Teleported

"You don't know what to describe it as? Surely if it isn't human, then it's just another beast, right?" Senior Brother Tang inquired after only a second of pondering.

Being an Origin Tier cultivator, Senior Brother Tang was keenly aware of how much he should keep his guard up. But after experiencing a lot of what the Decrypted Woods has to offer, he simply didn't feel like they would encounter any reasonable danger.

"Well….I suppose you're right. But, whatever this aura is….it just feels incredibly different from any other monster in these woods."

Senior Brother Fang shook his head a moment after, his expression becoming more indifferent. "Either way, it's nothing that can possibly pose a threat to us. Just a slight oddity the compass managed to pick up on."

Xun put a hand to her chin in a pondering manner and pressed on, asking Senior Brother Fang, "Still, wouldn't this mean someone else already got to this cave since the compass is picking up on those auras at this very spot?"

Both Senior Brother Fang and Tang began to ponder it over.

Immediate questions started to rise in Senior Brother Tang's mind the more he thought it over. "I….don't think that is possible. It's more likely whoever was here must've just passed by or searched around here. It took countless years for Sect Master to gain this compass. And without, there isn't a single expert that can uncover treasure as well as this thing can."

His words resonate in everyone else's minds, and Senior Brother Fang was inclined to agree.

However, a sharp glint still nestled within Senior Brother Fang's eyes. He's aware of one other potentially threatening possibility.

"Don't forget Brother Tang, Sect Master only got this compass by extreme luck. Nothing is impossible, and I wouldn't pass a group somehow finding out this place first. After all, these Woods directly connect to Pearlcrest City. There are just too many unknown variables at that place." Senior Brother Fang cautiously reminded.

"Heh! Isn't this too much of a coedicine then?" Xian loudly snorted.

Her tone was completely casual as she shrugged her shoulders while saying, "The very day we plan to go here, some other group had conveniently shown up first….that's undoubtedly suspicious. But, either way, since they're not a threat Senior Brother Fang, we shouldn't care too much. And if there's someone already here, we'll just kill them off."

Senior Brother Fang and Tang were indifferent to Xian's ruthless reasoning while Xun released a slight sigh.

Xun didn't deny Xian's reasoning, but she still told her, "You really can't let anyone off, huh? Although, for the sake of this mission, the cruelest route is our only option."

A devious smirk curled up Xian's lips. Right when she was about to reply, Senior Brother Fang cut her off, telling them,

"No matter what, don't let your guard down completely. Whatever is inside the spatial teleportation portal here can pose a threat to us. So nobody do anything hasty."

Nobody raised any disagreement to Senior Brother Fang's cautious reminder and seriously nodded to him. All of them were as confident as they are cautious.

After taking one last look over of the whole area, Senior Brother Fang began to lead his group inside the dark cave.

….

"Nnng….god…."

Asher, Reese, Kylee, and Elsa were all leaking slight groans of confusion. They all were rapidly blinking their eyes as their vision was completely blurry.

None of them were even sure what happened to them, but they needed to get a quick hold of themselves.

After crossing into that gray energy substance, Asher, Reese, Kylee, and Elsa all felt some strange form of power wash over their bodies. It forced them all to shut their eyes tight as they were then hit with a sudden wave of disorientation.

The feeling of hard-hitting disorientation didn't last long, however. After what seemed like a few seconds, Asher, Reese, Kylee, and Elsa felt that wave of power disappear.

This had then led to their current confused state.

"Wh-what just happened??" Kylee was the first to speak up.

She almost felt spitting out slight bile from just how abrupt that sudden power shift was.

"It's almost like we were….uhm….guys? I don't think we're in that cave any more." Reese had suddenly gone rigid as his eyes adjusted to their current scenery.

For a brief moment, Asher, Kylee, and Elsa were confused by his words. But as they too adjusted their vision, they also went rigid in utter shock.

Just like Reese said, they weren't in the cave anymore.

Surrounding them now were incredibly rusted stone gray walls that looked like they had been rugged down after dozens of years.

The whole general design of this place reminded Asher of some long-lost underground tomb. There were signs of catastrophic battles littering the entire room. On the floor and walls were either several meters deep holes, pieces of rusted metals that were once a part of different kinds of weapons, and rusted, dried blood.

Not only did this area look ominous, but there was also a certain stench that Asher and the others swiftly caught on to.

Elsa began to scrunch up her nose as the stench was quite foul. It reminded her of something that smelled worse than even rotting or molded trash.

"Seems like we aren't the only daring individuals that wanted to test their luck," Elsa commented as she put a hand to her nose.

Reese and Kylee followed in her steps, putting a hand at their noise to lessen this foul odor. And as they did so, Reese noticed something else that made his heart sink a bit.

"Holy shi-look! Actual skeletons bones! This is only serving to make this place that more fucking creepy." Reese's voice had a slight edge while talking.

As he pointed out, everyone else also notices the scattered parts of skeleton bones. Some bones looked like they came from a human, while others just seemed too strange to be a human.

"Yea….I already don't want to stay any longer in this place than necessary." Kylee was also swept by the ominously eerie atmosphere of this underground tomb.

All the while they discussed, Asher was barely affected by this room. The stench, the remnant of death, he treated it all with plain indifference.

Asher only kept his mind focus on searching where to go next, and soon enough, he spotted the exit.

It was then Asher also noticed this room was quite spacious. Just several hundred feet in front of him was a large opening that appeared to be their only way to go.

Of course, Asher had his suspicions on if this was the proper exit. But it wasn't like they had any other options.

"Let's just ignore the scenery and keep our eyes on the prize. Up there, it's our only exit." Asher spoke up, gaining Reese, Kylee, and Elsa's attention over to the exit.

"R-right." Reese and Kylee had slight shaky voices.

They weren't like Asher, who already had a firm steel mindset for the cruelty of the world. All they could do now was force down the rising bile within their throats.

"Ok. I'll be sure to act at any sign of danger."

Elsa was entirely calm and focused. After all she's been through the last two days, Elsa found she could have a more relaxed mind within these chilling situations.

With one last nod, Asher took the lead and began leading everyone towards the single exit.

Asher, Reese, Kylee, and Elsa stuck close to each other, all of them highly aware of the first sign of trouble.

Because this was uncharted territory, Asher didn't dare to brazenly dash through here. Instead, he and everyone else walked at a slow, cautious pace.

As they slowly traversed, nobody picked up anything within their Aura Sense.

But when Asher's group had reached fifty feet within this room, they all witnessed the scattered skeletons' parts starting to tremble!

"Shit, everyone! Don't move!" Asher immediately ordered when seeing the skeletons' parts move on their own.

Instantly, Asher, Reese, Kylee, and Elsa stayed rooted to their spots. Then, not even a half-second later, they all went rigid in sudden dread. At this moment, everyone could sense a sudden rush of energy gathering throughout the room!

And this gathering of energy immediately made everyone experience an explosion of anxiety.

"Th-this energy! It's-It's like Origin Mana but at the same time…." Asher started off explaining.

"It's like Origin Mana because this energy is at the half-step realm."

And Elsa finished off the explanation. As she talked, Elsa was swiftly surging her Origin Mana energy throughout her body. She was ready to act on a moment's notice.

"Sh-should we just make a run for it?" Kylee suggested though she stayed rooted to her spot.

Asher briefly contemplated the idea before quickly shaking his head.

Origin Mana energy was flowing through the whole room. However, there wasn't any clear individual presence that was causing this phenomenon, meaning they could potentially be struck by anything unexpected.

And Asher didn't want to take a single risk that may cost them serious injuries. However, Asher and the others didn't have to wait long for an enemy to come.

Only a few seconds after the Origin Mana energy formed, the trembling skeleton's parts all began to fly out of their place.

Every single skeleton part flew towards the only exit to the room.

Then, at what Asher could only describe as lightning speeds, the skeleton parts accurately combined together to form a single entity.

"Wh-what the hell is that?!" Reese and Kylee were utterly stunned as they gazed at the giant figure before them.

All in mere seconds, standing just hundreds of feet away from Asher's group, was an enormous figure made up entirely of skeleton bones.

The way the skeleton figure formed itself looked exactly like any human skeleton shape. The distinct difference was the fact this skeleton creature stood over nine feet tall and had a radiant white glow within its empty bone eye sockets!

However, the most terrifying aspect of this skeleton creature was its unfathomable aura. Like Elsa said, the skeleton creature wielded an incomplete Origin Aura because it was only at the half-step realm.

But, despite just being at the half-step Origin Tier realm, Asher could sense its Origin Aura was nearly equal to the opponents Elsa fought within the Burning Night Pit Organization!

The very second the skeleton creature finished forming, Asher, Reese, and Kylee felt tremendous pressure. Even with their Origin Cloaks, they felt like they were getting slowly crushed by a mountain-like force.

"Do not move. I will quickly finish this."

But right then, before Asher could think of a plan, before the skeleton creature conscious even came to it, Elsa's ice-cold voice blared out in the room.

At the same time she spoke, Elsa dashed forward at lightning speeds, becoming an Icy blue light within the air.