From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 443 Breaking the Trap and Overcoming the Obsession

It wasn't just the chaos caused by the loss of control over the ruins' energy; there seemed to be a faint trace of something being deliberately guided.

This increase in power seems to be more than just the ruins going out of control... Who is it?

Blood Demon?

He doesn't seem to have the ability or cunning to precisely manipulate the energy deep within the ruins under such circumstances.

So, is it Mo Yu?

Or does this ruin itself conceal a deeper consciousness?

My heart sank, and cold sweat broke out on my back.

If someone is indeed manipulating this chaos, then our situation is a hundred times more dangerous than we imagine!

Just as my thoughts were racing, a violent tremor suddenly came from the ground beneath my feet!

"Boom--!"

The entire ruins seemed to groan from the tremors, with rubble falling and jagged cracks appearing on the cave walls.

The black vortexes that were originally spinning endlessly suddenly became even more violent under this violent tremor. Then, as if they had lost their support, they collapsed and converged towards a single point in the center!

The light distorted, and the energy raged!

We were so startled by this sudden turn of events that we stumbled backward, barely managing to regain our footing.

The tremors lasted for several breaths before gradually subsiding, and the view in front of us had completely changed.

At the end of the once empty passage, a colossal stone gate suddenly appeared!

The stone gate is several tens of feet high and seven or eight feet wide, and its entire body presents an ancient and deep dark gray color, as if it has stood here since time immemorial.

The facade had no elaborate carvings, only dense, twisted and tangled eerie runes.

The runes seemed to be alive, shimmering with a dark and ambiguous luster. Looking at them for too long would make one dizzy and uneasy.

A heavy, oppressive atmosphere, filled with a strong sense of rejection, emanated from behind the stone gate, blocking our path forward.

“This is…” Abbess Huixin frowned, took a few quick steps forward, and carefully examined the runes on the stone door. Her expression became extremely solemn. “Such a powerful restriction! These runes… are an extremely ancient and vicious trap seal. If you touch it improperly, the consequences will be unimaginable!”

trap?

My heart skipped a beat as I looked at the tightly closed stone door. Sure enough, I sensed an extremely dangerous energy fluctuation between the runes, as if a ferocious beast was lurking behind the door, ready to devour its prey.

At that moment, Blood Fiend, who had been entangled by dark energy and vortexes, suddenly had a fierce glint in his eyes, as if he saw a chance to escape.

Taking advantage of the moment when our attention was drawn to the stone gate, he transformed into a bloody shadow, attempting to bypass us and slip away directly from the side of the stone gate!

However, just as he rushed to within a few feet of the edge of the stone gate, a muffled thud resounded!

As if he had crashed into an invisible wall, Xue Sha was violently bounced back by a powerful force, falling to the ground in a disheveled state and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

He struggled to his feet, his face filled with horror and disbelief. He tried to break through again, but was still firmly blocked by the invisible force. He couldn't get even a fraction closer to the stone door, let alone get around it.

He was trapped here too!

It seems that this stone gate trap not only blocked the way forward, but also cut off the possibility of retreat or escape.

"Master, is there a way to break this?" I asked in a deep voice, my eyes fixed on the strange runes.

Master Huixin shook her head, her tone heavy: "The power of the laws contained in these runes is very peculiar, completely different from the restrictive runes we usually see. They seem... closer to the origin of the legendary immortal arts. I need time to study and deduce them carefully."

Time? Time is what we lack most right now!

Blood Fiend was trapped, but he had not lost his fighting ability. His sinister gaze swept over us, clearly indicating that he had no good intentions.

Although Zi Ling's shoulder wound was temporarily sealed with her spiritual power, the dark energy that had invaded her body was still eroding her vitality, and her face remained pale.

Elder Qingfeng was like a frightened bird, shrinking into a corner, muttering repeatedly, "It's over, it's all over."

can not wait!

I took a deep breath and walked to the stone gate.

The immortal power within him, which he had just mastered but had been inexplicably suppressed, was now being tried to circulate once more.

Although it is still sluggish, it is not completely unusable.

Perhaps, with this shared power, we can break the seal on the source of this immortal technique?

I focused my mind and raised my hand, cautiously extending a wisp of immortal power containing a white-gold hue towards a seemingly simple rune on the stone door.

However, just as my power was about to touch the rune—

"Buzz!"

All the runes on the stone gate suddenly shone brightly! An even more terrifying repulsive force erupted instantly!

"Watch out!" Master Huixin exclaimed.

Almost simultaneously, "Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

Without warning, countless sharp stone spikes flashing with cold light shot out from the ground beneath our feet, the stone walls on both sides, and even the rock formations above our heads!

These stone spikes were as fast as lightning, at tricky angles, and covered every inch of the space we were in!

The sudden attack caught us off guard, and we could only rely on instinct and combat experience to dodge in a sorry state.

"Pfft!"

A cry of pain came from my side, and my heart tightened. I quickly looked over.

To avoid a row of sharp spikes shooting from the ground, Zi Ling darted to the side, but she couldn't completely dodge one that shot from the side wall. The sharp spike instantly ripped through her calf, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone. Blood gushed out, staining her skirt red.

She was already injured, and now it was even worse. She staggered and fell to the ground, her pretty face pale with pain and cold sweat pouring down her face.

"Ziling!" I rushed to her side to treat her wounds, but the attacks from the spikes around us showed no signs of stopping; on the contrary, they became even more intense!

"It's no use! I told you it's no use!" Elder Qingfeng's voice trembled with tears. He huddled inside a crumbling defensive barrier he had erected, watching us scramble to avoid the attack, watching Ziling get injured and bleed. He completely broke down. "I knew it! I knew it! Xiao Yao! It's all your fault! If you hadn't been so stubborn, insisting on searching for some damn immortal technique ruins, how could we have ended up like this! This place is a complete dead end! We're all going to die here! Die here!"

His accusations were like sharp knives, piercing the already tense situation.

"Qingfeng! Shut up! Calm your mind and use your internal energy to defend!" Master Huixin shouted sternly as she swung her staff to shatter the stone spikes aimed at her. However, the sweat on her forehead and her slightly rapid breathing showed that she was not having an easy time dealing with the situation.

"Hehehe..." From the corner, the trapped Blood Fiend let out a gloating laugh. "Fight! Struggle! It would be best if you all died under this trap! After you're all dead, I'll find a way out. Then, all the treasures on your bodies will be mine!"

Spikes rained down, comrades were wounded, elders collapsed, and enemies taunted...

An atmosphere of despair spread like a tide.

While I was wielding my sword to parry the constantly attacking spikes and protecting Zi Ling, my mind was racing.

When conventional magical powers touched the runes, they not only had no effect, but also triggered even stronger mechanisms... This is illogical.

unless……

Unless these runes aren't meant to be "dispelled" at all!

My gaze fell once again on the massive stone door and those eerie runes.

Anti-routine...

The trace of "human intervention" that I had sensed before resurfaced in my mind.

If this trap, including the previous energy vortex, was meticulously designed... then what was the designer's purpose?

Just to kill the intruder?

No, if that were the case, the energy vortex just now would have been enough to swallow us up, so why bother creating this stone door and spikes?

Is this more like a...test? Or perhaps a selection process?

What to filter?

How do we filter out those who only know how to use brute force and conventional thinking to solve problems?

My heart skipped a beat.

What if these runes weren't "locks" but "keyholes"?

What if the input required is not the power to crack the code, but some kind of specific "information" or "frequency"?

Could that subtle, almost imperceptible "human guidance" be a clue?

I forced myself to calm down and stop thinking about how to use force to "break" the runes. Instead, I tried to "sense" and "understand" the essence of these runes.

They twisted and coiled, seemingly chaotic, but subtly, they seemed to follow a unique rhythm and cadence, as if they had some kind of... faint resonance with the core essence of the newly born, harmonious and perfect immortal power within me.

Just as I was concentrating and trying to capture that fleeting resonance frequency, an extremely subtle yet chilling aura, carrying a familiar yet unsettling feeling, silently spread from some unknown corner, like a venomous snake.

This feeling... is...

My pupils suddenly contracted. Chapter 444 Reversing the Fate

That cold, familiar aura, like a leech clinging to the bone, sending chills down your spine... it was Mo Yu!

My heart skipped a beat, and I looked up sharply, my gaze passing through the flying stone spikes to a shadow deep within the ruins' passage.

There, a tall, indistinct figure stood silently, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

He was shrouded in a thin layer of black mist, obscuring his face, but his deep and cold eyes were clearly visible to me, carrying a condescending indifference and... a hint of barely perceptible mockery.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a sorry sight, Xiao Yao."

The cold, deep voice, with its strange penetrating power, resounded directly in everyone's minds, ignoring the sharp, whistling noise.

"A future Immortal Venerable has been forced into such a predicament by a mere beginner-level immortal technique selection trap?"

Mo Yu! He really is here! He's always been here!

It's him!

The faint trace of "human intervention" that was there before must have been related to him!

He had been observing from the shadows, and might even have... participated in the operation of this trap!

"Mo Yu!" Abbess Huixin also noticed his presence, her face instantly turning extremely ugly. She swung her staff even more rapidly, but her tone carried a hint of vigilance and exhaustion, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Mo Yu seemed oblivious to Master Huixin's question, his gaze fixed on me with a playful, predatory air: "This stone gate's restriction is constructed according to the most orthodox and conventional logic of immortal arts. It tests the depth of understanding of the laws of immortal arts and the precision of energy control. What a pity..."

He chuckled, his laughter filled with undisguised sarcasm: "You people, including you and Xiao Yao, have only learned and used the superficial and variant forms of immortal techniques. Your thinking has long been rigid; you only know how to use brute force to break through and your self-righteous 'skillful' methods to break through. You will never understand where the real 'door' of this restriction is; you will only be like headless flies, triggering more and more defensive mechanisms until you exhaust your last bit of strength and are completely swallowed by this ruin."

His words were like cold needles, piercing precisely into the most vulnerable part of my heart.

Yes, he's right.