The portal behind them had vanished at some unknown time. A message popped up, informing the three of them that they needed to exchange information. This had never been mentioned before, and even they themselves didn't know such a situation could occur; it wasn't part of the scenario calculations.
"Chen Tian, how did I end up in the maze?"
"I'm on the snow mountain, still on the mountainside."
"Damn, I didn't even reach that point before. How did you teleport there? I'm so jealous."
"Don't rush, let me think. Three maps exchanged. Perhaps the breakthrough to this level lies in this. It looks like we need to keep moving forward. If you step on a mechanism, tell each other immediately."
After sending the message, Chen Tian reacted swiftly and drew a conclusion in his mind. It seemed the three of them had to clear the level together. The key to clearing it was to reach the center. Progress would be blocked by barriers, and then they would need to step on mechanisms to exchange positions randomly to continue.
The probability of such a situation occurring was high. The other two saw the message and continued to move forward. Clearing the level with just the two of them, given their intelligence, was impossible. They decided to follow Chen Tian's instructions blindly, as he was a top player, and they couldn't help but envy him. Chen Shi Xue walked on the snow mountain. The mountain was quiet. The originally black snowflakes gradually turned white. The change was so sudden that she didn't know what to do, so she sent a private message: "Yun Shui Ying, have the snowflakes turned white on your end?"
"No, they've always been black. What's wrong when you were on the snow mountain?"
"It's nothing, perhaps it's just the challenge changing the scene. Don't worry about it."
Seeing the message, Chen Shi Xue relaxed a little, fearing sudden trouble. Who knew how many traps the other two had triggered? If she stepped on one, it would be fine, but if others were affected, it would be bad.
*Click!*
She stepped forward with her left leg, triggering a mechanism. With a bang, the ground exploded, and her figure was blown back a few steps, losing ten percent of her health.
Chen Shi Xue: 'Be careful, I just stepped on a mechanism and it exploded. Perhaps these mechanisms don't have a chain reaction.'
Yun Shui Ying: "That one seems to have a chain reaction. An explosion happened near my feet just now, but I didn't touch any trap switches."
"Chen Tian, how about you?"
"Nothing's wrong on my end."
Chen Shi Xue and Yun Shui Ying looked bewildered. Why was nothing happening on his end!
The map was supposed to have a chain reaction. By all logic, explosions should have occurred at all three of their locations.
"You two stop for now. I think I've found a way to clear this level."
Chen Tian's message popped up, and the two stopped. Another message appeared, explaining the method to clear the level. Upon seeing it, both of them questioned:
Was this really going to work?
Seeing no reply, he could only proceed with the plan. In fact, he himself wasn't sure if this method would succeed, but it was better than wasting time here.
The three of them still had the Sword Master Grand Competition to participate in. The clock on the interface showed that only a few hours remained until the end of the day. After one day, the Sword Master Grand Competition would resume. If they hadn't completed this task by then, failure to appear during the competition would result in an automatic disqualification.
This Sword Master Grand Competition was highly anticipated by all sword master players. No one wanted to be disqualified, given the abundant rewards.
Consecutive explosions rang out. The environment beneath their feet turned into dust and gradually dispersed. Trees, the maze, and the snow mountain all vanished.
They found themselves in a dark space. A black light flashed before their eyes and then disappeared. Yun Shui Ying, seeing the sudden disappearance of the light, wondered if it was an illusion or if something was truly there.
While observing closely, a portal opened behind them, and they were forcibly pulled into it.
Beyond the portal was a sapphire palace. In front of the palace gates, three figures emerged together from the portal.
"Chen Tian, I didn't expect your method to actually work."
"Finally, we don't have to suffer anymore."
"This is the third and final level. Be careful."
The three spoke in turn. After Chen Tian's words, the other two dared not be careless. This was the final level, and usually, the last level required a long battle or a difficult test.
The palace stood before them. The three walked together towards the palace gates, nodding to signal its opening.
The grand gates slowly swung open, easily pushed aside. Then, the interior of the palace was revealed.
An empty palace. This sight was unbearable for Yun Shui Ying. Could it be that this quest offered no reward?
What had they been doing all day then?
Wandering around here?
"There seems to be nothing here. Yun Shui Ying, are you sure this is the final destination of the quest?"
"Yes, the quest. Let me take it out to check."
Yun Shui Ying heard the reminder and was about to retrieve the quest scroll when it flew out of her body and hovered in the air. To everyone's surprise, black energy appeared on the quest scroll. The black energy was immense, shrouding the entire palace. A dark space enveloped the three of them.
Chen Tian's expression turned grave. Just as he had expected, that fellow was about to emerge.
"You two, get out of here quickly. The battle that follows is not something you can participate in. Hurry, retreat."
With a slight wave of his arm, the dark space opened an exit. Hearing his urgent tone, they understood that something major was about to happen and they couldn't help. Chen Shi Xue and Yun Shui Ying left the space.
The space closed. A phantom figure appeared above the quest scroll. This figure was a young man, whose appearance was that of an evil spirit.
"I didn't expect you to be sealed here. It seems you were sealed here by someone after your revival."
The phantom figure did not reply. Below the quest scroll, something seemed to be slowly rising. It was a stone statue. As the statue's body appeared, the phantom figure and the scroll entered it. Cracks filled the statue, which then exploded, and a triumphant voice declared: "I am finally out! Wang Yuan, I will personally kill you!"
With eyes filled with hatred, he suddenly sensed that someone else was still in this level. It was impossible for anyone else to be in this space. He looked around and burst into laughter: "Chen Tian, is that you? What happened? You're so weak in this life. Fine, let's settle our past grievances."
"I'd like to ask, when did you revive, and who suppressed you here? It looks like it's been several hundred years."
Chen Tian was confused. The Divine Realm had sealed one of the nine evil spirits, and it wasn't him who sealed it; he had no recollection. As for who had the power to do so, he wanted to find out.
"What does it matter even if you know? Once I deal with you, I'll go deal with her who sealed me for hundreds of years. I had just revived and intended to kill you, but she intervened midway."
"Xie Long, your temper hasn't changed at all after all this time."
Chen Tian teased. This fellow was the eldest of the nine evil spirits, the strongest among them, and was once praised for his talent surpassing Chen Tian's.
Xie Long looked at Chen Tian and scoffed, "Your strength is not even comparable to what it was. How dare you speak to me like this? You're seeking death."
"How my strength is, you can try and find out. I could kill you all back then, and I still can today."
His declaration was filled with confidence. Xie Long dared not underestimate him. If this statement came from anyone else, he wouldn't believe it, but coming from Chen Tian, there was a certain degree of certainty.