Xiao Yan's gaze froze upon the jade-white ribs, his mind swirling with shock as a sudden thought surged through him. "Those ten scrolls were all meant to deceive—the true treasure was actually embedded within these bones. That's why the Star-Cutting Old Ghost insisted on making a stand; he must have known the treasure lay hidden here." In that instant, Xiao Yan's thoughts raced, finally grasping why such a cautious man as the Star-Cutting Old Ghost had so fiercely and repeatedly clashed with this Battle-Saint skeleton. "Hmph. A most cunning old ghost." Xiao Yan let out a cold laugh in his heart, quickly gathering the shimmer in his eyes. The purple-brown flames once again swirled around his palms, and with lightning-fast strikes, he delivered several powerful blows, each one landing squarely on the ribs of the Dou Sheng's skeletal torso. Under such intense heat, the crimson stains on the bones rapidly faded. In that brief moment of observation, Xiao Yan noticed that not every bone bore these peculiar markings—seemingly, only the ribs along the torso's waist and abdomen displayed them. "There are exactly three ribs bearing these markings," Xiao Yan murmured, his eyes flashing with a subtle, barely perceptible excitement. He was now certain that the inscriptions on these three ribs must represent the true Tiānjiē Dou Ji! Having gathered this information, Xiao Yan did not linger any longer, fearing others might notice his attention. With a silver glow radiating from his feet, he narrowly dodged the sharp, blade-like bone projections of the skeleton. "Everyone, give it your all—the bones are starting to give way!" The old ghost with the star-shaped aura watched the increasingly faint crimson hue spreading across the bones, a gleam of joy flashing across his face as he shouted. To the others, his words fell on deaf ears. This skeleton was incredibly tenacious, its resilience truly beyond ordinary—its seemingly fragile bones had withstood repeated attacks from the five of them working together, showing not a single fracture. Without the steadily fading crimson indicating that their assaults were still making an impact, they might have begun to lose faith themselves. Under the relentless barrage from the five of them working in unison, the crimson hue on the Bone Remnant of the Battle Saint gradually faded, yet the glow within its eyes grew more intense, pulsing with increasing vigor. At one moment, its entire body suddenly froze. The terrifying assault exploded across the surface of the Saint's skeletal body like a cascade of fireworks. It paused for a moment, then suddenly lifted its head, emitting a low, raspy voice that seemed to drift forth from ancient times—faint and ethereal. "Great... Heaven... Creation... Destiny... Mastery!" The voice, broken and ancient, reached Xiao Yan's ears, sending a shiver of profound dread through his very soul. A deep sense of imminent peril surged from within, compelling him to turn around instantly. With a flash of silver light beneath his feet, he surged forward, desperately racing toward the distant horizon. "It's channeling a combat technique—retreat now!" As Xiao Yan turned and fled, Tang Zhen and the others noticed the strange occurrence, their faces instantly pale with alarm. One of them gasped, and without hesitation, they too turned and fled in panic. "Damn it!" Seeing Tang Zhen and the others who had just fled at the first moment, the old ghost with the starry aura scowled fiercely, cursing loudly. Yet though he cursed, his own pace of retreat was nothing short of swift—within a flash, he had already surged forward a hundred meters. The sudden, disheveled flight of Xiao Yan and his companions immediately captured the attention of everyone in the hall. Though they didn't yet understand what had transpired, they clearly sensed that this was no ordinary event—surely, it was a serious matter. Thus, they scrambled to retreat, rolling and stumbling as they went. For a moment, the entire hall became even more chaotic. When the last trace of blood converged into the right palm, a small black spot—about the size of a soybean—suddenly appeared at the palm of the Battle Saint's skeletal hand. This spot was exceptionally pure black; upon gazing at it, one felt as though even their soul would be consumed, an utterly strange phenomenon. As the black spot emerged, the Battle Saint's skeletal hand swiftly lifted and then forcefully struck the hard, unyielding floor of the hall. At the point of impact, the stone floor emitted no sound—seeming to vanish instantly, revealing the deep brown rock beneath. "Shh!" The floor disappeared, and a circular patch of black light suddenly rose from the spot, then... rapidly expanded! Shh-shh-shh! The black aura expanded, and countless people were instantly惊horrified, their spirits fleeing in panic. Everywhere the aura reached—whether stone slabs, stone pillars, or any other objects—disappeared in an instant, vanishing completely with not a trace left behind. This was a true disappearance, as if swallowed by a black hole, mysterious and terrifying. "Run!" The sheer horror caused everyone's spines to tingle, and as the black circle continued to spread, their hearts tightened, their bodies rushing backward in urgency. "Ah!" They ran swiftly, but the black aura expanded even faster. More terrifying still, an intense, horrifying suction erupted within the aura—some seasoned强者 were forcibly yanked backward, only to vanish completely upon touching the black circle, leaving not a trace behind. A series of piercing, desperate cries echoed throughout the hall, as figures in mid-air struggled wildly, yet could not resist the suction, ultimately being drawn into the black circle and reduced to annihilation. Hearing the relentless cries, Xiao Yan's scalp grew tense—this combat technique was undoubtedly of heavenly rank! "Shh!" The figure who had been rushing forward suddenly halted. Xiao Yan's face paled—the suction from behind grew increasingly formidable, now threatening to disrupt his own speed. Holding his breath, Xiao Yan pushed his speed to its absolute limit. The deep purple and brown flames swirled around him, and continuously, figures in front of him screamed in agony before being violently thrown backward—each final cry sending a shiver down the spine. A black aura, like a death-dealing deity, surged rapidly from the center of the hall, spreading outward until the entire vast hall was completely consumed. "Fan Hai Yin..." A series of exceptionally fierce attacks surged forth from Xiao Yan's hands, then forcefully launched outward. Leveraging this momentum, Xiao Yan's body rapidly retreated. However, as these attacks made contact with the expanding black aura, they instantly vanished—never once impeding the expansion of the aura. "Three-Thousand-Thunder Phantom Form!" Xiao Yan altered his hand seals once more, summoning a soul duplicate that materialized before him. With a powerful stride, he slammed it directly onto his own shoulder. Under the force of the impact, Xiao Yan's body hissed and finally shot through the grand hall, landing heavily on the courtyard outside. Meanwhile, the soul duplicate, propelled backward by the counterforce, struck the black aura and swiftly dissolved. "Hooaaah!" After Xiao Yan escaped into the heavens, the cloaked elder standing not far behind suddenly emitted a sharp cry, his body writhing violently, transforming into a celestial phoenix only a few zhang in size. With a powerful flapping of his wings, he finally broke free from the terrifying suction force and burst forth, landing with great clumsiness, crashing hard against the outer corridor. As the phoenix struggled fiercely, Tang Zhen, Ice River Elder, the Ghost of Star-Catching, and others also gave everything they had, unleashing their full powers to maximize their speed. In the very last moment, they managed to surge through the hall and landed unceremoniously on the plaza. Crash! Outside the grand hall, everyone stared in stunned silence at the eerie, spreading circle of black light within. Fortunately, by the time it reached the edge of the plaza, the light gradually subsided and finally faded away, vanishing slowly under a series of breathless, awe-struck gazes. Inhaling deeply to calm the surging waves of excitement within, Xiao Yan's gaze settled on the vast, deep cavern above, where a translucent white skeleton hung suspended. The red glow within its eye sockets had now completely faded, indicating that the soul imprint left by the Divinity Saint had likewise vanished entirely. "An elite-tier combat technique..." Fixing his eyes firmly on the white skeleton, Xiao Yan's eyes suddenly blazed with intense fervor.