Qiongqi's words carried a hint of teasing. Such remarks would offend an ordinary woman, let alone Norna and Haimann, who were publicly known as the two strongest women in the elven kingdom, second only to the Human King.
"Say one more foolish word and I'll kill you," Norna said with a smile.
Qiongqi shivered, then quickly turned his head, counted down three seconds, tore open space, and dived in.
Norna and Haimann followed closely, but unlike last time, the moment they entered, they were met with terrifying spatial turbulence. Three seconds later, the three of them hastily retreated.
"Did you see it clearly?" Haimann asked Qiongqi.
Her chest was heaving slightly, and the dark magical energy surrounding her pulsed with power, indicating she had just used extremely potent techniques.
"No," Qiongqi shook his head. "Three seconds is indeed too short. I only managed to remember a tiny bit. I need to go in again to try."
Norna and Haimann exchanged glances, then turned their gaze to Silver. "It's your turn."
"Alright," Silver nodded, gripping his bow and arrow along with his personal guards.
After a brief moment of feigned rest, Qiongqi stood up and, counting down three seconds, opened space once more.
This time, however, he didn't rush in. Instead, he stood directly in front of the spatial gate. A few domain lords who had charged forward with gritted teeth and closed eyes even collided with him by accident.
"Alas, what bad luck," Qiongqi sighed and closed the space. "As soon as it opened, we encountered spatial turbulence. If we had gone in immediately, we would have been swallowed whole."
Upon hearing this, the elves of the Wind Tribe who had been stopped by Qiongqi froze in fear.
They had narrowly escaped death!
"What now? Isn't it your turn?" Silver turned to look at Ovisis.
"You want to switch just because you haven't exerted yourself? There's no such easy way out," Ovisis scoffed, unwilling to agree to such a proposition.
"Let's do it again. I haven't depleted too much of my energy," Qiongqi said to Silver after a short pause. Silver didn't argue.
And so, with another countdown, Qiongqi and the elves of the Wind Tribe entered another space. They stayed for about seven or eight seconds before the spatial turbulence arrived. Silver unleashed a full-power arrow, followed by countless others. The wind currents and turbulence were forced to a halt for three seconds.
Qiongqi was somewhat surprised by this and deliberately stayed for an extra second before retreating with them.
"Well done, I've seen it all," Qiongqi said, feigning weakness, and stumbled towards a patch of swaying green sea grass. He began to demonstrate the movements described in Fu Xi's incomplete scrolls once more.
Although his footwork appeared erratic, remembering these movements was not difficult for these powerful elves. As Qiongqi instantly reappeared in the distance, the other elves followed suit. Xu Mu remained among them.
Soon, they had all passed the second segment of the endless underwater tunnel.
"Seven more to go," Xu Mu counted silently in his heart. He then glanced at everyone's condition and, with a frown, transmitted a message to Qiongqi: "Slow down your pace from now on. Lure them a few more times, preferably until they're exhausted and injured!"
"You truly are wicked, noble one," Qiongqi pouted, continuing his pretense of weakness while resting. He transmitted back, "Don't worry, that's exactly what I intend to do."
"Although entering space consumes a lot of energy, I'm not actually moving through it, so I can enter and exit a hundred times without issue. Watch how I wear them out!"
Qiongqi ostentatiously pulled out a healing spiritual herb and chewed it loudly, drawing the attention of the elves. They immediately brought him a pile of good things, fearing that if Qiongqi became too tired, there would be no one to lead them to survival.
"Please don't overexert yourself. If you truly can't endure it, you can rest for a day. It's no problem," an elf said to Qiongqi with a smile.
"I don't have that kind of patience," Qiongqi muttered inwardly, then said weakly, "It's fine, I can manage."
"Every extra day we spend here is another day of variables. Let's start the next one now!"
"Such noble intent!" the elves praised him emotionally. Qiongqi, knowing he had no chance of obtaining the final holy relic, was still going to such lengths for them. What a magnificent beast!
Qiongqi tore open space again, and Ovisien led his subordinates in behind him. Four seconds later, a chill spread, and the extreme cold even seeped from the alternate dimension into reality, making the elves shiver.
*Whoosh!*
Qiongqi, Ovisien, and the others retreated.
"It's getting harder. I only remembered about a third of it. It'll likely get more difficult from here on out. Can you hold on for two more seconds?" Qiongqi asked.
"Then let's aim for four seconds," Norna and Haimann said after exchanging glances. Silver also nodded gravely. Congriv still wanted to say something, but Ovisis spoke first, agreeing. Not wanting to be mocked, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Since everyone is fighting so hard, I can't rest either. I'll take a pill and go!" Qiongqi said, popping a pill like a swift lightning strike. He then tore open space again and entered it with Congriv.
This time, they lasted nine seconds, but Qiongqi still claimed it wasn't quite enough. So, Norna and Haimann went in again. This group barely managed to reach the third segment.
By this point, the outside of the underwater tunnel was no longer a deep blue but a dark brown sea, which was extremely eerie and frightening.
Qiongqi instinctively sensed danger but said nothing more, continuing to lead the elves in and out of the alternate dimension, repeatedly using the spatial turbulence to deplete their energy.
By the time they reached the fourth segment, all four major elven tribes had been led in by Qiongqi twice, a total of eight times.
Even the formidable Norna and Haimann were showing signs of exhaustion, their steps unsteady.
But just as they were about to ask if they could rest for a while, they saw Qiongqi once again stagger to his feet, his claws trembling as he tore open space.
This sight filled all the elves with reverence. If a mere demonic beast was still trying so hard, how could they, the elves, stop now!
And so, after another round of performance that tested their acting skills, with their comings and goings, and three full cycles later, accompanied by the cries of Norna and Haimann, Qiongqi finally declared that he had seen it clearly.
Then, they arrived at the fifth segment of the tunnel.
The appearance of the underwater tunnel changed.
Outside the walls was no longer the sea but a dark red void.
The exterior had become empty space.
All the elves were somewhat taken aback. Xu Mu and Qiongqi also frowned deeply.
"So that's what the black areas on the map meant. But what do those soul-shaped markings represent?" Xu Mu's brow furrowed, lost in thought.
They had now reached the fifth segment of the tunnel, with only four more to go before they could completely emerge and reach the location of the holy relic. However, the surrounding scenery had completely transformed.
Furthermore, something inexplicable seemed to be watching him within this tunnel, making him extremely uncomfortable.
"Everyone, be careful, there's danger," Norna's delicate face was pale. She stood up unsteadily, her gaze fixed vigilantly on the dark tunnel ahead. Haimann was similarly alert.
As dark elves, they were the most sensitive to dangers lurking in the darkness.
Soon, after a moment of collective vigilance, footsteps began to emerge from the darkness, accompanied by a creaking sound like crumbling wood.
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
With three soft footsteps, a skeletal figure, its bones scattered, slowly approached.
"A Ghoul?" Xu Mu's eyes widened in surprise. Could they encounter such a thing here?
"No, this is an incredibly powerful Ghoul!" the thought vanished as Xu Mu suddenly sensed an immense resentment emanating from the skeletal figure, sending shivers down his spine.
"It's not just one, it's a whole group!" Qiongqi's eyes narrowed, sparks flashing within them.
From the darkness, skeletal figures emerged like a tide, their footsteps so dense they sounded like hailstones pounding on a rooftop.
Xu Mu heard this and activated his shadow abilities. He could then see the scene in the darkness.
Over a hundred corpses, some mere skeletons, others half-rotted, appeared weak but had actually been formidable beings capable of contending for holy relics in their lifetime.
Now, after dying in solitude, their residual resentment controlled their current bodies, intending to kill them!
"Prepare to fight. This is serious," Norna said, her prior weakness gone, replaced by a chilling killing intent.
Clearly, her previous condition had been an act. Qiongqi and Xu Mu were unaware of her motives.
As they stood in readiness to battle these ancestral remains, Silver, standing at the back, felt his eyes tremble imperceptibly.
He looked at the corpse wearing a tattered robe among the hundred bodies and, sensing the lingering will of death and resentment, his heart pounded.
Because that corpse was his brother!