CHAPTER 494: CHAPTER 493: THE ALTAR_1

"This place is rather strange," Ling Chen frowned slightly as he observed the eerie landscape before him, akin to the enigmatic Netherworld. His body slowly descended, and his feet touched the ground. A fiercely bone-chilling energy instantly seeped into his body. Under the infiltration of this coldness, it felt as if even one’s heart would grow fragile.

Ling Chen immediately detected the chill in his heart. He promptly circulated his True Qi throughout his body, dispelling it.

"So, it was just an illusion," Ling Chen muttered to himself. He surveyed the vast, dark land, devoid of any figure other than himself. Earlier, quite a number of people had entered. This place is truly not simple. Those who hoped to find treasures immediately upon entry are likely to be disappointed.

"Since I’m here, let’s see what tricks you can play." Ling Chen gazed into the distance, then smiled. He took a few steps, heading directly towards the far reaches of this dark land.

As Ling Chen began to walk, he observed that this dark land was crisscrossed with countless trenches, large and small, as if it had experienced countless great battles. In some of the pits, he could even see fragments of broken weapons, emanating an air of desolation.

It seems a great battle also occurred here.

After walking about for over ten minutes, Ling Chen’s brow furrowed slightly. The marks on the ground made him understand that an extremely fierce battle must have once taken place here.

Is this a trial within the Demon Repository? During this time, Ling Chen also discovered that this space seemed to be permeated with that bone-chillingly cold air. However, for Ling Chen, who had undergone Body Refining in the Demon Gang Windstorm, this air posed no trouble at all.

As he walked on aimlessly for quite some time, Ling Chen pursed his lips, a thought crossing his mind. I wonder how Xia Yunxin and the others are doing. When we first entered, we weren’t far apart.

RUSTLE RUSTLE.

Just as this thought flashed through Ling Chen’s mind, the faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from not far ahead. He immediately looked up. There, in the wind-blown sand, a slender and captivating figure was walking towards him.

"Is it you...?"

Ling Chen’s pupils abruptly constricted upon seeing the approaching person. It was none other than Xu Ruoyan, who had parted ways with him in the Human Emperor’s Underground Palace.

How could she be here?

Ling Chen found it rather unbelievable.

At this moment, the captivating figure also saw Ling Chen ahead. Joy immediately surged onto her pretty face, and she quickly rushed towards him.

Ling Chen watched Xu Ruoyan rushing towards him, a smile appearing on his face. However, this smile lasted only for an instant before it abruptly froze, because he saw a cold glint of light flash from the hand of Xu Ruoyan, who was about to throw herself into his arms.

His expression changed in a flash. Ling Chen’s figure flickered, dodging the dagger’s fatal surprise attack. His hand, however, gripped Xu Ruoyan’s fair wrist, preventing the dagger from advancing even half an inch.

His other hand wrapped around Xu Ruoyan, clamping down on her snow-white neck.

"You are not Yan’er."

A chill emanated from Ling Chen’s eyes. The person before him seemed increasingly suspicious. Although she looked identical to Xu Ruoyan, her expression and aura were completely different.

CRACK!

With a sudden exertion of force, Ling Chen snapped "Xu Ruoyan’s" neck.

WHOOSH!

The next moment, "Xu Ruoyan’s" body crumbled apart. A cloud of black mist rose and drilled into a crack in the ground before Ling Chen.

"What is this thing?"

Ling Chen frowned. This mass of black mist actually seemed to possess Life Force, giving off a sinister and eerie feeling.

Abruptly releasing his Mental Power, Ling Chen’s Mental Power perception extended to its limit, over three hundred meters. In an instant, his surroundings were perceived with utmost clarity.

HOWL HOWL HOWL...

The sinister wind howled. As far as Ling Chen’s vision could reach, there were only swirling masses of black gas. These streams of gas took on the forms of various animals, flowing through the air like black Dragon Snakes.

These streams of gas were all illusory, transforming this region into a likeness of Hell.

The moment Ling Chen became aware of these strange entities’ existence, the masses of black gas also seemed to sense his presence. Instantly, they locked onto Ling Chen’s aura, let out soul-shuddering screeches, and all surged towards him.

Slightly startled, Ling Chen closed his eyes. He focused his Sword Intent, his brow flashing with a sharp glint. Then, his eyes suddenly snapped open, and the entire deathly still black land abruptly vanished.

The dense, shrieking black gas also turned to nothingness.

In its place was still a dim world with an overcast sky. However, before him now stood a black, pointed tower. This tower was a full thirty zhang high and looked dilapidated, as if it could collapse at any moment.

What a terrifying Illusory Realm.

Ling Chen felt a lingering fear. He hadn’t expected that even he would fall into such an Illusory Realm, and it had taken him so long to realize it.

He feared that ordinary people would find it very difficult to pass through the Illusory Realm just now. If their luck was bad, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to be trapped and die within it.

Ling Chen surveyed his surroundings once more and then stepped into the black tower.

「Inside the tower.」

It was pitch-black; one could not see their hand in front of their face.

FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH!

The moment Ling Chen stepped inside this tower level, Flames instantly lit up all around the walls, illuminating the entire interior brilliantly.

Only then did Ling Chen see that the entire interior of the tower seemed to be a massive Array Formation. The ground was covered in complex, ancient array patterns. His gaze followed these array patterns to their end, where an altar stood.

Beside the altar, a Skeleton sat cross-legged on the ground. In front of the Skeleton, a crimson Treasure Sword, covered in dust, was thrust into the ground before the altar, seemingly acting as the Array Eye.

Approaching the Skeleton, Ling Chen’s brow furrowed slightly. This place is probably quite out of the ordinary.

He stopped and reached out to pull the dust-covered Treasure Sword. However, the moment his hand made contact, a vast wave of information surged into Ling Chen’s mind.

In an instant, Ling Chen felt as if he could see straight through the ground beneath him. His vision penetrated hundreds of meters underground to a dark and bone-chilling region. Thick chains were spread throughout that subterranean space, binding a figure in ragged clothes who emanated an aura of deathly stillness.

SWOOSH!

The moment Ling Chen saw the figure, the latter suddenly looked up. A pair of blood-red eyes emerged from beneath its hair, emitting a terrifying light.