In the third level of this Tomb of the Gods, every Saint-level powerhouse was moving with extreme caution, not daring to make the slightest sound, for fear of waking the terrifying creature sleeping within—the Ba Serpent. Throughout the entire third level, the only sound was the deep, rumbling breathing of the Ba Serpent in its slumber.
"Out... In..."
Each time the Ba Serpent exhaled, it would blow dark streams of air from its nostrils, and each time it inhaled, it drew in shavings of ice from its surroundings.
"Fortunately, aside from the Ba Serpent, there are no other creatures in the third level." Lin Lei glanced at the Ba Serpent from a great distance.
The Ba Serpent's body, covered in azure scales and stretching over ten thousand meters long, coiled around a towering iceberg. Its massive head was the size of a six- or seven-story building, and its closed eyelids gleamed with a metallic sheen, as though forged from steel. The sheer visual impact alone was enough to make every Saint-level expert's heart tremble.
They had been searching for a long time.
"Where is the passage to the fourth level?" Lin Lei was growing anxious.
It wasn't just Lin Lei who was worried. Every powerhouse in the third level felt the pressure. If they had been asked to spend an extra ten days or half a month on the first or second level, none of them would have minded. But here, on the third level, even half a day felt as agonizing as a thousand years.
The Ba Serpent—if anyone made so much as a loud noise, it would surely wake.
Even without being disturbed, the Ba Serpent might rouse on its own. If it happened to stir at any moment, the Saint-level experts wouldn't even have time to cry.
"The people on this third level keep growing. There must be over thirty by now." Lin Lei glanced behind him. Those Saint-level powerhouses who had originally been on the first and second levels had, one after another, entered the third as well. Yet no one had found the passage to the fourth level.
Naturally, that meant even more people piling onto the third level.
The more people there were, the greater the chance of a mistake.
"Hoo..."
The Ba Serpent's breathing wasn't loud, but it struck at the heart like the blow of a heavy hammer.
"Desli, Tulli, Fain—they were the first to enter, but I haven't seen any of them." Lin Lei carefully dodged a stream of black air. The dark current instantly dissolved a nearby ice spire into fine powder.
The black air exhaled by the Ba Serpent could not be touched.
"Desli and the others are experienced. They probably found the passage easily and have already gone on to the fourth level." Lin Lei understood. While he had been searching for the passage on the first level, Desli, Fain, and the rest had most likely been pushing upward continuously, one level after another.
There was nothing he could do. They had the experience.
Someone approached from the side—it was Edens. Lin Lei looked at him questioningly.
Edens pointed in one direction, then pointed in another, indicating that he and his group would search for the passage from this side, while Lin Lei and Buck should head in a different direction.
Lin Lei nodded.
Edens gave a slight smile, then flew off toward the designated direction with two other Saint-level powerhouses. Lin Lei and Buck exchanged a glance, each understanding the other's thoughts, and headed toward the other direction... Right now, the most important thing was to find the passage!
Time ticked by, second by second...
The number of powerhouses gathering on the third level continued to grow. By Lin Lei's estimation, it had reached forty by now. After all, there were over sixty human Saint-level powerhouses in total, and nearly twenty more were magical beasts. Meanwhile, Desli, Fain, and the others had already entered the fourth level.
If things continued like this, even more people would pile onto this level.
"Edens." Lin Lei spotted Edens ahead.
Edens and his two companions shook their heads at Lin Lei—they clearly hadn't found the passage either. Lin Lei shook his head as well. He and Buck hadn't found it either.
Many of the Saint-level powerhouses who recognized one another exchanged glances, and it was obvious none of them had discovered the passage. As time continued to pass... Lin Lei, Edens, and the growing crowd grew increasingly tense inside, and yet this whole group still couldn't find the passage.
"That's impossible." Lin Lei's brow furrowed. "Even though the fourth level is quite spacious inside, with this many powerhouses searching at full speed, it shouldn't be impossible to find."
"The only explanation is..."
Lin Lei gazed toward where the Ba Serpent lay. "The passage entrance must be right next to the Ba Serpent!"
From the moment they had entered the third level, every Saint-level powerhouse who saw the Ba Serpent had immediately recoiled in terror. No one dared to approach it. First, the Ba Serpent was far too terrifying. Second, because... there were large quantities of black air currents swirling around it.
The black air was devastatingly powerful—it could reduce even the hardest ice to powder on contact.
No one would go near that.
"Precisely because no one dares to approach—that's exactly where the entrance must be." Lin Lei nudged Buck beside him. Buck looked at him in confusion.
Lin Lei pointed toward the Ba Serpent, gave Buck a meaningful look, then flew directly toward the creature's location. Buck didn't hesitate and immediately followed. Within moments, the two of them had closed to a relatively near distance from the Ba Serpent.
Several Saint-level powerhouses saw what Lin Lei and Buck were doing and immediately signaled frantically with their eyes, urging the two to get away from there.
It wasn't out of goodwill. They were worried that Lin Lei and Buck might wake the Ba Serpent! That would doom them all.
"For now, keep as much distance from the Ba Serpent as possible. Fly along the length of its body and look for the entrance." Lin Lei held Buck back, preventing him from getting too close, and the two of them began circling along the serpent's massive body, searching desperately for the passage entrance.
They started from the safest area—the region near the tail.
The Saint-level powerhouses were all sharp. Seeing what Lin Lei and Buck were doing, many of them suddenly realized what was going on. They, too, guessed... that the entrance might be located near the Ba Serpent's body. Immediately, a number of them moved closer and began searching carefully as well.
"Hsssss—"
The Ba Serpent stirred. Its enormous body actually began to move.