"Huh? Where's the gate?" Sixteen blinked in confusion.
The Barrier Gate wasn't playing by the rules. Hadn't they lost the word game? Why had the gate disappeared?
Normally, shouldn't they have had to clear the game before they could pass through it?
Sixteen felt awful. She had finally made up her mind to use her trump card, only for her target to vanish before she could.
It was like putting all her strength into a punch and hitting cotton. The frustration was unbearable.
"The Barrier Gate disappeared?" Onion Lady jumped up at the news and reached out a little hand to touch the space ahead—yes, it really was gone!
Song Shuhang scratched his head. "We failed that word game just now, didn't we?"
If they had failed, why had the Barrier Gate still opened?
Could it be that the result didn't matter, only the process?
Was taking part in the word game enough to get through the Barrier Gate?
But if so, what was the point?
Why had Daoist Scarlet Firmament placed this Barrier Gate here?
Had it really been nothing more than a malicious joke he'd played on everyone?
Shi asked, "Now that the word game's gone, we can't farm mental energy anymore?"
"What a shame. It's so hard to find a way to strengthen mental energy quickly," Xiao Cai said regretfully.
"Oh well. Let's keep going," Song Shuhang said.
With the Barrier Gate open, the stone path to the summit had grown clearer.
Since the barrier had vanished, Song Shuhang and the others had no reason not to enter.
So, despite their doubts, they continued up the stone path toward the summit.
After Song Shuhang and the others had gone some distance, an illusory figure appeared where the Barrier Gate had stood.
It was a lean man