Man Kuai's screams made Yang Kai and the others all change color simultaneously, turning back to send out their divine sense to investigate.
Once they saw his current state, they all drew in a sharp breath.
At this moment, Man Kuai's hands were pressed tightly against the foreign celestial stone slab for some unknown reason, as if firmly stuck to it. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free. That alone would have been bad enough, but the stone slab was actually devouring his blood essence at a speed beyond imagination. Visibly, the crimson vitality was being consumed by the stone slab completely, and the previously unremarkable slab had turned blood-red in a remarkably short time, radiating a wave of nauseating aura.
"Master, save me!" Man Kuai shouted with all his might, utterly panicked. Had he known the stone slab was this eerie, he never would have touched it so rashly. But now that things had reached this point, it was too late for anything.
In just a few breaths, he already felt half-depleted. If this continued any longer, wouldn't he be sucked dry into a husk?
Yang Kai and the others all turned their gazes toward Sang De, wanting to see what he would do.
Sang De hurriedly said, "Stay calm! I'm coming right over!"
As he spoke, he indeed rushed straight toward Man Kuai. Moments later, violent waves of power emanated from that direction, suggesting Sang De was trying to rescue Man Kuai. But no one could make out the specifics, because Sang De's interference had significantly disrupted the divine sense projections of Yang Kai and the others.
Before long, Man Kuai's voice gradually faded away.
Sang De returned with a grim expression. When he reached the group, his face was heavy with grief. "Brother Man has... passed on unfortunately."
Serpent Woman and Shen Fei's expressions shifted slightly, their gazes darkening as they looked at Sang De. Yang Kai's face was equally unreadable.
They all roughly knew how powerful Man Kuai was, yet such a person had died in such a short time. It went without saying that he had triggered some terrifying restriction or trap. Had Serpent Woman or Shen Fei been the ones to trigger it, they likely wouldn't have fared much better.
"Truly abominable. That Dragon-Suppressing Stone was hiding a Spirit-Devouring Formation. I failed to detect it in my oversight, and Brother Man met this unjust fate. How tragic, how infuriating!" Sang De lamented for a time, his tone low, seemingly distressed by Man Kuai's fate.
He paused, then raised his eyes. "I hope Brother Man's fate hasn't left any of you with a psychological shadow!"
The others remained silent.
Whether Man Kuai's incident was truly the result of Sang De's oversight—failing to detect the Spirit-Devouring Formation—or whether he had known all along and deliberately kept silent, sending Man Kuai to his death, no one could say. Regardless, they had already come this far, and only an outsider had died. There was naturally no turning back now.
But after this incident, regardless of who it was, no one dared to be careless again. In the lair of this Imperial Formation Master, any location could be lethal.
"If none of you have objections, then please continue following me." Sang De swept his gaze across the group.
Yang Kai said mildly, "Master, you prepared for five people. Now that one is gone, will there be any issues going forward?"
Sang De replied, "No major issues. I brought Man Kuai primarily to have him push open the Dragon-Suppressing Stone. Hasn't he already completed that task? The rest didn't require much effort from him anyway."
"So that's how it is!" Yang Kai grinned. "Then that's fine. Please continue leading the way, Master."
Sang De nodded and indeed went ahead to lead the path.
The remaining three exchanged glances and followed at a leisurely pace. But thanks to Yang Kai's earlier question, the three could almost confirm that Sang De had definitely known about the Spirit-Devouring Formation hidden on the Dragon-Suppressing Stone. He had also known what would happen to Man Kuai after he pushed the stone open, but deliberately said nothing. In other words, once the Dragon-Suppressing Stone had been pushed open, Man Kuai's usefulness was gone—whether he lived or died didn't matter at all.
The old man usually seemed harmless, but he was actually full of schemes. Even Serpent Woman and Shen Fei couldn't help but be wary of him.
They moved forward unimpeded the entire way without encountering the slightest obstacle.
This was indeed a cave dwelling left behind by a powerful expert. The interior space was vast, with luminous strange stones embedded along the cave walls, emitting a faint glow that kept the entire dwelling from feeling too dim.
Half an hour later, after descending roughly a thousand zhang underground, they suddenly arrived at a massive stone cavern.
Stalactites hung from the surrounding walls of the cavern, with water droplets falling from them, producing crisp, splashing sounds.
Upon arriving here, everyone's gaze was immediately drawn to an object placed right in the center.
It was unmistakably a shuttle-shaped artifact over seven or eight zhang long, its entire form sleek and gracefully curved. Rhythms of artifact resonance flowed across its surface, making it look extraordinary at a glance.
The moment they arrived, Sang De's eyes lit up. He stood rooted to the spot, staring intently at the shuttle-shaped artifact, unable to look away for even a moment.
Yang Kai and the others all stared with expressions of wonder. Sang De had brought them here to retrieve a tool that could leave the Silent Void Secret Realm—this much they all knew. Seeing this object now, their minds naturally began to make connections.
"Master, could this be...?" Serpent Woman was the first who couldn't hold back, speaking up to ask.