It was a spear!
And the spear was shot by a skeleton!
The skeleton was clad in armor, and judging by its style, it should be a skeleton captain.
Ye Cangtian's gaze fell upon the skeleton captain's hand, where it held a dagger that was entirely black and emitted a faint glow of precious light.
Just by looking at the dagger, it was evident that it was far superior to any weapon on the shelves.
"Damn it, could that be the Heart of the Ruins?"
Ye Cangtian couldn't help but look at it with burning desire. It was a lie if he said he wasn't tempted.
However, at this moment, he didn't know whether to consider himself lucky or unlucky.
Lucky, because the dagger was indeed suspicious.
Unlucky, because if the dagger was truly the Heart of the Ruins, then the skeleton captain's strength must be immense!
With his current abilities, he might not be able to defeat it.
However, the skeleton captain did not give him time to think. Seeing that its surprise attack had failed, it decisively abandoned the sneak attack and instead charged forward, engaging in a direct confrontation.
Such speed!
In their first exchange, Ye Cangtian's expression became serious.
The opponent's attacks were cunning and his speed was incredibly fast, not inferior to his own.
The most troublesome aspect was the dagger in the skeleton captain's hand, which could slice through iron as if it were mud. Ye Cangtian's own refined steel dagger was snapped in two after just one clash.
Fortunately, this was an armory, and there were plenty of weapons on the shelves.
Beyond that, having experienced the previous battle, Ye Cangtian was well aware of the skeleton soldiers' weaknesses. Coupled with his slightly superior strength, dealing with them was not too difficult.
He first attacked its short legs, causing the skeleton captain's movement speed to drastically decrease.
Then, he severed its arms to weaken its attacks, and finally, he decapitated it.
"Damn it, after wasting two of my daggers, your skeleton dagger is mine!"
Ye Cangtian let out a light breath and then seized the dagger from the skeleton captain's hand.
Ever since his encounter with the skeleton captain, he had realized that this dagger was not the Heart of the Ruins, but merely a sharp, ordinary dagger.
The reason was simple: the skeleton captain's strength was only at the Profound level.
How could such a creature be worthy of guarding the Heart of the Ruins?
However, this was perfect. If it wasn't the Heart of the Ruins, then no one would pay attention to it.
After searching the area, Ye Cangtian changed his disguise as Xuan Qi and resumed his original identity, immediately heading towards the Dragon Group's area.
...
"Help! Someone!"
Before Ye Cangtian could reach the Dragon Group's location, he heard panicked voices.
That area was the central zone managed by the Temple of Light.
There weren't many buildings in the central area, just a grand and imposing plaza.
The plaza contained nothing else but thirteen statues.
Twelve of the statues were divided into two factions, standing before a golden armored statue wearing a crown.
This was the reason the Temple of Light had vied to search this area. Although there were no houses, these statues were likely the most valuable treasures.
They were clad in silver armor, wielding sharp weapons, and appeared imposing and majestic...
Of course, the Temple of Light was not interested in these aspects, but rather in the golden and silver armors, the weapons held in the statues' hands, and the crystals embedded in them.
The ordinary statues were all inlaid with four white crystals, while the statue that resembled the city lord was embedded with two purple crystals.
Besides the precious crystals, the armors and weapons might also be the true Hearts of the Ruins.
Therefore, the Temple of Light had volunteered to search this area, and the Dark Association had readily agreed.
As the saying goes, risk is proportional to reward. How could those treasures be so easily obtained?
As expected, just as two divine envoys went to test the waters and seize the treasures.
All the statues opened their eyes, their swords constantly swinging, directly hacking the two divine envoys into pieces.
With a single swift action, Hasal of the Temple of Light's face darkened. The ordinary guardian statues' strength was already infinitely close to the Earthly level.
As for the city lord statue, although it had not made a move, its powerful aura made Hasal break out in a cold sweat. It was by no means something he could deal with alone.
As a last resort, Hasal had no choice but to abandon the idea of monopolizing the benefits and send for reinforcements.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Figures continuously converged towards the central area.
As soon as they arrived, they heard a bang, and a figure flew over.
This person was none other than Hasal, the leader of the Red Robe Sect, who had been targeted by the city lord statue.
After only three or four exchanges, Hasal proved inferior and was directly injured, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his strength greatly diminished.
"So powerful!"
Upon seeing the city lord statue knock away Hasal, everyone's expression turned grim.
These statues posed a great threat to them!
Now that Hasal was heavily injured and all the divine envoys were dead, the remaining three purple-robed bishops, including Nancy, were struggling to hold on.
They were clearly at a disadvantage. If this continued, they would surely meet their deaths.
"Jian Wusheng, the city lord statue is too strong. Do you dare to join forces with us?"
At this moment, Zi Long's gaze fell upon Jian Wusheng. The city lord statue exerted too much pressure on him. Even if he and Qing Dao Lan Yue joined forces, they might not be able to defeat it.
Among the Earthly level powerhouses, Hasal was already severely injured, leaving only Jian Wusheng of the Hidden Sect.
But the problem was that the Hidden Sect and the Dark Association had always been mortal enemies, so how could they cooperate wholeheartedly?
Therefore, he had to clarify first.
"What is there to dare not!"
Jian Wusheng's response was only four words. He was very clear about the current situation. If they couldn't kill the city lord statue, no one would be able to leave the ruins, let alone obtain the Heart of the Ruins.
"Good, then summon all of the Hidden Sect's hidden experts!"
"Hmph!"
Jian Wusheng snorted upon hearing this, knowing that the other party was worried about him secretly plotting. He then waved his hand.
The next moment, three figures instantly sprang out from a corner.
Besides Yuwen Chengji, there were two others.
"Three Profound level experts? What about the Earthly level ones?"
Zi Long's gaze swept towards Jian Wusheng, his brow furrowed. He did not believe that the Hidden Sect only had one Earthly level powerhouse.
"I said, I am enough!"
Jian Wusheng sneered proudly and then ignored them.
Zi Long's eyes flickered upon hearing this. Although the other party implied there was only one Earthly level expert.
He could not fully believe or disbelieve such words.
What if another Earthly level powerhouse suddenly appeared?
Therefore, he still had to guard against it.
"Everyone listen up, those who can still fight, take responsibility for the guardian statues!"
Saying that, Zi Long exchanged glances with Qing Dao and Lan Yue, nodded to each other, and then charged forward.
He did not continue to press Jian Wusheng, as Jian Wusheng's attitude indicated that the answer would only be one. They couldn't possibly draw swords against each other at this moment.
The next moment.
Ye Cangtian, who had just returned, led the Dragon Group, the Death Squad, and Zhao Ziyang and others, and charged forward.
However, they did not engage in a head-on fight but instead attracted the attention of the guardian statues, luring half of them to another location.
Although the guardian statues still lacked intelligence, they were much better than the stone men. They understood how to cover each other and coordinate their attacks.
Therefore, the primary method to deal with them was to separate them and then defeat them one by one.
Coordinated with Taishan's incredible defensive power, coupled with the distraction provided by Wuying Sword and Bayonet, and the cooperation of the Dragon Group members.
Ye Cangtian, Qiangwei, and Zhao Ziyang successively slew the guardian statues.
However, after killing them, Ye Cangtian did not lead his men to support the others. Instead, he instructed Yao Bao'er to disguise everyone as heavily injured.
The purpose was simple: to show weakness. And Yao Bao'er, being skilled in medicine, had no problem faking injuries.
It was clear that the ultimate danger within Haicheng was those statues. If they maintained too high a combat strength, once the statues were eliminated, they would likely become targets for everyone.
All factions did not want potential threats lurking around them.