296: Shocking Change

"Not good! It's the ten thousand souls banner! That lunatic Village Elder Gongsun!"

Someone recognized this aura and cried out in terror.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw black Qi billowing at the entrance of the side chamber, as a disheveled figure stumbled out.

The man wore a black bamboo hat and tattered grey robes, clutching a black banner in his hand.

The banner had expanded to several zhang in size, its surface as black as ink and entwined with countless distorted souls. Each soul was shrieking madly, emitting a terrifying aura that made one's Divine Soul tremble—it was none other than the ten thousand souls banner, the Magical Artifact that "blood hand" Village Elder Gongsun had been refining for the past few months!

At this moment, his face was exceptionally pale, and his eyes held a trace of fear mixed with an even more frenzied malevolence.

Clearly, he had been besieged by other Cultivators while fighting for treasures in the side chamber. Although he had used the power of the ten thousand souls banner to force his way out, he had suffered significantly and might even be heavily injured.

"Jie jie jie... Such a treasure, now that it's in my hands, it's mine!"

Village Elder Gongsun ripped off the torn bamboo hat, revealing a face full of sinister cruelty, looking like a mad demon.

His blood-red eyes swept over everyone in the hall, lingering for a moment on the stone tablet and the stone door before he suddenly swung the ten thousand souls banner!

"Ten Thousand Souls Heart-Devouring!"

Wooo—!

A shrill screeching sounded as countless vengeful souls and malevolent spirits detached from the banner, surging outward like a black tide. They had no fixed form, appearing only as masses of distorted black Qi, yet they carried a terrifying power to devour the Divine Soul, pouncing indiscriminately toward every living being in the hall!

Among these souls were the remnant souls of Cultivators, the vengeful spirits of Mortals, and even the essence souls of Yao Beasts. Each carried overwhelming resentment, and wherever they passed, even the air seemed to freeze.

He actually intended to devour everyone present, using their Divine Souls to replenish the depletion of the ten thousand souls banner while healing his own injuries!

"Nascent Soul Stage?"

Elder Yingu was the first to notice the change in Village Elder Gongsun's Cultivation, and his expression changed drastically.

Previously, Village Elder Gongsun was clearly only at the Peak of the Golden Core Stage, but now he emitted the spiritual power fluctuations of the Nascent Soul Stage. Obviously, during the month he had been missing, he had encountered some fortuitous opportunity and achieved a Breakthrough in his Realm!

"Presumptuous!"

Elder Luo Yu shouted angrily, her fingertip condensing a beam of Ice Soul Profound Light that shot toward the soul tide.

The White-robed Nascent Soul Cultivator no longer hesitated either. A long sword appeared in his hand, its blade wreathed in sharp Sword Qi. He slashed out a sword light several zhang long, heading straight for Village Elder Gongsun:

"Join forces to stop him! If he is allowed to devour everyone, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Immediately, Profound Yin Evil Qi, Ice Soul Profound Light, sharp Sword Qi... various powerful spiritual power lights lit up in the grotto, clashing violently with the surging soul tide!

Boom—!!!

A deafening roar sounded, and the entire grotto shook violently. Stalactites fell continuously from the ceiling, and dust filled the air, making it impossible to breathe.

The violent energy impact was like an invisible giant wave, sending some lower-level Cultivators flying. They screamed as they crashed into the stone walls, spitting blood, their fates unknown.

Situ Jun's eyes turned cold as the Chaos halo around him suddenly surged, shattering the aftershocks of the soul tide that reached him.

He did not join the siege against Village Elder Gongsun. Instead, taking advantage of the Chaos, his figure seemed to melt into the shadows, quietly retreating to a corner of the grotto, his gaze fixed on the stone door.

Just then, another abnormal change occurred!

The Formation on the stone door suddenly emitted a faint black light. The blood scattered on the ground and the blood mist escaping from the Cultivators' bodies were forcibly pulled by the black light, flowing like snakes into the inscriptions!

At the same time, inscriptions similar to those on the stone door appeared on the walls of the passage leading here. These patterns squirmed like living things, wrapping around the Spirit Stones embedded in the walls one by one.

The Spirit Stones, which contained dense spiritual power, became dull and shriveled at a visible rate, eventually turning into piles of powder and falling away.

The inscriptions continuously transmitted the absorbed spiritual power to the stone door's Formation, merging with the blood mist and flashing with an eerie blue-red light on the door's surface.

As the Spirit Stones on the passage walls were drained, dust and rocks began to fall from the ceiling. At first, it was just a few scattered pieces, but before long, it became a small-scale collapse, with rocks hitting the ground with dull thuds.

"Something's wrong! The passage is collapsing!"

A Cultivator pointed in terror at the passage entrance, where visible cracks had appeared on the stone walls, and debris was falling, blocking most of the exit.

Only then did everyone snap out of the fight, ceasing their attacks and looking toward the passage entrance.

Village Elder Gongsun also temporarily restrained his offensive, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

Although he wanted to devour everyone, if the passage collapse trapped him here, no amount of treasure would be useful.

"The passage is collapsing!"

Someone shouted, acting like a spark to a fuse.

Some low-level Cultivators turned pale. They gritted their teeth, looked at the increasingly brilliant stone door Formation with eyes full of resentment, cursed their bad luck, and turned to retreat toward the passage they came from, hurrying for fear of being buried here if they were a step too late.

Situ Jun's expression also flickered with uncertainty.

Although his Cultivation had reached the half-step Soul Transformation Realm and his Physical Body had been tempered by Chaos power, the passage collapse wouldn't kill him for now. However, this was thousands of feet underground; if the passage was completely sealed, carving out a new path would take significant effort, and he might even miss the Legacy behind the stone door.

He looked toward the front of the stone door, where Luo Yu, Elder Yingu, and the White-robed Nascent Soul Cultivator also showed signs of hesitation.

Elder Luo Yu bit her silver teeth, her charming face shifting with uncertainty as she weighed the pros and cons.

Green light flickered in Elder Yingu's eyes as his gaze swept back and forth between the stone door and the passage, greed and apprehension intertwined.

The White-robed Nascent Soul Cultivator frowned, his gaze falling on the stone door's Formation Restriction, seemingly judging whether he could break the Restriction before the passage collapsed.

The atmosphere in the grotto instantly became heavy. Only the Formation on the stone door continued to absorb blood mist and spiritual power, its blue-red light growing brighter, as if urging everyone to make a choice—give up the Legacy and flee, or risk their lives to stay in this collapsing Secret Realm and fight for that potentially world-shaking Treasure Trove?

Situ Jun took a deep breath, circulating the Tai Yan Dragon Phoenix Art within his Purple Mansion to the limit. His eyes remained fixed on the Restriction on the stone door—he knew he had to make a decision within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn: turn and leave to avoid the risk, or take the gamble and stay to fight for the Legacy behind the stone door?