Black Myth: The Legend of Tianpeng Seeking Demons

"Brother Lingxuan, is the path you're leading us on... reliable?" Zhu Feifei wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and complained with a grin.

They had been wandering around this underground labyrinth for almost an hour, but the passage ahead still seemed endless. The murals on the walls seemed to mock their confusion, making him feel like a headless fly.

Lingxuan walked ahead with a calm expression, the bells at her waist making a crisp sound with each step, which sounded particularly jarring in the gloomy underground palace.

"Don't worry, my intuition is always right," he said confidently. "As long as you follow me, you will definitely find the 'Heart of the Desert'."

"Intuition?" Zhu Feifei couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I, Old Zhu—no, Zhu Feifei, back when I trusted my intuition, I fell into traps more than a dozen times and was chased all over the village by wild boars! Are you asking me to go back to my old ways?"

The Queen of Jingjue walked beside him, holding in her hand the gem that emitted a soft blue light. It was a guiding object she had received from the soul of Jingjue.

“The stone seems to be guiding us,” she said softly, a hint of hesitation in her voice. “But its power is similar to my bloodline… it’s like it’s calling me.”

Zhu Feifei looked around warily. "Your Majesty, could this thing be some kind of 'tracking artifact'? If it's an ambush set by those bastards from the Black Wind Bandits, wouldn't we be walking right into it?"

"Probably not." Queen Jingjue shook her head. "Its aura is indeed a legacy of the Jingjue clan... unlike something from an enemy."

Just then, the passage ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a huge underground space.

Before them lay a magnificent underground hall. The dome overhead seemed to stretch endlessly, and massive stone pillars, like the arms of gods, supported the entire hall. The floor was covered with shimmering blue crystals, dispelling the darkness, and the murals on the walls were even more exquisite and intricate, seemingly recording the glorious moments of a lost civilization.

"Wow—!" Zhu Feifei's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She put her hands on her hips, looking like she'd never seen anything like it before. "This place is so big and bright! Look at these crystals on the ground, maybe we can take some back with us to help with our living expenses!"

While examining the murals, Lingxuan suddenly blurted out, "This is the 'Sleeping Place' of the Jingjue Kingdom, the resting place of the queens of past dynasties... Do you dare to dig it up? Their ancestors will come looking for you."

"What? Ancestor, you're drinking tea?" Zhu Feifei immediately crossed her arms and shrank back. "Forget it then, my life is worth a few crystals, I won't trade for now!"

However, before they could figure out the secrets of this place, the ground suddenly began to shake!

"Oh my god! What's going on?" Zhu Feifei stumbled and almost fell flat on his face. As soon as he regained his footing, he saw the crystal on the ground begin to crack, with long, narrow fissures spreading out, as if some enormous creature was awakening.

"Oh no! Something's coming out!" Ling Xuan shouted, waving her bell to stabilize the swaying stone pillar with sound waves.

A deafening roar came from underground, followed by the slow ascent of a giant ten zhang tall. Its body was engulfed in raging flames, its face was ferocious, it had two sharp horns on its head, and it held a giant sword burning with flames in its hand. The temperature of the entire space instantly soared.

Upon seeing it, Zhu Feifei's legs trembled: "What...what is this thing?! A hot pot monster? A barbecue spirit?!"

"This..." Queen Jingjue's voice trembled slightly, "This is the 'Flame Demon,' the final guardian of the Land of Slumber..."

"The ultimate... BOSS?!" Zhu Feifei almost knelt down. "Are we really not going to run? It's so big, it's not fair to fight it!"

Just as Zhu Feifei was trembling with fear, the voice of the Ringwraith Xiaobai rang in his mind: "Run? Can you outrun it? This kind of BOSS can chase you for three days and three nights. You're doomed!"

"What should we do?" Zhu Feifei asked with a worried expression. "Does this mean we really have no choice but to fight to the death?"

Upon hearing this, the Ringwraith Little White, standing to the side, grinned and chuckled.

"Haha, that's right, it's all about risking your life!" After saying that, it nodded to Zhu Feifei, signaling him to get started.

Seeing this, Zhu Feifei was terrified, but there was nothing she could do now.

He gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, gripped the heavy nine-toothed rake tightly with both hands, raised it high, and then slammed it down hard on the Flame Demon's leg with all his might.

A deafening "Bang!" resounded, as if the entire space was shaken by the sound.

However, to everyone's surprise, when Zhu Feifei's nine-toothed rake struck the Flame Demon's incredibly thick leg, it only left a shallow white mark, and the Flame Demon didn't even feel any pain or discomfort.

"This is way too hard!" Zhu Feifei exclaimed, clutching her numb hand. "Is this bone made of diamond?"

The Ringwraith sneered, "Idiot! Use your supernatural powers! Do you think this rake is some ordinary farm tool?"

Zhu Feifei then remembered the Nine-Toothed Rake's "Great Strength" mode. He hurriedly activated its power and slammed it into the Flame Demon's leg again. This time, the Flame Demon let out a painful growl and actually staggered!

"Haha! It worked!" Zhu Feifei slapped her thigh excitedly. "Watch me, Zhu Feifei, this time I'm going to show off my skills!"

Queen Jingjue didn't sit still. She quickly took out her crossbow and fired a series of poisoned arrows at the Flame Demon, while simultaneously using the light of the blue gemstone to enhance Zhu Feifei's soul power.

Ling Xuan stood at a distance, using sound waves to disrupt the Flame Demon's rhythm and slow its movements. He rang his bell as he calmly said, "Brother Fei Fei, this is your home turf. The Queen and I are just playing support!"

Zhu Feifei gritted her teeth in anger: "Support my ass! If you shake any slower, I'll be a charred corpse!"

Just as the three were working together more and more seamlessly, the Flame Demon suddenly roared and swung his greatsword across the room, as if the entire space had been cut in two.

"Get out of the way!" Queen Jingjue pushed Zhu Feifei away in time, but she herself was blasted away by the sword energy and fell to the ground.

Zhu Feifei was furious: "Big guy, you're bullying my queen?! You're asking for it!" He activated "Godspeed" mode, circling the Flame Demon like a whirlwind while continuously smashing its knees with his nine-toothed rake.

The Flame Demon was forced back step by step, finally revealing an opening. Queen Jingjue seized the opportunity, channeling the power of the blue gem into her crossbow and firing an arrow that struck the Flame Demon squarely between the eyebrows!

With a bloodcurdling roar, the fire demon crashed to the ground, vanishing into flames that filled the sky.

Zhu Feifei sat down on the ground, panting, and wiped the dust off his face: "I, Old Zhu, really risked my life! Next time, let Ling Xuan take over!"

The Queen of Jingjue chuckled: "Without your brute strength, we wouldn't have lasted this battle to the end."

Lingxuan patted the bell: "However, the appearance of the Flame Demon means... the power of the Sleeping Land has been activated. Even greater challenges await us."

The three of them exchanged a glance; despite their exhaustion, they were quite happy.