"Huff... Huff..."

The sound of heavy breathing rose and fell.

The relief of surviving had not lasted long before it was once again overshadowed by the despair brought on by the terrifying sounds outside.

"Tha... Thank you, brother!"

A tall and thin young man with a pale face was the first to break the silence, expressing his gratitude to the young man wearing the Federation's standard combat uniform who had rushed in last.

"If it weren't for you opening this hole in time, we... we would have been finished!"

"Brother, I will remember this favor!"

"May I ask, brother, your honorable name?"

Everyone came to their senses, expressing their gratitude in a clamor, their eyes filled with sincerity.

In such a desperate situation, the other party took the huge risk of exposing their position, potentially getting discovered by the Life Ghosts prematurely, to proactively open the entrance and guide them in. This was an undeniable lifesaving grace.

After all, everyone was in competition.

In that situation, saving was a kindness, not saving was the norm.

No one could morally coerce him in this case, unless he wanted to try the feeling of being mobbed to death.

The young man waved his hand, with a hint of fatigue on his face, but his gaze was still calm: "My name is Shi Yuan."

His voice was somewhat hoarse.

Apparently, the earlier shouting and maintaining of the entrance had not been without its cost.

"Shi Yuan? Are you from the Shi Family?!"

A martial artist in the crowd with some insight immediately exclaimed, "The Shi Family from the Northern Land, the one that inherits the path of the Earth Element Divine Teaching?!"

Shi Yuan nodded, not denying it: "Yes. Earth Element Ability is somewhat useful in this environment."

"Ah, a friend from the Shi Family! No wonder!"

The crowd suddenly realized, looking at Shi Yuan with even more admiration.

The Shi Family from the Northern Land is famous for their Earth Element Ability, especially skilled in defense and altering terrain. In this 'Abyss,' they were indeed an extremely valuable auxiliary force.

Fang Qingyu also looked at Shi Yuan, nodding: "Thank you."

The tone was calm, but anyone who knew Fang Qingyu knew the weight it carried...

After expressing thanks.

Fang Qingyu's gaze swept over Wei Banmeng, Chu Kuanglan, and Lu Jiuyuan, seeing that although the three were somewhat exhausted, they were all unharmed, he slightly relaxed.

As for Jiang Wei, held tightly in his arms, she was completely unscathed except for a slightly tense face.

The cave fell into temporary silence once more, with only the terrifying rumbling sound outside.

"Just now... what the hell was that?" Finally, someone couldn't resist asking the question in everyone's heart, "I've never seen... no, never heard of such a massive Life Ghost group in the 'Abyss'."

Fang Qingyu leaned against the cold rocky wall.

Recalling the glimpse of the scene seen earlier, the swarm of Life Ghosts like a flowing black tide, varied in shape yet unified in purpose, he said in a deep voice: "It's Rock Nest Marching Ants."

"Rock Nest Marching Ants?!" Someone drew a sharp breath, "That kind of Life Ghost that's not much of a threat individually, but becomes extremely terrifying once formed into a scale?! But... but how could they gather in such terrifying numbers?! This is too abnormal! How many people does the Abyss entrance take each time? Their numbers..."

Fang Qingyu's words undoubtedly confirmed the worst scenario.

They encountered a Life Ghost natural disaster within the 'Abyss,' which is extremely rare and deadly.

This scale of an ant swarm wasn't just to prey on them as small 'snacks,' it seemed more like... a migration? Or perhaps driven or commanded by something even more terrifying?!

"We must report to the Federation!"

Immediately someone took out a communicator, fingers trembling as they began typing the message, describing the overwhelming terrifying scene just witnessed and the abnormal massive gathering of the "Rock Nest Marching Ants."

This was definitely a major abnormal event!

However, just as everyone felt somewhat relieved for identifying the "culprit," and before the message was fully sent...

BOOM!!!!

A thud, far more muffled and intense than before, suddenly came from above their heads and slightly behind!

The entire lava cave shook violently once more.

Large chunks of rock and dust fell down, making dull sounds upon impact with the ground, causing a cry of surprise.

"Not good!"

Shi Yuan's expression changed drastically, he suddenly looked up in the direction of the vibration, instinctively pressing his hands against the rock wall, as if sensing something.

In the next second, his eyes filled with shock: "Something is crazily attacking the rock wall, and not just from one direction, they're trying to dig through here, much stronger than the trampling force before!"

"What?!"

"Digging through?! Then we're sitting ducks?!"

"What should we do?! Brother Shi, can you hold on?"

Panic spread among the crowd like a plague.

The relief from taking shelter was all but gone, replaced by an even deeper despair.

Even though they were all the pride of the Hidden Dragon Plan...

Yet in circumstances where they were completely powerless, they would revert to the nature that ordinary people should have.

Shi Yuan's forehead veins popped, his hands pressed firmly against the rock wall.

A yellowish light poured from his palms, trying to stabilize the crazily impacted rock layers, his voice urgent: "Can't... can't hold for long, there're too many of them, attack points too concentrated! I... I don't have enough Power to support the entire cave structure!"

Everyone's hearts sank to the bottom.

Once the rock wall was breached with the terrifying number and fearless nature of the Rock Nest Marching Ants, they wouldn't even be enough to fill a tooth gap!

In this narrow cave, there wasn't even room to maneuver, it was absolutely a dead end!

Amidst the chaos and despair, an icy voice sliced through the noise like a Sharp Blade:

"Shi Yuan!"

Fang Qingyu suddenly stood up straight, his gaze as sharp as a knife, locking onto the most intense spot of vibration, the direction that caused Shi Yuan's face to look the most troubled.

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