He didn’t rush inside but instead listened intently. It was silent inside, as if no one was there.

However, with Dong Xingzhi’s previous lesson and Sang Qing’s reminder about puppet corpses, Chu Qing understood that the absence of breathing did not mean there was no danger.

Therefore, he didn’t hesitate at the gap. His body twisted like a wisp of smoke, sliding through the gap, and by the time he steadied himself, he was already inside the waterfall cave.

The cave was empty, without the ambush he had expected.

Chu Qing didn’t mind. Based on his previous memory, he approached the portal, turned the mechanism, and revealed the keyhole.

He fumbled a bit in his chest and took out the key.

He observed the keyhole for a moment; it was rectangular.

Chu Qing pondered slightly, folded the key, and compared it to the keyhole, finding it a perfect fit.

He inserted the key, turned it gently, and heard a click as the mechanism at the key’s head activated. He rotated it lightly, encountering no resistance, turning it half a circle.

There was a crisp ’ding’ sound.

In the next moment, the sound of mechanism gears turning came from the wall.

The key popped out with a snap, and the stone wall in front slowly lowered, revealing a deep, dark passageway.

Chu Qing activated the Mingyu Scripture, and in no time, his senses sharpened. He took out the antidote for the Yellow Springs Powder from his chest and tucked one under his tongue before stepping into the passage. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The passage was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Chu Qing’s steps were even lighter, utterly silent.

He walked steadily forward for quite some time, roughly covering a distance of thirty to fifty zhang, when he heard a noise.

It was breathing, faint but definite.

Focusing his mind, he realized the sound wasn’t just coming from one place. It was spread all around, with seven people in total front and back.

Chu Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold smile playing at the corner of his mouth:

"Trying to ambush me?"

He had planned to sneak in, but it seemed now... he had to switch to a ’forceful’ infiltration method.

With a turn of thoughts, his steps became even quieter. After advancing another seven or eight zhang, he saw the cave’s outline.

Looking out, he could faintly see starlight.

In the next moment, Chu Qing suddenly exerted his strength.

His entire body shot out from the cave entrance like a wisp of smoke.

This commotion indeed alerted the ambushers. However, when they leaped from their hiding spots, Chu Qing was already mid-air with a swift vault.

Looking down, there were indeed seven people.

Each one wore gray clothes, faces cold as they looked towards the cave, ready to strike.

But someone sensed something and turned to look at Chu Qing mid-air.

The next moment, however, Chu Qing drew his saber!

The Golden Swan Skill turned, his body spun and fell from mid-air, saber and person as one.

The man on the ground hadn’t even had time to change his expression when he saw a wisp of smoke flash past, entwined with sharpness just in front of him.

He wanted to turn his head, but as he moved, his head didn’t turn—instead, with a gurgling sound, it fell to the ground!

Only then did the remaining six realize what had happened.

But before they could react, Chu Qing’s form flickered six times in succession before standing still.

With a snap.

It was the sound of the saber returning to its sheath. Without looking back, Chu Qing walked directly forward along the path.

Behind him, the six gray-clad men collapsed one after another.

Only when they hit the ground did their heads roll from their necks.

Chu Qing didn’t look back, not just out of confidence, but because he had poured his full strength into this strike.

Although he used the Sixteen Paths of Shocking Evil Saber, he also incorporated the edge of the Fast Sword.

The saber’s momentum was simple and direct, stripping away any extraneous elements, maximizing his speed and the saber technique’s power.

With such a saber passing through, if they were still alive... then the Celestial Evil Cult wouldn’t need to hide anymore; they could directly conquer the Martial World, with no one able to challenge them.

"By killing them all, no one should know I’ve infiltrated."

Chu Qing walked a little further, squinting slightly.

The surrounding vegetation was dense, but at the edge was a cliff, and about ten zhang across was another cliff.

The two cliffs enclosed the Celestial Secret Valley.

The space above was shaded by the trees, yet below it was a hidden world on its own.

Following a path downward, there was a sizable space beneath the mountain walls.

Within lay pavilions and towers of every kind, and at the far end was a tall building built into the mountain.

This building was large, standing out among the rest.

Chu Qing’s gaze settled, and he understood:

"That must be the Celestial Secret Tower!"

He took out the blueprints drawn by Wen Fusheng from his chest and compared them to the towers and pavilions within the Celestial Secret Valley.

Recalling Sang Qing’s earlier words describing the valley’s interior...

He said that the buildings within the Celestial Secret Valley were not without meaning.

Using the empty valley to simulate an array, every building played a role. As a whole, it was both a deadly array and an illusion array.

Veiled in thick fog, hidden dangers lurked!

This array was known as: Celestial Secret Valley!

Chu Qing hadn’t entered through the main gate. Had he entered from the main entrance of the Celestial Secret Valley, he would have seen not only the stone stele inscribed with its name.

The stele bore another two lines: [Absolute Array, Celestial Secret Valley. Heaven Beyond Life and Death].

The first line indicated that the valley was an absolute array; what the latter line referred to, even Sang Qing was unclear.

The Celestial Evil Cult suspected that the Bridge of Life and Death might be related to some factions from the era of the Celestial Hermit.

However, these things hadn’t been passed down. With time so long gone, who could verify any of it?

Chu Qing studied the blueprint for a moment:

"The secrets of the absolute array have long been unraveled. The method of entry and exit, the places of defense... all are thoroughly understood.

"Now let’s see how much of what Sang Qing said is true and how much is false."

Putting away the paper, Chu Qing jumped, like a wisp of smoke, stepping into the Celestial Secret Valley.

Meanwhile, in front of the Treasure House,

a large group from Luochun Manor had already gathered.

Besides the crowd of Star Guards and disciples from Luochun Manor standing at various points atop the Treasure House,

Wen Rou, Bian City, Mo Duxing, Hua Jinnian, Wen Kaiyuan, and Wen Kerren were all present...

Wen Fusheng stood with his hands behind his back, gazing ahead, listening as the sound of murmurs gathered like water, gradually increasing.

Torchlight formed clusters as it flowed upwards from below, resembling a fire dragon winding its way up in the dark night.

The people present had expressions ranging from serious to slightly bewildered.

Bian City gently tugged on Wen Rou’s sleeve.

Wen Rou looked at him silently.

"What’s going on?"

Bian City asked in a low voice:

"Why does everything feel so tense? Also, wasn’t your father injured? He doesn’t look it now."

Wen Rou had some understanding of the situation, but not much.

As for Wen Fusheng’s injury, she knew about it, but explaining it was too complicated.

So, after a brief silence, she decided not to answer.

Hua Jinnian glanced around:

"Where’s the Third Young Master? This doesn’t feel right; not seeing him makes me a bit uneasy."

"Hmph! With me here, there’s nothing to worry about!"

Mo Duxing spoke nonchalantly, his tone still that of someone who cares for no one in the world.

Hua Jinnian immediately felt reassured upon hearing this:

"Mo Brother is indeed full of hidden talents."

Mo Duxing slowly closed his eyes, holding his sword, exuding a strange sense of solitude despite being amid a crowd.

No one in this world understands me; with so many people, what does it matter?

Perhaps this aura was too haughty, making even Wen Fusheng involuntarily glance at him, his heart skipping a beat.

Everyone thought him unfathomable.

"Wen Fusheng, hand over the Celestial Secret Order!"

A sudden shout came out, and a figure leapt towards them in an instant as if stepping on the moon.

While in mid-air, they launched a palm attack.

The palm momentum was fierce and powerful, the wind roaring as it created whirlwinds around, causing the clothes of everyone present to flutter wildly.

Looking closely, one could see a layer of gold dust on the person’s palm, shimmering brilliantly.

As they struck, a massive golden palm shadow seemed to crash down on Wen Fusheng.

Though their words demanded the Celestial Secret Order, their actions were a murderous robbery.