In the instant of the collision between extreme heat and extreme cold, Ling Yun felt an excruciating pain, as if he were ascending to heaven. Fortunately, this process did not last long. For Xiao Rou, a hundred meters was just a breath away. After running out of the magma fireball, Ling Yun immediately withdrew his ice spell. If this process had lasted even a second longer, he would have been reduced to ashes in the alternation of extreme heat and extreme cold.
After the mental energy field quickly circulated through his body, Ling Yun's complexion regained some color. He helped Xiao Rou up and asked, "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"
Xiao Rou took a deep breath and then smiled at him: "I'm fine, the experience just now was extremely exciting."
Ling Yun gazed deeply into the tunnel, which had turned into a sea of fire, and said with a wry smile, "It was very exciting, so exciting that we almost died."
Chapter 309 The Roar of the Dragon
"How did you notice the changes in the tunnel?" Xiaorou asked softly. She was very curious about Lingyun's special ability to sense danger. It's well known that the sensory abilities of those with supernatural powers are among the most outstanding. Xiaorou grew up in a dangerous and unpredictable environment, and her ability to foresee danger was superior to most other supernatural individuals. However, compared to Lingyun, who could sense danger almost without using his senses and relied solely on intuition, Xiaorou still felt a huge difference.
Ling Yun's perception seems to have exceeded the boundaries of normal perception, crossing into the realm of a sixth sense. This means that Ling Yun's potential is limitless, and the sensitivity of perception is often one of the most important indicators of a person's potential.
"I can't really explain it, but I suddenly had a bad feeling. Then I observed that the images of the barrier structure points were changing. In a matrix-mode barrier, this usually means a very big change. I can't predict what's going on, so we have no choice but to escape here. Or rather, that huge mental consciousness is forcing us to choose this path. If we can't, we'll die." Ling Yun sighed and said helplessly. This feeling of having one's life and death controlled by others is not pleasant. If possible, Ling Yun really wanted to give that huge mental consciousness a good telekinetic cut, but now, let alone attacking the other party, he couldn't even see its shadow.
"Why sigh, Yun? At least we're still alive. Even if it was that mental coercion you mentioned, I think we passed the test. Maybe it's not such a bad thing." Xiao Rou saw the uncertain mood on Ling Yun's face and immediately understood his thoughts, so she gently comforted him.
Ling Yun nodded, reaching out to gently embrace his girlfriend. After enduring an extremely tense life-or-death ordeal, his anxious mood was suddenly eased by Xiao Rou's gentle words. Perhaps he was overthinking things; what in this world is perfect? In any case, since he couldn't control his fate, he would simply follow the predetermined path. Ling Yun thought silently, stroking Xiao Rou's hair as he looked up at the infinitely high and distant sky.
Upon reaching the bottom of the white marble steps, he realized that the solitary hall at the top was incredibly deep and lofty. A mist shrouded the hall, enveloping everything, yet not completely obscuring it; rather, it revealed glimpses of the hall, adding to its mystique. What had previously appeared to be only tens of thousands of meters high now seemed ten times higher, and from this immense height, the white marble steps they stood on were merely a thin, indistinct white line.
“Let’s go up.” Ling Yun glanced back at the gradually calming sea of lava and took Xiao Rou’s hand. During this time, less than ten dead cells had fallen off his hands, meaning that after climbing the white marble steps, time within the barrier had been condensed by nearly two-thirds. The shifting of the barrier’s structural points not only brought about huge changes within the passageway but also significant changes in time and space. These changes were all completed in a subtle process, and even the keen senses of a superhuman could not detect the subtle alterations.
Ling Yun sighed inwardly, knowing that the enormous spiritual consciousness had shown mercy. Otherwise, it wouldn't have needed to resort to more troublesome attacks; simply accelerating the flow of time within the barrier would have been enough to kill them both silently. Within this imperceptible acceleration of time, Ling Yun and Xiao Rou would only need to take a few steps to die from premature aging, turning into piles of bones without even realizing it.
In a sense, within the barrier, that enormous spiritual consciousness is already a dominant entity, just like Ling Yun was the spokesperson for the Skynet in the core space. Within the Skynet barrier, he had absolute control. Now, that spiritual consciousness clearly possesses a similar power, capable of manipulating events with a mere gesture, and perhaps even more so.
What exactly is this awareness? Ling Yun, holding Xiao Rou's hand, slowly and steadily ascended the pristine white jade steps. His gaze remained fixed on the thick fog. Although even a fog a hundred times thicker in reality couldn't obstruct his naked eye's vision, within the barrier, all his supernatural abilities seemed significantly diminished. Ling Yun could even clearly feel faint energy fluctuations in the surrounding air, emanating from his own body. They appeared harmless, but once activated, they would be an irresistible force.
Perhaps this consciousness is the barrier itself? A bizarre thought suddenly popped into Ling Yun's head, startling even himself for a moment. What kind of barrier could possess its own consciousness? This was even more absurd than artificial intelligence in computers. Ling Yun, grounded in common sense, resisted thinking further, but then he suddenly froze.
If the City of Death can truly exist, then why is the consciousness of the barrier absurd? What is absurdity? What is reality? Can you really distinguish between them? Ling Yun suddenly recalled the words of a certain scientist: This universe is not only more ingenious than we imagine, but also more ingenious than we can imagine! When people think that their imagination has no limits, they are actually just sitting in a well and looking at the sky.
Xiao Rou walked quietly alongside Ling Yun. With each step, she would take a deep breath, then exhale slowly after a long pause, as if breathing. As her breathing quickened, her spiritual energy field flickered with the rhythm, seemingly conforming to some kind of law.
After climbing only a few hundred steps, Xiao Rou's fair face already glowed with a rosy luster, as if she had taken a highly nourishing tonic, making her even more radiant and beautiful. The light of her spiritual energy field gradually subsided and receded into her body, while her skin seemed to be coated with a layer of shimmering silver light. She suddenly seemed like a completely different person, her temperament becoming profound and elegant, like a beautiful woman from the deep palace possessing a sacred and beautiful halo.
Ling Yun glanced at his girlfriend in surprise. With his perception, he naturally knew about the huge changes that Xiao Rou had undergone. Judging from her aura, the girl's realm seemed to have improved again, and it was completely in line with the power she had increased before. There would be no more bottlenecks caused by the rapid growth of power. This was to some extent against common sense. Moreover, Xiao Rou's recovery speed was also exceptionally amazing. The minor internal injury caused by using the Extreme Thrust continuously in a short period of time had already healed in a moment. Although it was not as miraculous as a self-healing ability, the speed of healing was fast enough.
After a moment's thought, Ling Yun had already guessed the reason. Xiao Rou's rapid growth was probably related to the flow of time within the barrier; the slower the flow of time, the faster she would grow here. However, the effect of the flow of time was the same for both of them, so why was his own power also increasing, but not as noticeably as Xiao Rou's? Ling Yun couldn't figure out the key, so he simply stopped thinking about these ethereal matters.
The two ascended the seemingly endless staircase, which, without any support below, seemed to float in the air like an anti-gravity device, winding upwards at a forty-five-degree angle until it reached the horizon. Stepping on the stairs felt neither like stepping into thin air nor floating; it was as solid and grounded as the earth itself. Although their pace was slow, after a quarter of an hour they had climbed thousands of steps. Looking down from either side of the staircase, they couldn't help but feel a sense of impending doom, as if they were on an apocalyptic bridge.
The boiling sea of lava had completely engulfed the ground below the steps. Except for the outermost layer of raging red fire, as far as the eye could see, it was still a fiery red expanse of lava. The sea of lava seemed endless. In this harsh environment, which was almost like the wrath of heaven, no strong person could survive. Ordinary people and those with superpowers were all on the same starting line.
The steps seemed endless. They didn't notice anything amiss from inside the passageway, but once they stood on the steps, they realized that even on a slope, the nearest hall was invisible to the naked eye. By this time, they had already climbed nearly ten thousand steps.
Ling Yun suddenly sensed something was wrong. A steamy smell entered his nose, the air on both sides of the steps suddenly became distorted, the surrounding temperature was rising at an alarming rate, and a fiery aura was coming from behind him.
Just as he was about to turn around, Xiao Rou grabbed his arm and whispered, "Don't turn around, we need to hurry and rush into the hall."
Ling Yun was taken aback. Xiao Rou must have discovered something. But seeing how serious she was, Ling Yun knew it wasn't the time to ask. He suppressed the urge to turn back and, without thinking, grabbed her hand and ran uphill at top speed.
Once the two started moving, their speed suddenly increased. In just a few breaths, they had already climbed over a thousand steps again. However, the fiery aura behind them did not dissipate but instead became even more intense. The extremely high temperature even made Ling Yun feel a bit scorching. He was startled and sensed something was amiss behind him. He dared not be careless any longer. He grabbed Xiao Rou's hand, and a flash of silver light appeared on his body. His speed suddenly increased by more than double. The two figures instantly transformed into an invisible gust of wind, rushing upwards without touching the ground.
Xiao Rou walked alongside Ling Yun, her pace even slightly faster. Their hands were tightly intertwined, making it impossible to tell who was holding whom. Ling Yun suddenly felt that the girl's palms had become damp and cold, with a bead of cold sweat on them. Clearly, she was extremely nervous. This was the first time Ling Yun had ever seen Xiao Rou so tense, and infected by her, Ling Yun's heart also tightened.
The staircase ahead finally changed; it was no longer an unchanging, ever-ascending white jade staircase. A flat platform finally appeared as the two ran. At the end of several thousand meters, a magnificent golden palace, several thousand meters high, stood, and an aura as deep as the abyss emanated from the depths of the palace.
Looking from afar, the hall had no doors; it was completely open in the middle. But looking inside, it was pitch black. Not only did no light shine through, but the light from outside seemed unable to penetrate either. Even when Ling Yun activated his Illusionary Eye, he was immediately blocked by a mysterious force. Although that force was not strong, it increased accordingly as Ling Yun's aura rose, like a rising tide lifting all boats.
The distance of several thousand meters passed in an instant, but the intense heat behind them had reached its peak. Ling Yun even felt as if a blazing sun was rising behind him, burning him with a searing pain. He had reached his maximum speed, but Xiao Rou's body was always a step ahead of him. If strength were disregarded, in terms of agility and speed alone, Ling Yun was clearly inferior to Xiao Rou.
Suddenly, Xiao Rou's body emitted an intensely blazing golden light, which instantly enveloped her like a burning phoenix. Her two phoenix-wing-like wings spread out diagonally, and her graceful body suddenly lifted Ling Yun into the air. Ling Yun felt a sudden darkness before his eyes as an indescribable, immense force slammed into his waist. In the golden light, the two intertwined tightly, streaking across a long distance like a shooting star before plunging into the dark temple gate.
In the instant between light and darkness, Ling Yun suddenly experienced a hazy, unreal feeling, as if he were drifting into a deep sleep while remaining slightly conscious, somewhere between dreaming and waking. Superpowered individuals don't experience mental fatigue unless they suffer a severe injury. Ling Yun was familiar with this unreal feeling; it was the sensation he experienced when entering a powerful barrier or switching to a parallel universe. However, it seemed slightly different. His keen senses told him that before normally entering a barrier, the hazy feeling was usually only momentary, and superpowered individuals with slightly duller senses wouldn't even experience it.
Entering a barrier within a barrier? Could the hall itself be a small barrier? A deep question flashed through Ling Yun's mind. Moreover, it's worth noting that the dazed feeling upon entering the hall this time lasted a little too long. Ling Yun even had time to gently turn his head, with Xiao Rou's help, to see what was happening behind the scenes that made the girl so nervous.
In the instant he turned his head, Ling Yun suddenly felt something, so he gently closed his eyes. A moment of extreme brightness flashed across his eyelids, forming an unforgettable image deep in Ling Yun's consciousness: a fire dragon tens of thousands of meters long, formed purely of magma, was roaring as it raised its enormous body to the front of the hall. Its mouth was already open, emitting a deafening roar of lava.
Chapter 310 The Mysterious Town
Ling Yun witnessed all of this in his consciousness with shock. From beginning to end, he didn't open his eyes, nor did he activate the panoramic view. He even completely withdrew his senses, not releasing a single trace. But even so, the image of the Lava Dragon remained so clear and fiery red in his mind. Its roaring flames, filled with incomparably intense heat, transformed into the brightest aurora in the world, illuminating Ling Yun's mind in a vast expanse of white light. The brightness was so intense that even within his mind, Ling Yun found it unbearable.
He finally understood why Xiaorou didn't let him turn around. If he did, he would go blind in an instant, and his mental field would be severely damaged by the aurora beam. The light was not a simple beam of light, but contained high-temperature energy. It did not require direct contact; it would be dissolved and disintegrated the moment he saw it.
The terrifying lava dragon left a deep and indelible impression on Ling Yun. After a long while, the extremely bright light slowly faded from his mind. As the two stepped into the hall, the sea of lava suddenly surged up the white marble steps like a rising tide, swallowing up tens of thousands of meters of steps in the blink of an eye. If the two had been a step later, they would have been reduced to ashes.
Feeling the solid ground beneath her feet, her soft, slender arms slowly released his waist. The girl had been holding onto her lover until she was sure he was safe, then gently set Ling Yun down. Xiao Rou's face was slightly flushed, a lingering effect of the sudden burst of spiritual energy, which for a moment made her beautiful face appear as if it had been rouged with pink rouge, giving her an indescribably captivating and beautiful look.
Lingyun held her small hand, and the two gazed at each other affectionately. Without saying a word, they already knew the deepest feelings in each other's hearts. After the most dangerous moment, what could be more joyful than seeing the face of one's beloved that is most missed?
"How did you know?" After a long while, Ling Yun asked softly. He was indeed a little puzzled. When it came to sensitivity, Xiao Rou was not as good as him, but this time Ling Yun was completely unaware of the fire dragon behind him, as if a huge and invisible hand had covered his eyes. On the contrary, Xiao Rou was the first to notice the clue.
“Intuition.” Xiao Rou smiled sweetly, giving a brief and vague answer before pulling her lover forward. Ling Yun smiled wryly and touched his chin with his free hand. A woman’s intuition was indeed both mysterious and terrifying; two words could replace all answers. What was the Eye of Deception, what was perception, what was a supernatural sixth sense? None of them could compare to the word “intuition.”
After walking a few steps, the two suddenly stopped and looked ahead in astonishment. They then looked at each other in confusion, wondering if they were seeing things or hallucinating.
Entering the palace from a bizarre and dangerous environment felt like stepping from one extreme into another. Even knowing that the palace would be a world of its own, Lingyun and Xiaorou still couldn't believe that it was actually like this.
The two were standing at the end of a narrow alley in a farmers' market. On both sides of the alley, vendors were bustling about, hawking all kinds of food, vegetables, fruits, and daily necessities. Passersby were either casually browsing or carefully selecting goods in front of the vendors, or carrying several items of meat and vegetables they had already bought and loudly haggling over the same items with the vendors.
People dressed in simple clothes, pedestrians buying vegetables and vendors selling vegetables, shouting prices and names of goods, and greetings between acquaintances, all create a vivid picture of a small town full of life. The peaceful life with strong hometown characteristics makes Lingyun feel as if he has returned to his childhood.
In his memory, this was the scene when his parents took him to the nearby farmers' market to buy groceries and cook when he was a child. At the time, he only felt that it was chaotic and even disgusted by the crowds. However, after experiencing a series of strange events after becoming a superhuman, when he saw the life that only existed in his past memories, Ling Yun suddenly felt a lump in his throat, and a slightly sad homesick feeling welled up in his heart.
Xiao Rou watched all this with wary eyes. Having been a superhuman since childhood, she had never lived even a single day of ordinary life. Growing up in cruelty and struggle, the girl was already used to being accompanied by death and superpowers. She both longed for and felt alienated from everything in the secular world. If this were at Jinghua University, it might have given her a sense of novelty. But now, a small town that only existed in the secular world had appeared in a mysterious hall. Although the town's market looked so vibrant and lively, it still filled Xiao Rou with a strange feeling.