Chapter 73

Wu Mian glanced inside, then shifted his gaze to Ren San. The little doll sighed dramatically and said, "I've never been in there, so don't expect me to tell you anything. If you have the guts, go in; if not, let's go back."

Gui Bu Gui stood behind Wu Mian, smiling at Ren San and said, "You'll know what's inside once you go in. Don't worry, we'll be right here. If anything dangerous happens, just shout loudly. Even if we can't get in to save you in time, that person won't just stand by and do nothing. But... Wu Mian, I didn't say you should go in!"

As the old man was speaking, Wu Mian couldn't wait for him to finish and entered the second exit first. Although it was still pitch dark inside, Wu Mian could clearly see that it was still a corridor. On both sides of the path, there were rows of kneeling giant armored figures. From start to finish, there were at least seventy or eighty armored figures standing there.

These figures were more than twice the height of an average person. They were completely covered in armor, even their faces were hidden behind special masks, making it impossible to see what they were made of. Wu Mian circled around these figures, seemingly recognizing their origin, but he was also hesitant, unsure if he had identified them correctly. After circling around, he found nothing unusual. Just as he was about to remove the armor of one of the figures to see what was inside, a strange sound suddenly came from the end of the corridor.

It sounded like someone was being muffled and struggling, making a "muffled" sound. Wu Mian was taken aback for a moment, then walked towards the source of the sound. Since he entered the underground palace, his ability to sense the surroundings seemed to have disappeared, and he could only see what was within his line of sight.

When Wu Mian reached the end of the corridor, the sound disappeared. The end of the corridor was just a wall, with nothing suspicious. Wu Mian circled around but found nothing. Just as he was about to leave and continue dealing with the armored figures, the "muffled" sound came again.

The sound was coming from inside the wall. Without hesitation, Wu Mian took a step back, then kicked the wall. With a "bang," the wall collapsed, revealing a small room inside. Four or five people were lying haphazardly inside. Although Wu Mian couldn't name them, he immediately recognized that they were the subordinates of the Gui brothers.

These people had their eyes tightly closed, fists clenched, and their faces showed a tense expression, as if they had been affected by some kind of spell. One of them was the small leader who had come down first, and the "muffled" sound Wu Mian heard was coming from him. The small leader seemed to be having a nightmare, occasionally making frightened sounds.

Wu Mian carefully examined the room, ensuring there were no hidden traps, then shouted, "Come in, there's something good for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Gui family grandfather and grandson, who had been waiting impatiently, cautiously entered. Using the light from the oil lamps held by the Gui brothers, they were first startled by the two rows of armored figures. Then they saw Wu Mian standing at the end of the corridor, where a large hole in the wall revealed the unconscious people inside.

Seeing these five people, the Gui brothers forgot everything else. They ran over in a few steps, not even bothering to be polite to Wu Mian. They shouted at the people lying on the ground, but they didn't open their eyes. Even when they pried open their eyelids, the people didn't wake up.

Finally, the elder Gui lost his temper and slapped the small leader several times. The small leader mumbled something but still didn't wake up. At this point, the Gui brothers remembered to ask Wu Mian, "What's wrong with them? Why can't they wake up?"

Wu Mian didn't look at them but instead rolled his eyes and looked at Gui Bu Gui, who had just arrived, and said, "Old man, your disciple is asking you a question."

At this moment, Gui Bu Gui's mind wasn't on the five people. He stopped in front of an armored figure, frowning as he examined it. Hearing Wu Mian's words, the old man snapped back to reality, but his mind was still elsewhere. It wasn't until Gui Lai asked again that Gui Bu Gui understood.

The old man walked to the end of the corridor, glanced at the five people lying inside, and then checked their pulses. He frowned and muttered to himself, "Hmm? It seems like the Heaven Concealing Array, but there are no signs of soul separation." As he said this, a thought flashed through his mind, and he suddenly shivered, looking sharply towards the entrance. Apart from the two rows of armored figures, he saw nothing else.

In that instant, Gui Bu Gui suddenly understood. He turned and shouted to his two disciples and Wu Mian, "We can't stay here, get out quickly!" Seeing the Gui brothers each carrying a subordinate, preparing to carry them out, the old man shouted, "Forget about them! Save yourselves first!"

As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the two rows of armored figures. Unfortunately, what he feared came to pass.

As soon as he finished speaking, the heads of the armored figures turned towards them, and a cold, chilling aura emanated from them. In an instant, the entire corridor was enveloped in this cold aura. Not only Wu Mian and Gui Bu Gui, but even the Gui brothers felt their body hair stand on end.

Wu Mian took a step forward, staring at the now moving armored figures, and asked Gui Bu Gui, "Are these soul guardians? Why didn't I sense them before?"

Gui Bu Gui retreated behind Wu Mian and said, "They're not ordinary soul guardians. There should be an array to seal their aura beneath this corridor. They are likely guarding the inner room. When you opened the inner room, these soul guardians found their target."

Hearing this, Gui Lai looked at the small leader on his shoulder and said, "Just for the sake of the Qiu brothers? When did they become so important that they need these soul guardians to watch over them?"

"It's not for them," Gui Bu Gui said, staring at the soul guardians who had turned to face them. "There might be something else in the inner room. It's likely that your people suddenly intruded, and they had no place to put them, so they were temporarily placed here, and the contents of the inner room were moved... Be careful, soul guardians fear fire. Use fire to burn them!"

Before the old man finished speaking, Wu Mian had already stepped out, slowly walking towards the soul guardians.

Wu Mian seemed to have ignored Gui Bu Gui's words as he leisurely walked towards the armored figures. Almost as soon as he approached, the soul guardians, who had been kneeling, began to stand up one by one. The four soul guardians at the front focused on Wu Mian and, almost simultaneously, stood up and charged at the white-haired man.

Wu Mian watched the charging soul guardians with a cold smile, stopping in his tracks to wait. As the first soul guardian approached, Wu Mian suddenly reached out and slapped the guardian's chest. As his hand touched the armor, a "whoosh" sound was heard, and Wu Mian's hand caught fire.

Wu Mian swiped his hand diagonally across the soul guardian's chest, and the areas his hand touched caught fire. He then blew on the flames, and with a sudden wave of heat, the entire soul guardian was engulfed in a raging fire.

All of this happened in an instant. As the first soul guardian became a burning figure, Wu Mian turned around. Just as he was about to deal with the second soul guardian, Gui Bu Gui suddenly shouted, "His armor has a fire-resistant array. You need to remove the armor to hurt him..."