The dark night in The Valley was always deeply unsettling.
This darkness was not the hazy gloom of moonlight in ordinary mountains, nor was it the murkiness of storm clouds blotting out the sky. It was a thick, ink-like darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything.
Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing stood side by side before the Barrier, their expressions grave.
After taking a brief rest, the two had rushed here without delay.
Although the Black Shadow had been slain, their situation of being trapped in this strange valley had not improved. On the contrary, being confined within the Barrier and unable to leave made things even more dangerous.
They still harbored a sliver of hope—perhaps the monster was the key to maintaining the Barrier. Now that the Black Shadow was dead, would this cage trapping them collapse as well?
"Again," Qian Ying said in a low voice, his Xiantian Short Sword glowing with a faint azure light.
Zhou Zixing nodded, clenching his fists as Xiantian Qi surged through his Meridians like a raging tide.
"Boom!"
Sword qi flashed like a rainbow, and fist force roared like thunder. The full-force strike of two Xiantian Masters slammed into the Barrier at the same time. Violent ripples immediately spread across the transparent screen as countless lights shimmered and flickered, brightening and dimming unpredictably.
Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing held their breaths, staring fixedly at the changes in the Barrier.
After only a few breaths, the light gradually dimmed, the runes slowly faded, and the Barrier returned to its calm, undisturbed state. As solid as ever, it continued to isolate them from the Outside World.
"Damn it!" Qian Ying viciously slashed the Barrier with his Xiantian Short Sword, his face so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it, his eyes filled with