Time Travel: Ancient Martial Arts Chronicles

As they entered the Nighthold, a chilling, decaying atmosphere washed over them, a chill that seemed to penetrate their bones. Glimmering green will-o'-the-wisp flickered on the surrounding walls, faintly illuminating horrific murals depicting twisted monsters and suffering souls.

"It feels like hell here." Lin Xiaoxiao grabbed the corner of Lin Yu's clothes tightly, her voice trembling slightly.

"Don't be afraid, we are here." Lin Yu patted Lin Xiaoxiao's hand. Although he himself felt tremendous pressure, he still tried to make his voice sound calm.

Ye Wuhen walked in front, the flames from the Soul-Breaking Sword illuminating a small area ahead. "Everyone, follow me closely. Don't get separated," he whispered, his eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Suddenly, a gloomy whisper sounded in everyone's ears. The sound seemed to come from all directions, and seemed to echo directly in their minds.

"Leave... This is a place of death..." The voice was unclear, but it carried a creepy magic.

"Who is it? Playing tricks!" Ling Jian shouted loudly, and the sword in his hand made a buzzing sound, as if responding to the strange atmosphere.

"Don't be affected by this voice, stay awake." Su Yao cast a heart-clearing spell, and a faint light enveloped everyone, dispelling some negative emotions.

Continuing forward, they came to a huge hall. In the center of the hall was a huge circular stone platform, on which sat a huge black coffin. The coffin was surrounded by black smoke, and in the smoke seemed to be looming the faces of people in pain.

"What's in this coffin? It's definitely not something good." Mo Yu said with a frown.

At this moment, the coffin lid slowly moved, making a sharp friction sound. Everyone immediately became nervous and grasped their weapons, ready to fight.

The coffin lid was pushed open completely, and a figure stood up from inside. It was a skeleton dressed in a black robe, blue flames burning in its eye sockets, and in its hand was a sickle that exuded the aura of death.

"You intruders will become my sacrifices." The black-robed skeleton made a hoarse voice and then slowly floated out of the coffin.

"Hmph, you are not qualified to use us as sacrifices!" Ye Wuhen took the lead in attacking, and the Soul-Breaking Sword slashed towards the black-robed skeleton with blazing flames.

The black-robed skeleton remained calm, raising its sickle and easily blocking Ye Wuhen's attack. "Ignorant humans, your power is insignificant in front of me," it taunted.

Lin Yu seized the opportunity and attacked the black-robed skeleton from the side: "Taste this!" His weapon was filled with sharp spiritual power and stabbed fiercely at the black-robed skeleton.

The black-robed skeleton swung his sickle, deflecting Lin Yu's attack. The powerful force knocked Lin Yu back a few steps. "Your attack is too weak. You still want to challenge me with this little skill?"

Su Yao cast a spell on the side, and rays of holy light shot towards the black-robed skeleton: "We will not be defeated by you easily!" The holy light hit the black-robed skeleton, and its body trembled slightly, but soon returned to normal.

"Your light magic is useless to me. I am the messenger of death." The black-robed skeleton laughed wildly and rushed towards Su Yao.

Ling Jian and the disciples of Tianjian Sect quickly formed a sword formation and stood in front of Su Yao: "Don't even think about hurting her!" The light of the sword formation collided with the dark power of the black-robed skeleton, emitting a dazzling light.

Mo Yu commanded the disciples of the Yuhun Sect to use soul power to attack the soul of the black-robed skeleton: "Attack its soul, that's its weakness!" The soul power shot towards the black-robed skeleton like a sharp arrow, and its movements were obviously slowed down.

Lin Xiaoxiao took the opportunity to throw out a talisman: "Freeze!" The talisman stuck to the black-robed skeleton, and its body was instantly frozen.

"Now is the time, everyone attack together!" Ye Wuhen shouted.

Everyone unleashed their strongest attacks, charging at the black-robed skeleton. A combination of light, spiritual energy, and weapon attacks converged, striking the black-robed skeleton fiercely. The black-robed skeleton roared in pain, its black robes ripped apart, and cracks appeared on its skeleton.

"You... actually managed to hurt me..." The black-robed skeleton was a little surprised, but soon became angry, "I want you to pay the price!"

It brandished its scythe, unleashing a powerful force of death. The force of death swept towards everyone like a black wave, corroding the ground into deep gullies wherever it passed.

"Get out of the way!" Ye Wuhen shouted, and everyone quickly dodged in all directions. However, some people were still affected by the power of death and fell to the ground injured.

"We can't let it continue attacking. We have to find a way to trap it." Ling Jian said.

"I have a way." Su Yao said, "We can combine spiritual power and magic circle to create a seal trap."

"Okay, let's do it." Ye Wuhen nodded.

Everyone acted quickly and, following Su Yao's instructions, set up a simple sealing magic circle around the hall. They injected their spiritual power into the magic circle, and the magic circle gradually emitted light.

"Lure it here!" Ye Wuhen rushed towards the black-robed skeleton to attract its attention.

The black-robed skeleton saw Ye Wuhen rushing towards him and chased after him, waving his sickle: "You can't escape!"

Ye Wuhen deliberately led the black-robed skeleton to the vicinity of the magic circle, and then dodged it. The black-robed skeleton did not have time to brake and rushed directly into the magic circle.

"Activate the magic circle!" Su Yao shouted.

Everyone worked together to activate the magic circle. The magic circle emitted a strong light, and runes rose up, trapping the black-robed skeleton within. The black-robed skeleton struggled in the magic circle, trying to break free.

"We succeeded!" Lin Xiaoxiao shouted excitedly.

"Don't be too happy too soon. This magic circle can't trap it for too long." Ye Wuhen reminded, "We must take this opportunity to look for clues about the dark organization."

Everyone began searching for clues in the hall. Lin Yu discovered some strange symbols on the wall. "Look, these symbols seem to be similar to the ones we saw in the crystal image before."

Su Yao came over and observed carefully: "yes, this may be an ancient dark text that records important information."

Mo Yu tried to decipher these symbols: "I've seen some similar texts in ancient books. It seems to mention a dark ritual that requires the collection of a large amount of dark energy and souls."

"It seems that this dark organization is planning a terrible conspiracy." Ling Jian said with a frown.

At this moment, the black-robed skeleton in the magic circle released a powerful impact, and cracks began to appear in the magic circle.

"Oh no, it's about to rush out!" Ye Wuhen shouted.

Everyone prepared for battle again, knowing that the battle with the black-robed skeletons was far from over. In the Dark Castle, there were more secrets waiting for them to uncover. They had to race against time to stop the conspiracy of the dark organization.

The black-robed skeleton broke free from the magic circle, its body shattered further, but the blue flames in its eyes burned even brighter. "You guys dared to trap me? I'm going to kill you all!"

"We won't let you succeed!" Ye Wuhen rushed towards the black-robed skeleton again, this time with the determination to die. Everyone followed suit, knowing that this was a battle of life and death, and they could not retreat.

During the fierce battle, Ye Wuhen discovered that every time the Black Robe Skeleton used its powerful death force, its body would briefly pause. "Everyone, pay attention to its attack rhythm. It will have a flaw after using its ultimate move!" Ye Wuhen shouted.

Everyone got the hint and paid more attention to the black-robed skeleton's attack. When the black-robed skeleton released the power of death again, Lin Yu quickly rushed forward and hit the black-robed skeleton hard. The black-robed skeleton was hit and its body shook.

"Now!" Ye Wuhen saw the perfect moment and stabbed the Soul-Breaking Sword into the skull of the black-robed skeleton. The black-robed skeleton let out a final scream before turning into a pile of bones, scattered on the ground.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they had no time to rest. They continued to explore the Dark Castle, looking for more clues about the dark organization, because they knew that a greater crisis was yet to come.