"Get down!"


    Wilbur shouted amidst the quaking, and everyone scrambled to lie on the ground. Aite grumbled, "What the hell is this, huh?"


    Just then, a huge rock fell from mid-air, falling down toward Aite.


    "Aite!"


    Eli threw himself on top of his brother instinctively. Wilbur dashed in front of the two brothers, summoned his thunder cleaver, and struck the rock with it. The ck aura blew the rock into countless tiny pebbles, scattering them into the waters below the passage with a series of sshes.


    Following that, countless giant rocks appeared and fell from above. Wilbur raised his hand, the Light Gloves emitting a white glow that enveloped his body and formed a glowing white shield.


    "Argh!"


    Wilbur roared out in fury, and the shield began to spread. It was not long before all the explorers were covered inside it, and the huge rocks that struck the shield were reduced to dust at once. The other rocks fell down the sides of the passage, sshing into the waters.


    A whileter, the rocks stopped falling and the air was quiet once more. All of a sudden, one huge rock fell and struck the beginning of the passage right behind the metal door.


    There was a loud rumble, and a crack appeared in the passage, spreading over quickly. It passed under Wilbur and others'' feet in no time, reaching the podium at the end.


    Vernon was in shock. "What do we do now, Mister Penn?"


    Eli said, "Mister Penn, you''re a cultivator?"


    "Yes, I am."


    Wilbur did not want to expose his identity, but that seemed pointless now.


    Just then, Kean shouted, "Look! What''s that?"


    The men peered down into the waters below. One by one, armed soldiers appeared out of the waters as they charged, striking the rocks that had fallen to pieces.


    "They''re so powerful," Wilbur marveled.


    Wilbur''s gaze sharpened the next second, and he realized a problem. Anyone walking in water would be automatically slowed down, and these waters looked at least several meters deep. These soldiers, however, seemed to be wading through the waters with ease.


    What on earth was really going on here?


    Wilbur was confused, but Vernon shouted, "Look up there! What''s that?"


    Everyone looked up to see that a dozen or so branches of the giant tree had turned into human-like figures in mid-air. They looked like soldiers with swords in their hands, hovering in mid-air like puppets. All of a sudden, they began charging toward where the explorers were.


    The soldier in front struck the light shield with his sword, but the sword turned to dust as soon as it came into contact with the shield. It was not long before the soldier himself was reduced to dust as well.


    The rest of the tree-soldiers pounced but were all turned to dust too. There was only a dozen or so branches left when an ancient old voice rasped in Wilbur''s consciousness saying, "It appears that the enchantment spell does not work on you, young cultivator. I can spare your life, but you need to leave your otherpanions here behind."