"Destroying this altar can seal off another passage,"
Duan Chen looked up at the giant bronze mirror before him.
Though this mirror was very similar to the one on the altar he had first seen, it lacked the ring of smaller mirrors around its periphery, making it appear somewhat insubstantial.
"You try," Wu Suowei said calmly.
Duan Chen patted Bai Ye's shoulder. "Come on, brother."
Bai Ye: "......Why me?"
Duan Chen grinned slyly. "Giving you a chance to shine."
Bai Ye sighed helplessly. "You guys really squeeze me dry, don't you..."
He said this, but still stepped forward.
Raising his arms to a 90-degree angle, countless black, swirling evil energies transformed into hundreds of dark ravens, taking flight.
"Caw—!"
They screeched and charged at the bronze mirror, like countless brave bombs detonating themselves.
BOOM!!
Under the successive barrages, the bronze mirror collapsed, falling amidst the brilliant red flowers.
The ravens dispersed, leaving behind a sky full of scattered feathers.
"......"
Duan Chen twitched his lips. "You're too stingy, can't you use a special move or something? Just summoning a few ravens like this is just going through the motions."
Bai Ye chuckled lightly. "This level isn't a big move yet."
Actually, Bai Ye thought to himself: Do you really think I'm an idiot? Unleash another big move for you to copy?
I'm a master of casual techniques!
After waiting for a while, the prompt for the seal progress update did not arrive.
"What's going on?" Duan Chen frowned, walking up to the bronze mirror and confirming it was covered in cracks and holes.
"Not enough damage? After all, someone was slacking."
Wu Suowei glanced at Bai Ye, who immediately gave a sheepish smile.
Duan Chen then conjured his black saber, imbued it with spiritual energy, and drove it straight down through the mirror.
This time, the mirror was truly destroyed, but there was still no update prompt.
He couldn't help but furrow his brow and scratch the back of his head.
"What the heck? Could this mirror be fake?"
Duan Chen jumped to where the bronze mirror had been placed and poked it fiercely with his saber.
Empty!
Sensing something strange, Duan Chen poked a few more times, and a fissure actually opened beneath his feet, spreading outwards.
The three of them quickly retreated to the side.
But the surrounding red flowers and the bodies of the undead army began to fall downwards.
Rustle—
In an instant, the ground became like a constantly sinking swamp, devouring countless falling creatures.
"I suspect this is the real [Marsh Altar] down here," Duan Chen said, standing on a withered tree and steadying himself with a vine.
"Then how do we get down?" Bai Ye hovered in the air, his raven wings keeping him aloft.
"Aren't the wings on your body the answer?" Duan Chen grinned cheekily.
"......"
Bai Ye's mouth twitched. "I'm starting to suspect you guys are the demons..."
"Come on, big guys, stop wasting time," Duan Chen urged.
"I can't carry so many people!" Bai Ye's voice finally showed some emotion.
"......"
Wu Suowei and Duan Chen both wore expressions of disdain, as if saying, "That's it? That's all?"
"Then be generous and show me the whole process. I'll copy it, and then you won't have to carry us," Duan Chen said sincerely.
Bai Ye immediately felt his composure starting to crumble.
"I only have so many moves, leave some for me."
"Tch, people of the Evil God are truly stingy," Duan Chen shook his head.
"......"
Bai Ye's mouth twitched, and he didn't want to speak anymore.
After the tremors subsided, a hundred-meter-long fissure was exposed before the three of them.
Below was an abyss of unfathomable depth.
Duan Chen surveyed the surroundings and found that the hole where Zhen Cao Dan had escaped was still there, with the earth around it firm and showing no signs of collapse.
"That's the entrance," Duan Chen swung his hands and jumped to the hole.
He kicked away the scattered rocks and red flowers. The hole was indeed just large enough for one person to pass through.
"See, there's an entrance here, no need to fly," Bai Ye landed beside him.
"Then let's go," Wu Suowei nodded.
Duan Chen and the other two entered the hole in succession.
Inside the crooked, dark hole, it was very cramped.
Duan Chen led the way, followed by Bai Ye, and then Wu Suowei.
It was like a maze inside, turning left, then right, left, then right...
If Duan Chen hadn't been leading, they would have been truly lost.
Bai Ye's heart stirred.
Isn't this a great opportunity!
If they can't be killed, they can be trapped.
With Wu Suowei's terrible sense of direction, without navigation, he'd just be going in circles. This was the perfect time to bury him.
Moreover, this place was narrow and cramped, rich in evil energy, and he wouldn't have enough space to deploy his teleportation, making it the ideal spot to bury Wu Suowei.
"Heh heh, Duan Chen, can you crawl faster?" Bai Ye said softly.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Duan Chen asked.
"I want to fart."
Bai Ye said with a light chuckle.
Duan Chen's face immediately darkened. This was a completely sealed passageway.
So, Duan Chen sped up his crawling. Bai Ye secretly followed, accelerating, while controlling his dark ravens to transform into his substitutes.
Without anyone noticing.
The real Bai Ye accelerated with Duan Chen, while the fake Bai Ye slowly held back Wu Suowei's progress. Soon, a distance was created.
After crawling for a while longer, they reached the exit.
Duan Chen flipped out of the hole.
The bottom of the hole was surprisingly bright.
Looking up, a majestic bronze gate, ancient and tall, reaching to the same height as the cave, blocked their path forward.
Two white jade pillars stood on either side, each entwined with a beast with a fish tail, wielding a trident. Their eyes bulged like copper bells, lifelike. The bronze gate itself was teeming with demons, each a monstrous fish-man with a fierce expression, as if ready to tear people to shreds.
Under the flickering torchlight, the tightly shut bronze gate seemed to be filtered by the passage of time, exuding a sense of ancient desolation amidst its terrifying ferocity.
Bai Ye followed closely behind, landing leisurely.
"A bronze gate... a tomb, huh? I've read 'Grave Robbers' Chronicles' and 'Ghost Blows Out the Light,' I'm actually a little excited."
He sauntered to the bronze gate and touched its surface.
A cold sensation spread, and it was covered with a peculiar energy.
"Where's Wu Suowei?"
Duan Chen looked back into the hole. Wu Suowei had not yet emerged.
"I don't know. He should have been right behind me," Bai Ye also leaned forward to peer inside.
"Wu Suowei—!"
Duan Chen's voice echoed in the cave, but there was no response.
"That's strange, even a snail should have crawled out by now," Duan Chen scratched his head.