“How am I supposed to believe you?” Yun Xuan looked at Yang Kai coldly with a hint of disappointment flashing across her eyes, “I wanted you to join Bold Independent Union, but now it seems that’s not necessary. The actions of this team are for me to decide and are not dictated by others’ feelings, especially those of an alarmist.”
“I’m not trying to be an alarmist…”
“Then provide evidence. If you can’t, then don’t spout nonsense,” Yun Xuan spat coldly.
Yang Kai shook his head helplessly and indifferently stared back at Yun Xuan, “Then I’ll take my leave here.”
Saying so, Yang Kai turned around and quickly rushed out, not paying any attention to what anyone else thought.
“Hey, Brother Yang!” Ji Hong was shocked and called out to stop him.
“Let him go!” Yun Xuan shouted, staring at the disappearing back of Yang Kai as she shook her head.
Yang Kai’s performance just now was quite dissatisfying to her and didn’t reflect any of his previous calm. Yun Xuan felt that if such a person really joined Bold Independent Union, he would bring more harm than good, so her interest in recruiting him faded.
“Ha…” Ji Hong sighed as he looked at Yun Xuan, “Young Lady, him speaking with such confidence, do you think he really discovered something?”
Yun Xuan’s beautiful eyes flashed before her expression dropped again, “Uncle Sun said that there was nothing to be wary of here, and I also didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, that kid is probably just making a fuss over nothing.”
“That is true!” Ji Hong nodded; he naturally had more faith in Sun Ying’s words.
Yang Kai’s figure quickly ran towards the mine’s exit, every step he took leaving a deep imprint on the ground and a long afterimage dragged out behind him. At this moment he had raised his speed to the limit.
He had clearly memorized the path they had taken to reach this point so even in this underground labyrinth he didn’t once get lost.
The hidden aura he had discovered with his Divine Sense was growing more powerful by the breath and was clearly preparing to take action.
Yang Kai had a clear understanding of his own strength.
With an Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivation, coupled with his Devil Transformation, he was invincible in the Immortal Ascension Boundary.
Facing a Transcendent, Yang Kai wouldn’t be afraid, but he also had no confidence in being able to beat one.
Before, when he had killed the Spider Mother, he had relied on trickery and the mysterious power of the Solitary Golden Eye in his Knowledge Sea while killing the Sect Master of Sen Luo Temple was only possible because his Bone Shield had absorbed a massive amount of void energy; neither scenario was due to his own strength.
There was a massive gap between the Transcendent and Immortal Ascension realms.
Additionally, the terrain here was not suitable for an explosive battle, once the mine collapsed, everyone here would be buried alive.
So when he noticed the hidden enemy, Yang Kai’s first thought was to leave here and make plans after.
Unfortunately, Yun Xuan didn’t trust him, which made Yang Kai feel very helpless.
Staying to argue would only be a waste of time, so Yang Kai decisively chose to leave.
[I hope I’m just worrying too much,] Yang Kai secretly thought. Bold Independent Union also had a Transcendent Realm master with them. Sun Ying wasn’t weak and in a fight he may not lose to the hidden enemy here.
At that moment, another strong energy fluctuation erupted; naturally it came from Sun Ying.
From the booming sounds and the shaking of the ground, Sun Ying had likely encountered the hidden enemy and began fighting.
Yang Kai’s face sank and he pushed his speed even more.
At the same time, the fierce vibrations of this battle were also noticed by Yun Xuan and her team.
Everyone’s face changed greatly.
“What happened?” Yun Xuan was startled.
Sun Ying had actually taken action!
He was a Transcendent Realm master of Bold Independent Union, him being here was simply to act as a supervisor. If there were no accidents, he wouldn’t take the initiative to fight and would only be responsible for monitoring the situation and arranging the barrier to prevent the Metal Devouring Beasts from escaping.
But such vibrations were obvious signs that he had been engaged in battle, which meant that either Ruan Xin Yu or Zhou Luo’s team had encountered an enemy they couldn’t handle.
[What danger could there be that Uncle Sun had to take action personally?] Yun Xuan didn’t understand what was happening, but she knew it definitely wasn’t anything good.
Thinking so, she suddenly remembered that Yang Kai had just warned them there was a hidden enemy here. Yun Xuan’s expression suddenly became complicated as she only now realized that he wasn’t being an alarmist but had really noticed that something was wrong.
The ground trembled fiercely and the sound of explosions echoed throughout the tunnels. The entire mine seemed to be becoming unstable and fissures were beginning to open up.
The fallout from a battle between masters at the Transcendent Realm was quite devastating.
“Young Lady!” Ji Hong shouted.
“Evacuate!” Yun Xuan didn’t dare stand around waiting, deeply regretting in her heart at this moment. If only she had known this would happen, she would have listened to Yang Kai’s warning and brought everyone out of the mine. If they had left with him, they would be in far less danger.
Issuing the order to withdraw, Yun Xuan’s body flickered and transformed into a streak of blue like that flew towards the direction Yang Kai disappeared.
Ji Hong and the others followed.
However, after only going a hundred meters or so, a terrifying bang erupted from the depths of the mine and immediately after, the mountain began to collapse. Numerous huge chunks of falling rock crashed down and sealed off all the tunnels.
Yun Xuan’s face turned ashen. Not hesitating in the slightest, she gathered all of her True Qi and began striking towards the ceiling, desperately trying to open up an escape route.
With the echoes of the original bang and the crumbling walls around him, Yang Kai’s expression sank as he knew that his worst fears had come true.
Sun Ying was not the opponent of the hidden enemy. In the previous collision, Yang Kai clearly felt the former’s aura sharply weaken and the destructive wave of energy that burst forth from the two Transcendents’ final clash had caused the entire mine to collapse. Silently cursing to himself, Yang Kai quickly summoned his Bone Shield and held it atop his head, the next moment feeling like the sky was raining down on top of him.
The number of impacts he suffered was endless and the weight that pressed down on his arms was getting heavier by the breath.
The collapse of the mine continued for the time it would take to drink a cup of tea and when everything stabilized, Yang Kai was barely able to support his Bone Shield. His teeth were clenched hard and his face was blood red, his muscles bulged as if they were about to explode under the strain.
He didn’t know just how much stone and dirt he was supporting at that moment but the weight was almost impossible for him to bear.
The only good news was that thanks to the Bone Shield’s defence, Yang Kai was basically uninjured.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Kai concentrated his physical strength and True Qi and pushed upwards.
A passage above his head was quickly being excavated.
After a short while, the pressure suddenly disappeared and Yang Kai sprang from the rubble and landed on the ground, the sun shining down on him and the crisp mountain air brushing past his nose feeling particular refreshing.
The sound of a great many birds fleeing into the distance soon reached his ear, apparently the mine’s collapse had disturbed all of the local wildlife.
Looking around, all that remained of the once tall hill was cracked earth and rubble that spread out for almost a hundred kilometers.
As Yang Kai quietly observed his surroundings, he saw some unstable places continuing to cave, causing some low rumbling.
There was no one else around, Sun Ying’s aura had yet to disappear but it was fading fast while Yun Xuan, Ruan Xin Yu, and Zhou Luo’s teams were all missing.
Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense to investigate and soon, he discovered signs of life at a position about a kilometer away.
Quickly rushing over, just as he arrived, a burst of True Qi erupted from the ground, sending a few bits of rock flying about.
A moment later, from this small newly opened hole, Yang Kai saw a faint flash of electricity.
“Yun Xuan?” Yang Kai shouted, immediately hearing a faint voice respond, “En!”
Grinning, Yang Kai clenched his fist and slammed it down onto the place where the lightning arc had flashed, completely opening the passage, allowing a dirt covered Yun Xuan to emerge.
Right behind her, Ji Hong and a few others also appeared.
All of them had many black and blue bruises and some even had broken bones.
Even though all of them were Immortal Ascension Boundary masters, such a large-scale mine collapse was not something they could escape from unscathed. In fact, it was only thanks to Yun Xuan’s quickly opening up a path for them that all of them weren’t buried alive.
Once seriously injured and buried deep underground, even Immortal Ascension Boundary masters would certain die.
After coming out, everyone wore an expression filled with lingering fear, having just survived a life threatening disaster, each of them couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief and reflecting on how fragile life truly was.
“Pang Qi?” Yun Xuan turned around and scanned the faces of her team members, her pretty face suddenly paling.
Ji Hong and the others all lowered their heads, none of them daring to answer.
“What about others?” Yun Xuan muttered hoarsely.
Ji Hong opened his mouth to speak, but failed to form any words, his eyes slowly tearing up.
Yun Xuan’s tender body shuddered and she no longer asked, knowing that the members of her team she didn’t see here now would never appear again.
“Now isn’t the time to grieve, we need to leave!” Yang Kai said with a serious face, “Can you open the barrier set up by Sun Ying?”
Yun Xuan was still absent-minded at the moment, but after a moment she nodded gently.
“That’s good,” Yang Kai also breathed a sigh of relief.
The barrier set up by a Transcendent would require a lot of time to break open if they didn’t understand how to. Yun Xuan knowing how to open it meant they didn’t need to break it by force.
“But…” Yun Xuan hesitated.
“No buts, Sun Ying is dead!” Yang Kai shook his head, a moment ago he could still faintly sense Sun Ying’s aura, but now he wasn’t aware of anything.
Yun Xuan’s face tightened as she stared blankly towards Yang Kai, seemingly unable to accept what he had just said.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from below.
Everyone expression changed as they stared towards a spot a short distance away.
A moment later, two or three kilometers away from them, several people emerged from the ground lead by Zhou Luo and Ruan Xin Yu.
Yun Xuan was overjoyed and quickly shouted out to them.
When Zhou Luo and Ruan Xin Yu heard her voice, they quickly rushed over to them. When they arrived though, Yun Xuan noticed that all of their faces were ghastly pale, as if they had all witnessed something terrifying.
“Uncle Sun?” Yun Xuan asked.
“Dead!” Ruan Xin Yu replied.
“What happened?” Yun Xuan’s tender body shuddered again. Just a moment ago she was leading her team to capture Metal Devouring Beasts and was reaping a huge harvest, everyone was rejoicing, then all of a sudden this happened and Sun Ying had actually died. Such a massive change in fortune in such a short period of time was quite difficult for her to accept.
“We don’t know,” Ruan Xin Yu said despondently, “All of sudden something leapt from the shadows. Uncle Sun fought back, and then… and then this!”
It was obvious to everyone that she was still quite frightened. Sun Ying had died right before her eyes and many of the members of her and Zhou Luo’s teams had perished under the fallout from the two Transcendents’ battle. Only a few of them managed to escape
This unknown enemy had shaken her greatly.
“We have to leave, quickly,” Zhou Luo’s face was pale, none of his previous calm elegance remaining. Their Transcendent Realm Elder had already died, so if they continued to remain here, the only result would be death. Right now, all he wanted to do was escape.