Eastern Dao Land was located to the North East of the Dao Empire; It was located above the Xuan Empire, separated by a big sea; To the East of the Eastern Dao land were many many small kingdoms that even the Xuan Empire dwarfed over them in size and power.
The supercontinent named Profound Land had 5 main regions, The Central region held all the major powers such as Dao Empire in its north, and Devil Empire in its south, and many others.
The extreme east of the Central region was part of the Dao Empire and it was named Eastern Dao land. That land was perhaps one of the most mysterious lands of Profound Land. On the surface, it was forests, plains, and hills with rivers flowing about but what made it special was beneath...
Under the Eastern Dao Land was a system of massive caverns that led to somewhere unknown, the caverns were so big that when one entered, they would feel as if they had entered another world! Many natural treasures and rare herbs grew there thus Cultivators of all realms were interested in that place but It was filled with demonic beasts which made it very dangerous.
Cultivators called the caverns, The Mystic Dungeon, and often many teams went to explore them and get benefits.
The Dungeon had an abnormally high amount of Qi in them which caused many Demonic beasts to be attracted to them and live there. The high amount of Qi also caused all sorts of strange phenomena and plants to appear, from extremely valuable herbs for Pill making to sentient man-eating trees...
The Dungeon walls were made of unusual stones that only Divine Awakening realm cultivators could damage which was why the entrances to the dungeon were limited and all were under the management of the Dao Empire.
Naturally, all other powers were envious and wanted a piece of that land which was why the Dao Empire had opened it for all to enter under the rule that 10% of spoils had to be handed to the Empire no matter the amount. This caused the land to be a very popular place filled with cultivators of all kinds. At the moment, it was in the hand of the Devil Empire and they had set off to win it back.
As for the end of the Dungeon, no one knew what was there but some speculated that it was a great treasure and others, a path to immortality and the Blue Dream.
Ling Tian had gotten all this information from Wood Heavenly King before and thought about them as he flew on his sword alongside the others. They flew nearly two hundred meters above the ground, neither fast nor slow; Forests, ravaged empty cities, and plains passed by...
'What could be at the end of it? Perhaps something Devil related? If not why would the Devil Cultivators attack there first? Something smells fishy here...' his thoughts came to end as he heard an argument nearby and listened like everybody else was doing.
Lian Qiu was in a heated argument about food and its benefits with another sect member that Ling Tian didn't recognize.
The sect member was a young man in his late teens and he seemed very interested in Lian Qiu's words...
"But brother Lian, I heard eating food is not good for Cultivators..." said the young man unsurely.
Lian Qiu snorted in disdain, "What do they know of the fine pleasures of life? I grew up eating vegetables and milk so I never knew what I was missing until that fateful day..."
The young man waited with expectation thinking that a great story was about to be told, Lian Qiu continued profoundly, "I tasted the oily and yet delicious meat on my tongue, it was tender yet firm, full of flavor and yet not too much, just the right amount of everything. I was like a virgin maiden who had fallen in love; Tasing the forbidden fruit expecting hell only to find heaven..."
The young man couldn't help but gulp, Lian Qiu's tone became melancholic, "It was like returning home from a hard day of work to a loving family and tasting love. Like the embrace of a mother after the son returning from a long journey. A warmth, unlike anything I had known before..."
Ling Tian couldn't help but hold in his laughter, 'Why is he being so dramatic about some meat?!' he was taken aback.
The young man also seemed to be taken with emotion, "Brother Lian, which divine cook made this holy food? What you describe couldn't have been some random meat and cook... He must have been an Immortal experiencing the mortal world!" The others who were listening also nodded.
Even the Wood Heavenly King's interest was piqued as he came closer to listen with some elders following him. Even the usually arrogant Lian RuXue paid some attention.
Lian Qiu waited for a moment to create some suspense and then pointed at Ling Tian, "It was him, He is a true master! He opened my eyes to the truth of life..."
Everyone turned to look at him with admiration except Lian RuXue and the elders. They were expecting some extraordinary tale about a mysterious immortal who cooked but they were disappointed.
The other, however, gathered around Ling Tian and began firing questions about the matter. He was surprised but he answered whatever he could as he glared at Lian Qiu who had managed to divert the attention of his sister's glare toward Ling Tian.
Lian Qiu thought, 'Sorry brother Ling but her glare was too much for my poor soul; I will pay you back later...' It seemed his sister had glared at him for some time to the point that his discomfort had caused him to scheme and divert her attention.
And he was successful as Lian RuXue looked at Ling Tian with disdain, he noticed it and smirked at her then ignored her which infuriated her a little.
The rest of the journey was spent in such a manner and a few hours of flight later, A great mountain appeared in front of them.
The mountain's base had a giant cave a few hundred meters tall and was visible from afar, in front of it stood many cultivators in a formation and a few structures that were clearly for battle were visible.
A Cultivator flew from there and stopped in front of them, she was a middle-aged woman that flew on a Guqin.
The Wood Heavenly King bowed to the woman alongside all the others in the area, Ling Tian also followed but he bowed very little since he didn't who she was.
"Elder, I am Mu Bao of the Dao Sect." Said the Wood heavenly king respectfully.
The woman nodded, "The other 5 groups have arrived, you are late. We will enter the Dungeon at night, you have no time to rest." She simply said and suddenly disappeared in front of Ling Tian's eyes.
For a single moment, he felt a massive pressure when she disappeared and gasped in surprise, 'Her power was so potent and massive, it felt completely different compared to Mu Bao... A Divine Awakening realm or above...' he concluded instantly.
Mu Bao, the Wood Heavenly King, turned to the group of roughly 3 hundred cultivators. He said, "I will explain the details... The main force of the enemy is in the dungeon and they have occupied all the entrances except this one that was protected by the Sky Zither Divine King and Her master. We alongside 5 other groups will enter the dungeon and exterminate all Devil Cultivators and regain the entrances from within. If you see any living being beside your fellow sect members with the appropriate sign, strike to kill without mercy or you will die."
His tone turned stern, "Be careful and don't trust anyone. I and the elders won't be able to lead you there since we will be part of a different group chasing their Heavenly Kings so the one to lead your group will be... Lian Qiu! You may not disobey the leader under any circumstance!"
Lian Qiu turned pale under his sister's glare and everyone's looks. He hurriedly said, "Wasn't that a joke?! I can't lead!"
Mu Bao sighed and asked formally, "Then will you, Lian Qiu son of Lian Shuren give leadership to someone else?"
Lian Qiu nodded instantly and wanted to point at Ling Tian but he felt killing intent from two directions, Ling Tian and Lian RuXue. He seemed to struggle as if asking himself who he feared more so in the end, he pointed at Lian Ruxue...
The Wood Heavenly King announced her as the leader and flew away, Ling Tian chased after him.
Lian RuXue had a beautiful smile that made Lian Qiu slightly relieved, "You have done well brother! Let me protect you..." He felt a bit weird and looked at himself, 'Am I even a man?' but before he could continue that line of thought, he realized how bothersome leading would be and shrugged it off.
Meanwhile, Ling Tian chased the Mu Bao and said after reaching him, "Do I have to obey her? Really?" He was not willing since he had his own plans and he was not going to put his life in another's hand, especially someone like Lian RuXue. He was tempted to leave the sect! But he wanted to go in there as well...
Mu Bao shook his head, "You are a Core disciple and it applies to you as well but since you are new to the sect, do what you see fit as long as it doesn't affect the group negatively, I am confident in your ability after our brief time together; If not under orders from the sect, I would have put you in charge. Good Luck, Let's hope we meet again..." he finished his sentence with sadness knowing that most of the group would not come out of the dungeon alive.
He flew away and Ling Tian felt a little better. The group was guided in a building to rest for a few hours and would then enter the dungeon at night.
None of them knew what awaited them since no one had been there so each person was given a map and a book about the place explaining many things. Ling Tian spent those hours reading them and glaring occasionally at Lian Qiu whenever he saw him nearby.
Lian Qiu was terrified to go near him.
Night arrived and they were notified to regroup to enter the Dungeon...