The three of them didn't wait any longer. If they did, it would just make it more likely for the demonic practitioners to catch onto the fact that they had come up with a backup plan. They stepped into the array and all imbued a bit of their spiritual energy inside with tacit understanding. If everybody shared the amount that was needed, neither of them would lack so much that they wouldn't be ready for a fight. This was truly the best way to go about it.
The lines of the array lit up and their bodies disappeared from the desert that was the border region and instead reappeared on top of another array in what could only be described as a cave.
Immediately, the four of them stood back to back, each of them surveying one direction to make sure that they wouldn't suffer from any sneak attacks.
After a moment, nothing of the like seemed to happen though. They heaved a faint sigh of relief and then stepped out of the array.
Zhi Guan motioned for them to have a look around. "Mei Chao Bing, Song Mu, the two of you go and take a look. Junior martial sister Xi, you make sure that the array is alright and that we can retreat at a moment's notice if necessary."
Xi Ju Hai nodded and immediately got to work. Zhi Guan hovered around, looking in the direction that Song Mu and Mei Chao Bing couldn't cover. Meanwhile, the other two tried to get a better idea of what exactly this place was like.
Mei Chao Bing first made sure that nobody was hiding around him and then looked up at the ceiling. It was completely out of stone with no chance to get a glimpse at the outside. Considering the temperature in here, he would guess that the cavern was underground. There were some stone pillars holding up the ceiling, making it difficult to see.
He narrowed his eyes and then went to the closest one, touching the surface with his fingers. It was slightly moist, and listening closely, there seem to be the sound of water dropping down from above somewhere close by. He gave a hum and then turned around, taking a closer look at the ground.
There was no indication that this cavern was visited often. The ground seemed rough save for the places that had been washed out by water already. If not for the array behind him, he might've thought that nobody before had ever seen this cavern.
He circled around the column, a spark of spiritual energy igniting at his fingertips. He didn't believe for a single moment that there really wasn't anyone here and that they wouldn't be attacked. It wasn't a question of if but a question of when and how it would happen. Now, the only thing he could do was to try and anticipate it so he would be ready.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Zhi Guan was still standing close to Xi Ju Hai so she wouldn't be in danger. Even though it had been a long time since he last saw Yun Bei Fen's first senior martial brother, he believed in his strength.
Turning back to the front, Mei Chao Bing circled around the next stone column and then raised his brows. "There's another array here."
The others looked over and Song Mu came to his side, looking at the array as well. "It seems to be the same kind that we used to get here."
Mei Chao Bing nodded, his expression unhappy. "In other words, this might be some kind of central point that would be used to get through the whole border region. From here, they could get to the place we came from and then be active around that part of the region but they could also come back in just a moment and then get to the other side of the border region in just a heartbeat."
"I hate to say this but I'm afraid that we aren't nearly as well prepared as we should. Even though the sects are supposed to all work together, we don't even have an array in each camp to get around."
Mei Chao Bing inclined his head and gave a hum but he also couldn't help but feel that the comparison was probably a little unfair to their side's sects as well. "The demonic sects have been here for much longer. They had time to prepare things. Think of how there was a whole fallen city in the border region. They were probably the ones to build it and also the ones to abandon it in the end.
"If we went in deeper, we would likely be able to see fully functional cities as well. It is no wonder that they had arrays like this. On the other hand, our sects can't really enter the border region so we can only try to set up things outside. Naturally, it will pale in comparison."
He didn't stay to chat and instead slowly walked forward, taking a closer look at the lines of the array. "If I remember correctly what senior martial sister Xi did before, this does not seem to differ from the other array at all. It should probably be a finished array."
At that moment, Zhi Guan and Xi Ju Hai were already coming over. Xi Ju Hai took a closer look and nodded. "It is indeed. This array would transport us further into the border region. In the same direction as the one that we just used."
Mei Chao Bing furrowed his brows and looked around the cave. "We should probably try and see if there are more of them around. If I'm right and this is leading in all the directions of the border region, then we really have a problem."
The others nodded and then went back to searching in the directions that they had originally been checking out. In any case, they needed to find as much information as they could before they returned. That alone would give their sects a bit of an advantage.