Password cracking and emotional entanglements

Ye Qiu's heart stirred, and looking into Alice's sincere eyes, he felt momentarily at a loss.

The figures of Zi Li, Spirit Moon, and Flame Princess flashed through his mind one by one; the deep bonds they had built through countless adventures made it difficult for him to easily respond to Alice's confession.

"Alice, you are a wonderful girl. But in this perilous moment, our top priority is to stop the Dark Council's conspiracy. Perhaps it would be better to discuss matters of the heart after everything is over," Ye Qiu said, trying to keep his tone gentle.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Alice's eyes, but she quickly regained her resolve: "I understand, Ye Qiu. I will work hard with everyone, and once the Dark Council is dealt with, I will await your answer."

After resting for a moment, the group began to study how to crack the code.

Zi Li carefully observed the various objects in the secret chamber, attempting to find clues related to the runes.

Spirit Moon used her Spiritual Illusion Power, trying to perceive if there was any hidden information in the surroundings.

Flame Princess stood to the side, constantly attempting to use her flame power to trigger any potential mechanisms.

Ye Qiu fell into deep thought, recalling his various experiences during his adventures in the Universe, as well as the knowledge he had encountered regarding the ancient order of the Universe.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind; he remembered a star map he had once seen in an ancient ruin, the arrangement of which seemed to have some connection to the ancient order of the Universe mentioned by the Black-Robed Figure.

"Perhaps the code is related to the star map," Ye Qiu said, sharing his thoughts with the others.

After some discussion, they decided to follow Ye Qiu's line of reasoning to find the code.

Alice joined in as well, using her extensive experience in interstellar exploration to provide the group with many useful clues.

Through their collective efforts, they finally discovered a set of runes flickering with a faint light in a hidden corner of the secret chamber.

These runes had an arrangement pattern similar to the star map in Ye Qiu's memory.

"These must be the runes," Ye Qiu said, carefully recording them.

The group arrived in front of the code lock of the Gate of Darkness; Ye Qiu entered the runes in the inferred order.

As the last rune was entered, the code lock emitted a low rumble, and the Gate of Darkness slowly opened.

"Success!" Flame Princess exclaimed excitedly.

However, there was no passageway behind the door as they had imagined, but rather a vast dark space.

The space was filled with dense Darkness Power, and black vortexes appeared from time to time, devouring everything around them.

"Is this the passage filled with dark vortexes? It looks even more dangerous than imagined," Spirit Moon said, frowning.

Ye Qiu nodded: "Everyone, stay close to me. I will scout the way first." Having said that, he cast "Star Guardian Shield" and slowly walked into the dark space.

Just as he stepped into the space, a massive dark vortex surged toward Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu quickly dodged to the side, simultaneously releasing a powerful force in an attempt to steady himself.

"The suction of this vortex is very strong, everyone be careful," Ye Qiu shouted.

Zi Li, Spirit Moon, Flame Princess, and Alice followed closely behind Ye Qiu, each exerting their powers to resist the suction of the dark vortex.

During their advance, they encountered a group of powerful Dark Guards.

These guards were massive, covered in black scales, holding giant maces, and exuding a terrifying aura.

"More enemies; it seems a fierce battle is inevitable," Flame Princess said, her hands igniting with raging flames as she prepared to fight.

Upon seeing Ye Qiu and the others, the Dark Guards roared and charged over, brandishing their maces.

Ye Qiu cast the "Thousand Miles in an Instant" skill, appearing instantly among the Dark Guards. He swung his "star dawn sword" rapidly, sending streaks of Sword Qi crisscrossing to block the Dark Guards' attacks one by one.

Zi Li cast a Water Element skill from the rear; water dragons surged from beneath the Dark Guards' feet, restricting their movements.

Spirit Moon used her Spiritual Illusion Power to create various illusions, interfering with the Dark Guards' vision.

Alice shot from a distance with her mysterious bow and arrow, each arrow accurately striking the weak points of the Dark Guards.

Flame Princess seized the opportunity to attack, condensing her flame power into a massive fireball and hurling it at the Dark Guards.

Under their combined attacks, the Dark Guards gradually lost the upper hand.

But just then, one of the Dark Guards suddenly launched a self-destruct attack.

The powerful energy shockwave blew everyone away, and Ye Qiu's "Star Guardian Shield" also developed a crack.

"Is everyone okay?" Ye Qiu asked anxiously.

"I'm fine." "I'm alright too," everyone responded one after another.

After a bitter battle, they finally eliminated all the Dark Guards.

Continuing forward, they discovered a floating black island within the dark space.

"There might be a path to the core area on that island," Spirit Moon said.

Ye Qiu led the group as they flew toward the black island.

When they stepped onto the island, they discovered it was covered in various strange symbols and patterns.

In the center of the island stood a massive black stone pillar.

There were some inscriptions carved on the pillar, and these texts exuded a mysterious aura.

Ye Qiu stepped forward to carefully observe the text.

After some interpretation, he learned that these texts recorded the specific method and time for the Dark Council to open the passage.

"Oh no, they plan to start the energy device in three days. We must speed up," Ye Qiu said.

Just at that moment, Alice suddenly felt dizzy, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Ye Qiu hurriedly steadied Alice.

Alice said painfully: "I... I don't know, I suddenly feel a surge of Darkness Power inside my body."

Zi Li, Spirit Moon, and Flame Princess gathered around, attempting to use their powers to help Alice suppress the Darkness Power.

But the Darkness Power inside Alice was extremely potent, and their efforts did not have much effect.

Ye Qiu knitted his brows, circulating the various powers within his body to try and find the source of the Darkness Power inside Alice.

After some investigation, he discovered that when Alice was previously bound by dark energy, some Darkness Power had remained in her body; just now, during the battle and adventure, this Darkness Power had been triggered.

"I need to use my power to help you purify the Darkness Power in your body, but this process might be very painful. Can you endure it?" Ye Qiu asked, looking into Alice's eyes.

Alice nodded: "I can endure it, Ye Qiu, please help me quickly."

Ye Qiu placed his hands on Alice's shoulders and slowly injected his power into her body.

Warm power flowed through Alice's Meridians, engaging in a fierce confrontation with the Darkness Power.

A painful expression appeared on Alice's face, but she gritted her teeth tightly without letting out a single scream.

Zi Li, Spirit Moon, and Flame Princess cheered her on from the side.

After a long effort, Ye Qiu finally purified all the Darkness Power within Alice.

Alice's body returned to normal, and she looked at Ye Qiu gratefully: "Thank you, Ye Qiu."

"You're welcome; as long as you're okay," Ye Qiu said.

After this incident, the bond between Alice and the group became even closer.

She also became more determined to fight against the Dark Council together with everyone.

On the island, they also found a passage leading underground.

The passage was filled with a pungent odor, and the walls flickered with eerie light.

"It seems this is the way to the core area; everyone, advance with caution," Ye Qiu said.

They moved forward cautiously along the passage, and after walking for who knows how long, a massive stone gate appeared ahead.

A huge pattern was carved on the stone gate, depicting a dark vortex surrounded by various evil creatures.

"Behind this stone gate should be the core area," Flame Princess said.

Ye Qiu stepped forward and attempted to push open the stone gate.

But the stone gate was extremely heavy; even with all his strength, he could not push it open.

"Let me try," Zi Li said, using the power of the Water Element to try and force the stone gate open.

But the stone gate remained motionless.

Spirit Moon used her Spiritual Illusion Power, trying to find the mechanism of the stone gate.

After some searching, she finally discovered a hidden button on the side of the stone gate.

Spirit Moon pressed the button, and the stone gate emitted a roar and slowly opened.

A powerful wave of dark energy rushed towards them, making everyone feel unprecedented pressure.

"We've finally reached the core area; we must stop the Dark Council's conspiracy," Ye Qiu said, leading the group into the core area.

The core area was a massive energy device, with a black sphere in the center of the device, emitting powerful dark energy.

Many members of the Dark Council were busy around it, making final preparations to start the energy device.

"We cannot let them start the device," Ye Qiu said, immediately launching an attack and charging toward the members of the Dark Council.

A fierce battle erupted in the core area.

Ye Qiu unleashed various powerful skills, moving through the enemy ranks as if there were no one there.

Zi Li, Spirit Moon, Flame Princess, and Alice also joined the battle, engaging in a life-and-death struggle with the members of the Dark Council.

Upon seeing Ye Qiu and the others, the Dark Council members gathered around.

Their strength could not be underestimated, and various dark skills and weapons attacked Ye Qiu and his group.

Ye Qiu fought while observing the energy device.

He discovered that starting the device required a special energy core; as long as this core was destroyed, the device could be prevented from starting.

"Hold them off, I'm going to destroy the energy core," Ye Qiu shouted.

Hearing this, Zi Li, Spirit Moon, Flame Princess, and Alice fought even harder, buying time for Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu seized the opportunity, cast the "Thousand Miles in an Instant" skill, and arrived instantly in front of the energy device.

The "star dawn sword" in his hand shone with light as he thrust it fiercely toward the energy core.

"No! You cannot destroy the core!" A person appearing to be a leader of the Dark Council roared and rushed over, but he was ultimately one step too slow.

Ye Qiu's sword pierced into the energy core, and immediately, dark energy rampaged everywhere, causing the entire core area to shake violently.

Seeing this, the members of the Dark Council were terrified; some rushed toward Ye Qiu in an attempt to retaliate, while others frantically tried to stabilize the energy device.

Zi Li and the others also increased their offensive at this moment, firmly blocking the enemies rushing toward Ye Qiu.

Alice even shot an arrow, which directly pierced the throat of a powerful Dark Council member.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ye Qiu exerted force again and completely shattered the energy core.

The dark energy began to dissipate like a tide that had lost its source, and the Dark Council's conspiracy was declared a failure.

The Dark Council leader's eyes turned red, and he roared angrily: "Do you think it's over just like this? Even if we perish together today, I'll drag you down with me!"

As he spoke, he began to burn his own blood essence, preparing to unleash a forbidden Spell.

Ye Qiu, however, remained calm and composed; he united the powers of the five of them—himself, Zi Li, Spirit Moon, Flame Princess, and Alice—to form a five-colored shield.

When the Dark Council leader's attack arrived, the shield easily blocked it and rebounded the force back onto him.

The leader turned to ashes in his unwillingness, and the remaining members of the Dark Council, seeing that the situation was lost, fled in all directions.

Ye Qiu and the others looked at each other and smiled; this difficult adventure finally came to an end.