The urgent cry about a "Master" preparing a "ritual" and requiring "fresh essence" spurred Li Yao and Yan Mu into immediate action. The chilling implication was clear: the captives weren't just prisoners - they were intended sacrifices.
Every second counted.
"The central chamber and the cell block highlighted - those are our priorities," Li Yao said, voice tight with urgency. He quickly consulted the mental map in his mind . "The cell block is closer. If there are survivors, we might reach them first."
"Lead the way," Yan Mu responded, dual swords already drawn, a faint aura of lightning crackling around him, barely restrained.
They moved with desperate speed. Li Yao utilized his mastered footwork to glide through the winding tunnels like a phantom, while Yan Mu, swift and predatory, was never more than a half-step behind. The chorus of suffering ahead grew louder- moans of despair, metal grating on stone, and distant weeping. Each sound was a nail hammered into their resolve.
As they rounded a jagged bend, two demonic cultivators blocked their path. These guards were stronger than the previous sentries, clad in reinforced dark-red armor etched with runes that pulsed with demonic Qi. One held a barbed whip, the other a jagged saber.
"Intruders!" one snarled, raising his weapon.
There was no time for subtlety.
Yan Mu erupted forward like a thunderbolt. His swords flashed with arcs of condensed lightning, each movement honed to perfection. The first guard raised his whip too slowly — Yan Mu's twin blades bypassed his defense, leaving brutal, cross-cut gashes across his chest and neck. Blood sprayed, and the man crumpled.
Li Yao was already moving. He unleashed a Minor Fireball Talisman, its fiery burst slamming into the second guard's chest. The flames exploded with a concussive roar, staggering the demon backward, armor scorched. Before he could recover, Yan Mu spun, sword trailing electric arcs, and finished him with a precise strike through the throat.
They didn't pause.
Stepping over the fallen, they breached the cell block and the sight that greeted them was a waking nightmare.
Crude iron-barred cells lined the narrow corridor. Inside, emaciated figures lay huddled in filth and shadow. The air was choked with the stench of blood, rot, and hopelessness. Some prisoners were already still, their vacant eyes staring at nothing. Others whimpered or moaned weakly, their bodies covered in infected wounds and dried blood.
"Curse these demons," Yan Mu muttered, fists clenched. His usual composure cracked, the storm behind his eyes barely contained.
The System flared in Li Yao's vision:
[Multiple life signatures detected. Status: Critical. Several deceased. Warning: Structural instability above quadrant C.]
Suddenly, a larger cell door burst open at the far end. A towering demonic cultivator stepped out, dragging a young woman by her matted hair. His face was a grotesque lattice of scars, his eyes glowing with cruel glee. Wicked bone claws protruded from his gauntlets, and the aura around him roiled with corrupted Qi.
"More fodder for the Master's ritual!" he sneered. Then his gaze fell on the intruders. His smile vanished. "Sect dogs? You dare come here?"
He shoved the girl toward a group of lesser demonic cultivators pouring from side corridors. Then he lunged straight at Yan Mu.
The two clashed in a brutal ballet of light and death. Lightning met claw, sparks and shockwaves shaking the corridor. The lieutenant was strong, early-Foundation Establishment, and fought with the frenzy of a beast. But Yan Mu was faster- a whirlwind of precise fury, each strike calculated to wound, maim, or kill.
Meanwhile, Li Yao moved to intercept the lesser demons and save the girl. His fists flashed with Qi-infused strikes, dropping two before they could react. A Binding Vine Talisman erupted in a snarl of glowing green tendrils, lashing around another's limbs and pinning him against the wall, shrieking.
He reached for the girl - barely conscious, bloodied, her breath shallow.
Then a surge of dread hit him.
The System screamed a warning:
[observation: Demonic trap detected. Ceiling destabilizing. Area: Cell Block – Zone C.]
Li Yao's eyes shot upward.
"Brother Yan, the ceiling!" he shouted, pulling the girl toward him.
Too late.
With a deep, otherworldly groan, the enchanted ceiling above the central cells split apart. It wasn't just stone that fell — it was death itself. Bone spikes laced with corrosive demonic energy rained down, followed by slabs of jagged rock.
Screams tore through the cell block — then silence.
A few heartbeats later, the dust settled. Half the corridor was buried. The cells closest to the collapse were obliterated. Blood soaked the stone. The emaciated captives who moments ago had stirred with faint hope now lay still, crushed or impaled.
The girl in Li Yao's arms gave a small, final gasp — then went limp.
He stared down at her. Her eyes, which had flickered faintly with life, now stared past him, empty. Just a moment too late. Just one breath…
Guilt slammed into him.
He should've detected the trap sooner. He should've swept the corridor before they entered. He could have — should have — used the system earlier. But he'd been focused on the lieutenant, on saving the girl. He'd gambled on speed and lost more lives.
The demonic lieutenant let out a cruel, triumphant laugh. "Fools! Did you think you could save them? They were already dead. All of you are."
Yan Mu's face darkened. The air around him sparked and boiled with rising power. His voice was a low growl. "You'll regret that."
With a roar, Yan Mu's next strike unleashed a bolt of pure lightning. It caught the lieutenant full in the chest, flinging him backward with a scream, his armor scorched and splintering.
But the atmosphere had changed.
This was no longer just a mission. No longer a tactical infiltration.
This was vengeance.
Li Yao gently laid the girl's body down, rising slowly, a storm of regret and determination brewing within him. The path forward was paved in blood — and now they walked it not only for duty, but for every innocent who had suffered and died in this cursed place.
The final battle was drawing closer