"Something must have happened inside!"
"I don't know whether those inside are lucky or not."
"Obviously not, that temple is clearly nothing good. I bet those inside will never come back."
While the crowd had been reduced to chaos, some of the smarter cultivators couldn't help but slowly back off, deciding to leave this place before things truly got dangerous.
Back in the temple, some weaker cultivators couldn't help but shout in horror as they saw the doors closing in on them, others using all their strength to attempt to pry the temple gates back open.
But regardless of their attempts, the gates were seemingly indestructible, unaffected by the mob's assault on it.
Eventually, even an Inner Heaven Cultivator decided to reveal themselves from the group, also leading an attack, but failing just the same.
"We're screwed, we're all going to die here!" One man cried as snot and tears dribbled down his face.
"Man up, the fights not over till the very end. We need to gather all our strength together and attack at once!" Another said, trying to rally the crowd.
"Good idea!"
"Yeah, let's do it!"
With everyone coming to an agreement, they formed a line, waiting patiently for the person who had made the suggestion to give the signal.
With a wave of his hand, everyone released attacks at the same time, a loud explosion sounding off as dust and dirt quickly clouded their eyes.
When the air cleared, they were appalled to find that the wall was still as good as new, as if their efforts had never even existed.
"On second thought, we might really be dead." The smart man from before chuckled.
"What the hell are you laughing about bastard! I'm too young to die." An old woman cried.
"Young? From looks alone, you're about as old as this damn temple. It's people like me who are really getting the short end of the stick." A younger woman responded.
"You little bi-"
"Woah woah woah, let's not fight." An Inner Heaven Cultivator said, forcefully cooling the riled crowd back down.
Meanwhile, Lilia was watching this all with an unperturbed face. She was much more worried about Minos than escaping this place.
"Your Highness, I think I should do something as well." The old man whispered.
"No, you can't expose your strength here, not to mention this temple's true secrets have yet to be revealed, so how can we leave so hastily?" Lilia responded.
Despite wanting to argue, the old man could only let out a sigh, knowing that Lilia was actually right this time.
The Aleph Empire wasn't some unified collective, and there were plenty that wanted both him and Lilia dead, so he was worried that exposing his strength would in turn expose his location.
Given how far he was from the empire, it was impossible to expect any support, so if their enemies caught them now, it would essentially be game over.
As Lilia's protector, he was actually against this adventure in the first place, but at that time she had managed to convince him, a decision he was now beginning to regret.
As he was scratching his bald head in an attempt to find a solution, small holes began opening on the ceiling, a dense green liquid dripping down slowly.
"Look, what's that?" Someone exclaimed, as they pointed up.
"Wha-" Someone was just about to say, but before they could finish, a drop of the liquid landed right on their head.
Like a knife through butter, the liquid immediately burned a small hole through the man's head before coming out the bottom, unimpeded.
Despite the liquid burrowing through the man like he wasn't even there, it didn't seem to affect the floor at all, instead just forming a small puddle.
With a loud bang, the man who was just chatting a second ago, fell lifelessly on the ground, causing the crowd that had just managed to barely calm down, to explode once again.
"It's that liquid, it's like acid or something!"
"Run!"
"The staircase! It's the only safe place now!"
With the 'acid' rain pouring down, everyone immediately bolted towards the staircase, the only place where they could find any sort of refuge.
But even then, they thought too little of this trap, and just as they were getting comfortable near the entrance of the stairs, the ever increasing liquid began pouring down the stairs.
…
Back at Minos and Potin, the two were still unaware of the 'acid' rain, but they could hear the loud footsteps of the crowd as they ran about.
"Sounds like they are all coming towards us. Looks like something must have happened outside." Minos said.
"Trouble. It was fine with just the two of us, but if more people gather, it won't be long until chaos erupts…"
"How about a temporary alliance?" Minos suggested.
"Alright." Potin said after thinking about it for a moment. Despite being much stronger than Minos, it was always good to have someone who could watch his back.
As the two shook on it, the crowd had also finally managed to catch up to the two of them.
"Run, the acid is coming!" Someone shouted.
"Acid? What are you talking about." Potin questioned.
"No time to talk, just go!" Someone else screamed as they pushed past the two.
The other's also didn't have the luxury to converse with them, the river of acid quickly catching behind them.
Soon enough, Minos and Potin were once again left alone, but this time they were at the back rather than the front.
Before the two could even talk about what just happened, the river of acid had reached just beyond their step, the both of them looking at each other for a moment before also bolting down the stairs.
It didn't take a genius to know that that green stuff was the so-called acid the person from before had been speaking about, and given everyone's reaction to it, neither of them were arrogant enough to give it a test.
Back near the front, trap after trap was activating, thinning the crowd at a massive speed, a new death every second.
Eventually, the group came to a temporary halt, no one brave enough to take the lead at front.
"Damn, we can't keep going like this!" One person bellowed.
"We have no choice!" Another responded, but didn't have the courage to take the first steps either.
As the seconds passed like hours, some people couldn't help but get anxious. They knew death was right behind them, but it was right in front as well.
Minos and Potin soon managed to catch up to the frozen groups, stepping over the arrow riddled corpses they had found on their way.
Seeing the group not moving, coupled with the deaths from before, both Minos and Potin immediately knew where the problem lay.
Staying at the back of the group, the two blended in silently, their appearance ignored by the crowd that was focused on the issue at hand.
With the 'acid' quickly catching up, one Inner Heaven cultivator couldn't take it anymore, grabbing the person closest to them and tossing them in front.
The Mortal Renewal cultivator was like a limp chicken in the man's hands, his body immediately tossed like a doll down the staircase.
As his body stumbled across the floor, the traps activated, thin tubes opening from the ceiling before spraying out a blue flame.
The man couldn't even let out a scream before the flames hit him, melting his flesh at such rapid speed that he seemed to be reduced to ashes in front of the everyones eyes.
Seeing the lethality of the flames, Minos knew this was a step up from the arrows from before, the traps having gotten stronger just like he initially anticipated.
Everyone gulped in horror, but secretly, they were revealed that it was someone else clearing the way rather than them.
With a little bit of road opened up, the group walked down a little further before coming to another stop, knowing from previous experience that there was probably another trap awaiting.
But this time, the Inner Heaven cultivator from before seemed to have lost complete inhibition, picking up person after person and tossing them down the stairs.
With such a tight space, it was pretty much impossible to escape the man, so shouts of terror soon filled the confined halls as the weaker cultivators were systematically killed, used as props to open the path ahead.
Soon enough, counting Minos, there were only about a handful of Mortal Renewal Cultivators left, a massive downgrade from the previous couple hundred.
With the crowd thinning, Minos also saw Lilia and the old man, the guards not with the two of them, likely waiting outside the temple.