At that moment, Zhou Qing's whole body was shaking, his face flushed crimson, the veins on his neck bulging fiercely.
Listening to the rustling sounds rapidly closing in behind him, he roared inwardly, then leaped with all his strength, vaulting straight out of the final Gravity Zone.
At once, his entire body relaxed, and he went limp, collapsing face-down on the ground.
But he had no time to rest. He hurriedly rolled and crawled behind a nearby pillar. The moment he slipped behind it, those Wandering Souls howled back through the passage.
Only after they had vanished completely did Zhou Qing let out a long breath, smiling bitterly with lingering fear.
"Sure enough, a person's potential is forced out of them. Such a long road, and I actually made it through in so little time!"
Before he could finish speaking, countless Wandering Souls came roaring out once more. There were even more of them than before.
Zhou Qing's scalp went numb at the sight.
"Could it be that the Grand Elders sent people to rescue me?" Zhou Qing's eyes lit up.
After recovering a little strength, Zhou Qing looked at the silent passage ahead and immediately began searching all around.
"This place is still too dangerous. I can't just sit here waiting to die. I need to find that key as soon as possible. Once the gravity is lifted, the Grand Elders can come in. Only then will I truly be safe!"
Having made up his mind, Zhou Qing began searching on tiptoe, not daring to make the slightest sound. If there were still Golden Core Realm Wandering Souls here, then he would truly be done for.
But after making a full round, he found nothing.
"That shouldn't be right. Didn't the Grand Elder say the key was at the edge of the Gravity Zone?"
Puzzled, Zhou Qing searched another round. Unable to help himself, he started grumbling and cursing, then looked deeper inside.
"Zhou Qing, Zhou Qing, you're far too innocent. Those old women even said the Gravity Zone was safe. And what happened? I got chased around like a dog. Can their words be trusted?"
Zhou Qing looked into the depths, yet hesitated again. The Grand Elder had specifically warned him not to venture deeper recklessly after entering. He only needed to activate the key and wait where he was for them.
After a brief moment of thought, Zhou Qing came to a decision. "I'll take their words in reverse. No means yes, and not allowed in actually means go in."
Having made up his mind, he took out a Moonlight Pearl from his Storage Bag and began moving forward.
But after taking only a few steps, he seemed to notice something and immediately quickened his pace.
A Robber Hole about half a meter wide had appeared in one of the side walls, while a large number of Blue Bricks lay discarded on the ground.
Zhou Qing found it hard to believe, because the Blue Bricks forming this wall were no ordinary bricks. They had been cast from a peculiar Cold Jade, and even drew one another together, containing a mysterious formation.
Even the Grand Elders had been unable to enter, and could only send them inside to open the entrance from within.
Yet now, someone had silently destroyed it.
As the Moonlight Pearl shone over it, he saw two smug words carved beside it—That's it?
"That's it?"
Zhou Qing muttered to himself. It was as though he could see the other party's smug expression, and he could not help feeling stifled.
The Taiqing Sect's most mysterious Grotto-Heaven had actually been provoked by such petty scum.
If the Grand Elders and Sect Leader Martial Uncle saw this, would they not be angered to death?
Zhou Qing stuck his head inside. It was pitch-black within, and he had no idea where it led.
He did not dare use it to leave. When they had come to this Grotto-Heaven, the Grand Elders had not even allowed them to know the route.
As Zhou Qing got up and continued onward, he soon saw that millstone-like object.
His face immediately lit up with delight, and he hurried over.
"Was this thrown here by someone?"
Zhou Qing did not hastily turn it. Instead, he looked around and found deep drag marks on the ground. It seemed it had been dragged here.
"Could it have been that thief?" Zhou Qing looked back at the large hole in the stone wall and murmured softly.
Luckily, he had found the key now. He should hurry and let the Grand Elders in. If he encountered any more danger, he would not be able to withstand it.
The surroundings were deathly silent, thick with Ghost Qi. Even the air carried a moldy stench.
He quickly jumped onto the millstone, circulated the spiritual power in his body, and prepared to turn it counterclockwise.
But suddenly, a cold wind blew fiercely from the deeper passage, making Zhou Qing shudder.
The next instant, his entire body seemed to be seized by an irresistible force and dragged straight inside.
In his daze, the scenery around him rushed backward. Who knew how far he had been pulled in? His head spun wildly.
Only when everything abruptly stopped did he collapse to the ground and begin dry-heaving.
After finally feeling a little better, he immediately stood up and looked around with his guard fully raised.
Once he saw his surroundings clearly, his face turned deathly pale.
Before him lay a red river stretching to nowhere. Even stranger, countless black crows floated upon its waters.
They exuded a chilling, rotten stench that made one's heart tremble with fear.
On the other side of the river stood an enormous ancient tree. It was so vast that it seemed capable of holding up heaven and earth, yet it now showed only decay and withering.
Its branches were like massive pillars of black steel, twisted and coiled, covered in cracks eroded by the years.
Even more bizarrely, atop that unreachable tree crown, more than a dozen thick iron chains glimmered with an eerie cold light, binding a beating Black Heart as tightly as giant pythons.
Every beat of that heart produced a dull, eerie sound, making it seem as though all the blood in Zhou Qing's body was about to freeze solid.
Not only that, beneath the Giant Tree, six coffins stood silently in a row. They emanated a powerful and mysterious pressure, like peerless experts slumbering within, making people afraid to look directly at them.
Red River, Dead Crows, Giant Tree, heart, coffins...
That pressure spread outward like a surging tide, crushing Zhou Qing until he could barely breathe and nearly fainted.
What place was this?
Why did the Taiqing Sect's Grotto-Heaven contain such a terrifying existence?
Was this why the Grand Elder had forbidden them from venturing deeper?
Or perhaps the Grand Elder's breakthrough in her cultivation technique this time had been for the sake of entering here to retrieve something?
Then how had he gotten in?
Before Zhou Qing could sort out his thoughts, a voice whose gender could not be discerned suddenly rang out in his mind.
"Youth with extraordinary bones, your fortunate opportunity has arrived. If you can pass the test, this bowl with supreme divine might shall belong to you!"
The next moment, a Porcelain Bowl with a cracked rim came wobbling through the air from the Giant Tree.
Zhou Qing froze, then immediately took a step back.
But before he could refuse, that voice rang out in his mind again.
"There is only one test question. It's super easy. Answer correctly, and not only will it belong to you, you can also use it to leave safely. Otherwise, once the tide begins here, you will die without even a burial ground!"
Zhou Qing hurriedly said, "Isn't this test a little too abrupt? You haven't given me any time to prepare myself. Besides, no matter how I look at it, such a Broken Bowl doesn't seem like any treasure."
"I told you, this question is very easy. I'll give you another hint: it's two choices out of one. Stop dawdling. Let's begin!"
After that voice fell silent, lines of words suddenly appeared in the air.
If you cultivated bitterly for a hundred years and finally avenged your great hatred, exterminating your enemy's entire family, only to suddenly discover a child still hiding in a corner, what would you do?
Looking at the test question, Zhou Qing blinked. It truly was, as the voice had said, a two-choice question.
"What would you do?" the genderless voice sounded again.
Before you continue