Secret Passage

However it was also critical that Minos knew Klefin's strength, otherwise he might end up losing both the eggs and the basket.

Since that was the case, he would hit a blow with the power of the Third Life Lock. Minos quickly powered up his punch before releasing with full power.

The punch rocketed forward, landing firmly in the palms of Klefin, who was suddenly shocked by the unexpected power, and stumbled back slightly.

Minos clutched his knees as he sweated and breathed heavily, acting as if such a punch was extremely strenuous for him to pull off.

Klefin thought Minos was at best the Second Life Lock layer, but that blow clearly had the strength of the Third Life Lock, but seeing how tired Minos was as he pulled it off, he quickly calmed down again, thinking such a punch must be a special move of Minos's.

"Good, you're stronger than I expected. Since that's the case, we have even less to worry about."

While Klefin was testing Minos's strength, Minos was naturally doing the same. Based on the way Klefin reacted to that punch, he was at the Fourth Life Lock, definitely not the fifth.

A Fifth Life Lock layer cultivator would be as sturdy as a rock given the strength of Minos's blow, whereas a Third Life Lock would have at the least been injured, and Klefin was right in the middle.

Taking that into account, Minos knew he had nothing to worry about. Of course, he still had an array of talisman's he could use in the worst case scenario.

"Why can't we go into the secret passage right now." Beetus suddenly asked from the side.

"The lava is still too dense at the moment. Only once it erupts and the levels lower, can we safely enter." Devro replied.

Beetus simply nodded, taking the answer at face value. Had he been smarter, he would have been suspicious as to why Devro knew such a thing despite him supposedly being an impromptu member of the team as well.

Minos noticed Devro's mistake immediately, but it didn't matter anymore since he long since knew the group's scheme.

Minos also realized that the group hadn't once asked for his name, which further made it clear that they never saw him as a teammate, but just another walking treasure chest.

…

With the plan being made and the strength tested, the group began waiting in silence. Minos looked towards the volcano, occasionally putting his ear against the earth to see if he could hear any rumbling.

The tremors were weak at first, and Minos could barely hear them, but as time passed, they got stronger and stronger. Eventually the entire earth began to quake lightly, making it abundantly clear what was about to happen.

Almost on cue, the volcano began rumbling, the pressure escaping from the opening created a sharp hissing sound, like a million snakes screaming all at once.

Ash and dust kept escaping from the top, the occasional explosion sounding off as magma bubbles exploded, sending small spurts of lava out into the world.

One unfortunate spectator got splashed by a bullet of lava, which quickly ate through his flesh, like plastic left under the heat of the sun for too long.

His skin began to fester and melt off, the screams of anguish and pain could make even the most hardened warrior shudder.

Minos couldn't help but recoil back slightly as he watched the life slowly escape from the man's body. The dense dark orange aura of fear grew exponentially stronger as the terror of death set on the man's face.

Eventually the aura got so strong that it began infecting the emotions of those around the man, with their auras being tinted the same color.

The man's screams got weaker, and soon enough, he went completely silent. With the vanishing of his voice, his aura also disappeared, signaling the end of his life.

Minos learnt something new from watching this, one's emotion, once strong enough, can begin infecting those near them.

What applications such a thing had, Minos still wasn't sure, but at the very least, such a gruesome sight taught him something.

The entire area that was once filled with sounds of enthusiasm similarly went quiet as the man's life ended. The danger of the situation finally setting in, reminding everyone this was reality, not a game.

The fact was, even an Inner Heaven cultivator would die if they were hit by a ball of lava right to the chest, so no one here was safe.

Even the strongest people in the crowd had to raise their guards, keeping their eyes on the volcano to catch any errant lava orbs.

Minos also raised his guard to the peak, keeping his vision steady on the volcano. As time passed, the explosions got louder, and the ash clouds escaping from the opening got denser and larger.

Soon enough, lava began spilling from the edges, running down the sides of the mountainous volcano.

With a sudden massive explosion, a huge stream of lava shot directly from the top of the volcano. Thousands of flaming rock bullets rocketed out along with it.

Minos and his group quickly took guard behind a large tree. Occasionally looking out, one could catch a person being pelted by a rock bullet, usually dying instantly.

Life's kept expiring as the cataclysmic event constantly reaped new souls. Under Klefin's lead, the group headed towards the secret tunnel, using the foliage of the tropical island as shields.

Minos followed in silence as the group kept getting closer to the volcano, eventually coming along one side of it that was hidden amongst the dense trees and shrubs.

Klefin looked around for a moment before finding what he was looking for, a giant boulder. Using his Fourth Life Lock layer cultivation, he pushed the boulder to the side, revealing a human-sized entrance into the volcano.

As the path was revealed, a dense heat escaped from inside, hitting Minos right in the face. It was akin to opening a steaming pot of water too close to your face, but dozens of time's stronger.

Fortunately with Minos's cultivation, it was nothing more than a minor irritation. The others also flinched as they were assaulted by the heat.

Soon enough the group got used to the heat, and with Klefin taking the lead, they entered into the dark tunnel.

Klefin quickly took out a prepared torch, and with a quick strike on the wall, the torch ignited, giving the depressing tunnel a splash of light.

As they got deeper into the cave, Minos noticed Klefin's aura began getting tainted by a black color, making it clear he was ready to strike.

Minos was near the top of the group, right behind Klefin, meanwhile, Devro and Rolf were at the very end, keeping Beetus and Minos locked in between the three of them.

Since it was obvious what was going to happen at this point, Minos wouldn't waste any time. Without even turning around he kicked out backwards, hitting Beetus hard in the shin.

Beetus was caught completely off guard, and stumbled towards the floor. Rolf and Devro stopped as they saw Beetus fall, assuming he had tripped on something, meanwhile Klefin turned around as he heard the sound.

The three's guards lowered as they were focusing their attention on Beetus, completely ignoring Minos.

Minos wouldn't waste the opportunity, both hands reaching into his robe, pulling out two Ice Shard Talisman's. He aimed them directly at Rolf and Devro's chest, making them harder to avoid.

In the same moment, without even paying attention to the results of the attack, Minos rotated his body with his full force, doing a roundhouse kick aimed directly at Klefin's head.

'Shining Kick Through Planet'

Minos used his strongest attack with no reservations, the kick that was twice as fast as a normal one quickly reached Klefin's temple.

The speed was so fast that even though Klefin had long since reacted, his body simply couldn't keep up. Had he had his guard up from the start, while he wouldn't likely be able to avoid the dodge, he could have at least blocked it.

However not only had he long since cemented Minos's strength in his mind, giving himself a false safety net, he was also distracted by Beetus's tumble, lowering his guard to the bottom.

The kick landed directly on his temple, shattering his skull with absolute ease. Had the kick landed anywhere else, he may have survived, but the temple was the weakest part of the skull.

The blow quickly tore through the thin bone defense, bouncing around inside Klefin's cranium, turning his brain into mush.

Meanwhile, Rolf and Devro were also caught off guard by the sudden ice shards. Devro was slightly stronger, and managed to shift his body, letting the shard hit his shoulder rather than his chest.

Rolf wasn't as fortunate, the ice shard landing directly on his chest, leaving a gaping hole directly in the center of his body.

His corpse collapsed onto the floor at the same time as Klefin's. At this point, only Beetus and Devro were alive.

Beetus was still completely caught off guard by the Minos's sudden attack, not yet reacting. Meanwhile, Devro didn't even look back as he escaped, not at all caring about Klefin or Rolf.

Minos naturally wouldn't let him leave. With his fourth layer cultivation, how could the third layer Devro escape?

With a quick burst of speed, Minos arrived at Devro's back. Without holding back at all, he released a full powered punch directly into the back of Devro's skull.

The blow landed precisely, causing Devro's head to explode. Shards of bone and pieces of brain pulp scattered onto the cave's wall's, floor, and ceiling.