The inner disciples barked orders, forcing all fifty outer disciples in the pavilion courtyard into a rigid, trembling line. The atmosphere was suffocating as senior disciple Zi Fang strode down the ranks, his gaze sharper than a honed blade.
"Where is Fe Tian?" Zi Fang demanded, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "Search every corner of the residential rooms!"
The guards moved instantly, tearing through the quarters, but they returned empty-handed. Finding nothing in the cells, Zi Fang turned his cold eyes directly toward the line, halting his steps right in front of Wan Lihan. With a swift flick of his wrist, Zi Fang channeled his tracking energy, forcing a mental resonance probe to extract the fragmented memory of the crime scene from the night before.
The vision flickered to life in the air. The projection clearly showed Fe Tian driving the weapon through the back of Supervisor Meng’s head, with Lihan standing right beside the corpse.
"It was Fe Tian who killed the supervisor!" Zi Fang roared, his face darkening with fury. He locked a heavy iron cuff onto Lihan’s wrist. "And you, Wan Lihan... you were an accomplice to a capital crime! Killing a fellow sect member and an appointed supervisor carries the ultimate penalty. You will be punished by being cast directly into the beast nest to be torn apart!"
"Stop! Do not punish him!"
A frantic shout shattered the silence. The bamboo gates flew open, and a battered, blood-stained Fe Tian stumbled into the courtyard, raising his hands high. "Lihan had nothing to do with it! I am the one who executed the tyrant! I am the one you should punish!"
Zi Fang sneered, waving his sleeve. "Seize them both! Bring them to the high pavilions for immediate questioning and punishment!"
The guards violently hoisted Fe Tian and Lihan onto their feet, dragging them up the winding stone stairs of the inner peaks, passing the grand jade gates until they reached the towering Hall of Elders. Inside the cavernous hall, four colossal stone thrones towered over the floor, occupied by the supreme judges of the lower mountain. These were the four great pillars of the Xinwu Sect, their liquid internal energy radiating the terrifying pressure of the Foundation Establishment Realm:
* Elder Mo Vane – Sitting at the Early Foundation Establishment stage, running the disciplinary laws.
* Elder Han Yao – A strict master at the Mid Foundation Establishment stage.
* Elder Xue Qing – A formidable woman sitting at the Late Foundation Establishment stage.
* Elder Gu Lei – The oldest master, standing at the Peak Foundation Establishment stage.
As Lihan and Fe Tian were forced completely down onto their knees, Elder Gu Lei looked down from his elevated seat, his voice carrying the deep rumble of a thundercloud. "Why did you execute an appointed supervisor of the outer sect pavallion?"
Fe Tian gritted his teeth, refusing to lower his head. "Because he was a parasite! He ruthlessly bullied and extorted everyone in the outer sect courtyard without a single drop of reason! If we didn't fight back, he would have slaughtered us under the guise of hard labor!"
Elder Gu Lei raised his wrinkled hand, delivering the cold verdict. "The laws of the mountain must be maintained. If you somehow manage to survive the depths of the central nest, your crimes will be considered fully wiped clean."
Before they could speak, the inner disciples guided them down, escorting them deep into the mountain vaults. The guards took away every single piece of gear, leaving them in the pitch-black abyss with absolutely no weapons. They locked the heavy iron gate above, sealing them inside.
The cavern was dead silent, filled with the rhythmic breathing of sleeping predators. Lihan’s focused survival instincts instantly took total control.
"Keep hidden first, Fe Tian," Lihan whispered flatly. "Don't make a sound. I will find a way out."
Moving like a silent ghost on foot, Lihan carefully slipped through the narrow rock crevices, navigating past several massive, sleeping feline figures. He tracked a faint draft of fresh air until he reached a jagged exit cleft, but his face turned stone-cold. Blocking the narrow entrance was a colossal guardian beast, its teeth glinting in the dark. The way out was completely barred.
Lihan slipped back to the dark corner where Fe Tian was hiding. "The entrance is guarded. We need to breakthrough to our next Qi layers immediately if we want a chance to get out."
Understanding the life-or-death stakes, both teenagers crossed their legs, pressing their backs against a hidden corner of the cavern wall. For five straight days, they sat in the pitch-black dirt, silently consuming the dense subterranean Qi to force an advancement.
On the dawn of the fifth day, a powerful vibration cracked through their veins. The breakthroughs clicked. Wan Lihan successfully advanced to the 7th Layer of the 15-Layer Qi Cleansing Realm, his physical muscles turning lean and explosive. Beside him, Fe Tian opened his eyes, a sharp aura flaring as he successfully reached the 6th Layer. With their elevated layers, they could now run much faster.
But the sudden surge of breakthrough energy rippled through the quiet cave.
Suddenly, the colossal guardian beast at the entrance opened its glowing amber eyes. It wasn't a standard mid tier level monster—this was a mutated alpha, a terrifying predator that had successfully hardened its skeleton into the 1st Layer of the Iron Bone Realm.
The Iron Bone beast let out an earth-shattering roar that violently rattled the cave ceiling. The sonic blast instantly woke up every single low tier level tiger beast sleeping in the pits.
"Run!" Lihan commanded flatly.
They bolted into the labyrinth of tunnels, using their newly unlocked Qi speed to sprint across the jagged rocks. They turned corner after corner, sprinting blindly through the dark, until they ran straight into a massive, dead-end stone wall.
They were completely cornered, with the roaring 1st Layer Iron Bone alpha leading the pack straight toward their throats.