"Hmm???"
The Demon Sect Young Master raised an eyebrow in surprise and exclaimed, "This?"
"This is the guardian beast of this Demon Sect branch!"
The Demon Sect Priest also shouted in shock, "How could it have died here?"
"This is clearly within the boundaries of the Demon Sect branch!"
"Could it be..."
"The Hongjiang Demon Sect branch has been invaded by an external enemy!"
The two maidservants screamed, "Young Master! What should we do?"
"Could it be..."
A terrible thought crossed the Demon Sect Young Master's mind, "Has the blood altar of this Demon Sect branch already been destroyed?"
"No!"
The Demon Sect Priest shouted, "That cannot happen!"
"This blood altar is crucial to the resurrection of the Demon Lord! If even one blood altar is compromised, our Holy Sect's plan to awaken the Demon Lord within six months will be ruined!"
"Rebuilding a blood altar would take at least half a year! By then, the war between the cultivation world in Zhao Kingdom won't wait for us!"
"We must go!"
The Demon Sect Young Master shouted, "Let's go check on the state of the blood altar!"
...
Deep within the Hongjiang Demon Sect branch, near the blood altar.
Lin Li had fled to this point, and along the way, he noticed many traces of battle left behind from when the Three Great Daoist Sects had been chased.
Finally, Lin Li came upon the destroyed blood altar!
The ruins of the blood altar had several large and small cracks.
"Given the situation, I can only hide for now. Once the strong enemies leave, I'll figure out what to do next."
With that thought, Lin Li rushed to the ruins of the blood altar, roughly pushed aside a large stone, and hid beneath it, using the stone to cover himself.
...
A few moments later.
"Huh?"
Lin Li was surprised to discover that underneath his hiding spot, there was a secret chamber about two meters wide and one and a half meters tall, leading deeper underground.
Just as Lin Li was marveling at his discovery, the four members of the Demon Sect arrived in front of the blood altar ruins.
"No!!!"
The Demon Sect Young Master screamed in anguish when he saw the remains of the blood altar.
The Demon Sect Priest's expression also turned grim.
The two beautiful women, standing on either side of the Demon Sect Young Master, embraced him softly and whispered, "Young Master..."
"Damn it!"
The Demon Sect Young Master, who had once appeared ethereal and handsome, suddenly became violent, his expression savage. "Who?! Who dares to ruin my plans?!"
Although Lin Li wasn't as well-informed as Wei Heng and the other captains, who could recognize the identities of the Demon Sect Young Master and the Priest, just by looking at them, Lin Li could tell that the Demon Sect Priest was extremely formidable...
The feeling the priest gave Lin Li was similar to that of his own master, Elder Zou—wise and commanding!
Suddenly!
The Demon Sect Priest furrowed his brow.
"Who's there?!"
He shouted angrily, "Who is hiding in the shadows, too afraid to reveal themselves?!"
"Damn it!"
Lin Li's heart tightened. "I didn't expect that just by observing them, I would be noticed. This guy is truly powerful!"
"No choice... I have to do this!"
Without hesitation, Lin Li dashed into the narrow underground passage, about two meters wide and one and a half meters tall.
At the same time, the Demon Sect Priest struck his staff, sending a beam of yellow light toward the place where Lin Li had just been hiding.
Boom!
The pile of stones from the blood altar ruins exploded!
"Strange..."
The Demon Sect Priest frowned, "I could've sworn I sensed someone spying on us from that spot."
"Priest..."
The Demon Sect Young Master interrupted with some surprise, "Look!"
"Huh?"
The Demon Sect Priest raised his eyebrows, "Why is there a secret path here?"
The once narrow underground passage, two meters wide and one and a half meters tall, had been revealed by the priest's attack, leaving it much more spacious inside with steps leading downward.
"Why would there be a secret path beneath the blood altar?"
The Demon Sect Priest wondered aloud, "I've never heard of such a passage existing below the blood altar before!"
"Most of the blood altars, except for the main one at the headquarters, have been passed down since ancient times."
The Demon Sect Young Master explained, "It's understandable that Priest hasn't heard of this. Even I wasn't aware of it."
"Since the blood altar has been destroyed, why don't we explore this underground path and see if there are any hidden mysteries?"
"Alright."
The Demon Sect Priest nodded.
The four of them proceeded into the underground passage.
...
Inside the secret passage.
Lin Li dared not use any magical techniques, so he could only enhance his vision with spiritual energy, allowing him to see in the dim environment.
The air inside the passage was filled with a decaying stench and had very little oxygen.
An ordinary person would've likely suffocated by now.
Fortunately, Lin Li's cultivation was deep. Even though the air was thin and laced with poisonous gases, he could hold his breath and keep moving.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator can hold their breath for hours with ease.
After descending for several miles underground, Lin Li finally reached the end of the passage, where he found a formation roughly ten meters in diameter.
"This..."
Lin Li furrowed his brows, carefully examining it.
Finally, he realized in shock: this was an ancient teleportation array!
"An ancient teleportation array hidden beneath the Demon Sect's blood altar, which is used to awaken the Demon Lord?!"
Lin Li was filled with doubt. "Where does this ancient teleportation array lead?"
As he examined it closely, he noticed that all the spirit stones powering the array were drained of spiritual energy.
"A total of... 108 spirit stones!"
"They're all depleted of power."
Lin Li thought to himself, "108 spirit stones—that's no small amount!"
After all, for most disciples of Xuantian Sect, even over the course of an entire year, they would only be able to obtain a few spirit stones.
These 108 spirit stones were equivalent to the savings of Xuantian Sect disciples over several decades!
"Damn it!"
Lin Li was filled with frustration.
But there was nothing he could do.
"I don't even know if this ancient teleportation array still works, nor do I know where it leads."
Lin Li thought, "But with a Core Formation-level expert from the Demon Sect outside, this is my last hope."
"Hopefully, the Demon Sect expert won't enter this secret passage. After a few days, I can leave from here and return to my sect."
"If not, I'll be forced to waste 108 spirit stones and be teleported to some unknown place—that would be a disaster!"
Lin Li was certain that if he could return to his sect, he would be richly rewarded for the great merits he had accomplished.
However...
At that moment...
Lin Li's ears twitched.
He faintly heard footsteps and distant voices approaching.
"I didn't expect this passage beneath the blood altar to be so deep."
"I wonder what lies at the end of this tunnel?"
"With the Priest here, it doesn't matter what we find."
"Let's hope we uncover new information about the Demon Lord."
Lin Li clenched his teeth, thinking, "I'm done for!"
"I have no other choice! I must take this gamble!"
Quickly, Lin Li began removing the depleted spirit stones from the ancient teleportation array and replaced them with his own low-grade spirit stones...