From the fifth level of the Trial Grounds onward lays the first core area of the Black Holy City, where the difficulty of the trials began to significantly increase. The minimum level of the Phantom monsters in this layer is level fifteen, but often there would be those of levels seventeen and eighteen.

If the competition between adventurers was the focus of the previous layers, from this layer onwards, intense combat would become the main trouble. In fact, records show that about half of the participants would be eliminated at this level, and on the sixth layer, less proficient adventurers might even try to form alliances to pass.

However, Fang Hong realized that they had perhaps wasted too much time on the fourth floor, so as soon as they reached the fifth level, they encountered other Invokers, and these were not from Jiefulite Red Cloak Team.

The exterior of the Black Palace was exactly as its name described: an expanse of ruined palaces, with an overall deep black color, made from obsidian. This was once part of the Upper City District during the Xinsas Era. Beneath the Trial Grounds, there were three palace districts in total, this being the smallest, matching with its setting for the nobility.

And the other two were likely to be the Royal City and a vast Temple District.

Those other Invokers they ran into were just in the not so far ruins of a palace.

This place was a huge underground cavity, with luminescent creatures and fungi clinging to the dark gray rock layers, creating a world of dim light. Pillars from thousands of years ago stood lonely underground, their outlines highlighted by the dim light, giving the place an air of desolation.

Those few Invokers had just repelled some spike creatures and were resting among the ruins. They appeared quite tense upon suddenly seeing Fang Hong's quartet.

However, at this level, the relationships between Invokers were not as bad as on the previous floors—after all, no one wanted to lose teammates here, and besides, the exits to the next level were relatively plentiful.

Therefore, even though the others were tense, they did not show too much hostility.

Fang Hong glanced at these people and realized they looked quite worse for wear, which led him to believe that they had suffered significant losses in the previous fights. However, spike creatures were just the lowest level monsters on this floor, and if they were struggling against even those, it seemed they had just about reached their limit.

He deliberately checked their equipment and estimated their average level to be around eleven or twelve—typical for mainstream teams outside. Reaching this level perhaps involved some luck.

This probably was a change due to the exceptionally large number of people entering the trial this time, for each exit might have been activated by someone previously, and the Guarding Golems could hardly cope under the tactics of sheer numbers. Some teams that would not normally reach this level in past trials could now advance further due to such circumstances.

He intended to ask these people about the situation below, but before he could, they took the initiative, saying, "Friends over there, could you spare us some supplies? We can exchange them for information."

"Information?" Fang Hong was momentarily puzzled.

"About the Purple Mushroom Lord. We encountered it in a cave before. If you want to move on to the next level, it's your best bet." The information the others conveyed indeed caught Fang Hong's attention.

Just like the third layer, the fifth layer also involved killing a Lord monster and activating the Teleportation Gate core carried by them.

Furthermore, from this layer on, Lord monsters would drop some small rewards. In the past, these rewards would have been insignificant, but with the riches offered on the seventh layer, who could be sure this time?

In fact, many adventurers participating in the trial were drawn by the Lord drops of the fifth and sixth layers, without much expectation of delving deeper.

The Purple Mushroom Lord was one of the better Lords in this layer, a huge animate fungus that moved slowly and was weak; apart from a toxic release, it wasn't much of a threat.

Being called a good choice was because it moved slowly and predictably. Once its tracks were found, it was very easy to follow. Unlike beast-type or humanoid Lords that liked to play hide and seek with the chosen Invokers, even ambushing them at times, which was extremely irritating.

So, plant-type Lords have always been one of the preferred choices on this layer.

However, Fang Hong looked at these people somewhat suspiciously: "If it's the Purple Mushroom Lord, why would you reveal this information to us?"

The man gave a wry smile and spread his hands: "Our team's composition is not suited to killing the Purple Mushroom Lord, as you can see, and besides, supplies are more important to us right now."

Fang Hong looked over and then nodded. He realized that this team lacked spellcasters. To deal with the Purple Mushroom Lord, there needed to be a Magic Guided Conductor capable of creating a Dispel Field present. The suggestion must have been made after they noticed the Magic Guided Wand in Xiangzi's hand.

Truth be told, supplies were especially precious in the trials, and with a good number of exits on this level, they didn't seem to need to spend their precious supplies for a Lord's position.

Instinctively wanting to refuse, he unexpectedly found himself asking, "Have you seen the Blood Oath Alliance?"

The people were taken aback and said, "You're looking for them? That's great, we indeed saw those people."

"Really?" Fang Hong was somewhat skeptical; it was just a casual question, could it be so coincidental?

"Of course. They were the leading team, who wouldn't pay attention? We even recorded a video at the time." Seeing Fang Hong's interest, the man, like clutching at straws, hurriedly pressed his point, "Friend, it's a buy-one-get-one-free deal. We can exchange these two pieces of information."

Fang Hong hesitated, then asked, "Then, what supplies do you need?"

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