During the melee, the ground suddenly shook violently, and everyone lost their balance. They gave up fighting and looked for temporary shelter. The dilapidated temple was shaky and looked like it would collapse at any time, so no one dared to go in to hide.

Japan is located in an earthquake zone, with hundreds of large and small earthquakes occurring every year, so the Jiujiu faction present were not surprised. The sixteen men in gray tried hard to gather together and protect Abe Kakuichi in the middle.

The earthquake stopped after about a minute, and the dilapidated temple looked even more ruined, but it still stood, which was also a miracle.

Abe Kaku shouted, "Go in and find the entrance!" The gray-clad men, receiving the order, immediately rushed into the temple like crazy. Seeing this, Yin Zheluo quickly ordered the Qilins to intercept them, and a new round of fighting broke out in front of the Niangniang Temple.

A short, gray-clad ninja, struck in the back and bleeding profusely, finally found a way through the Qilin warrior's grasp and stepped through the temple gates. But at that moment, the short ninja, as if falling into boiling lava, uttered a sharp scream and vanished into ashes. Even half of the katana in his hand disappeared, leaving only the back half of the blade and the handle, the fracture smooth as if cut by a laser.

This bizarre scene stunned everyone present. They stopped fighting again and looked towards the temple gate where the tragedy had occurred.

Although it was dark, the dim moonlight allowed one to see that there was nothing unusual inside the archway except a one-foot-high, dilapidated threshold.

Abe Kakuichi casually pointed at two men in gray and asked them to go in to see what was going on. The two men rushed in without hesitation for even a second, and then also turned into two streams of green smoke. This time, even the samurai swords evaporated, leaving no residue.

“Barrier—!”

Abe Kakui exclaimed, unable to tell whether he was happy or sad:

This temple, seemingly on the verge of collapse, was actually protected by a barrier. This meant there must be something else hidden within. Besides the dragon, there were likely other rare treasures. If he could use them all, this trip would be well worth it! His concern was that this barrier turned out to be the most difficult to break, the Azure Dragon barrier. Even with Rika Princess's protection, he wasn't entirely sure of getting through.

Although Yin Zheluo didn't know what the "barrier" Abe Kakuichi was talking about was, he was happy when he saw that the Japanese devils couldn't enter the Niangniang Temple. He shouted, "Brothers, surround them!"

Twenty or so members of the Qilin team immediately spread out in a semicircle, trapping Abe Kakuichi and the remaining thirteen men in gray in front of the temple gate.

Behind the Jiujiu sect was a barrier gate that swallowed up everyone but spit out their dregs, and in front of them were the awe-inspiring special forces members. They had no way to retreat, and they dared not confront them head-on, so they could only hold up their samurai swords and take a stance, waiting for the order from Elder Abe Kakuichi.

Just when Jiao Yi was in distress, a delicate female voice came from his left, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Jiaoyi, even the Azure Dragon Barrier is no match for the village! Don't be afraid, charge in--!"

"This... Lady Lihua, the Azure Dragon Barrier is the strongest defensive barrier. No matter how powerful Muramasa is, he is just a weapon. What if..."

"Haha, Kakuichi, when did you become so cowardly and afraid of death? Muramasa is no ordinary weapon. It is a demon sword forged by the Lord himself, capable of absorbing all the five elements of the world. This Azure Dragon barrier is actually a golden energy field. By absorbing its energy, Muramasa will become even more powerful! Don't dawdle, hurry up and enter the underground palace!"

When Abe Kaku heard what Rika said, he no longer hesitated. He pushed away the gray-clothed ninja warriors who were protecting him, strode towards the temple gate, held Muramasa flat in front of his chest, stepped over the threshold, and walked through the temple gate into the temple in full view of everyone.