330: The real key, the shadows hidden beneath the river.

A river stretched across the valley. The water was incredibly murky, with various rotting flesh and white bones floating in the overflowing current, looking nauseating.

Ye Bai covered his mouth and gagged. Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi were also uncomfortable, covering their noses as they backed away.

Ye Bai took out his divination compass and made some calculations, saying, "Crossing this river should lead to the exit. Let's be careful and make sure not to step on any traps."

The three of them followed the river across and indeed saw an open Stone Door.

Behind the Stone Door was a narrow, dark Passage, with thick piles of withered wood and dust on both sides. Ye Bai walked in front to scout the way, while Meng Ziyi and Yang Mi followed behind him.

After a few steps, Ye Bai stopped. He turned his head and said to the two women, "Stay where you are and don't move."

With that, Ye Bai pulled out his Dagger and slowly walked forward.

Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi exchanged looks, staring ahead with pale faces.

As soon as Ye Bai stepped into the Passage, he suddenly felt a sharp, fierce Sword Qi in front of him. Immediately after, he felt a heavy blow to his abdomen. He let out a muffled groan and was sent flying backward, spitting blood. He crashed into a tree and fell to the ground, struggling several times before he managed to climb back up.

"Holy... what's the situation?" Ye Bai was in great pain, clutching his stomach as he asked.

"Brother Ye!" Meng Ziyi cried out in panic, running to his side and asking with concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Ye Bai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Just now, he had suddenly felt a sharp Sword Qi coming from behind and instinctively dodged.

But that dodge was too rushed, causing his wound to tear again, resulting in a piercing, bone-deep pain.

"How could this happen?" Meng Ziyi muttered to herself, staring doubtfully at the crack in the stone.

"Could it be a trap mechanism?" Yang Mi suddenly thought.

Meng Ziyi and Ye Bai also felt this was a plausible guess and quickly began to look around.

Right then, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed again from the stone staircase leading deep into the cave. The footsteps went from faint to heavy, as if something was slowly approaching them.

Ye Bai's expression turned solemn as he stared intently at the Passage, shielding Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi behind him.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The footsteps gradually quickened; it seemed something was rushing toward the three of them!

Ye Bai narrowed his eyes at the front, his right fist clenched, ready to fight at any moment.

With a thunderous boom, the entrance to the stone stairs suddenly exploded, sending dirt and debris flying everywhere.

Ye Bai's eyes widened as he looked over, nearly scared out of his wits!

A colossus appeared before their eyes—it was a suit of armor seven or eight zhang long, completely covered in iron plates! Moreover, the armor was stained with a large amount of filth and blood, and was even rusted, clearly having been used long ago.

"What kind of monster is this?" Ye Bai couldn't help but shout.

There was a hideous gash on the armor's chest, seemingly struck by some sharp blade; a blade mark remained even now, faintly glowing with a dim red light.

The armor also had numerous missing pieces, the largest of which was clearly hacked off by some sharp tool! Judging by the exposed steel components of the armor, whatever had hacked it back then was definitely no ordinary weapon!

"What is this thing?" Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi were also stunned.

"Never mind what it is, let's deal with it first." Ye Bai raised an eyebrow and was the first to attack.

Ye Bai rushed toward the giant armor like an arrow leaving a bow. His movements were agile as he threw a punch at the armor's knee joint, attempting to disable its mobility first. However, the punch landed with a loud "clang," and Ye Bai felt as if he had hit an iron mountain; his arm was jolted numb.

"This guy is tough, everyone be careful!" Ye Bai shouted.

The viewers in the Live Stream Room grew tense again.

"My god, what kind of monster is that? Even Ye Bai's fists aren't working, what are they going to do?"

"I feel like this is even harder to deal with than the Dried Corpse from before. This show is getting more and more intense."

"I feel bad for Ye Bai, I hope he doesn't get hurt."

The armor seemed enraged by Ye Bai's attack. It swung its massive arm in a horizontal sweep toward him. Ye Bai quickly leaped back, dodging the attack. The armor's arm slammed into the ground, instantly kicking up dust and smashing a large crater into the floor.

"We have to find its weakness!" Yang Mi shouted loudly.

Meng Ziyi watched anxiously from the side. Suddenly, she noticed a spot on the back of the armor where the rust was exceptionally heavy, as if the iron plating there was thinner.

"Ye Bai, there's a spot on its back with a lot of rust. Maybe that's the weakness!" Meng Ziyi cried out.

Hearing this, Ye Bai's eyes lit up. He rushed toward the armor, nimbly evading its attacks and circling to its back. Timing it perfectly, he used all his strength to deliver a kick to the heavily rusted area. With this kick, the armor's iron plating indeed dented a bit, and some iron scraps fell off.

"It's right here! Everyone, attack together!" Ye Bai shouted.

Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi also plucked up their courage, picking up stones from the ground to throw at the armor's weakness. The viewers in the Live Stream Room cheered them on.

"Come on! You can definitely defeat it!"

"This coordination is so seamless, as expected of them."

Under the combined attack of the three, cracks began to appear in the iron plating at the armor's weakness. Sensing danger, the armor twisted its body frantically, trying to shake off the assault. Seeing the moment the crack expanded, Ye Bai pulled a small bomb from his backpack—something he had prepared earlier for emergencies.

"Get down!" Ye Bai shouted, then threw the bomb toward the crack.

With a loud boom, the bomb exploded, blowing a large hole in the armor's back. It wobbled a few times before crashing to the ground.

"Whew, finally dealt with it." Ye Bai wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"That was too terrifying, I thought we were done for," Yang Mi said.

Meng Ziyi also breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, but we need to leave here quickly. Who knows if there will be other dangers."

The three continued forward along the Passage, which was filled with a pungent odor. As they walked, they found a Stone Door ahead, covered in strange runes and patterns.

"These runes look so complex. Ye Bai, can you understand them?" Yang Mi asked.

Ye Bai carefully observed the runes on the Stone Door, his brow furrowed. "These runes seem to be a type of ancient Sealing Technique. There might be something even more dangerous behind the Stone Door, or it could be the key to the next location."

The viewers in the Live Stream Room were also discussing the Stone Door.

"This Stone Door doesn't seem simple. Could there be treasure inside?"

"Maybe it's an even scarier monster. I hope they're careful."

Ye Bai tried to push the Stone Door, but it wouldn't budge. He searched for a mechanism around the door and found a small groove beside it, shaped like a key.