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After several more hours of trekking, the entrance to the core pyramid was finally in sight.

"Ho-ho-ho-ho-"

A hoarse, labored breathing echoed in the air, like an old bellows trembling violently.

Shen Ze walked at the front expressionlessly, but his gaze was fixed on the pyramid several hundred meters away, where blood-red flames danced.

Liu Xiyue mechanically moved her limbs, her eyes lifeless, following him like a puppet on a string.

Behind them, a long line of more than a dozen people stretched out sparsely on the stone-paved road, each with a face etched with exhaustion.

They moved forward almost instinctively, their legs feeling as heavy as lead, each step making a dull thud on the cobblestone street.

ta-ta-ta--

Amidst the dull echoes, the whispers around me grew increasingly noisy.

Xiao Yun felt a little dizzy, rubbed his temples, and sighed softly:

"The negative impact of the ruins is getting stronger and stronger. We need to find a place to rest when we get to the entrance."

Xiao Yun took out the Spring of Spirituality and drank several mouthfuls, then quickened his pace.

Finally, after walking for more than twenty minutes, the group stopped in front of the heavy, crimson-gold gate.

"We've finally arrived..."

Shen Ze murmured softly, and a trace of liveliness finally returned to Liu Xiyue's eyes beside him.

Behind them, the student council members, who had been expressionless, also broke into smiles, recalling their experiences along the way, and couldn't help but cry tears of joy.

Just then, a faint sigh sounded from behind.

"Yes, we've finally arrived."

Xiao Yun glanced at the familiar runes on the gate, then at Shen Ze and the others, his eyes blazing with crimson flames.

Clang——

The sound of a longsword being drawn suddenly rang out, and Liu Xiyue and the others shuddered, suddenly realizing something, and their faces turned pale.

Sensing Xiao Yun's undisguised killing intent, Shen Ze lowered his head, shook his head, and smiled bitterly:

"Xiao Yun, everyone knows what's going on, so don't break the rules."

"No one understands this with you; it's just wishful thinking on your part."

Xiao Yun said calmly, and without hesitation raised the mithril sword in his hand, slashing a sword beam at Shen Ze.

To catch a thief, you must first catch his king. Shen Ze has always been hiding his true strength, so it's better to kill him sooner rather than later for peace of mind.

wow——

The sword light pierced through the air and struck Shen Ze, exploding into a burst of blazing flames.

But Xiao Yun frowned.

"There was no kill notification, and the Void Mark wasn't applied."

Just as he was wondering, a corner of the blood-red rune array lit up in the slowly dissipating smoke and dust.

"Fortunately, I didn't really believe you either."

Hearing Shen Ze's soft sigh, Xiao Yun suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and an immense sense of crisis welled up in his heart.

Without any hesitation, Xiao Yun raised his hand and unleashed several sword beams. At the same time, he leaped up and swung his heavy halberd fiercely at Shen Ze.

At the same time, Ji Mingyu and the others behind him moved simultaneously, attacking Liu Xiyue and the others.

hum-

Suddenly, a crimson light shone brightly, and a complex rune array rose up. Countless crimson thorny vines grew out of the array, twisting and writhing, coiling towards the crowd like venomous snakes.

Xiao Yun cursed under his breath and raised his hand to cut off all the thorns and vines, but he was also blocked by the rune formation and lost the opportunity to kill Shen Ze.

Liu Xiyue's expression relaxed, and she looked at Shen Ze with gratitude.

"Thank you, Teacher Shen, for saving my life."

"Hehe, no need to say thank you."

Shen Ze responded calmly, then turned to look at Liu Xiyue and the others, a strange smile playing on his lips.

"If you're truly grateful, please do the teacher a favor."

His voice trembled uncontrollably, and sensing the madness within it, Liu Xiyue and the others' pupils shrank, and they turned to run away.

"Hehe, not listening to the teacher isn't the mark of a good student."

Shen Ze smiled and waved his hand casually, and countless thorny vines flew out, tightly binding them.

Sizzle—Sizzle—

The thorns on the brambles tore through flesh, and a group of people let out painful howls.

"Xiao Yun, Xiao Yun, save me! I can rely on you, I can do anything for you."

Liu Xiyue looked at Xiao Yun outside the magic circle, her face full of pleading.

But before Xiao Yun could answer, several thorny vines strangled her neck, choking her words.

"Shh, be quiet, you're disturbing my thinking."

Shen Ze put his index finger to his lips and gave Liu Xiyue a cold glance.

Liu Xiyue's pupils dilated, and the light in her eyes slowly faded.

Boom—Boom—Boom—

As Xiao Yun and the others continued to bombard the barrier formed by the rune array, several cracks appeared.

Shen Ze was completely unaware, and simply manipulated the thorny vines, using Liu Xiyue and the others as brushes and ink, to outline intricate rune arrays on the ground.

"Damn it!"

Xiao Yun's face was ashen as he intensified his attack, while Ji Mingyu and the others beside him were also extremely anxious.

Although I don't know what Shen Ze is planning, judging from the way he's doing it, it's bound to be quite a big commotion.

"Don't bother. This formation was created using the power of the entire ruins. To completely crush it, you'd have to break through the entire ruins."

Shen Ze smiled faintly, and as he wrote, he said:

"Xiao Yun, do you know that when you wanted to use me, wasn't I also using you?"

"You seem to have some tricks up your sleeve, thinking you know this site very well, but compared to me, what you know is just the tip of the iceberg..."

At this point, he suddenly sighed softly:

"After all, I've been studying it ever since I transmigrated here..."

Xiao Yun felt a chill run down his spine as he suddenly understood something.

That's right. As fellow alchemists who also came into contact with the knowledge of this world at the same time, how could Shen Ze possibly know so much? How could he decipher the way to enter the pyramid at a glance?

"No wonder this guy has been so fearless; he was prepared all along."

Judging from Shen Ze's words, he must have had some fortuitous encounters related to the ruins early on, grasped the information about the ruins, and was even able to utilize the power of the ruins.

"As expected, the old guy is not to be underestimated."

Xiao Yun sighed softly, and at that moment, Shen Ze made the final stroke on the rune array.

"It's done..."

Shen Ze's lips curled slightly, and the moment the array beneath his feet lit up, the surrounding barrier vanished.

Xiao Yun's eyes flashed, and he leaped up, raising his hand to swing the mithril sword. But then he froze on the spot as if he had been electrocuted, clutching his head in pain.

hum - hum - hum -

The entire inner ring trembled, the temperature soared, and blood-red streams boiled on the ground. Terrifying blood energy surged into the sky, sweeping through every corner of the inner ring.

Xiao Yun felt his blood surging, and an endless thirst rising in his heart.

The whispers and murmurs around him grew increasingly noisy, and the murals on the pyramid walls above his head seemed to come alive, coming to his side, urging and tempting him to kill and create more death.

"roll!"

Xiao Yun roared, activating the calming, breath-calming, and concentration techniques to forcibly stabilize his collapsing spirit.

He raised his bloodshot eyes and stared intently at Shen Ze, his gaze shooting out like a cannonball.

"It's too late."

Shen Ze chuckled lightly, his eyes full of mockery as he looked at Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun frowned slightly, feeling the whistling wind beside his ear, and his pupils contracted sharply.

clang--

Swords clashed, and the sparks from the flashes illuminated Gong Shuo's distorted face.

"I'm hungry, so hungry! I need blood, I need your blood!"

"Has it been completely affected?"

Xiao Yun's heart stirred. Not intending to get entangled with him, she raised her hand to create a rope of magic, wrapped it around him, and threw him into the distance.

But as soon as she got rid of Gong Shuo, Liu Xiyue and other student council members pounced on her.

Xiao Yun's eyes flashed, knowing that things couldn't continue like this.

"King of Crows, King of Crows."

The Crow King replied quickly, but the message he sent sent a shockwave through Xiao Yun's heart.

"Has Su Wu gone mad too?"

A bad feeling rose in Xiao Yun's heart. He raised his hand to block the enemy in front of him and turned his head to check on Ji Mingyu and the others.

Just then, a figure flashed past and crashed into the crowd.

"Die! Die! Die!"

Wang Tianyuan roared and, holding an arrow, used it as a brass knuckle duster, smashing it wildly into a boy's face.

bang-bang-bang-

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, but his movements became increasingly frenzied, tearing at the boy's flesh and emitting chilling laughter.

Behind them, another terrifying explosion rang out, and the heat wave from the alchemical bomb swept over them.

The scene was completely chaotic.

Xiao Yun stood frozen in place, a chill running through his body.

Standing before the gate, Shen Ze was completely intoxicated. He spread his arms wide, facing the gate, and shouted fervently:

"Eternal burning blood, undying fire, enjoy this feast to the fullest!"

Whether it was an illusion or not, in a daze, Xiao Yun heard a soft laugh coming from behind the door of the core pyramid.