"You brat, just you wait! I will make you taste a fate worse than death!"
Humphrey was almost bursting with rage, but he couldn't afford to deal with the other party or leave at the moment.
After all, the armor of the Stone General was still embedded with purple crystals!
The energy contained within a single purple crystal was comparable to hundreds of white crystals.
Furthermore, as far as he knew, the Stone General before him was likely the guardian spirit of the formation. Only by defeating the Stone General could they break free.
Beyond that, the long sword in the Stone General's hand was the same as the treasured swords in the Sword Manor. If his guess was correct, this might be the true Heart of the Ruins.
With such benefits right in front of him, he absolutely couldn't abandon the Stone General to deal with Xuan Qi. If someone took advantage and snatched it, wouldn't that be a huge loss?
Therefore, he didn't care if the other party watched. He was fully confident in defeating the Stone General. If the other party still didn't leave afterward, they would be buried with him.
"Idiot, enjoy yourself!"
"You were looking for help? I'll take care of this. I will definitely notify other factions to come."
Ye Cangtian's lips curved slightly, and he turned to leave.
Humphrey was injured and greatly depleted. However, with the opponent on guard, it would be difficult to kill him.
Thus, he decided to leave for now to allow the opponent to relax, and also to see if there were any other experts around.
"Roar..."
Just then, the Stone General let out a deafening roar, and a rumbling sound echoed from within the mist.
In an instant, five stone figures charged forward, joining the Stone General in attacking Humphrey.
Heh, this should be good entertainment now, right?
Ye Cangtian was momentarily stunned, then couldn't help but chuckle.
With five more stone figures suddenly appearing, the battle on Humphrey's side might reverse, and he might even be able to gain some benefits.
Thinking of this, Ye Cangtian retreated again.
This time, he was not discovered. Perhaps Humphrey was too busy dealing with the attacks to spare any attention.
Looking around.
The five newly appeared stone figures, although their chests were embedded with white crystals, were clad in armor, resembling the personal guards of the Stone General.
After they joined the fray, they greatly relieved the Stone General's pressure, completely negating Humphrey's advantage.
However, Humphrey was, after all, an Earth-grade expert. In a life-threatening situation, his explosive power was immense.
He forcefully endured the attacks of the stone figures, even counter-attacking in the gaps, constantly killing the stone guards. In the end, at the cost of severe injuries, he shattered the Stone General's head.
"Brat, come out! I know you came back!"
"You want to reap the benefits without lifting a finger, right? I'm injured now, it's a perfect opportunity!"
Humphrey spoke, clutching his wound, and removed the purple crystal. He also moved towards the long sword in the Stone General's hand.
Although severely injured, he still didn't take a young fellow of Xuan-grade strength seriously.
"Heh, you found me after all."
Ye Cangtian walked out with a smile.
While he said that, he inwardly lamented. It was truly unexpected that this guy hadn't died!
Earth-grade experts were truly hard to kill!
However, since the other party knew he hadn't left, there was no point in continuing to hide.
Some things just required a gamble. Perhaps a bicycle could turn into a motorcycle!
"Fake? It's fake!"
"How is this possible! Why is it fake..."
As soon as Ye Cangtian appeared, Humphrey on the other side screamed as if he had gone mad.
He had already reached the giant sword. He thought this giant sword was the Heart of the Ruins, and it should have undergone some change upon falling into his hands.
However, after a closer look, he discovered it was just an ordinary stone sword.
One that could be crushed with a little force!
This was unacceptable to him.
He refused to admit his judgment was wrong, and he couldn't accept such an outcome.
After all, he had a chance to escape.
It was precisely because he believed the sword was the Heart of the Ruins that he decided to stay and fight for his life, only to almost die without obtaining the Heart of the Ruins. In his anger, he roared repeatedly.
Fake? Hahaha...
Ye Cangtian laughed upon seeing Humphrey's frenzy.
"What are you laughing at? I'll kill you right now!"
Hearing the laughter, Humphrey's eyes were filled with killing intent. At this moment, he treated the other party as an outlet for all his frustrations and charged forward without hesitation.
Boom!
Just as the two were about to fight desperately, an explosion sounded from behind them.
Looking back, the Stone General's body had exploded, shattering into pieces. In its place was a beam of light.
This beam of light was identical to the beam of light seen before, piercing the heavens and emitting boundless radiance and aura.
Furthermore, a treasured sword was also encased within the beam of light.
"Heart of the Ruins, Heart of the Ruins! That's the real Heart of the Ruins!"
"It's mine in the end!"
Seeing the treasured sword in the beam of light, Humphrey roared maniacally. He completely ignored Ye Cangtian and, with all his might, turned his direction and rushed towards the beam of light.
Not good!
Ye Cangtian inwardly exclaimed. He was a bit further away, and now that he was rushing over, he was clearly much slower than the other party.
Humphrey grabbed the treasured sword and, raising it excitedly above his head, burst into laughter.
However, in the next moment, his laughter abruptly stopped. The treasured sword in his hand slowly tilted, along with the sky-piercing beam of light.
When the beam of light swept across the entire mist, it was as if the heavens and earth were being split asunder, slicing the mist in two.
"No! No..."
Humphrey cried out in terror. He couldn't control the sword in his hand.
Moreover, under the immense pressure of the sword, he couldn't move an inch, and could only watch as the sword descended upon him.
*Swish!*
One strike!
Humphrey was instantly split in two by the sword, his eyes filled with unwillingness as he fell to the ground.
With the same sword strike, the entire formation was completely destroyed, and the surroundings returned to their original appearance as the Sword Manor.
Ye Cangtian stared blankly at all this, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
Thankfully, he was a beat slower. If he had been the one to pick up the sword, he would probably be the one dead. It was too close.
The next moment, Ye Cangtian calmed his mind.
His gaze swept across the surroundings. Seeing that no one was present, he immediately went to Humphrey's corpse.
Humphrey had been operating in secret all along, so he must have robbed quite a few crystals. Ye Cangtian certainly wouldn't let them go.
Wow! He had struck it rich!
Finding Humphrey's crystal pouch, Ye Cangtian opened it and was immediately excited.
There were nearly two hundred large and small crystals inside. This was more than what he had robbed from the Chunin 'Tsuchimon' of the Ninja Village, and the quality was also good.
Many of them were larger crystals with purer energy.
"This old rogue has robbed quite a few factions!"
Ye Cangtian couldn't help but mutter with a sigh.
It was a pity that the factions he had robbed either dared not speak out or were silenced.
If these people could have united to attack, how could the Guangming Hall have been so rampant?
It was just a pity that, in the ruins, all factions only cared about immediate benefits.
Facing the Guangming Hall, they could only voice their anger in silence!
While thinking, Ye Cangtian glanced at the treasured sword in Humphrey's hand.
After unleashing its destructive strike, the treasured sword had completely lost its luster, turning into a stone sword. With a slight touch, it crumbled into stone dust.
Where was the Heart of the Ruins? And what exactly was it?
Since that treasured sword was not the Heart of the Ruins, the Heart of the Ruins must be something else. He kept recalling, and it only made him feel more peculiar!
Having walked through more than half of the Sword Manor, all the rooms were empty. It could be said that there was nothing in them except for tables and chairs.
Therefore, he truly couldn't understand what this Heart of the Ruins was!
...