Some time afterwards, Kate and the others reached close enough to see Mater's group inside the hall.
"There they are! We have to stop them before they can go any further!"
The other side noticed them at about the same time, so both groups prepared themselves for battle. Mater's group remained in place as Kate's group got closer, but a few among Kate's group found something strange about the situation. They were cautious of any traps that might have been laid, but they reached a few steps in front of the hall without any trouble. Right as they convinced themselves that they were mistaken, Mater issued his orders.
"Do it now!"
Mater's group of seven retreated to the back of the hall, revealing someone with an erratically flashing artifact who had been hidden behind them. Because of his suppressed cultivation, Shui had to be careful about using his eyes, so he failed to notice the young man charging the artifact until it was too late.
"Get back!"
Kate's group barely managed to stop their steps when the young man throw the artifact at the center of the three statues. Not long after the artifact left his hand, it exploded due to being overcharged with nature energy. The blast was comparable to a serious attack from a peak Earth Realm cultivator, suggesting that it was a spirit-rank artifact that had exploded. Shui reached for his 'Protect' talismans, but fortunately, the one on his shoulder took action. With her hand outstretched, the red spirit blocked the force and heat of the blast with a translucent barrier.
"You have my gratitude, Lady Spirit."
"I have no need for your gratitude. I simply wish not for any dust to reach me."
She certainly wasn't humble about it, but all of them greatly appreciated her help. However, Shui noticed that her expression was more grave than her haughty statement suggested. In fact, this was the most stern face he had seen on her since meeting her.
"Miss Spirit, are you okay?"
"Listen boy, once this attack is finished, you need to take your friends and leave as soon as possible."
"Huh? Why?"
"There's a foul thing sealed under here. The seal should still be functional, but I can't be sure it'll last if those boys get too close."
"Damn it! Just as I feared."
"Shui, what are you two talking about?!" Kate asked.
"This palace was never a place to store treasure, it was to hide the seal. The palace was just one big lid closing the entrance to the seal."
"If all of this was just one big lid, then what the hell is being sealed down there?"
That question was one that only the red spirit could answer, but as soon as the blast was over, she immediately flew off.
"Run from this place as fast as you can."
Shui's first thought was to chase after the spirit, but a large piece of the ceiling suddenly fell and blocked their path.
"The palace is collapsing but our cultivations are still suppressed! We have to go!"
"Damn it!"
Forced by the circumstances, the group turned around and ran out of the palace. They didn't see Guest elder Kerr or the group they had defeated at the entrance, but there was no time to check for them. Even after leaving the palace, the earth continued to shake with increasing frequency.
"What's happening?!"
While knowing the risks, Shui used his Sage God Eyes to take a peek into the ground. That one look made blood run from his nose, but it wasn't without reward.
"It's the seal. It was concentrated under the palace, but now that the palace is gone, it's spread throughout the Spirit Nest."
"Is that good news or bad news?"
"It depends. If the seal can restrain its target, then it should become dormant again. If not, well..."
It was a sudden thrust into danger, but none of them wasted their time panicking and instead considered their next moves.
"It would be a shame, but perhaps we should leave the seal to Lady Spirit and exit the Spirit Nest ahead of time," Pon suggested.
Every disciple was given a token that allowed them to enter the Spirit Nest and would automatically take them out once their time was up. They could also use this token to leave ahead of time, but they wouldn't be allowed to return. Given that there were many treasures, including the elemental lakes still inside the Spirit Nest, it was a hard decision, but the alarm bells ringing inside their heads made their choice clear.
"It's a shame, but I suppose that's the best option."
Reinhart voiced what they were all thinking. Reluctantly, the group took out their tokens and fueled them with nature energy. The tokens glowed, so they expected they would soon be brought back to the manor, but the glow faded before reaching its peak.
"Huh?"
Some of them tried to activate their tokens again, but it was the same result. The internal mechanism of the token was relatively simple, so Shui could figure out the issue after watching the failures.
"It looks like that seal was more important than we thought."
"What do you mean?"
"The tokens aren't able to find the exit, that's why they're not working. My guess is the ones who built the palace also had something to do with creating the Spirit Nest. Rather than a sanctuary, this was most likely meant to be a prison."
"And now that the prisoner might break out, the prison's gone on lockdown."
"Seems like it."
All of them had been through life-threatening situations before, but it was still hard to keep their hopes up at a time like this.
Elsewhere, Mater's group had made it underground before the palace collapsed. The disciple that overcharged the artifact was too injured to follow them, so only seven made it in. Whether or not he was still alive was unknown, but no one brought it up.
The spiral staircase continued down with no light source or indication of where the bottom was, but the group moved forward without hesitation. Their cultivations were suppressed, but their night vision was sufficient. After less than an hour of climbing down the stairs, they spotted the end of the stairs and what seemed to be a door nearby. Once they reached the door, Luis checked for traps and locks.
"I don't see anything, but this door is made of some very heavy material, so it'll be difficult to open."
"Mmm. Dal, you try."
In accordance with Mater's order, one of them tried to push the door open, but even though their face became red like a tomato, they could barely nudge it.
"Hmm, you can stop."
Unable to look Mater in the eye, Dal withdrew his hands. He trained in body refinement and was among the top ten in the Storm Ranking, so he definitely wasn't weak, but opening this door was too much for him with his cultivation suppressed. Mater didn't spend any time blaming him and took Dal's space in front of the door. Dal was taller and had more muscle mass, but everyone believed that Mater could open the door one way or another.
Mater placed one hand on the door and then closed his eyes. A few seconds later, his hair glowed blue and gently rise in the air. Those watching felt a mysterious pressure on their bodies, different from the suppression, which added to their anticipation of what would happen next. Mater's hair continued to glow brighter and rise higher, and as his hair rose above his head, he began walking, easily pushing the door in front of him. His steps were slow, but the door didn't stop him from moving forward.
Once the door was fully open and Mater's hair stopped glowing and fell according to gravity. He then turned to face his followers.
"It's open. Let us continue."