The Second Pass.

Compared to the First Pass, it was a little less dilapidated and desolate.

Here, mountain ranges rose and fell, stretching endlessly. Although most were desolate mountains, a few were covered in vegetation, and the pervading Spiritual Charm Qi was much denser than before.

At the Second Pass, atop a desolate mountain.

Ten people stood on a massive Flower Stone, scanning the distance with their Divine Sense.

Ye Wushuang took out his Identity Token and probed it with his Divine Sense, only to see that the faction rankings had undergone another shocking change.

Among the top ten, the Feather Race was ranked first. The Demon Abyss had been surpassed by the Illusion Race and was now in second, while the Celestial Sword Sect had surged to fourth place.

What surprised Ye Wushuang was that the Giant Spirit Clan had already rushed to fifth place, pushing the Fiery Sun Sect down.

Several other Ancient Race factions, previously ranked outside the top ten, had also seized the opportunity to rise, pushing many of the former top ten down the list.

The Ancient Spirit Sect was now in ninth place. This number made Ye Wushuang frown, as he didn’t know what this change in ranking signified.

He knew that the final rankings would only be set in stone after the Battle Platform finals.

But for now, it reflected a simple fact: none of the factions ahead of them would be easy to deal with.

’I wonder which pass Jian Bufan and his group have reached? And those other guys!’ Ye Wushuang’s eyes flickered as he thought of Yang Dingtian and the others. He was well aware that their team had run into a lot of trouble at the First Pass, which had cost them a significant amount of time. ’We need to catch up as quickly as possible.’

"Junior Brother Ye, we need ten thousand points to get from the Second Pass to the Third Pass," Qianling said. "We have enough points to enter. Why don’t we just find the entrance and go right in?"

Qianling rarely spoke, but she knew they couldn’t afford to waste any more time. They had to catch up to the other teams.

Yangg Qing’er, Ye Rou, and Meng Fanx also agreed.

Ye Wushuang mulled it over for a moment, then turned to Dii Qingxue.

Dii Qingxue nodded as well, clearly in agreement. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Seeing that all nine of them agreed, Ye Wushuang didn’t act autocratically. After all, they were a team. He couldn’t just do as he pleased like before; he had to consider everyone.

Chengg Tao said, "We’re in the north right now, and the entrance is in the center. If we fly there directly, we’ll save a lot of time."

Dii Qingxue reminded them, "In the Ninth Pass, besides the other teams, there are also Demon Beasts and Barbaric Beasts lying in wait. Flying makes us too big of a target. We might get ambushed."

Meng Fanx added, "That’s right. I’ve heard that before. The Ninth Pass is the Relic Continent. It doesn’t just contain ruins; there are also Demon Beasts in hiding. The danger is concealed, so we have to be careful."

Ye Wushuang thought for a moment before saying, "How about this: we’ll travel on foot, but we’ll move faster. As for security, Qing’er, Senior Sister Qianling, and I will scout ahead. My sister and Senior Sister Qingxue will cover our rear. Meng Fanx, Chengg Tao, and the rest of you will cover the flanks."

"Alright!"

Everyone nodded and focused on their assigned sectors, reducing any oversights. This way, they could immediately detect a threat from any direction.

With that, Ye Wushuang and his team left the mountain peak and headed toward the center of the Second Pass.

Along the way, they encountered far fewer teams than they had in the First Pass.

Layer by layer, the weaker contestants were eliminated. Only the powerful teams could advance, and their strength was nothing to scoff at.

Many who saw Ye Wushuang’s team, with only two members at the Spiritual Spring Realm, prepared to attack. They never expected to be discovered early on and get counter-attacked instead.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Chengg Tao, on the right flank, shouted.

Immediately, the expressions of the others turned grim, and they went on alert.

Ye Wushuang also stopped and walked over.

"Captain, there’s the smell of blood to our right." Seeing Ye Wushuang approach, Chengg Tao pointed to a distant canyon.

The canyon connected to a mountain ridge about five hundred meters away from them.

"Are you sure?"

’Chengg Tao can smell blood from five hundred meters away?’

"Captain, my nose is special. I can smell blood and other strange scents from up to three miles away," Chengg Tao said with a chuckle.

"Three miles?"

Ye Wushuang was astonished. Chengg Tao’s ability was truly extraordinary.

"Let’s go take a look," Ye Wushuang called out. The others, curious, followed him.

「Moments later.」

Inside the mountain valley, corpses were indeed strewn across the ground.

A team member behind Meng Fanx said, "This is a team from the Ox Race, an Ancient Race faction. They just died."

"The Ox Race!" Ye Wushuang scanned them with his Divine Sense and stepped forward to investigate closely. He discovered that the corpses’ skin was frothy with blood, and their eyes were bulging. It was a shocking sight, as if they were nothing but skin sacks filled with blood.

Ye Wushuang narrowed his eyes and let out a soft sound of surprise.

"What is it?"

Dii Qingxue walked up to him.

"The way these bodies died is bizarre. They weren’t killed by injuries, but were devoured by something strange," Ye Wushuang said, equally puzzled. ’Logically, if they were devoured, all their blood should have been drained, and their bodies should be shriveled up.’

But now, not a drop of blood was lost. Only their Primordial Power had been completely devoured, without a trace left, as if their bodies had been hollowed out.

"Brother Ye, some people here died from external injuries," Yangg Qing’er suddenly shouted, pointing to a few bodies at the very edge.

Ye Wushuang walked over. There were three corpses before him, two of whom were at the Spiritual Spring Realm. They each had five bloody holes in their heads, their skulls crushed.

Chengg Tao reminded him, "Captain, there’s a similar bloody scent deeper in the canyon."

Ye Wushuang replied, "The ’thing’ that killed these people must have headed deeper into the canyon."

Qianling asked, "Should we go take a look, then?"

’It’s best not to get involved in strange matters like this. Besides, our goal is to get to the center and ascend to the higher passes of the Ninth Pass as quickly as possible. We can’t waste any more time.’

However, just as he was about to make a decision, the Dragon Cat’s voice sounded in his mind, "Kid, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. There’s good stuff here."

’Good stuff?’

Ye Wushuang was taken aback and asked, ’Are you sure there’s something good?’

The Dragon Cat said, "It’s in the mountain ridge further inside. You’ll know when you get there. It can help you all improve your strength by a lot."

’Are you talking about the Earth Spirit Vein?’ An idea suddenly flashed through Ye Wushuang’s mind as he recalled the Earth Spirit Vein and Earth Core Origin that this little guy had mentioned before.

He was also curious about what was so special about those two things.

However, he had no idea what the unknown danger might be. ’Is it worth the risk?’ he wondered inwardly.

"Xiaoshuang, what’s wrong?"

Seeing Ye Wushuang remain silent, the others were confused.

"It can improve everyone’s strength!" Ye Wushuang muttered to himself. Having made up his mind, he said, "Let’s go take a look. We might find something unexpected."

Dii Qingxue’s expression didn’t change, but the others looked grim. They hadn’t figured out what unknown danger had killed these people, so they couldn’t help but feel worried and apprehensive.

However, with Dii Qingxue and Ye Wushuang present, they had some measure of confidence and chose to trust Ye Wushuang’s decision.

"Don’t worry. If there’s any danger, Senior Sister Qingxue and I will be the first to protect you."

Ye Wushuang said, walking toward the canyon. He spread out his Divine Sense, which was far stronger than an ordinary person’s, not daring to be the slightest bit careless.