Chapter 444

Hun Yuan Xue snorted, but said nothing.

As long as we can fight, it doesn't matter what cultivation technique we practice.

Once the True Immortal Battlefield trip is over, we'll just return with her to the Hun family for retraining and that'll be it.

About half an hour later, the sixteen each selected a desired technique, and the Transmission Hall's formation automatically sent them outside.

Lei Qianjue's group raced westward across the Di Si Ceng Da Lu, beginning to search for clues to the secret key.

"Hmph, a bunch of rabble!"

Hun Yuan Xue disdainfully snorted,

"Gu Yuan, let's head south! I, Miss, just don't believe that with our combined strength we still can't get the secret key!"

And shortly after everyone left.

From behind the Transmission Hall, an extremely muffled boom suddenly rang, as if a colossal beast had been uprooted.

Immediately after, the grand Transmission Hall began to dematerialize and collapse at a visibly rapid pace!

"Burp……"

Gu Yuan himself stood on the empty ruins, patted his belly, and satisfiedly let out a big burp.

In his inner world, a ninety‑nine‑story library filled with ancient heavenly scrolls, original texts, and peerless divine techniques was steadily settled beneath the canopy of the World Tree, exuding endless Dao resonance.

"Limiting each person to one? The heavenly formation is so rigid; if I moved the house away, wouldn't the formation have no one to punish?"

Gu Yuan himself sighed proudly, then turned his gaze westward.

"The World Tree just sensed that the west has a prime Geng‑metal Immortal vein, perfect for strengthening the Five Elements Law in my inner world. Let's go."

He tugged his hood, merged into the void, and leisurely headed west.

…

Di Si Ceng Da Lu, west.

Here lies an endless range of metallic mountains, the rocks composed of various rare celestial gold ores, radiating a dazzling sharpness.

Deep within the range is a bottomless massive chasm called the Geng‑metal Immortal Abyss.

Lei Qianjue, Mo Wuxin and others were at the edge of the abyss at this moment.

"I just used thunder technique to probe; at the bottom of this abyss there is a massive Law Wave, and a faint Geng‑metal killing aura of the White Tiger seeps out. The White Tiger secret key is very likely hidden below," Lei Qianjue said gravely.

Mo Wuxin twirled his folding fan, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes:

"Then what are we waiting for? Going down will tell us."

"Be careful, the killing aura of this Geng‑metal abyss is too heavy; my Wind Law is severely suppressed here. Moreover… I keep feeling something moving below."

"What could be there? At most some native beasts guarding the key. Against absolute power, they're all just chicken‑scrap!"

Lei Qianjue let out a cold snort, his ninety‑eight Immortal veins roared to life, the true form of the Thunder Emperor manifested, turning into a three‑zhang‑tall Thunder War God, and leapt headfirst into the abyss.

The four passed through the thick Geng‑metal mist, descended tens of thousands of zhang, and finally reached the abyss's bottom.

However, when they saw the scene at the bottom, all three were stunned.

No fierce beast guarding the key as imagined.

Nor any earth‑shattering ultimate formation.

At the bottom, there was only one person.

A mysterious figure in a loose black robe, hood covering the face, not a single breath leaking out.

At that moment, the black‑robed man, back to them, swung hundreds of chaotic‑aura mining picks of unknown origin, targeting the dragon‑like prime Geng‑metal Immortal vein coiled at the bottom, frantically… mining!

Each strike knocked down a massive chunk of prime Geng‑metal Immortal marrow large enough to spark a scramble among true immortals, which then vanished instantly, evidently stored in some spatial artifact.

What made the three of Lei Qianjue's party's scalp tingle was that the prime Geng‑metal Immortal vein seemed sentient, wildly thrashing and roaring, emitting terrifying Geng‑metal sword qi capable of slaying late‑stage true immortals.

Yet the sword qi that struck the black‑robed man vanished like a cow into the sea; not even a corner of his robe was lifted.

"You… who are you?!"

Lei Qianjue's pupils contracted sharply, and he shouted fiercely.

His first reaction was to sense the inner‑door jade badge aura on the other.

Because on this fourth layer, only those bearing an inner‑door jade badge are not repelled by the Law.

But there was none!

The black‑robed man's body was spotless; not only was there no inner‑door jade badge aura, there wasn't even a trace of a karmic thread!

"No jade badge? You're not one of our sixteen! How did you get up here?!"

Mo Wuxin also folded away his wicked grin, his gaze turning extremely solemn.

The descendant of the Ancient Divine Mountain calmly stepped back half a pace, clutching a life‑saving jade talisman.

Gu Yuan himself, engrossed in mining, heard the voice behind him and paused slightly.

He turned; his face under the hood was shrouded in shadow, only a pair of water‑calm eyes gave the three a faint glance.

"Oh? It's you then."

Gu Yuan's voice, deliberately disguised, became wavering, bearing an ancient timbre weathered by ages,

"Young ones, don't let your temper flare so much. I'm just a passing miner; you hunt for your secret key, I mine my ore—let the well water not disturb the river. How about that?"

"A passing miner?"

Lei Qianjue laughed bitterly in anger.

A flash of insight struck his mind, instantly recalling the plundered treasure sites of the first and second layers, and the uprooted medicinal gardens and mineral veins!

"It's you! The thief of the first and second layers is you!!"

"Fine! Truly a case of breaking iron shoes to no avail, yet you got it without effort! You scoundrel, daring to use shady means to infiltrate the fourth layer, and still brazenly boast here!"

Mo Wuxin also recovered, licking his lips, his eyes blazing:

"Brother Lei, this fellow likely harbors the fortunes of the first three layers! If we can capture him…"

"Less talk! Attack!"

Lei Qianjue never gave Gu Yuan a chance to explain; he was too eager for those stolen Immortal King artifacts and destinies. As long as he captured the person before him, Lei Qianjue would be the biggest winner of this True Immortal Battlefield!

Boom!

Lei Qianjue instantly surged upward, ninety‑eight celestial veins resonating in unison, and the Thunder Emperor's true form unleashed a sky‑splitting, earth‑shattering violet‑black thunder. In his hand he formed a Thunder Punishment Spear stretching a hundred zhang, locked onto Gu Yuan himself's vital energy, and with the force that could pierce the Star River, he hurled it fiercely!

"Thunder Punishment, Exterminate Evil!"

At the same time, Mo Wuxin also moved.

He formed seals with both hands, and behind him a bizarre phantom of a thousand‑handed, thousand‑eyed demon god materialized. Endless pink, seductive demonic aura turned into millions of chains that snaked in from all directions toward Gu Yuan himself, attempting to block his retreat.

"Ten Thousand Demons Bind Heaven!"

Facing the full‑force onslaught of the two supreme prodigies, Gu Yuan himself merely let out a light sigh.

"Young people these days really have no manners at all."