"Really?" Han Li asked, a hint of joy in his heart.

"Hehe, I wouldn't be so confident about other things, but when it comes to finding my own kind, I'm pretty sure I can handle it," Qu Lin chuckled, sounding somewhat pleased with himself.

Unbeknownst to Qu Lin, Han Li wasn't asking him but Ti Hun in the Flower Branch space.

"Judging from Qu Lin's soul fluctuations, he shouldn't be lying," Ti Hun's voice echoed in Han Li's mind.

"That's great, let's hurry up and find Old... that Gold Devouring Immortal," Xiao Bai exclaimed excitedly.

Han Li glared at Xiao Bai, who shrank his neck and chuckled dryly.

"Friend Qu, would you mind leading the way?" Han Li then looked at Qu Lin and asked.

"This place is the Nine Yuan Temple, and the valley ahead looks fraught with danger, a veritable dragon's den and tiger's lair. Helping you sense the Gold Devouring Immortal in the valley is one thing, but for Friend Han to ask Qu to lead the way seems a bit much, don't you think?" Qu Lin said with a cold laugh, not mincing his words.

"Han's request is indeed a bit of an imposition. If Friend Qu has any requirements, feel free to state them," Han Li said with a faint smile, not taking offense.

"Qu is currently at a critical juncture in his cultivation and needs a large amount of Yuan Qi to help. I won't ask for much. If Friend Han can gift me fifty million Immortal Essence Stones, or treasures of equivalent value, I'll take the risk and help you with this," Qu Lin said with a glint in his eyes, smiling.

"Fifty million Immortal Essence Stones! Why don't you just rob us!" Xiao Bai exclaimed in anger upon hearing this.

"I've named my price. It's up to Friend Han to decide whether to accept it," Qu Lin said indifferently, ignoring Xiao Bai's outburst.

"Alright, I agree, but you'll have to wait until we find that Gold Devouring Immortal before I give it to you," Han Li said, giving Qu Lin a deep look.

"Deal, it's a promise then," Qu Lin said with a hearty laugh.

"In that case, we'll enter the valley immediately. But Xiao Bai, you and Ti Hun should hide in the Flower Branch space and not show yourselves. Friend Lan, Friend Qu, and I will go in and search," Han Li said.

Xiao Bai wanted to stay outside, but seeing Han Li's gaze, he swallowed the words back down, nodding his head.

Han Li waved his hand and took Xiao Bai into the Flower Branch space. Then, he activated the black mask, covering himself, Lan Yan, and Qu Lin, and flew toward the valley, quickly landing at the entrance.

As they entered the valley, a gust of Yin wind howled out, carrying an intensely strong aura of evil and resentment.

Scenes of mountains of heads and rivers of blood filled the minds of the three, and boundless killing intent tried to devour their souls.

Han Li slightly activated the Soul Refining Art, immediately dissolving the killing intent.

Qu Lin didn't seem to care, and with a flow of golden light around him, he easily dissolved the intrusion of the killing intent. Only Lan Yan's face turned slightly pale, but she recovered using some unknown secret art.

"Friend Lan seems to be a bit frail. The future is uncertain. Friend Han, you might want to think this through carefully," Qu Lin said to Han Li, glancing at Lan Yan.

"Friend Lan, if you can't withstand the evil aura here, I can put you in the Flower Branch space as well," Han Li said.

"No need, I can still hold on. I know the most about the Nine Yuan Temple, so staying here will be useful to you," Lan Yan shook her head firmly.

"Alright, don't push yourself," Han Li nodded.

Seeing this, Qu Lin just chuckled and didn't say anything more, continuing to walk into the valley.

The valley floor was black stone, with no buildings to be seen. Because of the Yin wind, there was no vegetation, making it look desolate.

Upon reaching this point, Qu Lin suddenly stopped, closing his eyes as if sensing something. After a moment, he said, "It should be around here."

"I once heard that Gui Lingzi built his palace underground. It seems there's another world beneath this place, but I don't know where the entrance is," Lan Yan murmured, looking around.

Hearing this, Han Li activated the Nine Serenities Demon Eyes to carefully observe the surroundings but didn't use his spiritual sense to avoid being detected.

He soon noticed something and landed in front of a large black rock.

"Is this rock the entrance?" Lan Yan asked curiously, as she hadn't detected anything unusual about the rock.

Han Li smiled slightly but didn't say anything. He reached out with one hand.

Five streaks of azure light bloomed from his hand, condensing into an azure sword shadow several dozen feet in size, then ferociously struck the black rock.

The black rock suddenly erupted with dazzling black light, forming a black pillar of light as if it had a spirit, supporting the azure sword shadow.

A gleam flashed in Han Li's eyes, and he slashed with his other hand.

A streak of golden lightning flew out, striking the side of the black pillar of light, as if striking the snake at its vital point.

With a soft "poof," the black pillar of light dissipated, and the black rock below shattered, quickly disintegrating.

With a "boom," the ground where the black rock had been collapsed, revealing a black cave several dozen feet in size.

Inside the cave was a staircase winding down into the depths of the earth.

"Hehe, Friend Han is indeed skilled. No restrictions or hidden passages can escape your eyes," Qu Lin said, taking a deep breath towards the black cave.

"If not for the two of you being so sure, I definitely wouldn't have been able to find this place. Friend Qu, please continue to lead the way," Han Li said.

Qu Lin didn't say anything more and led the two into the cave one after another.

Gusts of black Yin wind spewed out from below, creating swirling vortexes of various sizes in the cave, emitting screams like ghosts and wolves, many times stronger than the Yin wind outside.

The three hurriedly increased their protective spiritual light to resist the bone-chilling Yin wind.

The walls on both sides of the cave shimmered with crystal light, condensing a layer of black ice, emitting an extremely cold aura.

"This is Black Yin Profound Ice. It only forms in places where extremely dense ghost Qi and Yin Sha power converge. It's an excellent material for refining ghost-path Yin-cold immortal artifacts. It's not only extremely hard but also has a soul attack effect," Han Li immediately recognized the origin of the black ice.

Lan Yan and Qu Lin quickly recognized the black ice as well. There was a large amount of Profound Ice here, and if they could take it all, it would be a considerable fortune. However, the place was full of dangers, and the three weren't interested in treasure hunting, so they didn't take any action against the Black Yin Profound Ice.

The cave was very deep. They walked down the stairs for a full quarter of an hour before reaching the end. The view ahead widened, and a square hall of twenty to thirty feet appeared.

Several fist-sized white round stones were embedded in the roof of the hall, barely illuminating the surroundings.

The floor and walls were paved with cyan-black tiles, with patterns engraved on them, giving it a solemn feeling.

However, the hall was empty, with only a doorway at the deepest point, leading to a black passage that seemed to lead to the depths.

The howling Yin wind gradually weakened here, but the Yin-cold ghost Qi became even denser.

Han Li and Qu Lin could still withstand it, but among the three, Lan Yan's cultivation was the weakest. Even though she circulated her energy to protect her body, she still couldn't resist the cold air here. Her teeth were chattering, and her blood vessels showed signs of freezing.

Han Li frowned when he noticed Lan Yan's condition.

At that moment, a purple light flashed in his hand, and a purple round bead appeared, surrounded by a dreamlike light.

"Give this to Lan Yan to wear. It can effectively resist the intrusion of ghost Qi," Ti Hun's voice echoed in Han Li's mind.

Han Li smiled slightly and waved his hand, throwing the purple round bead to Lan Yan.

"Wear this."

Lan Yan was stunned, then offered up the purple round bead, and a faint purple halo enveloped her body. The intense Yin-cold ghost Qi around her immediately weakened significantly.

"Thank you," Lan Yan said gratefully to Han Li, relieved.

Han Li waved his hand and strode forward.

Qu Lin and Lan Yan immediately followed, and the three quickly passed through the hall and exited through another doorway.

Ahead was a fork in the road, with three passages winding in different directions. The passages were dimly lit, and even the Nine Serenities Demon Eyes couldn't see the end.

Han Li frowned and used his spiritual sense to scan the three passages separately. But as soon as his spiritual sense left his body, a strange Yin-cold Qi in the surrounding air immediately invaded and rushed towards his soul along with his spiritual sense.

"This place is really evil. Don't release your spiritual sense," Han Li hurriedly withdrew his spiritual sense, speaking as he used the Soul Refining Art to refine the strange cold Qi that had invaded his mind.

Lan Yan agreed solemnly, but Qu Lin seemed to have already discovered this and remained indifferent.

"Friend Qu, it seems Gui Lingzi's cave is surprisingly large and has many restrictions. I can only rely on you," Han Li said to Qu Lin.

Qu Lin nodded, closed his eyes slightly, and a golden light flickered on his body. He soon opened his eyes and pointed to the leftmost direction, saying:

"It's in this direction. Let's go this way."

Han Li nodded and continued to walk ahead.

This passage was also very long, and they only reached the end after walking for a quarter of an hour. Again, it was a fairly large stone room.

The stone room was still empty, and here there were two connecting passages leading in different directions.

Han Li frowned slightly and continued to ask Qu Lin to sense Jin Tong's location. Then, guided by the latter, they entered one of the passages and continued forward.

The underground space here had passages extending in all directions, covering an astonishing area. Fortunately, there was only Yin wind and ghost Qi, and no ghosts or dangers attacked.

Led by Qu Lin, the three moved forward quickly, and the journey was relatively smooth.

According to Han Li's estimation, they had traveled several hundred miles. According to Qu Lin, they were not far from Jin Tong's location.

Hearing this, Han Li didn't show any relaxation.

After all, the journey had been too smooth. The cave of Gui Lingzi, who held a high position in the Nine Yuan Temple, shouldn't be so easily entered, right?

Especially in his absence, it shouldn't be this easy.

Thinking this in his heart, he didn't show any abnormality on his face, but he raised his vigilance and closely sensed all the movements around him.