"You can take a look, but it’s best to be careful!" Xu Linglan understood the intent in Ye Haochuan’s eyes and reminded him.

Ye Haochuan’s face lit up with joy. With a wave of his hand, the Flower Energy dissipated, and the gray mist instantly transformed into a phantom image of a middle-aged man.

"Your response pleases me, I won’t dwell on our past issues," Ye Haochuan said with a smile, removing the ring he just picked up and replacing it on the piece of bone.

There were indeed good items in the ring, but none that truly tempted him. Since that was the case, he decided it was better to show some goodwill and return it.

Upon seeing this, the middle-aged soul’s expression tightened. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly said, "Hero, could I ask you for a favor?"

"What kind of favor?"

"I won’t hide it from you two, I am a cultivator from a small remote family. I embarked on a quest for treasure to enable my family’s prosperity and so my descendants might break through to higher levels. But as you can see, I perished here..."

"I wish to ask the two of you, when you leave, could you take this ring to Kema Town in Kuli Province and give it to my son, Gelido? As a reward, I can guide you to the mysterious underground palace," the middle-aged man said sincerely.

Ye Haochuan was curious, "Why don’t you return yourself and have your son come here to retrieve your remains?"

The soul of a cultivator isn’t like the ghosts rumored on Earth that can’t withstand sunlight. He could certainly return by himself.

The middle-aged man wore a bitter expression and sighed, "The distance to Kema Town is not short. If I keep flying, my soul will suffer significant damage. Moreover, there is a barrier protecting the exit of this cave, I can’t break through with my remaining Soul Power!"

Ye Haochuan thought for a moment and eventually agreed.

The middle-aged man, thrilled beyond words, began leading the way without delay.

Ye Haochuan initially thought the middle-aged man offered guidance as compensation simply because he couldn’t find another way to repay them, but upon entering, he realized he had underestimated the complexity.

After proceeding for tens of thousands of meters, the cave suddenly presented countless branches, each leading in different directions, and none with visible ends.

Ye Haochuan felt his scalp tingling, thankful for bringing the middle-aged soul along. Otherwise, faced with these branches, he might never have found the underground palace.

The middle-aged man quickly found an entrance and led them in, with Ye Haochuan and Xu Linglan following closely.

Not long after entering, Ye Haochuan noticed the surrounding temperature had unexpectedly dropped further.

Ye Haochuan hurriedly turned to check on Little Yishu in Xu Linglan’s embrace, worried about his son catching cold.

He saw the transparent shield around Little Yishu had become denser. Ye Haochuan forced his hand into the shield and instantly discovered it still held a very suitable temperature, unaffected by the external chill.

"What a treasure!" Ye Haochuan looked at the transparent shield in delight.

With this shield, Little Yishu might never experience colds or illness!

Continuing on, the surrounding temperature abruptly plunged to extreme levels, even Ye Haochuan felt the chill on his skin.

He queried the middle-aged man, "How much further?"

The middle-aged man pondered, "We should have arrived by now, and it wasn’t this cold the last time I came."

"What?" Ye Haochuan became alert and demanded, "Are you sure you didn’t take the wrong path?"

"I am sure I didn’t, I’m walking the same path I did last time," the middle-aged man asserted.

"He indeed hasn’t," a deep voice suddenly echoed from all directions, "He just doesn’t know the branches are under my control, I can change them at will."

"It’s... It’s that Soul Beast!" The middle-aged man trembled at the mention, showing some fear.

Ye Haochuan immediately readied himself, gripping the Halberd of Heaven and Earth, prepared to strike at any moment.

As for Xu Linglan, she promptly summoned the Defensive Shield, not out of fear of death, but worried about Little Yishu getting caught in the crossfire.

"Why? If you can alter the paths, why did I easily find the door the last time?" The middle-aged man was puzzled.

"Your weak power, what does finding it matter? I could easily destroy you. But the woman you brought is not so simple; I prefer avoiding trouble!"

The Soul Beast’s voice was full of mockery, "Now, you can circle this massive maze. I advise you not to break through the walls because doing so would mean an even worse death."

After saying this, the Soul Beast’s voice disappeared.

Ye Haochuan had already seen what lay beyond the walls, his expression darkened, "The walls above and below, left and right are the Nine Nether Earth Spring!"

"What?" Hearing this, Xu Linglan and the middle-aged man both turned pale.

Especially Xu Linglan, knowing the power of the Nine Nether Earth Spring firsthand. If she hadn’t quickly retreated into the Heaven Escape Bead, she might have been completely eroded by it.

"What do we do? Should we turn back?" Xu Linglan asked.

Ye Haochuan shook his head, "Since it is determined to trap us, it naturally won’t give us the chance to escape."

"It’s my fault for leading you into a dead end!" The middle-aged man blamed himself severely.

He wasn’t genuinely concerned for Ye Haochuan and Xu Linglan’s lives; he feared their death would leave no one to deliver the ring.

"It’s not your fault!" Ye Haochuan comforted him, "Don’t worry yet, maybe we’re not completely out of options. Let’s keep moving and see."

Reluctantly, the three continued onward.

After another half-hour walk, the path still seemed endless.

"Are we back where we started?" Xu Linglan asked, looking gravely at a large rock beside the cave.

Ye Haochuan looked over and found Xu Linglan’s observation was correct.

"It appears I guessed right; this cave has been turned into a massive ring, and even a lifetime’s walk wouldn’t find a way out!" Ye Haochuan slowly said.

"Why don’t you use..."

Xu Linglan seemed to have an idea, yet she was interrupted by Ye Haochuan before she could finish, "This time, we’ll split up; you both move forward, I’ll move back!"

"Why?" Xu Linglan was quite puzzled, unsure of Ye Haochuan’s intentions.

What Xu Linglan meant to suggest was for Ye Haochuan to use the Heaven Escape Bead to leave the Nine Nether Earth Spring. Ye Haochuan clearly heard this intent but was baffled as to why he made such a seemingly pointless choice.

Since it’s a ring, moving forward and backward—what’s the difference?