The terrifying journey home and the ultimate pretense

Ye Qiu and his group, carrying the ancient Divine Beast and the precious Chaos Spirit Bead, happily embarked on their journey back to the spaceship.

But as they stepped into that mysterious, dark valley, the originally azure, gem-like sky was instantly shrouded in thick black mist, as if suddenly covered by a huge black curtain.

At the same time, the surrounding temperature dropped sharply, as if an invisible hand had dragged them from a warm spring day directly into a bone-chilling ice cellar, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily.

“This... what is going on?” Moon Shadow's voice trembled violently.

Like a frightened little rabbit, she clung tightly to Qian Xue, her eyes filled with fear and unease.

Ye Qiu frowned, his gaze like a torch, scanning his surroundings vigilantly.

He could keenly sense an eerie Aura quietly permeating the air like a ghost lurking in the darkness.

However, instead of feeling the slightest fear, an irrepressible excitement surged in his heart, as if a brave warrior were about to welcome a fierce battle.

“Don't be afraid, everyone; these are just some pretentious little tricks. Watch how I easily deal with them.”

As he spoke, the Chaos Divine Armor around his body instantly bloomed with a dazzling radiance.

Gold and Chaos colors intertwined and merged, forming a mysterious and powerful force that forcibly tore open a piece of the surrounding darkness, illuminating a brief moment of light like a lighthouse in the dark, bringing a glimmer of hope to everyone.

Just then, a sinister and terrifying laughter echoed through the valley.

The laughter was as sharp as fingernails scratching against glass, and as harsh as countless sharp steel needles piercing everyone's eardrums, making everyone's hair stand on end and their spines chill.

Immediately after, a group of translucent black shadows slowly emerged from the mist.

Their forms were twisted like distorted space, their faces as hideous as evil ghosts from Hell, and they clawed and lunged wildly at the group, as if they wanted to tear everyone to pieces in an instant.

“Hmph, playing god, without even weighing your own worth.” Ye Qiu let out a cold snort of disdain.

“Phantom Tracing Steps!”

Following his low shout, his figure vanished from the spot, turning into countless afterimages, like golden lightning darting rapidly through the group of black shadows.

With every afterimage that swept past, the black shadows emitted painful screeches, as if sliced by sharp blades, instantly dissipating into the thick mist, leaving only faint black smoke as the only trace of their existence.

“Ding! The host has successfully shown off once, gaining 300 prestige value.”

The System prompt sounded in Ye Qiu's mind at the right moment.

The sound was like a trumpet of victory, making Ye Qiu feel incomparably refreshed.

His movements became even sharper, as if he were performing a magnificent battle, with every strike carrying an inherent domineering Aura and confidence.

After finishing off this wave of black shadows, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shook violently, as if a sleeping giant beast had been awakened and was roaring in anger.

Following that, countless black vines burst out from the ground.

They were as thick as an adult's thigh, as tough as if forged from steel, and covered in sharp thorns, just like sharp daggers.

These vines grew at an extremely fast speed, sealing off everyone's retreat in the blink of an eye, like an airtight cage, leaving no room for escape.

Seeing this, Zi Li immediately danced her hands rapidly, unleashing her elemental power, attempting to burn these hateful vines with blazing flames.

She saw flames ignite in her palms, quickly gathering into a wave of fire that swept toward the vines.

However, unexpectedly, these vines showed no fear of the flames; not only were they not burned, but they grew even more wildly in the fire.

They twisted their bodies as if mocking Zi Li's powerlessness, and as if showing off their strength to everyone.

Watching this scene, Ye Qiu curled his lips into a confident smile, a smile carrying inherent pride and dominance.

“This level is still far from being able to stump me.”

He quickly formed seals with his hands, his movements like flowing water, smooth and seamless.

Chaos Power gathered rapidly in his palms, forming a huge energy vortex.

This vortex was like a black hole in the Universe, emitting a mysterious and terrifying Aura.

The surrounding air was twisted and deformed by it, as if space itself had lost its original order under this powerful force.

“Chaos Storm!”

Following his deafening shout, the energy vortex swept toward the vines.

Everywhere it passed, the vines were shredded, turning into black powder and dissipating into the air, leaving only a faint charred smell, as if the final lingering note of this battle.

“Ding! The host has successfully shown off once, gaining 500 prestige value.”

The group continued to trudge forward.

They hadn't gone far when an ancient castle abruptly appeared before their eyes.

This castle stood quietly in the valley like an ancient monster waking from its slumber.

The castle gate was tightly shut, its panels covered with the traces of time, as if telling ancient stories.

The walls were covered in black moss, like a strange coat, emitting a foul, nauseating odor.

The towering towers loomed in the mist, like the tentacles of a demon, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

Lia turned pale with fright, tightly gripping Ye Qiu's arm, her voice trembling with a sob as she said, “Ye Qiu, I'm so scared. This castle looks too terrifying. I feel like there are many horrible things hidden inside.”

Her body trembled slightly, her eyes filled with fear and helplessness, like a lamb lost in the darkness.

Ye Qiu gently patted Lia's hand and comforted her tenderly, “Baby, don't worry. With me here, there's nothing to be afraid of. No matter how terrifying things are, they are just paper tigers in front of me.”

As he spoke, he strode forward, a flash of determination in his eyes, and kicked the castle gate hard.

“Creak—” The gate opened slowly, the sound like the low moan of an ancient monster, or a curse from Hell.

A thick, foul odor rushed out, making people want to cover their noses and mouths, as if it wanted to swallow them whole.

The interior of the castle was dark and damp, with faint green fluorescence flickering on the walls, like ghost fires swaying in the darkness, illuminating the eerie environment.

The ground was covered with thick dust and decaying debris, and every step kicked up choking dust.

Strange noises came from the corners from time to time, as if something were peeping at them from the darkness.

Suddenly, a giant spider dropped from the ceiling.

Its body was the size of a car, its eight eyes flashing with red light like eight red lanterns, and green venom dripped from its mouth, hitting the ground with a “hissing” sound, as if corroding everything around it.

Its huge body and terrifying appearance made people shudder.

“Just in time! I was just worrying about having nowhere to vent.”

Ye Qiu shouted, unleashing the “Starry World-Illuminating Fist”.

His fist was instantly wrapped in golden light, the light containing endless Star Power, as if gathering the power of the entire Universe into this one punch.

The golden fist radiance carried a powerful force, like a meteor streaking across the night sky, smashing directly toward the spider.

The spider seemed to sense danger and tried to dodge quickly, but the fist radiance was too fast and too powerful, striking it instantly.

The spider let out a shrill scream, its body blown into countless fragments, splashing green venom everywhere, leaving disgusting puddles on the ground.

“Ding! The host has successfully shown off once, gaining 400 prestige value.”

The group continued to explore the castle carefully and finally discovered a huge basement.

The basement door was tightly closed, carved with strange runes that emitted a mysterious and powerful Darkness Power.

These runes seemed to have life, flashing with eerie light in the darkness, making one afraid to look directly at them.

Ye Qiu stepped forward, studying these runes carefully, his eyes focused and firm, as if he wanted to see through all the secrets of these runes.

Suddenly, the coffin lid moved slowly, making a harsh, grating sound; the noise was like a curse from Hell, making one's hair stand on end.

A thick black mist surged out from the coffin, instantly filling the entire basement, making it impossible to see anything around.

In the mist, a tall figure slowly emerged.

His form was blurred, his face unclear, but he exuded a powerful sense of oppression that made it hard to breathe.

“You shouldn't have come here.”

The Mysterious Person's voice was low and hoarse, as if coming from the Nine Nether Hell, carrying endless gloom and chill, making people feel as if they were in an ice cellar.

Ye Qiu stared straight at the Mysterious Person without any fear, the corners of his mouth curling up in a disdainful smile.

“Just by relying on you, you want to stop me? Today, I will let you know what real strength is, and what it means to be invincible.”

He pushed the power of the Chaos Divine Armor to the limit, and the light on his body became even more dazzling, like a golden sun, dispelling all the surrounding darkness.

The runes on the Chaos Divine Armor flashed with mysterious light, as if telling of ancient power, and as if showing off Ye Qiu's strength to the Mysterious Person.

The Mysterious Person snorted coldly, waving the staff in his hand, and a wave of black energy shot toward Ye Qiu.

This energy wave contained powerful Darkness Power; wherever it passed, the air was torn apart, leaving behind black cracks, as if space itself had been forcibly ripped open by this force.

Ye Qiu was unhurried, dodging the attack with a slight side step.

His movements were light and elegant, as if dancing a magnificent dance, and as if he held the Mysterious Person's attack in disdain.

Then, he injected Chaos Power into his fist and slammed it toward the Mysterious Person.

“Chaos World-Destroying Fist!”

The fist radiance carried an Aura of destroying everything, like a powerful cannonball, striking the Mysterious Person directly.

The Mysterious Person let out a painful scream, his body instantly dissipating into the mist, leaving only some black powder, as if he had never existed.

“Ding! The host has successfully shown off once, gaining 800 prestige value.”

After dealing with the Mysterious Person, Ye Qiu and the female protagonists finally found the exit and successfully left the terrifying valley.

They returned to the spaceship and looked at the Forbidden Land in the distance, filled with mixed emotions.

Ye Qiu knew that more crises and challenges awaited them in the future, but he was fearless because he had powerful strength and the company of the female protagonists.

the female protagonists gathered around him, their eyes filled with admiration and love.

They huddled together, looking forward to the next adventure.

However, they did not know that in a corner of the Universe, a pair of eyes was silently watching them, and a bigger conspiracy was quietly brewing...

Perhaps the next crisis would be more dangerous, perhaps they would face unprecedented dilemmas, but they relied on each other, and with firm belief and powerful strength, they would surely continue to write their own legend in this vast Universe.