Chapter 290

Immediately afterwards, the enormous lotus platform began to rotate and continued to sink downwards.

In the blink of an eye, a bottomless black hole, or rather an abyss, formed in the center of the platform.

"Crackling..."

Lines of pitch-black chains rose from the bottom of the abyss, clinging to the surrounding area.

The lake water also began to rise, submerging the platform and pouring into the central abyss.

Immediately afterwards, Shen Xing felt the barrier in front of him disappear.

"Hahaha, it's finally started! This time, I, the King, will challenge ten chains!"

A burst of hearty laughter rang out.

Immediately afterwards, a series of distinctive figures crossed the stone bridge and arrived at the platform covered by shallow water.

Shen Xing saw it.

A man, nine feet tall and clad in golden armor, wearing a crown with double pheasant feathers, strode forward, holding a three-meter-long halberd in his hand, his aura heavy as a mountain.

A stunningly beautiful young woman with white hair and a youthful face walked barefoot on the water, freezing the lake and causing snowflakes to fall wherever she went, as if an ice goddess had descended.

There was a half-elf beauty, dressed in a white gauze dress and wearing a vine crown. Her pointed ears trembled slightly, and her temperament was holy and otherworldly. Her stunning beauty made the lotus flowers in the sky pale in comparison.

Have...

A group of powerful and Transcendent figures gathered together.

Each of them possessed an extraordinary air, with a smile on their face, like chosen ones, standing there as the absolute protagonist.

Oh wait, there were two or three figures among them with a rather gloomy demeanor, wearing cloaks and concealing their true faces.

"Gentlemen, it's been a long time."

The tall man in golden armor said in a loud voice, "It has been five years since we last met. It seems that you have all become much stronger."

"You've indeed become much stronger." A handsome man with a paper fan in his hand chuckled, "It's a pity this is the Lotus Pond Secret Realm, where fighting is prohibited, otherwise I would really like to have a good fight with you all."

"My greatsword is itching for blood!" A man with blond hair and a wild, lion-like aura stepped forward, brandishing his greatsword. "I have already defeated all opponents of my level in this world. Now I only wish to kill you all, or be killed by you all!"

"Hehehe, Mad Blade Lord, don't be in such a hurry." A lively girl in a pink dress and a ponytail laughed, "Our world has been swallowed by the mist, and it will probably be completely merged with the Land of Mist soon."

"At that time, everyone will have plenty of opportunities to compete."

Shen Xing leaned back in her wheelchair, listening to their conversation without showing any emotion.

Even though these people spoke different languages, many of which were not even languages spoken on Blue Star, he could still understand them.

"Sigh... It's a pity it's always just the few of us. The lords from other worlds are too weak to get into the hidden level," the woman in the pink dress sighed.

"Illusory Butterfly Lord, you've got it wrong. Isn't there a newcomer this time?"

The atmosphere on the platform paused for a moment.

Then, all eyes fell on the figure sitting in the wheelchair.

"There really is a newcomer. She's quite good-looking, but unfortunately, she's disabled..." The woman in the pink dress sighed softly.

"I can't sense any life force in my legs, so I really can't stand up," another female lord, who appeared to be a white-robed priestess, said in a low voice.

The group of powerful individuals glanced at it, then quickly withdrew their gaze, losing interest.

"Alright, it's getting late. Everyone, begin to break your chains."

The man with the fan smiled and said, "Last time, Bai Xueji broke eight chains to take the top spot. I wonder who can break her record this time?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the legally-owned loli with white hair and a youthful face.

The other person blinked their long, icy eyelashes, their frosty white pupils indifferent, seemingly uninterested in anything around them.

"Haha, Bai Xueji's record is probably going to be hard to break. This time, everyone should try to break their own records instead."

"Absolutely! Eight chains are unheard of; they are simply beyond our capabilities."

"This time I'll try five chains to see if I can obtain a few Hundred-Year Lotus Seed."

"..."

Shen Xing stood to the side, looking completely bewildered, unable to understand what these guys were saying.

At that moment, one of the burly women, with a large knife at her waist, stepped forward.

"I'll go first!"

She reached the edge of the pit, grabbed three chains, and wrapped them around her arms.

Each chain felt incredibly heavy, causing the muscles in her arms to creak and her feet to leave deep dents in the shallow water.

The shrew took a deep breath and leaned back forcefully.

"Drink it!"

With a roar like a tiger's howl, his arm muscles bulged as if inflated, and his face instantly became ferocious.

She dragged the three chains backward step by step with the force of uprooting Willow, each step tightening the chains and making a 'creaking' sound.

Everyone watched intently.

After the chains reached their limit, a crisp "crack" was heard, and the three chains broke one after another.

"Boom!"

The heavy chains plunged into the abyss, creating a dull echo.

At the same time, a faint golden light appeared at the bottom, and several streams of light slowly floated up from the darkness.

The group saw a shimmering, ancient book and several beads that emitted a lustrous white light.

Before I could even take a closer look, the shrew grabbed me and stuffed me into her backpack.

"It seems the Butcher Woman Lord has had a good haul this time." The man with the fan gently shook his paper fan, a smile on his face.

"Indeed impressive, there's a golden skill book and a few lotus seeds that look quite old," another lord chimed in.

The shrew didn't respond to them. She simply took a deep breath, calmed her agitated state, and returned to the bridge alone.

Shen Xing noticed that her aura had noticeably weakened.

"My turn. I'll try four chains this time."

Another young lord stepped forward, came to the edge of the pit, and grasped all four chains in his hands at the same time.

He looked thin and weak, and his strength was nowhere near that of the previous shrew.

But when he pulled the chain hard, wisps of white energy flowed into the chain along his arm, and his face turned pale at a visible speed.

He gritted his teeth and continued dragging backward, more white energy merging into the chains.

After a few seconds of stalemate, a crisp snapping sound came from the bottom of the pit again, and all four chains broke at the same time.

A brighter golden light shone from the bottom of the pit, and several things slowly floated up from the darkness.

The group saw a lotus root as clear as white jade, a seed with a dark glow, and a few drops of pure dew.

The young lord's eyes lit up, and he quickly packed the spoils into his lord's space.

Shen Xing had already figured out what these people were doing.

"So this is the mechanism of the hidden level: by breaking different numbers of chains, you can obtain various rewards from the abyss below..."

"Isn't this just a pure welfare level?"

He felt a strange sensation, but also a secret sense of anticipation.

How many chains can I break, and what reward will I receive?

At this moment, one lord after another stepped forward and completed their challenges.

Some chose three sticks, some chose four sticks, and the highest number chosen was only five sticks.

Shen Xing wondered why these lords didn't choose more chains; wouldn't that have yielded more rewards?

But he soon found out.

At that moment, one of the lords, wearing a cloak and concealing his face under the hood, stepped forward and grasped eight chains in his hands.

Based on their previous conversation, eight seemed to be the highest record, which immediately attracted the attention of many lords.

As this man pulled the chains, his face turned ashen at a visible speed, his breath rapidly weakened, as if everything in his body was being absorbed by the chains.

"No, I don't want the reward anymore, let me go!"

He let out a terrified cry and turned to plead for help, "Help me! I'm being drained dry! I'm really going to die!"

However, no one took action, and they were unable to take action.

Just a few breaths later, the lord's aura completely dissipated, and then he was dragged into the abyss by chains.

Shen Xing's eyelids twitched violently as she read it.

What did this guy just say? He's really going to die?

Wasn't it said that you'd be teleported back to your territory after dying in the Lotus Pond Secret Realm?

Is it because this is a hidden level with different rules?

"Hmph, insatiable greed leads to his own demise." The lord in golden armor sneered, "Even we couldn't withstand the backlash from more than five chains, let alone him."

"Does she really think that just because Bai Xueji could break eight strands, she can too?"

The others shook their heads, showing little reaction to the lord's death, and continued their challenges as usual.

Soon, most of the 17 lords from various planes had completed the challenge.

Among them, the one who broke the most chains was the golden-armored lord, who broke seven chains in total.

At that moment, a great golden light shone brightly from the bottom of the abyss, and a giant sword of flowing water floated up from below, which looked to be at least of Epic quality.

This drew envy from everyone.

At that moment, the legally recognized loli with white hair, a youthful face, and bare feet stepped forward.

With light steps, she froze the lake water inch by inch until she reached the edge of the deep pit.

Then she raised her pale, slender arm, and chains wrapped around her automatically like pythons.

One, two, three... and finally ten chains in total, tightly wrapped around her slender arms.

The entire audience erupted in uproar, all eyes fixed on the petite figure in shock.

"Bai Xueji is actually going to challenge herself to ten this time! Is she that confident?"

"Incredible! With each additional five, the backlash increases exponentially."

Bai Xueji ignored the surrounding chatter and focused on the chains in her hands.

Streams of pure, chilling energy surged up the arm and into the chains, freezing the dark chains and even spreading down into the abyss.

Then, she slowly backed away.

As the chains tightened, Bai Xueji's pale face turned completely bloodless, and her petite body trembled slightly, clearly enduring unimaginable pressure.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the scene before them.