Gu Chen's heart skipped a beat. Hearing the shout, which seemed to come from nowhere, sent a chill down his spine—were there still living people in this dungeon?
In the dungeon, a faint, eerie wind seemed to sweep in, and the next moment it struck Gu Chen's back, making his already sweaty back feel even colder.
"Who goes there?" Gu Chen swallowed hard and finally spoke. His voice echoed in the empty dungeon, only fading away completely a few seconds later.
"Help me... help me..."
No one answered him; the cries for help grew clearer and clearer. Gu Chen frowned. He was now certain that the cries were coming from the dungeon to his right, from the alien race imprisoned inside!
Along the way, Gu Chen had examined the bodies of the alien races and found them all to be corpses. Could it be that someone had come back to life? Suppressing his inner horror, Gu Chen's steps felt as heavy as if he were carrying a thousand-pound boulder as he slowly approached the dungeon.
"Help me..."
Standing far away, Gu Chen could only make out the words, but as he got closer, he finally understood that the aliens in the dungeon were indeed calling for help.
Gu Chen rekindled the flame on his fingertips, and there in the dungeon, a Ao Clan lay limp on the ground. The voice he had just heard had come from him.
In the dim firelight, Gu Chen finally noticed the difference in this Ao Clan. The other corpses were all naked, but this man's hands and feet were shackled, the other ends of which were tied to the cell wall. He was also larger than the other aliens, almost the height of an average human. However, he was still very thin, and the green light on his forehead seemed more pronounced, unlike the other corpses which were lifeless.
The man's face was turned downwards, but he was still making hissing noises. After Gu Chen approached, he did not react at all, as if he was just speaking or muttering subconsciously, like a few words of sleep talking.
After a long while, Gu Chen finally came to his senses and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"
"Help me!"
Suddenly, the alien on the ground, with strength that seemed to come from nowhere, sprang to his feet!
With a roar, the entire dungeon seemed to tremble slightly, but he was quickly pulled back by the shackles that had been confiscated, and after taking only two steps, he fell to the ground again.
Gu Chen was startled by his actions.
Only then did he get a clear look at the person's face.
The living alien was not much different from humans, except that the lower edge of his eye sockets revealed a ring of bone, and perhaps because he had not eaten for a long time, from the chest down, it was almost all skin covering bones.
"Are you Ao Clan?" Gu Chen subtly took a step back, looked at the man, and asked in a deep voice.
"The Ao Clan?" The man's face showed a moment of confusion, then he mumbled, "Save me, save me... I can give you unimaginable cultivation techniques, I can give you the opportunity to cultivate immortality..."
Gu Chen's gaze sharpened, and he immediately asked, "Did you spread the ' Heaven-Reaching Netherworld Art '?"
However, the man was acting erratically. After Gu Chen finished asking his questions, he suddenly lay down on the ground, his whole body convulsing. During these spasms, he even foamed at the mouth, looking extremely painful.
Gu Chen was first startled, then confused. However, when he touched the iron bars of the dungeon, he found that the iron bars, forged from Taiyi Crystal, became extremely hot in an instant, and the temperature of the dungeon seemed to rise significantly in an instant.
"Say something!" Gu Chen looked at the alien and couldn't help but shout again.
But the man seemed unable to hear Gu Chen's words, and couldn't even utter a cry for help. After struggling for about a minute, he twitched a few times and lay down on the ground, his fate unknown.
A chill ran through Gu Chen. This place was eerie, and he was completely baffled, having found nothing. He couldn't stay any longer. After making his decision, Gu Chen quickly headed towards the entrance of the cave he had just come from.
When Gu Chen emerged from the cave and smelled the fresh air and vegetation of Dragon Spine Mountain, he finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
This is incredible! Absolutely incredible!
What foreign races? The Ao Clan? I've never heard of such people before. Why are they imprisoned in this dungeon with over a hundred cells? What other secrets does this Land of Heaven and Earth?
Gu Chen was certain that martial artists could not climb Dragon Spine Mountain; at least, they couldn't get past the locust-like golden insects. Thinking about it this way, it could be concluded that this dungeon and this cave had existed for at least several hundred years.
The fact that the Ao Clan who cried for help survived being imprisoned for hundreds of years without dying or eating a single grain of rice is nothing short of a miracle!
"It seems only the Endless Sea can provide me with the answers to all these questions." Gu Chen stood once again at the edge of Dragon Spine Mountain. Before entering the Heaven and Earth Forest, he had wondered if its end would connect to the cultivation world, but now it seemed that the mysteries within were far more profound than that!
"The Emperor's Vein!"
Gu Chen decided to venture into this Endless Sea formed by azure sand dunes, but before that, he decided to first open the third layer of restrictions on the Emperor's Vein!
When Gu Chen broke through to the Late Revolving Illumination Realm, he tried to open it but couldn't. Now that he has absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, he hasn't even started trying yet.
The Emperor's Vein is a Sumeru space created by Gu Chen after he reached the Divine Emperor. It is used for storage and is divided into several layers of restrictions. It was created to prevent things from being exposed when fighting with others on Heavenly Nether Star.
Gu Chen had previously opened the first level and found more medicinal herbs and pills, and even the Dragon Scale Sword.
The second level, however, granted him additional magical artifacts such as the Three-Flame Fan.
The third layer, perhaps because of the existence of objects that affect the balance of heaven and earth, cannot be broken on Earth, but now in the Land of Heaven and Earth, it can be tried.
If he really wants to explore the Endless Sea, he should at least give himself more options and leverage.
With this in mind, Gu Chen closed his eyes at the edge of the cliff, and his Divine Sense, like a thread, began to impact the third layer of the red net restriction within the Emperor's Vein.
The Emperor's Vein has eight layers of restrictions.
But perhaps because of the return to the past, the Emperor's Vein caused some kind of anomaly during the journey, and the restrictions within the ring underwent a complete transformation.
At this moment, the Emperor's Vein seemed like a reward to him. Each layer of restriction required Gu Chen to break through to a certain realm before he could open the corresponding red net of restrictions covering the Emperor's Vein!
The Emperor's Vein has a vast space, much like a storage cabinet, and each layer of restricted space is like a drawer inside that cabinet; you can only see what's inside after you open it.
Gu Chen is currently attempting to break through the third layer of the restriction!
Besides Gu Chen's original belongings, the Emperor's Vein also contains some treasures and magical artifacts that he stored at the Divine Emperor level!
When the first level opened, Gu Chen obtained the Dragon Scale Sword and some pills. On the second level, he obtained the Three-Flame Fan, the Eastern Sun Heaven-Suppressing Flag, pills, and some books about formations.
Now that he has entered the Land of Heaven and Earth and is about to open the third layer of space, Gu Chen is filled with anticipation!
The red net of restrictions that was impossible to break through from the outside was now being easily eroded bit by bit by Gu Chen. It would probably only take a few more minutes for Gu Chen to break through this layer of restrictions and then completely open the third layer of restrictions.
But just as Gu Chen was concentrating on his attack on the restriction, he didn't notice that dark clouds were beginning to gather in the sky, one after another, stretching endlessly, shrouding the entire Dragon Spine Mountain Range in near darkness.
Compared to the scene at the Heaven and Earth Palace, the dark clouds and the scene that have been stirred up now are even more shocking!
Moreover, the oppressive atmosphere was much stronger than before!