The exit lies at the end of the tomb, and the entrance behind them was sealed upon entry. For Chen Tian and Pang Yuan to leave, they must reach the end, find a mechanism, or accept a legacy.
Chen Tian and Pang Yuan stepped past the stone tablet and continued forward, their figures vanishing. Shortly after they left, the stairs before the stone tablet disappeared entirely, as if they had never existed.
The stone tablet trembled a few times and then vanished without a trace. Chen Tian and Pang Yuan saw none of this.
Passing through the stone tablet, Pang Yuan and Chen Tian saw the scene behind them. Pang Yuan stammered in panic, "Wh-what happened here? My heavens!"
Chen Tian's expression remained calm, as if nothing before him was unexpected. In front of Chen Tian and Pang Yuan lay a vast, destroyed city. The entire city bore no resemblance to one; weapons littered the ground, and skeletal remains clad in armor filled the area with lingering resentment. Pang Yuan felt a stir of retreat in his heart, a premonition he had never been wrong about. If he stepped into this city, he would die.
"Chen Tian, should we go in?"
Swallowing hard, Pang Yuan asked. Chen Tian nodded, "Stay behind me. And this time, don't hold back, or I won't be able to protect you."
"Alright!"
Pang Yuan was shocked that Chen Tian knew his secrets and that he was still holding back. It seemed Chen Tian was no ordinary person. However, they were in the same boat now, relying on each other. Their ability to leave this place depended on their cooperation.
Chen Tian gazed at the shattered city before him and then spoke, "Do you have any information about this city? This place feels extraordinary, beyond the scope of any dynasty. A world-ending war must have occurred here."
"I'm not sure either. This is a secret realm, and it's my first time seeing anything like this."
Pang Yuan, of course, had no information. Chen Tian sensed a flickering red light in the heavens and earth and said, "There are living beings in this city. Perhaps they know something?"
"Chen Tian, are you sure? This 'Divine Strike Secret Realm' has been open for thousands of years. If there are living beings, wouldn't they be thousands of years old?"
"I'm not certain, I just have a feeling. And I also feel a sense of disgust from this aura, though I can't quite pinpoint what it is."
"In any case, let's go take a look. Can you ensure these resentful spirits don't detect us?"
"Yes, I have these concealment talismans. As long as you wear them and don't touch the resentful spirits, and they don't touch you, their eyes won't see us."
"Good, follow me."
...
The two affixed the concealment talismans to their bodies and cautiously proceeded towards the city. Because the resentful spirits floated in the air, they were not affected by the ground-level movements of Chen Tian and Pang Yuan. Pang Yuan looked at the scattered, broken weapons around them. These were divine artifacts, holy artifacts, at the lowest a supreme artifact. It was a shame they couldn't touch them. Pang Yuan was well-versed in tomb-raiding lore; these weapons, influenced by deathly qi, resentful spirits, and lingering grudges, would turn anyone who touched them into a walking corpse, controlled by the malevolent energies within.
Moreover, there were too many resentful spirits. Pang Yuan estimated at least ten thousand. This battle must have claimed tens of thousands of lives, their grudges coalescing into these spirits. If he disturbed the weapons and generated any ripple, these spirits would sense it, and then they would be in real trouble. With tens of thousands of resentful spirits, Pang Yuan doubted even Chen Tian could handle them easily. It was best not to cause trouble.
Furthermore, these weapons were broken and had endured thousands of years of decay. They would turn to dust upon contact with yang energy, making touching them pointless.
Chen Tian and Pang Yuan passed through the resentful spirits. Chen Tian spoke, "Don't let your guard down. We've only covered a tenth of the distance."
Pang Yuan had been astonished countless times today. First, this was the tomb of Senior Qing Yuan. Then, a world-ending war had occurred here, claiming tens of thousands of lives. And now, he was told they had only covered a tenth of the distance. Pang Yuan felt leaving this place would be quite troublesome.
"Rumble!"
The ground began to shake. Pang Yuan asked, "What's happening?"
A pair of white bone claws emerged from the ground. After the appearance of these two claws, a swarm of them followed, and figures began to claw their way out of the earth. Pang Yuan exclaimed, "Chen Tian, these are Resentful Spirit Corpses. They are the product of resentment clinging to corpses. Be careful, these Resentful Spirit Corpses retain the physical strength of their living bodies and are not easily shattered."
In front of Pang Yuan and Chen Tian stood no less than a thousand of them, all charging towards them. Pang Yuan's concealment talismans were effective against resentful spirits, but he had never expected such advanced beings as Resentful Spirit Corpses to appear here, leaving him unprepared.
"Pang Yuan, is there a way to deal with them?"
Chen Tian inquired. He could feel that these corpses were stronger than him; he was no match for them. He might be able to hold them off for a while, but a real fight, even a fight for survival, would be beyond his capabilities.
"Yes, but it will take time. I need to set up a tomb-slaying array. Chen Tian, you'll need to help me stall for half an hour."
"Half an hour, I can manage. These things have no intelligence, so I can maneuver around them more easily."
A silver-white domain appeared behind Chen Tian, engulfing all the Resentful Spirit Corpses. Pang Yuan didn't idle; he immediately began his preparations, taking out countless pieces of paper. He bit his finger, and drops of blood merged with deathly qi. Different patterns and characters appeared on the papers, totaling over a thousand characters.
Pang Yuan's face turned pale, and his once plump physique became gaunt. He formed hand seals, and a halo appeared, expanding and settling on the ground like a formation. Thousands of papers were placed into the formation, each fitting into a specific indentation.
Pang Yuan coughed out black Qi into the formation. His hand seals shifted, and sweat beaded on his forehead. This was his first time deploying such a killing array, and he had no prior experience, relying solely on brute force.
If he didn't fight hard, they would be doomed. Moreover, Chen Tian was already buying him time. Pang Yuan was determined to complete this killing array.
Half an hour wasn't long. Chen Tian's domain dissipated. Blood flowed from Chen Tian's arm, and he had a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. He had sustained injuries. Chen Tian hadn't expected the opponent's physical strength to be so formidable; just enduring one punch had brought him to this state. He had done his best to stall for half an hour.
"Pang Yuan, is it done yet?"
Chen Tian roared, looking back. If it wasn't done soon, he would be finished.
"It's done, Chen Tian! Quickly get out of the killing array's range, I'm about to activate it."
Pang Yuan's voice echoed. Chen Tian didn't hesitate and retreated immediately. He dared not fight these mindless creatures any longer; he was no match for them, they were too powerful.
If Chen Tian's strength were fully integrated, he might have been able to contend with a group of them. But not now.
Chen Tian murmured, "It seems I need to hurry and merge with my origin."