There was a sense of shock as the cultivators from Time Immemorial Sect watched the powerful Elder at Transcendent Realm got pulled down by the heavy gravitational pressure and drowned in extremely baleful lava as his energy ran out and he could no longer protect himself.
Grief was in their hearts as they looked towards Elder Dan who had a dark face.
Noah ignored the looks as he morphed his face into that of great pain, speaking out in a hard tone.
"My power is only slightly higher than Elder Broadsword, it's going to be extremely hard for me to reach the end of these platforms towards this treasure, so we will move on and try our fortune in the next location!"
There was a stupendous treasure lying in front of them, but they couldn't grasp it! A great Elder from their sect had also lost his life trying to get it, so they became extremely careful. They nodded unwillingly to the words of Elder Dan as they focused the power in their bodies to make short jumps towards the platforms on the same levels of elevation that led towards a dark door on the opposite side of the cavern they were in.
These jumps were manageable as they weren't required to expend more energy to jump even higher towards the profoundly floating book at the highest point of the lava filled cavern.
The Elders were not having any issues getting across with their levels in the Transcendent Realm, but some of the Legacy Disciples still in the Profound Realm(Phantasmal Rank) had to rest after every jump to recover their energies before going again for the next one.
Soon enough, most of them were on the last platform that led the way towards the exit of the cavern as they awaited the remaining Legacy Disciples to perform the last jump and make their journey out the hellish cavern filled with lava.
A particular Legacy Disciple with a fair face and green flowing hair gathered her wits and energy as she launched for the last jump when something horrendous occurred. The Elders and the other Legacy Disciples watched with wide eyes as the platform they were on moved just slightly backwards, and this slight movement was enough for this Legacy Disciple to not make it across as her hands only met air!
"Senior Sister!"
Shock returned to their faces as they began watching the disciple use all her energy to stay afloat against the descending gravitational pressure, but her body began sinking rapidly, her strength not being enough to hold on!
Noah's eyes glistened as he watched this occur, his skills improving the speed of his thoughts and perception working at high speeds as he let out a brave shout and jumped towards the falling Legacy Disciple.
"I won't let anyone else die on my watch!"
The members of the Time Immemorial Sect watched the valiantly shining figure of Elder Dan rush towards the direction of the rapidly falling disciple, his body rushing down even faster as he used the force of heavy gravity and his own energy to move like a streak of light and catch the falling disciple right before she smashed into the lava.
OONG!
Dense essence erupted out as he stopped his descent after catching the fair green haired disciple in a princess carry as he resisted the descending pressure and actually began rising higher!
The Elders and other Legacy Disciples watched on with teary and powerful eyes as they looked towards the Valiant Elder Dan that was resisting with all his energy and actually rising through the air, something that even the powerful Elder Broadsword was not able to do.
'This is the Elder Dan of our Time Immemorial Sect!'
"OOOH!"
Many held grand thoughts as they looked towards the valiant voice coming out of Elder Dan who continued to rise up with the disciple in tow. They neared the platform where everyone was located when yet another change occurred, and the cultivators noticed the vibrant essence that was covering Elder Dan began to flicker. Worries overcame their hearts as they shouted forth.
"You're almost there, Elder Dan!"
The shouts seemed to encourage their Elder as he rose up faster and placed more energy towards his hands, using it to forcefully fling the disciple he was holding forwards into the outstretched hands of the sect members. It was at this moment though, that they observed the vibrant essence on Elder Dan's body flicker and fade away, and his body began descending down.
"Elder Dan!"
Mournful shouts rang out as another disciple tried to jump towards the descending Elder Dan without thinking before he was stopped by an elder. They couldn't believe what they were watching, the powerful Elder they looked up to had actually used all of his energy to fly in the air that held horrid gravitational pressure and save a disciple, but he himself was about to fall into the scorching lava with his energy drained out!
They looked down to see Elder Dan's descending face form into a sad smile as he shouted out.
"Haha, I'm glad my last actions were for the sect! Don't you worry about me, go forth and obtain as much treasure as you can out of this deadly Abode, but be much more careful!"
A valiant hero's smile was plastered on his face as he continued to descend down with his body still flickering with diminished energy. Mournful cries were the only thing escaping the mouths of members of the Time Immemorial Sect as they watched Elder Dan continue to be pushed down...until his legs began sinking into the lava and his smile was replaced with a grimace of pain.
Through this pain, they still heard his last bold words.
"Go forth, and promise me that nobody else will die needless deaths in this place. If fate wills it, I will meet everyone once more in this life or the next. Believe in Time!"
Powerful last words came out as the entire body of Elder Dan sunk into the lava, never to be seen again. The mournful Elders and Disciples in the high platform above looked at this in sorry as they called out.
"In Time!"
"In Time!"
Below them, the valiant Elder Dan they were crying for used his extravagant and never ending essence to protect himself again as he let out a calm smile in the surroundings bubbling with lava. His body was barely singed when he got in, and had already begun healing the moment he used his nearly endless energy to float in the blazing lava and stop the descent. He gazed through the bubbling lava as his eyes watched the mourning disciples, and then turned towards the floating purple book far in the highest elevated platform as he waited with a grand smile, trying his best not to chuckle too much beneath the flowing river of lava.
The cultivators from the Time Immemorial Sect had finished their use the moment they helped him locate the Devilish Abode, and would only slow him down if he continued with them. He didn't have any reason to kill them, so he would let them go on their own as they faced the dangers of this Treasure Abode by themselves from here on out.
The physique and musculature of Elder Dan soon began to fade away as he returned to his normal human form and waited patiently for the cultivators of the Time Immemorial Sect to move on to the next location before he took the Ultimate Treasure floating in the air for himself!