"My lord, calm your anger!"
Seeing this, Guo Hai's expression changed instantly, and he quickly spoke, "It's the arcane gemstones! We came for the arcane gemstones, and we have nothing to do with the Bald Gang or the Skeleton Society!"
Xue Yuli did not speak, but her gaze swept lightly over the piles of Bald Gang and Skeleton Society members beneath the stone.
"My lord, it's like this..."
Seeing that Xue Yuli's expression showed no signs of softening, Guo Hai became anxious and quickly explained.
After a long while, Ye Feng, Xue Yuli, and the others finally understood the situation.
"You're saying the Bald Gang proposed to traverse the Super Sandstorm Zone with you and come here to jointly develop the arcane gemstones in this mountain?" Xue Yuli asked Guo Hai with a look of surprise.
"Yes!" Guo Hai nodded quickly. "At first, we also found it unbelievable, but the Bald Gang seemed very sincere. They sent people to traverse the Super Sandstorm Zone and brought back piles of arcane gemstones. Although the purity was very low, the quantity was large..."
"Later, we also sent a few trustworthy brothers to accompany them on the trip and confirmed that there was indeed such a huge arcane gemstone mine..."
"And every brother who traversed the Super Sandstorm Zone returned unharmed, so we followed along..."
By the end, Guo Hai's voice was a little weak. This was because Xue Yuli had repeatedly warned them not to get too close to the Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society.
"Such a large arcane gemstone mine, and the Bald Gang didn't hog it all for themselves and even let you come to mine it?"
"Is that Su Shu fellow that kind?" Xue Yuli looked at Guo Hai with suspicion.
"This is also what we were worried and confused about... That's why Liu Lei, Huang Mu, and I didn't join the mining of the arcane gemstones, but instead remained vigilant against the Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society!" As he spoke, Guo Hai's brows furrowed into a deep frown. This was because many of the experts from the Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society had disappeared.
"The Skeleton Society? How did it get involved again? Wasn't it the Bald Gang that invited you?" Xue Yuli frowned slightly, feeling that something was amiss.
"Although the Bald Gang invited us, I observed that for some reason, Su Shu of the Bald Gang was obedient to the Blood Skeleton of the Skeleton Society!"
"The Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society, who were originally in constant conflict and friction, are now working together to mine the arcane gemstones. The Skeleton Society has even given their precious blood transfusion devices to the cadres of the Bald Gang, big and small..."
"The most bizarre thing is that not only us, but the Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society are also allowing other explorers who have arrived at the dunes to come here and mine the arcane gemstones together..." Guo Hai quickly explained to Xue Yuli, pointing to some explorers beneath the stone platform who did not have clear affiliations.
"What's going on here?"
"The Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society, who would fight to the death over even a small area of arcane gemstones, are now being so benevolent and sharing?" Jiang Shishan's puzzled voice reached everyone's ears.
"How did the Bald Gang, the Skeleton Society, and you all traverse the Super Sandstorm Zone to get here?" At this moment, Ye Feng spoke.
"This..." Guo Hai looked at Xue Yuli for confirmation. Seeing her nod, he replied, "It's a secret passage. The Bald Gang somehow learned that there is a peculiar secret passage beneath the Super Sandstorm Zone!"
"Through that secret passage, we bypassed the terrifying Super Sandstorm Zone... There are things like teleportation arrays in that secret passage, and we were all teleported here!"
"The teleportation array in the secret passage is not very stable. Many people had their internal organs shattered or were cut into several pieces by the teleportation array..."
"The Bald Gang's Bald Hyena was teleported away, and later, for some reason, was teleported back... Judging by the frantic blood transfusions at the time, he seemed to have encountered a prolonged period of special radiation in the radiation cloud area..." Guo Hai recalled slightly and quickly explained to Ye Feng.
"I see..." Ye Feng understood why the Bald Hyena he saw yesterday had been in such a state.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Ye Feng's expression changed slightly. This was because the Angel's Blade in his hand seemed to have sensed something, emitting a light brighter than before.
"Ah!~ Uh~!"
"Ah!~... Help!"
"Ah~! Ya! Ah!..."
Suddenly, several screams came from beneath the stone platform. Ye Feng quickly stepped forward and looked down, only to see that several explorers had been cut into two pieces by something, their blood splattering all over the ground.
"What's going on? Is it a sneak attack by the Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society?" Guo Hai, Liu Lei, and the others' faces changed, and their eyes scanned their surroundings.
"Whoosh!~ Whoosh!~"
"Screech!~ Screech!~"
"Ah!~ Uh!..."
...
Another round of screams erupted. This time, it wasn't just the explorers; several members of the Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society also died tragically. In the astonished and puzzled gazes of Ye Feng and the others, six protruding stones around the area beneath the stone platform slowly revealed a strange red light, with faint imprints of runes on them. After the red light appeared, the blood spilled on the ground quickly seeped downwards, as if being absorbed by something... As the blood seeped into the ground, the red light on the six protruding stones became even redder, and from the outside in, it first formed a circle and quickly spread towards the center. In a short while, the entire area beneath the stone platform was filled with an eerie red light. The red lights intertwined, gradually forming various rune patterns...
"This is an arcane formation below. You've fallen into a trap!" Seeing this, Jiang Shishan anxiously shouted.
"Ah~~!"
"Wow~!"
"Screech!~ Pfft!~ Pfft!~"
....
As Jiang Shishan's words fell, the arcane formation beneath the stone platform was filled with dense screams, the sound of flesh being cut open, and gushing blood... This was because various scarlet blades kept emerging from the arcane formation, hacking madly at the people within the formation, regardless of their affiliation! In an instant, dismembered bodies flew, and blood splattered everywhere...
"This... this is a huge altar... The Bald Gang and the Skeleton Society lured you here with arcane gemstones, with the purpose of... sacrificing you!"
"This arcane formation... with such bloody and numerous sacrifices, and so much blood... they are probably trying to summon something extremely evil!" Jiang Shishan's face was extremely grim.
"Oh ho, as expected of a prodigy from the younger generation of the City of Arcane Arts, you know quite a lot!~" At this moment, a mocking male voice rang out.
Ye Feng and the others turned to look and found that on the opposite side of the stone platform, at a slightly higher position, there was another stone platform. At this moment, a middle-aged man holding a kerosene lamp stood on the stone platform, looking at Ye Feng and the others with a cold gaze. It was Mei You. Following him, several figures walked out of the cave entrance behind Mei You. One had a large, bulbous nose, one wore studded leather armor, and one had a face that resembled a rat – it was Bi Mao, Blood Skeleton, and Su Shu.
"Mei You, Bi Mao, it's you!" Seeing the other party, Jiang Shishan's expression turned grim. Things were developing in the direction he feared most.
"Uh~! Ah!~"
"Ah!~!"
"Help!"
....
At this moment, several piercing screams reached Ye Feng and the others' ears.
"Huzi, Ajin..." Seeing this, Guo Hai, Liu Lei, and the others' expressions changed drastically. They immediately jumped down the stone steps created by Guo Hai. This was because the screaming people were from Ocean Paradise, and they were relatively close to them. Seeing this, Mei You, Bi Mao, Blood Skeleton, and Su Shu all revealed cruel smiles.
....