Yin Soldiers? What were those? Wu Xie was utterly baffled and wanted to ask Fatty, but Fatty clamped a hand over his mouth and gestured emphatically for him not to speak.
Pan Zi deftly switched off his flashlight, sweat beading on his forehead. Seasoned veteran though he was, this was his first time witnessing a scene that existed only in legends, and it had given him quite a fright.
Shunzi was just as confused as Wu Xie.
Poker-Face's breathing quickened. From his movements, he seemed to want to climb out and slip into the ranks of the Yin Soldiers.
"Not yet." Cao Ya's voice reached him. Poker-Face pressed his lips together and restrained the impulse.
Everyone hid behind the large rock.
Cao Ya studied them inquisitively. What form of existence did these Yin Soldiers have?
Although the world of The Grave Robbers' Chronicles had not displayed many particularly powerful supernatural forces, it was not a world utterly devoid of the supernatural, either.
The existence of things such as the Meteorite Jade, The Ultimate, and the Yin Soldiers made that clear.
The procession moved at an unhurried pace. They could even make out the shadows of the banners carried by the Yin Soldiers at the front. Marching four abreast in perfectly ordered ranks, the soldiers soon advanced from the distant end of the rift to where the group stood. Amid the faint blue mist, their figures grew increasingly clear.
Cao Ya was fine. With his excellent eyesight and keen senses, he had spotted the Yin Soldiers long ago and already seen what they looked like. Backed by his formidable strength, he felt no panic and merely frowned slightly.
Wu Xie, Fatty, Pan Zi, and Shunzi were another matter.
The longer they watched, the more their scalps prickled.
The soldiers at the head of the procession wore battered armor from the Shang dynasty and carried banner poles, while others behind them bore horns. Despite their heavy burdens, they walked as though they were floating, without making the slightest sound, and moved extremely fast.
Then they saw the soldiers' faces, and a chill pierced their hearts. Every face was extraordinarily long, the entire head twice the length of an ordinary person's. All of them were expressionless, their faces deathly pale.
Everyone held their breath. Even when it grew painful, they dared not gasp for air.
Apart from Cao Ya, Poker-Face was the only one who remained composed. He gazed at the procession of Yin Soldiers, his eyes deep and unfathomable, as though he had remembered something else.
The procession passed before them like ghosts. Apparently unaware of their presence, it headed straight toward the enormous Bronze Gate.
Then the soldiers walked directly into the gap between the enormous bronze doors. Every soldier looked exactly alike, as though they had been fashioned from paper.
Soon, the entire procession of Yin Soldiers had entered the enormous Bronze Gate. The ground suddenly shuddered, and the colossal doors instantly sealed together into a single whole.
Even after all the Yin Soldiers had vanished through the Bronze Gate, no one dared speak. They seemed unable to pull themselves free of the wondrous, eerie scene they had just witnessed.
"What was that? Yin Soldiers claiming passage? Ghosts and monsters really exist?" Wu Xie sank to the ground. A wave of helplessness instantly left him dizzy, and deep within him, a sense of his own insignificance welled up.
At that moment, he somewhat regretted joining his Third Uncle's team and going to the Seven-Star Lu Palace.
The truth of this world was too overwhelming. For the moment, he could not quite accept it.
The others also looked somewhat unhinged, astonished and dazed.
Everyone had heard of Yin Soldiers claiming passage in ghost stories passed down by their elders, but seeing it with their own eyes was an entirely different experience.
By then, the pale blue mist around them gradually dispersed. They switched their flashlights back on, illuminating their surroundings.
"Those creatures... heh, they really are rather peculiar." Cao Ya rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.
Unlike the others, he could more readily discern the true nature of the Yin Soldiers.
They were probably an anomalous presence that existed only in certain regions. They might not even qualify as living creatures, depending instead on strange objects in the world to sustain their existence.
That was perfectly normal, too. Which anomaly in the world of The Grave Robbers' Chronicles had not arisen because of some extraordinary object?
He clapped his hands,
rousing everyone, and said calmly, "Stop dwelling on it. They're just a bunch of Yin Soldiers. What's there to be afraid of? Anyone who wants to enter the Bronze Gate, come with me."
With that, he walked straight out and stood beneath the enormous Bronze Gate. After briefly regulating his breathing, he gathered his strength, and golden light suddenly flashed over his fist.
"Holy shit!" Everyone jumped in fright, though not because of the golden light. After all the wondrous sights they had just witnessed, that no longer startled them.
Their main concern was that if Cao Ya really shattered the enormous Bronze Gate, the flying fragments would probably kill them on the spot when they were standing so close.
They hurriedly scrambled away and stood a hundred meters off to watch from a distance.
In truth, they could no longer see very clearly from there, because their flashlights could barely reach that far.
BOOM!!!
An explosive crash rang out. Dazzling golden light illuminated the entire rift, revealing every last detail.
Everyone reeled, dizzy and dazed, and even briefly lost their hearing.
Not only they, but also the teams inside the Cloud Palace-A Ning's caravan, as well as Chen Pi A Si and his men-heard the commotion erupting from the enormous Bronze Gate. Tremors rocked the ground beneath their feet like an earthquake, making it difficult to stand.
They all froze. What was happening? An earthquake?
Cao Ya withdrew his fist and smiled at the shattered Bronze Gate.
To smash the gate with a single blow, he had deliberately used a greater measure of his strength.
Sure enough, it had not disappointed him. One strike had smashed the Bronze Gate apart.
Thinking about it, that made sense. However miraculous this place and the Bronze Gate might be, that was only from an ordinary person's perspective. To a cultivator, they really amounted to no more than that.
Even setting aside the world of The Masters of This World, the worlds of Global Martial Arts, Naruto, and Mysterious Revival all had plenty of more wondrous things, if one cared to look.
"Let's go." Cao Ya transmitted his voice. Despite the hundred meters between them, everyone felt as though he were speaking softly beside their ears, and they heard every word perfectly clearly.
Accustomed to Cao Ya's unusual abilities, they all ran over.
Looking at the enormous Bronze Gate, now mostly shattered with only a few edges and corners remaining, everyone marveled once again.
And you still say you aren't an immortal cultivator?
A peculiar light shone in Poker-Face's eyes. He had remembered a few things and had originally intended to handle them himself. Now, it seemed that everything he had suffered was simply because he had not been strong enough.
I have to learn the Golden Bell Shield... or some other art, like the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art.
With Cao Ya leading the way, the group entered the Bronze Gate.
A thin layer of blue mist filled the air, obstructing their vision. Their flashlights illuminated only seven or eight meters at most. Beyond that, nothing was visible, swallowed by the mist.
Golden light gleamed in Cao Ya's eyes, allowing him to see considerably farther.
It was a fairly large cavern, with smooth stone walls bearing several murals. Deep within it stood a huge rock riddled with pits.
No, that was not a huge rock. It was the Meteorite Jade!
The procession of Yin Soldiers that had entered the Bronze Gate ahead of them had vanished entirely, as though they had merged into the mist or entered the Meteorite Jade.
Cao Ya even sensed an extremely faint sign of life within the Meteorite Jade. As they entered, that pulse of life grew rapidly stronger.
Before you continue