They held the command flag high at their chests, their eyes fixed on the square stone platform in front of them, motionless as if in deep meditation.
Leo, hidden in the shadows, knew that these individuals were setting up a formation, though he was unsure of the specifics.
At this moment, Leo dared not use his Divine Awareness to probe, as it might alert them prematurely.
His goal was to kill the Curse King, but he couldn’t determine who exactly the Curse King was.
After the coffin landed on the square stone platform, the elder of the Witch Sect glanced around the entire scene before muttering something incomprehensible.
Instantly, everyone in the room became excited, letting out several crazed shouts one after another.
The three members of the Witch Sect, the four from the Five Poison Sect, and the four from the Ghost Sect all rose from the ground, their gazes fixed on the elder of the Witch Sect.
The elder nodded, and then all twelve of them simultaneously formed the same symbol, directing it towards the black coffin on the square stone platform.
The twelve symbols transformed into twelve black lights, striking the coffin simultaneously. With a loud bang, the coffin lid flew off, shattering in mid-air and falling to the ground in pieces.
Some fragments of the coffin lid even landed on the heads of the individuals holding the command flags, causing blood to immediately trickle down their faces. However, these individuals remained motionless, their faces still displaying devout expressions.
After the coffin lid shattered, the coffin walls opened from all sides, revealing a massive figure.
This massive figure was not decayed but appeared mummified, with muscles completely desiccated like gray stone.
The colossal figure stood at least three meters tall, with eyes, nose, and mouth from the chest to the abdomen, devoid of a head on its neck. Its appearance resembled Jairo from ancient mythology.
It seemed these individuals were indeed preparing to revive the ancient war god Jairo, and Leo, hidden in the shadows, was finding it increasingly difficult to contain himself.
His purpose was to kill the Curse King, but if Jairo were to be resurrected, Leo feared he might lose the opportunity to kill the Curse King.
Failing the mission raised the question of whether he could escape from the program with his consciousness.
Before Leo could devise a plan to strike successfully, the situation in the arena began to change.
Forty-nine individuals on the high platform, with the command flag in their left hand, simultaneously reached for a dagger at their waist with their right hand, and plunged it into their hearts simultaneously.
Even though this was a virtual program, being immersed in it made it indistinguishable from reality.
This scene sent shivers down Leo’s spine, causing his facial muscles to tremble involuntarily.
Blood dripped down from the dagger, passing through their right hands and falling to the ground, collecting in a groove at their feet.
As the pressure from their hands increased, the drip of blood turned into a flow, like a stream of water.
Despite the profuse bleeding, the forty-nine individuals showed no sign of pain on their faces, not even glancing down.
The blood pooled in the groove before flowing towards the square stone platform ahead.
Forty-nine streams of blood simultaneously climbed the square stone platform and entered the body of Jairo on the platform.
As the blood entered, the petrified body of Jairo began to slowly transform, with muscles visibly regenerating at a rapid pace.
At the same time, the leader of the Witch Sect retrieved a small clay jar from his person, then extended his right hand forward, allowing a milky-white light to arc over and land on the square stone platform.
Upon closer inspection, a small insect appeared at the neck of Jairo on the stone platform. The insect rapidly grew in size, eventually transforming into a large worm, resembling a milky-white maggot.
Leo knew that this was not a maggot but a Curse released by the Witch Sect, judging by its size, it appeared to be the Curse King.
After the Curse insect enlarged, cries of agony echoed from below the platform, followed by a series of thuds, sounding like watermelons being smashed from a height.
Turning his head, Leo saw five Miao People’s heads exploding on the high platform, each releasing a toad, spider, scorpion, snake, and centipede respectively from their heads.
After the five Miao People died in such a gruesome manner and fell to the ground, the onlookers didn’t even spare them a glance.
The five poisonous creatures began crawling towards the platform, ascending it and surrounding the colossal Curse insect.
The five poisons did not attack the Curse insect. Instead, the Curse insect extended a crimson proboscis, smelled each of the five poisons, and then, seemingly defenseless, suddenly opened its mouth, filled with fangs, and swallowed the toad in one gulp.
Following were the spider, scorpion, snake, and finally the centipede.
The formidable five poisons, faced with the bloated Curse insect, were surprisingly powerless.
Or rather, they showed no resistance at all; it seemed as if they were climbing up to be consumed by the Curse insect.
After devouring the five poisons, the Curse insect began to undergo a transformation.
Quickly, it morphed into a shape resembling a human head, except this head lacked eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
At that moment, the leader of the Ghost Sect made a move.
He retrieved a jade-like object from his person and threw it towards the square stone platform. Simultaneously, he rapidly formed a seal with his left hand, sending a seal strike towards it.
The jade transformed into a giant skull with a flash of black light in the air.
The skull flew above the now-human-headed Curse insect on the platform, adjusted its trajectory, and slowly descended towards the Curse insect.
The leader of the Ghost Sect held a seal with his left hand, his lips moving incessantly, uttering a series of convoluted incantations that reverberated throughout the hall.
The leader of the Ghost Sect seemed to be struggling, trembling as the skull descended. His complexion, originally waxen, began to darken.
Leo understood that once the skull merged completely with the human-headed Curse insect, Jairo’s head would be formed.
Once the head was integrated with Jairo’s body, Jairo would likely be fully resurrected.
Simultaneously, Leo realized that the Curse King referred to was not a person but the humanoid Curse insect on the square stone platform!
Gathering his energy, an ice-cold dagger materialized in Leo’s hand.
With a flash of cold light, the dagger flew out from Leo’s hand, aiming directly at the airborne skull.
The skull, incredibly sturdy, was not shattered by the dagger but simply sent flying.
As the skull was propelled away, the leader of the Ghost Sect spat out dark blood and nearly stumbled, clearly sustaining a severe injury.
The leader of the Witch Sect turned pale, growling, “Who did this!?”
Leo emerged from his hidden corner, leaping gracefully onto the high platform, exuding a surge of Spiritual Power.
“Who are you?” demanded the leader of the Witch Sect, his expression grave, as he coldly questioned Leo.
Leo replied, “My mission is to kill the Curse King. You meddling programs should stay out of it; otherwise, be prepared for me to eliminate all of you!”