God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 563: Undead

Bodies lay in disarray within the chamber, but before the ChaosKnight members could advance, Gabriel held up a hand. He noticed something peculiar amidst the carnage.

"Do not enter," he commanded.

VV paused, their boot hovering over the threshold before retracting. ChaosCleric swallowed, the small, blue light atop his staff trembling slightly in his grip.

The cultivators from Tianlan hadn't scattered when they fled. Most faced the entrance, their bodies collapsed, while others were turned towards the far exit, weapons still clutched in their hands.

IceQueen moved to Gabriel's side, her gaze sweeping across the room from a safe distance. Her fingers tightened around her sword's hilt as she observed the scene. "This wasn't a typical battle. They were caught between two exits," she stated, her voice low.

Gabriel gave a curt nod. "No one could eliminate this many people without leaving traces of their engagement. The chamber itself seems to be the aggressor."

ChaosCleric knelt near the entrance, his attention fixed on the floor by the first fallen cultivator. His face, visible beneath his helmet, was pale, and he hesitated before speaking. "While the Tianlan cultivators were prideful, they weren't so weak as to perish silently like this."

From his position at the boundary, Gabriel crouched to examine the nearest corpse. A hole, roughly the size of a fist, pierced the chest armor, passing cleanly through flesh and bone. Curiously, there were no signs of claw marks around the wound; the edges were remarkably clean. The blood pooling nearby had dried into a thin crust, rather than spreading across the stone.

"Refrain from using detection skills," Gabriel instructed, not looking back. "Do not release any mana into the chamber unless I give the order."

ChaosCleric froze, his staff already halfway raised. The crystal on its tip pulsed once, and a minuscule thread of mana escaped before he could withdraw it. Gabriel's eyes narrowed behind his mask, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features. As the faint mana permeated the air, the dried blood patterns beneath the bodies subtly twitched.

A low hum resonated, seemingly traveling up from the stone floor. Several ChaosKnight members instinctively stepped back. Beneath the accumulated dust, red and black lines illuminated, forming a vast network that connected the deceased cultivators.

"I specifically said not to use mana," Gabriel repeated, his voice firmer. He reached for his sword as the glowing lines expanded further.

ChaosCleric's shoulders tensed. "I heard you, but my hand had already moved."

At that precise moment, something even more astonishing occurred.

The bodies began to move.

"Wait, did it… did it just move?" one of the ChaosKnight members stammered.

Without needing commands, several members of ChaosKnight retreated. To the stunned onlookers, thin, black tendrils emerged from the backs of the corpses. As the mystical formation activated, it levitated the bodies a few inches off the ground, pulling them into position.

IceQueen's expression hardened.

With a flick of her wrist, a wall of ice erupted, sealing the entrance before Gabriel even had to issue a command.

The first assault originated from the left. Gabriel observed the tendrils retract for a fraction of a second before launching. Dozens of black needles shot from the dead bodies with a dry, tearing sound. They traversed the chamber in an instant, impacting the ice wall in a concentrated volley no wider than two meters.

A sharp cracking sound echoed as the ice wall fractured down the middle. Thumb-sized holes marred its surface. One needle zipped past ChaosCleric's cheek, missing him by mere millimeters, and embedded itself halfway into the corridor wall behind.

ChaosCleric momentarily ceased breathing. His eyes fixated on the needle near his face, his fingers slowly tightening around his staff once more. "I deserved that," he whispered, his lips barely moving. His cheek had turned ashen where the needle had passed; had it not been for the ice wall's thickness, he would have been impaled.

"Later," IceQueen stated, raising her other hand. A second layer of ice formed over the first, visibly thicker and pressed tightly against the doorway.

Gabriel focused on the illuminated lines, ignoring the projectiles. He realized the trap hadn't targeted randomly; it had prioritized active mana and Qi flow, indicating it was seeking sources of power. This insight offered him a clue about the events that transpired here.

Suddenly, the bodies facing the far door now rotated towards the entrance, their black back-tendrils pointing forward in unison.

"VV," Gabriel called out. "Hold the front if the wall breaches. Do not attack unless something crosses the doorway."

VV slammed their sword into the stone floor, adopting a defensive stance behind it. The remaining ChaosKnight members positioned themselves behind the armored figure, while several wounded individuals shuffled backward.

"What exactly are we facing?" IceQueen inquired, her breathing steady but noticeably slower now.

Gabriel's eyes drifted to the opposite end of the chamber. After a short pause, he vocalized his thoughts. "It's a death formation, utilizing corpses as its anchors. Someone converted Tianlan into raw power after their demise."

His explanation brought a hush over the group, their expressions contorting to convey their comprehension of his words.

This was no ancient tomb trap. The chamber had been recently altered, and the Tianlan guild had merely become the most recent sacrifice.

The black lines on the floor throbbed once more, causing the ground beneath their feet to tremble. A palpable pressure intensified within the room, and the corpses at its center began to collapse inwards. The nails embedded in their flesh strained towards a single point, coalescing into a crude circle not exceeding four meters in diameter.

"Step back three paces," Gabriel commanded urgently. "Now."

The group obeyed without hesitation, retreating several steps. IceQueen meticulously retracted her ice wall in segments as she moved.

Gabriel lingered at the entrance for a fleeting moment, his gaze fixed upon the precise focal point where the formation was concentrating its power.

...

While the others were occupied with the conundrum of traversing the chamber behind them, the guide wore a slight, knowing smirk upon his face.