The space inside the castle was far vaster than it appeared from the outside.
Even with Little Cat's map, Huai Shi nearly got lost; it was like an illegal, complex, and labyrinthine construction, with nurous locks in place.
Dust covered everything. The picture fras on the walls and the sculptures were all weathered and peeling, their original forms unrecognizable.
Shadows seed to wander in the darkness, but upon closer inspection, no traces could be found. The Source Substance that remained, soaked in darkness, ford the outlines and reflections of the past.
Even with limited ti, Huai Shi explored cautiously, afraid of taking the wrong path.
According to Little Cat, this castle could be considered the hub of the entire forr Paradise, and what was hidden inside wasn't just a few princes. Taking the wrong path might provoke monsters even more terrifying than the princes.
What was even more horrifying was that after leaving the hall and moving deeper into the castle, the system panel disappeared.
This place was already outside the range of the Joyful Frawork.
This ant the effect of the simulated life was gone. Dying here wouldn't lead to a leisurely revival outside the competition grounds. Instead, one would be buried here forever, accompanying the ancient skeletons.
If things went badly, one might not even be able to die.
No wonder those dozen or so Sublimators refused to stay inside, preferring to bunk in the hall.
A careless step could result in an eternal, unredeemable end—a fate no one would relish.
The further they went inside, the graver Li Jian Amber's and Ansali's expressions beca. This place was truly a part of Hell. A thick, suffocating abyssal sedint pervaded the air, continuously eroding their consciousness.
If they didn't possess structures like Souls to preserve their consciousness, they might have frozen in an instant, becoming eternally corroded entities in this part of Hell.
Protected by the dual safeguard of Stigma and Soul, they moved as if wearing spacesuits in outer space, every step taken with extre caution.
In contrast, Huai Shi walked with light steps and a calm deanor, occasionally taking deep, delighted breaths as if on a relaxed spring outing.
Li Jian Amber and Ansali exchanged glances, a silent conversation passing between them.
This guy might have already been eroded, Amber thought. Why don't I just put him out of his misery?
No, no, no, Ansali ntally shot back. He's still a teammate. Stabbing a teammate in the back... Can we avoid that if possible?
Teammate? Amber scoffed internally. I don't need a teammate who steals my kills!
But if you kill him, wouldn't you have to deal with the Prince then? Ansali reasoned.
My Li Jian family has produced Court Officials for generations. How could I not asure up to a Prince? Amber retorted.
Ansali had no coback to that.
Though itching to act, Li Jian Amber ultimately refrained from doing anything that would have made for a dramatic spectacle, rely following Huai Shi with her two long knives in tow.
Huai Shi suddenly stopped, raising his hand to signal those behind him to be on alert.
Just a few steps ahead was the door to the resting room, yet a sudden, inexplicable Death Perception surged from deep within him, sending a cold prickle across his forehead.
"There's sothing wrong with the door ahead."
Turning around, he took out the Event Branch quill and wrote a line for them to see: "Does anyone have a way to check the door's condition?"
Li Jian Amber innocently moved her hand away from the hilt of her knife, then looked at Ansali. Ansali nodded and rubbed his oil lamp again. A stream of kaleidoscopic black peeked out of the lamp's mouth, then embarrassingly retreated, replaced by another.
A wisp of gray mist silently flowed out of the lamp.
Even Huai Shi, leaning close and squinting, couldn't see it clearly. Under Ansali's control, the wisp of mist grew fainter and fainter, until it finally dissolved completely into the air.
Only a faint sothing, teetering between existence and non-existence, slowly drifted towards the door, seeping in behind it with the chilly breeze.
Imdiately after, Ansali's hand trembled, and his face turned deathly pale. He almost lost his footing.
Huai Shi and Li Jian Amber stared, startled, waiting for him to describe what he saw. Instead, Ansali grabbed their hands and pressed them onto his oil lamp.
In an instant, the scene behind the door materialized before Huai Shi's eyes.
It was like a spider's lair.
Countless withered, pitch-black hairs crisscrossed the narrow corridor, floating like seaweed in water, subtly writhing, transforming into innurable venomous snakes ready to strike and devour.
They completely, utterly filled the entire corridor.
And behind the countless dry hairs sat a gaunt figure at the entrance to the resting room—like a desiccated corpse, utterly without moisture, devoid of its dayti handso features, instead revealing the grim visage of a Skeleton.
Clad in tattered finery, the withered and broken Prince guarded the entrance to the resting room, his eyes downcast, his black sockets harboring two shriveled, unfocused eyeballs.
Only the abyssal aura erupting from his body violently ravaged the surrounding space, distorting the air and creating a lens-like effect.
Huai Shi snatched his hand back, staring at the scene behind the door in astonishnt.
Mother of God, weren't they all supposed to be asleep? How is soone still keeping watch? he thought. What the hell do we do now?
Li Jian Amber took out the map, gesturing to Huai Shi: "Are there no other passages? Ventilation ducts or drainage outlets would do."
Huai Shi shook his head.
It wasn't that there were no other passages; each one was marked with "absolute danger." Little Cat had warned them several tis: under no circumstances were they to take any passage marked dangerous, or they would suffer the consequences.
So, what was to be done?
The group exchanged glances. In the end, they could only harden their resolve: they would simply have to confront it.
If soone was keeping watch, it proved that the princes were indeed as weak as Little Cat had said, having fallen into this state due to violating the rules. The others were very likely in a Deep Sleep.
As long as they could deal with this lone Prince guarding the door, the rest would be easy.
But how to deal with him?
A fight would surely create a huge ruckus. No matter how soundly the other princes slept, if this long-haired Prince just sent a strand of hair over to slap them twice, they would undoubtedly wake up.
'Take him out instantly,' Ansali ford the words in the air by rubbing his oil lamp, his gaze fixed on the two before him. 'Do you have a way?'
Li Jian Amber shook her head. Even though the Li Jian family had been part of the Hua Clan for generations, she was, after all, a woman. While she possessed deadly techniques, they might not be effective against the Prince.
Huai Shi hesitated for a mont, then nodded and wrote in large characters: 'I have a move that might work, but it has a casting ti.'
Ansali, being a Persian, was puzzled for a long mont before understanding the analogy. He then asked again: 'How long?'
'At least five seconds,' Huai Shi replied with a sigh.
Five seconds? They didn't have that kind of ti. Sotis a duel ended in one second. Five seconds? In five seconds, the opponent could kill them dozens of tis over; the pile of corpses might even qualify for a VIP card at the City South Crematorium.
The corners of Ansali's mouth twitched, his expression hesitant.
After a long while, he sighed, and the smoke transford.
'Three seconds,' he conveyed. 'No longer. Can you do it any faster?'
Huai Shi shook his head.
He couldn't guarantee success in three seconds. If he failed, they would all be fodder.
Reckless gambling would only lead to a worse defeat. No matter how good their equipnt, life was more precious. Retreating now out of caution wasn't shaful.
Li Jian Amber suddenly raised her hand, gesturing resignedly.
'Leave the rest to ,' she signed. 'Two seconds. I can do it.'
Huai Shi looked at them both, hesitated for a long ti, and finally nodded slowly.
Gamble it all—turn a bicycle into a motorcycle, he thought. And who wouldn't want to trade that motorcycle for a Land Rover?
Having made his decision, he looked up again. 'Everyone ready? If you are, I'll pull aggro.'
After receiving affirmative replies, Huai Shi turned, reached out, pressed his hand against the door, took a deep breath, and violently pushed it open.
Amidst a low creak, facing countless awakening strands of long hair, Huai Shi took a step forward, stood firm, and gazed at the withered face that suddenly lifted among the nurous hairs. He nonchalantly smoothed his own hair.
He revealed a smile.
"Big brother, need so service?"
In that mont of astonishnt, Huai Shi raised his hand. A Lock Chain, crackling with sparks, flew out from thin air, instantly tangling all the dancing long hair together and haphazardly wrapping around the Prince's body.
Imdiately after, a large figure in a white robe and headscarf leaped out from behind him.
He raised the oil lamp in his hand towards the Prince. Kaleidoscopic blackness spewed forth from it, wildly draining Ansali's Source Substance until, at last, a massive figure erged from the lamp's smoke.
His upper body was burly, with braided hair, while his lower half was entirely smoke.
Yet his face, though bearded, looked strikingly similar to Ansali!
Using the Dark Country Power within the oil lamp as a foundation, Ansali had miraculously manifested his Soul from within the lamp as a smoky avatar.
Imdiately, the Stigma awoke.
Upon the Lamp Spirit's smoky incarnation, the kaleidoscopic darkness stirred violently. With Ansali's movent and a fierce tug, he ripped away the darkness as if tearing off a piece of clothing—a veritable curtain of shadow—revealing pure light. With a wave of his hand, this—his Dark Clothes—was flung towards the long-haired Prince.
Instantly, it covered his face.
Under the shroud of these enfolding Dark Clothes, the darkness writhed like a living thing, eroding inward through his mouth, nose, and every pore.
In the lore of the Zoroastrian Genealogy, this world is a battlefield between good gods and Evil Gods, and mortals are but dust and debris from the clashes of divine might.
Therefore, mortal consciousness inherently contains elents of both the Five Bright Sons created by the god of light and the five types of demons from the Dark Country.
Now, with the help of this Stigmata Relic, Ansali forcibly extracted the part of his Soul associated with the five types of demons, using the power of the Dark Country as a catalyst.
Thus, his Soul inherently possessed attributes like perfection, clarity, wisdom, and insight. But the darkness he peeled off contained the essence of the five types of demons—pure Curses such as foolishness, chaos, impurity, and destruction.
The Ability to manifest a body of pure vacuum, clothed in the five types of demons, was sothing only achievable at the Fourth Stage. Even accomplishing this now with the aid of the Stigmata Relic, the effect could not last long and would cause considerable damage to his Soul.
If his two teammates hadn't been so reliable, he would never have risked using this move.
Now, as the Dark Clothes descended, the area it covered undeniably transford into the Dark Country. The Prince's consciousness had been forcibly thrust into a prison composed of dismal mist, karmic fire, Burning Wind, venom, and darkness.
Imdiately, the prison began to vibrate rapidly.
As countless Lock Chains within him struggled madly, the Dark Clothes covering the Prince also surged violently, continuously disintegrating under the onslaught only to reform again.
Huai Shi took a deep breath.
Five, four, three…
Three seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
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