"Token?"
Looking at the shape of the missing piece in the center of the flame totem on the stone door, it was exactly like their Demonic Cult's leader token.
Ye Qianqian took out a red and black token from her bag. The token was shaped like a flame, with a single large character '魔' (Mo) inscribed on it!
"Try putting it there."
Seeing this, Wan Yunting told Ye Qianqian to place the token there...
"Quick, those creatures are coming...!"
Zhou Ruoxi drew her maiden sword, Zhang Xian'er also drew her Qing Ping sword, and even Chen Qiuyun adopted a fighting stance. However, because she rarely practiced martial arts, her combat strength was very low.
"Put it on quickly..."
Wan Yunting shouted anxiously. Drawing his Gentleman's Sword, he rushed forward with Zhou Ruoxi, blocking the entrance with Zhang Xian'er and the other two. Upon seeing the first unknown creature charging in, they directly swung their swords and killed it...
Ye Qianqian's almond eyes widened. Holding the token, she leaped forward and directly inserted it into the groove of the flaming pattern in the center of the stone door. It fit perfectly with the token...
*Click!*
Immediately, the token automatically retracted, and as the mechanism rotated, the great door began to tremble, and dust fell and dispersed...
"The door is open..."
Seeing this, Ye Qianqian was excited. Watching the great door slowly open, she turned and shouted to Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi and the others, "Quick, come in..."
After killing a few unknown creatures to block the passage, Wan Yunting seized the opportunity to grab Zhou Ruoxi's wrist. He then shouted to Zhang Xian'er and Chen Qiuyun, "Go quickly..."
Everyone rushed into the opened great door without hesitation. Ye Qianqian saw an unknown creature charging towards them, so she quickly took back the token, and the two great stone doors began to slowly close again...
However, two Snow Sloths squeezed through the gap of the stone doors and rushed in. They were then jointly killed by Wan Yunting and Ye Qianqian. One Snow Sloth extended its body through the door seam, only for the closing stone doors to directly snap its head off.
"Hoo..."
Seeing the great door closed, Wan Yunting, Ye Qianqian, Zhou Ruoxi, and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Then, holding their flashlights, they turned around and began to examine the scene behind them...
"Wow, it's so big here...!"
Zhang Xian'er shone her flashlight, only to find no end in sight. The floor was paved with specially made stone slabs, resembling a vast plaza.
However, Wan Yunting, who was unaffected by the darkness, could clearly observe all the conditions within the enormous space, which made him raise an eyebrow in confusion: "Is this perhaps an underground mausoleum?"
"A mausoleum? How is that possible?"
Ye Qianqian was the first to retort. She walked forward with her flashlight, looking to both sides. Every ten meters, there was a statue carved with their Demonic Cult's totem symbol, and she said, "This is the former site of our Demonic Cult..."
But Wan Yunting's gaze was fixed on the faint appearance of a massive palace in front of them. He said, "To be able to build such a huge palace here, with a killing pit outside, this is probably not just the former site of your Demonic Cult. I think it might be the underground Yin Palace of your generation's Demonic Cult!"
"A palace? Where is the palace?"
Zhang Xian'er and Zhou Ruoxi came up, looking ahead at the darkness with confused expressions. Their flashlights couldn't reach the massive palace a hundred meters away in front of them...
Ye Qianqian immediately frowned. Recalling ancient mausoleums, weren't there always burial pits? Looking at the layout here, it seemed to be the same as Wan Yunting said.
Could it be that the tenth generation leader of their Demonic Cult was buried here?
"Whether it's the former site of the Demonic Cult or a tomb, as long as the Demonic Pool is here!" Zhou Ruoxi didn't care about these things, as their purpose for this trip was the Demonic Pool.
"Yes, let's go and see if there are any clues about the Demonic Pool..."
With that said, Wan Yunting led Zhou Ruoxi, Chen Qiuyun, and the others. Ye Qianqian nodded, took out her flashlight, and walked forward. The group reached the front area, where a huge abyss appeared. Three stone bridges were built over the abyss. After crossing the bridges, they would reach the plaza in front of the great hall...
"Look, there really is a palace!"
This time, Zhang Xian'er and the others saw the massive palace appear. Ye Qianqian and Zhou Ruoxi looked at this huge palace in astonishment. The entire palace was a wooden structure. It was unclear how many years it had existed, but there were no signs of damage at all.
It could also be seen that apart from their current entry, no one else had entered this palace before.
"Everyone be careful!"
Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow, not forgetting to remind Zhou Ruoxi and Chen Qiuyun.
"I'll go take a look..."
Ye Qianqian, summoning her courage, took her flashlight and stepped onto the stairs, intending to be the first to push open the palace gate to see if it was indeed the former site of their Demonic Cult or the Yin Palace tomb of the tenth generation leader...
Wan Yunting didn't stop her. He followed behind with Zhou Ruoxi and the others cautiously. As they reached the main entrance of the great hall, Ye Qianqian suddenly stopped and glanced back at Wan Yunting and the others standing behind her...
"Push it!"
Zhang Xian'er urged.
Ye Qianqian suddenly smiled, "I'm scared, I'm afraid of ghosts."
"Tsk." Zhang Xian'er rolled her eyes, while Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi smiled without saying anything.
"Uh."
Ye Qianqian was speechless. She had to gather her courage, her eyes alert, and her right hand ready to strike at any moment. She then placed her left hand on the great door and suddenly pushed it open. Instantly, she retreated two steps, anticipating any mechanisms or traps...
As the palace gate was pushed open, only a gust of stale wind blew out, and there were no other movements...
Seeing this, Ye Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief but remained vigilant. Holding her flashlight, she stood close to the door, shining it into the hall to examine the situation inside...
"No danger, let's go in..."
Immediately, Wan Yunting stepped forward and crossed the threshold into the great hall. Zhou Ruoxi, Zhang Xian'er, and Chen Qiuyun followed, causing Ye Qianqian's pretty face to go blank. She immediately became angry, "You guys..."
"Ah, what a huge coffin!"
Zhang Xian'er's startled cry interrupted Ye Qianqian's words.
Zhou Ruoxi's flashlight also shone on the center of the great hall. Four thick iron chains were connected to the four corners of the coffin, suspending a huge black coffin in mid-air, looking very eerie.
"A suspended coffin...!"
Ye Qianqian immediately came in and also examined the coffin suspended in mid-air. Wan Yunting also carefully observed it, having a feeling that this coffin was very strange and exuded a dangerous aura!
"Could the person lying inside be the coffin of the tenth generation leader of the Demonic Cult?" Zhou Ruoxi asked Wan Yunting.
"Hmm, it's hard to say..."
Wan Yunting nodded. He hadn't figured out who built this palace yet, so it was difficult to say whether the person lying in this coffin was the body of the tenth generation leader from the Demonic Cult's peak period.
"If we open it, we'll know," Zhang Xian'er said indifferently.
"Don't open it!"
Wan Yunting immediately stopped the impetuous girl and said sternly, "The coffin is very strange, and it cannot be opened lightly. Let's first search the palace to see if there are any other clues that can identify who the body in the coffin is."
"Alright..."
Seeing this, Zhang Xian'er was unenthusiastic. She had wanted to open the coffin directly to see if the corpse inside would come back to life.
Zhou Ruoxi and Ye Qianqian nodded and began searching this palace for clues about the owner of this strange suspended coffin...
Ah...
Meanwhile, on the other side, the people from various major sects were being pursued by Snow Sloths. Zhong Yulong led Xian Yun and other disciples, along with Venerable Xu Gu Zi and several elders, and Abbot Ren Xin of the Shaolin Sect, who also led Master Kong Wu and some disciples. They all fled to the killing pit...
The sect leader of the Qingcheng sect, Liu Bing, the sect leader of the Huashan sect, Shi Yizhen, the elder of the Kunlun sect, Zhang Qing, the sect leader of the Kongtong sect, Hu Fei, and the elder of the Cang sect, Gu Song, along with people from other major sects, were being pursued by Snow Sloths. Many disciples with weaker cultivation died along the way...
"Find an exit, quickly find an exit...!"
Looking at these blue and white furred, bull-like unknown creatures, Liu Bing and the others were in a panic and extremely anxious. Seeing many disciples brutally killed made him both sad and angry. He was wielding his sword and fighting a Snow Sloth...
"Look over there, there's light!"
Xian Yun pointed to the passage that Wan Yunting and they had just left. He had lit an oil lamp earlier and hadn't extinguished it, so it was still lit...
"Quick, go..."
Seeing this, Zhong Yulong and Abbot Ren Xin immediately beckoned their disciples to enter the passage...
Shi Yizhen and Hu Fei and the others had already climbed up. As they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, Snow Sloths rushed out of the passage...
"Damn it, what the hell are these things? Why are there so many of them?"
Hu Fei and the others were both shocked and furious. Looking at the killing pit, which had only this one passage, and the lit oil lamp, they guessed that Wan Yunting must have gone down this passage...
"Kill our way through!"
Zhong Yulong came up, roaring domineeringly, and was the first to charge towards the Snow Sloths in the passage...
"Kill..."
For a moment, the people from the various major sects engaged in a fierce battle with the Snow Sloths in the passage, but many also died...
For example, Gu Song of the Cang sect, who had been severely injured by the main god earlier and was being cared for by disciples of his sect, was now neglected in this chaotic situation. The elders and disciples of the Cang sect could not attend to him, and Gu Song had already fallen among the corpses below...
"Sect Leader...!"
An elder of the Cang sect cried out in grief as he watched Gu Song being dismembered by several Snow Sloths...
"Quick, go..."
Seeing countless Snow Sloths climbing up, the people from the major sects quickly killed their way into the passage...
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Main God, leading the priests and followers of their Sky Eye Main God Cult, had also arrived at the abyss. Looking at the ropes at the top and the corpses of the major sect members lying along the way, the Main God knew that the people from the major sects had already escaped to the opposite side...
"Follow me..."
With that said, the Main God stomped his foot, and he himself flew through the air, landing directly on the second stone pillar about forty meters away...
As for the priests and followers, they could only climb over using the three ropes left by the major sects...