A Fantasy Love Story Across the Warring States Period

Chapter 80: Secrets and Crisis Behind the Hidden Door

After the hidden door closed, absolute darkness enveloped them. The darkness was as thick as ink, almost tangible, tightly enveloping them. Huanmo reached out, trying to grope for something in the darkness, but her fingertips touched only emptiness. The cold air around her carried a faint, decaying stench, sending chills down her spine.

Huanmo was filled with tension and trepidation. He pondered to himself, "What lies beyond this hidden door? Why did the seven-colored box lead us here? Could there be even greater danger waiting for us? But since things have come to this, we can only grit our teeth and continue forward. We must find out everything and prevent the disaster from happening." Thinking this, he turned back and shouted to his companions, "Everyone, hold hands, don't get separated, watch your step!"

The companions echoed each other's sentiments, holding each other's hands tightly as they moved cautiously through the darkness. The woman in the black robe endured the pain from her arm wound, gripping the sleeve of the person beside her with her other hand. She gritted her teeth, thinking, "Every time I think I'm about to see hope, I always fall into a new predicament. But it's okay, as long as we're all together, there's no difficulty we can't overcome."

As everyone proceeded cautiously, a faint light suddenly appeared ahead. The light stood out starkly in the endless darkness, like a lighthouse on a dark sea, bringing a glimmer of hope. Huanmo's spirits lifted, and he quickened his pace, heading towards the light, with the others following closely behind.

As they drew closer to the light, the surrounding environment gradually became clearer. They appeared to be in a long, narrow passage, the walls of which were inlaid with gems that emitted a faint, eerie glow. The light from the gems, though not bright, was enough to illuminate the path beneath their feet. At the end of the passage, a strange sound faintly emanated, like the panting of some giant beast, mixed with a deep, rumbling sound that sent chills down their spines.

The group reached the end of the passage, where a vast circular space appeared before them. In the center of the space was a deep pool shrouded in an eerie mist, a sinister purplish-red that churned and surged, as if something was struggling and writhing within it. Around the pool were ancient and mysterious runes, shimmering with a dark red light and exuding a chilling aura.

The seven-colored box was currently suspended above the deep pool, its light intertwining and colliding with the mist of the pool, seemingly engaged in an invisible battle. Huanmo frowned as he looked at the scene before him, vaguely feeling that this deep pool must be the key to resolving the box's crisis, yet it was far too dangerous to approach lightly.

"This place has an eerie atmosphere; we need to be careful," Huanmo whispered to his companions.

Everyone nodded, preparing to observe more closely, when suddenly the mist in the deep pool began to churn violently. Then, a gigantic claw emerged from the mist, its surface covered in sharp bone spurs, gleaming with a dark luster, as if it could easily tear anything apart. Before anyone could react, the claw lunged at the man in the green robe closest to it.

"Watch out!" Huanmo shouted, leaping towards the man in the green robe and forcefully shoving him aside. However, she couldn't dodge in time and was grazed on the back by the claw, tearing her clothes and splattering blood. The intense pain made Huanmo groan and almost fall to the ground.

"Huanmo!" her companions exclaimed, rushing over. The woman in black robes, her eyes filled with anxiety and heartache, supported Huanmo and asked urgently, "How are you?"

Huanmo gritted her teeth and forced herself to say, "I'm fine, don't worry about me, we need to figure out how to deal with this thing."

Just then, the owner of the claw slowly emerged from the mist. It was a colossal, purplish-red beast with a body as large as a mountain. Its eyes were like two burning flames, staring intently at the crowd. It continuously spewed out purplish-red mist from its mouth, corroding the ground and creating pits wherever the mist went.

Seeing this, everyone assumed a defensive stance. The man in white raised his jade flute and played a stirring melody, the sound waves transforming into sharp blades that shot towards the giant beast; the woman in black wielded her longsword, its blade imbued with powerful spiritual energy, slashing at the beast's legs in an attempt to restrict its movements; Qingwan used her spiritual energy to cast shields on the injured Huanmo and her attacking companions, enhancing their defense.

However, the behemoth's defenses were far stronger than imagined. Their attacks only sparked a few fires, failing to cause any real damage. The behemoth roared, swung its claws, and pounced on the group again, its momentum seemingly intent on crushing them instantly.

Huanmo watched the raging beast with burning anxiety, knowing that everyone would be in danger if things continued this way. He endured the excruciating pain in his back, closed his eyes, and mobilized the remaining spiritual energy within his body. He recalled the various hardships and dangers they had encountered along the way, the scenes of facing powerful enemies together with his companions and never abandoning each other, which strengthened his resolve.

"I'll fight!" Huanmo suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with determination. He formed hand seals, gathering all his spiritual power, and charged towards the giant beast, preparing to unleash his strongest attack. Even if it meant mutual destruction, he wanted to give his companions a chance to survive.

Seeing Huanmo's actions, his companions were all shocked, but they also understood that only by cooperating with Huanmo could they have a chance to defeat the giant beast. So, everyone exerted all their strength, converging all their power towards the giant beast.

Just as everyone's power was about to collide with the giant beast, the seven-colored box suddenly emitted a dazzling light. The light enveloped the giant beast, which seemed to be greatly shocked. Its movements instantly stopped, and it let out a painful roar.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events. Before they could recover, the intense light enveloped the giant beast and slowly sank it into the deep pool. The beast struggled as it sank, but it was no match for the power of the light and gradually became still.

As the giant beast was dragged into the deep pool, the light of the seven-colored box gradually dimmed and slowly fell back to the ground. Huanmo breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could relax for long, the mist in the deep pool began to spread towards everyone. The mist seemed to contain a strange power, making everyone feel that their spiritual energy was being slowly drained away, and their bodies were becoming heavier and heavier.

A strong sense of unease welled up in Huanmo's heart. He looked at the ever-approaching mist and murmured, "What... what's going on? Could it be that after defeating the giant beast, something even more terrifying awaits us?"

The others also looked terrified. They tried to back away, but found their feet were nailed to the ground, unable to move at all. They could only watch helplessly as the mist drew closer and closer, wondering what unknown fate awaited them. Everything was shrouded in this eerie mist, sending chills down their spines and filling them with endless suspense.