Chapter Seventy-Two: The Underground Fissure!

Morning.

Heavy clouds pressed upon the sky, casting a suffocating gloom over the world.

Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing stood atop the mountain, watching as the car carrying his sister disappeared from view.

“When I get the chance, I’ll definitely travel the world with my sister. In times like these, there are so few places ordinary people can visit…” Yang Ye said, regret written across his face.

Long Xiaoqing smiled. “How about, once everything here is settled, we invite your sister to live in the Dragon Palace?”

Yang Ye shook his head. “As wonderful as the Dragon Palace is, my sister wouldn’t be comfortable alone.”

Recalling his sister’s past, Yang Ye didn’t need to guess—being confined in a secluded place would be torment for her.

Lina, too, was reluctant to leave, but as a cultivator she had no choice but to return with the convoy.

It wasn’t Yang Ye she was loath to part with, but rather the regret of missing the great events about to unfold in the canyon.

Last night, Lina and Xia Li had received several calls urging them back, and by dawn, the Xia family had dispatched a special convoy for them.

What was about to happen in the valley would be dangerous.

As a cultivator of the Star Sovereign level, Liu Xuan chose to stay behind. He was to rendezvous with other members sent by the Xia family.

No sooner had the convoy departed than three drones soared overhead, heading for the canyon’s heart.

Yang Ye glanced at his phone and found the signal had been jammed.

“The Americans certainly know how to play their games,” Yang Ye muttered, sliding the phone back into his storage ring.

Scarcely five minutes after the drones passed, several convoys appeared in the distance, kicking up clouds of dust as they raced closer.

Soon, two convoys, each comprising over a dozen off-road vehicles, pulled up not far from Yang Ye and his companions.

One belonged to the Xia family.

Three middle-aged men of the Star Sovereign realm and dozens of Planetary-level cultivators stepped out.

At the sight of these three, Liu Xuan immediately went to greet them. Clearly, this team was sent by the Xia family.

Among them, one was at late Star Sovereign stage, the others at early and mid-stage, respectively.

In the second convoy, Yang Ye spotted Benny.

Benny, for his part, saw Yang Ye standing atop the rise at first glance—but his attention was soon drawn to Long Xiaoqing at Yang Ye’s side.

In fact, not only Benny but all the hundred or so newcomers found their gazes lingering on Long Xiaoqing the moment they disembarked. The bolder ones stared unabashedly for quite some time.

“Xiaoqing, let’s go,” Yang Ye said, casting a cool glance at Benny.

“Alright!” Long Xiaoqing replied.

With a leap, the two of them soared across the canyon—hundreds of meters wide—landing on the far side and vanishing with a few swift movements.

Just then, Liu Xuan, having finished speaking with the three Star Sovereign experts from the Xia family, turned to make introductions—only to realize that Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing were already gone.

…

Half an hour later, Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing halted at the edge of a fissure at the canyon’s floor.

This rift in the earth was over thirty meters wide and stretched for several kilometers. A faint red glow emanated from its depths.

It was clear this fissure had only recently formed, and a strange, powerful aura drifted up from below.

It was this very aura that had frightened the starbeasts of the canyon, driving them to migrate en masse.

“Xiaoqing, you’re amazing!” Yang Ye gave a thumbs-up, gazing at the chasm.

Long Xiaoqing stuck out her tongue playfully.

Yang Ye’s praise was well-deserved—the fissure had been created by Long Xiaoqing and another super-star-level starbeast.

Scanning the surroundings, Yang Ye saw more cultivators approaching. Without hesitation, he leapt into the rift.

Long Xiaoqing followed at once.

They didn’t bounce from wall to wall but dropped straight down at great speed.

The deeper they went, the more spacious the fissure became, and the brighter the red glow.

When they finally landed at the bottom, the walls were over a hundred meters apart.

Yang Ye’s eyes widened in shock.

Never had he witnessed such a spectacular sight.

From the ground and the sheer rock faces on either side, massive mushrooms radiating red light grew in profusion.

Each red cap spanned dozens of meters, the black stems were over ten meters thick, and the mushrooms themselves towered high as buildings.

The brilliant red glow came from these caps, lighting the cavern like giant lanterns.

The mushrooms were riddled with holes of various sizes, from which swarms of red ants—each as large as a calf—crawled in and out.

Most of these red giants were Starfall-level starbeasts, with a few at the Planetary level.

Standing among these towering mushrooms, Yang Ye felt as if he’d shrunk, stepping into a world built for giants.

“Who would have thought the underworld of this canyon could look like this?” Yang Ye exclaimed, marveling at the scene.

A rustling sound followed.

The red ants soon noticed Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing, surging out of the mushrooms in a tide.

But this mushroom forest was not their destination.

Seeing the approaching ants, Long Xiaoqing smiled, “Husband, follow me!”

With that, she leapt toward the right-hand cliff.

Yang Ye followed, curiosity burning within him. He still didn’t know what the super-star-level starbeast looked like.

Long Xiaoqing refused to tell him, teasing him by keeping it a secret.

She led Yang Ye into a narrow crevice, barely wide enough for a person to slip through sideways.

The ants, being far too large, could only crowd at the opening, watching as the two disappeared into the depths.

This fissure sloped downward, and after more than ten minutes, they emerged into a vast, brightly-lit chamber—large as the Summer Capital’s stadium, its ceiling studded with glowing crystals.

At the chamber’s center lay a colossal, strange beast, dozens of meters long.

Its body was sheathed in earth-yellow scales, its head and torso shaped like a lion, two sharp horns sprouting from its brow, and a tail behind reminiscent of a lizard’s.

As Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing entered, the beast immediately rose, fixing its large eyes on Long Xiaoqing, baring its fangs, and pawing the ground with its forelimbs.

“Husband, this one is formidable!” Long Xiaoqing pointed at the beast. “It breathes fire, its tail is venomous, and those two horns can discharge electricity. But even so, it’s no match for me!”

With a leap and a tearing sound, Long Xiaoqing shed her leather garment, transforming into a massive azure dragon, dozens of meters long.

The beast, having already fought with Long Xiaoqing once, shrank back warily at the sight of her true form.