at the same time.

Deep beneath the city of Donghai lies the ruins of the Abyss of Misty Clouds.

The members of the Eternal Night Guild are still conducting a vigorous, thorough exploration of that ancient and desolate ruin.

Since the phantom of the Great Sage Li Er descended and forcibly erased the gray fog that had permeated this world for millions of years with a single word, the visibility of the entire ruins has been improved like never before.

"Whoosh—!"

A sharp, dark red blade flashed, and a massive level 30 Shadow Panther was cleaved in two, its foul-smelling blood splattering everywhere.

A skilled member of the Eternal Night Guild expertly flicked the blood off his blade, reached into the Shadow Panther's carcass, and pulled a magic core. He then exhaled and teased his companion beside him:

"Damn it, the mist in this Abyss of Mist has suddenly disappeared, and I'm really not used to it."

“Who says otherwise!” The companion next to him chuckled as he cautiously surveyed the clearly visible ruins around him. “It feels like being blind for many years due to nearsightedness and suddenly putting on glasses with a prescription of 800 degrees. You can see every pore of the world clearly now. It’s bright and clear, but you still feel uneasy.”

"Hahaha! You two, stop pretending to be innocent after getting the benefit!"

Qin Ming, who was walking at the front of the group, heard the teasing from behind and turned around to laugh and curse.

He held the epic dagger burning with dark red flames in his hand, scanning the increasingly narrow passage ahead.

"Stop joking around! Everyone, pay attention, there's a huge stone gate ahead!"

Qin Ming's voice suddenly rose, and his tone became serious.

"Once we pass through that stone gate, we'll reach the true ruins of the imperial palace! The strange beasts roaming inside are generally above level 40! Moreover, there are definitely quite a few calamity-level leaders lurking there!"

He looked at the thousands of elite soldiers behind him and shouted sternly, "Those who don't want to get hurt, those who don't want to die in there, give it your all! Hold onto your new equipment tightly!"

"Yes, Vice President!"

Everyone responded in unison, instantly dispelling the relaxed atmosphere.

The mere mention of the palace within the ruins ignited a fervent light in many people's eyes, and they all perked up.

Previously, due to the eerie mist, visibility was extremely limited, and a slight misstep could lead to a sneak attack and annihilation by high-level beasts. Therefore, they dared not venture too deep and could only loot from the outer perimeter.

Now that the fog has lifted and the view is clear, coupled with the top-quality equipment bestowed upon them by their lord, they have the opportunity and the confidence to take a good look at what earth-shattering treasures are hidden in this ancient palace! Perhaps, the Mortal Demon Source Stone that their lord specifically sought is hidden inside!

The team of thousands maintained a tight battle formation, stepping on the rubble, and slowly approached the huge black stone gate, which was tens of meters high, at the end of the passage.

However, just when everyone was less than a hundred meters away from the stone gate.

A sudden change has occurred!

"Boom... Boom... Boom..."

A sickening metallic scraping sound suddenly came from inside the tightly closed, massive stone door!

The sound was like some enormous creature pacing heavily, causing the ground beneath its feet to tremble slightly!

Qin Ming, who was walking at the front, suddenly changed his expression.

He raised his left hand into a fist, held it high, and made a tactical gesture to stop advancing.

"stop!"

The thousands ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) of people stood still, completely silent, with only heavy breathing echoing in the passageway.

"Vice President, what's wrong?" Ah Cheng, who was standing to the side, gripped the long knife in his hand and asked nervously in a low voice.

Qin Ming stared at the dark stone door in front of him, frowning: "Something's not right... Why do I hear what sounds like human footsteps inside?"

"Human footsteps? Impossible, how could there be human footsteps in these ruins besides ours?" Acheng swallowed hard.

"Whatever it is, let's find out the situation first."

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Ming turned to the two scouts in the team who had awakened the Shadow Stealth class and ordered in a deep voice, "You two, activate stealth and sneak into the crack in the stone door to take a look! Remember, no matter what you see, do not alert the enemy, and report immediately!"

"clear!"

The two scouts moved swiftly, transforming into two black shadows, and silently crept towards the massive stone gate, clinging to the dark base of the wall.

Time passed by, second by second.

The atmosphere in the team was extremely tense.

Less than two minutes later, rapid breathing suddenly came from the darkness ahead.

Immediately afterwards, one of the scouts scrambled out of the shadows of the stone gate!

When he stumbled and ran to Qin Ming, everyone could clearly see that this usually bold and meticulous spy was deathly pale, and even his lips were trembling!

"What's going on?! What's the panic?!" Qin Ming grabbed the scout by the collar and demanded sharply, "What's inside?!"

The scout gasped for breath, his voice trembling, "I...I've seen a ghost! Vice President, it really is a ghost!"

"I...I peeked through the crack in the door...there...there wasn't a strange beast inside at all!"

"I think I see... a massive army of undead clad in armor!!!"

Upon hearing this, the members of the Eternal Night Guild around them gasped and felt a chill run down their spines.

An army of undead?!

"Are you sure you saw it clearly?" Qin Ming frowned.

"I'm sure I'm not mistaken!" The scout was almost in tears, nodding repeatedly. "They're all stark white skeletons, wearing rusty ancient armor, and carrying rusty swords! The numbers... there are too many! A dark mass, filling the entire square, at least... at least tens of thousands!"

The scout swallowed hard, pointed towards the stone gate, and said in a shrill voice, "And...and their eyes are blazing with blue fire, and they're walking towards the stone gate! They're about to come out!"

An army of the undead?

Qin Ming's face darkened.

They had explored the ruins of the Abyss of Mist for so long, killing countless strange beasts, but they had never seen any undead creatures!

This place is clearly the territory of powerful beasts, so how could such a large undead army suddenly appear here?

Countless questions flashed through Qin Ming's mind, but he knew that now was not the time to think about them.

Hearing the heavy footsteps getting closer and louder behind the stone gate, Qin Ming gripped his dagger tighter.

Without uttering a single wasted word, he decisively turned around and roared at his adjutant behind him:

"Send the signal immediately! Have someone contact Jasmine, Chuhe, and Mohen's teams, and tell them to abandon their exploration of the surrounding area and head towards us at full speed to provide support!"