You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

In order to punish and exploit them, the victors used extremely cruel secret methods to refine them into these 'fierce souls' that only know how to kill and devour, imprisoning them in this trial ground to become 'whetstones' for tempering the next generation of disciples.

They... can no longer be considered complete souls; only resentment and instinct remain.

Among them, perhaps... are our ancestors from Lingxi Valley, or other forces that are on friendly terms with us..."

Her voice trembled slightly and carried a hint of sadness.

"Will they stay here forever?"

Chen Yang asked.

"Perhaps... Unless the trial grounds completely collapse, or a powerful being surpassing the one who set up the formation intervenes to purify them, they can only wander, fight, and devour endlessly..."

Liu Piaopiao said in a low voice.

"In a sense, our path to increasing our strength is to tread upon the pitiful and tragic corpses of these predecessors... But this is the rule of the blessed land: the survival of the fittest, cruel and real."

Chen Yang remained silent.

The two watched each other for a while longer, until Liu Piaopiao felt the night wind getting colder, before saying goodbye and going to find a place to rest for the night.

Chen Yang chose a dilapidated rooftop with a relatively high elevation and a wide view. He sat down cross-legged, regulated his breathing, and spread his divine sense to observe the surrounding movements.

Night deepened. The "evil spirits" outside seemed to have grown accustomed to the array's strength, their attacks lessening in intensity, but they still lingered, emitting continuous wailing. The ruins gradually quieted down, with only scattered firelight and whispers remaining.

However, just as midnight approached, Chen Yang's ever-vigilant divine sense suddenly detected an unusual fluctuation in the dark depths of the ruins, where demons gathered!

He stared intently at it.

In the distance, the seemingly boundless ocean of dark red "eyes" suddenly parted like a tide, creating a straight passage!

An aura far colder, more solid, and more powerful than that of ordinary "evil spirits" was slowly "flowing" towards the ruins along that passage!

Chen Yang's pupils constricted slightly as he strained his eyes.

At the end of the passage, a "white shadow" that seemed out of place with its surroundings was slowly "walking" towards them.

It wasn't true white, but rather a translucent, pale outline that seemed to be formed from extremely cold mist. A human shape could be vaguely discerned, but the features were indistinct and the figure was elusive.

The aura emanating from it was chilling and piercing, yet it also carried a strange sense of "purity," as if all impurities had been removed, leaving only the most essential resentment and coldness.

As it approached, the ordinary "evil spirits" around it let out fearful howls and retreated further away, clearly extremely wary of it.

"This is……"

Chen Yang felt a chill run down his spine and carefully sensed the surroundings.

The aura of this white demon has clearly surpassed the Pseudo-Core Formation realm and reached the early Nascent Soul stage!
Moreover, the cold, condensed resentment it exuded made him feel a sense of danger!
Then something even more unexpected happened.

The white demon walked to the array's light barrier, but did not charge at it as frantically as the other "evil spirits."

It simply stood there quietly, then slowly raised an arm made of pale mist and gently, almost tenderly, pressed it onto the pale golden light screen.

"Zi..."

There was no explosive lightning, no violent impact. Where the light screen touched the pale arm, there was only a faint sound, like cold water dripping onto a red-hot iron plate.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Yang clearly "saw" that the originally stable flow of array energy had become noticeably disordered and dimmed in the area centered on the pale arm! The thickness of the light barrier also seemed to be slowly thinning at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye!
It was actually... silently eroding and wearing down the formation!
Moreover, the counter-attack lightning from the formation seemed to have little effect on it!
"Master, be careful!"

Li Rou's voice, carrying an unprecedented solemnity, resounded in Chen Yang's mind.

"This monster... is no ordinary creature!"
It has transcended the category of ordinary 'evil spirits'. It may have devoured countless similar or other evil things over a long period of time, resulting in a mutation that condensed into a purer and more terrifying 'extreme yin evil body'!
Its cold, resentful energy has undergone a qualitative change, exhibiting a certain resistance to the 'masculine' and 'evil-dispelling' power contained in the formation, and can even erode it in turn!

This dilapidated formation probably won't hold out for long!

Meanwhile, people in other parts of the ruins also began to notice the anomaly.

When they saw the white monster that ignored the array's lightning and was slowly eroding the light barrier, panic spread like wildfire!
"What...what the hell is that?!"

"It's destroying the formation! The formation is useless against it!"

"It's over!
Even the safe zone isn't safe anymore!

"Run away!"

The crowd began to stir; some fled in terror into the depths of the ruins, while others stood there bewildered, pacing back and forth.

But looking at the still densely packed, menacing army of ordinary "demon souls" outside, everyone knew that rushing out of the ruins at this moment would be tantamount to suicide.

Liu Piaopiao was also startled awake. She quickly ran to the bottom of the pavilion where Chen Yang was and anxiously called out.

"Brother Chen! Something terrible has happened!"

That white monster…it seems capable of breaking the protective barriers here! What do we do? I feel like we can't hold out much longer!

Chen Yang jumped down from the broken wall and landed next to Liu Piaopiao. His expression was solemn but he remained relatively calm.

"They probably can't get in for the time being. Although the formation has been eroded, it hasn't been broken."

However… you're right, it does have the ability to break through this defense, but it seems to be doing it 'slowly,' for some unknown reason.”

"Liu Piaopiao said urgently."

"What do we do now? Once the formation breaks, we definitely won't be able to hold off so many demons rushing in!"

Chen Yang's gaze swept over the chaotic crowd and the white demon that was constantly eroding the array in the distance, and then looked at the darker shadows of the buildings deep in the ruins, which seemed to hide unknown secrets. He quickly weighed his options.

"Let's go, let's go deeper into the ruins!"

Chen Yang said decisively.

"This place is too big a target; if it falls, we'll be doomed."

Let's see if we can find a more concealed hiding place, or... other possible defensive fortifications.

"it is good!"

At this moment, Liu Piaopiao completely trusted Chen Yang and nodded without hesitation.

Ignoring the chaos and cries around them, the two turned and hurried toward the core area of ​​the city ruins, in the opposite direction from the white monster.

They ignored the people they encountered on the road who were panicking and trying to escape into deeper waters.

Li Rou's voice rang in Chen Yang's mind again, carrying a hint of guidance.

“Master, keep going forward. About two hundred steps to the left, there is the ruins of a large family’s courtyard. Although it is dilapidated, I can sense that the remaining ‘life’ energy there is slightly stronger than in other places. It may have had stronger protection, or... there may be an underground structure.”

Chen Yang's heart stirred, and he immediately followed Li Rou's guidance, leading Liu Piaopiao into a secluded alley. Soon they arrived at the ruins of a rather large mansion.

The tall lintel had long since collapsed, but the remaining stone lions and wide steps still hinted at its former grandeur. The framework of the pavilions and towers within the courtyard was still faintly discernible, but most were now just ruins. "Brother Chen, what are we doing here?"

Liu Piaopiao looked at the courtyard with a puzzled expression; apart from being more dilapidated, it seemed no different from any other place.

"Let's see if there's a safer place."

Chen Yang didn't explain much. His gaze swept across the courtyard and finally landed on the ruins of a relatively intact but equally dilapidated three-story pavilion.

According to Li Rou's clues, the secret entrance should be there.

He led Liu Piaopiao quickly toward the pavilion. Most of the first floor of the pavilion had collapsed and was buried under rubble and rotten wood.

Chen Yang gestured for Liu Piaopiao to step back, then used his magic to carefully move the larger stones and beams blocking the entrance. His movements were light and swift, trying to avoid making too much noise.

Soon, a pile of rubble was cleared to the side, revealing a square opening underneath, covered by a thick stone slab, just wide enough for one person to pass through!
The edges of the opening are smooth with obvious chisel marks. The stone slab fits the opening perfectly and is extremely difficult to spot unless deliberately cleaned.

"There really is an entrance!"

Liu Piaopiao covered her mouth in surprise, her gaze towards Chen Yang filled with even more astonishment.

"Brother Chen, how did you know? That's incredible!"

Chen Yang smiled slightly, offering no explanation, but simply said...

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. Quickly, let's go down and take a look."

He forcefully lifted the heavy stone slab, and a stale, slightly musty smell, but without any fishy or sinister odor, billowed out of the cave entrance. Below the entrance was a downward stone staircase, its bottom invisible, disappearing into the darkness.

Just as the two were about to enter the cave entrance—

"what--!"

"Help!"

"A monster is coming! Run!"

A series of piercing screams, desperate cries, and a chilling, eerie roar—a mixture of sharp and deep shrieks—came from the direction they had come from, like a tsunami! The sound rapidly approached; clearly, the outer defenses... had been breached!
That white monster, leading countless "evil spirits," surged into this ruined city like a flood bursting its banks!
Liu Piaopiao's face turned deathly pale. She grabbed Chen Yang's arm, her voice trembling.

"Brother Chen!"

They...they're coming in!"

Chen Yang looked back and saw shadowy figures frantically attacking on the street in the distance, as well as a particularly striking silhouette that exuded a pale and cold aura!
Further away, flickering lights of fire and magic appeared sporadically, only to be quickly extinguished, accompanied by more screams.

"There's no time to hesitate!"

Chen Yang acted decisively, grabbing Liu Piaopiao with his other hand.

"Get down! Trust me and come with me! Staying up there will only lead to your death!"

Looking into Chen Yang's calm and resolute gaze, and then at the rapidly spreading shadow of death in the distance, Liu Piaopiao's last hesitation was dispelled by fear and her trust in Chen Yang.

She nodded vigorously.

"I believe you!"

Without further delay, Chen Yang stepped into the cave first and walked down the steep stone steps, with Liu Piaopiao following closely behind.

As the two figures disappeared completely into the darkness, Chen Yang reached out from below and painstakingly pulled the heavy stone slab back up, completely covering the cave entrance, leaving only a tiny gap at the edge for breathing.

The moment the stone slabs closed, most of the despairing clamor and screams from the outside world were shut out, leaving only muffled and indistinct sounds.

Once the two figures had completely disappeared into the dark stone staircase passage, Chen Yang stood below, looking up at the last sliver of light filtering through the gaps in the newly covered stone slabs. With a thought, he channeled his magic power and gently waved his hand at the rubble and debris that he had just moved above the cave entrance.

"Splash—"

With a slight rustling sound, the rubble and debris, as if pushed by an invisible hand, rolled down and covered the stone slab again, even more messily and naturally than before, completely burying the entrance. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary pile of ruins, without any flaws.

“Master, you continue onward. I will stay here to deal with your remaining traces and marks.”

Li Rou's voice rang in Chen Yang's mind.

"Good work."

Chen Yang thanked her, then whispered to Liu Piaopiao, who was standing beside him, who seemed a little nervous.

"Stay close to me and keep going."

The two carefully descended the steep, cold stone steps.

The stone steps spiraled downwards, surrounded by rough, carved rock walls. The air was damp and cold, but there was no stench or evil spirit; instead, there was a long-sealed, natural smell of the stone itself. After walking for about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) and passing through a short but winding passage, the space suddenly opened up ahead, revealing a relatively spacious area, like a natural cave, about four or five zhang (approximately 13-20 meters) square.

Just then, Li Rou's illusory figure drifted in from behind like a wisp of smoke and disappeared back into Chen Yang's body.

"So fast?"

Chen Yang was somewhat surprised and asked in his mind.

"It's not difficult to simply conceal your lingering presence."

Li Rou explained.

"I used the ghostly and malevolent energy emanating from my own true spirit, which is of the same origin as those 'evil spirits' outside but is purer, to cover the places you have passed through."

This place is the ruins of an ancient battlefield, so it's perfectly normal for there to be some eerie or ghostly energy underground.

Those demons are not very intelligent; they act only on instinct and resentment. When they sense the yin energy of their own kind, they will only assume that this is their territory or a harmless area and will not investigate carefully.

As long as we don't actively reveal our presence, we should be able to keep it a secret.

Chen Yang felt somewhat relieved.

"Thanks to you."

He gestured for Liu Piaopiao to linger for a moment, while he carefully examined the underground space.

This place appears to have been carved out by hand, used as a refuge or storage facility. The walls are relatively smooth, with scattered fragments of rotten wooden crates and traces of fabric long since turned to dust in the corners. Directly ahead, there seems to be an even deeper passage.

"Brother Chen, are we... safe?"

Liu Piaopiao asked in a low voice, her voice trembling slightly in the quiet, dark underground.

"It's safe for now."

But we shouldn't linger here. We don't know what's going on up there. Let's keep going and see if there's a more secluded spot. (End of Chapter)