A small crystal could make these stone figures move freely, possess monstrous defense, and possess immense strength!
It seemed these crystals were no simple matter!
Ye Cangtian's interest was piqued, and he set his sights on the remaining stone figures!
At this moment, while other members of the Dark Association desperately wanted to escape this terrifying place upon encountering the stone figures, Ye Cangtian treated them as prey!
...
After a while!
The ground was littered with piles of rubble, and Ye Cangtian was picking up crystals one by one.
A total of six crystals!
Of course, these stone figures were indeed difficult to deal with. Even after finding the knack for attacking them, dealing with the remaining five exhausted him greatly.
A few stone figures were manageable, but if their numbers increased, he would have no choice but to flee!
Ye Cangtian soon arrived at Xuan Qi's corpse and rummaged through the latter's mangled remains, eventually finding a crystal.
"I didn't expect this guy to actually kill a stone figure!"
However, this was also normal. Ordinary Yellow-ranked members found it difficult to deal with stone figures, but Xuan Qi, as a Xuan-ranked expert of the Dark Association, could handle a lone stone figure!
Having acquired another crystal, Ye Cangtian put it away and slowly departed.
Some passage entrances had markers, so by following the markers, he could quickly return to the surface.
Just as he found a marked passage entrance, footsteps sounded from behind him. Ye Cangtian then saw a figure wearing a bronze mask cautiously approaching.
"Huang Wu?" Glancing at the insignia on the other's mask, Ye Cangtian showed a strange expression.
"Brother Huang Jiu? You're not dead?"
Upon seeing Ye Cangtian, Huang Wu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He had been pursued by some stone figures earlier and was fortunate to escape quickly.
However, he had seen many people entangled by stone figures and eventually die amidst them, which was a truly tragic sight!
"Where are the others?" Ye Cangtian asked casually.
"I don't know about the others, but almost none of them escaped. Many people died!"
Huang Wu felt lingering fear, panic flashing in his eyes, and he hurriedly asked, "Brother Huang Jiu, what kind of hellhole is this place? Those stone figures are too terrifying! By the way, where is our Lord Xuan Qi?"
He had already mentally aligned himself with Xuan Qi's command, as in a place fraught with peril, without the protection of an expert, the next descent would be even more dangerous.
Ye Cangtian shook his head, "I don't know where my lord has gone either. We all got separated. Perhaps my lord has already returned to the surface!"
Huang Wu sighed. There were too many stone figures inside; a dense group would rush over, and even a Xuan-ranked expert would only have the option to flee!
Suddenly, he remembered something and said, "Brother Huang Jiu, I unintentionally seemed to hear someone calling out a name just now."
"I think I heard someone call out 'Ye Cangtian'! I wonder who that Ye Cangtian is?"
"..." Ye Cangtian couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Xuan Qi had called his name before dying, and he didn't expect Huang Wu to have heard it! This guy must have been nearby at the time!
Fortunately, Xuan Qi hadn't said anything else; otherwise, if it had been overheard, his identity would still have been easily exposed!
Ye Cangtian felt a slight urge to kill this guy right here, although the current Huang Wu might not have heard anything else.
However, he saw Huang Wu checking the passage entrance and exclaim excitedly, "Brother Huang Jiu, we're not far from the exit!"
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian abandoned the idea of silencing him.
Since they were not far from the exit, if he killed this guy, it was likely to be discovered later, which would cause some trouble!
The two quickly continued towards the exit.
A moment later, they finally emerged from the exit and arrived at an area where scientists were busy working.
At this time, quite a few people had already gathered, indicating that those above were aware of the stone figure riot within the passage!
Huang Si, who had guided them earlier, was also alive.
Seeing Ye Cangtian and Huang Wu emerge together, he immediately went to meet them, "Brother Huang Jiu, you two are out as well?"
Huang Si had been out for a while. Escaping with him was another Yellow-ranked member who had experience exploring the outer areas of the ruins.
Apart from them, only Ye Cangtian and Huang Wu had come out.
"What's the situation inside? How many stone figures rioted?" a voice called from behind, belonging to a Xuan-ranked expert.
At this point, six or seven Xuan-ranked experts had gathered here, including the rather plump Xuan Jiu.
Ye Cangtian hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency, there should be at least dozens of stone figures, perhaps even more! My subordinates have low strength and dared not linger, so I am not sure of the exact number."
"Damn it, why so many stone figures? This is just the outer perimeter of the ruins!"
"Yes, and the ruins haven't even opened yet, and these stone figures have already rioted. This is too unusual!"
Several Xuan-ranked experts discussed amongst themselves.
This was not their first time entering ruins; other ruins they had entered before were not this strange!
"It should be due to the premature opening of the ruins!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out from not far away.
Everyone immediately fell silent and looked in the direction of the sound.
A man wearing a golden mask and purple robes walked over from a distance, accompanied by two Xuan-ranked experts.
"Lord Zǐ Lóng!" a group of Xuan-ranked experts said respectfully.
Ye Cangtian, like all other Yellow-ranked members, was somewhat surprised, as almost all Yellow-ranked members had never seen an existence above the Xuan-ranked.
They only knew that among the Dark Association members, Yellow-ranked was the lowest, Xuan-ranked were the stewards, and after that came Earth-ranked.
This Lord Zǐ Lóng, wearing a golden mask, should be a so-called Earth-ranked expert!
Ye Cangtian looked over with curiosity. Even just standing there, the person exuded a dangerous, oppressive aura!
As expected of an expert!
With his current strength, facing such an expert, he would likely be no match, perhaps with no hope of escape!
The man in purple looked towards the passage entrance and said, "To prematurely open the ruins, we used external forces, which is why the stone figures in the outer perimeter rioted."
"How many people are still inside and haven't come out?"
"It seems only these four young ones have come out; everyone else is still inside!" a Xuan-ranked individual pointed at Ye Cangtian and the others.
The somewhat plump Xuan Jiu suddenly said, "Eh, where is Xuan Qi? Wasn't he inside? Huang Si, did you encounter Xuan Qi when you went in?"
Huang Si immediately replied, "We met with Lord Xuan Qi, but later the stone figures rioted, and in the ensuing chaos, we all got separated! Lord Xuan Qi has not come out yet!"
It had been two to three hours since the stone figure riot.
If he still hadn't come out by now, he was either lost and trapped in the passage or had perished!
A team of over twenty people, including a Xuan-ranked expert, and now only four people had emerged. The loss this time was too great!
Everyone couldn't help but frown.
"With the stone figures rioting, this place might not be safe either! Issue an order to evacuate all the scientific researchers here to the surface."
"Leave two Xuan-ranked individuals to guard here, and the rest of the Xuan-ranked members will come with me into the passage to suppress the stone figures as much as possible!" Zǐ Lóng immediately issued the order.
A moment later, this Earth-ranked expert, along with several Xuan-ranked members, entered the outer passage of the ruins.