Chapter 19: Forced to Join Forces
"No... No... I didn't..." Chu Yun knelt in the sea of fire, clutching his head, his body trembling violently with the intense agony. Those bitter accusations and the anguished faces of his loved ones were etched into his mind like a brand, choking him. Just as his will was about to be completely consumed, a cold breath, faintly scented with herbs, suddenly penetrated his brow. Like a basin of ice water, it instantly extinguished the flames within him. The sea of fire before him began to fade, and the anguished faces began to blur. Chu Yun's eyes snapped open. He found himself still standing before the massive bronze door. His teammates were like him, standing or sitting, each with expressions of struggle and pain on their faces, clearly trapped in their own inner demons. Li Ge stood before him, her face paler than ever, two fingers pressed against his brow. "Awake?" Li Ge, seeing him regain consciousness, immediately withdrew her hand, her voice a hint of obvious weakness. "You..." Chu Yun looked at her. "I've used my method to temporarily block your connection to the illusion," Li Ge said quickly. "But it won't last long. You must calm your mind." She turned and walked over to the bearded man beside her, who had already fallen into a frenzy. She also pointed a finger at his forehead. Chu Yun watched Li Ge's back, a mixture of emotions. He hadn't expected the man he had always considered a cultist would be the one to save him. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging emotions within him. He began to channel his energy to protect his mind and resist the encroaching power of the invisible demonic force. With Li Ge's help, everyone gradually emerged from the illusion. Each one was covered in cold sweat, their faces pale, as if they had suffered a serious illness. "What the hell is this?" the bearded man said with lingering fear. "It reads our deepest fears and creates this illusion." Li Ge's body swayed, clearly exhausted from helping so many people at once. Chu Yun subconsciously reached out to help her. Li Ge's body stiffened for a moment, but she didn't push him away. "Why do you seem... okay?" Mo Li looked at Li Ge, her eyes filled with surprise and doubt. She had just been caught in a fantasy, witnessing her family being wronged and condemned by thousands of people, and her elders being unjustly killed before her eyes. The pain and powerlessness almost made her collapse. She couldn't understand why Li Ge was so unaffected. "I...
"No... no... I didn't..."
Chu Yun knelt in the sea of fire, holding his head, his body shaking violently from the immense pain. Those resentful accusations and the anguished faces of his loved ones were etched in his mind like a brand, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Just as his will was about to be completely devoured, a cold breath with a faint herbal scent suddenly penetrated his brow. Like a basin of ice water, it instantly extinguished the flames in his heart. The sea of fire before him began to fade, and the suffering faces began to blur.
Chu Yun's eyes snapped open. He found himself still standing in front of the massive bronze door. His teammates were like him, some standing and some sitting, each with a look of struggle and pain on their faces, clearly trapped in their own inner demonic worlds. Li Ge stood before him, her face paler than ever, two fingers poised between his brows.
"Awake?" Li Ge withdrew his hand immediately when he saw that he had regained consciousness, with a hint of obvious weakness in his voice.
"You..." Chu Yun looked at her.
"I used my method to temporarily block your connection with the illusion." Li Ge said quickly, "But it won't last long. You must calm your mind."
After she finished speaking, she immediately turned around and walked towards the bearded man next to her who had fallen into madness, and pointed her finger at his forehead.
Chu Yun watched Li Ge's back, his heart awash with mixed emotions. He hadn't imagined that the one who would save him would be this unholy doctor he had always considered a heretic. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging emotions within him, and began channeling his energy to protect his mind, resisting the erosion of the invisible demonic power within.
With Li Ge's help, everyone gradually emerged from the illusion. Everyone was covered in cold sweat, their faces pale, as if they had suffered a serious illness.
"What the hell is this thing?" said the bearded man with lingering fear.
"It reads our deepest fears and creates this illusion." Li Ge's body swayed. It was obvious that helping so many people at once was extremely exhausting for her. Chu Yun subconsciously reached out to help her. Li Ge's body stiffened for a moment, but she didn't push him away.
"Why do you seem... okay?" Mo Li looked at Li Ge, her eyes filled with surprise and doubt. She had just been caught in a fantasy, witnessing her family wronged and condemned by thousands of people, her elders unjustly killed before her eyes. The pain and powerlessness nearly broke her. She couldn't understand why Li Ge was so unaffected.
"My fear has long become a part of me." Li Ge's answer was understated, but it made everyone present feel an inexplicable chill.
“Click, click…”
At this moment, the sound of gears turning could be heard again from the huge bronze door. This time, the door slowly opened to both sides, revealing a new, deeper passage behind it.
"Judgment... End." The cold sound of metal grinding echoed in everyone's mind again. "Seven people passed. Two people failed. Those who failed will be executed... Eliminated."
Everyone was startled and immediately counted the number of people. Their improvised group had originally numbered nine, but now only seven remained. They looked back and saw, not far behind them, the two quacks who had just crossed Suzaku Street together. They were still kneeling on the ground with their eyes closed, a strange smile on their faces, as if they were still immersed in some beautiful dream.
Before anyone could react, the ground beneath the two men suddenly cracked open. Two massive metal claws with razor-sharp blades suddenly emerged from the ground, piercing their bodies instantly. Blood gushed out, and the two men died instantly before they could even scream.
Everyone was stunned by this bloody and cruel scene.
"Let's go!" Li Ge was the first to react. With a low shout, she pulled the still-dazed Mo Li along and was the first to rush through the open bronze gate. Chu Yun and the others followed immediately, not daring to stay even a moment longer.
The group rushed into the new passage. The bronze gate behind them closed again with a loud bang after they entered. The passage was pitch black. Everyone was still in shock, gasping for breath. The scene just now had a huge impact on them.
"This... this is... the consequence of failing?" the young woman asked in a trembling voice.
No one answered her, but everyone knew the answer was yes.
"Why... why is this happening?" Mo Li's voice trembled. "This isn't right... Tianshumen's judgment shouldn't be like this! It's meant to screen those with strong resolve, not... to kill!" She looked at her hands, confusion and self-doubt in her eyes for the first time. She found that this mechanical city, protected by her family for generations, had become increasingly unfamiliar and terrifying.
"It's no use talking about this now," Chu Yun's voice broke the silence. "We must keep moving forward." He pulled out a lighting talisman from his bosom. It was the last functional talisman he had. He injected a tiny bit of power into it, and the talisman paper lit up with a soft light, illuminating the road ahead.
It was a long corridor paved with bluestone, so long that the end seemed endless. On either side of the corridor, every ten steps stood a two-foot-tall metal puppet, wielding a massive axe. These puppets, eyes closed, remained motionless, like statues. But everyone knew they were definitely not statues.
"This is the 'War Puppet Corridor'." Mo Li looked at the metal puppets and said in a dry voice, "Each war puppet possesses a force of a thousand pounds. The giant axes in their hands can easily split the city wall."
"What are their triggering conditions?" Li Ge asked.
"Pressure." Mo Li pointed at the bluestone slabs on the ground. "This corridor is full of pressure traps. Every wrong step will activate the closest battle puppet. And once the first battle puppet is activated, they will all wake up."
Everyone's heart was in their throat.
"Then...where is the right way?" the bearded man asked nervously.
"There's no right way." Mo Li shook his head, a look of despair on his face. "This corridor was originally designed to stop a massive army. It simply... didn't have a so-called 'way out'."
"Then we...are doomed?"
"Not necessarily." Mo Li took a deep breath, as if to encourage himself, "Its core logic is pressure sensing. As long as we can... not touch the ground, we may be able to pass safely."
"Without touching the ground?" Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. This corridor was at least three hundred meters long. Who could fly three hundred meters without landing?
Just when everyone was at their wits' end, Chu Yun suddenly said, "I have a solution." Everyone's eyes were focused on him.
He walked to the entrance of the corridor and placed his hand on the left wall. He closed his eyes and slowly channeled the little strength he had finally recovered into the wall.
"Buzz—"
The wall his palm touched suddenly lit up with a faint golden light. Then, like a serpent, the golden light stretched forward along the wall. As the light passed, the cold walls unexpectedly began to become...soft and transparent.
"You...what are you doing?" Mo Li asked in shock as he looked at this incredible scene.
"I'm... changing its 'rules'." Chu Yun's voice was a little strained. "This city is made up of energy circuits. As long as I can find its nodes, I can use my power to temporarily change its form." This was a little bit of what he understood from the "guardian" circuit on the jade pendant, using the power of "life" to influence, rather than the power of "destruction" to resist.
The golden light continued to extend forward, and soon, a "path" about half a foot wide made of pure golden energy formed on the left wall.
"Let's go!" Chu Yun growled, "My strength won't last much longer!"
Without hesitation, everyone immediately stepped onto the golden energy path, carefully following the wall. Their hearts were in their throats. The abyss lay beneath their feet; the slightest misstep would activate those terrifying war puppets.
It took them a full incense stick of time to cover the three hundred meters. Chu Yun's face grew paler and paler, and he could feel the strength draining from his body rapidly. Just as they were about to reach the end of the corridor, the young woman at the back suddenly slipped due to excessive nervousness.
"Ah!" She screamed, lost her balance and fell to the bluestone slab below.
"Not good!" Everyone's heart sank.
"Don't worry about her! Let's go!" A hint of cold determination flashed in Mo Li's eyes, and she shouted at the people in front, "She has triggered the trap! If we save her now, we will only be dragged down! Everyone will die!" This was her coldest judgment based on the "optimal solution" - give up one person and save everyone.
A trace of struggle flashed across the bearded man's face, but he finally chose to obey Mo Li's words and quickened his pace.
However, Chu Yun didn't move. He looked at the woman falling, her face filled with despair, and thought of himself thirteen years ago, the same desperate, helpless self in the sea of fire. He couldn't bear to watch someone die in front of him.
"You go first!" Chu Yun yelled at the people in front of him, then turned around and jumped down from the golden energy path. He took the initiative to jump towards the death trap that was about to be activated.
"You're crazy!" Mo Li screamed as she watched his actions. She couldn't understand why someone would make such a "stupid" and illogical choice.
Chu Yun ignored her screams. He twisted his body in mid-air, grabbed the young woman's arm, and unleashed the last of his strength. A gentle, yet resilient force surged from beneath his feet, supporting both him and the woman, slowing their descent.
He succeeded, catching the woman just as she was about to fall to the ground. But at the same time, both of their feet lightly touched the ground.
"Buzz—"
At this moment, the tightly closed eyes of all the metal war dolls in the entire corridor lit up with scarlet light at the same time.
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