The trio was extremely cautious, Zhao Han and Guo Qiye directly cast their Magic Treasures, attacking the shadow.
But the target of the shadow did not seem to be them; it merely flickered before their eyes and the next moment, it disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a pool of blood on the ground, with the bodies gone.
"What incredible speed!"
Everyone was astonished by the speed of the shadow; nobody could see its true face.
The Black Feathered Chicken squawked, "Let’s go already, this Dead City is too eerie, even Chicken Grandpa has never seen something so terrifying."
Although it spoke human language, it insisted on saying "terrifying," which sounded odd, but upon reflection was quite fitting since it was, in fact, a chicken.
However, barely had its voice faded when brisk and heavy footsteps approached; more Ghost Soldiers were in pursuit, though this time there were only two.
Chen Nan rubbed his fists together, "I really want to try out if these Ghost Soldiers can be killed."
Zhao Han held the pagoda in his hand and nodded, "I want to try as well."
Guo Qiye stepped back, clearly not wanting to take the risk.
The Black Feathered Chicken cursed and pecked at each of their ears, saying irritably, "These Ghost Soldiers are not War Corpses; they have Vajra Bodies. Even if ten more of you joined, you wouldn’t be able to kill a single one."
"You make it sound so mysterious; how would we know without trying?" Chen Nan said, grabbing his Demon Sword.
"Let me give it a try first; even if I can’t handle it, we’re far enough away to have enough time to escape," said Zhao Han, as he summoned his pagoda and pressed it down upon the head of a Ghost Soldier.
A loud sound rang out, with sparks flying everywhere.
The Tenth-Grade Spiritual Artifact pagoda was repelled with a shock, hitting the walls of a house with a clang, a crack forming on its surface, while the Ghost Soldier remained unharmed and became even fiercer. It raised its long spear and with a stab, a dark light tore through the void, striking towards Chen Nan and the others.
All three jumped in fright and hurriedly dodged.
The dark light unleashed by the Ghost Soldier smashed into the ground, creating a huge pit where the stone pavement exploded, lifting countless slabs into the air like massive hailstones, bombarding towards Chen Nan and his companions.
The trio were hit by several stones and struggled immensely to escape.
Fortunately, the Ghost Soldiers were not fast; otherwise, they might have perished here today.
"Damn it, I told you not to mess around—Chicken Grandpa’s head is swollen from being hit," the Black Feathered Chicken complained, flapping its wings continuously.
Looking at the crack on the pagoda, Zhao Han sighed, "The strength of these Ghost Soldiers is indeed beyond our resistance; such sturdy bodies, I fear even Treasures cannot kill them."
Chen Nan said, "Who knows if that Extreme Cold Treasure is inside Dead City. If we can find that Treasure, there should be a way to get out."
"It must be within the city!" Zhao Han analyzed, "Before we entered, the Three-legged Round Tripod emitting cold air was only about a hundred meters from the stele. Considering the area covered by Dead City, it spans at least several miles; the Round Tripod is definitely within the city.
The Black Feathered Chicken shook its head and said, "That’s uncertain; after all, everything in Dead City is too mysterious."
"Regardless, we must look for it; if it really is within the city, perhaps there will be a way out," Chen Nan said earnestly.
The trio set out again, heading towards the center of Dead City.
After about 300 meters, figures appeared ahead—two young men wielding long swords were walking their way.
"Brothers, have you found anything over there?" Zhao Han asked.
The two men, silent and with a vacant stare, walked toward this side, as if they had been frightened out of their wits.
"They seem to have been scared silly; let’s go check it out."
Guo Qiye ran over first, patted one of the men on the shoulder, and asked, "Are you guys alright? Did you find anything there?"
The two young men looked up at him, a flash of red light in their eyes, and swung their long swords down at Guo Qiye.
Both men were martial artists with no weak strength.
As a cultivator, Guo Qiye was caught by surprise so close, he dodged the first sword but was struck by the second sword on his arm. Fortunately, at the crucial moment, he reacted, spewed out a flying sword from his mouth that pierced through the opponent’s skull, and then hurriedly retreated.
The remaining martial artist swung his long sword, pursuing relentless with very stiff movements, just like those ghost soldiers.
Chen Nan stepped forward, knocked the long sword out of his hand with a punch, then grabbed his two arms and twisted, immediately causing a "snap" sound as the joints dislocated, causing him to lose the attack power.
"It seems like they were controlled by someone," Chen Nan said.
Zhao Han nodded, was about to speak when suddenly a "puff" sound erupted, and a spray of blood shot out. A hole appeared on the young man’s forehead, and a beetle the size of a thumb charged out, heading straight for Zhao Han’s forehead.
Zhao Han quickly dodged, then a pagoda came crashing down, smashing the beetle into fragments.
"What in the world is this thing?"
"It seems it’s these things that are controlling their bodies."
The Black Feathered Chicken jumped to the ground, staring at the crushed beetle, and said, "It’s very much like the legendary Soul Devouring Worm, small in size, fast in speed, and most terrifyingly, it devours human souls and controls their bodies."
"I didn’t expect such creepy creatures in this place," Chen Nan said.
The Black Feathered Chicken jumped onto his shoulder and said, "The Soul Devouring Worm can be said to be the bane of martial artists, especially since martial artists generally have weak spiritual power, making their souls very vulnerable to being devoured."
Chen Nan glanced at the two corpses on the ground: "No wonder these two had strong cultivations but were easily devoured."
"So many worms, let’s go!"
Suddenly a voice came through, followed by three martial artists running toward this side.
Behind these three men, the ground was dark with numerous Soul Devouring Worms, easily several hundred.
"Save us, save us quick!"
Upon seeing Chen Nan and the others, the three men cried out for help.
Chen Nan did not pay attention to them and turned to leave with Zhao Han.
Several hundred Soul Devouring Worms were not easy to deal with, what more, once the Extreme Cold Treasure was found, these three would become competitors for the treasure—it was better to let them die here to avoid future trouble.
In this world of the Dead City, there is no place for mercy!
If you save them now, they might just turn around and kill you once the Extreme Cold Treasure is found.
"Save us, we know where the Extreme Cold Treasure is!"
The three men cried out again for help, and this time Chen Nan stopped in his tracks.