The irony of it struck them all.

It was as if a wealthy merchant had invested in building a fortress with walls thicker than mountains, sturdy enough to endure cannon fire, only to leave the gates wide open for anyone to walk through.

Daoist Chu let out a quiet sigh. "So be it. Their arrogance or their confidence will be their undoing."

When the group crossed the final threshold, their surroundings expanded suddenly. What lay beyond took their breath away.

They stood within the hollow core of the sphere, a vast cavern at least fifty kilometers across.

The scale was staggering, an artificial world contained within layers of reinforced space. The walls curved high and wide, glowing faintly with the soft light of embedded inscriptions, making the entire hollow space seem like a world lit by a perpetual dawn.

And within this immense hollow, the Hidden Cave Sect had constructed a city of their own.

Massive structures filled the air, built with both elegance and practicality.

Halls of stone and wood rose in tiers, their rooftops gleaming faintly with protective runes. Wide pavilions stretched across terraces, their columns carved with spiraling dragons and phoenixes. Training grounds occupied entire platforms, their surfaces etched with practice arrays that allowed disciples to temper their skills without damaging their surroundings.

Some of the buildings were carved directly into the walls of the hollow sphere, like cliffside mansions stretching deep into the stone.

Others were supported by colossal pillars that anchored them into the very foundation of the sphere. Still more floated in mid-air, suspended by massive stone chains as thick as towers, their weight defying gravity through the constant hum of stabilizing arrays.

The sight of halls and towers dangling in the void-like air, swaying gently on their anchored chains, lent the entire scene a dreamlike quality.

The atmosphere was light, almost buoyant.

Since the void had no natural gravity, the sect had generated an artificial one through arrays inscribed across the floor and walls. Yet it was lighter than the gravity of a planet, giving the impression of weightlessness. The group felt their steps less heavy, their movements freer, though they knew this was but an illusion crafted for comfort.

Disciples of the Hidden Cave Sect moved about the structures below.

Some walked in orderly lines along suspended bridges that connected floating pavilions. Others sparred in open training fields, their strikes sending bursts of energy into the air. A few sat cross-legged in meditation upon hanging platforms tethered by golden chains, their robes fluttering faintly in the artificial breeze.

The city pulsed with life, vibrant and structured, as though they had never expected intrusion. The audacity of it made several of the intruders’ jaws tighten.

Lin Mu took it all in, his gaze sweeping from one floating hall to another. His sharp eyes caught the symmetry of the city’s layout. The sect had arranged its structures like a mandala, each section carefully balanced.

The halls for cultivation aligned with the training grounds, the residences flowed outward in perfect arcs, and the central pavilion, a building larger than all others, stood directly at the heart of it all. From that center, faint lines of energy radiated outward like spokes of a wheel, connecting the entire sect to a hidden power source.

Daoist Chu followed his gaze and nodded. "Their headquarters. That central pavilion must be the seat of their power. And from the way the arrays converge, it is likely the control nexus of the sphere."

Cattaleya folded her arms, her smile now sharper than before. "They have gifted us their throat. All we need do is seize it."

But Lin Mu’s expression remained sober.

The irony of the open gates still weighed upon him, and he knew better than to underestimate his enemy. They had been reckless once before, and it had cost them dearly. As he gazed upon the grand sight of the Hidden Cave Sect thriving in its hollow world, he reminded himself silently:

If it looks too easy, then danger may be waiting where it is least expected.

The strike team stood within the shadowed tunnel mouth, gazing out into the massive hollow world that the Hidden Cave Sect had built within the sphere. What they saw made them pause, even those who had expected strange sights.

At first, the scene appeared almost unbelievable.

The Hidden Cave Sect was notorious across the Silent Lotus World, one of the major unorthodox sects whose very name invoked fear in common cultivators. Their history was filled with bloody ambushes, stolen inheritances, and acts of betrayal that had earned them a place in the great battles of the past.

Many of those present had fought their disciples or, at the very least, heard the chilling tales of their cruelty. Yet what stretched before them did not resemble the lair of a sect drenched in infamy.

Instead, the place looked almost... peaceful.

Disciples in robes marked with the sigil of the sect—a stylized cave with a curtain of stone covering its mouth—moved about in leisurely rhythm.

They walked and talked casually along the floating bridges that connected the stone platforms. Some sparred in open training grounds, their movements disciplined but lacking any of the vicious edge that one might expect from unorthodox cultivators.

Others sat in meditation, their faces serene and devoid of the twisted malice so often seen in sects like the Drowned Crescent Cult. There was no oppressive aura lingering in the air, no sinister energy to prickle at their senses.

Daoist Chu rubbed his chin thoughtfully, muttering under his breath. "If I did not know better, I would think we stumbled into the grounds of a middle-ranked orthodox sect. There is none of the corruption, none of the dread."

Cattaleya crossed her arms, her golden eyes narrowing as she scanned the sight. "This is not at all what I expected. Where are the masks? Where is the secrecy? From what I recall, they always hid their faces when venturing outside. Yet here they are, barefaced, living lives as if nothing set them apart from others."