Meanwhile, Karin was on her way to the Nether Cave as well, with the guardian beside her. Her job was to remain hidden whenever other people were around and protect Karin if anything happened.
Rune, on the other hand, had a change of mind. Even if the Qian Clan was going to pay him a huge amount, he would refuse it since the circumstances had changed.
"I am taking my leave," Rune said to the clan leader.
"Wait, where are you going?!" the leader asked in confusion.
"I can't take part in this expedition with the Qian Clan."
Before the leader could question him any further, Rune turned around and left.
The Qian Clan leader's expression darkened. He had already been dealing with the humiliation of his son, and now the mercenary he had personally selected was walking away right before the expedition.
When the day arrived for the Nether Cave to open again, Rune headed there as well.
The moment he arrived, he looked around both the Qian Clan and Su Clan sides, but he couldn't see Isshin anywhere. Not even on the Baidu Empire's side, although it wouldn't make sense for him to be there.
What Rune didn't know was that Isshin was intentionally staying away from the main groups. After the incident involving the Qian Clan leader's son, there was no reason to openly stand beside the Su Clan and attract unnecessary attention before even entering the cave.
So he remained hidden nearby and waited.
Rune eventually approached the Su Clan.
Word had already spread that somebody wearing a bag as a mask was about to join the Qian Clan but refused at the last moment, so the Su Clan leader had already heard about him. To be honest, he was somewhat fond of the mysterious cultivator for wasting the Qian Clan leader's time.
"I assume that you are willing to join us?" the Su Clan leader asked.
"I don't really have plans to join anyone," Rune replied. "But I wanted to ask... have you met someone nam—"
"Wait... Rune?"
Rune immediately turned around.
"Karin?"
Neither of them had expected to see each other there.
"You're taking part in the expedition too?" Karin asked.
"Listen! Isshin might be alive!" Rune blurted out.
There was a pause.
Karin slapped him across the face.
Rune stood there for a second, stunned. he raised a hand and rubbed his cheek.
"Did you think that joke was funny?" Karin asked coldly.
"Wait, no!" Rune replied quickly. "I'm being serious! I can explain how—"
"Oh, Isshin?" the Su Clan leader interrupted casually. "Yeah, he's here with us, but don't tell the Qian Clan leader. He ended up injuring his son."
Both Rune and Karin froze.
"What?" Rune asked.
"But how?!"
As the Su Clan Leader spoke, both Rune and Karin listened carefully.
The mask.
The cultivation.
The way he appeared.
Everything matched.
Karin didn't know what to feel. She looked confused, worried and relieved at the same time.
"He'll arrive a bit later," the Su Clan leader added. "he had some things to do before he could go in."
Rune and Karin exchanged glances.
Neither of them knew what to say.
For now, they simply decided to move with the Su Clan and wait.
Soon, the seal of the Nether Cave was finally lifted.
The entrance alone was massive, standing nearly thirty meters tall and over forty meters wide.
Three forces had gathered.
Eventually, all three groups entered the cave.
After traveling deeper underground, they arrived at a giant chamber where three different paths appeared before them.
One path led left.
One path led straight ahead.
One path led right.
"Quite convenient for the three groups," the commander of the Baidu Empire remarked.
Being the strongest force present, the Baidu Empire chose the middle path.
The Qian Clan selected the right.
The Su Clan moved left.
That way, the chances of conflict between the groups would remain low.
The Su Clan continued.
For almost seven hundred meters, they found absolutely nothing.
No treasures.
No monsters.
Nothing.
Eventually, they reached a gigantic gate nearly one hundred meters tall.
Ancient carvings covered its surface, and despite its age, it still looked incredibly imposing.
More importantly, it was already half-open.
It was obvious that someone had entered this place centuries ago and had been forced to open the gate to continue forward.
The Su Clan entered through the opening.
The situation wasn't nearly as convenient for the other groups.
The gates on the Baidu Empire's side and the Qian Clan's side were completely sealed.
The Baidu Empire quickly created a formation and spent around ten minutes blasting a hole through the bottom portion of the gate.
The Qian Clan wasn't as fortunate.
The material used in the gate was unbelievably durable. Even the resources contained within the gate itself would be considered valuable.
In the end, the Qian Clan leader personally used his cultivation to force open a gap large enough for people to pass through one by one.
Once the groups moved beyond the gates, they found themselves standing in what looked like an ancient settlement.
Broken houses stretched into the distance.
Collapsed buildings lined the roads.
Everything looked abandoned.
It was as if an entire civilization had once existed there before disappearing completely.
The atmosphere alone was unsettling.
Then they heard it.
A loud knocking sound echoed from one of the houses.
One of the Su Clan cultivators slowly approached it.
"Don't get close!" the Su Clan leader shouted.
It was too late.
The door burst open.
At the same time, every other door throughout the settlement burst open as well.
Demons rushed out from inside.
They looked like vicious creatures that had spent their entire lives at the bottom of the sea without ever seeing sunlight. Their appearances were twisted and many of them carried strange weapons.
The battle began instantly.
What shocked everyone wasn't their appearance but the way they fought. The demons were coordinated. They covered each other's blind spots, attacked in groups, and moved more like trained soldiers than mindless monsters.
Many cultivators were caught off guard by it, but Karin wasn't fazed at all. Being the future Heavenly Demon herself, she immediately attacked using her unorthodox techniques. Even if her abilities looked demonic and strange to others, nobody had the luxury of questioning them in a situation like this.
Rune responded as well. Stone golems rose from the ground while he fought alongside them using both magic and swordsmanship.
The Baidu commander handled the demons with ease.
"Sword of Light."
A massive slash of light swept through the battlefield and cut down large groups of demons instantly.
The soldiers behind her erupted into cheers.
The Qian Clan struggled more than the others but eventually managed to kill the demons attacking them as well.
After a long battle, the groups checked their casualties and treated the wounded.
Only then did they begin investigating the abandoned houses.
Some people found strange manuals and unorthodox techniques.
Others found rare pills and elixirs that seemed valuable, though nobody could tell whether they were poisonous or not.
Everything found within the cave was considered treasure.
One thing that made the Nether Cave such a headache was the lack of information surrounding it.
Groups that entered and survived rarely revealed what happened inside. Some did it out of selfishness so future groups wouldn't benefit from their discoveries. Others simply wanted to keep certain secrets hidden.
As a result, every expedition entered with very little knowledge of what truly existed inside.
However, after seeing the demons guarding what was essentially the outermost area of the cave, all three groups came to the same conclusion.
There were definitely worse things waiting deeper inside.