"Zhuge Guang, have you figured anything out?"

Tang Xinhai turned to ask Zhuge Guang: "If I’m not mistaken, this should be a formation, which is the specialty of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect."

"It looks like it should be a formation, but the formation isn’t activated right now, so I can’t see anything clear."

Zhuge Guang shook his head helplessly: "But one thing is certain, it’s very dangerous inside the boundary."

"We don’t need you to say it; that’s just redundant."

Bai Shengqi sneered disdainfully.

"Whatever creatures or humans manage to get here must be very strong, at least not weaker than these mutated monsters. Yet once they enter the boundary, they die. The furthest one managed to get is less than twenty meters, and beyond that, there are no remains. So I conclude the danger inside is enough to cause the fall of a martial general."

Zhuge Guang ignored Bai Shengqi and started an earnest analysis.

Upon hearing something that could cause the fall of a martial general, the group quickly stepped back, fearing they’d be caught in the way.

Tang Ming and Hua Yingjie exchanged a glance, their expressions remaining calm; they had already expected this outcome.

Their group studied the edge of the boundary for quite some time but ended up with nothing.

"The treasure is right in front of us, and I refuse to believe we can’t get it."

After several minutes, Bai Shengqi grew impatient, suddenly reaching out to grab a large rat by the neck and tossing it inside the boundary.

"Whoosh!"

As soon as the rat leaped past the boundary, a black beam shot from the center of the square, pinning the rat to the ground.

"Aw aw aw."

The rat let out a pitiful screech after being struck, its flesh decaying, quickly becoming bare bones, and the black light vanished without a trace.

"This..."

Witnessing this scene, the few were dumbfounded.

The mutated rat’s body was astonishingly strong; even they, these martial generals, would have had a tough time dealing with it, yet it turned to bones in an instant—the terror was palpable.

"Tang Ming, did you catch that?"

Wiping sweat from his brow, Hua Yingjie uncertainly asked Tang Ming.

"No, it was too fast. All I know is it came from within, but couldn’t clearly see what it was."

Tang Ming shook his head truthfully.

Tang Xinhai and the others furrowed their brows as they continued to observe, but unfortunately, no one had a clue.

"Everyone, given the current situation, obtaining the Ancient Poison Crystal Core won’t be possible alone."

At this moment, Bai Shengqi cheerfully suggested to everyone: "How about we cooperate, solve the problem at hand first, and then deal with grievances? What do you all think?"

"Currently, teaming up is indeed the wisest decision, since even if we manage to obtain the Ancient Poison Crystal Core, we still have to deal with the people from the Netherworld Road."

Zhuge Guang nodded in agreement.

"Collaboration is fine, but we need to put forth abilities that earn respect; otherwise, it would be like some people freeloading."

Jinzi raised his brows and voiced opposition.

"Haha, that’s true! I can control monsters to explore the dangers of the square without limit, providing you opportunities for research."

Bai Shengqi laughed proudly.

"I can control monsters too."

Hua Yingjie called out quickly.

"I, coming from the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, am skilled with formations and can unravel mechanical techniques."

Zhuge Guang smiled confidently.

"I can keep you all from..."

"I’m a poison cultivator and can prevent you from being afflicted by the severe poisons here."

Just as Tang Ming was about to speak, Tang Xinhai interjected.

"Damn!"

Tang Ming was speechless and gave Tang Xinhai a look, that guy was stealing his thunder.

"I’m a cross-training cultivator, immune to blades and bullets, fit to be a tank and ahead in crises."

Jinzi raised his hand, cultivating until his skin turned golden.

"I’m not only a martial general but also adept with modern firearms, offering fire support as needed."

Shao Wuchou said with a smile.

"Hey, your functionality seems trivial! You don’t have a single weapon on you, so how would you provide fire support?"

Bai Shengqi looked at Shao Wuchou annoyed, speaking coldly: "For those unable to provide resource sharing, let’s join forces to take them down first, lest they reap benefits without effort."

"Fool! How do you know I don’t have weapons?"

Shao Wuchou sneered dismissively, lifted his right hand into the air, and out came a special long gun over a meter long.

"What’s this ability?"

Impressed, Tang Ming and others watched Shao Wuchou, conjuring a gun out of thin air, as if by magic.

"Dragon Ring! You belong to the Dragon Group?"

Zhuge Guang stared at the ring on Shao Wuchou’s right hand, slightly surprised.

"As expected of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect’s disciple, indeed more insightful than these ignoramuses."

Shao Wuchou nodded in admiration.

"Zhuge, what’s going on?"

Tang Ming quickly asked Zhuge Guang.

"The Dragon Group not only represents a powerful official martial arts power but also embodies cutting-edge scientific advancements in their organization. They’ve developed a storage equipment similar to space rings, just like the silver ring he’s wearing."

Zhuge Guang pointed at Shao Wuchou’s ring, cautiously explaining: "Moreover, the gun in his hand is no ordinary firearm. It’s a special metal-crafted weapon called ’Breaking Army,’ equipped with special gang-piercing bullets, powerful enough to take down a martial general with a few shots."

"Wow, I had heard the Dragon Group was impressive but didn’t realize they were this formidable."

Tang Ming observed Shao Wuchou, quite surprised at hearing that modern firearms could take on martial generals; it was indeed a first.

"Hmph, otherwise, why do you think the Dragon Group could rival the entire martial arts power as an official special department?"

Shao Wuchou snorted coldly, proudly saying: "The Dragon Group holds not only powerful martial strength but also the technological outcomes of all official resources, so if we collaborate, leadership must fall to me."

"We’ll discuss leadership later; right now, I’m more concerned about what ability you, Tang Ming, have to form alliance with us."

Bai Shengqi glared at Tang Ming with ill intent: "I said earlier, if there’s no value, best to eliminate them to prevent opportunists."

"This punk was aiming at me all along."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ming realized Bai Shengqi intended to use others against him.

The others watched Tang Ming with interest, waiting for an answer; if he failed to prove useful, they wouldn’t mind taking him out first.

"Ahem! My value surpasses all of yours."

Tang Ming cleared his throat, speaking earnestly: "All of you have been afflicted by Sun Addiction Gu, and I possess the antidote to temporarily control it."

"Sun Addiction Gu? You actually poisoned us?"

Hearing this, Bai Shengqi was furious; he had experienced Tang Ming’s poisoning methods before, knowing this was likely true.