The soldiers quickly joined the battle. Led by Chen Qingzhi, they had a special damage bonus against these monsters, as they were [White Robed Ghost Soldiers], specially arranged by Zhou Yan.
With Bai Qi, Chen Qingzhi, Meng Yi, Wu Song, and Yan Chixia, four heroes, Zhou Yan himself did not need to act to easily defeat these monsters.
After a short battle, these soul monsters dared not appear again. The soldiers picked up the soul boxes from the ground and followed orders.
Zhou Yan pointed to a stone door and said, "We'll attack through this stone door."
Bai Qi nodded and said, "Break this stone door!"
Chen Qingzhi stepped forward, looked at the stone door, then drew his weapon, unleashing powerful spiritual energy that transformed into a massive wave and charged towards the stone door.
"Boom!"
The stone door shattered, and a chilling aura rushed out from the dark passage. Zhou Yan stood before the passage and circulated the "Yin Yang Creation Art" to absorb all of this chilling energy until there was not a trace left.
"Is that all?"
Zhou Yan looked displeased, leaving others speechless at their lord's immense power.
Bai Qi took the lead, followed by Chen Qingzhi and the other heroes. Zhou Yan and the soldiers followed closely behind.
After a few hundred meters, they encountered another stone door, protected by a barrier that ordinary strength could not break.
Zhou Yan examined the stone door. It seemed to be a puzzle with eighty-one pieces that needed to be assembled to open it.
Bai Qi observed for a moment and began to act. Zhou Yan asked, "Do you know how?"
Bai Qi replied, "Reporting to my lord, this pattern resembles our military formations, so I don't foresee any difficulty."
Chen Qingzhi also responded, "My lord, I see it too. It's indeed not difficult."
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "If someone who doesn't understand military formations were here, this puzzle would be very difficult for them."
Before long, the puzzle was completed, and the entire stone door emitted a powerful energy as it began to rise.
As soon as the stone door opened, everyone felt a chill. The temperature dropped significantly. As they entered the massive stone chamber, they took in the scene before them.
Everyone was astonished by what they saw.
The place was vast. In front of them lay thousands upon thousands of coffins, each made of profound ice. At the very center was a profound ice formation that had been running for an unknown number of years, yet remained powerful.
These were likely the people who had been killed and buried here. They were surprised that even these people could be encased in profound ice.
They wondered what kind of treatment the founding emperor, sealed deepest within, would receive.
They were very curious.
"That profound ice formation is quite interesting," Zhou Yan said, looking at the formation. At its core was a very powerful treasure serving as the formation's eye.
"I will retrieve it and present it to my lord," Yan Chixia said to Zhou Yan.
"Alright, but don't freeze into an ice block. That thing is intensely cold," Zhou Yan replied.
"Ah... this..." Yan Chixia hesitated, glancing at the surrounding profound ice coffins, and then said to Zhou Yan, "My lord, I think I'd rather deal with the evil spirits inside these coffins."
Wu Song, upon hearing this, asked, "Are these guys not dead yet?"
"They are dead, but their resentment is strong and remains within their corpses. The evil spirits from before emerged from these bodies," Yan Chixia replied.
"Then why aren't these guys coming out?" Wu Song asked.
"Some are slumbering, and some dare not emerge. But as soon as that formation eye is disturbed, these evil spirits are guaranteed to fly out," Yan Chixia said.
"What are you afraid of? With several generals and the lord here, no matter how many come out, they will be slain," Wu Song said.
"That's true," Yan Chixia nodded.
"My lord, let me go," Bai Qi said.
Zhou Yan nodded. With Bai Qi taking the lead, there would be no problem. These profound ice chills and vengeful spirits could not possibly pose a threat to his Great General Bai Qi.
Bai Qi walked towards the profound ice formation. The moment he stepped into it, the evil spirits within the profound ice coffins began to stir. Everyone waited for these evil spirits to appear.
They readied their weapons, eager to fight. However, the evil spirits merely stirred and then dared not emerge, leaving them feeling rather anticlimactic.
Bai Qi reached the formation's eye, feeling an extreme cold. But as the God of Slaughter, this cold was nothing to him.
He unleashed a terrifying killing aura that enveloped him, as if he had emerged from a sea of corpses and blood.
The surrounding profound ice coffins rattled, and dense evil souls appeared throughout the hall. They all lunged at the soldiers, daring not to approach Bai Qi.
Bai Qi's killing aura terrified the evil souls, so they could only prey on the weaker targets, directly attacking the soldiers.
The soldiers were not afraid; they bravely counter-attacked the evil souls. Yan Chixia also began using Taoist magic, launching attacks at the swarming evil souls.
Some evil souls charged towards Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan unleashed his Yin and Yang energies, but as he did, the evil souls swiftly retreated, daring not to approach him.
"Since you've come, you shall all be annihilated!" He released the Taiji diagram, which enveloped the entire hall. The terrifying Yin and Yang energies permeated the entire chamber.
Then, all the evil souls in the hall began to tremble with fear and unease.
"Annihilate!"
As Zhou Yan spoke, the Yin and Yang energies swept through the hall, and one by one, the evil souls began to dissipate, spreading throughout the hall until they all vanished.
Finally, the Taiji diagram absorbed all the Yin energy from the hall, and Bai Qi removed the formation's eye.
The temperature in the hall began to plummet rapidly.
Countless soul boxes were left on the ground.
The soldiers collected all the soul boxes.
Bai Qi presented the formation's eye to Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan examined the item and said, "Unexpectedly, it's an R-grade treasure. That's not bad."
He looked towards the next passage and said, "There are so many traps ahead."
Bai Qi said, "This humble subordinate is willing to destroy all the traps."
Zhou Yan said, "For this kind of trap, why would you need to act yourself? I have something better."
Then, Zhou Yan took out a bunch of mechanical devices and sent them into the passage.
(Author: Typing this on my phone in the hospital, so the plot and details are not ideal. It will get better after these few days.)