"Hehe, what are you all still thinking about?" A loud laugh rang out from the crowd. Then, with a sudden movement, a figure materialized as a streak of white light, rushing straight toward the distant opening. Behind him, several others followed silently, clearly members of the same clan. As soon as someone began to depart, many in the crowd quickly gathered and took off toward the crevice beneath the mist. In just a short while, only a small fraction remained in place. These remaining individuals exchanged quiet murmurs, completely unconcerned about being overtaken by the others—among them were Han Li and the Chirong clan members. A deep, resonant roar echoed as the silver great gate slowly closed behind them, its surface shimmering with vibrant hues of five colors, and then vanished entirely. The remaining crowd stirred in excitement. "Let's go!" Han Li swept his gaze over the massive wall where the silver gate had disappeared, then raised his hand. With a flick of his wings behind him, he transformed into a shimmering blue glow and took off. Bai Bi and Lei Lan instantly transformed into a sphere of silver light and a sphere of golden light, following closely behind. As Han Li and the others had just departed, several figures with varied expressions turned their attention to them. Among them, besides the Chirong clan members, there were even a few unfamiliar Saint Princes from other branches of the Feilin clan, casting cold, watchful glances at Han Li and the others as they gradually receded. The Chirong clan members only began their departure after Han Li's glow had vanished into the mist, following a quiet instruction from Zhu Yinzi. At that moment, the Feilin clan members still remaining beneath the great wall numbered only about a dozen. Most of them were strong, top-ranked branches of the Feilin clan. Yet their eyes flickered constantly, and they frequently glanced toward two of the remaining Saint Princes. One was a slender, dark-skinned child—Ao Qing of the Qi Yue clan. The other was a tall, robust man clad in black wooden armor. The Han was thirty-something, with four eyes glowing with an eerie radiance, and a broad sword resting behind him—matching his own height and shimmering with a pale golden cold light. Such a substantial object remained outside his storage space. Unaccountably, despite the strength of the other branches' holy princes, none of them seemed to leave easily as they watched these two. After a while, seeing no one ready to depart, Ao Qing furrowed his brows, then chuckled warmly and took with him over a dozen clan members. Upon this, the man with four eyes flashed a cold gaze, took a steady step, and instantly advanced several zhang, swiftly pursuing Ao Qing. Three other clan men of similar height followed silently behind. The other flying spirit clan members, upon seeing Ao Qing and the tall man depart, gradually relaxed. Many immediately gathered together, discussing matters. Within a short time, these people dispersed in several waves, as though everything had been carefully planned. Thus, hundreds of Saint-sons of the Fei Ling clan vanished into the black land ahead, completely without trace. The area near the great wall was now utterly empty, with no one left. So as not to encounter other branch prodigies before reaching the Deep Abyss and potentially cause any conflict. Han Li had done the same. After flying just over a hundred li, he had diverted from his original course, taking a new path. For a distance of over ten thousand li, such a journey was hardly far for these prodigies. Even when they deliberately slowed down, they reached their destination within just one hour. As the scene ahead changed, the low-lying mist sea in the sky rose up, and a fierce, gusting wind rushing in from the opposite direction surged with remarkable intensity, turning a deep black-gray hue. When it brushed against them, it instantly formed a thin layer of black ice on their bodies. Of course, these black winds posed no real threat to Han Li and his companions—only requiring them to slightly thicken their protective spiritual radiance. After a meal's worth of time, they broke free from these strange black winds and found themselves suddenly greeted by an astonishing sight. This was a flat expanse of unknown width, enveloped on all sides by black, strange winds. The air still held a heavy gray mist, but now it rose to a height of over a thousand zhang, swirling and turbulent—quite different from the earlier, calm sea of mist. Yet none of this was what most captivated the three of them; their eyes were fixed on the ground below. The once-solid black earth had vanished entirely, leaving behind a vast, deep chasm filled with drifting black and gray mist, from which occasional gusts of strangely cold, black winds blew forth. Han Li scanned the surroundings, noting that the depth and breadth of this great pit were no less than those of the space itself. Floating in the air just beyond the edge of the abyss, the trio seemed immeasurably small—like ants in comparison. "Thus, this must be the Gate of the Earth Chasm," Han Li said. "Let's descend. But take care—though I didn't expect to encounter the chasm's creatures so promptly, it's wise to remain vigilant." Han Li didn't pause to look around, simply spoke a few calm words, then gave a gentle shake of his wings, plunging straight into the depths. After a few flickers of the grayish-white mist, he vanished entirely. White Bi and Lei Lan, their expressions instantly stiffened, promptly joined him in flight. Han Li's body descended slowly, his body shimmering with a steady green glow, while several moonstones—each about the size of a clenched fist—rose up around him, radiating a soft milky light that illuminated everything within thirty zhang with exceptional clarity. Observing the swirling mist around him, Han Li sighed inwardly. At first, when entering the abyss, the mist had been relatively thin; even without using his spiritual vision, he could clearly observe his surroundings. But as he descended thousands of zhang deeper, the mist suddenly thickened several times over. White Bi and Lei Lan followed closely behind, and since Han Li didn't wish to expend his spiritual vision lightly, he simply cast the moonstones into use. With this, he was now able to manage the current situation adequately. Yet, as Han Li had anticipated, the gate to the deep earth was so vast that despite their deep descent into the great abyss, they encountered no妖 creatures to obstruct their way. This was precisely what Han Li had hoped for. After descending further—without knowing exactly how long—it gradually became clearer below, and the intermittent black winds that had previously been present vanished entirely. Han Li and his two companions felt a surge of renewed energy, knowing they had finally reached the first level of the deep earth. After another cup of tea's worth of time, Han Li lowered his gaze slightly and, through the thin veil of mist, finally saw a scene unlike anything he had previously encountered. Before him lay a vast expanse of land in shades of black and yellow, lush and verdant, covered with exceptionally dense, towering trees. Even a few strange gray birds of unusual form were circling steadily in the lower sky. "This is the world of the deep earth," Han Li said, "and it seems rather ordinary, after all." As Han Li and the other two burst out of the mist, hovering high above and carefully observing the land below, Bai Bi couldn't help but murmur softly. "Although the first layer of the Earth's Deep has been subjected to dark energies for a long time, its condition is the shallowest among the seven layers of the Deep. Generally speaking, aside from the lowest-level beasts, there are indeed numerous ordinary animals thriving here. However, these animals are notably spirited—ten out of ten are carnivorous, fierce beasts. Some even rival the strength of lower-tier immortals," Lei Lan seemed to know quite a bit, and offered a brief explanation. Han Li, however, remained expressionless, as if completely indifferent to all this. In reality, his divine awareness had already scanned every detail within a radius of over a thousand li, detecting no presence of other celestial princes or powerful beings. It appeared that the area was absolutely safe. "Let's descend," Han Li said. "I believe, if we stay aloft for too long, we'll encounter some complications." With that, he took off toward the ground without further delay. Lei and Lan naturally followed behind. A strange cry rang out, and the several gray monstrosities below immediately sensed the trio's presence, charging straight toward them without hesitation. Han Li narrowed his eyes, now clearly seeing the appearance of these creatures—long, broad beaks lined with sharp fangs, bare of feathers, with a gray, odd-looking hide, and a curved horn growing from their heads. With a low hum, Han Li lightly flicked several fingers. "Pfft, pfft"—a series of golden sword flashes shot past, instantly piercing through the bodies of the birds. Blood rained down as the creatures fell to the ground. Just as the bodies sank into the forest, sudden roars erupted, followed by a deep tremor in the ground, as though many large beasts were struggling to claim something. Han Li's eyes widened in surprise, glanced at the source of the sounds, then spiraled upward to a height of over a hundred paces, taking the two behind him and heading toward the direction he had previously identified. "The entrance from the first to the second level, as the previous prodigies of our clan have mentioned, is numerous, but only about a dozen are particularly safe. The chances of finding the Yin-Yan Fruit on the first level are virtually nil, so we'll proceed directly to the second level. The entrance I've chosen is the most remote one from our current position—though it will take a bit longer, it allows us to avoid ambushes set by those who are unfriendly to our clan." Han Li explained calmly as he flew. Bai Bi furrowed her brows, seemingly unconvinced, but said nothing. Lei Lan, on the other hand, appeared indifferent. Seeing this, Han Li smiled and added no further remarks. His explanation did not imply any discussion. Since the Tianpeng Clan had entrusted him with ensuring the success of these two prodigies in their trials, he would naturally lead all actions. With his own level of cultivation, he had no fear that the two prodigies, who were significantly less skilled than himself, would fail to follow his instructions. Thus, for the following time, the three of them flew silently through the lower air, heading directly toward the direction of the entrance to the second level.