At this moment, the Ice Demon had already grasped the Ice Toad Treasure Pearl in his hand.
BOOM...
The black treasure orb shook violently, spewing forth terrifying waves of ice-snow energy that caused the frigid currents within the palace to surge violently, with heavy hail pelting down everywhere.
Clenching the black pearl tightly in both hands, mysterious black runes suddenly appeared across the Ice Demon's body, flowing toward the treasure pearl.
At the same time, the Ice Demon began reciting a series of mysterious incantations.
This was a secret inheritance art of the Ice Demon race!
Legend said the Ice Demon race were innately masters of ice and snow, capable of commanding various ice-snow energies and Laws.
Judging by the lifespan of the Ice Demon race, this particular Ice Demon was actually not yet an adult!
Thus, his overall strength was not especially high, but as his bloodline continued to break through, he began awakening various bloodline inheritances of the Ice Demon race.
While the Ice Demon was subduing the Ice Toad Treasure Pearl, Ye Yunfei was already reaching out to grab the dozens of space rings!
With treasures right before him, Ye Yunfei naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity!
By now, the area around the ice coffin was enveloped in the illusions conjured by Hu Miao and the Ghost Art unleashed by Huang Shang—layer upon layer of mirages amidst rolling mists of spectral energy.
Though the description seems prolonged, it all happened astonishingly fast: from Ye Yunfei unleashing his spatial blades, Hu Miao casting her Illusion Art, Huang Shang employing his Ghost Art, to the Ice Demon seizing the Ice Toad Treasure Pearl and Ye Yunfei reaching for the space rings—all transpired in an instant!
Mere half a breath's worth of time!
At this moment, the masters surrounding the ice coffin all sensed something amiss.
In that brief moment, caught off guard by the spatial blades, illusions, and ghostly arts, they had momentarily faltered, but they quickly regained their composure.
"Not good! Someone is taking the space rings and that treasure pearl! Stop them!"
"Damn it! Someone is using illusions to confuse us!"
Several experts roared in shock and fury.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The masters rushed toward the ice coffin at full speed.
BOOM! BOOM!
A barrage of overwhelmingly ferocious attacks blasted forth.
Enraged, these experts struck with their full power, holding nothing back!
The terrifying energy assaults caused the entire palace to tremble violently.
"I've finally subdued this Ice Toad Treasure Pearl!"
The Ice Demon cried out in joy.
"Let's go!"
Ye Yunfei exclaimed, sweeping all dozens of space rings from atop the coffin lid into his grasp.
The moment Ye Yunfei's hand touched the space rings, the corpse covered in white hair inside the ice coffin trembled slightly and began to float upward slowly, releasing a terrifying aura.
BOOM...
At this instant, all energy and Laws within the tomb area of Ancient Sage Gu Yao surged toward this coffin like a mighty tide, pouring into the white-haired corpse.
Even the attacks unleashed by the experts around the ice coffin were all sucked into the coffin, transforming into energy that fed the corpse.
BOOM...
The very earth where Ancient Sage Gu Yao's tomb stood shook violently, as a powerful earthquake erupted.
"What's happening?!"
"Look! Ancient Sage Gu Yao's corpse seems to be moving!"
"It can't be... corpse transformation, could it?"
By now, every martial artist in the palace felt their scalps go numb with terror, their eyes snapping toward the ice coffin.
The Illusion Art cast by Hu Miao and the Ghost Art of Huang Shang had long dissipated, making the situation inside the ice coffin clearly visible!
"Not good! Ancient Sage Gu Yao is undergoing Corpse-Dissolution!"
Ye Yunfei paled in shock.
He immediately grabbed the Ice Demon, Hu Miao, and Huang Shang, teleporting them into the Phantom Tower.
"Go!"
Ye Yunfei ordered the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm dove into space with the Phantom Tower, fleeing toward the palace exit.
BANG!
The instant the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm vanished into space, the lid of the ice coffin shot open violently.
The white hair-covered corpse inside the coffin abruptly sat upright, then slowly rose up from within.
BOOM...
At that moment, an unimaginably terrifying energy pressure instantly enveloped the entire palace.
Poof! Poof!
Numerous weaker martial artists' bodies exploded on the spot, turning into bloody mists that rapidly converged toward the white-haired corpse, pouring into it.
"Disaster! Ancient Sage Gu Yao is undergoing corpse transformation! Run!"
Someone screamed.
In truth, no reminder was needed; everyone in the palace knew things had taken a terrible turn.
For Ancient Sage Gu Yao's corpse to suddenly stir was a horrifying prospect.
One must remember, Ancient Sage Gu Yao was one of the supreme powerhouses of the ancient Eastern Barrens, an existence who had dominated an entire era!
A mere wisp of aura from such a being could annihilate everyone present!
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Everyone turned in panic, desperate to flee the palace.
Yet, right then, they all found themselves unable to run!
The energy pressure now present within the palace was overwhelmingly terrifying, as if it had completely sealed and solidified the space here!
They felt as if their bodies were mired in quicksand, movement becoming extremely difficult.
Only a few particularly powerful experts could slowly shift their positions, forcing themselves inch by inch toward the palace exit.
It looked as if their movements had been deliberately slowed down.
Meanwhile, the white-haired corpse within the ice coffin continued its gradual ascent.
Suddenly, to everyone's horror, they realized that with every bit the corpse rose, the energy pressure within the palace intensified!
Poof! Poof!
Next, some weaker martial artists, unable to withstand this ever-increasing pressure, began exploding one after another, transforming into clouds of bloody mist that were then sucked into the white-haired corpse.
"Save me!"
"Senior Gu Yao, spare our lives!"
...
Martial artists cried out, scared out of their wits, pleading for mercy.
BOOM...
Suddenly, a young genius from a major sect of the Eastern Barrens took out a tattered yellow talisman and activated it with force. A surge of teleportation energy erupted, enveloping the young genius and whisking him directly out of the palace.
"A Minor Teleportation Talisman!"
Those nearby looked on with intense envy.
Such Minor Teleportation Talismans were incredibly mysterious and exceedingly rare, possessing formidable teleportation power. In most situations, they could forcibly tear through space for teleportation.
Only ancient, profoundly deep major powers were likely to possess them. Ordinary martial artists, lacking great fortune, could hardly obtain one!
ROAR!
Suddenly, a massive demonic ape standing five or six meters tall let out a furious roar, its huge body exploding violently. The resultant frenzied energy poured into a brawny man over two meters tall standing beside it.
"Brother Ape, thank you!"
The brawny man's face showed a flicker of gratitude, then his body suddenly accelerated, charging out of the palace and speeding far away.
This was a young genius from the Beast Taming Sect, and that demonic ape was his Warbeast.
It turned out the Beast Taming Sect possessed a secret art that, in moments of crisis, allowed one to sacrifice their Warbeast, absorbing its energy to temporarily boost one's own strength!
Afterwards, quite a few other young geniuses used various formidable methods to force their escape.
All these young geniuses hailed from powerful factions of the Eastern Barrens and held important statuses, so they possessed more or less some life-preserving means.
As for those martial artists who, despite their fearsome strength, lacked important status and had no powerful life-saving measures, they could only be suppressed by the palace's dreadful energy pressure, their bodies exploding one after another, turning into bloody mist that fed the white-haired corpse.
"Ji Yue! Grab my hand, let's get out together!"
At this moment, a slender young woman in pink robes cried out.
This woman was Ji Yan, a young genius from the Ji Family, a major clan of the Eastern Barrens, and Ji Yue's cousin.
Ji Yue was not far from her.
"How is this possible! Su Fei was actually right—something major really did happen! Did Su Fei just make a wild guess that happened to be correct, or did he truly know beforehand?"
At this moment, Ji Yue suddenly recalled that Su Fei had said a major event would occur here and had even made the Ziwei Sect members leave in advance. She was utterly astonished.
Thankfully, the Ziwei Sect members had already departed earlier. If they were still here now, given the sect's strength, they would likely have been completely wiped out!