Just as that wave of danger surged into
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The instant the crisis alarm blazed through his mind, Jiang Chen shut his eyes. The Heart of Rock instantly formed a barrier of defense within his Sea of Consciousness.
The beam plunged downward, boring straight into Jiang Chen's eyes, attempting to pass through them and strike directly into his Sea of Consciousness.
Boom!
The Heart of Rock's mental defense blocked the beam of light.
Jiang Chen felt his mind shudder violently. His divine consciousness, struck by such a blow, nearly collapsed. Every muscle in his body clenched tight, the sensation as though he would freeze solid in an instant.
"No good!"
The sense of foreboding in Jiang Chen's mind grew even stronger. He fought to suppress the terrible turbulence roiling inside him, set his feet forward, and sprinted desperately onward.
He knew that this place was one he could not linger in for a single moment.
The beam fired from the colossal statue's eyes was one that pierced the soul, attacked the spirit, and then utterly petrified the flesh, transforming the victim into a humanoid sculpture of metal!
Jiang Chen was now one hundred percent certain that those humanoid sculptures were not forged from molten metal. They had to be the trial participants who had once entered this tenth-layer space.
Perhaps they were from decades ago, perhaps centuries ago, perhaps even millennia ago.
This ancient ruin had seen generation after generation enter its depths, and the Metamagnetic Gold Mountain had undoubtedly been traversed by countless people.
Those haphazardly scattered humanoid sculptures had all passed through this area without guarding against the metallic gaze of the colossal statue's eyes, and had been refined directly into metal sculptures on the spot.
It was simply too terrifying.
Jiang Chen dashed up several hundred steps in a single breath, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the colossal statue before he finally slowed his pace slightly.
Looking back, a chill of lingering fear still gripped him.
If he had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, or if the Heart of Rock's defense had been the slightest bit weaker, he would surely have become one of those humanoid sculptures.
Even though his reaction had been lightning-fast and the Heart of Rock had blocked the majority of the beam's attack, the remaining force had still made his body feel as though it had been filled with lead, his muscles instantly stiffening.
The beam's attack had shattered the Heart of Rock's defense, and what remained surely held less than five percent of its original power. Yet even that less-than-five-percent remnant had nearly immobilized him. Such terrifying might sent cold sweat cascading down Jiang Chen's back.
He urgently channeled the Fire Lotus spiritual energy within his body, refining the residual traces of the metallic beam's assault bit by bit until they were fully dissolved.
Among the Five Elements, Southern Fire conquers Western Metal—the power of fire was the natural bane of the power of metal.
Under the refinement of the Fire Lotus's spiritual energy, those slender threads of metal force that had invaded his body were slowly purged clean, and Jiang Chen's body gradually recovered.
"The tenth layer—that beautiful scenery was nothing but a trick to lure people in. Though there were no terrifying Metamagnetic Storms, the Evil Golden Eyes of this metallic colossus are more frightening than any Metamagnetic Storm could ever be."
Jiang Chen's heart still trembled with aftershock.
Metamagnetic Storms, at the very least, could be predicted in advance. Before one erupted, there were always telltale signs and patterns to follow.
But the Evil Golden Eyes were pure aberration. The moment those eyes snapped open, the beam pierced straight into a person's soul. The speed of attack was comparable to the speed of light, leaving one absolutely no time to react.
If Jiang Chen's Heart of Rock had not already been cultivated to the level of instantaneous activation—release and recall unified as one—he would have been invaded by the Evil Golden Eyes on the spot, refined into a sculpture before he could even think.
Terrifying. Utterly terrifying.
He calculated: over three thousand steps put him at roughly one-third of the way.
"Could it be that this tenth-layer space holds three trials? And the Evil Golden Eyes of that colossal statue are only the first?"
Running the numbers in his head, Jiang Chen felt this was highly probable. Over three thousand steps corresponded to exactly one-third of a single layer.
If his estimation was correct, then the stretch of path before the second trial should be relatively safe.
Sure enough, just as Jiang Chen had calculated. Along the road from three thousand-odd steps to over six thousand, he encountered no challenges whatsoever.
"It seems the tenth layer's trial carries far more deliberate meaning than the previous nine. In those earlier layers, much was left to chance. This tenth layer clearly bears the marks of deliberate arrangement. So then—what will the second trial be?"
Having come this far, Jiang Chen knew there was no turning back.
Step by step, he completed the journey past the six-thousand mark. By his own internal calculations, this should bring him close to two-thirds of the way through.
If his guess was right, then the second trial of the tenth layer should be somewhere not far ahead.
The moment that thought settled, Jiang Chen's eyes suddenly sharpened.
Ahead, a massive chasm blocked his path. It looked as though some primordial deity had taken a titanic axe and cleaved a savage stroke across the mountainside.
The long, deep gorge scarred the Metamagnetic Gold Mountain like an enormous wound, its depths a jagged landscape of monstrous, craggy rocks that filled anyone who looked upon them with dread.
Jiang Chen stood before the chasm and peered forward. In the outside world, a Spirit Realm third-stage powerhouse could take to the air briefly and cross such a gap with ease.
But within the Metamagnetic Gold Mountain, bound by the Metamagnetic force, Jiang Chen estimated he would need at least three or four separate leaps to clear the chasm.
And yet, the depths below were nothing but a wilderness of serrated rock—there was nothing to use as a foothold.
"Is this… the second trial?" Jiang Chen looked down at the interlocking fangs of jagged stone below and felt a chill run through him.
If this chasm was the second trial, then it would be anything but as calm as it appeared on the surface.