The thrilling mystery of the Soul Tower and the hero's wisdom counterattack

Ye Qiu was slightly taken aback upon hearing the Soul ball's question; this seemingly simple question seemed to hide profound meaning behind it.

He knew deep down that the answer might not only concern whether they could pass this layer's trial, but it was also likely inextricably linked to the essence of the heart of the universe and the conspiracy of the Dark Apostles.

Under the tense gaze of the others, Ye Qiu spoke slowly: "The power of the heart of the universe itself has no distinction between good and evil; the key lies in the user's intent.

Those who hold justice and guardianship in their hearts can use its power to maintain the peace of the Universe, while those who covet domination and destruction will only drag the Universe into endless darkness."

The light of the Soul ball flickered, seemingly contemplating Ye Qiu's answer.

A moment later, the light flared brilliantly, and a gentle force lifted everyone up, sending them to the next level.

"Ye Qiu, that was a wonderful answer," Spirit Moon exclaimed, her eyes filled with admiration.

"This is just my humble understanding; I hope it helps us complete our mission smoothly," Ye Qiu responded with a smile, though he dared not relax in his heart. He knew that the higher they climbed in the Soul Tower, the more dangers and mysteries they would encounter.

On the fourth level, the entire space was shrouded in blood-red mist, and the air was filled with a nauseating scent of blood.

From time to time, eerie laughter and painful groans drifted from the mist, as if countless aggrieved Souls were struggling within.

"This place is so eerie; it feels like something is watching us," Flame Princess said, gripping her weapon tightly and looking around vigilantly.

Ye Qiu activated his Eye of Insight, but discovered that the mist severely interfered with his vision, allowing him to see only some blurry black shadows moving through the fog.

"Everyone, stand back-to-back and stay alert; do not let these sounds disturb your state of mind," Ye Qiu said. His voice was steady and powerful, bringing a sense of reassurance to everyone.

Suddenly, a giant blood-red hand reached out from the mist, grabbing toward Zi Li.

Zi Li reacted quickly, her Water Element power erupting instantly to form a sturdy water shield in front of her.

The blood-red hand clawed at the water shield, emitting a "hissing" corrosive sound, and the water shield actually began to melt away slowly.

"The power of this blood-red hand is so strong!" Zi Li exclaimed.

Ye Qiu immediately rushed over, his star dawn sword shining with a fierce light as he slashed toward the blood-red hand.

With a "clang," the sword collided with the blood-red hand, splashing a spray of blood.

The blood-red hand recoiled in pain.

"Be careful, this is just the beginning," Ye Qiu said, his gaze fixed on the depths of the mist, ready to deal with the next wave of attacks at any moment.

Sure enough, a moment later, countless blood-red hands reached out from all directions, grabbing at the group.

These blood-red hands were extremely fast, making them difficult to guard against.

"Everyone, focus your power and attack the source of the blood-red hands!" Ye Qiu shouted, taking the lead as he charged toward the direction of one of the hands, attempting to find the monster hidden in the mist.

Everyone responded in kind; Flame Princess released powerful flames, setting the approaching blood-red hands ablaze; Alice's mysterious bow fired continuously, accurately striking the hands; the Blue-Skinned Beauty's Mental Energy transformed into sharp blades, slicing through the blood-red hands; and Spirit Moon used her Spiritual Illusion Power to create powerful illusions, interfering with the movements of the blood-red hands.

Under their combined attack, the offensive of the blood-red hands was temporarily contained.

But just then, an eerie voice came from the mist: "Do you think you can escape? This is just an appetizer I've prepared for you."

As the voice faded, the mist began to condense rapidly, forming a giant blood-red figure.

This figure was dozens of meters tall, with a hideous face, and emitted a terrifying aura from its entire body.

"What kind of monster is this?" the Blue-Skinned Beauty asked in terror.

Ye Qiu gripped his sword tightly, his gaze firm: "No matter what it is, we must defeat it."

The blood-red figure opened its gaping maw and let out a roar, firing a beam of blood-red energy toward the group.

Ye Qiu unleashed the "God-Tier Star Guardian Shield," fully activating the golden shield to withstand the energy beam's attack.

The energy beam collided with the shield, producing a deafening roar.

The shield trembled violently, its light flickering unsteadily.

Ye Qiu could feel that this power far exceeded any attack they had encountered before.

"Everyone, help together and strengthen the shield's power!" Ye Qiu shouted.

Everyone poured their power into the shield; Zi Li's Water Element power, Flame Princess's fire power, Alice's mysterious power, the Blue-Skinned Beauty's Mental Energy, and Spirit Moon's Spiritual Illusion Power were all integrated into the golden shield.

With the addition of everyone's power, the shield finally withstood the attack of the blood-red energy beam.

"Hmph, you have some skill. But how many times can you withstand this?" the blood-red figure sneered.

Ye Qiu pondered secretly; this monster was powerful, and a direct confrontation was not a long-term solution.

He observed the monster's movements and discovered that before every attack, its body would show some subtle changes.

"I've discovered its attack pattern; everyone, follow my lead," Ye Qiu said, his eyes revealing confidence.

When the blood-red figure prepared to attack again, Ye Qiu shouted: "Zi Li, use your Water Element power to disrupt its movements; Flame Princess, prepare to attack its weakness with fire; Spirit Moon, create illusions to confuse it; Alice, prepare to shoot; Blue-Skinned Beauty, use your Mental Energy to lock onto its Soul!"

Everyone quickly acted according to Ye Qiu's instructions.

Zi Li's Water Element power transformed into a massive water tornado, rushing toward the blood-red figure and disrupting its movement rhythm; Flame Princess condensed her fire power into a giant flaming fist, waiting for the best moment; Spirit Moon created countless illusions resembling the group, making it difficult for the blood-red figure to distinguish the real from the fake; Alice drew her mysterious bow fully, aiming at the monster's weakness; the Blue-Skinned Beauty concentrated her Mental Energy, tightly locking onto the monster's Soul.

"Now, attack!" Ye Qiu shouted.

Flame Princess's flaming fist struck first, slamming fiercely into the blood-red figure's weakness.

At the same time, Alice's arrow shot out like lightning, accurately hitting the same spot.

The Blue-Skinned Beauty's Mental Energy also erupted at this moment, causing a massive impact on the monster's Soul.

The blood-red figure let out a painful roar, its body swaying a few times.

"You... dare to hurt me!"

Ye Qiu seized the opportunity and unleashed the "Ultimate Star Slash."

A brilliant Star Sword Qi shot out from his sword, slicing directly toward the core of the blood-red figure.

"No!" the blood-red figure let out a desperate cry as the sword energy pierced through its body.

Its body gradually dissipated, turning into a mist of blood.

"Phew, finally defeated it," Spirit Moon breathed a sigh of relief.

"This is just one layer's trial in the Soul Tower; there must be even stronger enemies ahead," Ye Qiu said, his gaze resolute as he led everyone to continue climbing upward.

Arriving at the fifth level, countless mirrors were placed here.

Various eerie images flickered constantly in the mirrors, including the group's pasts and some terrifying scenes they had never seen before.

"These mirrors are so strange; it feels like they will suck people in," the little girl said, clutching Ye Qiu's hand tightly.

Ye Qiu stepped forward, attempting to touch one of the mirrors.

When his hand touched the mirror, a powerful suction force came, pulling his hand inside.

"Ye Qiu!" everyone exclaimed.

Ye Qiu struggled hard, but found the suction force getting stronger and stronger.

He immediately circulated the power within his body, attempting to break free.

"Everyone, don't come over; this mirror is strange!"

With Ye Qiu's all-out struggle, he finally pulled his hand out of the mirror.

A black mark was left on his palm, and a mysterious Darkness Power radiated from the mark.

"This mirror seems to be able to absorb a person's Soul Power," Ye Qiu said, his expression somewhat grave.

Just then, the images in the mirror began to switch rapidly, eventually settling on a dark room.

In the center of the room was a black coffin, and the coffin was covered with carved runes.

"What is this place?" Zi Li asked.

Ye Qiu observed the image in the mirror carefully; suddenly, he realized that the runes on the coffin had some connection to the ones they had seen earlier in the castle and on the door of the Soul Tower.

"I think this coffin might be related to the 'key of souls', and it might also be the key to solving the mystery here," Ye Qiu said.

He activated his Eye of Insight again, focusing his mind to observe the runes in the mirror.

After some effort, he finally deciphered the meaning of some of the runes.

"These runes seem to be guiding us on how to open the coffin, but at the same time, they warn us that opening the coffin might bring great danger," Ye Qiu said.

"Then should we still open it?" Flame Princess asked.

Ye Qiu pondered for a moment: "We have already come this far; we cannot retreat.

Besides, the 'key of souls' might be inside the coffin; this is the key to completing our mission."

Everyone decided to follow the runes' instructions and attempt to open the coffin.

Ye Qiu led everyone to input energy fluctuations into the mirror in a specific order.

As the energy was input, the image in the mirror began to change, and the black coffin slowly opened.

A strong light shot out from the coffin, and everyone quickly closed their eyes.

When the light dissipated, they saw a key lying in the coffin, emitting a ghostly green light; it was none other than the "key of souls."

However, just as Ye Qiu reached out to take the "key of souls," a pale hand reached out from the coffin and grabbed his arm.

This hand was bone-chillingly cold, as if it came from Hell.

"Careful!" everyone shouted.

Ye Qiu struggled to break free, but found the strength of that hand to be immense.

He immediately unleashed his "Star Power Burst," and the powerful Star Power struck that pale hand.

Under Ye Qiu's all-out struggle, that hand which was tightly gripping him, like a pale ghost, finally gradually loosened its grip.

Ye Qiu seized the opportunity to yank his arm away, successfully escaping that terrifying restraint.

He gasped for breath, his heart pounding like a drum, but he dared not delay for a moment.

He quickly reached out and grabbed the "key of souls," which was emitting a mysterious light on the ground, and then retreated rapidly like an arrow leaving the bow, not stopping until he reached where the others were.

Ye Qiu held the "key of souls" tightly in one hand, while supporting his knees with the other, and shouted panting to everyone: "I got the 'key of souls'! This is no place to linger; we must leave here quickly!"

After saying that, he straightened his body and took the lead, heading toward the upper levels of the Soul Tower.

Seeing this, the others followed closely behind.

They stepped cautiously, the stone slabs beneath their feet emitting faint creaking sounds, as if telling the secrets hidden in this ancient tower.

Along the way, everyone kept their nerves tense, vigilantly observing the movements around them, secretly speculating about what kind of hair-raising mysteries and dangers they would encounter next...