385: Chapter 385 Two-Dimensional Shadow Assassin, A Game of Life and Death: Who Will Suicide?

The black Nether Wooden Boat smashed through layers of gray mist. The scene ahead suddenly opened up.

A vast and boundless black city appeared at the end of their vision. The city was not built on flat ground, but was entirely suspended upside down from massive stalactites in mid-air. All the buildings were upside down, with their peaks pointing straight down into the bottomless abyss below.

The giant stalactites emitted a faint ghostly blue light, illuminating the entire inverted city. The Yin Qi in the city was so thick it had become substantial, turning into threads of black drizzle that constantly floated upwards.

The wooden boat sailed into a patch of distorted spatial waters and slowly docked beside a floating bone pier.

Su Yang led the way off the deck. The moment his feet stepped onto the pier, the surrounding gravity completely reversed.

Qin Xueji let out a cry of surprise as her body fell uncontrollably toward the abyss in the sky. Su Yang reached out his right hand and grabbed her wrist. A surge of Pure Yang True Qi poured in, forcibly stabilizing Xueji's figure and pulling her back to his side.

Bai Li, Chu Ling, and Mary each used their own methods to easily adapt to the reversed gravity.

"What a strange city. Even the directions are reversed." Mary flapped her black bat wings, her explosive figure hovering upside down in mid-air, her face full of curiosity. She was wearing black deep-V shorts, and her full bosom swayed slightly.

The group followed the pier into the inverted streets.

Above their heads was the pitch-black abyss, and beneath their feet was a green stone road. Shops lined both sides of the street, but there wasn't a single customer. The shops didn't sell physical items, but rather memory light orbs of various colors. Images of past life experiences flickered within the light orbs.

Walking through a narrow alleyway, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed. The towering black buildings on both sides blocked out all the faint ghostly blue light.

Bai Li waved her round fan, her purple eyes flashing slightly. "Su Yang, watch your step. Something is hiding in the shadows."

Just as she finished speaking, the black shadow beneath Qin Xueji's feet suddenly twisted and deformed. A pitch-black dagger stabbed directly out of the shadow, slashing toward her ankle without warning. The dagger was coated in poison and emitted a pungent, fishy smell.

Su Yang raised his right foot and stepped onto the black shadow with pinpoint accuracy.

He didn't use any flames. Relying solely on his powerful Physical Body strength, he vibrated the space.

The black shadow let out a muffled groan, and the pitch-black dagger shattered inch by inch.

All the shadows on the surrounding walls came to life, transforming into dozens of faceless 2D Shadow Assassins. They clung to the 2D plane of the walls, moving as fast as lightning, constantly weaving through the shadows.

Mary swung her blood-red claws to strike the wall. Several deep grooves were carved into the bricks, but the black shadows remained unharmed. An assassin spread along the shadow of her claws onto Mary's arm, manifesting into a thin black rope, attempting to slit her throat.

"Damn it! Physical attacks can't hit them!" Mary quickly vibrated her wings, shook off the shadow, and retreated into the air.

"The assassins are hidden in 2D shadows; ordinary Moves are ineffective." Chu Ling drew her ice sword, attempting to freeze the wall with cold air. A layer of ice covered the wall, but the shadows continued to Move beneath the ice, completely unaffected.

Su Yang remained calm, crossing his fingers.

The Pure Yang True Qi inside his body surged out like a bursting flood. Golden light flared brilliantly.

Su Yang transformed into a dazzling sun. The brilliant light instantly filled the entire alleyway, leaving no blind spots. The light had extreme penetration power, even making the black walls on both sides translucent.

Under the all-encompassing light, the shadows completely lost their hiding place.

Losing the shadows as a medium, the dozens of 2D Shadow Assassins were forced out of the walls and exposed to the air. Their bodies were wrapped in black cloth, looking shriveled.

The moment they touched the Pure Yang golden light, their bodies began to melt frantically like candles.

Miserable screams echoed in the alley. In just a few seconds, dozens of assassins were evaporated into nothingness by the golden light, leaving not even a trace behind. Dozens of pure black Shadow Crystal Cores fell to the ground.

Su Yang withdrew the golden light and with a casual wave, collected all the Crystal Cores into his palm and threw them to Chu Ling behind him.

"Take them as snacks." Su Yang walked forward with his hands in his pockets.

At the end of the alley, a weirdly shaped pawnshop appeared. The pawnshop had no sign, and two swaying white paper lanterns hung in front of the door.

The pawnshop owner was an old man with only an upper body, floating behind a wooden counter. His body was covered with hundreds of ears, large and small overlapping each other. He had no eyes or mouth, looking extremely creepy.

An old voice echoed directly in everyone's minds.

"Outsiders, you burned the Nether Shadow Guards. You've caused a huge amount of trouble."

Su Yang walked to the counter and lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger.

"Cut the nonsense. Where is the Nether City Lord?"

The hundreds of ears on the old man's body stood up in unison, as if listening to the surrounding movements. The voice in their minds was tinged with greed: "Information must be exchanged for Lifespan. Hand over five hundred years of Lifespan, and I will tell you the City Lord's whereabouts."

A flash of impatience crossed Su Yang's eyes. A wisp of golden flame flicked from his fingertip and landed directly on the old man's shoulder.

"Ah!"

The flame instantly burned away over a dozen of the old man's ears. The intense pain made him roll in the air.

"Can we talk properly now?" Su Yang's tone was flat.

The old man trembled with fear, his voice becoming incredibly respectful: "The City Lord is at the top of the Nine Nether Tower. However, you cannot go up. The road to the top of the tower is locked by the Life-and-Death Chess Game. Without the permission of the Chess Player, intruders will die."

Su Yang turned and walked out of the pawnshop.

He looked up toward the very center of the city. An inverted black tower pointed straight at the abyss. The tower's body vanished into the darkness, its end nowhere to be seen. The entire tower emitted an oppressive Death Qi.

"Let's go play chess." Su Yang's tone was flat, as if he were just going to an ordinary card game.

The group crossed the silent streets and arrived at the plaza at the base of the tower.

Just as they stepped into the plaza area, the green stone slabs on the ground instantly disappeared, transforming into a massive crisscrossing black-and-white chessboard. The chessboard emitted a faint light, covering an area of several hundred meters.

Their feet were fixed to the chessboard squares by an invisible force, unable to Move an inch. Gravity changed once again, pinning them to the spot.

Qin Xueji tried to lift her leg, but found that her feet seemed to have taken root.

A phantom figure wearing a black-and-white Daoist robe slowly materialized on the opposite side of the chessboard. The phantom's face was blurred, and it emitted the terrifying pressure of the Middle Stage of the Soul Transformation Stage.

The phantom held a white chess piece in its hand, its voice hollow and cold.

"Those who enter the game shall be pieces with their lives. For the first Move, who will come to die?"