I don't know.
Professor Sun shook his head. "So far, we haven't observed anything related to the black smoke."
"Why wasn't it observed? Is the person who reported it lying?"
"This cannot be determined yet."
Professor Sun pointed to the large crater in the distance and said, "That report was written by someone else; much of the information came from people who had gone mad. We also tried using video cameras, but they disappeared without capturing anything."
"Disappeared?"
"Yes, it just vanished into thin air. Nylon rope, straw rope, steel cable—we tried many kinds, but none of them worked. As soon as we put it in, the rope broke. Furthermore, it blocks signals; even your country's quantum communication device couldn't stop it."
Professor Sun shook his head. "Because we couldn't take photos, and sending people down directly was risky, we brought over several automated excavators. And then, as you see, all the excavators broke down."
"That's pretty weird."
Xu Long was a little surprised, then asked Fire King, "What's going on with you?"
"Don't even mention it. I was planning to go in and take a look, but as soon as I got close, I felt an extremely powerful force bounce me back. That force had some kind of property that completely sealed off my superpowers."
The Fire King sighed, "And you saw the result: he fell flat on his face."
"Wow, this looks like we've dug up something amazing!"
Xu Long was astonished. The S-rank expert was thrown out without any chance to fight back, and his superpowers were also sealed.
If the thing inside wanted to kill him, even hundreds of lives wouldn't be enough.
"It's more than just remarkable; I suspect it might be even more difficult to deal with than that giant snake from last month."
The Fire King sighed. Although he wasn't injured, the incident had severely damaged his confidence.
He's supposed to be an S-rank expert, yet he didn't even have a chance to fight back.
"The enemies we face will only grow stronger, not weaker. Those that appear later will definitely be much, much stronger than those before."
As Xu Long spoke, he entered a state of Unity of Heaven and Man.
He didn't rashly probe the tomb with his telekinetic energy; if that thing could repel the Fire King, it would definitely attack him as well.
Steel cables, nylon ropes, straw ropes, excavators...
Professor Sun, Fire King...
Earthworms, ants, mole ants...
Even though he didn't use his telekinesis, he could see everything around him.
"I saw it..."
In my perception, a black aura struggled and churned within the tomb, but was blocked by an invisible barrier.
Each impact of the black energy caused the barrier to shake.
If you repeat this many times, the barrier will eventually be broken through.
"What exactly is this thing?"
Xu Long's expression was solemn. That invisible barrier must be what repelled the Fire King, and some of the black energy inside had already escaped.
Have you noticed anything amiss?
The Fire King asked somewhat nervously.
"There's an extremely terrifying power inside, but it's been restrained. Otherwise, that last attack would have killed you here."
Xu Long's expression was grim. "Step back a bit. I'll open the outer barrier and see what's inside."
"Do you have a way to open it?"
Upon hearing Xu Long's words, Fire King's face showed a surprised expression.
He had learned his lesson before; not only was he ejected, but his supernatural abilities were also sealed, and it took him more than half an hour to slowly recover.
If Xu Long can open the barrier, he should also be able to find out what's inside.
As the Fire King pondered, he saw a dazzling light descend from the sky and instantly land on the tomb.
"Holy crap, you just opened it like that?"
The Fire King was shocked; he never expected Xu Long to do such a thing.
boom!
The particle cannon rained down, its terrifying impact spreading in all directions.
Everything within a 500-meter radius was reduced to ruins, and the excavators were completely destroyed.
The energy fluctuations subsided, the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, and the contents of the tomb finally came into view.
It was a coffin, a black coffin.
An invisible barrier dragged the coffin through the air, golden runes shimmering with a faint glow. Between the coffin and the barrier, there was an intensely dense black mist.
"This should be a seal; the coffin trapped what was inside, and the barrier was meant to prevent the black mist from spreading. However, due to the passage of time or other reasons, the seal's power has weakened, which is why the black mist is escaping."
Xu Long calmly analyzed the situation and roughly figured out what was going on.
There was most likely a Ghost Demons inside the coffin, because Xu Long sensed a familiar aura.
"I just killed a Ghost Demons and obtained its Soul Power Essence. I was wondering where to get more of this good stuff, and here it is."
Xu Long smiled and slashed down fiercely with his sword.
laugh!
The sword light tore through the air and arrived in front of the coffin in an instant.
This seal could withstand particle cannon attacks, but it was practically made of paper in front of Xu Long.
The coffin was broken, and there was nothing there except for an extremely dense black aura.
"He can cleave it in two with a single sword strike, just how strong is he?"
Sensing that terrifying aura, the Fire King's expression became extremely serious.
He knew there was a significant gap between him and Xu Long, but he never imagined it would be this large.
If it were a fight between two people, I'd probably be instantly killed without even having a chance to react.
No! Not only did they not have a chance to react, they were killed before they even saw the other person's face.
The seal was broken, and countless black wisps of energy burst forth.
Seemingly aware that Xu Long was not someone to be trifled with, the black energy did not attack him directly, but instead spread in all directions.
Unfortunately, since Xu Long had already made his move, how could he let that thing escape?
The Azure Firmament Celestial Star Formation Diagram appeared behind him, with nine stars emitting a faint light.
The next instant, a black sphere of light appeared out of thin air, enveloping all the black energy within it.
This is the Iron Curtain Defense. If used on yourself, it grants temporary invincibility; if used on enemies, it acts as a ban.
The ball of light slowly flew over and landed in Xu Long's palm.
The Power of Extreme Yang, Absolute Yin transformed into a prison that enveloped it, before the Iron Curtain Defense was removed.
Sizzle!
A piercing sound suddenly rang out, mixed with anger and fear.
Clearly, this black mist was not inanimate, but something alive.
However, now that it's in Xu Long's hands, whether it lives or dies is irrelevant.
We're all going to die anyway, so it doesn't matter if we die sooner or later!
The Power of Extreme Yang, Absolute Yin enveloped the black energy so tightly that it gave it no chance to escape.
About ten seconds passed, and just as Xu Long had predicted, this thing was indeed a Ghost Demons, leaving him with a Soul Power Essence after its death.
Everything happened so suddenly that Fire King was dumbfounded.
That thing inside was just wiped out like that? Gone without even a fight?
Who the hell can I complain to?