Scammed!

Elder Bai's smile was so genuine that it pierced an arrow through his heart, "You'll use this power to protect others, not for selfish gain. That's why I trust you with it."

'Protect others?' Su Xiaobai could barely suppress his laughter. 'The only thing I'll be protecting is my own ass!'

But his outward expression was perfect. His lips formed a modest smile as he bowed slightly. "Thank you for your faith in me, Elder. I will strive to live up to your expectations."

'Live up to it? Pfft. Sure, once I've finished using all your resources!'

Elder Bai nodded approvingly, turning back to the chest. Her hand hovered over it once more, and with a soft click, the chest opened. A faint glow radiated from within, and the disciples held their breath, waiting to see what treasures awaited them.

Su Xiaobai's heart leapt into his throat. 'Finally! Come to papa, my precious little treasures... let's see what I'm going to be using to wreck everyone around me!'

But he maintained his polite, wide-eyed look of awe, even as his mind raced with greed. He was already planning his next moves. Whatever was inside, he'd use it to grow stronger, faster. More power. More control. 'Fuck humility,' he thought, barely able to contain himself. 'Power's what matters.'

Elder Bai's smile softened again as she glanced back at him, mistaking his eagerness for youthful innocence. 'Such a good heart,' she thought. 'He'll go far with that kind of mindset.'

'Yeah, far enough to rip everyone apart,' Su Xiaobai thought with a barely concealed innocent evil smile.

Rumble... Rumble...

The treasure chest began to shake violently, and a sudden gust of wind swept through the chamber.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

As the lid cracked open, a thick, dark miasma poured out, spilling into the air like ink seeping into water.

The temperature in the room dropped instantly, the light fading under the oppressive fog.

Su Xiaobai's face darkened, his earlier excitement replaced by cursings, 'Another trap?'

'What the hell did they put in this thing?'

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The dark mist slithered across the floor, thickening by the second, twisting and coiling like living shadows.

Elder Bai's serene expression faltered for the first time. "What...?" she whispered, her hand still hovering over the chest, clearly not expecting this.

"Take formations!" Liu Zhenhai yelled, his voice filled with urgency. His body tensed, instinctively leaping into a defensive stance as the miasma swallowed the room, turning everything into a suffocating, black fog.

Su Xiaobai barely had time to process Liu Zhenhai's words before the stench of decay hit him like a punch to the gut.

Bam!

The smell was overwhelming—rotting flesh, death, and something far worse than anything he'd ever experienced.

"Ugh..."

He staggered, nearly choking on the vile air.

And then, through the thick fog, he saw them.

Predatory eyes began glowing in the shadows. Thousands of them. Red, glowing orbs filled the dark, their eerie light piercing through the miasma like beacons of death.

The outline of twisted figures began to emerge from the blackness. Ghouls. Legions of them, their mouths hanging open with fangs exposed, their pale, decaying skin barely clinging to their skeletal forms.

Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!

"Grrrr...."

"Grrr..."

The sound of claws scraping against stone filled the chamber, followed by low growls that echoed off the walls.

Su Xiaobai's eyes widened as he realized the sheer number of them, surrounding them, watching with their ravenous, glowing eyes.

'Fuck.'

"Prepare yourselves!" Liu Zhenhai shouted, his sword already drawn, the edges glowing with a faint light as he readied for combat.

The treasure chest was a scam!

Su Xiaobai's face twisted in disbelief. 'Of course. Of fucking course.' The excitement he'd felt moments ago vanished, replaced by sheer frustration and fear as the dark miasma turned him blind, the ghouls closing in.

This was never about treasure—just another damn trap.

Without a second thought, he made a decision. 'Fuck this! I'm out!' He spun on his heels and bolted toward the edge of the chamber.

He wasn't strong enough to deal with this mess—let alone with thousands of ghouls crawling out of the shadows.

The fact that Elder Bai and the others were busy trying to manage the chaos only made things worse.

'And there's no way in hell I'm sticking around with Lan Meiyu here. What if she "accidentally" slits my throat in the chaos?' He shuddered at the thought. 'She probably still thinks I'm guilty. Fucking psycho.'

He glanced over his shoulder briefly—Elder Bai was fully focused on organizing the disciples, her aura pushing back against the ghouls. 'Perfect,' Su Xiaobai thought, smirking despite the situation. 'She's too busy to notice I'm gone.'

The void cracks shimmered on the edge of his vision, beckoning him. Without hesitation, he ran toward them.

The swirling distortions in the air flickered with a familiar energy. 'Come on, take me anywhere but here!'

Whoosh!

He plunged into the void crack, the world around him warping and twisting as the dark miasma was replaced by swirling light.

His body was jerked through space, tumbling weightlessly for what felt like an eternity, until finally—

Thud!

"Aghh... It didn't collapse..."

Su Xiaobai stood up, dusting himself off, staring at the second chamber in utter disbelief.

The second chamber didn't collapse?

What the actual hell?

He scanned the area cautiously. Everything looked pristine—the water still gleaming, the vast pond still as eerie as before, and in the middle of it, the array remained untouched, glowing faintly.

It was like stepping into a time capsule. Nothing had changed, except the chaos he'd just escaped.

"Wait... Formation..." he muttered to himself, rubbing his chin. "Right... Each chamber had one... We never solved the formation in the second chamber!" His voice grew louder with excitement.

His brain started working overtime as the realization hit him full force.

Holy shit, they totally missed it!

The third chamber collapsed after they solved the formation there... But this one's untouched!

A grin spread across his face, his wicked side surfacing. He quickly dug into his robes, pulling out the silver key he'd picked up from the altar in the third chamber.

It gleamed in the dim light, looking more significant now than when he'd first pocketed it. He stared at it for a moment, then slipped it onto his wrist.

"This must be the key to the formation in this chamber!" His eyes lit up like a kid discovering a secret stash of candy. 'The real treasure... it's been here the whole time!'

His smirk widened as he stared at the array in the middle of the pond. "Everyone's back there getting eaten alive by ghouls, thinking the treasure was in that goddamn chest, while I'm standing here with the key to the real prize...* He chuckled darkly to himself. "I'm either a genius or the luckiest bastard alive...*

He looked down at the key again. "Alright, shiny little thing, show me what you can do.."