Su Ming glanced at the distinctive movement techniques of that squad of cultivators, his heart stirring slightly.

That Golden Core steward who always held himself so high and mighty had, in the end, not completely abandoned the outer perimeter's defenses.

"Go!"

Without wasting words, Su Ming led the team, charging out through that gap.

Only the final five hundred zhang remained between them and the Spiritual Hub Hall.

The air here had become viscous to the extreme; the immense Spiritual Pressure made breathing difficult for everyone.

Ahead, the grand architectural outline of the Spiritual Hub Hall was already faintly visible amidst the flames.

The massive defensive light screen was covered in cracks, each flicker accompanied by a heart-palpitating hum.

Right at that moment.

A sudden, sharp pain exploded in Su Ming's mind without any warning.

It was like a red-hot steel needle viciously stabbing deep into his Consciousness Sea.

"Ugh!"

Su Ming staggered, nearly falling, as two streams of blood instantly flowed from his nostrils.

"Disciple!" Lin Yu was greatly alarmed. "This is spiritual sense transmission! Someone is burning their soul to forcibly break through the Spiritual Pressure blockade!"

The intense pain did not last long.

An extremely faint, intermittent spiritual sense, as if it could snap at any moment, sounded directly within Su Ming's mind.

The voice was aged, weary, yet carried a note of desperate resolve.

"The Kun position... secret passage... hurry..."

The voice cut off abruptly, like a snapped lute string.

"Elder Mo!"

Su Ming jerked his head up, looking toward the most dazzling formation core atop the Spiritual Hub Hall.

He could sense the kind of agony the sender of this spiritual sense must be enduring right now. Transmitting a message amidst that chaotic storm of Spiritual Pressure was no different from grinding one's soul between millstones.

"The Kun position..."

Su Ming didn't bother wiping the blood from his nose, rapidly constructing a mental topographic map of the Spiritual Hub Hall's surroundings and cross-referencing it with the orientation of the formation plate in his hand.

"Over there!"

Su Ming pointed toward the side and rear of the Spiritual Hub Hall, where a pile of long-collapsed ruins stood, looking utterly unremarkable, even blackened by the great fire.

"Follow me! Not the main gate! To the side!"

Su Ming roared, forcefully changing the team's direction.

Though Lu Jun and the others didn't understand, their trust in Su Ming, forged along this perilous journey, was now bone-deep, and they immediately followed.

Stumbling and staggering, the group charged into that area of ruins.

Guided by the "Kun position" clue, Su Ming stopped beneath a half-collapsed stone formation stele.

It was piled with rubble and charred wood, looking like just another ordinary dead-end in the ruins.

But Su Ming's keen eyes noticed that the soil beneath the stele showed signs of being disturbed, and furthermore...

Beside the rubble pile, he saw a corpse.

It was a corpse dressed in the attire of a Spiritual Hub Hall steward, still clutching a broken jade talisman in its hand. Several insect corpses were scattered around the body, clearly indicating a fierce battle had occurred here not long ago.

Someone had fought desperately to open an entrance here, or perhaps had died defending it.

"Move it!"

At Su Ming's command.

Zhao Tiji led the few remaining soldiers who still had strength, rushing forward. Ignoring the scalding stones, they frantically dug through the pile of debris.

Moments later.

A bluestone slab engraved with ancient cloud patterns was revealed.

A fine crack ran across the slab, from which a faint, cool air seeped out.

"Found it!" Lu Jun exclaimed with joy.

Su Ming stepped forward, condensing a thread of water spiritual energy at his fingertip, which seeped into the crack.

Click.

A mechanism sounded, and the bluestone slab slowly slid aside, revealing an opening only wide enough for one person to pass through.

This was the path to survival.

"Hurry! Everyone, inside!"

Su Ming turned and urged them on.

The wounded soldiers and formation apprentices filed in one by one.

"Brother Zhao, you go first..."

Su Ming turned to look at Zhao Tiji, who had been protecting his side all along, but his words choked halfway.

Zhao Tiji still maintained his standing posture, the battle-axe held in his hand.

But he didn't move.

A fist-sized bloody hole, the mark of being pierced by some kind of sharp claw, had appeared in his chest at some unknown moment.

Blood had already soaked half his body, dripping down his trouser leg onto the ground, forming a small pool.

He had been holding on with sheer willpower all this time, guarding the group's flank.

Now, having reached their destination, that willpower dissipated.

"Brother Zhao!" Su Ming's pupils contracted sharply as he reached out to support him.

Zhao Tiji's body swayed, then like a collapsing mountain, heavily fell into Su Ming's arms.

"Su... brother..."

Zhao Tiji's gaze began to grow unfocused, yet a simple, honest smile still hung at the corner of his mouth. With great effort, he raised his hand, pointing toward the opening. "I... can't walk anymore..."

"Shut up! I'll carry you!"

Su Ming roared hoarsely, trying to lift the burly man onto his back.

But Zhao Tiji instead grabbed Su Ming's wrist with a terrifyingly strong grip.

"Don't... waste the effort..." Zhao Tiji gasped for breath, each inhalation bringing up bloody froth. "My internal organs... are all shattered... Taking me along... would just be dead weight..."

With a sudden shove, he pushed Su Ming toward the opening.

"Take... Lu Jun and those youngsters... and go..."

"I'll... block the door here..."

In the distance, the dense chirping of insects closed in once more.

The insect swarms briefly held back by the Earth Patrol Division were swarming back again.

Looking into Zhao Tiji's eyes, which were gradually losing their light yet remained resolute, Su Ming felt as if a red-hot charcoal had been lodged in his throat, burning too fiercely for any sound to escape.

How many times was this now?

From Old Zhou, to Zhao Tiji.

This entire journey had been paved with lives.

"Go!!" Zhao Tiji roared with the last of his strength.

Su Ming clenched his teeth until they nearly cracked, the corners of his eyes tearing.

He took one last, deep look at this comrade he had fought alongside for months, then turned sharply and jumped into that dark, gloomy opening.

The bluestone slab slowly slid shut.

Before the final sliver of light vanished, Su Ming saw Zhao Tiji struggle to turn over, using his broad back to firmly block the mechanism above the opening, his battle-axe held horizontally before him.

Like a door god guarding the gate.

Darkness descended.

Only the dull thudding sounds from above remained, the sound of the insect swarm crashing against the stone slab, and against Zhao Tiji's corpse.

Su Ming leaned against the damp, cold stone wall, breathing heavily.

In the darkness, no one spoke, only suppressed sobs could be heard.

"Instructor Su..." Lu Jun's voice came from the darkness.

"Don't speak."

Su Ming's voice was terrifyingly hoarse, a calm born of extreme suppression. "Save your strength for the journey ahead."

He lit a glowstone.

Its faint light illuminated this long, narrow secret passage.

Ahead lay unknown depths of darkness; behind them lay the bones of their comrades.

"Let's go."

Su Ming, sword in hand, stepped forward.