The seven survivors, Xin Ci and his companions, were still shaken by the recent encounter with the corpse bearers and their coffins.
"This place is not safe," one of them murmured.
"Let's go. We need to leave," another urged.
"Agreed!"
Li Jianxing and Liu Fuyao led the way, and the group quickly departed.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Heaven Pit secret realm.
The other three academies had encountered the same bizarre phenomena as Xin Ci's group.
Corpse bearers with their coffins, and the dead beating gongs, appeared before them as well.
However, unlike Xin Ci's group, they did not have Mu Qing'er's assistance.
Many of the students had their minds controlled by the Nether God coffins, becoming lifeless puppets who carried coffins and beat gongs.
"What is happening?"
"Help me! Someone, please save me!"
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
"Senior Brother Nalan, Senior Brother Ke Fei, save us quickly!"
Cries of anguish and pleas for mercy echoed throughout the Heaven Pit secret realm.
Nalan Wuxia and the other top disciples from the remaining three academies paid no heed to these sounds.
They were solely focused on escaping the influence of the Nether God coffins.
To them, these useless students were nothing more than ants.
They were unwilling to expend their energy and focus to save them, only wishing to flee the cursed Nether God coffins and find a way to survive.
Outside
The Four Symbols Academy, Sacred Beast Plaza.
Liu Yuanhao and the other three Vice Deans sensed a violent fluctuation within the secret realm, and their eyes snapped open, fixing on the central secret realm gate.
"The secret realm is fluctuating. This means an abnormal event has occurred within the Heaven Pit secret realm."
"Are the students in danger?" Xuanwu Academy's Vice Dean, Yang Qingchuan, asked with a worried frown.
Liu Yuanhao's expression turned stern. "This matter is of great importance. We must dispatch disciples immediately to investigate."
The other two Vice Deans agreed, but Nalan Su, the Vice Dean of Azure Dragon Academy, objected.
"Make yourselves clear. This is a trial within the Heaven Pit secret realm. If students die in there, it's because they were too weak," Nalan Su stated coldly.
"Besides, what makes you so sure it's dangerous? Perhaps you're just afraid that my Azure Dragon Academy will win first place again this year, and that's why you're so eager to intervene."
"Nalan Su!" Liu Yuanhao's face darkened.
"What, did I say something wrong?" Nalan Su sneered, refusing to back down.
Liu Yuanhao was furious.
"The Dean is not present, and the Heaven Pit secret realm trial is a major event for the academy. I will not allow you to interfere."
Hearing Nalan Su's words, the other two Vice Deans fell silent.
They knew Nalan Su was right.
This trial was governed by the rules of the Four Symbols Academy, and any decisions required the unanimous consent of the four Vice Deans.
It would be inappropriate to let personal grudges disrupt the Heaven Pit secret realm trial.
Liu Yuanhao knew Nalan Su was deliberately targeting him.
Now, with the other two Vice Deans remaining neutral, it was only he and Nalan Su who were at odds.
Achieving a unanimous decision seemed virtually impossible.
Within the Heaven Pit secret realm.
The presence of the corpse bearers had caused spatial distortions and anomalies within the Heaven Pit secret realm.
Many students had perished as a result.
Furthermore, all the blood spirit creatures and humans in the path of the corpse bearers had been annihilated.
The organized teams of the Four Symbols Academy were long gone within the Heaven Pit secret realm.
Aside from Xin Ci's group of seven, only the remaining six from Azure Dragon Academy and the top disciples from the other two academies were left.
Nalan Wuxia's face was ashen.
They had been so close to securing first place in the Heaven Pit secret realm trial, but the sudden appearance of the corpse bearers had derailed their plans.
Their team had suffered heavy losses.
Nalan Wuxia was filled with rage and resentment.
"Damn it!" Nalan Wuxia gritted his teeth. "A bunch of useless scum!"
"Senior Brother Nalan, what should we do now?" a disciple asked, standing beside him.
"First, we find those from Vermilion Bird Academy!" Nalan Wuxia declared. "I want to tear them limb from limb! Especially that Xin Ci!"
He had previously assumed that the Nine-Headed Blood Dragon Lizard had killed those from Vermilion Bird Academy, and he had planned to return and see if he could retrieve the remaining seven Scarlet Sun Fruits.
Instead, it was the Nine-Headed Blood Dragon Lizard that had died, proving that Xin Ci and his group were still alive, which infuriated him.
Xin Ci's group of seven was resting in a cave.
Thanks to Mu Qing'er's help in the consciousness space, they had not encountered any more eerie white mist or Nether God coffins.
While they couldn't be certain they were entirely safe, their priority now was to recover their strength.
After all, this unexpected ordeal had struck them with such suddenness.
"Senior Sister Liu, our Blood Soul Beads are almost collected. Should we continue to explore deeper?" Lin Yan'er asked Liu Fuyao.
Liu Fuyao pondered for a moment, then turned to Xin Ci. "Junior Brother Xin, what do you think?"
Li Jianxing and the others also turned their gaze to Xin Ci.
Old Han transmitted a message to Xin Ci. "The depths of the Heaven Pit secret realm likely seal a Heavenly Venerate-level Nether God. If you go any deeper, even the little girl within your body might not be able to help you, and you could be in grave danger!"
"Old Han, I understand," Xin Ci replied.
The eerie white mist and Nether God coffins had already plunged them into crisis.
If they ventured further into the depths of the Heaven Pit secret realm and disturbed a Heavenly Venerate-level Nether God, the price would be too high.
Ultimately, his own strength was too weak to support him in pressing onward.
Therefore, Xin Ci said to Liu Fuyao and the others, "Senior Sister Liu, Senior Brother Li, we have already experienced the strange white mist."
"I believe there are still many unknown dangers within the Heaven Pit secret realm. If we press on, we are very likely to fall into peril!" Xin Ci added.
The matter of the Nether Gods was too bizarre, and Li Jianxing and Liu Fuyao were unaware of it. They could not act rashly.
Liu Fuyao deliberated for a moment, then nodded in agreement with Xin Ci's assessment. "Alright! Then we will stop advancing."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After all, they had collected enough Blood Soul Beads, and there was no pressing need to go further.
Mu Qing'er, observing from within the consciousness space, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Since the male lead is no longer exploring the depths of the Heaven Pit secret realm, that Blood Ghost race shouldn't break the seal prematurely, right?" Mu Qing'er muttered to herself.
However, for some reason, Mu Qing'er felt a sense of unease, an ominous premonition.
She couldn't help but silently pray for the male lead's safe growth, so that she could finally relax.
Subsequently, Xin Ci's group of seven rested in the cave for three days, during which nothing unusual occurred.
After an unknown period, a violent crashing sound suddenly erupted from outside the cave.
The noise was incredibly forceful.
Everyone opened their eyes, stood up, and walked out of the cave.
Outside the cave, they saw who had arrived.
It was Nalan Wuxia and his group!
Mu Qing'er blinked her eyes in the consciousness space, feeling revulsion. "Why is it this guy again? Always bothering the male lead."
"Finally caught you," Nalan Wuxia sneered, looking at Xin Ci and his companions.