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

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The crashing sounds from behind the colossal bronze gate resounded one after another, like war drums pounding in everyone's hearts, carrying the boundless rage and resentment of the terrifying being behind the gate. The underground space shook like leaves falling in a gale, as massive stones continuously rained down from the dome, crashing to the ground with muffled thuds and billowing dust. The nine bronze pillars flashed wildly, cracks spreading at a visible speed, as if they were about to shatter completely at any moment.

Those rescued within the purification light barrier were already terrified, their cries and screams filling the air in complete chaos. Chen Bai and a few other cultivators with a bit more courage were also pale-faced, futilely trying to maintain order, but in the face of this earth-shattering spectacle, human strength seemed so insignificant.

"Follow me! Don't stand there if you don't want to die!" Lu Zhao's low roar was like thunder, exploding in the chaos. He endured the excruciating pain that felt like his soul was being torn apart and the chaos of his spiritual energy. His figure moved like lightning, rushing towards the relatively intact bronze pillar that he had chosen.

He had no time to explain or investigate in detail. The blurry array diagram of the "Emergency Path" in the Di Yuanzi jade slip rapidly overlapped in his mind with the location of the giant pillar in front of him and the seemingly messy stones scattered near the pillar base.

"There!" Lu Zhao's sharp gaze locked onto the side of the giant pillar's base, an area covered by a large amount of rubble and thick moss. He pointed his fingers like a sword, and the annihilating dragon energy burst forth from his fingers, transforming into a sharp gray-gold sword aura that swept across.

"Sizzle!"

The rubble was pulverized by the sword energy, and the moss was instantly evaporated, revealing the smooth, bronze-colored base of the pillar. Sure enough, on the rock surface was a palm-sized, indented pattern—the very emblem of the Earthly Origin Sect, the lines of mountains and earth veins!

"Earthly Element Token!" Without hesitation, Lu Zhao pulled out the tattered token from his robes, its light dimmed and riddled with cracks. He didn't even have time to check if the token was still usable before pressing it against the dented emblem.

"Buzz—!"

The moment the token touched the emblem, the bronze pillar, which had been gleaming and trembling, suddenly shuddered! The dim, ancient runes on the pillar seemed to be infused with their last bit of vitality, and suddenly lit up! Although most of the runes were incomplete, less than a tenth of them were lit, and the light was extremely unstable, flickering on and off, a strange fluctuation connected to the earth's veins emanated from within the pillar.

Immediately afterwards, within a radius of three zhang centered on the base of the giant pillar, the seemingly chaotic pebbles and patterns on the ground suddenly lit up with a faint earthy yellow light, outlining an incomplete and extremely complex array diagram! At the center of the array diagram was the location of Lu Zhao and the Earth Element Token.

"It's a teleportation array! A damaged teleportation array!" Lu Zhao instantly understood. This so-called "emergency escape route" was actually a short-range, directional teleportation array hidden inside the sealing formation and connected to the earth's veins! The Earth Element Token was the key to activate it!

"Quick! Everyone, get into the area of ​​light immediately! Quick!" Lu Zhao turned around and shouted sternly at the terrified and hesitant crowd.

Chen Bai was the first to react, dragging and pulling those around him into the area enveloped by the earthen-yellow light. Seeing this, the others scrambled over as well. In an instant, it was a chaotic scene of people jostling each other, cries, shouts, and urging voices filling the air.

Just as the last few people stumbled and rushed into the range of light—

"Boom!"

A terrifying roar came from overhead, and a boulder the size of a house collapsed from the dome, crashing down with tremendous force onto the location of the crowd!

"Ah—!" The crowd screamed in despair.

At the critical moment, the incomplete, earthen-yellow array diagram suddenly shone brightly! A powerful, yet extremely unstable spatial fluctuation instantly enveloped everyone within the array diagram's range!

Lu Zhao felt an irresistible pulling force. His vision blurred, and all the sounds in his ears—the roar of the boulders, the impact behind the door, the cries of the crowd, the rumble of the earth—instantly faded away, distorted, and turned into a bizarre, broken, and chaotic stream of light.

Unlike the smooth feeling of a directional teleportation array, this teleportation felt like being thrown into a high-speed spinning drum filled with sharp fragments! The violent spatial turbulence and the even denser, more chaotic, and corrosive ley line energy were like countless blunt knives, frantically cutting and squeezing the people protected by the teleportation array's light.

"Pfft!" "Ah!"

Screams and the sound of vomiting blood rang out continuously. Most of the mortals and low-level cultivators with the lowest cultivation levels fainted on the spot, bleeding from their seven orifices. Even Chen Bai, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, had a deathly pale face, clenched his teeth tightly, and the protective spiritual light on his body flickered uncertainly, as if it would shatter at any moment.

Lu Zhao also groaned, feeling as if his physical body and soul were about to be torn apart by the violent teleportation power. He could only desperately activate the Annihilation Dragon Qi to form a thin protective shield on his body, while also activating the power of the "Reverse Scale Pact" to form a faint dragon's might, attempting to resist the all-pervasive evil energy.

The teleportation process seemed both extremely long and instantaneous. Amidst the boundless pain and chaos, Lu Zhao's consciousness began to blur.

I don't know how much time passed.

"Bang!" "Splash!" "Ouch..."

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, a muffled groan, and a painful moan woke Lu Zhao from his semi-conscious state.

He opened his eyes abruptly, his vision blurry for a moment before quickly clearing. He found himself lying on his back on a cold, damp surface, beneath rough, sulfur-smelling rocks. Above him was not the sky, but a cave ceiling filled with jagged rocks, emitting a faint, eerie green and dark red glow.

The air was thick with the smell of sulfur, moisture, and a faint, chilling spiritual energy. The surroundings were dim, with only the glowing minerals on the rock walls and ceiling providing a faint light source; visibility was extremely low.

"Cough cough..." Lu Zhao struggled to sit up, which immediately aggravated his internal injuries, causing him to cough uncontrollably, dark blood frothing at the corner of his mouth. He quickly examined his internal organs and found that his injuries were even more severe than before, with multiple meridians damaged, spiritual energy disordered, and his soul exhausted and on the verge of collapse. That violent teleportation had placed a considerable burden on him.

But he couldn't worry about himself; he immediately mustered his strength and looked around.

He found himself in a narrow, winding natural cave passage, no more than ten feet wide and about twenty feet high, stretching into deep darkness both ways, its destination unknown. Behind him were hard, moss-covered, water-stained rock walls, perfectly sealed, with no trace of an exit. They seemed to have "fallen" out of the rock wall, yet the wall itself was intact; the teleportation array was clearly a one-time use device, or the exit was inherently well-hidden.

Around him lay, sprawled, or sitting haphazardly—seventy or eighty people in total. These were the cultivators and mortals he had rescued earlier. At this moment, most of them were unconscious, their breaths weak, their bodies bearing injuries of varying degrees, their clothes tattered, and they were in a sorry state. Only a dozen or so mortals, including Chen Bai, who possessed slightly higher cultivation levels (mid-stage Qi Refining or above) or were physically strong, remained barely conscious, but they were all pale-faced, still shaken, and blankly surveying their unfamiliar surroundings.

When Chen Bai saw Lu Zhao wake up, he struggled to crawl over, his voice hoarse: "Senior...where...where are we?"

Lu Zhao did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes, enduring the headache, and cautiously extended his divine sense outward.

His divine sense was affected by the special environment of this place and his own injuries, and the range of his detection was greatly reduced, barely covering an area of ​​about a hundred feet in radius. But the information he obtained made his heart sink.

This place appears to be part of an extremely deep underground cave system, with thick rock layers, a mixed and thin spiritual energy, and obvious fire and yin attributes. There is no trace of the unique, dense, and impenetrable bloodlust and resentment of the "Dragon Bone Wasteland," nor can the sealing fluctuations of the bronze gate and the nine giant pillars be sensed.

They seemed to have been transported by that broken teleportation array to a place extremely far from the core area of ​​"Dragonbone Hills," and possibly even outside the boundaries of "Dragonbone Hills" altogether!

"We're... safe for now," Lu Zhao said slowly, his voice hoarse. "We were teleported away from that battlefield by the teleportation array. But I don't know where we are now."

Upon hearing the word "safe," Chen Bai and the other conscious individuals visibly breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing the joy of surviving a disaster. However, upon seeing their unconscious companions and the unfamiliar, dark, and deathly silent environment, their relief quickly turned into confusion and unease.

"Senior, what's next...?"

Lu Zhao struggled to his feet, his gaze sweeping over the unconscious crowd, then looking at the two deep, dark passageways leading to unknown destinations, his expression grave.

"First, save people and treat their injuries. Then... we must find a way out and leave this underground."

The road ahead is unknown, and the outcome is uncertain. But at least, they have temporarily escaped the impending catastrophe of "Dragon Bone Hill".