I walk sideways in the game world

Huge rocks crashed down, sending clouds of dust and completely sealing the narrow secret passage. Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin leaned against the cold stone wall, panting heavily, their relief at having survived the ordeal mixed with uncertainty about the future.

"We...should be safe, right?" Xia Lin's voice trembled slightly, and her face was as pale as paper. It was obvious that she had not yet recovered from the danger just now.

"It's safe for now." Ren Xiaoyao's tone was unusually solemn. He took a deep breath, his eyes determined. "But, this is just the beginning..."

After a brief silence, Xia Lin calmed down. She understood the meaning behind Ren Xiaoyao's words. Simply running away was not a solution. Only by finding out the Lord of Shadows's purpose could they truly escape this predicament.

"Diary, we need to study that diary more carefully." Ren Xiaoyao said, pulling out the worn parchment diary from his pocket. In the dim light, the lines of beautiful handwriting seemed to travel through time and space, telling a long-forgotten secret.

"'...Ancient ruins...Seal power...', could it be that..." Charlene pointed at a few lines in the diary, her tone tinged with disbelief, "The Lord of Shadows is seeking the power within the ancient ruins?"

Ren Xiaoyao nodded. He noticed that the diary mentioned the place name "Land of Falling Stars" many times and described it as the entrance to ancient ruins.

"The place where stars fell..." Ren Xiaoyao muttered to himself, and suddenly a picture flashed through his mind. It was a desolate place he accidentally discovered while exploring the map in the game. It was extremely similar to the description in the diary.

"I know where the Starfall Land is!" Ren Xiaoyao stood up suddenly, his eyes flashing with determination, "We must find the ruins before the Lord of Shadows!"

Charlene was moved by his aura and nodded resolutely. After a brief rest, the two of them headed towards the Falling Star Land.

After overcoming numerous obstacles along the way, they finally arrived at the place where the star had fallen as recorded in the diary. Before them lay a desolate Gobi desert, with jagged rocks and howling winds, as if it were the end of time.

"This is it." Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath and searched for the entrance among the pile of rocks according to the records in his diary.

"Found it!" Charlene suddenly shouted, pointing to a huge rock not far away.

The two men worked together to push the boulder away, revealing a pitch-black cave entrance, and a cold breath rushed towards them.

"Be careful!" Ren Xiaoyao protected Xia Lin behind him and stepped into the cave first.

Deep within the cave, a faint firelight flickered, illuminating an ancient stone door. Strange patterns were carved into the door, emitting a mysterious power.

"It seems we've found it." Ren Xiaoyao looked at the stone gate in front of him, his tone tinged with excitement. However, before he finished speaking, the stone gate suddenly shone brightly, and a powerful force pushed him and Xia Lin back several steps...

The light from the giant stone door gradually faded. Ren Xiaoyao helped the repulsed Xia Lin to her feet, and they both stared at the scene before them in shock. The stone door had opened at some point, revealing a dark passage leading deep inside.

"Be careful, the situation here is a bit weird." Ren Xiaoyao warned in a low voice, gripping the weapon tightly in his hand and stepping into the passage cautiously.

The walls on both sides of the passage were covered with ancient murals, seemingly telling a story of ancient history. As Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin advanced, they carefully observed the murals, trying to find information about the ruins and the Lord of Shadows.

As they went deeper, the passage gradually widened, eventually leading to a spacious hall. In the center of the hall, a massive stone pillar pierced the dome. Its surface was carved with intricate runes, emitting a faint glow that illuminated the entire hall.

"This stone pillar should be the core of the ruins." Xia Lin looked at the scene in front of her, with a hint of excitement in her tone, "Perhaps, we can find a way to defeat the Lord of Shadows here!"

However, just as they were about to approach the stone pillar, the walls around the hall suddenly cracked, and dozens of men in black filed out from the cracks and surrounded them. These men in black were well-trained and calm, clearly the elite of the elite.

"Who are you?" Ren Xiaoyao glanced coldly at the men in black around him and asked in a deep voice.

The leading man in black sneered and said arrogantly, "We are here to take your life!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the men in black launched their attacks simultaneously, their fierce offensive like a violent storm hitting Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin. Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin stood back to back, cooperating tacitly, and neutralized the enemy's attacks one by one.

The fierce battle lasted for a long time. Although Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin joined forces to resist, they gradually felt exhausted in the face of so many enemies.

"This is not a solution. We must find a way to break out!" Ren Xiaoyao was anxiously thinking about countermeasures while resisting the enemy's attacks.

At this moment, he noticed something shimmering in the corner of the hall. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was a peculiarly shaped stone slab.

"Xia Lin, cover me!" Ren Xiaoyao shouted at Xia Lin, and then took advantage of the gap between the enemy's attacks to fly towards the stone slab.

"Want to run? Not that easy!" The leading man in black saw this and immediately ordered, "Stop him!"

More men in black rushed towards Ren Xiaoyao, trying to stop him from approaching the stone slab. However, Ren Xiaoyao had already made up his mind. His eyes focused, and a powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body, knocking the surrounding men in black back several steps.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ren Xiaoyao grabbed the stone slab and pressed it hard...

The moment Ren Xiaoyao pressed the stone slab, it erupted with a blinding light. The massive stone pillar in the center of the hall trembled violently, and the runes on it seemed to activate, emitting an even brighter light. Immediately afterwards, the entire hall began to shake violently. The men in black panicked, forced to halt their attacks and barely maintain their composure.

"Hahaha, God is helping me!" Ren Xiaoyao was overjoyed upon seeing this. It turned out that this stone slab was the key to controlling the ruins' mechanism!

He quickly scanned the runes on the stone slab. Drawing on his knowledge of the game's settings before crossing over, he quickly found the control mechanism. He swiftly moved his hands across the stone slab, muttering something to himself. As he moved, the runes in the hall glowed brightly, and an invisible force began to gather in the air.

"Oh no! He is activating the mechanism, stop him!" The leading man in black realized that the situation was not good and immediately gave the order.

However, it was too late. Ren Xiaoyao suddenly thrust the stone slab into the ground and shouted, "Get up!"

In an instant, countless cracks appeared on the ground of the hall, and countless sharp gusts of wind gushed out from the cracks, forming wind blades that swept towards the man in black.

"Ah!" The man in black was caught off guard and was hit by the wind blade, screaming one after another.

Meanwhile, Charlene saw an opportunity to strike back. She used this time to pull out various herbs from her medicine bag and quickly concoct a powder that exuded a strange fragrance.

"Let me taste my power!" Xia Lin shouted and sprinkled the powder in her hand into the air.

The powder drifted with the wind, soon filling the entire hall. After the man in black inhaled the powder, he felt dizzy and weak, and the weapon in his hand became extremely heavy.

"What's going on? I...my body..."

"It's poisonous! This powder is poisonous!"

The men in black were horrified to find that they had fallen into Charlene's trap!

Ren Xiaoyao did not miss this opportunity. He waved the weapon in his hand and rushed into the enemy camp like a tiger descending from the mountain, killing the men in black one by one.

Under the joint attack of Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin, the formation of the men in black was completely disrupted, resulting in heavy casualties.

"Retreat quickly!" Seeing that the situation was not good, the leading man in black immediately ordered a retreat.

However, how could Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin let them go so easily? They pursued them relentlessly, slaughtering the enemy and leaving them in a state of disarray.

Looking at the scene in front of them, Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.

"It's time to go see what secrets are hidden deep within these ruins." Ren Xiaoyao looked into the depths of the hall, a glint in his eyes. He took Xia Lin's hand and walked towards the door leading to the core area...

The thick smell of blood filled the air. The men in black were in disarray, their screams and the clash of weapons intertwined to create a chaotic scene. Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin stood back to back, observing their surroundings vigilantly, not daring to relax for even a moment.

"Brother Xiaoyao, what should we do now?" Xia Lin panted lightly, with a few drops of blood on her delicate face, but it did not diminish her heroic spirit at all.

Ren Xiaoyao wiped the sweat from his face, glanced around sharply, and said in a deep voice: "While they are busy with their own affairs, let's rush in!"

After saying this, he took Xia Lin's hand and, using the chaos as cover, crouched down and ran towards the tightly closed stone door at the back of the hall. Along the way, men in black kept fleeing from them in panic, but they had no time to pay attention to the two figures lurking in the shadows.

The stone door was thick and cold, carved with ancient and mysterious runes. Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath and pressed his palm against the stone door. A chill instantly spread throughout his body. He concentrated his mental energy, trying to resonate with the stone door.

"open!"

With a low shout from Ren Xiaoyao, the runes on the stone door suddenly lit up, emitting a dazzling golden light. The heavy stone door slowly opened, revealing a deep passage.

Without any hesitation, the two of them slipped into the passage, and the stone door behind them slammed shut again, isolating all the noise outside.

The passage was pitch black, pitch dark. Ren Xiaoyao pulled out a night-shining pearl from his bosom, and its soft light instantly illuminated the surroundings. It was a long and narrow passage, with exquisite murals carved on the walls on both sides, seemingly telling a story of ancient history.

"Brother Xiaoyao, look!" Xia Lin exclaimed, pointing at the mural on the wall.

Ren Xiaoyao followed Xia Lin's gaze and saw a mural depicting a group of people in bizarre attire, performing some mysterious ritual. They held a crystal ball aloft, muttering something, while above it hovered a massive circular device, emitting a dazzling light.

"Could this be..." Ren Xiaoyao's pupils suddenly shrank, and a storm of fear surged in his heart. Based on his understanding of the game, this circular device was likely the core that controlled the entire game world!

The two continued walking forward, and at the end of the passage, a huge bronze door appeared. Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath, pushed the bronze door open, and walked in.

The sight before them left them stunned. It was a vast underground space, its walls inlaid with countless luminous pearls, illuminating the entire space like daylight. And in the center of the space, a massive circular device hovered, the very thing depicted on the mural!

The device exudes a faint golden light and is surrounded by countless complex and precise runes, exuding a mysterious and powerful aura.

"Found it..." Ren Xiaoyao muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Xia Lin also covered her mouth, her eyes full of disbelief.

Suddenly, a dazzling light appeared in the center of the circular device, and an illusory figure slowly emerged. He was wearing a black robe, and his face was hidden under the hood, so his features could not be seen clearly.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the forbidden area!" The black-robed man's voice was low and hoarse, as if it came from the depths of hell.

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin looked at each other, and alarm bells rang in their hearts.