Chapter 87

(Thanks to 'Zhuchunxue' for the generous donation, and thanks to 'Yutian Qianlong' for the support.)

Ding Qi thought about the Pre-natal Art and, while feeling happy, he also felt a bit troubled in his heart.

He instinctively realized that the Pre-natal Art he was cultivating should have subsequent techniques. However, if there was a day when he could truly complete the thirteenth level of the Pre-natal Art, Ding Qi had no idea how to continue his cultivation.

This made him quite troubled.

Not only was there the issue of the subsequent techniques of the Pre-natal Art, but Ding Qi also knew that if the Pre-natal Art he was cultivating was truly a transcendent technique, it would certainly not have only three methods of use.

There should be many other things he did not know about, besides the three methods.

Ding Qi thought about these things and finally smiled bitterly: "Cultivating the Pre-natal Art will become more difficult with each level. With these fifty Spirit-Gathering Pills and the herbs from the center of Qixia Mountain, I may not be able to cultivate to the thirteenth level. Thinking about these things now is still too early."

"Besides, there might be other gains in this underground palace."

As he walked through the corridor after the hall, Ding Qi looked at another stone door not far away, his face showing anticipation.

"I hope there will be more gains in the next room."

Thinking this, Ding Qi had already reached the end of the corridor and pushed open the stone door in front of him...

...

Half a day later, Zuo Yang stood in a hall with a cold expression.

The hall where Zuo Yang was now located had a subtle difference in structure from the halls and grand halls that Ding Qi and others encountered after entering the mechanism passage, but it was similar to the first hall they encountered after entering the underground palace.

Except for being much smaller in size compared to the first hall, the structure was nearly identical.

In the center of the hall, Zuo Yang was asking a Qingyun Sect disciple something.

"So, you were the only one who came out alive from the passage you entered." Zuo Yang asked the Qingyun Sect disciple in front of him with a cold expression.

The Qingyun Sect disciple, who looked uneasy, replied in a hushed tone: "Yes."

"Tell me what happened after you entered the passage and how the other two died." Zuo Yang took a deep breath and tried to ease his cold expression as he said.

Seeing Zuo Yang's expression slightly ease, the disciple, though he understood that the Sect Leader was merely suppressing his anger, still felt a bit relieved and said: "When we entered the passage under Elder Guan's arrangement, the initial part of the journey went smoothly, but later we encountered a mechanism..."

Zuo Yang listened to the Qingyun Sect disciple's account with a blank expression, but his heart was not as calm as his face showed.

"Indeed, all the passages are filled with mechanisms." After listening to the Qingyun Sect disciple's account, Zuo Yang sighed helplessly in his heart.

"Alright, you can rest now." After asking the Qingyun Sect disciple, Zuo Yang said.

After the Qingyun Sect disciple left, Zuo Yang looked around the walls of the hall with a cold expression.

The hall where Zuo Yang was now located was similar in structure to the first hall they encountered after entering the underground palace, but it also had significant differences.

The walls of this hall were evenly distributed with over a dozen stone doors. In this regard, it was somewhat similar to the small room where the Qingyun Sect was before entering the mechanism passage.

The Qingyun Sect disciple whom Zuo Yang had just questioned had recently come out from one of these stone doors and entered this hall.

This hall was clearly the final gathering place for the Qingyun Sect after passing through the mechanism passage.

As the skilled mechanism expert Qian Hufa had said, the Qingyun Sect indeed gathered in the same place deep in the underground palace after passing through the passage.

Of the dozen or so stone doors, only five had been opened. This meant that only five teams of the Qingyun Sect had passed through the mechanism passage so far.

Most of these teams, like the disciple just mentioned, had only one person lucky enough to avoid all the mechanisms and traps and come out, while most had already died inside.

Among all the people, only Zuo Yang's team came out of the mechanism passage unscathed.

Even Qian Hufa's team, skilled in mechanism techniques, had only three people come out of the passage, having lost one person in the mechanism passage.

Since the first team opened the stone door and entered this hall, nearly two hours had passed.

The remaining teams had not yet opened the stone doors and entered the hall. Zuo Yang and others did not even know if these people were alive or dead.

This made Zuo Yang's expression even more unpleasant.

Moreover, based on the situation in the mechanism passage that Zuo Yang knew, he had already prepared mentally for the possibility that the teams that had not yet entered the hall had all been lost inside.

"Lord Sect Leader, the mechanism passage we experienced is extraordinary. I think it will not be easy for us to leave the underground palace. Lord Sect Leader needs to make plans early." When Zuo Yang was frowning, Qian Hufa suddenly said beside him.

Hearing Qian Hufa's words, Zuo Yang could only smile bitterly and then said: "Even if Qian Hufa doesn't say it, I am well aware. Not just me, even the ordinary disciples are very clear. But what else can we do now except continue to explore? After all, if we continue to explore, we still have a chance to survive. If we stop, we will truly be trapped and die in the underground palace."

Zuo Yang had already thoroughly questioned those from the Qingyun Sect who had come out of the mechanism passage and entered the hall. He knew clearly what mechanisms and traps they had encountered in the passage and how they had managed to survive.

Qian Hufa originally wanted to say something more, but in the end, he opened his mouth and his expression turned into a bitter smile.

He understood that what Zuo Yang said was completely correct.

Besides Zuo Yang and Qian Hufa, the other Qingyun Sect high-ranking members who had passed through the mechanism passage were also gathered around the two, listening to their conversation, their faces showing distress.

Just as Zuo Yang and the other Qingyun Sect high-ranking members were about to discuss something further, a rumbling sound of a stone door being pushed open came from one direction.

A stone door opened on the wall.

After the previous five teams, a sixth team finally arrived at the hall, the gathering place.

Hearing the sound of the stone door being pushed open from the wall, Zuo Yang and others turned to look in the direction of the stone door. However, when they saw who came out of the stone door, their faces showed disappointment.

At this moment, Ding Qi, with a gloomy expression, pushed open the stone door and appeared from behind.