357: Chapter 357 has disappeared.

Lu Chen's expression was grave. After a moment of contemplation, he pressed his right index and middle fingers together.

He pointed into the air toward the exact spot where the Star Marrow Rushing Thunder Beast had vanished.

"Chii!"

A condensed arc of dark golden lightning shot out at his command, swift as a flash, streaking straight toward that point.

Almost simultaneously, Qing Yi flicked her finger, sending a pale green brilliance containing pure Soul Power detection waves closely following the arc of lightning.

The two attacks—exploratory Spells—arrived one after the other in an instant.

However, the expected scene of the Spells being swallowed or triggering an anomaly did not occur.

"Swoosh—"

"Swoosh—"

The dark golden lightning arc and the pale green brilliance passed through the spot where the Star Marrow Rushing Thunder Beast had vanished without any obstruction.

They continued to fly forward along the straight passage. Finally, after about a dozen breaths and crossing an immense distance, they slowly dissipated into the white light deep within the passage as their energy was exhausted.

To these two Spells, the location where the Star Marrow Rushing Thunder Beast had mysteriously vanished seemed to have no abnormalities at all, appearing no different from any other part of the passage.

Lu Chen and Qing Yi exchanged a look, both seeing deep confusion and vigilance in the other's eyes.

Spells could pass through, but living creatures would vanish instantly and have their connection severed?

What kind of bizarre arrangement was this?

"Young Master, this Little Maid will go take a look!"

After a brief silence, Qing Yi looked at the empty yet bizarre spot ahead that had swallowed the Star Marrow Rushing Thunder Beast. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

She was a soul body, existing between the ethereal and the physical, fundamentally different from the flesh-and-blood vitality of the Star Marrow Rushing Thunder Beast.

Perhaps this bizarre arrangement targeted 'life' rather than 'soul'.

Hearing this, Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly weighed the options.

Letting Qing Yi investigate was indeed the best choice; her soul body was agile, and she had many life-saving methods.

But this place was too strange, and the risks were unknown.

However, there was no better way at the moment; they couldn't stay trapped here forever.

"Be careful. If anything is wrong, retreat immediately."

Lu Chen did not hesitate for long and nodded in agreement. At the same time, he focused intently, adjusting his state to its peak, ready to provide support or strike at any moment.

Qing Yi nodded, the brilliance of her soul body dimming slightly as she became even more elusive.

She did not rush directly toward that spot but instead floated over slowly, her speed moderate and full of caution.

When she floated to within about ten feet of the location, her speed slowed to the extreme, moving forward almost inch by inch.

Even for a soul body, facing an unknown that could cause a life and all its connections to vanish completely, her heart inevitably felt apprehensive.

Lu Chen's breathing also became long and slow. His eyes didn't blink once, and his Divine Sense was elevated to its limit, attempting to capture even the slightest fluctuation.

One step, two steps...

Qing Yi's pale green soul shadow finally touched that area.

The expected obstruction, attack, or abrupt disappearance did not happen immediately.

She... seemed to simply pass through an invisible, non-existent point in the air. Half of her soul body had already appeared on the 'other side' of that area.

Lu Chen's heart relaxed slightly, but his vigilance did not decrease.

Qing Yi also seemed to dither for a moment before accelerating. Her entire soul body passed completely through that spot and stopped on the other side of the passage.

She slowly turned around and looked at Lu Chen across the seemingly empty ten-foot distance, her eyes also filled with a hint of confusion and inquiry.

However, the moment Qing Yi turned and met Lu Chen's gaze—

Another change occurred!

Lu Chen's pupils suddenly constricted!

In his clear line of sight, the moment Qing Yi turned and stood still on the other side of the passage,

Her figure became blurred and transparent without warning, like a bubble under the sun, silently...

Disappeared!

It wasn't an instantaneous erasure like the Star Marrow Rushing Thunder Beast, but rather like a fading ink painting.

She quietly vanished under the steady white light, likewise leaving no trace and triggering no fluctuations!

Lu Chen's heart sank. Almost by reflex, the Tribulation Pupil at his brow snapped open!

The vortex of Chaos swirled within the vertical eye, attempting to see through the illusion and perceive the truth.

However, this time, the Tribulation Pupil—which could usually peer through energy flows and spatial anomalies—could not 'see' anything out of the ordinary!

The passage ahead remained straight, the white light stable, the black stone walls cold, and the ground empty.

That spot appeared no different from the rest of the passage in the Tribulation Pupil's vision!

There were no hidden spatial layers, no distorted Formation nodes, no abnormal gatherings of spiritual power—nothing at all!

It was as if Qing Yi's disappearance was merely an illusion, or a higher-level rule-based erasure that exceeded his current Realm's understanding.

A chill quietly crawled up Lu Chen's spine.

Even a soul body wouldn't work!

Even the Tribulation Pupil couldn't glimpse a clue!

What kind of ghostly place was this?!

But he knew he couldn't panic now.

Qing Yi had vanished, and her connection was also cut; he had to find the truth as soon as possible.

Whether it was life or death, he had to go through!

Taking a deep breath and suppressing his churning emotions, a flash of determination crossed Lu Chen's eyes.

He would no longer wait, nor would he test it further.

The Thunder Essence in his body surged violently, and a dark golden protective Lightning Light formed a solid barrier over his skin, firmly protecting his vital points.

At the same time, the You secret technique was activated, putting his figure and aura into a state where they could 'fade' at any moment.

The next moment, lightning flared beneath his feet. His figure turned into a bolt of swift electricity as he charged without hesitation toward the bizarre spot that had swallowed the Star Marrow Rushing Thunder Beast and Qing Yi!

He was extremely fast, arriving in the blink of an eye!

The moment he charged into that area—

"Buzz..."

An indescribable, strange sensation enveloped his entire body.

It wasn't an attack, nor was it a pull. It was more like a cold, indifferent, emotionless invisible force that lightly 'swept' over him like a ripple in water.

This force ignored his protective Lightning Light and his You secret technique.

It even seemed to penetrate his flesh and Divine Soul, performing a thorough 'inspection'.

His vision suddenly blurred!

It wasn't darkness, nor was it a blinding light, but a sense of intense spatial displacement and an instantaneous switch of scenery.

It was like stepping through the door of one room into another completely different room with no transition in between.

Once his vision cleared and he steadied himself, Lu Chen immediately looked around vigilantly.

He was indeed no longer in that straight, high, bright passage built of black stone.

Currently, he was inside a small, enclosed room.

The room was irregularly circular, about sixty feet in diameter.

The surrounding 'walls' were no longer black stone, but had returned to a style similar to the Bone Palace outside.

They were built entirely of dense, layered, white skeletons of various shapes and sizes, packed tightly together!

These skeletons were stacked so closely that almost no gaps could be seen, forming a closed Bone Cage that emitted an even richer and purer aura of death and antiquity.

The bone walls themselves emitted that pale, eerie light, illuminating the interior of the room with a light more dismal and gloomy than that in the passage.

The room was empty, devoid of any extra furnishings or decorations.

Only in the very center of the room stood a single object.

It was a bone about three feet high and as thick as an adult's arm.

The texture of the bone looked extremely ancient, showing a dull grayish-white color.

Its surface was covered with fine, natural patterns like Dragon scales, as well as many subtle traces of gnawing and weathering, clearly having endured unimaginably long ages.

Judging from its shape, it seemed to be the leg bone of some powerful Yao Beast. Even after enduring such vicissitudes, one could still feel a trace of unyielding and primitive pressure remaining within it.

And on the flat, broken top of this ancient leg bone, an object was placed quietly.

That object was about the size of a fist, emitting a dark, deep blue light that seemed capable of absorbing all surrounding light.

The light was not dazzling but was exceptionally concentrated, slowly flowing over its surface like the breathing of a living creature.

Because it was shrouded in light, its specific shape and texture could not be seen clearly. One could only vaguely tell that it did not seem to be a regular sphere, as its edges had some undulations.

It looked like a piece of natural raw stone, yet also like a... massive and bizarre eyeball?