After enduring hardships in the desert, the remnants of the "Dark Alliance" finally stepped onto the edge of the Far East. The Far East, shrouded in mist, exudes a mysterious aura amidst its undulating mountains. Here, spiritual energy is abundant yet chaotic; at times, one can feel a surge of rich spiritual energy, and at other times, one is pulled by inexplicable vortexes of spiritual energy.

"The spiritual energy here is so strange, everyone must be careful. If you are not careful, you may be devoured by the spiritual energy." The new leader of the "Dark Alliance" reminded everyone with a solemn expression.

They walked along a winding mountain path, the surroundings eerily quiet except for the occasional sound of the wind and their footsteps. Suddenly, a misty forest appeared ahead, the fog so thick it was almost tangible, completely shrouding the forest and obscuring everything within.

“This forest looks strange. Should we go in?” one of the members asked hesitantly.

"Hmph, we've come this far, how can we back down? Perhaps the treasure that can enhance our strength is inside." A glint of greed flashed in the eyes of the Blood Blade Sect expert.

So, the group cautiously stepped into the Misty Forest. The moment they entered, they felt as if they had entered another world; the surrounding trees were enormous and twisted, their branches like menacing monsters. Faint lights flickered in the mist, as if something was watching them.

The elder of the Netherworld Palace took out a black compass, its needle spinning wildly in different directions. "The spiritual energy here is chaotic; we might lose our way. Everyone, stay close to me and don't act on your own."

The group followed closely behind the elder of the "Netherworld Palace," proceeding slowly step by step. Suddenly, a gigantic vine burst forth from the ground, like a thick python, and coiled towards a member of the "Dark Alliance." The member reacted swiftly, swinging his longsword to slash at the vine. However, the vine was incredibly resilient, and the sword only left a shallow mark on it.

"Attack together!" shouted the new leader of the "Dark Alliance." Everyone unleashed their spells; the blood-blade sword energy of the Bloodblade Sect experts and the sinister magic of the "Netherworld Palace" elders attacked the vines. Under their combined assault, the vines finally loosened and retreated underground.

But this was just the beginning. More and more vines surged out from all directions, surrounding the group. These vines were covered with sharp thorns, dripping with green venom and emitting a pungent odor.

"Oh no! This venom is poisonous! Everyone be careful not to get it on you!" someone exclaimed.

The group dodged and weaved under the onslaught of the vines, finding themselves in a predicament. The elder of the "Netherworld Palace," while avoiding the vines' attacks, pondered a solution. Suddenly, his eyes lit up: "These vines seem powerful, but there appears to be some kind of spiritual connection between them. Perhaps we can break through if we find the key node."

So, the elder of the Netherworld Palace concentrated his mind and used his compass to sense the spiritual energy fluctuations between the vines. Finally, he discovered a unique tree. The trunk of this tree was covered with strange runes, and the vines seemed to extend from this tree.

"Attack that tree!" shouted the elder of the Netherworld Palace. Everyone immediately turned their attack towards the tree. The Blood Blade Sect expert unleashed his strongest strike, "Blood Shadow Sky-Splitting Slash," a massive crimson sword aura slashing towards the tree. The sword aura struck the tree, causing it to shake violently, its runes flashing.

As the tree swayed, the vines' attacks slowed. Taking advantage of this, the group intensified their attacks, and finally, the tree crashed down. With the tree's fall, all the vines withered instantly and disappeared into the ground.

The group breathed a sigh of relief, but they knew the dangers of the Far East were far greater than they had imagined. Continuing deeper into the forest, they came to a lake. The water was an eerie purple, its surface completely still, eerily calm.

"This lake is eerie; everyone stay away," said the new leader of the Dark Alliance.

However, at that moment, a powerful suction suddenly rose from the bottom of the lake, pulling in two members who were closer to the shore. "Help us!" the two cried out in terror.

The Bloodblade Sect experts and the Netherworld Palace elders acted swiftly, each grabbing one of the members' arms and attempting to pull them out. However, the suction was too strong, and the two of them gradually began to lose their strength.

"Everyone, help!" shouted the new leader of the "Dark Alliance." Everyone rushed forward, working together to pull the Bloodblade Sect expert and the "Netherworld Palace" elder out of the lake. With their combined efforts, they finally managed to pull the two members out of the lake.

The two members were pale and terrified. "There's a pair of huge eyes at the bottom of the lake, staring at us," one of the members said, trembling.

“It seems there’s something terrible lurking at the bottom of this lake. Let’s go around it,” the new leader of the Dark Alliance decided immediately.

The group circled the lake and continued their journey. After a difficult trek, they finally discovered an ancient ruin deep in the forest. The ruin's gate was tightly shut, covered with mysterious runes that emitted a faint glow, as if telling an ancient story.

"This is it! There might be a treasure inside that can enhance our strength," the Bloodblade Sect expert said excitedly.

However, just as they were preparing to figure out how to open the gate, a reconnaissance team from the Spirit Ruins Market quietly infiltrated the Misty Forest. The team consisted of elite swordsmen from the Spirit Sword Sect and intelligence experts from the Spirit Harmony Merchant Guild. Using stealth techniques, they cautiously advanced towards the ruins.

"According to intelligence, the 'Dark Alliance' should be nearby. We must be careful and avoid being discovered," the reconnaissance team leader said in a low voice.

Sword cultivators, swords in hand, vigilantly observed their surroundings. Intelligence experts, meanwhile, used special magical artifacts to sense fluctuations in spiritual energy and any unusual activity in the vicinity.

As the reconnaissance team approached the ruins, they discovered traces of the "Dark Alliance." "They really are here. I wonder what they're up to," a swordsman muttered.

The reconnaissance team remained hidden nearby, closely monitoring the Dark Alliance's every move. They saw the Dark Alliance members studying the runes on the ruins' gate, seemingly intending to open it and enter.

"They want to get into the ruins; there must be something important inside. We need to find a way to stop them," the reconnaissance team leader said.

But by this time, the members of the "Dark Alliance" had already found a way to open the gate to the ruins. With a flash of light, the gate to the ruins slowly opened, and a powerful spiritual energy surged out from within.

The members of the "Dark Alliance" excitedly rushed into the ruins. Seeing this, the reconnaissance team, disregarding the risk of revealing their location, quickly followed them in.

The interior of the ruins was dimly lit, with glowing stones embedded in the walls barely illuminating the passageway. Various ancient statues, each with a different form—some human, others beast-like—lined both sides of the passage.

The members of the "Dark Alliance" continued along the passage when suddenly, a group of phantom soldiers appeared ahead. Wielding weapons and radiating powerful spiritual energy, the phantom soldiers charged towards them.

"Prepare for battle!" shouted the new leader of the "Dark Alliance." The group quickly formed ranks and engaged the phantom soldiers in fierce combat.

The Bloodblade Sect expert wielded his bloodblade, clashing with the phantom soldier's weapon, sending sparks flying. The Netherworld Elder cast a sinister spell, attempting to erode the phantom soldier's spiritual power. However, the phantom soldier seemed to possess a certain resistance to the sinister spell and was largely unaffected.

In the fierce battle, the members of the "Dark Alliance" gradually figured out the Phantom Soldiers' attack patterns. They cooperated effectively and gradually gained the upper hand. Just as they were about to repel the Phantom Soldiers, a reconnaissance team arrived.

"We can't let them get the treasures in the ruins!" shouted the reconnaissance squad leader. The sword cultivators unleashed the "Spirit Concealment Ice-Breaking Sword Formation," the formation gleaming brightly as sword energy shot towards the "Dark Alliance" members.

The members of the "Dark Alliance" were thrown into chaos by the sudden attack. "It's people from the Spirit Ruins Market! How did they get here?" one member exclaimed in terror.

"Take care of them first!" roared the Bloodblade Sect expert. Thus, the members of the "Dark Alliance" fought off the phantom soldiers' attacks while simultaneously engaging the reconnaissance team. In an instant, the ruins were ablaze with magical light and filled with deafening battle cries.