondering whether or not he should reveal this information to the two of them and how, Marquis Nanlong saw Han Li’s contemplative expression and misunderstood. After a moment of hesitation, he said something that surprised Han Li.

“Fellow Daoists, don’t worry. Those invisible cracks won’t move. Master Cang Kun’s statement confirmed this.”

“Brother Nanlong, are you sure about this? How did Master Cang Kun find out about this?” Lu Weiying asked doubtfully.

Marquis Nanlong calmly said, “Brother Lu, how do you think Master Cang Kun was able to leave Devilfall Valley unscathed when his vitality was greatly damaged? This was all thanks to a divine ability he cultivated in the past that allowed him to sense the existence of spatial tears. Otherwise, let alone the heavily injured Master Cang Kun, he wouldn’t have been able to safely leave even during his peak.”

After hearing this explanation, the old man’s expression relaxed and he felt much more at ease.

“There’s actually such a secret technique in this world! If that’s the case, it wasn’t a fluke that Master Cang Kun was able to walk out of Devilfall Valley back then.”

Han Li’s expression also changed, as if he had also heaved a sigh of relief.

When Marquis Nanlong saw this, he felt relieved. He was afraid that Han Li and his companion would have any thoughts of retreating.

Especially Han Li, whom he could not see through at all. He was definitely the main force to deal with the Fire Toad. Marquis Nanlong had to pull him forward.

Marquis Nanlong wore a serious expression and said, “Alright! We should go. According to the statement, the Fire Toad’s nest is an entire day’s journey away from here. Please be careful on the way.”

Han Li smiled and said, “Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Nanlong. Fellow Daoist Lu and I cherish our lives.”

Lu Weiying nodded.

“That’s good. We’ve already wasted a lot of time. Let’s go,” Marquis Nanlong said with satisfaction.

Afterwards, he identified his bearings and golden light flashed from his body. He floated up into the air before slowly flying off in a certain direction.

Han Li and the old man glanced at each other and also rose into the air, following closely behind Marquis Nanlong.

At this moment, even if they flew tens of feet in the wrong direction, they might trigger a spatial tear or an ancient restriction. Han Li and the old man were naturally extremely careful.

Along the way, Marquis Nanlong’s flight path was extremely strange. Sometimes, he flew in a straight line, and at other times, he had to fly in a large circle. Regardless of the trajectory, he would stop after every two hours to determine his direction before setting off again.

On the way, he didn’t take out any jade slips. It was clear that he had already memorized the map.

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but he secretly memorized every step of the route in his mind. If there were any sudden changes, this was a way to save his life. He reckoned that Lu Weiying was most likely doing the same thing.

After all, cultivators had cultivated the most basic of five-elemental cultivation arts, so they had a photographic memory. Memorizing these routes was as easy as blowing off dust.

Just as Marquis Nanlong had said, they didn’t encounter any danger after flying for more than half a day.

Han Li gradually relaxed. It seemed that Marquis Nanlong had truly obtained Master Cang Kun’s map.

At that moment, he was following Marquis Nanlong. While memorizing the flight path, he was also using his spiritual sense to sense his surroundings.

He estimated that along the way, there were at least three to four places with strong restriction fluctuations. There were also a few places he was uncertain about. Han Li was unable to determine whether they were restrictions or abnormalities caused by the chaotic spiritual Qi here.

Han Li was naturally very interested in these places. He also knew that there were most likely treasures left behind by ancient cultivators. If he made a trip there, he would most likely gain a lot.

However, Han Li was only slightly tempted, but he immediately extinguished his eagerness to give it a try.

This was because the more he studied ancient formations, the more he feared ancient restrictions.

From his understanding of ancient formations, he was well aware of how powerful ancient restrictions were. They were even more threatening than spatial tears.

Even if he was able to avoid all spatial tears with his eyes, he was still unwilling to risk his life to activate those ancient restrictions. With his current vision, ordinary ancient treasures were no longer worthy of his attention.

Furthermore, if he could obtain the Fire Toad’s demon core, the ancient cultivator’s remains, the Spirit Kindle Fruit, and the large amount of Silverstar Sand at the entrance of the cave, it would already be considered a huge harvest.

Thus, after weighing the pros and cons, Han Li gave up on the risk without any hesitation.

When he swept his gaze past his companions, he discovered that Lu Weiying’s expression was somewhat gloomy and he frequently glanced into the distance.

Han Li sighed in his heart.

It appeared that if this guy was unable to obtain what he wanted from the ancient cultivator’s remains, he would most likely search through the inner valley.

Han Li could not say that the other party was too greedy. Han Li questioned himself. If his lifespan was about to end, he would also seize this opportunity to take a risk.

After all, if he succeeded, his lifespan would be greatly extended. Or, his cultivation technique would advance by leaps and bounds.

When Han Li thought of this, he could not help but feel a trace of sadness.

However, right at this moment, Marquis Nangong, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and looked straight ahead with an indecisive expression.

When Han Li saw this, he frowned and had a bad feeling.

He then turned to look at Marquis Nanlong’s back in silence.

Below them was a small mountain that was over 1,000 feet tall. It was quite ordinary and there was nothing special about it. In front of them, there were two extremely tall mountain ridges on either side that were quite eye-catching.

Marquis Nanlong had clearly said that they would arrive at the Fire Toad’s nest in a day’s time, but only half a day had passed, so this place was naturally not their destination.

When Lu Weiying saw this, he couldn’t help but reveal an astonished expression.

A cautious expression appeared on Lu Weiying’s face as he asked, “Brother Nanlong, what happened? Why aren’t we advancing?”

When Marquis Nanlong heard this, he slowly turned around and looked at Han Li and the old man with a bitter smile.

“Fellow Daoists, I think we may have encountered some trouble. Perhaps we will have to take some risks.”

“What? Brother Nanlong, what do you mean?” The old man’s white eyebrows stirred and he wore a bewildered expression.

Han Li rubbed his nose and did not say anything, but his face also revealed a trace of inquiry.

Marquis Nanlong pointed to the two mountains in the distance and slowly asked, “Fellow Daoists, do you see the two mountains in the distance?”

“Of course. Could it be that the trouble has something to do with them?” Lu Weiying asked with surprise.

“That’s right, it’s because of them,” Marquis Nanlong confirmed.