"Oooooooh!"
Above the volcano's peak, a mysterious black egg floated gently. Its surface was covered in enigmatic patterns that slowly began to glow. As these patterns became increasingly distinct, everyone could perceive the spiritual energy fluctuations in the heavens and earth growing more violent.
Mu Feng sternly observed the changes before him, feeling the terrifying spiritual energy fluctuations in the heavens and earth. Even with his strength, he couldn't avoid a profound sense of unease. Clearly, this situation had completely surpassed everyone's expectations.
Originally, according to the images on the bronze tablet, the Nine Netherbird's evolution had failed, and it should have been in a state of extreme weakness. But looking at the mysterious black egg that forced Liu Qing Tian to sever his own finger, this thing was not as they imagined; it showed no sign of allowing anyone to take advantage of the situation.
"Be extra careful," Mu Feng warned in a deep voice. "If anything bad happens, we must retreat immediately. This Nine Netherbird is not that essential to us."
When Zhou Ye and the others heard this, they were slightly startled, but seeing Mu Feng's serious expression, they could only nod. They, too, clearly saw that the situation was becoming bizarre.
Mu Chen intently observed the mysterious black egg in the sky. The Nine Netherbird was too powerful. Although they didn't know what realm this Nine Netherbird had reached before its evolution failed, it must have far surpassed the Divine Soul realm.
And if the current Nine Netherbird merely possessed a fraction of that strength, it was likely that no strong cultivator in the entire Northern Spirit Realm would be capable of subduing it.
Not far away, Liu Yu's group, looking as if they had encountered a formidable enemy, was also intently observing the mysterious black egg in the sky. Liu Qing Tian's expression was extremely grim, and Liu Mu Bai beside him was alternately pale and flushed. If he hadn't hastily shouted earlier, perhaps Liu Qing Tian wouldn't have been so eager to act and seize it. Moreover, the crucial point was that Mu Chen had completely ignored his father's warning to let go, saving Mu Feng's life. Comparing the actions of the two sides, Liu Mu Bai's handsome face became inexplicably gloomy, with a faint hint of hatred.
"Big Brother, are you alright?" Liu Zong and Liu Ming briefly examined Liu Qing Tian's severed finger, asking with concern. If anything happened to Liu Qing Tian, it would be an enormous loss for Liu Yu.
Liu Qing Tian, with a sullen face, shook his head slightly, his eyes still fixed on the sky, unblinking.
"Watch carefully! This time, I don't want to return empty-handed!" Liu Qing Tian growled softly, his words echoing in the ears of Liu Yu's group, making them all jump and nod like chickens pecking grain.
The two groups of people watched anxiously, their eyes never leaving the mysterious black egg in the sky. The patterns on its surface grew brighter and brighter, seemingly with a rhythm, alternately bright and dim, like a creature breathing.
"Oooong!"
With the patterns glowing brightly, the black egg suddenly vibrated. Everyone watched in shock as streams of fierce darkness shot out from within the egg with lightning speed.
The sky quickly grew dim, as if daylight was preparing to turn into night. This sudden change made everyone's expressions even more anxious.
"Kwoork!"
Beneath the pervasive dim atmosphere, a clear and melodious cry echoed through the heavens and earth.
The melodious cry seemed to transform into diffusing sound waves, reverberating and disappearing into the horizon.
Mu Chen looked at the dark circles covering the sky, his heart pounding, a strong sense of unease settling within him.
"This is bad!"
Mu Feng's expression suddenly changed. He stood up straight, his hands clenched, his eyes filled with terror and panic.
"Our spiritual energy is being drained!"
As soon as he spoke, the expressions of Zhou Ye and the others also changed drastically. They quickly sensed their bodies' condition and indeed found that the spiritual energy within them was mysteriously disappearing little by little.
It was as if something mysterious was powerfully absorbing their spiritual energy!
Mu Chen heard Mu Feng's terrified cry, and his heart grew even more anxious. He only had the strength of the late-stage Spirit Movement Realm, so he couldn't feel the spiritual energy draining as clearly as Mu Feng, who was in the Spirit Soul Realm.
"It's because of that egg!"
Mu Chen said in a deep voice. At this moment, the most logical reason could only be that mysterious black egg.
Not far away, the Liu Territory also fell into chaos, with screams constantly echoing, clearly having realized the strange situation.
"Territory Lord, what do we do now?"
Duan Wei asked anxiously. If this continued, their spiritual energy would be completely drained. How would they be able to leave the Black Underworld Abyss then?
Mu Feng's eyes darted around in thought, then he gritted his teeth fiercely and shouted, "Abandon it, run!"
The situation was strange and there was no solution. Mu Feng understood that they were still too reckless. What level of creature was the Nine Netherbird? Even if its evolution failed and it was extremely weak, could their current strength really gain any advantage?
At this moment, they had to make a decisive choice. They couldn't be greedy and hesitate. Life was the most important thing. Even if they had treasures, they needed to be alive to use them. Mu Feng decisively led his people to flee.
"Boom!"
However, just as Mu Territory's group turned to run, the ground in this volcanic area suddenly trembled violently, as if an earthquake was occurring.
"Territory Lord, look!"
Terrified shouts rang out. Mu Feng and Mu Chen both looked up. In the distance, several streams of light suddenly appeared from within the Black Underworld Abyss. Within each stream of light was a powerful spirit beast. In front, there were even more than ten high-level spirit beasts!
Those spirit beasts were rushing towards them like mad. Looking at the wild and frenzied horde of spirit beasts, the faces of Mu Territory's people turned from green to pale white.
Mu Chen couldn't remain calm and took a fearful breath. What was going on? Could it be that all the spirit beasts in the Black Underworld Abyss were rushing here?
"Quick, get out of the way!"
Mu Feng also trembled, the immense pressure filling his heart with dread. He quickly led everyone to a nearby cliff. Facing tens of thousands of frenzied beasts, even a powerful expert in the Spirit Soul Realm was insignificant.
As Mu Feng's group frantically dodged, the Liu Territory on this side also discovered the terrifying situation. Many of them had legs like jelly; this battlefield was truly too horrifying.
Liu Qingtian was no different, but fortunately, he was also a seasoned expert and didn't lose his composure. He immediately led his people to rush in one direction, not daring to appear in the path of the frenzied beasts.
The two groups were a considerable distance apart. No one dared to utter a sound, carefully pressing themselves against the rocks, staring intently at the wild horde of beasts flying past.
Mu Chen trembled as he looked at the herd of spiritual beasts. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he noticed that all the spiritual beasts had bloodshot, crazed eyes. There was an incredibly mysterious feeling, as if they had been stimulated by something, causing them all to go mad.
Mu Chen furrowed his brows tightly, then turned to look at the piles of white bones in the valley. He recalled the skeleton of the Spiritual Worm Master, and his wariness towards the unseen Nine Nether Bird intensified. This thing was extremely troublesome.
The herd of spiritual beasts, trailing billowing dust, finally reached the black stone valley. The forest of white bones beneath their feet completely turned to dust, yet they paid no attention whatsoever. They merely charged forward in one direction, precisely towards the mysterious black egg suspended in the air above the volcano's mouth.
Mu Chen clearly saw them rapidly approaching the mysterious black egg. Next, the dazzling pattern of a large black bird seemed to come alive, gently flapping its wings.
The already dim sky grew even darker.
"Kwoork!"
Another clear cry, accompanied by undulating sound waves, spread out. The sound waves, like ripples on a lake, gently diffused, reaching the herd of spiritual beasts that were frantically charging forward.
Heaven and earth became unusually quiet in an instant.
Mu Chen took a deep breath, his eyes filled with extreme horror, for he saw that when the sound waves reached those spiritual beasts, regardless of whether they were high-level or low-level, they instantly froze, transforming into pristine white skeletons of all shapes and sizes that had been running, now standing still in the very spot where the white bone forest had been in the valley.
Mu Chen and Mu Feng involuntarily exchanged glances, both showing boundless fear. So, the white bones they had encountered before had all originated from this...
In that case, this situation was not occurring for the first time.