As Tang Xiaoqi stabilized the overall situation with an iron fist and Mu Xue eased contradictions with wisdom, as the tension within the Alliance slightly relaxed, the anti-Shadow Assembly purge also achieved breakthrough progress. The elite forces of the "Darkness Purification Discipline Department," directly commanded by Liu Yun and Ao Qin, based on fragmentary information obtained from soul-searching the Southwest cave black-robed figure and subsequent confessions from captured mid-to-low-level Shadow Assembly members, after layer upon layer of sorting and precise analysis, finally locked onto a secret stronghold highly likely used by Shadow Assembly core members—"Black Sand City," an ancient ruined city long abandoned for a thousand years, located on the edge of the Western Desert.
This ancient city was rumored to be a border fortress town of a cultivator dynasty in ancient times. It later turned to ruins in a brutal and fierce battle, buried mostly by drifting sand, leaving only broken walls and remnants standing in the wind and sand. Normally, besides treasure hunters and wandering cultivators, almost no one visited.
The operation began at night. To avoid alerting the enemy and demonstrate the Alliance's sincerity and efficiency in "joint investigation," Xiaoqi specially assigned an elite squad composed of mixed Human, Monster, and Sea Tribe elites, led by Liu Yun, with Ao Qin providing support.
The squad silently infiltrated the ruins of Black Sand City. The city was dead silent, with only the wind and sand moaning through the broken streets and houses, stirring up dust. According to intelligence, the stronghold was hidden underground, with an extremely concealed entrance. Everyone searched in dispersed formation, and ultimately, it was a Sea Tribe cultivator who, with his extraordinary perception of water vapor fluctuations, discovered a cleverly illusion-formation-concealed secret door at the bottom of an ancient, long-dried well.
Upon breaking the illusion formation and opening the secret door, a downward, deeply damp staircase appeared. The intense shadow energy mixed with a stale incense smell burst forth, energizing everyone—they had found the right place!
At the end of the staircase was a fairly large underground hall. In the center of the hall, an altar carved with the same twisted eyeball pattern seen in the Southwest cave was depicted, surrounded by scattered sacrificial vessels and black candles that had not yet fully burned out. The walls were covered with even more complex and eerie symbols. The air retained strong spiritual fluctuations and spatial disturbance traces.
Clearly, some kind of ritual had been held here not long ago, and the participants were not of low level.
Liu Yun immediately ordered the scene sealed and a carpet-like search conducted. Monster warriors were responsible for perimeter guard; Human cultivators carefully examined the altar and wall symbols; Sea Tribe cultivators used their unique perception to detect any hidden spatial nodes or secret rooms.
During the search, a brief but fierce battle erupted—two Gray-Robed Officers of the Shadow Assembly responsible for guarding the place rushed out from a hidden chamber, attempting to destroy something and break through, but were quickly subdued and sealed by Liu Yun and Ao Qin's thunderous methods.
After the battle, the most important discovery came from that hidden chamber. The chamber was small, containing besides some living supplies and scattered cultivation resources, the most striking—a complex compass-like magical artifact made of some black metal fixed to the stone wall, and beside it, several scrolls of ancient animal skin maps and jade slips piled on a stone platform.
The compass needle did not point north or south, but constantly and irregularly spun wildly, occasionally briefly pointing in some direction, emitting faint spatial fluctuations. The animal skin maps had, in blood-red pigment, a constantly moving, twisted vortex symbol marked in an area of the Western Desert called the "Burial God Gobi." The accompanying jade slips contained coded records about "Shadow Gates,""Unstable Rifts,""Periodic Manifestation,""Requiring Vast Negative Energy and Specific Beacons for Stabilization" and other key information!
"We found it!" Liu Yun lifted the scroll marked with the vortex symbol, her eyes flashing brilliantly, "The entrance to the Shadow Realm! It's in the Western Desert, deep underground beneath the 'Burial God Gobi'!"
She immediately reported this major discovery, together with the strange compass artifact and related jade slips, through emergency transmission talismans to Tang Xiaoqi commanding in the rear.
When the message arrived, Xiaoqi was personally stabilizing demonic marks for a Demon General whose condition had fluctuated at the Demon Purification Institute. After viewing the images and information Liu Yun sent back, he immediately handed over the subsequent treatment to other physicians, his form flashing, and appeared in a secret chamber at Clear Void Temple.
He carefully studied the transmitted map images and jade slip contents, especially that constantly moving vortex symbol and the descriptions of "Unstable Rift" and "Periodic Manifestation."
"So that's how it is..." Xiaoqi murmured to himself, "No wonder my previous star chart divination pointed toward the Shadow Realm yet was so vague. This entrance is not fixed, but constantly moves deep underground in the ancient battlefield, and only becomes relatively stable and enterable during specific cycles, or when certain conditions are met (such as gathering vast negative energy)."
He remembered Situ Ming's confession during the pursuit—his "final task" was to leave "specific spatial beacons" along his defection route. Now it seemed those beacons were very likely to help the Shadow Assembly locate this constantly moving entrance, or to stabilize the passage when it manifested!
The Shadow Assembly was indeed actively preparing actions related to the Shadow Realm! This entrance was very likely the key passage in their plan to welcome the Demon Lord's return, or to conduct some kind of large ritual!
"Command!" Xiaoqi rose abruptly, his gaze sharp, "Order Liu Yun and Ao Qin to return immediately carrying all evidence, concealing their movements along the way. Notify Mu Qingfeng, Mu Xue, and core representatives of all races—emergency council!"
The clues to the Shadow Realm entrance had been found, meaning the curtain was about to rise on the final battle. They must seize control of this unstable entrance before the Shadow Assembly could take further action, or... utilize it to march straight to the enemy's heart, completely end this long-drawn demonic calamity!
However, Xiaoqi also knew that the battlefield called "Burial God Gobi" was by no means a gentle place. It was one of the most horrific battlefields of ancient times, where countless great beings fell, resentment and killing intent condensed for ten thousand years without dispersing. The environment was harsh and space extremely fragile, far beyond ordinary dangerous lands. Searching for and entering an unstable Shadow Realm entrance there—with dangers that defied imagination.
But regardless, the direction was clear, the target was ahead. The Alliance war machine, once nearly stalled, finally received clear instructions again, beginning to operate at high speed around "Western Desert Ancient Battlefield" and "Shadow realm Entrance." An expedition deep into forbidden territory, facing boundless shadows, was imminent.