Fang Hong walked up to the side of the Purple Mushroom Lord, and Tainaric and Parker also came over from a distance. The group stopped beside this 'small hill', looking up at it. The Purple Mushroom Lord lay toppled in a heap of rubble, its body undulating and gradually fading, as though only a ghostly shell remained.

However, that shell was covered with crisscrossing wounds, from which black flames spread silently, turning into dark bruises.

Tainaric bent down and scraped off a piece of the bruise with his claw, rubbed it in his hand, and the black powder disappeared with the wind. Along with it, the phantom of the Purple Mushroom Lord collapsed like a sandcastle, until it completely vanished, leaving behind only the black powder on the Lizardman's claw.

"Those Shadow Beasts' attacks carry a strong corrosive property," Tainaric put down his claw, letting the powder fall through the gaps in his fingers, "Dark Forces, without a doubt. It's surprising that someone is still using such power."

"At least we got a bit of luck out of it," Parker remarked.

"I'm afraid it might not be so simple."

Fang Hong walked through the last illusion of the Purple Mushroom Lord, arriving at its core. As the latter died, the surrounding Thorn Spirits and Fungus People also vanished into dust. In reality, of course, they did not have a symbiotic relationship, but this was after all an illusion created by Toragotos. In his youth, he had seen such a community in the Underground World of the Ancient Tower, and had replicated it here.

After the death of the Purple Mushroom Lord, two things were left at the core position: a piece of Amethyst and a small silver shield that was like a mirror. Fang Hong had seen the information outside and naturally knew that the Amethyst was the key to the next level—the core of the Teleportation Gate.

But now it seemed to be corrupted, filled with dark shadows like clouds within. Fang Hong followed the guide, placing his hand on the cold surface of the Crystal, and started the Magic Guided Reactor to channel Magic Power into it.

But the Crystal flickered and then dimmed, unresponsive.

"What's wrong with it?" Parker looked bewildered by the situation.

"The Dark Forces have not only eroded the Purple Mushroom Lord but also this Crystal," Fang Hong looked at the small silver shield beside the Crystal, "But this shield isn't affected, which suggests that the people of the Blood Oath Alliance might have done this deliberately."

"Deliberately?" Xiangzi asked, "What are they trying to do?"

Fang Hong dropped the Crystal on the ground, frowning. "They must have a purpose for doing this; I think the problem is quite clear now, they intend to destroy every key on this level and prevent others from going to the next level."

"Can they do that?" Parker inhaled sharply.

"If they get help from the Dragon's Servants, they very well might," Fang Hong nodded, "Of course, they will leave at least one gate open because they themselves plan to go to the next level."

"But there will certainly be an ambush there; I don't believe the Blood Oath Alliance would be so kind-hearted." Xiangzi caught on, adding a remark.

"So what do we do now?" Parker asked.

Fang Hong pondered for a moment, his demeanor unusually composed, "Guess which gate they will choose? To execute their plan conveniently, to reserve enough time, and to prevent unexpected incidents, I bet they would choose the furthest one, that is—"

"The Thirteenth District," Parker gasped softly, "I remember now, it's just beyond the Seventh District, remember? They were headed precisely in that direction."

"That's the farthest point on this level marked on the map." Xiangzi also noted.

"Yes, and since their squad appeared here, the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Districts are basically hopeless," Fang Hong shook his head, "There's little hope for other areas either. Even if we get there first, you wouldn't want us to be attacked from behind by the Dragon's Servants while fighting with the Lord creatures, would you?"

"It's a pity the people from Silver Weslan haven't come down yet; otherwise, we could ally with them."

"I'm afraid it wouldn't make much difference," Fang Hong still shook his head, "The Blood Oath Alliance's main competitors are the Silver Weslan and the Rain Listeners, so even if the Silver Weslan were here, it wouldn't matter much."

"So, are we just supposed to sit and wait, watching them go to the next level with our own eyes? So much treasure, are we to let the Papalarians slip through our fingers?" Parker asked, "There's so much treasure, are we going to let it slip through our fingers from the Papalarians?"

"No, what I mean is we have to rely on ourselves," Fang Hong looked at the others and said.

"Take a closer look and you'll see we're not completely out of options," Fang Hong was thinking not of the treasure, but from the Papalarians' map, which he drew from their bags and spread out before everyone, "Look at the map; there are two ways to reach the Thirteenth District. Apart from the one previously mentioned, there is also a shortcut between the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Districts."

"I suspect that the Blood Oath Alliance is exploiting this mindset. Due to the advantage of distance, people tend to exclude options from near to far. They'll check the closer places first and then the farther ones, which gives the Blood Oath Alliance the opportunity to predict the others' routes and arrange plans in advance."

"And we'll do the opposite: we'll head straight for the Thirteenth District from the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Districts. It's very likely that the Blood Oath Alliance will still be dealing with the Scorpiontail Lions in the Tenth District, giving us the chance to catch up with them."

As they looked at the line he drew on the map, Tainaric asked for the first time, "Are you confident?"

"Of course, there's no certainty; plans are always just plans and could go wrong at any moment," Fang Hong frankly replied, "But for now, I can't think of a better idea, can I? Besides, even if things deviate from my expectations, the worst-case scenario is just facing the Blood Oath Alliance's ambush directly."

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