Everyone's eyes followed Fang Xiu's gaze, and their jaws dropped.
"The soil on the graves is turning black! What's going on?"
"Get back!" Bai Qi shouted, but it was too late. The soil, now pitch black, began to rise on its own, as if it wanted to engulf everyone.
Yang Ming, the slowest to react, found his feet quickly swallowed by the dirt.
"Damn it, I can't get my feet out!" Yang Ming struggled, his face reddening, but he couldn't break free.
He pulled out a short knife and tried to cut through the dirt. The blade hit with a clang, as if striking steel.
The blackened dirt was tougher than it looked.
Bai Qi, moving swiftly, dodged the rising dirt. But without the ability to fly, he eventually had to land. The blackened earth spread as far as he could see.
When he touched down, he faced the same fate as Yang Ming.
Fang Xiu also couldn't avoid it. With no ability to fly, he was ensnared by the dirt as soon as he landed.
The dirt didn't stop at their feet; it kept rising. Before long, it covered their calves.
It was clear they'd soon be buried alive, becoming part of the Graveyard.
Only Hei Jiji was spared.
"I can fly, I can fly, I can fly!" she chanted to herself. And then, she did. She floated a meter off the ground, safe from the rising dirt.
Just as she sighed in relief, her expression shifted dramatically.
A powerful force, like intense gravity, yanked Hei Jiji back down.
"Ah!" she screamed as the dirt swallowed her feet that was clad in white canvas shoes.
Now, everyone was trapped. The dirt continued to rise, like a relentless tide, ready to bury them all.
Fang Xiu glanced at the dirt now up to his calves. He unleashed the power of the Genesis Mask, and black flames roared around him.
BOOM!
With a powerful burst, the dirt trembled and exploded away.
But within seconds, more dirt surged back, covering Fang Xiu's calves once more.
Fang Xiu frowned, eyeing the seemingly endless black dirt around them.
He knew he couldn't keep using his power this way. As a second-tier psychic, he needed to conserve his Spiritual Energy if he wanted any chance of escaping the Graveyard.
"Is this the end?" Fang Xiu wondered, feeling the power of the black dirt. It was like being trapped in the domain of a fourth-tier psychic.
The entire Graveyard seemed to be the Fishman's domain. If the Fishman was a Specter, then this place should be called a Specter Zone.
The power and range of this domain far surpassed the Ace of Spades' domain.
"Xiu, what do we do now?" Yang Ming asked, his voice shaky in the crisis.
Fang Xiu shook his head. He hadn't died so far, so he didn't have a plan.
With his current strength, he couldn't see a way out.
This situation demanded raw power to break free, so death reset might be less useful here. Against the endless black dirt, without overwhelming strength, escape seemed impossible.
Suddenly, Bai Qi's eyes hardened as he raised his short knife.
Yang Ming was startled. "Bai, what are you doing?"
"We can't just sit here and wait to die," Bai Qi growled, gritting his teeth.
Before Yang Ming could respond,_ _Bai Qi swung the knife. He groaned and fell heavily to the ground. Blood poured from his legs.
Bai Qi had cut off his own legs. But it was futile. His death only came quicker.
As Bai Qi collapsed, he tried to prop himself up with his hands. But the black dirt quickly engulfed his hands and then his entire body.
Lying down, he was buried even faster.
Bai Qi struggled in terror, but it was hopeless. He was buried alive.
"Xiao Bai!" Yang Ming screamed in despair, unable to move or help.
Soon, he too was swallowed by the dirt.
Only Fang Xiu and Hei Jiji remained.
Fang Xiu used the Genesis Mask's power to hold back the dirt. He was being buried the slowest among them.
Hei Jiji used her abilities to delay the dirt's advance. However, she was just a third-tier psychic, and the dirt's power was too strong.
She could only stall her coming death.
Her power was weaker than Fang Xiu's. She was buried up to her waist, while Fang Xiu was only buried up to his knees.
Then, something eerie happened. Tombstones appeared where Bai Qi and Yang Ming were buried.
The tombstones read "Bai Qi's Grave" and "Yang Ming's Grave."
Small mounds of dirt completed the graves.
Fang Xiu's expression shifted._ 'It's automatic?'_
It seemed Zhou Qingfeng had indeed buried himself. This scene suggested that once someone lay down in the Graveyard, they were automatically buried.
Compared to Fang Xiu's composed demeanor, Hei Jiji was obviously panicking as she faced death.
"Xiu, you're so calm. Do you have a plan?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"No," Fang Xiu replied, his tone steady.
If she weren't on the brink of death, Hei Jiji might have been frustrated.
'If you don't have a plan, at least look worried. We're about to die, can't you show some concern?'
Hei Jiji rolled her eyes and asked, "But why aren't you scared? Aren't you afraid of dying?"
"Death is a familiar friend of mine." His nonchalant response left Hei Jiji speechless.
By now, the dirt had climbed to her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.
As death loomed closer, Hei Jiji's panic started to fade. Acceptance began to take over. When fate was unavoidable, the only thing she could do was to face it with calm.
She glanced at the newly formed graves of Yang Ming and Bai Qi and, she said to Fang Xiu, "Looks like I'll be next. When I'm gone, can you check what name is on my grave?"
Fang Xiu was taken aback.
'Does she really not know her own name?'