Death... and me

Their appearance did attract the attention of all the other groups. After all, Rean's group could be said to be one of the weakest there since they were all in the Initial Stage of the Saint Realm. Naturally, Granto's group saw their arrival as well.

However, unlike the others, Granto narrowed his eyes. He definitely hadn't seen any of those people before. Also, none of them were at the peak of the Soul Transformation Realm, so they weren't his targets. His targets were supposed to be a duo. On top of that, he wasn't even sure if they were the people Gille was looking for. Not only were there three members in that group but the Demon Bird he saw Liana and Roan flying with was nowhere to be seen. Everything told him that this was not the group he and his group were looking for. Nevertheless, his instincts felt that something was off.

Suddenly, he extended his hand before some blood appeared out of nowhere. Right after, that blood shot in Rean's group, spreading like needles. Granto was at the Peak Stage of the Elemental Transformation Realm. Even though that was just some trivial thing for him, the attack power behind it was enormous for a group like Rean's.

Rean and Roan were shocked that they were suddenly attacked and immediately took their weapons out to retaliate. However... Roan didn't bring out his scythe. Instead, it was a sword that wasn't his old White Star, but just a normal Water Element Gathering Sword from Rean.

Rean did the same thing, bringing out a Fire Element Gathering Sword.

Water and Fire Elements gathered around them as they counter-attacked Granto's blood needles.

'Water Sword Refraction!'

'Fire Blade Wall!'

Liana wasn't any slower either, but she didn't use a weapon. Instead, she simply used a Water Skill.

'Reverse Torrent!'

*Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang...*

*Blob, blob, blob...*

The blood needles hit their skills one after another. The power of Granto's cultivation, however, forced Rean's group back several times, and they even got a few light injuries from it. In the end, the difference in cultivation was just too high. Fortunately, they were able to defend against Granto's attack.

Soon after, Rean, Roan, and Liana put their hand over their spatial rings as they looked at Granto. Their expressions obviously showed that they wouldn't just die for nothing.

However, Granto snorted and looked away. He knew very well that many people here had some life-saving treasures, so even he had to be careful. Besides, what he did now was simply a test. 'It seems like I'm imagining things,' he thought. 'Sect Master said that the target uses Dark Element and is at the Peak Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm. Obviously, none of those three match the description in any way.'

That wasn't the only reason Granto stopped his attack, though. He didn't think he was the only strong person in this place. There were a few people from other countries in this place that could match his strength, including those from Huring Sacred Land itself. Until now, everyone was minding their own business. However, when he made his move, he also put the others in a bad mood. It was obvious that he had messed up the untold rule of remaining silent. If he continued to attack Rean's group, it might cause an unnecessary battle to break out.

Seeing that Granto and his group didn't seem to want to make more moves, Rean, Roan, and Liana sighed in relief. They didn't ask why Granto attacked them, though, as Roan had already expected such a thing to happen. No, to be more specific, Roan thought that it was just a possibility. That's why they didn't use their real weapons. Roan was very good with Water Element, and Rean wasn't any worse with Fire. They had learned a lot of attacks with those elements, although they rarely ever needed to use them. In Rean's case, he used a combination of Light and Fire skills, but he only used Fire this time. That was all so that their identities wouldn't be found.

'Phew... in the end, we were really tested,' Rean could not help but say.

Roan nodded in response. 'That was just a possibility, but we had to be careful. Fortunately, those guys from the Blood Path Sect shouldn't have any doubts about us anymore now that they saw our reactions.'

Liana was still somewhat nervous. 'Even though that could have happened, feeling the cultivation difference really frightened me.'

Rean then looked ahead and finally understood why everyone was waiting in this place. 'What's that gate?'

Roan and Liana also saw the same thing. The gate was enormous and was obviously sealed by some kind of Dark Energy. Roan tried to sense the gate and was surprised by what he found. 'Oh-ho... that gate is made of Life's Nemesis Rock.'

'What?!' Rean and Liana were shocked to hear that. 'How many breakthroughs would you be able to attempt with that many Life's Nemesis Rocks?'

Roan had the same question. There were definitely enough stones for him to use as a catalyst many times over. 'I thought Life's Nemesis Rocks were a lot rarer than that. At least that's what the jade slips I got access to told me. I don't remember reading anything in the records of the Sacred Land, talking about an enormous gate of Life's Nemesis Rocks.'

Liana agreed with Roan. 'Same here. I did read everything I could about the Demising Catacombs before coming over, but there was no information about it.'

Sister Orb's voice then echoed in Rean and Roan's minds. [Forget about taking the gate away with you. That thing is protected by a formation of a very high level. That's also why no one here seems to be making a move.]

Rean and Roan nodded before they looked at the groups around them. Although most of the cultivators were from the Evil Path, there were cultivators of the Righteous Path too. Liana then took the opportunity to act. 'There is a group of my Tenke Kingdom here as well. I'll ask my friend about what's happening here. Don't worry, I'll make sure she won't reveal who I am.'

Rean and Roan nodded after hearing that. That was a very convenient thing.