Everyone paused, finding Zhong Shenxiu’s remark utterly baffling. Did he mean there were others present besides them?

Though questions abounded, this was no time to dwell on them; the immediate priority was navigating the crisis at hand.

The walls on both sides seemed to be closing in much faster now. In just this short while, the remaining gap was barely a meter wide. At this rate, in less than two minutes, they would be crushed flat!

What were they to do now?

Compared to the mercenaries’ mounting anxiety, Xia Luo and the others remained noticeably composed. They stood quietly aside, their eyes fixed intently on Zhong Shenxiu and Robin, for they knew their leader would never stand idly by. Even if Zhong Shenxiu chose not to act personally, Robin would certainly take his place!

As expected, just then, Robin finally moved.

Slowly, he spread his arms wide, forming a perfect cross. Then, with a sudden surge of strength, the walls on either side sprang apart with a resounding bang, accompanied by the sound of shattering metal—likely the mechanism controlling the walls!

Everyone stared dumbstruck at Robin, their mouths agape, oblivious to the dust settling inside.

While the others were still reeling from the shock of that spectacle, Zhong Shenxiu waved his small hand, sending out a burst of energy. Immediately, a square block from the ceiling splintered and fell inward.

Following this, the stone door blocking their path slid open!

They hadn't expected the mechanism controlling the stone door to be overhead. One had to admire the designer's ingenuity in making it so concealed.

However, before anyone could cheer, a torrent of icy darts swept toward them the moment the stone door opened.

The passage was already narrow, and the incoming arrows were a veritable deluge. Dodging was absolutely impossible; the only option was defense.

But could they withstand such a barrage of deadly projectiles?

The event unfolded too suddenly for much thought. The mercenaries brandished the swords in their hands before the arrows even reached them.

Yet, their worries proved somewhat excessive, for standing before them were the two anomalies, Zhong Shenxiu and Robin. For these arrows to pass them would be utterly impossible.

Thus, without either Zhong Shenxiu or Robin visibly moving, the arrows seemed to strike an invisible wall and were all flung backward.

It was only then that the crowd composed themselves enough to examine the situation—why had so many arrows suddenly appeared?

What they saw upon looking sent a fresh shock through them.

One hundred meters ahead stood several rows of Skeleton Warriors, armed with either bows or crossbows. Those darts had come from them, and now they were already reloading, preparing for a second wave of attack!

These Skeleton Warriors were spread out across a vast area, almost the size of a small soccer field.

Behind the Skeleton Warriors stood a massive Jade Gate. Adjacent to the Jade Gate were several smaller stone doors; a few were open, and Skeleton Warriors wielding various weapons were continually emerging from within!

Could the previous two groups of Skeleton Warriors they encountered have emerged from here?

This thought occurred to more than one person. Watching the ceaseless stream of Skeleton Warriors emerging, they wondered where these skeletons originated and why there were so many.

If Robin hadn't absorbed the previous two batches, they might have suspected these skeletons possessed the ability to teleport!

Gandalf looked on with astonishment. Having spent so much time with Faraday, he understood a bit about Skeleton Warriors. One corpse could only summon one Skeleton Warrior, meaning these ten thousand skeletons required ten thousand corpses. Where could so many bodies have come from?

Even if mercenaries frequently ventured here for adventure, they couldn't account for such a massive number. Furthermore, mercenaries who came here might not all become Skeleton Warriors; some might have been eaten by other monsters, further reducing the potential corpse count. What was truly happening?

Bi… Gan Mang…

Mid-thought, Gandalf’s body suddenly jolted. A daring hypothesis formed in his mind:

Could these Skeleton Warriors have been summoned from some of the corpses that went missing during the ‘War’ era?

This thought was monumental. Everyone currently held various conjectures regarding the ‘War.’ If this hypothesis proved true, it meant some earth-shattering secret lay hidden behind this ‘War’!

Gandalf’s body began to tremble slightly, his heart pounding fiercely!

The others, too preoccupied to notice Gandalf’s reaction, now observed a dark sphere reappearing in Zhong Shenxiu’s hand. This time, however, it was only the size of a steamed bun.

And unlike before, Zhong Shenxiu did not throw it. Instead, he clenched it in his hand, and several wisps of black smoke shot out between his fingers, rocketing toward the Skeleton Warriors at incredible speed.

In just three breaths of time, every Skeleton Warrior had been brought under Zhong Shenxiu’s control. This time, however, Zhong Shenxiu displayed no joy—

The Jade Gate itself was a treasure, capable of being refined into a protective magical artifact. But Zhong Shenxiu’s attention was not on the gate itself, but on what lay inside the Jade Gate.

While others were unaware of the contents, his mental wave probing had given him crystal-clear knowledge of what resided within.

The group followed Zhong Shenxiu inside, their eyes still warily fixed on the Skeleton Warriors, fearing a sudden secondary attack.

Kainee and Robin immediately resumed collecting loot, while Zhong Shenxiu stopped before the Jade Gate.

Although the smaller stone doors surrounding it held many treasures, the things inside this Jade Gate were what Zhong Shenxiu most desired to secure!

The mechanism for this Jade Gate was clearly far more complex than those encountered earlier. Opening it without causing damage would indeed require considerable thought!

Strange patterns were carved onto the Jade Gate. These patterns seemed chaotic but actually contained the secret method for its opening!

Time slipped by. Kainee and Robin had finished gathering their spoils, but Zhong Shenxiu remained standing there, deep in thought.

Zhong Shenxiu had figured out how to open the Jade Gate. What he was contemplating now was how to control the entities inside—not allowing a single one to escape required careful planning!

Soon, he formulated a strategy. Before formally opening the Jade Gate, he retrieved the ‘Longevity Tablet’ he had recently refined and began channeling a hand seal to activate its function.

A humming sound arose, followed by a soft green light emanating from the ‘Longevity Tablet’ as it floated up, circling Zhong Shenxiu ceaselessly.

Everyone watched in stunned silence, wondering what Zhong Shenxiu was doing this time.

While their attention was drawn to the ‘Longevity Tablet,’ a sudden noise signaled that Zhong Shenxiu had opened the Jade Gate!

Despite its heavy appearance, the Jade Gate opened incredibly fast—completely unsealed in the time it took to draw a single breath!

This time, Zhong Shenxiu charged forward before anyone could react, even Robin was caught off guard.

When the others next located Zhong Shenxiu, he was standing on a high platform in the center. The rotating ‘Longevity Tablet’ had vanished without a trace. The entire chamber was suffused with a green glow, and the sound of rapid passage through the air could be heard.

Before they could take in the room’s layout, they were captivated by the objects suspended in the air!

“Heavens, what are those?” one of the mercenaries couldn't help but exclaim.

Even without his shout, the others had already seen them, their eyes wide with disbelief, their bodies frozen like stone statues.

Looking up, they saw hazy, semi-transparent entities drifting back and forth in the air. Black energy bolts were continuously erupting from them, striking Zhong Shenxiu, who stood below!

While others might only feel surprise, Stanley and Faraday felt sheer horror. They recognized the black energy bolts as high-level Dark Magic!

These ghastly things could cast such advanced Dark Magic?

At this realization, their earlier confusion cleared. Now they understood why there were so many Skeleton Warriors—these apparitions were responsible. But what exactly were they, and why was their power so terrifying?

Judging solely by those black energy bolts, the true power of these specters must be at least that of a ‘Saint Arch-Lich’!

This was a shocking revelation. Given Stanley and Faraday’s current strength, they could at best be considered only ‘Magus Arch-Liches’!

Note: Arch-Lich ranks, from lowest to highest: Apprentice Lich, Intern Lich, Advanced Lich, Magus Lich, Great Arch-Lich, Saint Arch-Lich, Divine Lich.

Arch-Liches differed from regular Mages. Although Arch-Liches advanced rapidly in the early stages, their subsequent power growth was extremely difficult, as the strain on the body was immense, often leading to fatal backlash from dark magic!

They never imagined that these unassuming apparitions would already possess the power of a ‘Saint Arch-Lich’—a level that would crush any ordinary Arch-Lich!

What shocked them even more was that Zhong Shenxiu, facing the attacks of these energy bolts, did not dodge or evade but allowed them to strike his body, emerging completely unharmed!

And most astonishingly, the ‘Longevity Tablet,’ which had previously vanished, reappeared, casting rays of green light that enveloped those entities, drawing them into itself!

However, Zhong Shenxiu appeared oblivious to all this. His gaze remained fixed straight ahead, for there, a ‘super heavyweight’ entity lay dormant!

It appeared to be the ‘King’ of these ghostly entities!

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