Chapter 971: Chapter 942:
After a bout of muttering, the old witch took the lead and stood up. The Elf Queen leaned close to Ye Chen’s ear and murmured, “This is the place where the Phoenix Blood resides, and within it is the seal, this is also our place of pilgrimage!”
“Foreigner, follow us!” The old witch glanced at Ye Chen. Ye Chen hurriedly followed, and upon entering the building, Ye Chen marveled at the splendor inside. The surroundings were engraved with reliefs, which were far more beautiful than any craftwork in the outside world. At a glance, it gave off a grand and magnificent feeling.
The old witch held a wheel-like object in her hand and spun it while muttering words. Ye Chen glanced around, and the Elf Queen glared at Ye Chen, saying, “Don’t you know such behavior is extremely disrespectful to the divine?”
“Divine?” Ye Chen was taken aback, then suddenly burst into laughter. The laughter echoed in the empty place, making everyone involuntarily look at Ye Chen. Ye Chen suddenly jumped onto a sacred platform and waved his hand, saying, “What is divine? It’s merely something you imagined, unnecessary. If there really were divine beings, why wouldn’t they help you solve the sealing issue? Why wouldn’t they help you win the wars? Why wouldn’t they allow you to enjoy an eternal life, sparing you from the pain of birth, old age, sickness, and death?”
“Foreigner, you foreigner!” The old witch’s face turned white with fright. She scolded, “Get down immediately, or the divine will punish us!”
The Elf Queen, being young, was moved by Ye Chen’s words. If there really were divine beings in this world, why wouldn’t they bless the Elf Clan with eternal prosperity? Why would they let the Elf Clan suffer through wars? Why would they let the Elf Clan endure the pain of birth, old age, sickness, and death?
“Alright then, let your so-called divine come find me!” Ye Chen took a quick step forward and kicked the huge statue over to the ground. This was their so-called divine, kicked over by Ye Chen. Standing on the fallen statue, Ye Chen smiled and said, “Look, your divine hasn’t punished me yet!”
“Get down, get down!” The old witch hurriedly pulled Ye Chen down and ordered someone to repair the statue. The old witch did not dare to offend Ye Chen, he was tall and bold, what if he decided to do something to her?
Ye Chen was dragged by the old witch to the very center. A black, ancient door emanated an aura of age, indicating it was a very important place. The Elf Queen whispered to Ye Chen, “Inside is where the Phoenix Blood is stored, along with the seal!”
“Annie, it’s your turn. Open the door!” the old witch said to the Elf Queen.
“Is it really time to open it?” Annie was a bit nervous. She glanced back at Ye Chen. The old witch said, “It must be opened!”
“Open it!” Ye Chen nodded.
With the consent of both the old witch and Ye Chen, the Elf Queen removed a necklace resembling a key from her neck and inserted it into the keyhole. All the Elf Clan members knelt down and muttered words, astonishing Ye Chen as the door actually opened under their incantations. A scorching aura seeped out from inside, causing all the Elves to tremble.
Elves are naturally integrated with nature, fond of the green, life-filled natural elements. The scorching aura seeping from the door was something any species would fear. They feared being scorched by the heat. However, this scorching aura had no effect on Ye Chen. Facing the blazing aura, Ye Chen stepped in, while the old witch and the Elf Queen entered slowly under a large banana leaf.
“Oh my, is he… is he really not afraid at all?”
“Could it be, is he truly not afraid of this deadly aura?”
For the Elf Clan, this scorching aura was synonymous with death, akin to Hell’s aura. But for Ye Chen, the temperature here was not even as high as the third layer of the Ancient Lava Cave, at most slightly higher than the second.
Inside the room, streams of heat transformed into flames. Ye Chen saw various ghostly symbols painted on the floor of the room, somewhat resembling the heavenly stems and earthly branches arrangement from the outside world. In the very center, there was an emerald green bottle, with a stopper in the mouth. The Elf Queen Annie said to Ye Chen, “Inside that is Phoenix Blood. Once you remove the bottle, a dramatic change will occur.”
“Hmm!” Ye Chen nodded, and directly walked over. The old witch hurriedly scolded, “Wait!”
The old witch, risking her life, rushed over, grabbed the emerald green bottle in her arms, and hurriedly ran away. Ye Chen was stunned for a moment, he immediately noticed a violent change around him, a scorching heat wave swept towards him, he was about to dodge, but unexpectedly, that heat wave seemed to have a huge attraction force, instantly sucking Ye Chen into it.
“Shit, I’m gonna die!” As soon as he was sucked in, Ye Chen immediately felt that the temperature of this world was absolutely unbearable for him, he felt that he couldn’t endure the heat here at all. Ye Chen couldn’t care where he was, he just felt waves of intense pain all over his body. It seemed like his whole body was about to be melted by the boiling molten lava of this damn place.
Having built a body of Iron Skin from a young age, tempered for years in the Ancient Lava Cave, only then could Ye Chen save his own life here, but he found that his tolerance seemed to be on the brink of zero. Luckily, the pain all over Ye Chen’s body was gradually decreasing, his skin scorched red and swollen, and some parts were charred, like a roasted piglet over a stove.
“Am I dead?” Ye Chen closed his eyes, lying in a place he didn’t even recognize.
“Probably not dead?” Ye Chen opened his eyes, the sky was ablaze with fiery clouds, he had just escaped from the molten lava, and now he was on a giant stone, Ye Chen found it hard to imagine how such high-temperature molten lava hadn’t melted this stone? Could it be that this stone has something special about it? He scored the giant stone with his Cold Iron Dagger and found that his dagger was slightly indented. Shit, this stone was actually harder than his Cold Iron Dagger and more heat-resistant. Too powerful.
His Cold Iron Dagger was harder than steel and more heat-resistant, with a melting point of three thousand degrees. Ordinary forging machines couldn’t forge his dagger. Ye Chen put away his dagger and continued to walk forward. At this moment, Ye Chen was once again naked, as he didn’t know when his clothes had vanished into thin air.
“Shit, let me help you solve the problem, but where is the problem?” Ye Chen was a bit confused, the rumored Tenth Floor had a much harsher environment than the Eighth Floor. The entire world felt like a human purgatory, and up to now, Ye Chen hadn’t seen any beast or monster, maybe they were all hiding. Just as Ye Chen was about to move forward, he suddenly encountered a group of Black-clothed Men.
“Someone?!” Ye Chen was dumbfounded. The fact that there were people in this world indeed felt bizarre and very strange to Ye Chen. Just as he was enthusiastically wanting to approach, a voice resonated in Ye Chen’s mind, “Kid, pay attention to those people, they’re just illusions, but the damage they inflict on you is a hundred percent real!”
“Ah?!” Ye Chen exclaimed, but that group of Black-clothed Men had already noticed Ye Chen’s presence. The group immediately pounced towards Ye Chen; Shit, they even had guns, and the leading man was Hei Hu. Ye Chen was shocked, so shocked that he almost lost it. Shit, what kind of world was this, it was too chaotic, too chaotic. Ye Chen was somewhat disoriented, but the opponent had already pulled out guns and could deliver a fatal blow to Ye Chen at any time.
Pa…
A clear sound, a bullet swiftly flew towards Ye Chen, hitting his arm with a “pa” sound, splashing a pool of blood. Ye Chen exclaimed, dodging hastily, holding two daggers as he sprinted wildly around this group of Black-clothed Men. As long as he wasn’t caught in their sights, he basically wouldn’t be hit. Ye Chen’s speed was very fast. ‘Hei Hu’ gritted his teeth and said, “Ye Chen, you’re doomed!”
“Hei Hu, weren’t you dead?” Ye Chen really wanted to figure all this out, but Hei Hu wouldn’t give him a chance and instantly led people to block Ye Chen. Ye Chen turned his body and pounced directly towards Hei Hu. Hei Hu gave a cold smile, conjuring a dagger in his hand and charging at Ye Chen.
Crack…
The two quickly engaged in fierce combat, Ye Chen was fully focused, knowing that the current situation allowed for no negligence, a slight mistake could cost him his head! What surprised Ye Chen was that Hei Hu’s skills in this damn place appeared exceptionally strong, completely matching his own. A bold idea suddenly popped into Ye Chen’s mind: could this world be a virtual world? Not the legendary Tenth Floor at all?
Puff…
Ye Chen got distracted for a moment, and Hei Hu, beside him, had already stabbed Ye Chen’s arm with a knife, completely dispelling the doubts in Ye Chen’s heart, leaving him no longer daring to think about any virtual worlds. Damn it, this was exactly like the real world, except this Hei Hu’s prowess was much stronger than any Hei Hu he knew. The stab brought Ye Chen immense pain, he decisively covered his wound and then rubbed a piece of red-hot stone onto the wound.
Sizzle…
A scent of roasting meat wafted through the air. Ye Chen’s wound immediately sealed up, the blood no longer evaporating. Ye Chen, breathing heavily, stared at Hei Hu with eyes wide like brass bells. Hei Hu gave Ye Chen no time to rest, continuously pouncing on him. Ye Chen was momentarily intimidated by Hei Hu’s Fierce Tiger Heart-pulling move; he quickly sidestepped and flipped backward, but Hei Hu, without any pause, continued to pursue Ye Chen swiftly.
“Shit, what do you want to do!” Ye Chen was startled by Hei Hu’s ferocity, gritted his teeth, and with a dagger, he suddenly launched a counterattack. Hei Hu sidestepped, thinking he had dodged Ye Chen’s attack, but unexpectedly, Ye Chen still had another dagger hidden in his other hand.