It was four or five times larger than an ordinary Mist-Shadow Wraith, its translucent body appearing and disappearing in the thick fog.
Within its hollow eye sockets, an eerie green flame burned, radiating a bloodthirsty ferocity.
The surrounding undead gathered around it, some crowding at its feet, others hovering by its side.
They looked like loyal guards, or perhaps servants summoned by its power.
Bai Xuan stopped in his tracks, glanced back at Phoebe, and said in a gentle tone,
“Wait for me a moment. I'll take care of it.”
Phoebe didn't nod or speak. She simply planted her double-bitted battleaxe on the ground and stood in place.
Her eyes were locked onto Bai Xuan's back, ready to charge in and support him at the first sign of danger.
Bai Xuan walked toward the massive Specter alone, and the Specter quickly noticed him.
It slowly opened its mouth and let out a silent screech.
Though soundless, it carried a powerful mental shockwave that surged straight toward Bai Xuan's mind.
Bai Xuan's eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn't stop, closing the distance toward the Specter with rapid steps.
Seeing that its mental shockwave was ineffective, the green flames in the Specter's eyes flared even more intensely.
It began to rapidly gather undead power, shooting a jet-black ray from its mouth straight toward Bai Xuan.
Bai Xuan sidestepped to dodge, and the jet-black ray grazed his sleeve, slamming hard into the stone wall behind him.
With a loud boom, a large crater blasted open, sending stone fragments flying as fog filled the air.
In just a few strides, he rushed right in front of the Specter.
【Redemption Strike】!
The Staff of Guidance in his hand instantly erupted with a brilliant golden light, carrying holy power as it slammed heavily into the translucent body.
The Specter didn't let out a single shriek, nor did it struggle at all.
Like a popped balloon, it dispersed into mist upon impact, vanishing completely.
It all happened in an instant, too fast for anyone to react.
The surrounding undead it had summoned lost their control and instantly scattered, their previous ferocity completely gone.
Bai Xuan put away the Staff of Guidance, and Phoebe immediately rushed to his side. Only after confirming he was uninjured did she resume guarding their surroundings.
In the distance, an adventurer who had just cleaved the last Skeleton Wanderer looked up and witnessed this exact scene, his eyes filled with awe and reverence.
“Let's head back,” the Archer muttered in a heavy tone.
“Pass the news back. The guard of the eighth floor has already been dealt with by him.”
No one replied, but no one objected either. Everyone nodded in silent agreement and turned back toward the camp.
They knew very well that with their strength, they couldn't possibly keep up with Bai Xuan's pace. Continuing forward would only mean throwing their lives away.
Bai Xuan didn't look back, nor did he care about the adventurers' movements.
Leading Phoebe, he stepped over the stone threshold of the entrance, and their figures gradually vanished into the darkness of the eighth floor.
Behind them, the roars of the undead and the clashing of swords slowly faded into the distance.
In their place came a strange, eerie silence.
The passage of the eighth floor was wider than the floors above. There was no moss or ore on the rock walls, only bare black stone.
Occasionally, ancient runes could be seen carved into the walls, blurry and faint, radiating a subtle, mysterious aura.
The air here was dry, carrying an indescribable scent, as if it had been sealed away for thousands of years and left untouched for ages.
Bai Xuan stopped his pace, took out a waterskin from his Space Ring, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Phoebe.
“Have some water and rest a bit.”
Phoebe took the waterskin, took a small sip, and handed it back.
Bai Xuan sat down against the cold rock wall, pulled out the dark blue bottle of Echoing Medium from his breast pocket, and shook it gently in front of his eyes.
The silver particles inside the bottle flowed slowly, shimmering with a mysterious color in the dim light.
“Let's rest for a moment before we head further.”
Bai Xuan spoke softly, his eyes falling on the potion in his hand, lost in thought.
Phoebe sat beside him, propping her double-bitted battleaxe on the ground, quietly staring into the depths of the passage with a watchful eye.
Bai Xuan used the tip of his staff to push aside a piece of rubble, revealing the lower half of a rune, its patterns long worn away by time.
He turned to look at Phoebe, his tone carrying a hint of confirmation.
“Are you really from the deeper parts of the dungeon?”
Phoebe nodded gently, without a shred of hesitation in her eyes.
Bai Xuan pressed further, “Then how did you bypass the guard at the entrance?”
Phoebe paused, tilted her head to think carefully for a moment, and then gestured a circle with her hands, before gently lifting her fingertips upward.
Bai Xuan didn't understand her meaning at first, so Phoebe patiently gestured again.
First she pointed at the ground beneath her feet, then made a gesture as if being lifted by an invisible force, and finally raised her hand to point toward the ceiling.
Bai Xuan frowned and asked tentatively,
“Are you saying... you didn't climb up floor by floor? You were sent straight up by something?”
Phoebe immediately nodded vigorously, a gleam of 'you finally get it' flashing in her eyes.
“So a force pushed you straight up from the depths that day?” Bai Xuan asked again.
Phoebe frowned and thought about it, nodding first, then shaking her head.
She pointed to herself, then to the ground beneath her feet, and shook her head gently once more. Clearly, even she couldn't explain the origin of that force.
Bai Xuan didn't press her any further.
The deeper parts of the dungeon hid too many secrets unknown to him. Phoebe's teleportation this time might be related to the Glay race.
He changed the subject.
“Then do you still remember the exact location where you were teleported to?”
Phoebe neither nodded nor shook her head. She simply turned around in silence and walked in a certain direction.
Seeing this, Bai Xuan immediately followed closely behind her, not daring to let his guard down for a single second.
The two walked for a long time on the eighth floor. Ruins were visible everywhere along the way, of all sizes, utterly dilapidated.
Some were reduced to bare foundations, while others barely had half-broken walls still standing, exuding a sense of desolation in the dim light.
The murals on the walls had long been eroded beyond recognition by time.
One could only occasionally make out a few humanoid outlines or the faint silhouettes of some unknown beasts, blurry as illusions.
Every time Phoebe passed a ruin, she would stop and examine it carefully.
After confirming it wasn't the place where she had been teleported, she would shake her head gently and continue forward.
Bai Xuan didn't rush her. He simply followed behind while keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
The eighth floor was unusually quiet. There were no traces of the undead, no roars of monsters, and not even the slightest breath of any living creature could be felt.
Bai Xuan instinctively tightened his grip on his staff, exerting a bit of force, never relaxing his vigilance from start to finish.
After walking for about half an hour, Phoebe finally stopped in front of a ruin.
This ruin was larger than any they had seen along the way, with neat stone slabs paving the ground.
Even though the slabs were covered in cracks, one could still catch a glimpse of its former grandeur.
Rate on N.U.
