The frequency of the ground tremors gradually increased, and the spacetime fragments on the bluestone slab spun more and more violently, eventually converging into a pale purple vortex ten meters in front of everyone.
Long Wu's dragon scales shimmered faintly as he reached out and touched the scales on his chest: "These things suddenly got hot, could they be pointing the way?"
“Indeed.” Chu Yao’s virtual projection appeared above everyone’s heads, and a stream of pale blue data poured out from her eyes. “According to spatial fluctuation calculations, the energy reaction at the center of the vortex completely coincides with the coordinates of the secret chamber in the City Lord’s Mansion’s underground palace—this is a hidden map that was deleted in the initial version of ‘Infinite’.” She tapped her fingertip, and a semi-transparent 3D map immediately appeared in the air. “Look, this place was originally marked ‘Trial Vault of the Gods’, but all records were erased before the game was officially launched.”
"The Trial Chamber of the Gods?" The white-bearded greatsword suddenly hummed, and the ancient beast patterns on the blade even emanated a golden-red light. "The old man's sword is reacting." Before he finished speaking, Su Qing, who was at the front, suddenly staggered a step, but instead of holding onto the wall as usual, she reached out and pressed her hand on the bluestone slab.
Beneath her pale fingertips, a barely perceptible silver line spread along the crack in the stone, like a living thing burrowing into the center of the vortex.
"Su Qing?" Lin Yi was about to reach out when he saw the girl look up and smile at him.
This was the first time he had seen a vibrant light in her eyes: "I... I can feel something waiting for me here."
As soon as he finished speaking, the vortex exploded with a "boom," revealing the dark staircase beneath the ground.
The wall lamps on both sides of the stairs turned on automatically, and the warm yellow light reflected the dense ancient characters on the walls—the very language of the advanced civilization that the Time Legion had deciphered in the ruins.
“‘This vault is set up for the spark of civilization, and only those who truly wish to protect it may enter.’” Aizen murmured the inscription, the ghostly flames pulsating more intensely in his palm. “It seems our exploration has finally touched the core.”
As the group descended the steps, the deeper they went, the more the air was filled with the sweet scent of grass and trees.
When the last step was firmly planted, everyone held their breath—before them lay a crystal-domed chamber with hundreds of suspended cocoons of light scattered like stars, each cocoon swirling with a different colored halo.
"Equipment energy detected!" Chu Yao's voice trembled slightly. "It's top-tier equipment below the Mythical level, some even reaching pseudo-legendary quality!" Her virtual projection suddenly split into seven small windows, each locking onto one of the seven cocoons of light. "Look, the energy fluctuations of these seven cocoons perfectly match your professions and bloodlines—Long Wu's cocoon is dark gold, Whitebeard Senior's is black iron, and Su Qing's... is the emerald green unique to the life essence!"
Lin Yi took two steps forward, and the nearest cocoon of light suddenly cracked open on its own.
A stream of silver-purple light flew out and landed precisely in his palm—it was a ring inlaid with fragments of time and space, with the words "Key to Time and Space" engraved on the ring.
As soon as he put it on, he felt the spacetime origin crystal in his sea of consciousness suddenly become active. The spacetime rift that originally took three seconds to condense was now eagerly trying to appear at his fingertips.
"Holy crap!" Long Wu exclaimed in surprise. As his light cocoon cracked open, a dragon-shaped flame pierced directly into his chest.
The dragon scales that had covered half his body instantly spread to his entire body, even revealing fine, reversed scales on his neck. "These scales are three times harder than before! I just tried scratching the ground with my dragon claws—" He pointed to the corner of the wall, where five claw marks, each three inches deep, were clearly visible on the bluestone slab. "They broke through his defenses!"
Whitebeard's greatsword flew into the corresponding cocoon of light with a "whoosh," and when it reappeared, the blade was covered with a layer of dark gold patterns.
He casually swung his sword, and a thunderous roar immediately filled the air: "This is the 'Thunder Prison' attribute! The sword intent that old man comprehended after being struck by lightning for three days and three nights in the far north has now been directly engraved into the sword?"
What made Lin Yi's heart race the most was Su Qing's light cocoon.
As the emerald light entered her body, the girl's originally translucent lips instantly turned rosy, and even the sickly bluish-gray at the corners of her eyes faded considerably.
She raised her hand to her neck, where a necklace made of tiny life-source stones had appeared: "I can feel... the erosion in my body is receding." She turned to look at Lin Yi, tears glistening in her eyes, "Those extradimensional toxins from before are now being devoured by this necklace."
When the cocoon of blue flames cracked open, a dark blue core floated out.
He pressed the core to his brow, and the originally illusory flames suddenly solidified like liquid: "This is the 'Netherworld Core,' which allows my flames to directly burn the soul—if that old bastard Night Owl tries to use mental attacks again, he'll probably have his brain burned through first."
Even Chu Yao received a pleasant surprise.
A diamond-shaped data crystal core flew out of her cocoon of light and merged into her virtual projection. The girl's hair even shone with a real luster: "Now my computing speed has increased by 300%, and I can also briefly materialize a physical form—" She reached out and touched Lin Yi's shoulder. This time, it was not a passing through, but a clear tactile sensation. "Although it can only last for ten minutes, it is enough to deliver a healing potion on the battlefield."
As everyone was immersed in the ecstasy of their increased strength, subtle changes began to occur in the surrounding spatial fluctuations, and the air seemed to become somewhat oppressive.
Lin Yi keenly sensed the anomaly. He frowned and pinched the Time-Space Key on his finger. The time-space fragments on the surface of the ring were rotating counterclockwise—a sign of impending time-space disorder.
"Chu Yao, scan the surrounding space!"
“Scanning—” The AI girl’s voice suddenly tightened, “Spatial fluctuations detected outside the east wall! Two powerful energy entities are breaking through the spatial barrier. One is the Dark Corrosion Power of Night Owl, and the other…” Her data stream suddenly became garbled, “The energy characteristics of the other one are highly consistent with the ‘Xuanmingzi’ we’ve encountered before!”
Previously, in a moment of carelessness, Xuanmingzi had made a mysterious move.
At that moment, he silently observed everyone's actions from the shadows, a slight smile playing on his lips, his eyes revealing an unfathomable meaning.
This detail went unnoticed at the time, but in retrospect, it may have been a subtle hint of his inner thoughts.
Before the words were even finished, the crystal wall on the east side of the secret room cracked open with a spiderweb-like pattern.
Two figures stumbled and tumbled into the crack. One was covered in blood; it was Dark Blade, who had been trapped in the independent space-time. The other was shrouded in black mist, half his face already festering, yet he still let out a piercing laugh: "Lin Yi, you think you can rest easy just by imprisoning me?" Night Owl's voice was like a rusty gear, "You've forgotten who built this City of Oblivion—" He suddenly turned to look at the gray-robed old man who had also emerged from the crack, "Xuan Mingzi, it's time for you to fulfill your promise!"
The old man in the gray robe raised his head, and his originally cloudy eyes now gleamed with a deep blue light.
He glanced at the stunned crowd, then at Night Owl, and suddenly chuckled, "A promise? When did I ever say I'd help you?"
Night Owl's smile froze on his face: "You...you're not the mainframe's avatar, are you?"
“The mainframe?” Xuan Mingzi’s voice suddenly became ethereal. “That’s just a string of programs left behind by an advanced civilization.” His gaze swept over the Time-Space Key in Lin Yi’s hand, then fell on the life necklace around Su Qing’s neck. “Now, it’s time for the real game to begin.”
Suddenly, the crystal dome of the secret chamber began to collapse, and countless fragments fell like a torrential rain.
Lin Yi shielded Su Qing behind him, and the Key of Time and Space burst forth with a bright light, erecting a semi-transparent time and space barrier above everyone's heads.
The fragments struck the barrier with a sound similar to the clanging of metal.
"Let's go!" He grabbed Su Qing and rushed towards the stairs. "The Night Owl's Dark Corrosion Power is corroding the space here. If we're any later, we'll really be trapped to death!"
The group ran up the stairs, the roar of the collapsing chamber filling their ears.
Long Wu shouted as he ran, "What's going on? Why did that old man suddenly change his mind!" The white-bearded man, panting heavily, said, "Never mind that for now, let's get out of here and talk about it!"
When everyone tumbled out of the secret chamber, the bronze city gate had already reopened.
But no one had time to feel relieved, because they clearly heard a series of hisses coming from behind the door—a terrifying cry somewhere between a reptile and a human, mixed with a sizzling sound that seemed to corrode reality.
"Chu Yao, what was that sound just now?" The white-bearded man gripped his heavy sword tightly, lightning crackling across its blade.
The AI girl's projection experienced its first noticeable lag: "Detected... Shadow creatures. Their energy signature is identical to that of the vanguard forces during the initial stages of the interdimensional invasion, but their intensity is at least three times greater." Her voice suddenly sharpened, "Night Owl is summoning the Shadow Legion!"
Lin Yi stared at the bronze door that had closed again, his eyes swirling with silver and purple light.
He touched the Key of Time and Space, and felt a burning sensation from the ring, as if it were responding to his fighting spirit.
“Perfect timing.” He turned to look at his team members, each of whom had a fighting spirit burning in their eyes—Long Wu’s dragon scales were glowing, Whitebeard’s sword was roaring, Su Qing’s life necklace was shimmering with an emerald halo, and Lan Ran’s ghostly fire had solidified into a tangible blade.
“It’s time to let these extradimensional insects see what it means to be—” he curled the corner of his mouth, “the true strength of the Time Legion.”
Behind them, inside the bronze door, countless dark figures were crawling along the cracks.
One of the largest shadows raised its head, its scarlet eyes reflecting the figures of the people outside the door, and let out a roar powerful enough to tear the air apart.
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