The only passage, located in the corner of the wall, was the very place from which the horde of ghostly creatures had emerged.
"Alright, after that last wave of attacks, at least sixty to seventy percent of the ghostly creatures in this tomb-cavern have been eliminated. The rest have already fled back to entrench themselves near the very center. Everyone, be even more careful from here on out," Feng Zaiyu said slowly as he stood beside Fang Guangjun, his gaze sweeping around.
They had to finish clearing this place as quickly as possible, so there was no time for them to rest. Besides, the few disciples who had died or been seriously injured were all from the other side branches. Though his face was etched with grief and indignation, he did not feel the sorrow he displayed. As long as the important disciples of his own branch were not among the dead, some casualties were always unavoidable.
"Then let's hurry up and clean this place out!"
Seeing that Feng Zaiyu had finished speaking, Fang Guangjun immediately strode toward the passage in the corner, his actions crisp and efficient.
Among the Feng family disciples in the great hall of the tomb-cavern, the mutilated corpse of the deceased disciple was collected and temporarily placed on a stone step. The three heavily injured disciples, after swallowing some medicinal pills, also reluctantly gathered their energy and followed along. If they stayed here to recuperate, they would be safe for a short while; even ghostly creatures from other areas wouldn't arrive so quickly.
Letting them return on their own was certainly out of the question, as they lacked the ability to open the protective grand formation. Most importantly, since they had already come all this way, they would naturally feel aggrieved if asked to give up and stay put now.
They had come here to seek benefits. The great battle earlier had yielded little from the ghostly creatures. Now, as long as they could still move, they had to press on. Their opportunities might still be waiting for them up ahead.
After they entered the corner passage, another enormous labyrinth appeared at their feet. It twisted and turned, with a forked path appearing every few dozen steps.
Among these forked paths, only one led to the lair of that Foundation Establishment ghostly creature. The others were all tombs that the creature had connected as it continuously expanded its nest.
At this moment, Fang Guangjun stood at an intersection with four forked paths. After retracting his Divine Sense, he finally spoke to Feng Zaiyu, who was behind him.
"We just lured out and killed the vast majority of the ghostly creatures here. I estimate that fewer than thirty percent have escaped, including those that didn't come out before. My Divine Sense can detect their locations, and I've also sensed the aura of that Foundation Establishment creature's lair. The Yin Qi and the bloody scent there are particularly dense! It's in the direction of the first passage on my right. However, your Feng family should understand this situation better than I do. What I sense is just an aura."
"Usually, Foundation Establishment ghostly creatures that appear in these kinds of tomb-caverns possess high intelligence. They are very particular about protecting their lairs. Therefore, they might use illusion arts for concealment, which means my senses could be wrong. Rushing straight in might not lead us to our destination. Of course, my senses could be half-right, but that would only mean the direction is correct. Following the aura could very well lead to a dead end, forcing us to circle around from another direction. You should understand what I mean by all this. This is also why your ancestor wanted you to come."
He seemed to be speaking to Feng Zaiyu, but his voice was still loud enough for everyone behind him to hear clearly.
Feng Zaiyu bowed respectfully. "Senior's words are absolutely right. Even if Senior hadn't mentioned it, I was about to remind you. We must split up to clear the area, with each group entering a different forked path. While slaying the ghostly creatures within, we may each have our own opportunities. My Feng family is naturally aware of this. We only hope that if Senior, Fellow Daoist Tang, and the others enter the lair of that Foundation Establishment creature, you will refrain from damaging the tomb's structure and the subterranean Yin Qi vein. Apart from that, you may take anything else for yourselves."
The Feng family's main objective in attacking the tomb-cavern was to occupy a tomb rich in Yin Qi. This was the crucial source for improving their strength; everything else was just an unexpected bonus. The reason a Foundation Establishment tomb-cavern was so dense with Yin Qi was due to its unique construction and location—what mortals would call a "Feng Shui treasure land." Therefore, they absolutely did not want the structure of the tomb damaged, unless it was unavoidably destroyed during battle.
"Very well. In that case, since the Feng family is in charge, please choose a route first. I will take the last direction."
Fang Guangjun said with a smile. Feng Zaiyu did not stand on ceremony. He turned to the other family heads behind him and said, "Let's each enter, then. Remember, while obtaining opportunities is important, clearing out the ghostly creatures inside is essential. Don't let the Ancestor arrive to find unsealed ghostly creatures still present. The Ancestor will surely be enraged, and the consequences will be more than we can bear."
After speaking, he gave a fist-and-palm salute to Tang Tian and the others behind him, then led Feng Tao and a few others straight into a forked path, flying away. He surprisingly did not choose the first passage on the right that Fang Guangjun had pointed to earlier.
In reality, after entering any of these four forked paths, even more branches would appear inside. So, even if all of them entered a single passage now, they would still have to separate later.
Although there were many forked paths, the entire tomb-cavern was fortunately only about fifty li in size, so the paths were generally not too long. They would just make you wind around and around in circles. In the end, when you were dizzy from all the turns and reached the end of a forked path, a tomb-cavern of some size would appear, and the path would terminate there. Whether it was the destination you sought was another matter entirely.
Soon, all the Feng family members had stepped into the four forked passages. Fang Guangjun glanced at Tang Tian and the others. "Are you staying here, or do you want to continue onward and have a look? There really aren't many ghostly creatures left inside."
He had noticed earlier that these few individuals had no sense of cooperation to speak of. In the end, survival would depend on their own individual strength.
Tang Tian likewise looked at the three people behind him. "I'm going in to see. I've heard that the origin of the Yin Tomb Mountain is unknown. I have to walk through it completely so as not to have made this trip in vain."
After saying this, he didn't look at Li Yan or Tian Denghu again. He stepped forward and walked toward the first passage on the left, and Wu Yizhen followed him directly.
No one was surprised that Wu Yizhen was with Tang Tian, so Tang Tian didn't bother asking for his opinion.
Even Tang Tian could hear the enticing undertone in Fang Guangjun's words. Zhang Ming and Tian Denghu would surely not pass up this opportunity either, so there was no need for him to provoke them. Just adding a little fuel to the fire was enough.
Sure enough, after only a moment's hesitation, Tian Denghu immediately dashed after Tang Tian's retreating figure. Hearing the footsteps behind him, a mocking smile touched the corners of Tang Tian's mouth.
Li Yan, however, turned his head to look around before heading alone toward the first passage on the right, flying off in a flash.
His action caused Tang Tian, who was about to step into the passage, to pause slightly. Then, the mockery on his lips deepened.
'Does he really think the lair of a Foundation Establishment ghostly creature would be so easily exposed?'
With that, Tang Tian's figure vanished into the passage. Wu Yizhen, following behind, also looked at Li Yan's disappearing back with some surprise, his mouth opening slightly. In the end, seeing that Tang Tian had already turned into the forked path and showed no intention of getting involved, he could only shut his mouth and follow.
'Alone? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Even I wouldn't dare do such a thing. Truly, the ignorant know no fear...'
Tian Denghu snorted lightly in his mind and quickened his pace.
Watching as everyone entered different forked paths, Fang Guangjun looked at the passage Tang Tian's trio had entered, then at the one Li Yan had entered. That was the very passage he had told Feng Zaiyu was most likely to lead to the Foundation Establishment ghostly creature's lair.
"Interesting. Hehehe!"
He chuckled softly. Then, with a flicker of his body, he vanished from the spot. An afterimage flashed and disappeared into the forked passage that Tang Tian's group had just entered.
With Fang Guangjun's departure, the intersection of the four forked paths was once again empty. Only gusts of Yin wind blew through. Just five breaths later, a faint, illusory figure suddenly appeared where Fang Guangjun had been standing.
Li Yan gazed at the passage Fang Guangjun and Tang Tian had entered, his eyes glinting. He also let out a soft laugh, speaking the exact same words as Fang Guangjun.
"Is it interesting? Hehehe, it truly is interesting!"
Immediately, his figure faded away again, like a true ghost drifting through the tomb-cavern.
When Li Yan reappeared, he had already set foot in the same passage that Feng Zaiyu's group had entered.
'The Feng family must possess some kind of unique sensory magical artifact or treasure. Otherwise, how could that Feng Zaiyu choose a path with such accuracy?'
After entering this passage and walking for two li, Li Yan saw two more forked paths ahead. The aura of Feng Zaiyu's group came from one of them, and this path was precisely where Li Yan intended to go.
With Li Yan's formidable Divine Sense, the illusion arts here were completely ineffective against him. He could sense the true location of the Foundation Establishment ghostly creature's lair thirty li away.
The path Feng Zaiyu was taking up ahead was identical to the one Li Yan had sensed. Every time they reached a new fork, he chose a path without the slightest hesitation and stepped right in. If he had chosen another path even once, their group would have been forced to circle around.
For example, this current path, according to Li Yan's Divine Sense, would split into four more forks five li ahead, and from there, another three forks would appear. Continuing on, there would be even more branches. Only one would lead directly to a tomb-cavern first—the end of that particular path, allowing one to return sooner.
Inside that tomb-cavern, a shriveled, ninth-level Qi Condensation ghostly creature was in a deep slumber, undisturbed even by the great battle before.
Most of the tomb-caverns were just as Fang Guangjun had said; the ghostly creatures had been lured out and nearly all of them killed. However, due to the different types and survival methods of these creatures, they were often difficult to awaken without intense stimulation. If one made a wrong turn and encountered such a situation, turning back would be more than just a waste of time. As the forked paths increased, the cultivators here would likely become more and more scattered. It would be perfectly normal for a few to perish.
Of course, if one wasn't aiming directly for the Foundation Establishment creature's lair, then any path would do. It was all part of seeking opportunities, after all. But everyone knew that the greatest benefits were most likely to be found in the lair of the Foundation Establishment ghostly creature.
After passing through three more forked paths, Li Yan, who was following behind, finally confirmed one thing: Feng Zaiyu definitely had some kind of magical treasure for sensing or determining direction. Feng Zaiyu's group showed no intention of splitting up at all, unhesitatingly choosing a direction and moving forward. This direction was exactly the same as the one Li Yan intended to take.
'Perhaps it's a magical treasure that can sense the density of Yin Qi. After all, this is a place they've never been to before!'
Li Yan made this judgment because he himself was choosing paths based on the density of Yin Qi. Although many paths exuded an even stronger concentration of Yin Qi, a single sweep of Li Yan's Divine Sense was enough for him to immediately discern that it was just an illusion.
Among Feng Zaiyu's group, there was certainly no one who possessed a Divine Sense as freakishly powerful as Li Yan's.
'Should I snatch it and take a look?'
The thought flashed through Li Yan's mind but was just as quickly dismissed. Letting others know of an unpredictable presence here would be unwise.