Chapter 497: Another Grotto Heaven

The Celestial Sound Sect?

The name sounded familiar to Shen Daoxing. He felt like he had seen it in the books on Pengze Immortal Island, but he couldn’t quite recall the details.

"It’s the same Celestial Sound Sect that our Cyan Nether Sword Sect destroyed three hundred years ago."

At that moment, Liu Ying’s voice whispered beside Shen Daoxing, reminding him.

The Celestial Sound Sect! ’So it’s *that* Celestial Sound Sect!’

Shen Daoxing immediately remembered.

Three hundred years ago, this region of Cangzhou wasn’t home to just the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. There was another powerful sect—the Celestial Sound Sect. It had once been incredibly prosperous, even eclipsing the Cyan Nether Sword Sect for a time. With its rise came ever-growing ambition, culminating in a brazen attempt to seize the Cyan Nether Sword Sect’s entire Celestial Essence Spirit Lake.

Fortunately, three hundred years ago, an Island Master from the Cyan Nether Sword Sect had suddenly risen to prominence. He joined forces with the other four Island Masters, and together, they finally destroyed the Celestial Sound Sect.

But here and now, in the Ancient Ruins of the Abyss, the Celestial Sound Sect’s disciples clearly far outnumbered those of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect and were much more powerful.

Qing Luan led Shen Daoxing and the others to hide in a patch of thorns. From there, they could see two Celestial Sound Sect Stewards guarding the entrance to the Celestial Essence Mine. Both were masters at the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm.

Outside, a middle-aged man who appeared to be the lead Steward of the Celestial Sound Sect was constantly urging the other Stewards to transport something out of the Celestial Essence Ore Vein.

Qing Luan didn’t let Shen Daoxing and the others linger at the entrance for long. Instead, they concealed themselves in the surrounding woods and undergrowth, circling around the entire Celestial Essence Mine until they reached a deserted area at the back.

Qing Luan swung her sword, lightly slicing forward. A patch of lush grass was cut away, revealing a deep, dark hole.

"This is a secret passage into the Celestial Essence Ore Vein."

Qing Luan turned her head with a charming smile, then leaped up and dove into the hole.

As for Fu Ren and Fu Yi, they were already eager to go down without needing Qing Luan’s prompting. However, with their stout figures, it took them quite a while to squeeze through.

Xuan Ye, on the other hand, remained on high alert, scanning the surroundings. Only after Shen Daoxing and Liu Ying had descended did he slowly move to bring up the rear.

After entering the passage, Qing Luan, who was leading the way, immediately turned and put a finger to her lips, signaling for everyone to be silent.

Qing Luan then led Shen Daoxing and the others carefully downward. Before long, they heard a "BANG! BANG!" from deep underground—it had to be the Celestial Sound Sect disciples mining the ore vein.

The tunnel Shen Daoxing and the others were in seemed to be an abandoned mine shaft. It looked old and was only wide enough for two or three people to walk side-by-side.

As they went deeper, the "BANG! BANG!" sounds grew clearer, and the group became even more cautious.

After a short while, Qing Luan led them to a dead end deep underground. She reached out and felt around the stone walls, then gave a light push, and a section of the wall swung open.

The view before them suddenly opened up, and a dazzling red light shone out from within.

Shen Daoxing was struck by a surging wave of Fire Elemental Energy, so explosive it felt as if he were standing in Hell’s Unceasing Refining Fire. The blood and Spiritual Power throughout his body threatened to boil over.

Shen Daoxing found himself deeply drawn to this power.

But aside from Shen Daoxing, neither Qing Luan nor Xuan Ye showed any strange reaction; it seemed they didn’t feel a thing.

At this moment, everyone’s eyes lit up, and they couldn’t wait to step inside.

Before them was a spacious cavern. The walls were lined with fiery red Crystal Stones that glowed with a shimmering, iridescent light. It was a top-grade Fire Source Ore Vein. Although it seemed to have been mined long ago, a considerable amount remained.

Without waiting for Qing Luan to speak, Fu Ren and Fu Yi’s eyes were already gleaming. They raised their Treasure Swords and eagerly began hacking off pieces of Fire Source Ore, stuffing them into their bags.

Meanwhile, Qing Luan found an empty spot to sit down and meditate to recover from her injuries. She had been wounded quite badly in the previous battle.

Xuan Ye silently moved to Qing Luan’s side, seemingly standing guard.

Shen Daoxing flipped his palm, summoned the Great Ming Demon Sparrow, and with a swing of his sword, hacked off a Fire Source Crystal Stone from near the entrance.

Shen Daoxing held it in his hand and could feel that this Fire Source Ore was of even higher quality than what he had obtained in the Celestial Essence Ore Vein in the nation of Tianze.

But when Shen Daoxing held the ore, all he felt was a gentle warmth, not the scorching heat that had felt like it would set his entire body ablaze. ’This isn’t that power.’

Shen Daoxing couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

Just then, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat in Shen Daoxing’s robes started squeaking and poked its round little head out from his chest.

As a "foodie," how could the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat possibly miss out on such a top-grade Fire Source Ore Vein? It leaped out with a SWOOSH.

But this time, the gluttonous creature, which usually ate anything, showed no interest at all in the Fire Source Ore nearby. It scurried straight to the very back of the cave, stopping in front of a stone wall that looked perfectly ordinary.

Curious, Shen Daoxing followed it.

The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat let out a "SQUEAK SQUEAK," then eagerly began to dig at the ground with its claws. In no time, it had excavated a large hole.

The moment the pit appeared, Shen Daoxing froze. He immediately felt the blood and Spiritual Power in his body begin to boil once more. He felt that familiar, scorching power again.

Shen Daoxing smiled faintly and, without hesitation, leaped down into the hole.

「Meanwhile.」

Seeing Shen Daoxing walk deeper into the cave, Fu Ren was startled and quickly shouted, "Junior Brother, don’t wander off! This area is full of Celestial Sound Sect disciples! We snuck in here, we can’t let them discover us!"

But by then, Shen Daoxing had already leaped into the hole dug by the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat and had suddenly vanished from sight.

Fu Ren, Qing Luan, and the others stared blankly for a moment, then cried out in alarm and hurried after him. "Junior Brother!"

They too leaped up and dove into the hole in the ground.

The rock walls around them rushed upward as Fu Ren, Qing Luan, and the others fell rapidly.

After a moment, they landed with a THUD. The scene before them suddenly opened up again into a brightly lit space. A great, roaring fire flickered before their eyes, accompanied by a scorching heat that felt like it would burn their entire bodies, as if they had arrived in Purgatory.

Looking forward, they saw a massive chasm that had split open deep underground. At the same time, molten lava was flowing slowly at the bottom.

Above the chasm, an ethereal blue flame flickered into existence without any warning. A single glance was enough to feel a wave of heat wash over them, so intense it felt as if the very blood and Spiritual Power in their bodies would boil—no, as if their very souls would boil.

So there was another world hidden down here.