Amid the violent trembling of the earth beneath their feet, a thin vertical crack split the small stone mountain from its peak all the way down to its base, and a gentle white light shot out from within.
It truly looked as though the stone mountain was about to be cleaved clean in two down the middle.
Han Li and the others drew a sharp breath, a deep wariness stirring in their hearts at the mountain-splitting, rock-cleaving power displayed by Marquis Nanlong and the white-robed elder.
Yet despite their shock, their outward expressions remained composed, each of them watching the scene before them as though nothing were amiss. As for what they were truly thinking, only the heavens could know.
Among them, Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan, the two weakest in cultivation, stood pale-faced behind Wang Tiangu, silent and still.
Han Li cast the pair a cold glance, then looked away.
It seemed there would be no opportunity to make a move against Wang Chan before the treasure was extracted.
The chanting of Marquis Nanlong and the white-robed elder never paused for even a moment.
After a short while, the stone mountain finally split apart, opening a colossal rift more than ten zhang wide.
In the rift, a flight of bluestone steps leading straight underground appeared before everyone.
"Let's go," the white-robed elder said with a brief flash of excitement on his face, and took the lead going inside.
As the initiator, Marquis Nanlong merely smiled faintly and followed behind him.
Seeing this, Han Li's mind stirred.
It seemed this white-robed elder was not quite simple. At this point, even Marquis Nanlong appeared to be taking his lead.
The others seemed to have noticed something as well, exchanging a few glances. However, each was a cunning old fox; no one mentioned it. Their expressions remained unchanged as they followed inside.
The staircase was very long, its sides inlaid with white moonlight stones. But the further down they went, the colder and more damp it seemed to become.
Soon, the group descended about a hundred zhang deep beneath the stone mountain.
The moonlight stones no longer emitted a faint white glow. For some reason, it had transformed into a ghostly green hue, making the passage appear somewhat dim and unclear, filled with an eerie atmosphere.
Seeing this scene, Han Li's brows furrowed slightly. Subconsciously, he increased the distance between himself and the dark-faced cultivator ahead, ensuring that if anything unexpected happened, he would have time to react.
In fact, Han Li wasn't the only one. All the other old monsters, besides Marquis Nanlong and the white-robed elder, had also made the same prudent move. The group actually spread out to a distance of over ten zhang from each other.
Marquis Nanlong and the elder surnamed Yun were fully aware that the others were on guard against them, but they pretended not to notice and continued striding forward without a hint of dissatisfaction.
After walking for the time it would take to eat a full meal, Han Li and the others finally entered a mysterious great hall one by one.
The reason it was called mysterious was because the four walls of this hall shimmered with blue light, the entire space translucent and brilliant, as if carved out of a giant piece of emerald and refined, appearing exceptionally gorgeous and dazzling.
Now standing in this enormous hall, dozens of zhang wide, everyone's face showed a look of surprise.
These walls obviously couldn't truly be made of emerald!
The instant Han Li entered the hall, he swept his spiritual sense against one of the walls. Upon contact, his sense was immediately repelled, unable to penetrate even a fraction.
Han Li wasn't surprised. He sent his spiritual sense probing towards every other part of the hall, into every corner.
The result was the same.
Han Li muttered a few words in his mind, then shifted his gaze, landing it on the other people.
Wang Tiangu, the cultivator surnamed You, and the others furrowed their brows as well, clearly finding the situation just as troublesome as he did.
"Could this really be where the 'Grand Mystic Divine Restriction' was set up? It seems Marquis Nanlong truly wasn't exaggerating."
While Han Li was quietly mulling this over, the entire hall suddenly lurched violently, followed by a series of deafening booms from behind.
The old woman and the others were startled. They quickly turned to look, only to discover that the entrance passageway had vanished without a trace at some unknown point, replaced by a wall that shimmered with the same blue light.
The entire hall had instantly become a sealed death trap.
"Friend Nanlong, what is the meaning of this?" The dark-faced man's expression turned grim as he demanded an explanation upon seeing this.
Wang Tiangu and the others also wore guarded expressions, their gazes flickering uncertainly as they stared at Marquis Nanlong and the white-robed elder.