“Billy!” Seeing Billy, Harleen and the others approached.
“Any discoveries?” Billy asked.
“There’s a cave down there. It seems unusual, with a strong oppressive aura at the entrance!” Harleen pointed towards the cliff.
“We wanted to go inside, but there’s an array at the entrance that we can’t get through!”
“Oh?” Billy raised an eyebrow.
“The array is complex. I couldn’t find the array eye in a short time,” Ivy added.
“Casey, send a message to Elder Samuel and the Grand Elder. Have them come over,” Billy instructed Casey with a nod.
“Alright!” Casey took out a sound transmission stone.
“Let’s go down and take a look first!” After Casey sent the message, Billy led the four of them down to the bottom of the cliff.
The cliff wasn’t very high, about a hundred meters. Soon, they reached the bottom.
Billy looked around and saw a moderately sized cave entrance not far away.
As Casey had said, even standing several hundred meters away, he could sense a strong oppressive aura emanating from the cave entrance.
Additionally, ripples were visible at the entrance, indicating some sort of barrier.
“This array is not simple. Stout and I attacked it together, but it showed no signs of damage,” Casey said, pointing towards the entrance.
“Alright!” Billy nodded. “The array is complex. Give me some time.”
He then released his spiritual power to start analyzing the formation lines.
The array was indeed complex. It took nearly half an hour to locate the array eye.
“Mr. Billy!” At this moment, Mitchell Monroe and Samuel arrived one after another.
“Grand Elder, Elder Samuel!” Billy nodded to them and explained the situation.
About ten minutes later, with Ivy’s assistance, Billy destroyed the array eye.
Stout then punched out, shattering the barrier at the entrance, and they all walked into the cave.
As they entered, Stout and Casey couldn’t help but gasp.
The oppressive aura inside was several times stronger than outside, making it difficult for them to move forward.
After about twenty minutes of walking, their eyes brightened.
Ahead was a large space, covering thousands of square meters and about twenty to thirty meters high.
To their surprise, in the center of the space was a stone platform about twenty meters wide and long.
On each of the four sides of the platform sat a well-preserved corpse in a cross-legged position.
“Could these be the four masters from a thousand years ago?” Stout said as they approached the platform.
“Most likely,” Mitchell Monroe replied.
“How did they end up here?” Stout asked again.
“They were probably severely injured and knew their time was short, so they fled here together,” Samuel speculated.
“They set up an array at the entrance to prevent the Netherworld Clan’s leader from taking their bloodline.”
“That seems to be the only explanation,” Stout said, his eyes lighting up.
He had already fixed his gaze on a storage ring on one of the corpses’ hands!
He then knelt before the corpse and said, “Senior, since you have already fallen, leaving this storage ring here is a waste. I’ll take it now; please don’t mind.”
After saying that, he kowtowed three times and reached for the storage ring.
As soon as his hand touched the ring, the corpse turned to dust.
At the same time, a powerful aura burst from the storage ring and quickly entered Stout’s body.
The entire process happened in an instant. By the time Billy and the others reacted, everything had returned to normal.
They turned to look at Stout.
At this moment, he looked similar to when Billy had refined the Netherworld Clan leader’s soul. Veins bulged on his forehead, pain was evident on his face, and his aura was extremely chaotic.
“What the hell is happening!” Stout shouted in pain.
“It must be the remnant soul of that strong individual!” Mitchell Monroe said.
“Stout, sit down cross-legged. I’ll help you!” Billy said.
“Alright!” Stout responded and sat down.
“Mr. Billy, let me do it,” Mitchell Monroe said as he moved behind Stout.
He placed his hand on Stout’s head. “Stout, let me control your body!”
“Okay!” Stout gritted his teeth and replied.
Mitchell Monroe then began helping Stout refine the powerful soul within him.
The process took about an hour before Stout’s condition stabilized.
“Alright, Stout. Now circulate your energy once more,” Mitchell Monroe said as he removed his hand.
“Got it!” Stout complied.
After another ten minutes or so, Stout returned to normal and stood up.
“Huh?!” Stout seemed to realize something and frowned. “Grand Elder, why hasn’t my cultivation level changed at all?!”
Billy and the others had also thought of this question and were puzzled.
“You are already at half-step Perfection Emptiness Realm. To advance further, you must undergo Thunder Tribulation,” Mitchell Monroe explained.
“But don’t worry. The energy from that soul has been fully refined by your body. Once you successfully undergo tribulation, it will manifest!”
“And given your current state, undergoing Thunder Tribulation should be easy.”
“Really?” Stout was surprised. “If I succeed in tribulation, will I advance more than one level?”
“Most likely,” Mitchell Monroe nodded.
“I see!” Stout replied with a pout.
“Mr. Billy, it seems that there are also remnant souls in the other three strong individuals,” Mitchell Monroe suggested. “Should we let Lady Harleen and the others…”
“Grand Elder, wouldn’t these strong souls also benefit you and Elder Samuel?” Billy interrupted him.
“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Billy,” Mitchell Monroe replied.
“But these strong individuals were only at late-stage Breaking Emptiness Realm at their peak. Their remnant souls can significantly help those below Perfection Emptiness Realm but are of little use to those at Breaking Emptiness Realm.”
“That’s true,” Samuel nodded in agreement.
“Understood!” Billy then turned to Harleen and the others. “Harleen, why don’t you, Ivy, and Casey give it a try?”
“Alright!” The three nodded simultaneously.
What followed was predictable.
Just like Stout earlier, each of them kowtowed three times before one of the corpses. As soon as they touched the storage rings, an aura entered their bodies.
Billy, Mitchell Monroe, and Samuel then each helped one of them refine the souls within their bodies.
One or two hours later, Harleen and Ivy both emitted powerful auras as their cultivation levels broke through without any suspense.
Harleen advanced to fifth-rank Perfection Emptiness Realm while Ivy stepped into fourth-rank Holy Realm.
Casey, like Stout, saw no change in her cultivation level because she had not yet undergone Thunder Tribulation.