98: Unexpected Tenth Level

Deep beneath the smelting plant, Shadow One silently rounded a corner filled with Vigilance runes.

Ahead, the space opened up dramatically into a massive underground cavern, at the center of which stood an indescribably complex device.

Dozens of thick energy conduits extended from the walls, connecting to the base of the device like the veins of a giant beast, causing it to emit a low hum.

At the top of the device, a dark red crystal, roughly the size of a human head and covered in strange patterns, slowly rotated, emitting a heart-pounding fluctuation.

Along the edges of the cavern, seven or eight figures dressed in dark gray robes and wearing metal masks were busy at work.

They carefully injected fist-sized crystals, emitting a faint glow, into a specific part of the giant device through a special interface.

Shadow One lurked behind a metal structure, perfectly concealed by the shadows.

“The energy activity of this batch of 'Spirit Energy Shards' has decreased again,” a hoarse voice said, with clear dissatisfaction, “If this continues, the gestation speed of the heart of god will become slower and slower.”

Another slightly sharper voice chimed in: “Isn’t that the truth? The City Lord is pressing us, but there’s only so much 'quality raw material.' In the past three years, the number of newborns in the city has plummeted, and the 'qualified ones' screened out are even rarer. It seems the 'Wilderness Hunting Squad' will have to work hard again.”

“Hmph, they’re the ones working hard; we just receive the 'results,'” the original hoarse voice sneered, “I just wonder when this 'World-Ending Weapon' will truly be completed. I’m already eager to see those so-called Eternal City tremble before it when it activates.”

“Shh, keep your voice down!” the sharp voice said with a hint of fear.

“What’s there to be afraid of? Besides us, who else can get in here?”

A cold glint flashed in Shadow One’s eyes.

“Spirit Energy Shards,” “quality raw material,” “newborns,” “World-Ending Weapon,” “heart of god”...

These terms, strung together, outlined a chilling truth.

The missing children of Panshi City...

He no longer hesitated.

Just as a gray-robed man was holding a translucent “Spirit Energy Shard,” with a faint hint of blood visible inside, preparing to inject it into the device again, Shadow One moved.

“Shadow Flash!”

His figure, as if teleporting, crossed dozens of meters and appeared behind the gray-robed man.

Before the other could react, a horizontal cut, and the gray-robed man grunted, collapsing to the ground.

The others noticed, turning their heads in alarm.

“Who’s there?!”

“Enemy attack!”

Shadow One ignored their shouts.

He darted towards the giant device, his spiritual energy instantly condensing within his body.

He did not choose to directly attack the dark red heart of god crystal; there were strong energy reactions around that object, clearly indicating robust defensive capabilities.

His target was the connections between the energy conduits and the device, as well as the interfaces for injecting the “Spirit Energy Shards.”

“Swish!”

A solid, crescent-shaped spiritual energy slash roared out, precisely striking the nodes of several energy conduits.

“Boom!”

Blinding electric light flashed, the energy conduits snapped, and a chaotic torrent of violent energy instantly went out of control, gushing outwards.

One of the injection interfaces was directly destroyed, and the “Spirit Energy Shards” inside, not yet fully converted, violently exploded, the shockwave knocking several nearby gray-robed figures flying.

“No!” a gray-robed man, who seemed to be the leader, roared, “Stop him! Protect the heart of god!”

Shadow One moved without stopping, like a butterfly flitting through flowers, he weaved through the chaotic energy currents, destroying several key nodes in succession.

The entire underground cavern began to shake violently, and rocks rustled down from the ceiling.

The giant device, its energy supply cut off, emitted a piercing alarm, and the light from the dark red crystal at its top began to flicker erratically, appearing extremely unstable.

“It’s over… the heart of god’s energy cycle has been broken…” A gray-robed man slumped to the ground, his face ashen.

Just then, a terrifying pressure, far exceeding that of everyone present, erupted like an awakened ancient beast from behind a hidden stone door deep within the cavern.

“Who dares to destroy our foundation?”

An old and majestic voice rang out, carrying a chilling coldness that made one tremble.

The stone door slowly opened, and an old man, dressed in a mysterious black priest’s robe with star patterns, holding a bone staff inlaid with a dark blue gem at its tip, his face withered but his eyes gleaming with an eerie red light, slowly walked out.

His aura was as deep as the sea; with every step he took, the energy of the entire space seemed to solidify.

Tenth-tier!

Absolutely the aura of a Tenth-tier expert!

Shadow One’s heart tightened.

Within Panshi City, besides the apparent City Lord Shi Potian, there was actually a hidden Tenth-tier existence!

And he was stationed here!

The old man’s gaze was like lightning, instantly locking onto Shadow One: “Youngster, what gave you the courage to come here and cause trouble?”

Shadow One did not answer, merely silently adjusted his breathing, his entire body’s spiritual energy beginning to circulate at an unprecedented speed.

He knew that what was coming would be a battle far more difficult than he had anticipated, perhaps even… a fight to the death.

At the same time, members of “Dawn” executing sabotage missions in various parts of Panshi City almost simultaneously felt intense energy fluctuations and tremors coming from deep underground in the southeast direction.

Beneath the west city tower, Lin Ye had just collaborated with his teammates to destroy a formation energy node with specialized explosives when the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled.

His expression changed dramatically as he looked towards the smelting plant: “That direction… it’s Shadow One! Something big has happened over there!”

His intuition was wildly warning him, and an unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped his heart.

“It seems you don’t intend to surrender,” the Xuan-robed old man, or rather, the Xuan Sacrificial Priest, said, his eerie red eyes fixed on Shadow One.

He lightly tapped the ground with the bone staff in his hand.

“Om—”

An invisible ripple spread out; wherever it passed, the hard rocks and metals rippled like water.

Immediately after, as the ripples passed, thick stone walls rose from the ground, crisscrossing, and in the blink of an eye, completely sealed off Shadow One on all sides, forming an irregular cage.

The Xuan Sacrificial Priest continued his actions, pointing his bone staff forward.

Subsequently, at the top of the cage, earth and stone surged, rapidly forming sharp stone spears, their tips gleaming with a heart-pounding cold light, all aimed at Shadow One in the center of the cage.

The next moment, a sharp, piercing whistle sounded, and the stone spears plunged down from all directions.