Chapter 347 The more dangerous, the more exciting

A massive statue cracked open, revealing a ferocious serpent about a hundred meters long, coiled and standing upright. The stone surface was rapidly peeling off, and the monstrous serpent trapped within emitted a terrifying aura. The surrounding space was quickly solidifying. Fortunately, Fu Liye reacted swiftly, pulling Old Wang with him in a spatial shift, escaping just in time beyond the range of the spatial confinement.

It must be said that Fu Liye's boldness is justified. In a direct confrontation, he might not rank among the top-tier ghost-level experts on the continent, but when it comes to fleeing, he is truly unmatched. Even without preset teleportation points, he can perform spatial jumps of several hundred meters at will, and he can even chain two or three jumps in a row. If there are preset teleportation points, he can teleport across hundreds of miles in an instant.

The depths of the Great Desolate Mountains are perilous, filled with terrifying ghost-level beasts. The sealed stone statues are even more formidable. Old Wang felt that venturing in alone would have cost him a hundred lives. But with Fu Liye by his side, the journey was thrilling yet secure, and they managed to reach the end of the Great Desolate in one go.

There, they discovered an enormous valley, with cliffs soaring sharply into the sky. In the center of the valley stood two colossal stone statues, each about twenty to thirty meters tall. Unlike the monstrous statues they had encountered before, these depicted a sea person and a human.

The sea person held a blade, while the human brandished a sword, clearly representing a powerful figure from human history, though his identity was unclear. The blades of the two statues were crossed, and both figures gazed forward, exuding a faint aura of impending battle.

"Is this the end of this layer of the illusion?" Both men were amazed. They had expected the end to feature another monstrous statue, perhaps requiring activation and combat. But instead, they found 'allies.'

"It doesn't seem like we need to fight. Perhaps there's a mechanism," Old Wang mused. "Let's look around."

They searched along the stone wall behind the massive statues but found nothing. Then they turned their attention back to the statues themselves. Fu Liye had already attempted infusing soul power and even directly damaging the statues, but to no avail. These statues were clearly different from the monsters that would awaken at the slightest disturbance.

Fu Liye frowned, feeling at a loss, when suddenly Old Wang's eyes lit up. He leaped up and climbed onto the giant sword held by the human statue.

At the center of the sword's hilt was a fist-sized indentation. Old Wang retrieved the Bloodsoul Orb he had obtained earlier from the Tree Demon and fitted it into the indentation. It was a perfect fit.

"Ha, I think we've got it!" Wang Feng retrieved the orb dropped by the Naga and tossed it to Fu Liye below. "Old Fu, try that side!"

Fu Liye grasped the idea instantly. With a spatial shift, he materialized on the giant blade held by the sea person. There, he found a similar fist-sized indentation on the hilt and inserted the soul orb.

As both orbs were inserted, the statues quivered slightly, and both men's eyes brightened. Blood-red energy was drawn from the orbs, spreading like veins along the blades and swords, swiftly enveloping the entire statues.

A deep hum resonated through the air...

The two colossal statues began to tremble gently. Beams of light erupted from the eyes of the sea person and the human, etching a magic circle beneath the statues.

"It's a teleportation array to the next layer!" Fu Liye chuckled. He was well-acquainted with teleportation arrays; he could identify them by their scent. He hadn't anticipated this... He had simply brought this young man along to broaden his horizons, but it was Wang Feng who ultimately solved the puzzle. What a stroke of fate!

"Is this the end?" Old Wang was both astonished and elated. When they had encountered the ancient battlefield earlier, he had been wary, expecting to face unimaginably powerful enemies at the end. But it turned out to be just this.

"The true peril of this layer lay in the ancient battlefield and the monsters along the way. They were unbeatable, and the more people there were, the more dangerous it became," Fu Liye explained as he jumped down into the teleportation array. "Passing those was already the test." He wasn't wrong. The seemingly easy journey was only possible thanks to Fu Liye. The terrifying ancient battlefield and the monsters in the Great Desolate Mountains would have been fatal for anyone else, even a group of ten ghost-level experts.

Old Wang also jumped down into the teleportation array. "Let's go, the final layer!"

Unlike the unstable teleportation channels they had encountered before, this array felt incredibly steady. In the blink of an eye, the surroundings stabilized.

They found themselves on a small island about ten miles in diameter. The island was barren, with no trees, and surrounded by endless ocean. In the center of the island stood four massive statues, each over thirty meters tall, positioned at the four cardinal directions. To the east was a human, clad in golden armor, appearing to be in his forties, with broad eyes and thick lips, exuding a solemn aura. To the north and south were statues of a Yaksha and an orc. The Yaksha was young and handsome, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, carrying a longsword on his back, his expression calm and composed. The orc had a fierce, green face with tusks, horns on its head, and arms covered in scales, resembling an iron-clad wrathful guardian.

But the strangest was the statue to the west—a mermaid. It had the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish, with enchanting eyes and a thin veil draped over its body. A spring of water supported its tail, and its hands were raised slightly above its right shoulder, holding something...

The four statues were of equal height, clearly companions. This was the fifth layer of the illusion, and with such a grand setup, it was likely...

Each of the four statues held a thick, gray chain, and the chains extended to the center of the island, binding and suppressing a colossal creature!

A deep, thunderous snoring sound echoed, causing the entire island to tremble slightly.

The creature being suppressed was still alive. A massive dragon head, as tall as a two-story building, faced the direction of the teleportation array where Old Wang and Fu Liye stood. Its eyes were closed, and with each snore, white mist-like gas billowed from its nostrils, carrying a terrifying wave of heat that scorched the ground, creating two long trenches extending from its nostrils.

This was just one dragon head. Fu Liye quietly floated up, his pupils contracting sharply. Around the island, there were eight more dragon heads! Each connected by a thick neck over ten meters long, with the central body of the monster lying like a small mountain, its limbs as thick as pillars supporting the sky.

A faint, oppressive aura enveloped the area, emanating from the slumbering monster. Even Fu Liye couldn't help but look serious, let alone Old Wang.

Haikula—the NineHeaded Dragon Haikula!

This isn’t the sea demon Haikula that pulls chariots, nor is it just any ordinary sea demon. In ancient times, it was already infamous, not under the jurisdiction of the royal family of the sea people. It’s one of the three overlords of the Dragon Abyss Sea and ranks among the top ten legendary sea demon kings in the Nine Heavens Annals!

You should know that even the Ten Thousand Miles ice bees can only rank 89th in the Annals, and the true form of Naga Luo is only around the 70th to 80th place. Anyone ranked in the top 50 of the Nine Heavens Annals is an ancient being with extraordinary powers.

As for the top ten... it’s not even about being dragon-level anymore. Each head is dragon-level, with unique abilities and the dragon clan’s impenetrable defense—no weaknesses. This is death incarnate.

It doesn’t even need soul power pressure—its snoring and breath alone are enough to terrify anyone. A single sneeze could literally kill you!

Old Wang was frustrated. This wasn’t following the usual script.

If we follow the previous observations of the illusion's rules, the boss of the fifth layer should be a dragon-level Apocalypse Ghost Knight, a dominant existence among dark creatures, which matches the Naga Luo of the third layer and the dark statues in the deep mountains and swamps of the fourth layer. But now, it's the NineHeaded Dragon Haikula! It’s like walking into a human palace, escorted by high-ranking officials and generals, only to find a beast king on the throne instead of the human king. Unbelievable.

In terms of strength, Haikula is an unstoppable force—a true ancient war god, ferocious beyond measure. Its motto? "Everything is edible." This thing could single-handedly destroy a nation.

Forget Old Wang—even a dozen Fu Liyes wouldn’t be enough to fill Haikula’s teeth!

Fu Liye floated down gently. Old Wang noticed that even the fearless Fu Liye had a faint sheen of sweat on his brow, though his eyes sparkled with excitement.

“There is an altar at the center where the NineHeaded Dragon is entrenched,” Fu Liye whispered. Old Wang saw for the first time that he was also so cautious: “There’s a faint glow in the altar—the treasure must be there.”

Old Wang was also a bit excited when he heard this. If it were like Naga Luo, where you had to kill it for the loot, we’d be out of luck. But if it could be 'stolen'...

“Let me try!” As soon as he finished speaking, Old Wang waved his left hand, and several ice bees flew out.

Fu Liye was slightly stunned, his mouth opening: “These ice bees…”

“From the Ice Spirit Kingdom.” Old Wang smiled, not intending to hide it from him. With someone like Fu Liye, the more honest you are with him, the more he likes you, and he will definitely not harm you. On the contrary, if you are secretive, then one day he might suddenly not like you anymore, and that would be the end of it.

The ice bees emerged, instantly obeying Old Wang, wiggling their bee butts as if they understood Wang Feng’s commands perfectly.

Fu Liye was both amused and speechless. After a stunned pause, he burst out laughing.

No wonder the ice bees retreated during the city attack. While everyone credits Oscar and Karida, Fu Liye, who was there, knew it had nothing to do with them. Even Dark Hall couldn’t figure out why the ice bees retreated, no matter how hard they tried. But now, seeing the ice bees obey Wang Feng so readily... it’s clear everyone underestimated him. He’s met many talented youths, but none as capable and low-key as this one.

To his taste.

Under Old Wang’s command, the ice bees stopped flapping their wings—the buzzing would wake Haikula. Now, seven or eight ice bees crawled across the ground, inching toward the center.

It was the safest approach, but to Haikula, the ice bees were no different from ants. Even if discovered, it probably wouldn’t care.

The reason they wanted to try was because the NineHeaded Dragon was trapped. Otherwise, they would have fled immediately.

Old Wang and Fu Liye crouched down, hiding behind the rocks near the teleportation array, observing. But unexpectedly, the ice bees crawled slower and slower. When they were about a hundred meters away from Haikula’s head, they all started circling in place, as if there was an invisible air wall, and they couldn’t move forward anymore.

Go in!

Old Wang linked his consciousness to the ice bees, forcing one to advance. Instantly, the ice bee’s fear and despair flooded back, and then...

‘Bang’!

The ice bee that crossed the line directly exploded, turning into a small cloud of ice mist, dissipating into nothingness. This damn thing, it didn’t even dare to get close before self-destructing!

Old Wang was furious, but the thunderous snoring suddenly stopped. Old Wang and Fu Liye immediately ducked their heads behind the rocks, not daring to breathe.

One of Haikula’s heads moved slightly, its thick, bumpy eyelids lifting slightly, looking in this direction.

Whoosh! The terrifying divine eyes, even half-opened, seemed to carry a majestic heavenly power. The other ice bees on the ground were so frightened that they fainted, lying on the ground like dead bugs. Fortunately, Old Wang and Fu Liye, hiding behind the rocks, had already suppressed their aura to the minimum. They held their breath, motionless. After two or three seconds, they felt the divine light gradually fade away.

The two of them still dared not move or breathe. After another dozen seconds, until the thunderous snoring resumed, they finally managed to relax.

It was terrifying. The might of a dragon-level creature— even a top expert like Fu Liye had to be as quiet as a cicada in winter. The ice bees that had been scared unconscious on the ground took quite a while to recover. They refused to take another step forward, forcing Old Wang to recall them. Wang Feng was frustrated; even scouting ahead was impossible. These ice bees were total wimps! As the old saying goes, cowards flock together! Once separated from their swarm, these ice bees were far from the fearless warriors they were in the midst of their kind. Of course, it could also be a case of "you are the company you keep"... It seemed he would have to properly train them later. After all, he was practically their foster father; raising them without teaching them was no good!

Having nearly alerted Hai Kula just moments ago, the two of them dared not speak easily now. Old Wang, after recalling the ice bees, felt a bit at a loss when he noticed Fu Liye's finger twitch slightly, and a purple card appeared in his hand.

He gave Old Wang a meaningful look, pointed at the teleportation card, and then at the nearby teleportation array that had just brought them here. The array had not dissipated after completing the teleportation and was still glowing with vibrant energy, clearly ready to activate again at any moment.

Old Wang immediately understood. The purple card was a teleportation card. Fu Liye was planning to explore, and he wanted Old Wang to stand in the teleportation array with the purple card. If Hai Kula was accidentally awakened, Old Wang could immediately activate the teleportation array beneath his feet, and Fu Liye could simultaneously teleport to Wang Feng's side, allowing both of them to leave this place together.

Standing next to the teleportation array, ready to activate it at any moment, was naturally the best option. Wang Feng took the teleportation card and gave a thumbs-up sign. Fu Liye was momentarily puzzled—what did making a circle with one hand mean? But seeing the excited expression on his young friend's face, he realized, ah, he meant he would stand in the teleportation array and wait for him...

So Fu Liye grinned, extended his hand, and made a circle back at Old Wang, nodding in agreement.

The more dangerous the situation, the more thrilling it was. Only those with immense courage would join the Dark Hall.