The Earth-Shattering Explosion
Upon receiving the warning, the Dao soldiers and cultivators turned around and ran back the way they came, traversing the rain of fire and entering the dark underground tunnel.
At this moment, the entire underground city was trembling violently, and the sturdy city gradually cracked open with cracks due to the continuous tremors.
The magic torches on the wall flickered, like flames about to go out in the cold wind.
Due to the violent earthquake, many of the city's once-stable magical circuits were damaged. The imps were running around like headless flies, stopping every now and then to use spells to repair the damage and try to salvage something, but all their efforts were in vain.
Severely injured, Jiang Hanyan was swept up by Lin Xu's magic. The surviving Dao soldiers and cultivators followed him and quickly traversed the tunnel. His intelligence attribute greatly increased his memory, and even after just one walk, he had already memorized the entire route.
The guardians following behind waved the Sharp Wind Flag, and the spells originally used for killing were now transformed into group buffs and Light Body Technique.
The short-legged Fallen Shaman and exhausted Dark Mages were all surrounded by a gentle breeze, moving as lightly as swallows, and sped away along the tunnel.
By this time, many of the magical traps in the dungeon had become ineffective, which greatly increased the team's speed. They only spent about a third of the time it took to get there, and the exit was already in sight.
Just then, the city's earthquake intensified, cracking open the sturdy dome and sending Shitou crashing down onto the cracked ground.
Another stone hurtled towards the marching group, but it was caught by several Red-Robed Ghosts floating in mid-air and thrown into a safe area.
The Red-Robed Ghosts contributed almost nothing in this battle, but they were exceptionally useful for support.
"Boom!"
The ground trembled violently, and large chunks of rubble collapsed in front of them, almost completely blocking the passage.
Lin Xu's expression remained unchanged. Similar dangerous situations had occurred many times before. He decisively stepped forward. "Quick, move the Shitou!"
The Red-Robed Ghost and the Tiger Sha Demon Soldiers quickly stepped forward and moved the large Shitou away. The lined-up team moved at an extremely fast pace, carrying Shitou as they went, and the blocked passage was cleared in just over ten minutes.
"The exit is just ahead, hurry!"
Lin Xu rode the clouds and swiftly escaped with Jiang Hanyan in tow. The group followed closely behind and soon emerged from the passage.
"Phew~ Finally safe--" Qiuqiu curled up its tentacles and touched its smooth forehead, feeling quite relieved.
"Don't linger here, hurry back to Azure Cloud Mountain!" Lin Xu shouted, and the team that had just rushed out of the passage accelerated once more, rushing towards Azure Cloud Mountain.
The Evil Eyes hovering in the sky had already received the telepathic message. After guiding the militia guarding the camp to retreat, they also fled towards Azure Cloud Mountain. They were quickly caught up by the faster warriors, and the two sides joined forces to accelerate their escape with magic.
Earthquakes were occurring throughout the area where the underground city was located, like an earth dragon turning over, with waves spreading to the surrounding areas.
The once flat earth began to crack, and the once calm Spiritual Qi in the air began to surge violently.
As time passed, the Soul Refining cultivator's keen intuition gradually sensed a brewing threat, until, in a certain instant, an unprecedented seismic wave rapidly spread—
A powerful shockwave, centered on the underground city, swept outwards, comparable to the collapse of the heavens and the earth.
The Fallen Demon at the very back were almost instantly overturned by the storm, rolling haphazardly on the ground.
The powerful shockwave finally dissipated after more than ten seconds.
But soon, rubble and dirt rained down, almost blotting out the sun.
The Gloomlamp Mage Corps immediately cast a spell, and a combined shield was deployed. The semi-transparent magical barrier, like an inverted bowl, blocked the spilled mud, sand, and gravel.
The aftershocks finally subsided several minutes later.
Lin Xu straightened his robe, looking slightly disheveled, and turned to look in the direction of the underground city.
A fog enveloped everything, as if the terrifying energy burst, comparable to a nuclear explosion, had had no effect on this region.
However, with this powerful shockwave, the previously scarce free energy in this area suddenly increased by one or two times, and is still increasing at an alarming rate.
"Master~" The evil eyeball floated slowly down from mid-air, as if it were drunk, "Should we go back and take a look?"
Lin Xu hesitated for a moment, then looked at the disheveled group and said, "You lead the team to check the situation, and come back quickly."
"Yes, Master." Evil Eye Captain waved his tentacles. "You, follow me."
More than twenty Evil Eyes formed a cluster and flew towards the location of the underground city.
While the team rested, Lin Xu checked on Jiang Hanyan's physical condition.
Her natal spirit sword self-destructed, severely damaging both her body and soul.
When they rushed out of the dungeon, Lin Xu had already used magic to soothe the raging sword energy within her body and heal her injuries.
However, compared to her physical condition, the damage to her soul was far more severe.
"The sea of consciousness shattered, and the soul's awareness was almost completely destroyed--"
He frowned slightly, drawing a wisp of candlelight from the Glazed Spirit Lamp into his sea of consciousness, calming the trembling mind, and slowly repairing the shattered sea of consciousness with his magic power.
Under the illumination of the spiritual light, the shattered soul reassembled and gradually recovered from its damage.
Gradually, Jiang Hanyan's injuries healed, and her breathing became steady.
"Alright, now it's time to slowly heal your injuries—and also, forge a new, suitable spirit sword."
Lin Xu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had switched to cultivating the "Lamp Kindling Spirit Transformation Chapter" beforehand. Otherwise, the moment the spirit sword was destroyed, the raging sword energy would have torn apart her meridians and sea of consciousness, leaving her either dead or crippled.
This is the essence of a sword cultivator: as long as the sword lives, the sword lives; when the sword dies, the sword dies!
They had just passed through here not long ago, and there was nothing unusual in the mist. Soon, the Dharma Protector Evil Eyes spotted the location of the former underground city deep within the mist.
This place can only be described as a thing of the past. The once relatively flat ground has disappeared, replaced by a huge crater with a diameter of over three kilometers.
Through the deep crater left by the explosion, one can still vaguely see the remaining ruins at the bottom of the crater, the remains of what was once a city.
At the bottom of the pit, dark red magma is gushing out, gradually filling the entire pit. Perhaps it won't be long before this place turns into a lava lake.
Of course, according to the rules of the Spirit Realm, since this place has lost its Bond with the Xuanwei Monastery Temple, it may soon be "refreshed".
The Evil Eye Orb hovered above the deep crater. In the instant of the explosion, it keenly sensed an unbelievably vast amount of energy being released; for a moment, it seemed as if the entire world was about to be destroyed.
Sensing the strong residual energy remaining in this place, it still felt a sense of dread.
"Huh?" Seemingly sensing something, its large eyes darted around, peering through the topsoil to reveal the buried room below.
It was a treasure room. The original complete sealing array had collapsed when the secret room was destroyed, and the treasure chests buried inside were directly exposed. The powerful energy radiance emanating from it attracted the attention of the Evil Eye.