Chapter 82: Into the Depths
The collapse of the floor was fast and sudden, catching nearly everyone off guard, leaving no time to save themselves.
Only those at the mid phase of the fourth stage and above managed to converge part of their spiritual Qi into their bodies and float, but even that didn’t last long.
A strange energy fluctuation started coming from the void below, interfering with their Qi control and stopping them from floating, leaving them little choice but to fall as well.
Needless to say, this shocked everyone,
an unknown energy capable of disrupting everyone’s spiritual Qi?
What in the world could it be, and how had they ended up running into something like this?
As time went on, the strange phenomenon only grew more mysterious, but no one had the time to think about that now,
They all had a much more immediate problem to solve,
surviving the fall.
The fall didn’t last long, after almost ten seconds, the ground below began to come into view, and everyone, or at least those still conscious,
unleashed all sorts of skills, from artifacts to defensive talismans, to slow down their fall.
This helped many reduce the impact and land safely.
That said, there were still plenty of casualties from the sudden incident, and it went without saying that most of them were from the second and third stages,
likely those who had either been too injured from the previous battle to save themselves or simply lacked the means to do so.
Yun Hao, seeing many of his men falling at full speed and being squashed like flies on the ground, was clearly not haappy.
He might’ve been the type who wouldn’t hesitate to throw his entire group of subordinates to the wolves if it brought him closer to his goals,
but to do that, his team had to be alive in the first place, right?
He was certain the battle with that beast wasn’t over yet, especially because out of everyone who’d fallen,
that creature was the only one missing.
’That thing... what did it do?’ he wondered frustrated,
as he slammed into the ground feet first, the impact cracking the terrain slightly beneath him.
The fall lasted about ten seconds in total, which made it clear the depth wasn’t more than a few hundred meters.
For someone at the fifth stage, falling from that height was relatively safe, and even those at the fourth and the peak of the third stage could survive it without too much trouble.
That said, he didn’t lower his guard.
His eyes quickly scanned for one of his fourth stage lackeys, and upon spotting him, he immediately ordered him to get everyone in position.
They were now in unfamiliar territory, outside the initial range they had predicted and where they had planned their assault.
The last thing he wanted now was to fall into some ambush by that creature and end up buried in this forsaken place.
His gaze moved forward, to where a massive tunnel had been carved, it was the only path they had, other than the hole in the ceiling that led back to the upper cavern, which was not really an option in their current condition.
He stared at the path ahead with a complicated expression, wondering who could’ve dug a tunnel of this size.
Its diameter was twice that of the previous centipede, so it couldn’t have been that creature.
He really hoped it was just a coincidence and that there wasn’t a more powerful being here.
As he thought that, the sudden burst of energy from earlier, the one that had petrified everyone, came to mind, and his expression grew more and more serious.
’Could it be that thing?’
A strange gleam appeared in his eyes, as if he’d come to a decision.
Soon everyone got busy, some tending to the injured, others scouting the area.
In the middle of the commotion, no one noticed the expression of a certain cloaked man, who at that moment was staring at the large tunnel with a thoughtful look.
"That energy from earlier... where have I felt it before?" Zhu Rong wondered, a nagging sense of familiarity creeping in.
The pressure that had struck them all, followed by that strange release of energy, it wasn’t the first time he had felt something like it.
In his mind, he already had an idea of what it could be, but just thinking that it might really be that made his mood sink as he tried to come up with another possible explanation.
He knew about the attack on the mine and the clash between the two families, but the existence of a place like this was unknown to him.
He wondered if it had anything to do with the damage the Yao family suffered shortly after the Expedition to the mine.
Under Yun Hao’s command, the group began to reorganize, and in less than 30 minutes, everyone had recovered to some extent.
Everyone was wondering where they were, eyes turning to their leader, waiting for his instructions on what to do next.
Seeing that the group had regrouped, Yun Hao spoke,
"It looks like the guardian of this place still had a few cards up its sleeve.
Not only did he manage to drag us down here, but he also escaped successfully, taking a few of our men’s lives with him.
Normally, in cases like this, I would retreat to reorganize our forces, but the situation’s a little different now.
The beast is badly injured, and it’ll take time before it can fully recover its strength.
We need to take this chance to finish it once and for all, or we might never get another one.
I understand that many of you are hurt and not ready to fight, so I’ll split the group in two.
As you’ve probably noticed, this place is big, probably even more than the mine above. It wouldn’t be wrong to call it a labyrinth.
The injured will explore the secondary tunnels, while the rest of us who can still fight will head into the main one," he said.
And with that, their next course of action was set.
Zhu Rong was in relatively good shape and hadn’t suffered any injuries from the previous battle or the fall.
That said, when one of the cloaked men came by to assign people into different groups,
he was on the ground, breathing heavily, his Qi flow unstable, with visible cuts here and there, stained with blood, heaven knows whose.
Seeing his "apparent" condition, the cloaked man shook his head and ignored him, moving on to someone else.
’Alright, with these guys going after that centipede, i should be able to explore the source of that energy more safely.’