Chapter 629 - “It Is Too Alike”
No one spoke as they tried to move forward, one step at a time. The energy used to shield themselves against the flaming orbs that kept volleying towards them was overwhelming, and every extra help was used on the way.
They did not know how long they would need to travel before they could leave the flaming zone, but as they progressed, they noticed that the fire seemed to become more and more hot, causing the temperature to rise drastically, and no matter how much energy or how many inscriptions were used, the heat could not be shielded against.
The flames also seemed to become sentient as they advanced, and some of them would merge together into large flaming balls that would explode with tremendous power and cause devastating damage, while others would fly in strange paths, attempting to look for weaknesses in the defense.
Sweat was beading on Xue Wei and he others' heads, and their clothes had become soaked as they tried to grit their teeth and continue forward, even when they knew that their energy was draining at a rapid speed.
Although this flaming hell did not seem to contain any living beings, and only the Corpse Flame could control the attack, they struggled much more than in any other zone.
The flames had caused Xue Wei and the others to focus on the assault, and it seemed to take away all the attention, which caused the ground underneath their feet to be less noticed.
The heat had already caused the ground underneath their feet to crack in many places, and the dry soil was so unassuming that by the time when Xue Wei and the others noticed that there was a problem, it was already too late.
The ground beneath their feet began to tremble, as the heat had reached an unprecedented high, and the already visible cracks turned into great fissures in the ground. These gaps spread out like a spiderweb and increased at a swift pace, causing Xue Wei and his friends to be taken by surprise.
The flaming orbs that kept assaulting them were also increasing in intensity, and their group was under attack from every side, making them feel helpless and uncertain of how to react to the sudden situation.
"Jump down!" Eventually, Xue Wei had to grit his teeth and make a decision. If they kept staying on the surface, they would have to continue facing off against the aggressive and destructive fireballs, but at some point, they would be unable to hold on.
The underground was also dangerous. Although the fissures had been created by the extreme heat, Xue Wei did not know whether or not the Corpse Flame was capable of controlling the ground, and if they fell into the underground and the flame decided to close up the cracks again, they would be trapped beneath.
Even so, he had more faith in their ability to survive underground than in the current flaming inferno that seemed to be endless, so after yelling out his order, he was the first to jump into the fissure to ensure that the path was safe for his friends to follow behind.
No one hesitated to follow behind, and soon, the whole group had entered deep into the ground. The blazing flames that had blinded them before were gone, and instead they had plunged into an eternal darkness.
The heat underground was fortunately not as scorching as it had been on the surface, and while the air was dry and dusty, it was also not burning their lungs in the same way.
The gap in the ground was quite deep, and although a few flames could be seen when they looked upward, they were protected at the bottom of the fissure and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Look around, it appears as if there is some sort of tunnel-structure down here." Just as Xue Wei had focused his gaze on the flames above, as he tried to ensure that the gap would not close up again, Hei Gou's voice sounded behind him.
Hei Gou had, clearly, found something unknown, and their entire group quickly returned to a defensive formation as an underground tunnel system would definitely have been created with some purpose in mind.
Xue Wei finally looked around their current location and found that Hei Gou was correct. The location where they had landed was indeed a small tunnel, and while the tunnel wall and ceiling was not smooth, it was clear that it had been crafted to ensure quick travel through the zone.
"Do you think that every zone has an underground tunnel like this?" Ling Xiao looked around and could not help but narrow his eyes with some confusion as he looked around, but compared to the others, Xue Wei was the most stumped as he stared at the stone walls.
"It is too alike." He could not help but narrow his eyes as he stepped forward and touched the walls. The walls themselves seemed to have been dug in a rough and quick manner, but upon taking a closer look, the rough surface was caused by numerous scratch marks. These scratch marks had varying degrees of depth, and many had also been filled with dried blood.
"It is like that weird room in the Garden of Shadows, and the cave in the Twilight Thunder Zone." Xue Wei could remember these two areas as they had caused him to feel very confused upon entry. They had both seemed abandoned, but at the same time also very important. Even so, he had never been able to understand their purpose or origin, so he had not spent too much time pondering upon their existence.
However, now that he was in No Man's Land, he found that this underground tunnel was very similar to those chambers.