I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

The tremors on the ground and the faint sounds of fighting pounded in Lu Zhao's heart like alarm bells. This place, though pleasant, was not a place to linger. Staying any longer would only increase the risks over time.

"We must leave." Lu Zhao made a quick decision. He bowed once more to the remains of Di Yuanzi to thank him for his legacy, and then began to carefully search for a possible exit around the cave.

The cave was small, with smooth rock walls that appeared to be a single, continuous entity without any obvious passageways. The pool was crystal clear, its water seemingly formed from a spring seeping from cracks in the rocks, the flow subtle and not resembling an outlet.

Lu Zhao was not discouraged. He activated the "Refining Spirit Technique" and condensed his divine sense into threads to carefully examine every inch of the rock wall, especially the base of stalactites, the edge of pools, and other places where there might be cracks or fluctuations in the formation.

Finally, behind a seemingly ordinary, moss-covered rock at the back of the pool, his divine sense detected an extremely faint fluctuation of an array formation, almost blending into its surroundings. Had it not been for his powerful divine soul and the fact that he had just absorbed the "Soul-Purifying Jade Marrow Mushroom," greatly enhancing his divine sense's sharpness, he would have found it impossible to detect.

Lu Zhao stepped forward, brushed aside the thick moss, revealing a slightly smooth rock face. He extended his finger, carrying a trace of extinguished dragon energy, and gently touched a few specific, seemingly naturally formed stone patterns.

"Buzz..."

Ripples spread across the rock face, revealing a dark, narrow opening, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. From within, a cool, damp air wafted out, and the faint sound of flowing water could be heard.

"There really is a secret passage! It's a way out that Senior Di Yuanzi left for himself, or it's a passage he used when exploring the earth's veins." Lu Zhao felt relieved and, without further hesitation, slipped into the cave entrance.

After he entered the cave, the ripples spread again, the cave entrance disappeared, and the rock wall returned to its original state, as if it had never existed.

The passage was initially narrow and damp, barely allowing a person to stoop, but after a while, it opened up into an underground tunnel large enough for someone to walk upright. The rock walls on either side were inlaid with luminous stones that had long lost their luster, providing a faint glow. Underfoot, icy cold water flowed, barely reaching the ankles. The air was thick with moisture and a faint earthy smell.

Lu Zhao cautiously proceeded along the direction of the water flow. The passageway meandered, sometimes ascending and sometimes descending, clearly formed naturally and later slightly modified by Di Yuanzi. Along the way, he saw some simple, now-ineffective warning and protective barriers, further confirming that this was a secret passage used by Di Yuanzi during his lifetime.

After walking for about half an hour, the sound of water ahead grew louder, and the tunnel came to an end. At the end was a natural cave several meters in diameter. An underground river, about two meters wide, rushed out from a crack in the rock wall on one side, forming a pool inside the cave, and then flowing away from the crack on the other side. The underground river was swift and deep, emitting a bone-chilling cold, clearly originating from a very deep underground water vein.

Lu Zhao arrived at the pool, hesitated for a moment, and then leaped into the icy dark river. With his current cultivation level and powerful physique, this chill was nothing to him. He suppressed his aura, using only a weak amount of spiritual energy to protect himself, and drifted downstream with the swift current.

The interior of the underground river was pitch black, so dark that one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face; only the roar of the flowing water could be heard. Lu Zhao could only rely on his divine sense to find his way. The riverbed was sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, and sharp rocks occasionally swept past overhead or to the sides, requiring careful avoidance.

After drifting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Lu Zhao suddenly felt a sense of unease. His divine sense detected several cold, greedy auras locking onto him in the waters to his side, silently and rapidly approaching.

It's a demonic beast lurking in the dark river! Judging from its aura, it's probably a Yin-attribute water beast, equivalent to the late Qi Refining stage to the early Foundation Establishment stage, such as the "Bone-Eating Yin Eel" or the "Cold Water Lizard," which is used to ambushing in dark, cold water.

Lu Zhao's eyes turned cold. Although he didn't want to cause any more trouble, he wouldn't let these beasts get close. With a thought, the annihilation dragon energy within his body circulated slightly, and an invisible aura carrying annihilation and the pressure of the dragon race spread out from him to the surrounding waters.

The approaching auras froze abruptly, as if encountering a natural enemy, conveying intense fear. Without hesitation, they turned tail and fled in panic, disappearing into the dark waters in the blink of an eye. For low-level demonic beasts, the instinctive fear of a high-level dragon's might far outweighs their craving for flesh and blood.

Having gotten rid of these minor troubles, Lu Zhao continued downstream. About fifteen minutes later, he could faintly see a light ahead, along with an even louder roar of the current.

"We're almost at the exit!" Lu Zhao's spirits lifted, and he concealed his aura, becoming even more cautious.

Ahead lay a massive, downward-sloping cave entrance, where the underground river transformed into a waterfall, cascading down. Lu Zhao was swept out of the cave by the current, and a breathtaking view suddenly opened up before him!

The moonlight, like water, cascaded down. He was emerging from a waterfall halfway up a steep cliff, below which lay a deep pool, water splashing and shimmering in the moonlight. Fresh air filled his lungs, carrying the scent of grass and earth, a stark contrast to the cold, damp atmosphere of underground caves and rivers.

"Finally out!" Lu Zhao felt relieved. Just as he was about to fall into the pool, he made a light turn in the air, like a large bird, and landed silently on the rocks by the pool.

He quickly surveyed his surroundings. This appeared to be the outer area of ​​"Dragonbone Hills," quite a distance from the core battlefield, where a chilling aura filled the air. Behind him were steep cliffs covered in vines and shrubs, from which a waterfall cascaded. Ahead lay a dense, dark primeval forest. A bright moon hung high in the night sky, its clear light casting excellent visibility.

However, even from a great distance, one could still clearly sense intense fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from the core of "Dragonbone Hills." Faint sounds of explosions, roars, and the whooshing of spells could be heard even from this distance. In the night sky, flashes of various colored spells could occasionally be seen on the distant horizon, illuminating that area with flickering light. The battle was clearly still ongoing, and exceptionally fierce.

"It's not over yet... It seems that the completely out-of-control Blood Fiend Dragon, along with the possible arrival of Demonic Sect reinforcements, is giving Liu Jingyun and the others a real headache." Lu Zhao pondered to himself. He was still seriously injured and his strength had only recovered to about 60-70%. If he rashly got involved in that level of melee, his chances of survival would be slim. The best option was to flee immediately and leave this dangerous place.

He was preparing to use his agility to quietly slip into the mountains and forests, far from the battlefield.

Just then, his keen senses detected several shadowy figures moving rapidly in a forest several hundred feet away from his hiding place. These figures weren't strong, probably only at the mid-to-late stage of Qi Refining, and their auras were cold and sinister, carrying a faint scent of blood and vengeful spirits—exactly the same as the Soul Devouring Demon Sect disciples he had encountered before!

Lu Zhao's eyes narrowed, and he immediately concealed all his aura, hiding his figure in the shadows behind a rock to carefully sense his surroundings.

Under the moonlight, four outer disciples of the Demonic Sect, dressed in black robes with blood-red skull patterns embroidered on the cuffs, were carefully working among several ancient trees and rocks. In their hands were array flags, talismans, and unknown black crystals that emitted a faint blood-red glow, which they were either driving into the ground or placing in specific locations on the ancient trees.

Their movements were swift and skillful, clearly indicating that they were setting up or activating a certain array node. Moreover, judging from the location of their deployment and the faint array fluctuations, it seemed to have some similarities with the array at the "Blood Dragon Fiend Pool" before, but on a much smaller scale and much more concealed.

"What are the people from the Demonic Sect doing here, secretly setting up array nodes?" Lu Zhao was filled with doubt and immediately remembered what was mentioned in the Di Yuanzi jade slip—the Soul Devouring Demonic Sect might be plotting to find the weak point in the outer seal of the "Ten Thousand Dragons Devouring the Heavens Array".

Could it be that these outer disciples are setting up a larger-scale blood sacrifice formation, or some kind of guiding or connecting formation node, to coordinate with the actions in the core area?

A cold glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes. His opinion of the Soul Devouring Demon Sect was extremely poor. From the black-robed man to the Blood Bone Old Demon, and now to the insidious plan of the "Blood Dragon Fiend Pool," the two sides were already mortal enemies. Now that he had witnessed the Demon Sect disciples' furtive actions, he had no reason to let it go.

More importantly, if they could capture one or two survivors, they might be able to extract information about the Demonic Sect's specific plans and arrangements in this area, or even find a safe route to leave "Dragon Bone Hill," or... other valuable information.

"My injuries have healed by about 60-70%, which should be enough to deal with a few Qi Refining stage demonic brats." Lu Zhao licked his slightly chapped lips, a cold glint in his eyes. Like a ghost in the night, he silently blended into the shadows and crept towards the demonic sect disciples.