Such a grand undertaking!

After having their fill, the two nations and six Martial Saints gathered in the combat conference room of the Pioneer to discuss the exploration of the Taixi Grotto Heaven, scheduled for three days later.

"The entrance to the Taixi Grotto Heaven is located at the center of the Moon... We will enter the Moon Core Region from Tunnel No. 3..."

The Moon is a hollow sphere, housing an ancient city within its hollow center, where once lived a significant population of Feather People who established a flourishing civilization during the ancient times of Blue Star.

Unfortunately, the Moon Core Region seems to have suffered from some form of dreadful negative energy pollution, turning the Feather People into wicked and corrupted beings.

They have become mad and brutal, not only in their grotesque and terrifying appearances but also with their hearts twisted and chaotic, launching attacks on any being daring to step into the Moon Core Region.

"For the Black Crow Sharp Warriors on the perimeter, how about we each send one person from both sides to clear them out?"

Gu Minghui proposed this suggestion, with only two Martial Saints taking action to allow others to maintain the best possible state in preparation for any potential crisis events that might arise.

Karelin, seasoned in many battles, understood the necessity of this, thus did not oppose: "I agree."

He then looked to the side: "Andre, it’s your turn to show your skills next."

On the Dongji Kingdom side, the one to take action was the Vermilion Bird Divine General, as among the Four Great Divine Generals, she had the most range attack techniques, ideal for efficiently clearing out the minions.

In the blink of an eye, three days and nights had passed.

Ye Qingzhou followed the main group into an underground tunnel located beneath the Moon Surface Base.

The deep tunnel stretched straight towards the Moon Core, with a diameter exceeding a hundred meters and a depth reaching 1,100 kilometers!

"A feat of the century indeed..."

Just by taking a glance, Ye Qingzhou couldn’t help but express his awe.

"This tunnel originally existed; we simply discovered it by chance. In fact, the Moon Surface Base is built directly above it."

Gu Minghui explained with a smile, then continued: "There are two other similar tunnels, but they are on the other side of the Moon, where the Western Pole Kingdom’s Moon Surface Base is located."

Subsequently, everyone leaped into the tunnel, and without air resistance, they fell much more slowly than on Blue Star, as the gravity here is only one-sixth of that on Blue Star.

When the prolonged fall ended, what appeared before Ye Qingzhou was a colossal ring city encircling the Moon Core. All the buildings were silvery white, cast from rust-proof titanium alloy, and even after billions of years remained radiant and magnificent.

"This place is the Moon Palace from the Eastern Yi Race’s ancient legends, also known as Guang Han."

Gu Minghui introduced it to Ye Qingzhou: "Unfortunately, the laurel divine tree here has been demonized, making it very dangerous, otherwise I might have taken you on a tour."

As they were chatting, Xuanwu issued a warning: "Careful, those things are coming."

Caw~

Hoarse shrieks surged in like a tide, layer upon layer, stabbing at the eardrums and piercing the mind.

"Guard your mind, this is a mental screech!"

Gu Minghui reminded everyone using thought transmitting sound.

Soon, Ye Qingzhou saw a swarm of ’Crow People’ with black feathers pouring in. Their stature was generally taller than humans, with heights of about three meters.

Their wingspan could reach seven to eight meters or more, without arms, but their legs were strong and agile. The surface of the wings was covered with a layer of alloy armor, and the metal-forged black feathers were thin and sharp, capable of slicing through gold and jade.

"These are the Black Crow Sharp Warriors, each possessing combat power beyond Professional Fifth Rank, and they can fly, which makes them hard for Martial Artists of the same level to defeat..."

"The critical issue is the number, there’s just too many of them..."

A vast swarm, estimated at least a million strong, formed a massive black tornado charging forward.

The mental screeches from over a million Black Crow Sharp Warriors combined to create a dreadful mind storm, capable of causing even a Grandmaster Level Martial Artist to suffer mental breakdown.

However, for Martial Saints, with the protection of the Power of Mental Imagery, it was merely somewhat irritating.

Roar~

Andre made his move, his fists the size of cauldrons unleashed a ball of black Dragon Flame, roaring to the sky like an evil dragon, its mental sound ’deafening’.

Even though the Moon lacked air, reducing the destructive power of his punch, the mental aspect of the attack still shattered tens of thousands of Black Crow Sharp Warriors.

The corpses of the black birds rained down, turning into pools of black water upon hitting the ground and quickly flowed toward the same direction, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"His technique is somewhat similar to Qi Shengtian’s Dragon Fist."

Ye Qingzhou recognized Andre’s remarkable cultivation, noting that although the Northern Alliance had weakened significantly in recent decades, their foundation remained, still able to produce such a peak Martial Saint strong person as Andre.

Acting from the depths of the mind came the cry of a Phoenix bird; turning back, Ye Qingzhou saw that the Vermilion Bird Divine General was in action, revealing her Vermilion Bird Celestial Fire Heart Image.

With the emergence of the Celestial Fire Divine Sword, flames filled the sky, radiant and dazzling.

Under the sweep of the Divine Sword, the crow swarm burst into flames, tens of thousands of Black Crow Sharp Warriors reduced to ashes amid wails and screams, disappearing without a trace.

With two Martial Saints clearing the way, the group naturally reached the Moon Worship Altar without a hitch.

This was a magnificent altar, with a height exceeding ten thousand meters, towering over the highest peaks on Blue Star by nearly two thousand meters.

Around the altar stood twelve Bronze Divine Trees.

The base of these trees seemed conjoined with three mountains, their main trunk layered thrice, each ascending to the mountain peak, with branches divided into three layers, each layer bearing three branches, two fruit branches on each, one upward and one drooping, with large fruit receptacles.

"This is the Fusang Divine Tree, on which dwell nine birds, said to be the ten Divine Bird Golden Crows born to the Goddess Xihe and Celestial Emperor Jun, with one currently on a celestial patrol mission."

A blue dragon spiraled down along the tree trunk, seemingly poised to launch into flight, yet still residing beneath the Golden Crows.

This showed that even during the Feather Race’s dominance, the Dragon Race, and indeed the entire Linn Race civilization, had declined, forced to defer to the Feather Race civilization.

"I’m going to initiate the array now."

Gu Minghui produced a peculiar Ancient Bronze Mirror, and upon infusing it with the Power of Thought Ability, the smooth mirror surface emitted a stream of seven-colored light, igniting the spiritual lamps on the tops of the twelve Bronze Divine Trees.

With the Spiritual Fire aglow, twelve beams of moonlight converged at one point, finally opening the gateway to the Taixi Grotto Heaven.

Passing through the door, Ye Qingzhou found himself on a land shrouded in moonlight, with stars twinkling overhead and surrounding mountains imbued with a sinister and dangerous aura.

The undulating mountains resembled slumbering beasts, menacing even with claws and fangs withdrawn, their terrifying presence still sending chills down the spine.

Ye Qingzhou glanced around, seeing the trees in the moonlight distorted into grotesque and twisted shapes, their branches sharp as knives and spears, and their dead leaves emitting a stench of rot...

"This was once supposedly the Divine Kingdom of the Goddess Xihe, filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, serene and harmonious, but now it’s become such a sight."

Xuanwu lamented, all the while not forgetting to maintain full vigilance.

"According to documents left by the Feather Race, the Goddess Xihe likely perished at the hands of the Nether Emperor of the Void Divine Dynasty. He governs darkness and death, an extremely powerful Divine Being. It was probably his dark divine power that polluted the Taixi Grotto Heaven, and our mission here is to locate the source of the pollution and attempt to capture it."

Gu Minghui’s goal was to capture the Nether Emperor’s dark divine power to devise targeted defensive strategies.

After all, both the Nether Emperor and Emperor Slayer were amongst the chief architects of the ancient civilization’s downfall on Blue Star, and though the Nether Emperor was slightly less potent than Emperor Slayer, he was still an adversary that the Dongji Kingdom needed to treat with utmost seriousness.

"Divine Power possesses its own spirituality, and after billions of years of passage, it has likely evolved continuously within the Taixi Grotto Heaven, becoming a formidable Divine Abomination."

Gu Minghui reminded everyone: "So, during this operation, everyone must exercise extreme caution."