"No, you're not old, I'm just too strong," Chen Fan said expressionlessly.
"Old man, watch closely!" Chen Fan said sternly again.
"What?" the withered old man hadn't reacted yet.
"This sword strike will be truly magnificent!"
A large amount of true qi in the air was instantly extracted and compressed, condensing onto the Yuncong Sword. Chen Fan's aura within his body immediately elevated by several levels. The space around the Yuncong Sword even showed signs of distortion. The ground of the platform began to crack, and Chen Fan's immense dharma image emerged gracefully.
"This is... Divine Realm??? You're in the Divine Realm???" The withered old man actually sensed the pressure of the Divine Realm.
"No, this is the power of this sword strike."
"Yuncong First Style, Mountain and River Severance."
With a single sword strike, where the sword qi passed, the ground cracked. The materialized sword qi, like a fierce dragon crossing a river, plunged directly into the withered old man.
The withered old man instantly turned to dust, transforming into a pile of human-shaped white ash. The hurricane following the sword qi then completely erased the fact that the withered old man had ever existed...
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"Zhan Nian! Zhan Nian! Wake up." At this moment, Chen Fan was holding Bai Zhan Nian, who lay on the ground.
After a long while.
"Brother Chen Fan... Where am I..." Bai Zhan Nian, lying in Chen Fan's embrace, also woke up.
"Zhan Nian, we are still on that platform, but you can rest assured, that old man is dead," Chen Fan replied.
"Dead... it's good that he's dead."
"Brother Chen Fan, how did you find me?" Bai Zhan Nian said, looking at Chen Fan.
"I don't know either. I only know that after we were washed away by the water, I went to a place full of corpses. Perhaps I thought I was dead myself. But when I woke up, I realized why we lost the strength to swim after falling into the pool. It was heavy water. Behind the heavy water was a tomb passage. After I used all my strength to open the tomb passage, I reached a room... and then I found you," Chen Fan narrated, his voice filled with emotion. Looking at the weak Bai Zhan Nian in his arms, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
"It's good that you found me. How... how can we get out of here... Cough..." Bai Zhan Nian was still very weak. After the battle with the withered old man, Bai Zhan Nian's physical functions had reached their limit. If Chen Fan hadn't accidentally found him, he might have truly died in this tomb.
"That's right, Brother Chen Fan, this ancient tomb is the legendary Chaotian Ancient Tomb." Bai Zhan Nian recounted all the information he had obtained to Chen Fan.
"So it's the tomb of the Chaotian Venerable. No wonder there are such grand arrangements," Chen Fan said after listening to Bai Zhan Nian's narrative. He then helped Bai Zhan Nian up and began to heal his injuries. Chen Fan knew that relying solely on himself would likely mean he would never be able to escape this ancient tomb, just like the withered old man who was in the Quasi-Divine Realm. Being imprisoned here for life was something Chen Fan couldn't bear. Without further thought, he began to circulate his energy for healing...
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Meanwhile, the situation on the Left Divine Hall's side was even more tragic. A large amount of true qi was gathered, but it could only temporarily elevate the Left Divine Hall's strength to the Quasi-Divine realm before stagnating. The Left Divine Hall had a special potent drug developed for the high-ranking officials of District Thirteen to enhance their potential. However, the Left Divine Hall hesitated to use it unless it was a critical moment. As the true qi converged, the air in the entire pavilion square became increasingly thin.
"Crack..." Another crisp sound of a mechanism echoed.
"Everyone be careful," the Left Divine Hall reacted first, warning those members of District Thirteen who had not experienced hallucinations.
The powerful energy ball, gathered with the might of the Quasi-Divine realm, might not be able to destroy the entire ancient tomb, but destroying this pavilion or shattering these mermaid lanterns should not be a problem. Of course, these were just the Left Divine Hall's own speculations.
As the saying goes, "Without the courage of the Vajra, one dares not touch the porcelain." The powerful flow of true qi had reached its peak.
As the Left Divine Hall shot out the qi cluster, a strange vibration occurred throughout the entire platform. The intense shockwave from the explosion directly dispersed the formation that had gathered the true qi. Even the Left Divine Hall and the martial artists involved were sent to the ground with a cry...
"So strong..."
"Is this the power of a Quasi-God..."
But when they opened their eyes, the scene was extremely awkward. All the martial artists' strength was exhausted, yet the pavilion square seemed completely undamaged. The surrounding mermaid lanterns were not even disturbed, and the ground showed no trace of anything.
"What the hell is this place?" the Left Divine Hall roared.
However, no one responded to the Left Divine Hall's cry, as they were all looking around in astonishment.
As the mechanism's delayed opening commenced, the stone figures in the entire square began to move erratically, as if each stone figure possessed its own thoughts and life.
"Those who trespass in the Chaotian Pavilion shall be executed!" all the stone figures spoke in robotic voices.
The Left Divine Hall vigilantly scanned their surroundings and shouted, "All units enter combat state! Kill the stone figures as much as possible while protecting yourselves!!!"
The Left Divine Hall's voice resounded through every member of District Thirteen.
The armed personnel still outside the formation raised their weapons and counterattacked the stone figures, while the martial artists were at the very forefront of the charge.
After a fierce battle, the casualties for District Thirteen were considerable.
Out of five hundred armed personnel, fewer than two hundred remained. Of the two hundred martial artists, less than one hundred survived. The other personnel did not suffer too many casualties. The researchers' reports were printed again.
"Each of these stone figures is approximately at the Half-Step Innate realm. All Innate-newcomers of District Thirteen will form groups of three. Ordinary armed personnel will form groups of five!!!" Upon learning the intelligence, the Left Divine Hall immediately issued new combat commands and orders.
"Yes!" all personnel replied in unison.