Chapter 73: The Subterranean Shuttle

In the underground labyrinth, Qu Yi once again subdued two great sect leaders: Jin Xiong of the Jin Yang Sect and Cang Huang of Cang Yang Valley.
At this moment, Qu Yi took Jin Xiong and Cang Huang with him into the Xing Luo Ding, then penetrated through the layers of labyrinth walls to reach a passage within the labyrinth.
This passage seemed no different from the others, but once Qu Yi activated the Xing Luo Ding, it stopped moving.
“Instrument God, you said just now that this place is the center of the labyrinth’s formation. Why don’t I see anything different?” Qu Yi’s spiritual consciousness immediately communicated with the Instrument God.
“Idiot, if there were something strange, wouldn’t I tell you there’s a flaw? Do you think Emperor Hao would be that stupid?” the Instrument God replied irritably.
Qu Yi immediately fell silent, then looked at Jin Xiong and Cang Huang and smiled, saying, “Alright, we’ve now reached the center of the labyrinth’s formation. We’ll be able to leave soon and reach the exit.”
Jin Xiong and Cang Huang scanned the passage but found nothing unusual. They looked at Qu Yi in confusion.
“Master, how do you know this is the center?” Jin Xiong asked calmly.
By now, these two had been subjected to soul shackles. Though they resented it deeply, they had no choice but to abandon their dignity as sect leaders and address Qu Yi as master.
“My abilities are boundless. What in the realm of cultivation could possibly trap me? Even this tiny labyrinth is nothing but a place for me to roam freely,” Qu Yi said calmly.
Jin Xiong and Cang Huang were left speechless, realizing that Qu Yi didn’t want to reveal the truth and could only cover it up with such boasts.
Qu Yi ignored their thoughts and immediately communicated with the Instrument God’s spiritual consciousness, obtaining a method to reveal the formation’s center.
The method still required Ling Hong crystals.
Qu Yi stepped out of the Xing Luo Ding, already holding ten Ling Hong crystals. Following the Instrument God’s guidance, he attached them to the walls at ten locations near the passage.
Soon, Qu Yi noticed that the entire space stabilized, the floor of the passage suddenly changed shape, and the walls transformed as well. A ten-meter-wide beam of light rose from the ground, passing through the walls and shooting into the distant horizon.
Qu Yi’s face lit up with joy, while Jin Xiong and Cang Huang were shocked by this change, once again admiring Qu Yi’s mysterious powers.

If it were someone else who came to this passage, how could they possibly know that this was the core of the formation? And even if they knew it was the core, it would be hard for them to think of using ten Rhombus Red Crystals to change the terrain here.
Qu Yi stopped to admire the light column, his heart filled with excitement.
“Stop daydreaming. Enter the light column and keep flying—then you can leave this underground labyrinth,” the Artifact God reminded him.
Qu Yi responded with an “oh” and quickly entered the Star Luo Ding, then urged it to fly into the light column.
Inside the light column, time seemed to stand still. Soon after entering, the Star Luo Ding arrived in a circular space.
This space was also tens of thousands of miles in size, with a desert-like ground. In the air, a yellow iron shuttle was flying back and forth.
“Wow, another mid-grade immortal artifact!” Qu Yi exclaimed happily from inside the Star Luo Ding as he sensed the iron shuttle in the air.
Jin Xiong and Cang Huang also looked at the mid-grade immortal artifact, feeling deeply moved. They realized that its power was beyond their ability to handle. Now, they thought that being captured by Qu Yi might actually be a stroke of luck—after all, if they had tried to enter on their own, they might have been instantly destroyed by that artifact.
The shuttle-shaped mid-grade immortal artifact noticed the Star Luo Ding, stopped in mid-air, and suddenly flew toward it, bringing with it swirling yellow sand that descended from the sky.
The sand was composed of Earth Element primordial energy, creating an Earth Element domain while also containing a destructive force meant to utterly annihilate the Star Luo Ding.
“Bastard! This mid-grade immortal artifact dares to attack me? I’ll take it!” Qu Yi snarled.
He then urged the Star Luo Ding to expand suddenly, calmly bearing the attack of the sand and allowing all of it to enter the ding.
In the realm of cultivation, such sand would be enough to destroy a planet, but once it entered the Star Luo Ding, it was completely absorbed by it. Since the sand was just Earth Element energy, the Star Luo Ding could naturally absorb and store it.
The iron shuttle realized that its sand attack not only failed to cause any damage to the Star Luo Ding but also resulted in its own energy being absorbed by it. Sensing danger, it tried to fly back into the air.
“You’ve no chance left!” Qu Yi sneered.
Suddenly, Qu Yi flew out of the Star Luo Ding, used a planet-scale teleportation, and directly grabbed the ding, aiming its opening at the iron shuttle before closing it tightly around it.
The iron shuttle was now inside the Star Luo Ding!

Within the Star Luo Ding, countless parallel spaces existed. Once the Iron Shuttle was trapped, it could no longer find a way to escape from the Star Luo Ding. The Iron Shuttle darted around frantically inside the ding, casting numerous earth-based spells, but none of them worked—those spell energies were instantly absorbed by the Star Luo Ding. Qu Yi watched from outside, enjoying the struggle of this mid-grade immortal artifact inside the Star Luo Ding, waiting for its earth energy to be depleted. Sure enough, after launching a series of fierce spell attacks, the Iron Shuttle finally ran out of energy and fell inside the Star Luo Ding like a weapon. Qu Yi’s lips twitched; he immediately jumped into the Star Luo Ding and seized the Iron Shuttle. Drop! A drop of Qu Yi’s blood fell on the Iron Shuttle, instantly claiming it as his own. “Mid-grade immortal artifact, Hidden Earth Shuttle—congratulations!” Just like with the previous mid-grade artifact, Emperor Hao’s voice appeared again, revealing the name of this artifact. Qu Yi’s spiritual consciousness entered the Hidden Earth Shuttle, exploring its functions, with his smile growing increasingly exaggerated. “Haha, Hidden Earth Shuttle—once I dive underground, no one can chase me!” Qu Yi’s spiritual consciousness withdrew, and he immediately announced his joy. It turned out that the Hidden Earth Shuttle could move freely underground, unimpeded by any surface, and could penetrate a planet in mere minutes. It could be said that Qu Yi was somewhat lucky—upon seeing the Star Luo Ding, the Hidden Earth Shuttle immediately attacked it and was suppressed by the Star Luo Ding. Moreover, its speed in the air was not faster than Qu Yi’s, so it could only be captured by the Star Luo Ding. If it had entered the desert below from the start, the Star Luo Ding would have been powerless against it. After laughing his fill, Qu Yi stored the Hidden Earth Shuttle inside himself and then ordered Jin Xiong and Cang Huang to exit the Star Luo Ding. Jin Xiong and Cang Huang had witnessed the formidable power of the Star Luo Ding firsthand and realized that Qu Yi could now use it fully. They finally understood its true strength—completely unlike the Tai Yuan Sect, which had only used it for refining weapons, a true waste of such a powerful artifact. “Master, with your current strength, there is no one in the cultivation world who can match you,” Jin Xiong said sincerely. “Master, with this Star Luo Ding, you can easily overcome even the Nine Nine Heavenly Calamities. I believe you’ll progress to the Great Vehicle stage quickly, and you’ll have the ability to protect yourself in the immortal realm as well,” Cang Huang added earnestly. These two finally recognized Qu Yi’s true strength.

Upon hearing the two’s words, Qu Yi merely smiled faintly before saying, “Enough. The path of cultivation is full of hardships, and the pursuit of immortality requires gradual exploration. Now, let’s leave this underground labyrinth.” It turned out that Qu Yi had already sensed the location of the space teleportation array. As soon as he spoke, he took off first, heading toward the array’s location. Naturally, Jin Xiong and Cang Huang immediately followed closely behind. In the desert stood a tall circular jade platform, with a space teleportation array at its top. Qu Yi, Jin Xiong, and Cang Huang stepped into the space teleportation array. … Inside the Liuhe Hall, the figures of Qu Yi, Jin Xiong, and Cang Huang suddenly appeared. Meanwhile, in the hall, Tai Ming and Ying Hua had been sitting on the ground, meditating in silence. As soon as Qu Yi appeared, Tai Ming and Ying Hua immediately stood up and bowed, saying, “Master, have you come out?” Hearing this, Jin Xiong and Cang Huang were utterly shocked, standing there like wooden statues, unable to believe their eyes as they stared at Tai Ming and Ying Hua. “Tai Ming and Ying Hua have also been captured by Qu Yi?” That was the only thought in Jin Xiong and Cang Huang’s minds. Seeing the embarrassed expressions of the four leaders, Qu Yi casually shook himself and smiled, saying, “Enough. Those who cultivate seek immortality; don’t let temporary status affect your practice. Let me put it this way—if you obey me, there won’t be any problem lifting the shackles from your souls in the future.” Hearing Qu Yi’s words, Tai Ming, Ying Hua, Jin Xiong, and Cang Huang immediately replied in unison, “Yes, Master.” Qu Yi smiled, then suddenly took off and rushed into the last light wall. The previous five light walls represented the Puppet Immortal Realm, the Ten Bridges of Wind Realm, the Ten Directions Sea Eye Realm, the Flame Mountain Range Realm, and the Underground Labyrinth Realm—places Qu Yi had already visited and from which he had obtained five mid-tier immortal weapons. After Qu Yi left, the four leaders looked at each other in confusion. “Jin Xiong, Cang Huang, were you also captured by Qu Yi?” Tai Ming asked anxiously, his face filled with worry. “Yes. Qu Yi used the Star Luo Ding to move freely through the underground labyrinth and even determine its directions. We couldn’t escape or fight back, so we had no choice but to submit to him,” Jin Xiong replied gloomily. The four leaders fell silent, sitting listlessly on the ground, exchanging weary glances.

“Now, there’s only one path left for us to take, which is to help Qu Yi unify the cultivation world. Only after Qu Yi ascends to the immortal realm and gains a position there can we gain our freedom,” Ying Hua suddenly said.
Tai Ming, Jin Xiong, and Cang Huang looked at Ying Hua, their eyes moving rapidly, before nodding in agreement with his idea.