The man's shrill screams gradually faded away; he could no longer make a sound, for he had become a desiccated corpse.
There were three corpses on the ground, all of which looked like mummies who had been dead for a long time.
At this moment, the arm of the Lord of the Netherworld had absorbed the power of the three, underwent some changes.
But the change was not significant; it was barely perceptible to the naked eye, and the skin remained dry.
However, the white light has dimmed somewhat, and its restriction on the arm is decreasing.
"It seems we need to draw on the life force of even more people!"
Xu Ya glanced at the three corpses, then tossed them away. It was dark here, and it wouldn't be easy for others to find them.
The Lord of the Netherworld's arm had been sealed for too long; even after absorbing the power of three people, it was still not enough.
More people, at least dozens, are needed to barely revive this arm.
All those people outside must be sacrificed.
Xu Ya walked out of the underground space. As soon as she stepped outside, her smile vanished, replaced by a complex expression that combined fear and delight.
When the players outside saw her come out and noticed her expression, they hurried over to ask her what was wrong.
They were eager to know what was inside.
"They're all dead!" Xu Ya said, "But I did make a discovery. I found that arm, the arm of the Lord of the Netherworld!"
Xu Ya's words excited everyone around her. Although three people had died, Xu Ya's successful escape meant that there wasn't too much danger inside.
Moreover, Xu Ya really did find the arm of the Lord of the Netherworld. If that's the case, wouldn't they be able to complete their mission very quickly?
If they go inside and retrieve the arm to bring into the temple, or destroy it, their god will immediately appear.
This news is incredibly exciting.
"Their deaths were worthwhile; please take us inside to see them."
"Okay," Xu Ya said immediately.
"Wait a minute," someone said, "Tell us first how those three died? What dangers are inside? So we can prepare accordingly."
"Let's go inside and talk as we go. Right now, the most important thing is to destroy that arm; nothing else matters."
Xu Ya agreed, "Okay, who will come in with me? We can talk as we walk."
Everyone immediately signed up, and they were all very excited.
To be able to participate in this important task and contribute to God's coming would be an unparalleled honor.
No one wanted to fall behind.
"Why don't we all go in?" someone suggested.
"That won't do. We need enough people to guard the temple, otherwise if the Demon appears at this time, we'll have made a terrible mistake!"
"We don't need too many people," Xu Ya said. "Seven or eight more people will be enough. I almost got that arm out just now, so we don't need too many people."
Upon hearing that there were only seven or eight spots available, the competition intensified.
This is definitely a great job, and nobody wants to fall behind.
While guarding the temple is important, when it comes to actually rewarding merit, those who have made the most contributions will certainly receive the least.
After much debate, it was finally decided that Xu Ya would select nine people to form a ten-person team to go underground once again.
In this way, with more than thirty people guarding the temple outside, it would be enough to handle any emergencies.
However, among all the players, the strongest ones must stay here to guard the temple, Xu Ya can only choose from the others.
Xu Ya quickly selected nine people, and they entered the underground area amidst the envious gazes of the crowd.
As everyone entered the underground space, Xu Ya gave a brief account of their experiences, though her version differed significantly from the actual events.
"There is an evil spirit here, a henchman of the Lord of the Netherworld, who has been guarding the Lord of the Netherworld's arm."
That evil spirit was very powerful. Although I eventually killed it, the three of them also died at its hands.
After killing the evil spirit, I tried to remove the arm of the Lord of the Netherworld, but I was still too weak to take it out.
There shouldn't be any danger here anymore. I'll take you directly to find the arm of the Lord of the Netherworld. Once we retrieve and destroy it, our god will be able to descend!
Hearing Xu Ya say this, everyone was very excited; this was practically free credit.
Driven by greed, these people didn't think too much about it, because Xu Ya's acting skills were quite good, and there were no obvious loopholes in her words.
The group quickly arrived at the arm, and their excitement grew even stronger as they gazed at the arm of the Lord of the Netherworld, shrouded in white light.
Success is imminent; their god will soon arrive.
At this moment, someone asked, "Where are the bodies of those three people?"
Xu Ya said, "Their bodies aren't here."
She moved the three bodies away because she was worried that the people would be frightened if they saw them, as the three bodies had indeed died in a very gruesome manner.
"Alright, enough talk, let's figure out how to get that arm out!"
Xu Ya said, "I reached my hand directly into the light screen and grabbed the arm, but I couldn't pull it out no matter what I did; I wasn't strong enough."
"Then watch me," a burly man stepped forward, preparing to reach into the light barrier and retrieve the arm.
At this moment, Xu Ya said, "Wait, let me do it. You just need to transfer your power into my body, and I'll take care of removing that arm!"
"Alright," everyone thought Xu Ya was trying to claim the credit, but the credit truly belonged to Xu Ya, and they couldn't take it away from her.
Furthermore, they were also worried that Xu Ya had kept something from them.
If something goes wrong when they reach for the arm, it will be troublesome.
It would be better to follow Xu Ya's arrangements and avoid the risks.
"All of you, focus all your strength on me alone, and I will remove that arm."
The group lined up, and each person placed their palm on the back of the person in front of them, transferring their power to that person.
Those in front then transfer that power to those even further ahead, until all the power is concentrated on Xu Ya.
Xu Ya has now acquired immense power, and the power of the others continues to flow into her body.
She is now at least five times stronger than she used to be.
She could now easily remove that arm.
She reached out and grabbed the arm of the Lord of the Netherworld, who was surrounded by a curtain of light.
In an instant, a tremendous suction force entered Xu Ya's body, absorbing all of her energy. That suction force then passed through her and instantly spread to everyone else.
"Hey? What's going on? How can there be such a strong suction?"
"Yes, what exactly happened?"
A man tried to pull his hand away, but he found that his hand was affected by the suction force, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not remove his hand from the person in front of him.
The suction force was constantly devouring the power within each person's body, like a giant black hole, from which no one could escape once it captured them.
Everyone sensed something was wrong; they felt a sharp pain coming from within their bodies, and the suction force had already caused damage.
"Hey, what are you doing!"
"Stop it! If you keep going like this, we're all going to die!"
Everyone shouted anxiously, but Xu Ya seemed not to hear them. Her hand was still gripping that arm, letting it absorb the strength of the people behind her!
Only then did everyone realize that something was wrong; they had been tricked.
The Xu Ya standing before them might not be Xu Ya at all, but rather that Demon!