The lakebed was no longer silent. Everyone stared in astonishment at the mysterious Dragon Palace before them, deeply moved. It turned out that the legend was true; they had finally seen the real Dragon Palace.

The group wanted to step forward, but two enormous stone figures, each five stories tall, stood at the entrance of the Dragon Palace, their faces filled with menacing glares as they stared at them, sending a chill down their spines. They all turned their gazes toward Hua Li.

The Goddess Hua Li was the first to descend, but she hesitated to enter; there's probably a trap here...

The people from Hell's Gate also saw the two stone figures. They snorted coldly, thinking, "They're just people made of stone. What's there to be afraid of?" They took a few steps forward, looked around, and said, "Since they don't dare to enter, we from Hell's Gate will be the first to enter this Dragon Palace. Brothers, let's go."

As soon as she finished speaking, Hua Li's lips curled into a cold smile.

Ji Jiuying, who was in the crowd, was also looking at the stone man. Hei Xiangling transmitted her voice.

[You brat, did you see those two stone figures? They look dangerous, but they're actually not safe at all!]

Ji Jiuying: ······

Hearing your words is like hearing a lecture!

Seeing that Ji Jiuying didn't respond, he continued.

"You brat, are you even listening to me? Be careful of those two stone golems. They're the guardians of the dragon race, impervious to swords and spears. Don't underestimate their fighting power; their weapons are ancient artifacts. When they start fighting, we'll sneak in."

Okay, I understand.

Ji Jiuying glanced at the stone giants a few more times, but her gaze quickly fell on Hua Li. According to the spiritual cultivators, she was a deity of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion and the first person to come down to the secret realm, yet she hesitated to enter. It seemed that she knew there was something wrong with these two stone giants.

Ji Jiuying had a strong premonition that she might also be here for the Azure Dragon.

Seemingly sensing her gaze, Hua Li turned to look at Ji Jiuying, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. What a handsome young man, but he's just a pretty face...

A loud rumbling sound pulled everyone back to reality.

The people from Hell's Gate were about to step into the Dragon Palace when they were frightened by the strange noise and dared not go any further. A dozen or so people huddled together, looking around warily.

Boom boom boom!

The entire earth was shaking violently. Countless pillars, as thick as an adult's arm, stretched out from the ground, surrounding the group. Instantly, they felt as if they were trapped in a cage. Some people swung their weapons at the pillars, only to be thrown back by the force, while the pillars remained unharmed.

At this moment, another rumbling sound rang out, but this time it was mixed with the sound of something breaking. A beam of light appeared on the ground in front of everyone, and the two stone figures at the entrance of the Dragon Palace suddenly moved.

"This stone giant is actually alive."

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

Hua Li's lips curled into a slight smile, her eyes filled with expectation. Ji Jiuying hadn't noticed any of this; she had indeed known the stone giant was alive…

With each step the two enormous stone men took, the earth trembled. Despite their massive size, they were anything but slow, launching fierce attacks on the people of Hellgate. The people of Hellgate widened their eyes and growled, "Get away from the stone men!"

The dozen or so people quickly scattered and ran towards the crowd. Three others tried to run into the Dragon Palace, but they hadn't gone two steps before one of the stone men smashed them down with a hammer. With a deafening roar, none of them were left with a single piece of flesh; they were instantly pulverized under the hammer and turned into dust in the Dragon Palace.

The scene unfolded so quickly that there was no time to react. Then, the two stone golems attacked the running man again. One of them was thrown into the air, but was immediately cut in half at the waist by the giant that followed, his body instantly split in two, blood splattering everywhere.

The upper body flew towards the crowd, while the lower body was mercilessly trampled by the stone golem.

The eleven people were reduced to eight in an instant. They ran desperately towards the crowd, and although it was a short distance, it felt like they had been running for a long time.

Bang bang bang!

Three more fell. As the stone giant was lured over by the people of Hell's Gate, everyone stared in horror and drew their weapons.

The five people ran desperately. Four of them crossed the white line of light on the ground, and the last one was just two steps away from crossing it when a huge shadow appeared overhead, causing everyone to retreat.

Before the man could even cry out, he was hammered to death in front of everyone. The crowd, still in shock, looked up at the stone golems, their hands tightly gripping their magical weapons. Just when they thought the stone golems would attack them, the two stone golems returned to their original positions with heavy steps.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and instantly understood the purpose of the suddenly appearing iron cage and white lines. With the stone giant in front and the iron cage behind, they had no way out but to move forward.

They had just witnessed the stone golem's fighting prowess, so it probably wouldn't be so easy for it to enter the Dragon Palace.

Eleven people who went out through the gates of hell returned, but only four returned. Among the crowd, some looked at them with schadenfreude, some with amusement, and some with indifference.

The happiest person was Jiang Xin in the crowd; it was truly delightful. Although Jiang Ling and Feng Yu didn't say anything, their slightly upturned lips betrayed their feelings at that moment.

The man in the lead stared intently at Hua Li with his sinister eyes. This bitch was the first to come down but hesitated to go in. She must have known that there was something wrong with this stone man, but she didn't warn him, causing him to lose eight Mahayana-stage subordinates for nothing.

The leader of the Hell Gate said viciously, "Goddess Hua Li, you did this on purpose!"

Hua Li sneered, her eyes filled with contempt as she looked at Tu Ba: "Tu Ba, it's clearly your own arrogance that's causing this, the God, to try and pin it on you. It's utterly ridiculous."

Tu Ba snorted coldly upon hearing this, "Knowing full well that the stone golem was alive, yet not giving a single warning, I never expected the people of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion to be so cold-blooded and ruthless. It's truly an eye-opener."

After finishing his sentence, Tu Ba said to everyone, "The Dragon Clan Ruins were calculated by the people of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. We don't know what's in this secret realm, but the people of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion do know a thing or two. With such actions, it's hard not to suspect that the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is hiding something from us about the Dragon Clan Ruins."

Tu Ba's words indeed aroused the dissatisfaction of the crowd, who immediately felt a chill down their spines. If Tu Ba's guess was true, then they might very well be doing the work for someone else, or even becoming stepping stones for Hua Li. Those who had just regarded Hua Li as their backbone instantly turned against him.

Ji Jiuying and Hei Xiangling were watching the play, but they were missing a bag of melon seeds.

[This tyrant is actually quite intelligent; knowing he's in the wrong, he still knows how to stir up trouble and incite these people's discontent.]