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

The strange scent seeping from the crack in the door was like the sweetest poison, exuding a deadly allure.

Lu Zhao sat cross-legged on the ground, his face still pale, but his eyes had regained their clarity, even sharper than before. The terrifying glimpse and the impact of resentment from behind the door left him with lingering fear, but it also made him realize more clearly the value of this aura—it was a near-primordial spiritual power and dragon energy remnant from an ancient battlefield, sealed for countless ages. Even a mere wisp leaking from the crack in the door was enough to drive any Foundation Establishment cultivator mad.

To advance or to retreat?

"The area outside is fraught with danger. The Demonic Sect's grand formation has been activated prematurely, and the Blood Bone Demon may arrive at any moment. The area behind the door is even more unfathomable, filled with resentment. To rashly push open the door now would be tantamount to suicide." Lu Zhao's mind raced. "But the leaked aura presents an excellent opportunity to recover my strength and even break through my bottleneck. I am currently severely injured, with less than 70% of my strength. Whether I want to escape with those people or make a difference in this chaos, I am powerless."

"The most urgent task is to recover, and even enhance, our strength! Only by becoming powerful can we cope with the uncertainties ahead!"

Risk and opportunity coexist, but the risks are still manageable at this moment—as long as he doesn't try to push open that door or delve too deeply into what lies behind it. Simply absorbing and refining this leaked aura, while carrying the risk of impurities and resentment, should be manageable thanks to the protection of the Annihilation Dragon Qi and the "Refining God Technique."

"Fortune favors the bold!" A resolute glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes, and he no longer hesitated.

He closed his eyes again, simultaneously pushing the "Silent Heavenly Art" and the "Refining God Technique" to their limits. This time, he was no longer cautious, but increased the intensity of his absorption. Strands of pure, ancient, and strange aura, mixed with a faint dragon energy, were actively drawn by his divine sense, like trickling streams, slowly emerging from the crack in the door and entering his mouth, nose, and pores all over his body.

Cool, warm, and powerful energy surged in once more, rapidly nourishing and repairing his damaged body and meridians. The hidden injuries from his previous confrontation with the "Earth Vein Dragon Fiend" and the impact of the resentment behind the gate were healing at a visible speed under the cleansing of this pure energy. His depleted spiritual power was quickly replenished, even becoming more condensed and active.

At the same time, Lu Zhao was also fully focused, with the "Sword of Divine Consciousness" hanging high in his sea of ​​consciousness, vigilantly filtering and eliminating any resentful impurities that followed. The Annihilation Dragon Qi was like the most loyal guardian, flowing through his meridians, devouring, transforming, and turning any negative energy that tried to lurk and erode into his own.

The refining process was perilous yet highly efficient. Lu Zhao could feel his cultivation advancing at an unprecedented speed. The bottleneck of the late Foundation Establishment stage, which had already loosened due to the previous battle and the nourishment of the "Soul-Purifying Jade Marrow Mushroom," was now even more precarious under the impact of this ancient and pure energy. He was even confident that if he could continue absorbing and refining, he might be able to attempt to break through to the peak of Foundation Establishment in no time!

What surprised him even more was the faint dragon energy contained within that aura. Although extremely thin, its grade seemed to be very high, carrying a vast and ancient majesty. When Lu Zhao tried to guide this wisp of dragon energy to merge with his own annihilation dragon energy, the gray-gold annihilation dragon energy underwent a subtle change—its color became deeper and more restrained, and the sound of a dragon's roar could be faintly heard as it flowed. The characteristics of "annihilation" and "dominance" did not weaken, but instead gained a touch of ancient and profound "dragon might," and its spirituality also seemed to have increased slightly.

"If I can continue to absorb it, the quality of my Annihilation Dragon Qi might be fundamentally improved!" Lu Zhao was excited, and the speed of absorption involuntarily increased even more.

However, just as he was basking in the exhilaration of his rapidly recovering and increasing strength, preparing to unleash even more extraordinary energy in an attempt to break through to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage—

"Thump!!!"

The bronze gate trembled violently! It was as if an invisible giant hammer had slammed down on the inside of the gate!

The entire underground space shook violently, and dust and gravel rained down from the dome. The nine bronze pillars standing at the edge of the massive sealed pit hummed, and the cracks on their surfaces seemed to widen a little more.

Lu Zhao was jolted awake, his cultivation abruptly interrupted. He opened his eyes in horror to see that the crack on the bronze gate, which had previously only been slowly emanating energy, had suddenly widened, and a strange aura, several times more concentrated and violent than before, was gushing out like a flood bursting its banks!

However, this aura was no longer as gentle as before. Although it contained more pure spiritual energy and dragon energy, the negative intentions of resentment, malevolence, madness, and violence mixed in also increased exponentially! These negative intentions were no longer just a few impurities, but formed an invisible torrent of intentions filled with destruction and hatred, rushing out along with the aura!

"Not good!" Lu Zhao's expression changed drastically, and he wanted to immediately cut off the absorption and seal off all the acupoints in his body.

But it was too late!

That raging torrent of will, like countless steel needles, pierced his sea of ​​consciousness! Countless chaotic, bloody fragments, filled with despair and resentment, assaulted his soul: colossal dragons crashing down amidst wails, the sky shattering, the earth collapsing, a blurry yet immeasurably majestic figure wielding a divine weapon, severing a dragon's head… a sinister grin of betrayal, endless chains, eternal darkness and torment…

"puff--!"

Lu Zhao felt as if struck by lightning, spitting out another mouthful of blood, this time tinged with a dark hue. His head throbbed with pain, his vision blurred, and he felt as if countless wronged souls were wailing in his ears. The spiritual energy that had just been restored within his body instantly went berserk, and the extinguished dragon energy also became chaotic, showing faint signs of being eroded and assimilated by the violent resentment!

"Suppress it!!" Lu Zhao roared inwardly, his eyes bloodshot. He pushed the Refining God Technique to its limit, and the "Sword of Divine Consciousness" in his sea of ​​consciousness erupted with unprecedented light, frantically slashing at the invading fragments of resentment. The Annihilation Dragon Qi also spontaneously protected its master, forming a gray-gold barrier within his body, fiercely resisting the erosion of the negative energy.

He forcibly cut off the absorption of the air outside the door. His body felt as if it had been struck by a huge force, and he staggered back seven or eight steps before he could barely steady himself. He knelt on one knee, breathing heavily, blood constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth. His breathing was weak and disordered, and he looked even more seriously injured than before.

"The thing behind the door... has been disturbed! It has become even more frenzied!" Lu Zhao looked at the trembling bronze gate, its cracks spewing out a violent aura, with lingering fear.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The dull thuds of impact, one after another, came from behind the massive bronze gate, growing louder and more urgent! It was as if a primordial beast, imprisoned for countless ages, was frantically ramming against its cage behind the gate, trying to break free! The entire underground space shook violently with these impacts, and rubble kept falling from the dome. The nine bronze pillars flickered with light, seemingly reaching their limit.

Was it the full activation of the "Nine Netherworld Demon-Attracting Array" outside that stirred up an even larger amount of malevolent energy deep within the earth's veins, stimulating the being behind the door? Or was it the being behind the door itself, for some reason (such as Lu Zhao's spying and the stimulation of his aura?), that began to awaken from its slumber and become agitated?

In any case, we can no longer stay here! If we stay any longer, we will either be driven mad by the violent resentment leaking from behind the door, or we will face unimaginable horror when the door is kicked open!

We must leave immediately!

Despite the excruciating pain in his soul and body, Lu Zhao struggled to his feet. He glanced back at the people being rescued, trembling and panicked from the loud noise and earthquake, in the purification light screen in the distance.

Return the way we came? Escape back to the surface via the secret passage we used?

No! Not to mention that the Blood Bone Demon might still be searching nearby, the "Nine Netherworld Demon-Attracting Array" on the ground has been fully activated, the battle between good and evil is raging, the demonic energy is soaring to the sky, and danger lurks everywhere. Taking this group with us would be tantamount to courting death.

But apart from the way we came, there seems to be no other exit from here...

and many more!

A sudden thought flashed through Lu Zhao's mind, and he suddenly remembered the information left by Di Yuanzi in the jade slip. Di Yuanzi had mentioned that the cave where he passed away, and the secret passage leading to the bronze gate, were the main surveillance and access routes left by the ancestors of the Di Yuan Sect. But besides that, it seemed that another, more secretive "emergency escape route" had also been left, only briefly mentioned in the sect's records, in case of unforeseen circumstances. The entrance to that route seemed to be in some inconspicuous corner of this underground sealed space, related to the direction of the earth's veins, extremely hidden, and unknown to anyone but the core successors of the Di Yuan Sect.

Di Yuanzi himself may never have used it, or even found it; it was only mentioned briefly in the inheritance jade slip.

"An emergency escape route..." Lu Zhao's gaze, like that of a hawk, quickly swept across the violently trembling underground space, past the broken array bases, the fractured stone pillars, and the cracked ground, finally landing on the nine bronze giant pillars standing on the edge of the huge sealed pit, humming and trembling.

The Earthly Origin Sect's heritage is largely related to earth veins and seals. Could that emergency route be related to the sealing formation itself?

Just as his mind raced, trying to find clues from the fragmented information on the Earth Element Jade Slip—

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

An even more violent earthquake struck! This time, it didn't come from behind the bronze gate, but from above their heads, from the depths of the earth's veins in the entire "Dragon Bone Wasteland"! Accompanying the earthquake was the heart-palpitating fluctuation of the "Nine Netherworld Demon-Attracting Array," which reached its peak, as if something was about to be completely activated and erupted!

There's no time left!

Lu Zhao gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on the one of the nine bronze pillars that trembled the least and whose surface runes were relatively intact. He remembered a blurry array diagram in the Earth Element Jade Slip, which seemed to mark a specific location…

"Everyone, follow me! Quickly!" Lu Zhaoqiang took a deep breath, suppressed his injuries, and rushed towards a seemingly ordinary area covered with rubble and moss beneath the bronze pillar!