Filthy Cultivation: I Pierced the Heavens with the Merit System

Li Fuyao's voice echoed through the passage, and upon hearing it, everyone quickened their pace, trying to escape the endless attacks of the stone blades.

However, the hall behind the stone door gradually converged and squeezed towards the center from both sides, seemingly turning into an endless corridor just like the one outside the door. The only difference between the two was that the stone blades attacking everyone were even faster, harder, and more menacing.

A barrage of stone blades pierced out, making it seem as if the entire secret realm was their enemy.

Even though Li Fuyao and the others used various methods and each had a lot of magical treasures to protect them, they were all injured very quickly. If even those with strength and magical treasures were forced into this situation, the plight of the rogue cultivators who followed behind trying to gain some advantage was even more tragic.

There were very few people like Li Fuyao who were merely battered and bruised; most were unlucky enough to have broken arms and legs, holes in their chests and abdomens, or even their heads.

The piercing screams rose and fell, sounding somewhat distorted in the dark tunnel, making them even more eerie than usual.

Wisps of black mist mixed with blood seeped into the cracks between the bluestone slabs. The blood was absorbed by the tiny magical patterns imprinted on them at some unknown time, while the black mist disappeared silently, as if a cup of water had been poured into a vegetable garden, leaving no trace.

These events all occurred in the rear, and Qiao Tianxing and the others, who were busy dealing with Shi Ren, were unaware of them.

Although Li Fuyao felt vaguely uneasy, she was focused on protecting everyone with minimal effort and had no time to investigate further.

"This can't go on like this!"

Bai Suifeng roared, and the Qiankun Spear in his hand suddenly trembled, unleashing a powerful surge of lightning spiritual energy that shattered all the surrounding stone blades.

However, this was only a temporary relief, and more stone blades soon surged up again.

Li Fuyao frowned, constantly waving the Luminous Fan in his hand. Golden spirit blades shot out like crescent moons, piercing through Yu Zhenzhen's raging flames and shattering the stone blades in front of him one by one.

Her gaze swept around, trying to find the key to unlocking the mechanism.

Just then, Zhao Lingyun, her face pale, suddenly spoke, her voice tinged with urgency:

"Miss Li, Young Master Qiao, based on my observation, the core of this stone blade mechanism may be hidden at a certain node in the stone wall. If we can find and destroy it, we might be able to temporarily stop the attack of these stone blades!"

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Li Fuyao's eyes.

She quickly exchanged a glance with Qiao Tianxing, and the two nodded in unison. Qiao Tianxing then gripped his longsword tightly and said in a deep voice:

"I'll cover you, Miss Li, you find the key point as soon as possible!"

Before he finished speaking, Qiao Tianxing's sword suddenly trembled, and a sharp sword aura swept out, shattering all the stone blades in front of him.

At the same time, Li Fuyao quickly closed his eyes, and his divine sense spread out like a tide, trying to sense the spiritual energy fluctuations in the stone wall.

Her divine sense traveled back and forth along each node where the stone blades emerged on the stone wall, and she quickly discovered several abnormal fluctuations in spiritual energy.

"found it!"

Li Fuyao suddenly opened her eyes and pointed to a certain spot on the stone wall:

"There is a spiritual energy node there, which must be destroyed as soon as possible!"

However, as if they had heard this, the stone blades intensified their attacks, making it impossible for the group to get close to the node.

Just then, Bai Suifeng let out a low roar, and the Qiankun Spear in his hand suddenly trembled, with lightning spiritual power condensing into a dazzling beam of light at the tip of the spear.

He strode forward, the tip of his spear pointing directly in the direction Li Fuyao had indicated. The lightning spiritual power surged towards the stone wall like a roaring dragon.

"boom!"

An incredibly powerful bolt of lightning struck the stone wall, producing a deafening roar.

The runes on the stone wall dimmed slightly for a moment, and the attacks of the stone blades also slowed down. However, this was only a temporary relief. The runes on the stone wall soon began to flash again, and the attacks of the stone blades became dense again.

"No, a single attack cannot completely destroy the node!"

Zhao Lingyun frowned, quickly took out a stack of talismans from her bosom, and drew streaks of spiritual light in the air with her fingers.

The talisman burned rapidly with her movements, transforming into streaks of spiritual light that seeped into the stone wall. Her voice carried a hint of urgency:

"These talismans can temporarily suppress the spiritual power of the nodes, but we must find other nodes as soon as possible and destroy them simultaneously, otherwise the mechanism will repair itself!"

Li Fuyao nodded, then quickly expanded her divine sense again, soon finding two more spiritual energy nodes. She shouted:

"There are two more nodes, one on the left and one on the right side of the stone wall!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Suifeng rushed towards the stone wall on the left without hesitation. The Qiankun Spear once again gathered lightning spiritual power and headed straight for the node.

At the same time, Yun Hanxing also stepped forward. She had always been taciturn, but at this moment she displayed astonishing strength.

He swung his longsword suddenly, and a cold sword aura swept out like frost, heading straight for the stone wall on the right.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two loud bangs rang out almost simultaneously as the stone wall nodes on the left and right sides were shattered by both lightning spiritual power and frost sword energy.

The runes on the stone wall dimmed instantly, and the attacks from the stone blades ceased. A brief silence fell over the entire passage.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Li Fuyao wiped the sweat from her forehead and glanced at everyone, noticing that they all had some kind of bruise.

Yu Zhenzhen's flaming whip had lost its luster, and Qiao Tianxing's sword had several cracks on its edge.

Bai Suifeng's Qiankun Spear still crackled with lightning, but his face was somewhat pale, and his right hand holding the spear was trembling almost imperceptibly, clearly indicating that he had also expended a great deal of energy.

"Is everyone okay?"

Qiao Tianxing wiped the bloodstains from his arm and asked softly.

Everyone nodded; though disheveled, they had at least escaped unscathed. However, Zhao Lingyun's expression remained grave. She said in a low voice:

"Although the mechanism has been temporarily solved, I still feel that something is not right. It would be best if everyone did not let their guard down immediately."

Upon hearing this, Li Fuyao frowned slightly.

She recalled the unusual black mist and blood she had noticed earlier, but had no time to dwell on it. She simply stood up, dusted herself off, and said in a low voice:

"In any case, we must leave here as soon as possible. The dangers in this secret realm are far beyond our expectations, and staying any longer will only make things more dangerous."

But as soon as she finished speaking, she heard a series of low rumbling sounds coming from all around.

The pressure from the stone wall ceased, replaced by the sound of loose stones cracking and breaking.

Everyone's hearts tightened, and they all looked up to see that the stone walls on both sides were beginning to crumble, with huge stones falling off the walls and slowly condensing into stone giant puppets several meters tall.