Regis was not surprised by Han Hao's reaction. Given the circumstances, retreating was simply the wisest course of action. What he hadn't expected, however, was that Han Hao would be so determined to leave with Zovic without saying a word.
Almost immediately, light shone through the cracks in the blockade before it burst open, sending shrapnel flying towards the white bone shield. The beautiful shield shattered into pieces before turning to powder.
Regis' eyes glowed with bright electricity. He locked on to Han Hao as he zoomed around and chuckled. "You have a decent reaction. You must be talented. I wonder how far you can run." With that, he leapt towards Han Hao, speeding through the dark passage like a bolt of lightning.
Pulling Zovic along with him, Han Hao felt Regis closing in on him from behind. The discomfort he felt was a sign that Regis was firmly attached to his soul.
"Zovic, go first!" He released his hand before turning and jabbing his bone spear into the ground. As it sank, it emitted a strange light. Suddenly, the solid earth around the passageway rippled like a carpet being dusted and shot towards Regis. The energy of death caused countless sharp bone spikes to manifest around the narrow passageway facing the approaching Regis.
"Be careful!" Zovic said before turning to run.
"Not bad, Han Hao!" Regis praised once more. He unleashed his full power into the narrow passageway, sending lightning bolts crackling throughout as they shattered the bone spikes one by one.
With a squint, he sent two lightning bolts from his eyes that snaked towards the earthen 'carpet', successfully neutralising the attack.
"Huh?" As the dust settled, Regis suddenly realised that he had completely lost sight of Han Hao. "He's really fast..." His mouth curved into a thoughtful smile as he murmured, "That's not so bad. It would save me a lot of effort if they could all be dealt with at once."
...
As long as Han Tu was in the underground palace, his affinity with the earth element allowed him to create new passageways wherever he wanted. It wasn't surprising that he used his abilities to help the others in the House of Han.
As soon as Zovic entered a room, a new hole suddenly appeared in the wall. At first he was suspicious of its presence, but he soon figured something out and entered it without hesitation. The moment he entered, the hole in the wall closed up, leaving it no different than before, without the slightest crack to be seen.
The same thing happened inside the underground palace wherever a member of the House of Han was. The moment they entered, the holes would close back up as before. Not only that, but many existing holes would crumble to prevent the Godhunters from pursuing them. Han Tu used his power and familiarity with the layout of the underground palace to lead the household members to the heavily defended control centre.
With his assistance, the core members of the House of Han were able to escape the desperate pursuit of the Godhunters. However, Han Tu himself had yet to enter the control centre. He was currently hiding in a remote corner of the underground palace, doing what he could while watching the situation through several mirrors.
Besides Han Jin, Han Huo, Han Mu and Han Shui, he was also accompanied by Andrina, who looked a bit doubtful. She held Han Jin's hand and watched Han Tu work his miracles with her crystal-like eyes. She seemed rather shocked and puzzled as to how an Early-stage Highgod like him could be so masterful in manipulating the energy of the earth, especially how he could open up new passageways so far away.
As the daughter of the Goddess of Destiny, Andrina had a deep understanding of the Twelve Basic Energies, their unique properties and what could be achieved at each stage. Her mother had explained much of this to her in detail.
Aside from the Highgods, even Earth Overgods like Isaiah or Ossora wouldn't be able to do what Han Tu did. It was remarkable.
Clutching Han Jin's hand tightly, she whispered, "Where does his power come from? Why does he look so strange? It's like the earth is part of his body! It is too strange. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't dare believe that Earth Cultivators could perform such feats!"
Han Jin hesitated for a moment before pointing at Han Mu, Han Shui and Han Huo. "It's not just Han Tu. The other three and I excel at utilising the energies corresponding to our element. Hehe, this is something our father gave us."
"Bryan... he... he really is..." Andrina shook her head with a look of resignation.
"Someone's here!" Han Tu growled as he pointed to a nearby wall, as if his nemesis was approaching. "He's an Earth Energy Cultivator too! He must have discovered that the source of the changes around the underground palace came from here! If it's not Ossora, it must be Isaiah!" He exhaled and suddenly opened his eyes.
"How is it?" Han Jin asked.
"It's almost done. I've sent away those I need to. There are still a few warriors left, but since there are too many, the best I could do was create an escape route for them that leads to Big Brother's base," he replied.
"Alright. Then let us go too," Han Jin said after a moment's thought.
At that moment, both Han Tu and Han Mu could feel that someone was nearby. Even Han Jin could feel an oppressive force approaching. Either Ossora or Isaiah was approaching them at full speed.
As earth cultivators, even if they couldn't use earth energy like Han Tu could, their blockages couldn't stop them in the slightest. Not to mention the fact that Han Tu was using the Earth's energy non-stop, so they were able to pinpoint his location.
"They really came fast! Let's go!" Han Mu shouted as he took a step back.
Han Tu stood up and opened a hole in the wall before jumping in. Han Jin, Han Huo and the others followed without hesitation before the secret chamber suddenly collapsed. The hole Han Tu had opened also closed.
The earth itself began to shake violently, accompanied by a loud rumbling from above. A figure could be seen bursting through the earth in their path until they reached the crumbling secret chamber.
Isaiah took in his surroundings and huffed. Swinging his hands wide, he pulled apart the walls where Han Tu and the others had entered, creating a huge hole and revealing the backs of Han Tu, Han Jin and the others.
"Gotcha!" He snickered and charged in. As an expert in the Overgod realm, Isaiah was definitely not to be taken lightly. Although his control of earth energy might not be as refined as the uniquely talented Han Tu, his attack power was definitely far superior to Han Tu's due to his cultivation.
With his boundless power alone, he could affect the composition of the earth and reshape it at will. Although he couldn't merge with the earth like Han Tu, he could use his divine energy to affect the earth itself.
With brute force alone, he was able to open up a path. Using his divine energy, he gathered a large amount of earth element on his body, so that every step he took shook the entire underground palace.
"Oh no!" Han Tu cried out. The extremely dense and powerful Earth Element had completely changed the composition of the earth around him, filling it with Isaiah's divine energy. Han Tu had lost control of the earth. The pathways in front of him began to shrink as his control over them slipped away.
"Here I come!" Andrina cried at that moment. Han Jin felt a terrifying force emanating from her hand. Only the simultaneous activation of hundreds of energy towers could cause such a powerful reaction. A blinding light shot out from Andrina's diamond-like body towards the incoming Isaiah.
Struck by the sudden burst of light, Isaiah flinched and had no choice but to withdraw the divine energy he had infused into the earth to defend against the movement. He caused a solid wall to form in front of him.
The collision caused a tremor so great that everyone in the underground palace could feel it, especially from the dust and rocks that fell from above.
"Great!" Han Tu said with joy. He noticed that Isaiah's energy was gone from the earth around him. A path opened up in front of him again, and he and the others rushed into it.
Knowing that a powerful cultivator like Isaiah was right behind them, the others didn't hesitate and ran as fast as they could. Before Isaiah could react, they were already quite far away.
Soon, the five elite zombies and Andrina passed through the barrier and reached the control centre, which was a vast underground secret chamber. Above them was the round monolith, engraved with the outline of the Cauldron. The monolith could not only collect elemental energy from the environment, but also the souls of those who had died in Pandemonium.
"Why did you take me away in such a hurry? It's only Isaiah! I'm not afraid of him!" Andrina complained.
Han Jin smiled awkwardly and said, "I was just worried that you might be in danger..."
Hearing that, she smiled sweetly. "With this precious thing over here, even Isaiah can't take me on!"
Surprised, Han Jin asked, "Then it can be used to kill Isaiah? If so, let's go back and get rid of him!"
"I can only use it to keep myself alive. It can't kill him," Andrina said, shaking her head. "My mother doesn't let me kill people for no good reason. But if she'd given me the Mirror of Destiny, I could have killed him."
"The Mirror of Destiny? The divine weapon of the Goddess of Destiny?" Stratholme exclaimed. He wondered what kind of chaos Andrina could unleash if she actually wielded the mirror.
"Who else isn't here yet?" Han Hao asked Phoebe with a furrowed brow. After all they'd been through, Phoebe, Emily and the other women no longer blamed Han Hao for being too cautious, knowing that if he hadn't reacted so quickly and asked Han Tu to evacuate everyone, many of them would be dead by now.
Phoebe looked around the control room with a thoughtful expression before she said, "Everyone who came from the Profound Continent should be here."
"Alright." Han Hao turned to the five elite zombies and said, "Seal the entrance!"
The five of them immediately used their elemental powers to seal the walls. Colourful energies radiated from their bodies before seeping into the walls around them. The room rumbled and creaked as they worked, as if a huge mechanism was being activated.
At the same time, some of the yuan energy from the Sky Annihilation Formation flowed towards their secret chamber as all sorts of defensive formations manifested on the walls. Dhaka, who had been trapped within the Sky Annihilation formation, noticed the change. Although the pressure on him had eased considerably, it would still be some time before he would be able to break free.