I dominated the game from the start with cards.

Old Zhou staggered back a few steps, but Li Xuan helped him up. "Old Zhou, are you alright?" Li Xuan asked with concern. Old Zhou waved his hand, his face grave. "The runes on this stone door contain powerful energy. Touching them rashly is extremely dangerous." He carefully observed the runes, trying to decipher their meaning. "These runes... seem to be some kind of ancient seal." Old Zhou pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I once saw a similar record in an ancient book. This kind of seal is usually used to suppress powerful evil forces." "Evil forces?" Mu Yang frowned. "Could something terrifying be hidden behind this stone door?" "Very likely." Li Xuan nodded. His spiritual perception also sensed a cold aura emanating from behind the stone door, making him uneasy. "We must be careful." Sister Wu clutched her injured arm, her face pale. "I'll try." Lin Yu volunteered. He was a newly acquainted partner, with a warm and forthright personality. He walked to the stone door, took a deep breath, and placed his palm on the runes. The moment his palm touched the runes, the stone door suddenly trembled, the runes shone even brighter, and a powerful energy wave spread out, forcing everyone back several steps. The stone door slowly opened, revealing a dark and mysterious passage. A cold wind blew out, carrying a faint stench of decay. "It's here..." Li Xuan said softly, gripping his dagger tightly, his mind highly focused, sensing the dangerous aura emanating from the depths of the passage.

The group cautiously entered the passage, where the walls on both sides were covered with runes that shimmered with a faint light.

The air grew heavy, pressing down on them as if it had a tangible weight.

They continued forward and discovered a passage ahead filled with runes that shimmered with an eerie light.

These runes were more complex than those on the stone gate, seemingly containing some kind of pattern. "These runes..." Old Zhou squinted, carefully observing their arrangement, "They resemble an ancient script, but I've never seen one before." Mu Yang walked to the center of the passage, attempting to decipher the runes' meaning. He reached out and gently touched one of them. Suddenly, a sharp whooshing sound rang out, and countless arrows shot out from the walls on both sides of the passage, pouring down like a torrential rain. "Watch out!" Li Xuan shouted, but it was too late. Mu Yang couldn't dodge in time; an arrow grazed his arm, and blood immediately gushed out. He groaned and staggered back a few steps. Sister Wu quickly rushed forward to bandage his wound, her face filled with worry: "Mu Yang, are you alright?" Mu Yang shook his head, gritting his teeth: "I'm fine, just a scratch." Li Xuan's expression was grave. He looked around, activating his spiritual perception to its fullest extent, trying to find the pattern in the rain of arrows. The runes in the passage flickered erratically, as if mocking their ignorance. A tense atmosphere filled the air. Li Xuan's gaze fell on a blurry shadow at the end of the passage… “Something’s there,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. Li Xuan’s mental perception swept across the entire passage like radar, the trajectory of the arrow rain clearly appearing in his mind. “Three steps to the left, quick!” he shouted, pulling Old Zhou beside him to dodge quickly. Mu Yang and Sister Wu followed closely behind, narrowly avoiding the arrows. Lin Yu reacted a little slower, and an arrow grazed his thigh, leaving a bloody gash. “Damn it!” Lin Yu cursed, clutching his wound and enduring the pain. “It’s alright, just a superficial wound.” Sister Wu quickly gave him a simple bandage. Before anyone could catch their breath, countless cracks suddenly appeared in the walls on both sides of the passage, and all sorts of strange creatures poured out, emitting chilling roars. These creatures varied in form; some resembled giant spiders with sharp, venomous fangs; others were like flying bats, emitting piercing screams; still others were like humanoid lizards, wielding bone blades that gleamed coldly. "So many!" Mu Yang's expression changed, his hand gripping his weapon tightly. The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard; the narrow passage made effective attacks difficult. "Spread out and break through!" Lin Yu shouted, leading the charge towards the left passage. "No!" Sister Wu immediately objected, "It's safer if we stay together!" "But if we keep going like this, we'll be surrounded!" Lin Yu cried anxiously. Just as everyone was at a stalemate, a figure silently appeared behind them. "Stop arguing." A deep, magnetic voice rang out; it was Ling Feng. Ling Feng formed hand seals and chanted incantations. A dazzling light erupted from his body, forming a massive light screen that enveloped everyone. Those creatures that approached the light screen let out painful roars as their bodies rapidly melted, turning into puddles of black liquid. "Now's our chance!" Old Zhou said in a deep voice, "These creatures fear the power of the spiritual wind. Let's break through first!" Old Zhou, experienced as he was, immediately directed the orderly retreat. He assigned Li Xuan and Mu Yang to clear the way, Sister Wu to care for the wounded, and he himself to cover the rear, preventing the creatures from pursuing them. "Li Xuan, at the three o'clock position on the right, that spider will spray venom, be careful!" Old Zhou's voice echoed through the passage. Li Xuan understood immediately, dodging the venom attack with a sidestep, his dagger flashing like lightning, accurately striking the spider's vital point. "Mu Yang, at the five o'clock position on the left, that bat is extremely fast, attack its wings with your longsword!" Mu Yang swung his longsword, a sharp sword aura slicing through the air, severing the bat's wing. The group fought and retreated, gradually approaching the passage's exit under the protection of the spiritual wind's light barrier. Just then, at the end of the passage, the blurry shadow gradually became clear... a tall figure, wielding a massive battle axe, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression. He slowly raised his head, revealing a ferocious face, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Finally... I've found you..." His deep voice echoed in the passage, like the whisper of a demon from hell. The giant axe-wielding figure at the end of the passage seemed to freeze the air; with each step he took, the ground trembled slightly, as if foreshadowing an impending fierce battle. "Zhao Hu!" Li Xuan recognized the newcomer at a glance—one of the enemies who had participated in the annihilation of his sect. Enemies meeting again, their eyes blazed with hatred. A ruthless glint flashed in Li Xuan's eyes, and he gripped his dagger even tighter. "Hmph, brat, you've chosen the path to hell!" Zhao Hu sneered, raising his giant axe to strike at Li Xuan. The axe whistled through the air, carrying immense force. Li Xuan dared not take it head-on, rolling away to dodge the attack. At the same time, Mu Yang's longsword arrived, its light flashing like a bolt of lightning as it pierced towards Zhao Hu's side. Zhao Hu reacted swiftly, swinging his giant axe to block Mu Yang's attack, producing a piercing metallic clang. The battle erupted instantly, the passage descending into chaos. The light barrier of the spirit wind continued to shine, blocking the bizarre creatures. Spiders spewed dark green venom, filling the air with a nauseating stench; bats emitted shrill cries, disturbing everyone's concentration; humanoid lizards brandished bone blades, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Old Zhou directed everyone to dodge the attacks while calmly analyzing the situation. "Li Xuan, the spider venom is extremely corrosive, try to avoid getting it on you! Mu Yang, the bats' cries have a mental attack effect, stay alert!" "Sister Wu, be careful of the lizards, their bone blades are highly poisonous!" Old Zhou's voice was exceptionally clear and powerful amidst the chaotic battle. While dodging attacks, Li Xuan constantly scanned the walls of the passage. He discovered intricate runes etched on the wall, emitting a faint red glow that echoed the light emanating from the mysterious creatures. A bold guess formed in his mind: could these creatures be controlled by these runes? "Elder Zhou, I've discovered that these creatures seem to be related to the runes on the wall!" Li Xuan shouted while dodging attacks. "Runes?" Elder Zhou followed Li Xuan's gaze and indeed found the runes flashing red. "Could it be..." Elder Zhou seemed to realize something, his expression changing. "Li Xuan, try destroying those runes!" "Alright!" Without hesitation, Li Xuan dodged an attack from a bat and swiftly rushed towards the runes on the wall.

"Mu Yang, cover me!" Li Xuan shouted. Mu Yang understood immediately, brandishing his longsword to attract the attention of the surrounding mysterious creatures, buying Li Xuan time.

Seeing this, Lin Yu immediately joined the battle. "I'll help you!" he shouted, waving his weapon to block several lizards that were trying to attack Li Xuan.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Xuan reached the wall and thrust his dagger out like lightning, accurately striking one of the runes. The rune emitted a crisp sound, and its light dimmed. At the same time, a spider suddenly stopped attacking, its body trembling slightly, seemingly out of control. "It worked!" Li Xuan was delighted and continued attacking the other runes. Lin Yu also noticed the change. He bypassed several mysterious creatures and rushed to the other wall. "I'll help you!" Lin Yu successfully destroyed some of the runes, and the mysterious creatures in the passage indeed became chaotic, their attacks losing their rhythm. However, at this moment, the passage began to shake violently, with stones falling from above, seemingly about to collapse... "Oh no, the passage is going to collapse!" Old Zhou's expression changed drastically. "Everyone, hurry..." Mu Yang moved nimbly, his longsword wielding a tight, impenetrable attack, flashing with sword light, forcing back several humanoid lizards while attracting the attention of more spiders and bats. He deliberately created an opening, luring a giant spider to pounce on him. Then, at the last second, he dodged to the side, causing the spider to miss and crash heavily into the wall with a thud. "Now!" Mu Yang shouted. Lin Yu, already poised, seized the opportunity and charged towards the runes on the wall like an arrow. His weapon was a uniquely shaped short axe, its blade razor-sharp and gleaming coldly. He leaped into the air, swinging the axe, flashes of sharp light striking the runes precisely. The runes crackled and shattered, their light gradually fading, as if they had lost their life. As more and more runes were destroyed, the mysterious creatures in the passage indeed began to panic. The spiders moved sluggishly, their venom sprays losing accuracy; the bats' cries became intermittent, their mental attacks becoming less effective; the humanoid lizards darted around aimlessly, as if they had lost their target. "Well done!" Li Xuan exclaimed, his dagger still busy destroying the nearby runes. However, just when everyone thought victory was in sight, a sudden change occurred. As the last rune was shattered by Lin Yu's short axe, the entire passage began to shake violently, with stones falling from above with deafening crashes. "Oh no, the passage is collapsing!" Old Zhou's expression changed drastically; he grabbed Sister Wu beside him and shielded her behind him. "Everyone, find cover!" Li Xuan shouted. The passage shook more and more violently, with stones constantly falling from above. Li Xuan desperately searched for an exit or other way out. Ling Feng's light barrier also began to flicker, seemingly on the verge of disappearing. "Ling Feng, how long can your light barrier hold?" Li Xuan asked anxiously.

Lingfeng's face was pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"I...I can't hold on much longer..." Just then, Li Xuan suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis, and his mental perception indicated that an even greater danger was about to descend.

He looked up abruptly and saw a huge crack appear at the top of the passage, which was rapidly spreading and threatening to completely engulf the passage...

"Quick! This way!" A voice suddenly rang out. Li Xuan looked in the direction of the voice and saw Mu Yang pointing to the wall on one side of the passage, where there seemed to be a hidden entrance...