Chapter 1199: Underground Hidden Immortal Sect

Ji Hongdao said proudly, "Rest assured, with me here, these people will certainly not dare to act so presumptuously again. Even the Chen family, I imagine, wouldn't dare to offend both the Array Stratagem Hall and the Protector Hall simultaneously."

Sun Luyuan cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll thank Brother Ji first. My destination for this trip is Fuguang Prefecture, the Grand Rift Valley."

A flicker of surprise crossed Ji Hongdao's eyes when he heard this, and he cautioned, "This journey might be somewhat complicated." Seeing Sun Luyuan's bewildered expression, he paused. "What, you don't know? Because of the previous great Xuanhuang upheaval, this Fuguang Grand Rift Valley has been compressed and sealed up again. The terrain has long been completely transformed. If you want to enter what was originally beneath the rift valley..."

Sun Luyuan's brow furrowed deeply. After a long silence, he sighed deeply, "Since that's the case, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Sun Luyuan, carrying the Boundless Mirror which had slightly recovered its vitality, followed Ji Hongdao, flying towards their destination in a streak of light. Their relationship was clearly extraordinary. On the way to the Fuguang Grand Rift Valley, he explained the reason for this trip to Ji Hongdao in detail. Of course, he somewhat downplayed and concealed the true power of the devastating wind disaster that had suddenly erupted from the Boundless Mirror.

"You suspect that the ruins where the Boundless Mirror was originally discovered were actually caused by the Boundless Mirror itself?" Not having personally witnessed the terrifying calamity, Ji Hongdao didn't dwell on it, merely regarding it as something capable of threatening cultivators at the Dao Integration stage.

"Exactly. Since it's the origin of the Boundless Mirror, perhaps we can find a way to counter its destructive calamities. As long as we find some records, even failed ones, they could serve as valuable lessons..."

As they were talking, their expressions simultaneously darkened. They had distinctly spotted a Dao Integration cultivator from the Chen family, who, as expected, was trailing behind them.

"It's Chen Ruoyu of the Chen family.""Don't get entangled with him. Shake him off," Ji Hongdao transmitted his voice.

A layer of white light enveloped them, and with the enhancement of an array formation, their speed suddenly surged, becoming many times faster in an instant. In the blink of an eye, they had vanished into the horizon. Seeing this, Chen Ruoyu also quickly accelerated in pursuit.

A moment later.

"Brother Ji's 'golden cicada shedding its shell' tactic is truly an excellent stratagem."

"Hmph, dealing with these fools who only know how to refine medicine is, of course, no problem."

Two phantoms suddenly materialized out of thin air and then flew off in a different direction.

Having shaken off the Chen family's pursuit, and after another good half day's journey, the two finally arrived at the so-called Fuguang Prefecture Grand Rift Valley. Sun Luyuan looked at the long, dragon-like mountain range rising from the ground, and his face couldn't help but twitch.

"I wonder if Brother Sun still remembers the exact location from back then?" Ji Hongdao asked.

Sun Luyuan thought back carefully. "I can only determine the general direction. The rest is up to luck."

Just then, Sun Luyuan suddenly sensed a message from his younger brother.

"Brother, move a bit closer downwards. I seem to have a faint sensation."

Sun Luyuan was overjoyed. He flew low, circling the mountain range, and quickly pinpointed the source of the sensation.

"Wait." Just as Sun Luyuan was about to forcibly burrow underground, Ji Hongdao stopped him. He took out a flying boat and said, "Get in."

"A Dust-Crossing Boat?!" Sun Luyuan was a little surprised, then climbed in without hesitation.

The Dust-Crossing Boat transformed into a yellow light, sinking slowly into the ground like ice melting into water. Looking at the constantly shifting layers of earth around them, and the many residual restrictive energies within the buried ruins, Sun Luyuan exclaimed, "It's a good thing we have your treasure, Brother Ji, otherwise it would have required quite a lot of effort."

Ji Hongdao nodded. "It's also a reward from Chief Lu. She's been at the Immortal Alliance headquarters recently and couldn't get away, so she ordered me to run errands for her."

The Dust-Crossing Boat continued its descent, its hull constantly colliding with buried objects in the geological layers. The hull's surface emitted a red-orange light, neutralizing the impacts. Meanwhile, Ji Hongdao constantly formed hand seals to set up arrays, increasing the Dust-Crossing Boat's defensive capabilities.

"Who knows what region this rift valley was in ancient times, to have so many ruins buried within it." It wasn't just architectural ruins; the deeper they went, the two occasionally saw large piles of bones. Some were human, others belonged to unknown giant creatures. Even these two well-traveled and knowledgeable individuals were secretly astonished.

"Brother, it seems this is the place!" When they were almost three thousand zhang deep underground, Sun Luyao finally spoke.

The Dust-Crossing Boat suddenly stopped. The pressure at this depth was already immense; a red halo continuously swirled outside the Dust-Crossing Boat, neutralizing the external pressure. Sun Luyuan and Ji Hongdao looked around but did not find the location of the ruins.

"The changes are too great; there's no trace of how it used to be. But the depth is indeed about the same," Sun Luyuan said.

Ji Hongdao also surveyed the surroundings. "Here... There seems to be something strange!" A circular array disk flew out from his pocket, hovering above his head and casting white light all around. Under the white light, Sun Luyuan could vaguely see some dark golden characters flashing past.

"There are still array remnants here," Sun Luyuan said, startled. Although he wasn't proficient in array formations, he still understood some basic principles.

"Brother, it seems we can enter here." Just as Ji Hongdao was using the array to scan the surroundings, trying to find the entrance, his younger brother, Sun Luyao, had found it ahead of time.

Ji Hongdao immediately shone the array disk's white light to verify. Sure enough, in a spot that appeared to be solid rock, the golden characters appeared with a higher frequency than anywhere else. Ji Hongdao closed his eyes and began to deduce. After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he let out a low shout and pointed forward. As if a talisman paper had been torn, countless golden characters shattered and dispersed. The Dust-Crossing Boat seized the opportunity and flew inside. The shattered characters, however, showed signs of re-adhering.

"No need to worry, this is a concealing array that absorbs underground energy and operates automatically. Looking at its array pattern, it's completely different from modern ones. It must be quite ancient. I've fully grasped its structure, so we can enter and exit at will," Ji Hongdao said proudly.

Sun Luyuan praised him repeatedly, "It was absolutely the right decision to ask Brother Ji for help this time! Otherwise, just this array would have troubled me for who knows how long. But what's a bit strange is that this array wasn't here when my brother and I came before..." Sun Luyuan suddenly became alert.

Inside the Boundless Mirror, listening to his brother and Ji Hongdao's conversation, Sun Luyao secretly glanced at the phantom figure not far away, his awe deepening. It had taken Ji Hongdao the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to break the array. But that senior... with just a glance, he had found the entrance. Indeed, his discovery of this place was naturally not due to any mere sensation. It was entirely due to the senior's guidance.

Li Fan's clone paid no mind to Sun Luyao's gaze, which was filled with both reverence and fear. While Sun Luyuan and Ji Hongdao were still carefully exploring the area, Li Fan, with the help of the Boundless Mirror, had already completed a full scan of the ruins the moment he arrived.

"The Yi Shi Sect?" Li Fan's tone was unreadable.