Han Li and the others were now walking through a place that resembled a labyrinth.
Crumbling green-stone corridors crisscrossed in every direction, flanked by towering, thick, tightly sealed walls. At every intersection they passed, a stone door carved with strange runes stood before them.
All the doors were identical in size and shape—over ten zhang long and wide, forming perfect squares. Some faced south, some north, and others opened to the east or west, seemingly following no discernible pattern. Yet every door glowed with a faint white light, clearly the mark of some restriction laid upon it.
Although intersections only appeared after walking for quite some distance, Han Li quietly estimated that he had already passed at least seven or eight stone doors along the way—and that did not count the doors at junctions along the parallel routes taken by the other members of their party.
That meant a truly enormous number of stone doors.
As they passed yet another intersection, a stone door stood directly facing them.
Han Li's expression shifted slightly.
This door was different from the ones before. While the carved runes and reliefs were the same, the door was utterly dim, without a trace of light—as if its restriction had already been broken.
Seeing this, Han Li studied it with a look of mild curiosity.
"Junior Brother Han, this chamber has already been looted. What's there to see? If it weren't for the fact that each person can only use their Void Heaven Remnant Map to open a single stone door, and once you enter you can never come back out regardless of whether you succeed—those who obtain treasures are teleported directly outside the Void Heaven Hall—I'd want to pick a door to try myself. After all, we Core Formation cultivators can only hope to claim treasures from the first floor. As for the other floors, going in would be little different from suicide." Wu Chou, standing nearby, noticed the look on Han Li's face and spoke up with surprising warmth and familiarity.
"Junior Brother Han?"
Hearing this form of address from Wu Chou's mouth, Han Li felt a chill run through him despite having heard it more than once already.
Summoning his composure, he replied with a calm, pleasant smile:
"Then why doesn't Brother Wu pick a door and go claim a treasure? Otherwise, once we reach the second floor or above, wouldn't you be wasting this rare opportunity?"
"Ha! I'd love nothing more. But my grandfather has already instructed me that I must stay by his side throughout this treasure hunt. He may have use for me yet." Wu Chou stared at the stone door with a trace of reluctance, a flash of greed crossing his face.
Han Li smiled faintly at this, his gaze sweeping over the door once more. But the piece of information that entering a chamber would teleport you outside after claiming a treasure was carefully filed away in his mind.
Who knew whether he might need that method of escape someday?
Just then, the group was about to cross the intersection and proceed down the green-stone corridor ahead.
But at that moment, a heavy, muffled thud echoed from the opposite passage, followed by another, and another—as though something massive was slowly approaching them.
Ancestor Ji Yin and Scholar Qingyi's faces changed. They stopped dead in their tracks, staring intently down the opposite corridor, eyes filled with gravity.
Bearded Man, however, let out a low chuckle, a glint of excitement crossing his face. A layer of gleaming golden scales shimmered into existence across his entire body as he activated the Heaven-Sustaining Demonic Art.
This was the first time Han Li had seen the bizarre manifestation of the Heaven-Sustaining Demonic Art up close, and he couldn't help stealing a few extra glances.
But Bearded Man was sharply perceptive. He turned his head and flashed Han Li a savage grin. Paired with the scattered small scales covering his face, the smile was terrifying to behold.
Han Li's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know what the man intended, but he forced himself to return a strained smile.
Fortunately, Bearded Man turned back around almost immediately after his grin.
The heavy footsteps drew closer still—perhaps only twenty or thirty zhang away now.
Yet the corridor beyond was pitch black, and Han Li could make out nothing at all. Clearly, the inner hall still had restrictions that limited the cultivators' spiritual sense to some degree.
But Han Li noticed that the old monsters—Ancestor Ji Yin and the others—had a cold glint in their eyes, as though they could already see something.
Before Ancestor Ji Yin or the scholar in Confucian robes could make a move, Bearded Man let out a low roar and transformed into a streak of golden light, hurtling into the corridor.
Immediately, the roaring sound of fists and kicks erupted in the distance, interspersed with the harsh, piercing clang of metal striking metal.