Seven Mysterious Spaces: My Rise to Power in the Cultivation World

Deep within the passage, a chilling laugh echoed, like a ghostly whisper, sending shivers down one's spine.

Zhuang Yu and Wang Yao held their breath, watching the scene ahead warily.

This labyrinth of ruins is even more bizarre than I imagined.

After walking only a few steps, Wang Yao exclaimed, "Young Master, look!"

Zhuang Yu looked in the direction Wang Yao was pointing and saw that the ground was engraved with intricate patterns that shimmered with a faint light.

"This is... an array?" Zhuang Yu's heart skipped a beat. This ruin was indeed full of traps!

Before he could react, he suddenly felt a strange movement beneath his feet.

With a crisp crack, the ground split open, and countless sharp spiritual energy attacks rained down upon us!

"Holy shit!" Zhuang Yu cursed under his breath and hurriedly pulled Wang Yao to dodge.

Despite her quick reflexes, Wang Yao's sleeve was still torn, revealing her fair skin.

"Young master, I'm scared..." Wang Yao's voice trembled slightly.

"Don't be afraid, Yao'er, I'm here!" Zhuang Yu held Wang Yao's hand tightly, his eyes resolute.

He was filled with self-blame, blaming himself for being too careless and falling into Wu Qiang's treacherous scheme!

Just then, Wu Qiang and his gang pounced out like hungry wolves, surrounding Zhuang Yu and Wang Yao.

"Hahaha! Zhuang Yu, you've finally met your match!" Wu Qiang laughed triumphantly. "Let's see where you can run now!"

He waved his hand and ordered his subordinates, "Attack! Kill the men, leave the women alive!"

A sly glint flashed in Song Xiaomei's eyes. She pulled a gleaming dagger from her bosom, licked her lips, and said in a sinister tone, "Handsome boy, just surrender obediently, and I'll make sure you die a comfortable death..."

Elder Ma hid behind the crowd, watching coldly as if it were none of his business.

He secretly planned that once Wu Qiang and the others had dealt with Zhuang Yu, he would then make his move to seize the treasure. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Zhuang Yu took a deep breath and calmly observed his surroundings.

Suddenly, a cold smile appeared on his lips. He thought to himself, "Is that all? Back when I played 'Winner Winner Chicken Dinner' (a game name), I've seen much more complicated encirclements than this. Do you think I'd let you little minions trap me?" Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a loose brick at the edge of the trap. A flash of inspiration struck him, and a plan came to him.

"Yao'er, hold on tight to me!"

Zhuang Yu let out a low shout and activated the "Universe Shifting Technique" he had obtained from the mysterious space. A strange energy fluctuation spread out from him.

This is no ordinary cultivation technique; it's a unique secret manual left behind by an ancient god, specifically for... well, moving bricks.

The loose stone brick seemed to be pulled by some force, suddenly flying up and drawing a perfect parabola in the air before hitting the weak point of the trap with a loud "bang"!

"Crack, click, click..."

Like dominoes, the entire trap began to collapse. Before Wu Qiang and the others could react to what was happening, they were stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhuang Yu grabbed Wang Yao and dashed towards the gap in Wu Qiang's team, his speed even faster than Usain Bolt's.

Seeing this, Song Xiaomei's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and she screamed, "This kid is cheating, isn't he?!" Unwilling to give up, she launched another attack on Zhuang Yu, her dagger turning into a cold light, heading straight for Zhuang Yu's back.

Without turning his head, Zhuang Yu reached into his mysterious space and pulled out a... brick.

"Is that all? You think you're worthy of faking an accident with me, young master?"

Zhuang Yu sneered and threw the brick behind him.

The brick collided with the dagger, making a crisp "clang." Song Xiaomei felt a powerful force come from it, her hand went numb, and the dagger slipped from her grasp.

Before she could react, the brick returned and gently tapped her forehead. Song Xiaomei immediately saw stars and spectacularly fainted.

"Oops, I went a little too far." Zhuang Yu shook his head, feigning regret. "But who told you to look so punchable?"

Wu Qiang watched in stunned silence, pointing at Zhuang Yu, speechless for a long time: "You...you...you..."

Zhuang Yu ignored him, grabbed Wang Yao and continued running forward, not forgetting to turn back and add a final, sarcastic remark before leaving: "Bye-bye!"

Elder Ma, witnessing this scene from a distance, was secretly astonished... Elder Ma, stroking his goatee, pondered, "This kid is a bit strange. Despite his low cultivation level, he has repeatedly escaped danger. Could he be some reclusive master pretending to be weak while actually being strong?" He began to think that Zhuang Yu was a formidable opponent. He had originally planned to sit back and watch the fight, but now it seemed he had to reconsider.

When Wu Qiang saw Song Xiaomei collapse to the ground, clutching her forehead and seeing stars, he was instantly enraged. A powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted from him, like a volcanic eruption, with overwhelming force.

"Boy, you dare to hurt my men! Today I'll make you pay!" He roared through gritted teeth, personally launching a fierce attack with overwhelming force, heading straight for Zhuang Yu.

Zhuang Yu remained calm and composed, a playful smile playing on his lips, as if everything was under his control.

He moved with ghostly grace, weaving between the walls of the maze, using the walls' rebounding force to deflect Wu Qiang's attacks one by one, as if strolling leisurely in a garden.

Seeing this, Wu Qiang's face grew even more gloomy, his heart filled with doubt and unease: "How can this kid's movement technique be so strange? Could it be that he discovered my ambush all along?"

Zhuang Yu seemed to see through his thoughts, suddenly stopped, and said to Wu Qiang, "You think you can trap me like this? Please, brother, I saw through your tricks a long time ago! I pretended to fall for your trap to lure you in, to catch you like a turtle in a jar, don't you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Qiang's expression changed drastically. Pointing at Zhuang Yu, he said incredulously, "You...you...you actually..."

Zhuang Yu shrugged, feigning innocence. "Oh, don't be so surprised. After all, I've read the script." He smiled mysteriously, pulled something from his hidden space, and tossed it lightly in his hand. "Now, the real performance begins..."

Zhuang Yu tossed the object in his hand; it was a bead that shone with a strange light and emitted a heart-pounding energy fluctuation.

Wu Qiang and the others were stunned when they saw this, not understanding what it was.

"What is this? Is it some kind of powerful magic weapon?" Song Xiaomei covered her forehead, struggled to get up from the ground, and asked with a look of horror.

"Hehe, this isn't some kind of magic weapon, but rather..." Zhuang Yu deliberately dragged out his words, whetting everyone's appetite, "...a bewitching bead!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he crushed the bead in his hand, and a colorful cloud of smoke instantly spread out, enveloping the entire maze passage.

Caught off guard, Wu Qiang and the others inhaled a lot of smoke, and immediately felt dizzy and everything in front of them became blurry.

"Oh no, it's an illusion array!" Wu Qiang shouted, trying to regain his footing, but it was too late.

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was disoriented, Zhuang Yu grabbed Wang Yao's hand and quickly disappeared around a corner of the maze.

"Damn it, he tricked us!" Wu Qiang roared angrily, but it was no use. He could only watch helplessly as Zhuang Yu and Wang Yao escaped.

Deep within the maze, Zhuang Yu and Wang Yao leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

"Phew... Luckily I was prepared, otherwise I would have really been in trouble this time." Zhuang Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with lingering fear.

"Zhuang Yu, you're amazing! How did you know they would be lying in ambush there?" Wang Yao looked at Zhuang Yu with admiration, her eyes sparkling.

"Hehe, that's called anticipating the enemy's moves, understand? I'm a man who's read the script!" Zhuang Yu raised his eyebrows smugly.

"Script? What script?" Wang Yao asked, puzzled.

"Uh... it's nothing, just pretend I didn't say anything." Zhuang Yu quickly changed the subject. "Let's hurry up and find the exit of the maze. I don't know how far we are from the treasure."

The two continued to explore the maze, which was intricate and had many forks in the path. They walked for a long time but still could not find the exit. Instead, they felt more and more lost.

Suddenly, Zhuang Yu stopped and looked ahead with a serious expression.

"What's wrong?" Wang Yao asked.

"There seems to be someone ahead!" Zhuang Yu said in a low voice, a hint of vigilance flashing in his eyes.

Wang Yao also tensed up, holding her breath and listening carefully to the sounds around her.

"Swish..."

A soft sound of footsteps came from ahead, growing closer and clearer...

"Who's there?" Zhuang Yu shouted.

His voice echoed through the silent labyrinth… then, a chilling voice slowly rose:

"Hehehe... Long time no see, Zhuang Yu..."