The moment the result was announced, Sea Dragon Douluo raised his hand and struck the Sea Dragon Holy Pillar.
The Sea Dragon Holy Pillar, carved with a dragon totem, erupted with light. The sculpted dragon seemed to come alive, and golden dragon-shaped energy coiled out with a dragon's roar, piercing directly into Tang San's chest.
"Challenge, Titled Douluo, Sea Dragon Holy Pillar, passed."
"Fifth Trial, challenging the Seven Holy Pillar Guardian Douluo, all trials passed. Due to the use of trickery during the challenges, not all Seven Holy Pillar Guardian Douluo's recognition was obtained. Therefore, the reward is reduced to only the basic reward, a five percent increase in Sea God affinity."
"Trial completion time: eleven hours, less than one-third of the total time, reward multiplied by three. Sea God affinity increased by fifteen percent, total affinity: fifty percent. Due to trickery, a high reward was obtained, leading to a change in the Sixth Trial, increasing its difficulty."
In mid-air, the golden light mass, having lost the support of the golden light from the Seven Holy Pillars, transformed into a golden beam of light descending from the sky, enveloping Tang San's body.
A feeling of being wrapped in energy came from all directions, seeping into his body through every pore, subtly reshaping Tang San's physique.
But Tang San no longer had the time to rejoice over the unexpected reward obtained through trickery.
"Xiao San, catch!"
A Super Recovery Great Sausage and a delicious small cured meat sausage were tossed towards Tang San.
Tang San caught them with extreme speed, stuffed them into his mouth without hesitation, and then cupped his fists at Sea Dragon Douluo, saying, "Apologies, senior. Something has happened with my sister, I must rush back immediately!"
On the other side, the Shrek Seven Devils had already taken flight, rapidly heading towards where the black and red light pillar had appeared.
Sea Dragon Douluo watched the receding figures of the Shrek Eight Devils, pondered for a moment, then directly used the Sea God's power from the Holy Pillar to heal his injuries, and also rushed towards where the light pillar had appeared.
...
Infinite descent.
Then came a "thud" as he was heavily thrown down, landing unprepared on a hard wooden surface.
Alarms blared in his mind. Almost instinctively, Tang Sui endured the dull ache in her bones and quickly climbed up from the wooden door.
The instant she got up, the hard wooden board beneath her, or rather, the wooden sliding door, opened again as expected, causing Tang Sui to fall again.
In mid-air, Tang Sui tried to adjust her center of gravity to brace for the next landing.
To her surprise, the door did not, as a prank, wait for her to crash heavily before opening again for the next bout of torment. Instead, as she neared the next wooden door, it automatically slid open with a "clank," continuing her descent.
Falling, Tang Sui struggled to adjust her posture in mid-air, looking up. She met the gaze of countless pairs of eyes, faintly open within the deep darkness.
"Hee hee hee—"
A playful yet sarcastic laugh reached her ears.
In her daze, her destination had arrived.
"Bang!"
Without a doubt, the bones in her feet must have fractured or shattered upon impact.
Scarlet moonlight, a thick scent of rust assailed her nostrils.
Countless retro and elongated corridors intersected and connected, like a discordant jigsaw puzzle pieced together on a single template, absurdly and terrifyingly arranged in this dim red space.
"Hee hee hee—"
A high-pitched laugh echoed.
Tang Sui turned her head with a sense of premonition, looking towards one of the intricately intertwined long corridors.
"Did you hear? The Tang family in the imperial capital has produced two illegitimate children!"
Amidst the surging, chaotic murmurs, Tang Sui found it strangely clear that she could understand.
It was the voice of a woman's shadow, suddenly appearing on the empty wooden sliding door of that corridor.
Though distant, as soon as Tang Sui focused her gaze, other sounds vanished, leaving only this one clear in her ears.
The wooden platform she occupied seemed to be the center of the entire world, and an observer outside the game. The sliding doors that obscured her vision and served as a barrier were as good as nonexistent to her eyes, allowing her to clearly witness the bloody tragedies unfolding in different corridors.
"Look quickly! That person's legs are actually trembling!"
"There seem to be a few young girls inside too!"
"Hee hee hee! Are these little girls who haven't even grown hair waiting here to be torn to shreds?"
"Tear them apart!"
Voices filled with malice shouted from the surging crowds projected from the sliding doors of another corridor.
One act of slaughter after another, like a long ribbon of memory footage.
Her past life, her current life, and even things from further back than her past life, all forgotten.
These acts of slaughter, these scenes of blood-stained hands, were meticulously shrunk and contained within this bizarre and distorted space, presented before Tang Sui.
Dazzling red filled her entire field of vision.
The noisy murmurs rose layer upon layer of sound waves, churning into a surging vortex, and like rain hitting banana leaves, they stimulated her spiritual sea, even her entire soul, tearing it to shreds.
"Devil! You are a devil!"
"I don't have a daughter like you!" — Su Dan Novel Network
"Executioner!"
"You are a monster!"
"Who would have thought the eldest daughter of the Tang family was a hidden extreme anti-social personality? Hahahaha!"
Chaotic, jumbled voices, filled with extreme negative emotions, poured into Tang Sui's mind. The embedded malice formed a suffocating dark sea, threatening to drown her.
Those memories she had deliberately forgotten, buried in the deepest recesses of her mind.
Memories she no longer wished to recall.
Like an overturned teacup spilling across a dry tabletop, impossible to salvage, making Tang Sui's soul ache as if it would explode, destroying her spirit and will.
So, from beginning to end... there were no coincidences or accidents...
She was Tang Sui, and also...
Menmitsu herself.
"Ah—!!!"
Finally, a piercing shriek, no longer human, erupted from Tang Sui's mouth.
Outside, Tang Sui's exposed skin, wrapped in gray mist and confined within the black and red light pillar, began to develop black and red markings of unknown origin. Her waist-length hair, wildly dancing in the turbulent airflow, began to deepen in color from one-third of the way down, transitioning towards complete black.
Tang San, who had finally arrived at the Sea Illusion Holy Pillar, watched this scene with bloodshot eyes, disbelief etched on his still-injured handsome face.
"Snap."
Like a violin string stretched to its limit, it snapped under immense tension.
In Tang San's trembling gaze, the thread of close blood connection he shared with Tang Sui broke.
"No—!"
Tang San stumbled to the ground, only to be nearly blown away by the rampant waves of energy.
"Xiao San! Calm down!"
Dai Mubai firmly held Tang San back, but his eyes showed the same urgency.
Bai Chenxiang, whose soul power level was already the lowest among them, was the one actually blown back over ten meters by the violent energy radiating from the black and red light pillar.
"Xiangxiang, be careful!"
Ma Hongjun flapped his flaming wings, blocking in front of Bai Chenxiang with his arm, his eyes wide with a horrified gaze at the power-surging Tang Sui.
"Sui Sui, what exactly did she see in the illusion!"
— Author's Notes—
The third wave of updates will drop before midnight. Mo Li will not make any specific time promises; it will be released once it's finished. Mwah!