Chapter 150: The Nameless Palace

The talisman flew out of his hand, and the heavy-set man standing at the Li trigram position retreated backward with all the speed he could muster. The Eight Trigrams Formation was no longer a safe place for him to linger; the energy concentrated at the Li trigram had reached its breaking point, and the influx of even the slightest bit of residual energy would trigger a massive detonation.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar erupted, illuminating the previously dim world. The explosion immediately drew everyone over. Struggling against the aching soreness in their muscles, they hurried forward. "Qiangzi, what on earth are you researching?" Although Li Runze had regained some of his physical strength, he was still the weakest among them. Having expended most of his energy on his ultimate move, forcing his body to trek this far meant it was a miracle he hadn't collapsed yet.

"Perhaps I've found a way out of this damned place, though I can't say for certain yet!" Song Nianqiang appeared rather excited. The scenery here was monotonous, presenting nothing to look up at except a sky full of stars. Believing that everyone, not just him, had reached their limit, he pressed on.

"Tell me quickly, I'll cooperate with all my might! I'm completely sick of this birdcage of a place!" Though Lixi was missing an arm, his strength had mostly recovered. Given his straightforward nature, enduring such a static and unchanging environment was absolute torture for him. The moment he heard there was a way out, he eagerly volunteered.

"To be honest, I can't guarantee this method will work. We'll just have to treat a dead horse as a live one!" With those words, Song Nianqiang drew another Eight Trigrams diagram on the ground, arranging everyone into designated positions while leaving the Li trigram completely vacant. Once everyone was in place, Song Nianqiang stood directly behind the Li trigram and instructed them, "Later, unleash your full strength and attack me all at once. Don't worry about hitting me; I know what I'm doing." On one hand, this told the group how to act; on the other, it reassured them that their attacks wouldn't accidentally harm him.

"Get ready... Three, two, one, strike!"

Song Nianqiang's focus instantly peaked. Although all attacks were supposed to be blocked by the Li trigram, what if it failed to contain the force? In that worst-case scenario, he would have to rely entirely on himself.

Hearing the command, the group hesitated for a fraction of a second before launching their strikes. Everyone deployed their signature techniques—though naturally not their ultimate trump cards. If they exhausted those now, they would likely have zero combat capability left even if they managed to escape this realm.

Attacks of various colors surged toward Song Nianqiang, who was required to stand completely still without moving an inch. This was a severe test of his psychological fortitude; a slightly weaker frame of mind would have prompted anyone to flee. This was no child's play—disregarding the combined assault of seven people, even a single unprepared blow landing squarely on him would have been enough to put him through agony.

The Li trigram flared brilliantly, yet it still lacked a fraction of the necessary force to shatter. Song Nianqiang could not help but frown. "Put more muscle into it! That's not enough!" In truth, he had no precise measurement of the Li trigram's load capacity. His previous test had only provided a rough estimate of the energy required to breach it, and current conditions made precise calculations impossible.

However, after Song Nianqiang shouted this, the group did not immediately press the attack. Much like him, they were uncertain of the appropriate force. What if the trigram failed to hold and ended up injuring Song Nianqiang? Among them, his prowess was considered top-tier; if his subsequent performance was compromised, the loss would outweigh the gain.

"What are you hesitating for? Stop dawdling! Attack me already!" Song Nianqiang roared at the top of his lungs. His only real purpose for shouting was to bolster his own courage—he had no other choice when he couldn't calculate the exact energy thresholds.

"Watch out! Strike!" Zhu Tianyi yelled. The moment his voice faded, the group raised their hands once more. This time, they poured heavier force into their strikes. Multi-colored beams of energy instantly struck the Li trigram, causing it to flare violently once again. Immediately after, the crisp sound of shattering glass echoed from the trigram's location.

Standing directly behind it, Song Nianqiang knew the barrier was about to break. With blinding speed, he vaulted forward, clearing the trigram just as it shattered.

"Boom!"

Like an eggshell suddenly cracking under pressure, a blinding flash of intense light instantly overwhelmed everyone's vision.

Hastily closing their eyes, Song Nianqiang waited until his vision adjusted, only to find himself standing in the middle of a vast grassland. The outcome left him feeling somewhat amused yet exasperated.

"Out of the wolf's den and right into the tiger's lair!"

Faced with this sight, some inevitably wore expressions of defeat. Yet, upon closer inspection, an escape route seemed apparent not far ahead, where a palace was slowly rising from the ground, though it bore no inscription or name.

"This is getting fun. I'm starting to like this tomb more and more." The smiling assassin's expression of amusement never faded; if anything, his smile grew wider, as though he found the palace ahead deeply intriguing.

"Watch your step and don't lose your life. I believe we all deeply understand the dangers here by now." Just to be safe, Zhu Tianyi couldn't help but issue a warning. "Rest assured, we aren't that easy to kill. Once this mission is over, I plan to take a massive stack of cash to Macau and try my luck at the tables." The assassin beamed with radiant self-satisfaction, acting as if the mission were already successfully completed.

Since they were national treasures, leaving the country without official authorization was strictly forbidden, meaning Macau was the only gambling hub available to him; visiting Las Vegas was entirely out of the question.

"Let's go. Let's see what's hidden inside that palace." Taking the lead, Zhu Tianyi stepped forward, closely followed by the rest. They knew virtually nothing about this place, and heaven only knew whether this seemingly plain grassland would suddenly transform into a graveyard for them all.

Not until Zhu Tianyi reached the gates of the palace did the heavy anxiety in everyone's chest finally ease. They had little choice; their nerves had become accustomed to constant tension ever since entering this realm.

"Those three soldier-like stone statues by the gate appear to be guards. The general standing behind them has a key hanging from his waist. If we want to enter, it seems we'll have to fight our way through," Li Runze said, stepping forward and offering useful intelligence after a brief glance. Song Nianqiang nodded in agreement, concurring with Li Runze's assessment.

"Then I'll leave those three soldiers to you. Smiling Assassin, show them a trick!" Zhu Tianyi said with a smile, addressing the man who had remained inactive until now. The smiling assassin's expression remained unchanged. With a faint nod, he stepped out and walked forward step by step.

As he walked, he drew a small dagger from his sleeve. The blade looked archaic, covered in dense, intricate engravings. It was impossible to tell where he had acquired it, but the others were intensely curious about what role such a small dagger could play.

When the assassin closed the distance to within two meters of the guards, the stone figures suddenly stirred.

"Clank—!"

The spears in their hands jerked upward. Rapidly locking into a defensive formation, the three soldiers marched toward the assassin step by step.

"Don't underestimate that little dagger of his; it's exceptionally sharp. If those soldiers don't know how to defend themselves, the assassin will finish them off in a minute," Zhu Tianyi explained to Song Nianqiang.

"Oh? Is that dagger really that sharp?" It wasn't that Song Nianqiang doubted him, but the stone statues before them were no ordinary rocks. Though he didn't know the exact geological composition, he was certain the stone was far tougher than hardened steel.

Therefore, a trace of skepticism lingered in Song Nianqiang's mind, though it quickly vanished into thin air. With a burst of speed, the smiling assassin darted behind one of the stone statues. A single slash of the dagger across the back of its neck sent the statue's stone head rolling onto the ground.

"Truly sharp indeed!" Song Nianqiang muttered in astonishment. With a sharpness like that, cutting through iron as if it were mud was no exaggeration. Yet, the headless statue did not collapse; it appeared as though it had merely lost an inconsequential part of its body.