Deep underground, the air circulated extremely slowly. It was even too thin to breathe. Countless bodies that seemed to have suffocated to death lay there, frozen in all manner of desperate struggles.
Back then, many people had lived in the underground ruins. When the oxygen suddenly vanished, most of them had died on the spot.
These corpses had decayed into skeletons and were clearly ancient, but along both sides of the path were also bodies that had obviously appeared only recently.
Some wore armor, others were dressed in ordinary clothes, and still others wore professional exploration suits. Clear signs of battle surrounded them.
Some had died in civil strife. Others seemed to have fought invisible monsters, only to fall when their strength gave out.
The clothes and equipment on some of the corpses were exactly like those on the bodies in the ruins' cavern. They were obviously from the same group.
"Be careful. Don't look back, and don't turn around."
Just as An Jing was carefully examining the corpses, the Sword Spirit suddenly spoke in a grave tone. "A powerful illusion array is active here!"
"Anyone who enters without permission and lacks a firm will shall be dragged into an illusory inner realm. Their Inner Demons will haunt them, driving them to fight among themselves or battle figments that don't exist until they're completely exhausted."
"The illusion array doesn't affect those who are leaving, so as long as you keep moving forward, you'll be fine."
"Understood." An Jing raised his brows and gave a slight nod. Ever since he had defeated the Heavenly Demon during the Ritual Sacrifice, he had no longer feared this kind of illusion conjured from the mind. But there was no point wasting his strength, especially when he had never intended to turn back.
But... why