A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

Ye Shuli pulled Jiang Ye along, searching for a way out in the cramped space. But after looking around, they found there was no way out. Just then, the ground suddenly began to sink faster, and the surrounding walls began to peel away, which led to Jiang Ye running away with his head in his hands.

The ground was sinking faster and faster, and the surrounding walls were peeling off in large chunks like weathered sand sculptures, with rubble falling like rain.

"Holy crap! This is even harder than the math problems I took in my college entrance exam!" Jiang Ye complained as he ran away, clutching his head.

Ye Shuli grabbed him, "Why are you running! Are you waiting to die!"

"Sister Li, it seems like we're really going to die..." Jiang Ye said with a bitter face, hugging Ye Shuli tightly as if he wanted to live and die with her.

"Let go! You're holding me too tight, it's making it hard for my spiritual energy to circulate!" Ye Shuli pushed him away in annoyance.

Even at the brink of life and death, this kid still had the mind to take advantage!

The two searched for an exit, only to find that all the passages were blocked.

Dust filled the air, making it hard to breathe.

Despair, like an invisible hand, gripped their throats tightly.

"Help! Is anyone there?!" Jiang Ye shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing in the empty ruins, but he received no response.

"Stop shouting, save your energy." Ye Shuli leaned against a boulder, feeling utterly weak.

Are they really going to perish here?

No, she is not reconciled!

She hasn't found her way home yet, and she hasn't uncovered the truth behind her family's massacre. How can she die here!

"Sister Li...I...I'm scared..." Jiang Ye's voice was choked with sobs.

He, a grown man, was now like a frightened child, clutching Ye Shuli's sleeve tightly as if it were his only lifeline.

Ye Shuli took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

In times like these, it's crucial not to panic.

She closed her eyes, trying hard to recall every detail of entering the ruins.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide, a glint of light flashing in them.

"Jiang Ye, do you remember the strange symbols we saw in that stone chamber before?"

Jiang Ye was stunned for a moment. "Symbols? What symbols? I only remember there were many burial objects there, but unfortunately they're all gone now..." Before he could finish, Ye Shuli interrupted him, "Not burial objects! They're the symbols carved on the walls!"

"Oh...that seems to be the case..." Jiang Ye scratched his head. "Sister Li, is there something wrong with those symbols?"

Ye Shuli didn't answer, but stared intently ahead, her eyes flickering. "Those symbols... might be the key to our escape..." She grabbed Jiang Ye's arm. "Let's go!"

Ye Shuli pulled Jiang Ye and rushed back to the stone chamber where they had discovered the symbols. Ignoring the choking dust, she squinted and carefully examined the symbols on the wall, muttering to herself, "Qian, Kun, Xun, Gen... this seems to be a variant of the Bagua formation!" She took out a charcoal pencil from her bag and quickly drew it on the ground.

Jiang Ye was completely bewildered. "Sister Li, are you... summoning a dragon by drawing talismans? Is cross-industry collaboration all the rage now?"

Ye Shuli ignored him and continued to work diligently.

Soon, a complex and mysterious array pattern appeared on the ground.

She took a deep breath and channeled her spiritual energy into the center of the formation.

With a hum, the array emitted a dazzling light, and a beam of light shot into the sky, opening a hidden passage in the center of the stone chamber!

"Wow! Sister Li, you're a genius! A god forever!" Jiang Ye was dumbfounded, his eyes filled with admiration.

This is more amazing than any fantasy novel he's ever read!

Ye Shuli raised an eyebrow smugly, "Basic procedure, don't be surprised, let's go!" She grabbed Jiang Ye and jumped into the passage without hesitation.

The passage was pitch black, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you.

Jiang Ye held Ye Shuli's hand tightly, afraid that they might get separated if they weren't careful.

"Sister Li, are you alright?" he asked with concern.

"It's alright." Ye Shuli felt the warmth of Jiang Ye's palm, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

This guy may be unreliable most of the time, but he's actually quite reliable when it matters.

They groped their way forward; the passage was eerily quiet, with only the sounds of their breathing and heartbeats.

Suddenly, Ye Shuli felt something under her feet, something soft and slippery...

"What is this?" Jiang Ye also sensed something was wrong. He crouched down and touched it with his hand. "It seems... to be a snake..."

"A snake?!" Ye Shuli was startled and instinctively grabbed Jiang Ye's arm.

Jiang Ye sensed Ye Shuli's nervousness, took her hand in return, and whispered to comfort her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here." His tone was gentle yet firm, as if carrying a magical power that instantly reassured Ye Shuli.

“It seems… there’s more than one…” Jiang Ye’s voice suddenly became serious.

The darkness in the passage was suffocating; only the sounds of each other's breathing and heartbeats broke the silence.

Suddenly, a faint sound came from ahead, followed by several hidden weapons shooting out of the air, heading straight for Jiang Ye and Ye Shuli.

"Watch out!" Jiang Ye shouted, shoving Ye Shuli aside and charging towards the hidden weapon.

Several sharp hidden weapons grazed his arm, and blood instantly stained his clothes.

Jiang Ye gritted his teeth, endured the excruciating pain, and continued running forward.

"Jiang Ye, are you crazy!" Ye Shuli looked at him with heartache, tears welling up in her eyes.

She quickly took a piece of cloth out of her bag and bandaged Jiang Ye's wound.

"Sister Li, don't worry about me, quickly find a way to counter these hidden weapons!" Jiang Ye said through the pain, his tone still firm.

Ye Shuli (Here, "serialVersionUID" looks like erroneous content or unprocessed code; we'll ignore it as meaningless content) quickly recalled the traps she had encountered before, and the patterns of these hidden weapons seemed to have a similar working principle.

She closed her eyes, concentrated, and quickly formed a solution in her mind.

A few seconds later, she suddenly opened her eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

"Jiang Ye, listen, if we move at this pace, we should be able to avoid the hidden weapons!" Ye Shuli quickly told Jiang Ye the plan.

She took a deep breath and rushed out first.

Jiang Ye followed closely behind, and the two of them dodged left and right as Ye Shuli instructed, their coordination was seamless.

Hidden weapons grazed past them one after another, but none of them could harm them.

Finally, the hidden weapons in the passage stopped firing, and the two breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister Li, you're amazing! That was a perfect move!" Jiang Ye shouted excitedly, his eyes filled with admiration.

Ye Shuli smiled confidently, but she had no time to be smug, because the road ahead was still long.

She pulled Jiang Ye along as they ran, but suddenly she stopped, turned back to him, and said, "Wait, something seems off..."

Jiang Ye also stopped and nervously looked around. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he gasped, "Sister Li, look! What's that?" Ye Shuli followed Jiang Ye's gaze and saw a huge python coiled up at the end of the passage!

The giant python was entirely black, its scales gleaming with an eerie light. Its blood-red eyes stared intently at them, and its scarlet tongue flicked out from its mouth.

"Holy crap! Has this thing mutated? How did it grow so big?!" Jiang Ye exclaimed.

Ye Shuli was also startled, but she quickly calmed down and took out a few flashbangs from her bag. "Jiang Ye, cover me!"

Jiang Ye understood immediately and released his spiritual power to create a thick fog that obscured the giant python's vision.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ye Shuli threw a flashbang at the giant python. A blinding white light flashed, and the giant python roared in pain, its body twisting violently.

"Run!" Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye and, taking advantage of the giant python being distracted by the flashbang, quickly ran towards the passage exit.

They ran frantically until they finally saw the light of the exit.

Just as they were about to rush out of the passage, the giant python pounced, its massive body completely blocking the exit.

"It's over, Barbie Q is gone!" Jiang Ye closed his eyes in despair.

At the critical moment, Ye Shuli suddenly remembered the Bagua formation she had seen in the stone chamber. With a flash of inspiration, she poured all her remaining spiritual power into the jade pendant in her hand.

The jade pendant emitted a dazzling light, forming a powerful energy shockwave that struck the giant python's head hard.

The giant python let out a shrill scream, and its massive body crashed to the ground, finally opening the passage.

Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye rushed out without hesitation, and suddenly the view opened up before them.

The warm sunlight shone on them, and the fresh air rushed towards them. They had finally escaped the ruins that were about to collapse!

"We...we survived!" Jiang Ye hugged Ye Shuli tightly, his voice trembling.

Ye Shuli hugged him tightly, her heart filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.

They stood embracing, and everything around them seemed so beautiful.

"Sister Li, I owe you so much this time, otherwise I would definitely have died in that giant python's belly," Jiang Ye said with lingering fear.

Ye Shuli patted his shoulder and laughed, "Stop joking around, hurry up and check if you're injured."

Jiang Ye stretched his body and grinned, "It's alright, just a superficial injury, nothing serious."

They looked up at the sky, which was cloudless and sunny.

Their exploration of the ruins has finally come to an end; they have successfully unlocked the artifact, but they know that this is only the beginning.

"Sister Li, where do we go next?" Jiang Ye asked.

Ye Shuli gazed into the distance, her eyes flashing with determination, "Let's go and begin a new chapter."

Suddenly, a strange sound came from behind...