In the gloomy, ancient passageway, a trialist was beheaded. His head, with eyes wide open in death, rolled far away, while a torrent of fresh blood spurted from the severed neck. The crimson mist hung in the air, stunning everyone.
One moment it was a living being, the next it was decapitated. It all happened too suddenly, leaving no time to react.
Beside the fallen trialist, a tall stone soldier had moved. Its ten-foot-long spear was held in a sweeping posture, the tip still stained with blood, confirming that it was the killer.
The stone soldier had actually moved. This sight horrified the many trialists; none had anticipated such a thing.
Several princes and princesses paled. They hadn't taken the Thirteenth Prince's words seriously before, but now his warning was proven true.
Subsequently, the tall stone soldiers lining both sides of the passage began to move, as if coming to life. With a metallic clang, they drew their long spears and simultaneously swung them at the crowd.
Many trialists were caught off guard. Though they reacted in time, preventing further deaths, these stone soldiers were each immensely powerful. Their sweeping spear strikes were unstoppable, sending swathes of trialists flying. Many were shaken to their core, their bodies feeling as if they would split, blood spurting from their mouths.
In just one clash, at least half the trialists were struck, their blood and qi churning within, leaving them in great discomfort. Yet they hesitated no longer and began to fight back, swords and sabers clashing with metallic rings.
However, their attacks were ineffective against these stone soldiers, failing to truly damage any of them, leaving only shallow scratches.
Conversely, the stone soldiers were formidable. Using their shields and spears in tandem, they sent trialist after trialist flying and coughing up blood in the blink of an eye.
A Hundred Strong Trialist stepped forward to attack, swinging a heavy hammer. It clashed against a stone spear with a metallic clang, sparks flying, but he failed to overpower the stone soldier; they were evenly matched.
Everyone's expressions changed upon seeing this. These stone soldiers could actually rival Hundred Strong Trialists. Moreover, they lined both sides of the passage; a rough estimate put their numbers at over fifty.
No wonder the trialists who entered earlier had screamed and then fallen silent, never to reappear. Facing over fifty stone soldiers, each rivaling a Hundred Strong Trialist, how could anyone proceed? It seemed a dead end.
A full fifty stone soldiers surrounded the trialists. Combining spear and shield attacks, they charged forward, directly blasting many trialists away. Some were even forced to choose elimination to protect themselves.
But the stone soldiers continued their assault, striking the spirit talismans' eerie glow until it flickered repeatedly, causing panic.
Although the spirit talismans' eerie glow could withstand two or three strikes from a Martial God, that was only for ordinary attacks, and it had a limited durability. Now they finally understood why previous trialists, including Hundred Strong Trialists, had been killed despite the protection of the spirit talismans. They couldn't leave this mysterious realm—only the younger generation could enter—and with the stone soldiers attacking incessantly, even the sturdiest defense would eventually break.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fifty stone soldiers continuously attacked the crowd. Though they used no martial techniques, their strikes were fast, accurate, and vicious, with immense force, sweeping many trialists away.
The Hundred Strong Trialists all took action, managing to hold off the stone soldiers. One stone soldier swung its great spear at Ye Chen, but with a metallic clang and sparks flying, a great spear appeared in Ye Chen's hand, colliding with it. The spear trembled, transmitting a strange force that blasted the stone soldier away.
Clearly, this wasn't Ye Chen's true strength; otherwise, a flick of his finger would have been enough to shatter the stone soldier.
But this scene still shocked the surrounding trialists. They hadn't expected such a master to be among them, though they didn't pay it too much mind, as some experts were likely keeping a low profile.
The Twelfth Princess of the Tenglong Empire let out a sharp cry, wielding a heavy artifact to strike a stone soldier. The stone soldier blocked with its shield. Even a strike from a Martial God Dao Weapon failed to completely breach its defense, though cracks appeared all over the shield.
Seeing this, the other princes and princesses immediately attacked with their Martial God Dao Weapons. Explosive booms echoed through the entire passage as stone statues were blasted away, their stone bodies torn apart.
This was only because the Martial God Dao Weapons had been partially awakened. If a Martial God were to wield one at full power, even with the stone soldiers' far greater durability compared to ordinary cultivators, six or seven would likely be shattered in a single strike.
With the attacks from the Martial God Dao Weapons, the pressure on the trialists decreased dramatically. They channeled streams of True Yuan into the Dao Weapons, supporting their more complete awakening.
Finally, all fifty stone soldiers were blasted into dust, leaving nothing behind. However, eleven people were still killed in this battle, and twenty-three were eliminated—losses remained.
Encountering life-and-death crises twice in one day cast a shadow over everyone's hearts. What exactly was hidden in this mysterious realm that made it so dangerous? Could there truly be the legacy of a supreme Divine Spirit?
Hearts heavy, the group advanced, still led by the princes and princesses wielding the Martial God Dao Weapons at the front.
After traveling a considerable distance, they encountered another ambush. This time, it wasn't stone soldiers but tens of thousands of sharp arrows shooting forth. Each arrow could pierce through True Yuan barriers, fired from the walls to form a dense rain of arrows that would terrify anyone who saw it.
Again, the seven princes and princesses used their Martial God Dao Weapons to great effect, obliterating the arrow rain. However, over a dozen people at the front, who hadn't reacted in time, were shot dead.
Casualties gradually mounted, and everyone grew anxious, fearing they would be next.
The long, mysterious passage seemed endless. The group walked for an unknown length of time—at least a full day—encountering nine sudden ambushes in a row. Each ambush came in a different form, and the later ones grew increasingly fierce and terrifying. The number of casualties surged, and by the end, the total death toll exceeded one hundred.
Many trialists even began to despair. Was this passage truly endless? Would they be trapped inside forever, unable to leave?
The princes and princesses of the superpowers grew somewhat impatient. Moreover, the repeated use of the Martial God Dao Weapons had caused severe depletion.
Just as everyone was growing anxious, a glimmer of light appeared at the end of the passage. Surprisingly, rich and surging Heaven and Earth spiritual energy wafted from it, incredibly pure. Just inhaling a wisp of it refreshed their spirits—truly miraculous.
"Are we finally leaving this killing passage and entering a true paradise?"
"Excellent! With such dense Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, the area ahead must be a blessed land."
"Finally, we won't have to face the danger of death anymore."
Hope suddenly blossomed in everyone's hearts—truly, when one door closes, another opens.
Yet at this moment, Ye Chen's expression gradually grew heavy. He knew that the giant golden crimson sand scorpion must also exist within that mysterious region. The danger there could only be described as even more terrifying than this so-called killing passage.
Roar!
From behind, numerous stone beasts charged forward with a fearsome momentum. This was the final wave of ambushes they encountered—a batch of carved stone beasts, ferocious and terrifying, that suddenly awakened. Fortunately, everyone was already on guard, resulting in only six eliminations and no other casualties.
"Hurry, leave this killing passage and head to the front!"
The trialists couldn't wait to rush out. Before them was a blindingly bright light, forcing them to squint. Once their eyes adjusted, they realized they were no longer in the dark, murderous passage but in a different realm.
This realm wasn't large, only several dozen li in radius. However, it was filled with surging Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, far surpassing the outside world and comparable to—even superior to—the blessed lands controlled by first-rate powers.
Small bridges over flowing streams, tinkling springs, spirit deer darting about, immortal cranes soaring through the sky—everything appeared so harmonious, captivating the soul.
"Look! It's a Nine Thousand Black Flower, a Heaven and Earth Treasure! Its petals are as large as a palm; it must be at least a thousand years old!"
A trialist exclaimed in surprise, spotting a strange black flower in the distant forest. Its palm-sized petals shimmered with dark light, making his eyes gleam with desire.
Once a Heaven and Earth Treasure exceeds a thousand years of age, its medicinal efficacy increases dramatically, even gaining the divine effect of extending lifespan—highly valued by old monsters nearing the end of their natural lives.
"There are Frost White Lotus Seeds over there..."
"There's even a Soul-Guiding Lotus, and such a large one..."
Exclamations drew attention. Within the lush green forest, various Heaven and Earth Treasures took root, each emitting a faint fluorescent glow. They were all significantly larger than their counterparts in the outside world, with astonishingly high medicinal ages. Clearly, in this uniquely favorable environment, these treasures had grown exceptionally well.
Everyone was tempted; no one could remain calm. These were treasures that would tempt even Martial Gods and Heavenly Gods.
But at this moment, only one person's gaze didn't fall upon these Heaven and Earth Treasures. Instead, he looked toward a dilapidated ancient hall not far away. In its center stood a broken divine throne, empty.
Beneath the divine throne were nine ancient, simple Dao platforms. On six of them sat indistinct, hazy figures, their bodies flowing with a mysterious charm, as if in harmony with the Dao of Heaven and Earth, drawing the Dao down.
At this moment, all six opened their tightly shut eyes, cold lightning flashing within.
These people were none other than the long-missing superpower experts with the qualification to delay claiming kingship!