The scorpion's tail suddenly rose, and the man was left hanging from it.

One of the experts let out a loud shout, and a flash of silver light slashed toward the base of the scorpion's tail, aiming to sever the poisonous stinger—this thing was simply too dangerous.

"Crack!"

This strike actually broke open the base of the scorpion's stinger, creating a fissure. The man exclaimed in delight, "Aim for this spot!"

Before he finished speaking, the scorpion suddenly lunged, its two massive pincers at the front swinging in to crush.

Terrified, the man retreated rapidly. Whether intentionally or not, he pushed the back of the person beside him. That person stumbled forward and was immediately caught by the scorpion's pincers, cut into three pieces in an instant.

The stench of blood filled the air, and the scene turned brutal.

All kinds of weapons and talismans rained down on the scorpion, forcing it to emit desperate screeches. Among the cultivators, one wielded a long metal spear. He suddenly shouted, "Swift!"

In a flash, the spear's silver tip plunged into the scorpion's mouth, sinking halfway in. The scorpion thrashed in agony, its tail stinger stabbing down again.

A person was still impaled on the stinger, and both man and stinger came crashing down. In an instant, the man's chest was pierced through.

Seizing the opportunity, several cultivators leaped onto the scorpion's back. One of them, wielding a giant long-handled axe, brought it down with a mighty swing, severing the stinger in an instant.

Someone shouted, "Good!"

Of the dozen or so cultivators, only two had died. Under the frenzied assault of the others, the scorpion could no longer hold out and was quickly slain. The remaining cultivators immediately gathered around the jade table, their eyes shining.

Four jade boxes—no one knew how many spirit pills were inside.

One cultivator reached out to grab them, only to be blocked by a restriction. Before he could react, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest—a sword tip burst through. Struggling to turn his head, he saw a grinning face: "Did you even ask me before trying to take the spirit pills?"

In an instant, the cultivators split into two factions and began fighting each other.

Charles Bennett kept sneering coldly as he edged closer, muttering under his breath, "Do you want the spirit pills?"

The two cultivators following him had greed flashing in their eyes.

"Yes!"

The fat one truly wanted them. Spirit pills were always rare. Even though he didn't know what kind they were—maybe for healing, maybe for cultivation—he desperately needed them either way.

The one with the braid said, "But we... they won't share with us!"

They hadn't contributed earlier, so they had no reason to get any spirit pills.

Charles Bennett sneered, "Snatch them! If you want them, take them. These are unclaimed goods—why should they get them and not us?"

The phrase "unclaimed goods" immediately swayed both the fat one and the braided one.

The cultivation world was full of unreasonable things. Might made right, and robbery was nothing unusual.

Chapter 13: Encounter

A victor quickly emerged here—the original group of six had the upper hand.

The seven-man team had already lost two to the scorpion, leaving them much weaker. Then, the six joined forces to kill another and injure two more. In such a situation, they simply couldn't hold out and had to retreat, watching helplessly as the six began to break the seal.

At this moment, Charles Bennett and his two companions were already very close.

Just as the seal was broken, Charles Bennett made his move.

A powerful aura swept over them, his flying sword moving like the wind, instantly slicing off the hand reaching for the jade box. He then darted into the crowd, and after a series of terrifying cracks, the six had no chance to resist and were knocked to the ground by Charles Bennett.

Charles Bennett let out a cold laugh and reached out to grab the four jade boxes.

The six were stunned, not even having time to fight back before being beaten to the ground. Sensing Charles Bennett's overwhelming presence, they immediately realized they had encountered a top expert.

They were truly unwilling, and someone shouted, "Who are you?"

Charles Bennett replied with a smile, "Just passing by..."

Before he finished speaking, the eighty-one stone pillars surrounding the plaza suddenly radiated a blinding light. In an instant, countless bizarre insects drifted down from the pillars. The entire plaza transformed, as if it had suddenly become an endless desert.

A chill ran through Charles Bennett's heart. He never imagined this was actually a deadly formation!

A chilling rustling sound arose as the strange insects quickly shifted from phantoms to solid forms. The larger ones were one or two meters tall, the smaller ones only fist-sized, in all sorts of colors and shapes—enough to make one's scalp crawl. Among them were also some bizarre venomous snakes.

With the formation activated, even flying was impossible—they could only fight their way out.

Charles Bennett's expression turned icy. He had been so careful, yet still hadn't expected this to be a trap.

...

William Harris, along with Brian Brooks and Grace Morgan, made their way forward, encountering several more traps along the way. If it weren't for William Harris's exceptional skill and caution, they might have fallen into one.

Fortunately, he managed to avoid them all. One time was especially dangerous, but thanks to Brian Brooks's powerful axe strike, the crisis was averted.