Chapter 292

It didn't break; instead, it was forcibly pulled up.

As he moved, it seemed as if some ancient being at the bottom of the abyss was awakening, and a desolate yet vast aura slowly rose up.

But Lord Shen had no time to pay attention to these things at the moment; instead, he used all his strength to hold off the chains.

"Damn it, even though there are no side effects, these hundred chains are really heavy. I can't even budge them when I activate my second form." He gritted his teeth, and the dragon scales on his body were so tight that they made a rubbing sound.

"No, we've come this far, there's no way we can give up now."

"Get up!"

A dense aura of shadow erupted from his body, his muscles bulged wildly, as if an endless stream of power was surging from his bones.

--Shadow Potential: Activates the primal power within, increasing strength by 200% and adding a 30% armor penetration effect to all physical attacks for the next 15 seconds.

At this moment, Shen Xing, whose strength had surged, exerted his strength again, dragging the chains and moving step by step.

"Boom! Boom!"

The tremors grew more and more intense, and even the lords on the stone bridges were losing their footing.

As Shen Xing moved, the hundreds of chains became increasingly taut, and cracks even appeared on them.

After a few seconds of stalemate.

"Snap!"

A crisp cracking sound echoed throughout the entire secret realm.

Then, more locks broke.

"Snap! Snap, snap!"

In the blink of an eye, all the hundreds of chains snapped, falling into the abyss like broken pythons.

At this moment, the entire Lotus Pond Secret Realm seemed to fall into a brief silence.

The lake water stopped churning, the stone bridge stopped trembling, and even the sound of the wind disappeared.

Then, an unprecedented ray of light burst forth from the bottom of the abyss, transforming into a dazzling pillar of light that shot straight up to the dome of the Lotus Pond.

The entire world seemed to be illuminated.

Amidst the endless light, the crowd vaguely saw a majestic figure rise up and gradually disappear into the top of the Firmament.

Immediately afterwards, several items emitting a mysterious glow floated out from within.

There was a dazzling ball of light, within which the faint outline of ancient architecture could be seen; there was an old-fashioned seven-petaled Lotus Lantern, its wick flickering with a weak flame; and there were two bulging cloth bags...

Before they could examine it closely, a prompt appeared before their eyes.

[All lords have completed the challenge. The hidden level of the Lotus Pond Secret Realm is now closed, and teleportation is in progress...]

As the familiar dizzying sensation returned, the lords on the stone bridges suddenly came to their senses.

"Wait a moment!"

When the Bai Xueji spoke for the first time, her voice was as clear and crisp as ice and snow.

She seemed to want to rush off the platform, but was blocked by the light curtain on the stone bridge. She could only stare intently at the figure with wildly dancing black hair, as if trying to imprint it in her mind.

At this moment, Shen Xing also knew that he was about to be teleported out.

He reached out and scooped the flying treasures into his backpack.

[Obtained: Ancient Building - Lotus Pond (Legendary)]

[Obtained: Unknown Lotus Lantern *1]

[Obtained: 15 Thousand-Year Lotus Seed (Epic)]

[Received: 1000 Gold White Jade Lotus Seeds]

Before the notification ended, Shen Xing had even had time to check it before disappearing from the spot.

At the same time, the long-awaited notification appeared before the eyes of lords all over the world.

[Attention Pioneer! This 'Lotus Pond' dungeon has officially ended.]

[All rewards have been processed and credited to your personal inventory.]

At this moment, the number of posts on major forums exploded once again.

"666! It's finally settled! I thought there wouldn't be any rewards this time, turns out we had to wait until everyone came out of the dungeon!"

"Wow, this Shen Xing has some serious influence, making players all over the world wait for him."

"Isn't that a matter of prestige? After all, it's a hidden level, and the first player to enter in so many years, it's normal to wait a while."

"I really want to know what he encountered on the 6th floor, what it's like inside?"

"I'd also like to know if Boss Shen Xing is here. Come out and say something, satisfy our curiosity."

"A petition with ten thousand signatures begs, urging Boss Shen Xing to reveal the entry requirements for the sixth level!!!"

"..."

Various discussion threads kept scrolling by, with many people speculating about what Shen Xing encountered on the sixth floor and the various conditions for entering.

This hidden level has certainly piqued the curiosity of players worldwide.

Jiangcheng Anomaly Handling Bureau, meeting room.

"Buzzing... buzzing..."

For the past ten minutes or so, everyone's phones have been vibrating incessantly.

"Director... Director..." Jiang Rong picked up her phone from the table, her voice trembling, "So many people have sent messages asking what Shen Xing encountered on the sixth floor, and there's also information about several important figures..."

Zhang Yu rubbed his head and said helplessly, "Just tell them we don't know either, and tell them not to ask anymore."

"Oh, okay." Jiang Rong nodded and quickly replied to the message on her phone.

After a moment, she asked again, "They said could I ask Shen Xing about the requirements for entering the sixth floor?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, "Tell them that I can't give a definite answer to this matter, but I'll ask him tomorrow. Whether he wants to say it or not is his prerogative; no one can force him."

"Good."

Jiang Rong nodded slightly and quickly went to reply to those important figures.

The others in the conference room exchanged glances, strange smiles appearing on their faces.

Meanwhile, in the Mist World, at the heart of Shen Xing's territory.

It was the early hours of the morning, a time of transition between day and night, and the swirling black fog outside was gradually transforming into gray fog.

Beside the portal, powerful figures such as Leina, Hellscream, Onyxia stood in place, waiting anxiously.

They either furrowed their brows slightly or gripped their weapons tightly, appearing somewhat anxious and uneasy.

Just then, the vortex portal suddenly shone brightly and began to spin faster.

Everyone immediately looked up.

Under their gaze, a familiar figure slowly emerged.

A long black robe with dragon patterns, a handsome face, and that signature wheelchair.

"My lord!"

"Dragon Lord!"

The generals shouted in unison and surrounded him with concerned expressions.

Seeing their worried looks, especially Leina who was trembling slightly beside her, Shen Xing smiled and said, "I'm fine. I just went to a mysterious place, but I'm back now."

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Everyone worked hard last night, go back and get some rest," Shen Xing instructed.

"Yes!"

The generals responded solemnly, and then dispersed.

Only Leina came to his side and silently pushed the wheelchair.

At the same time, the vortex portal behind them slowly dissipated.

Shen Xing glanced at the system notification.

[Attention! The 'Lotus Pond Secret Realm' event has ended.]

[Based on your final challenge level, you will receive the following rewards: Rain and Dew Essence *2, Random Epic Gem *1, and Brilliant Boss Soul *1]

Looking at the huge pile of spoils in his backpack, Shen Xing couldn't help but smile.

Then, he turned to the red-haired mage beside him and asked with concern, "Leina, did you experience any discomfort after releasing that forbidden flame?"

Speaking of which, this person deserves a lot of credit for enabling us to enter the hidden level and obtain those rewards.

Without her final Cataclysm, it would have been impossible to kill twenty Overlord Rank water dragons and fulfill the prerequisite.

Leina sensed it for a moment and replied softly, "Aside from a slight depletion of magic power, I feel no discomfort."

"That's good." Shen Xing nodded.

Then, she changed the subject. "My lord, do you know why I didn't fall into a coma or sleep when I unleashed [Cataclysm] this time?"

"Why... I really don't know."

"Because you recently helped me clear the fire within my body and absorb a lot of excess energy, I won't hurt myself when releasing this forbidden fire as I did before."

"So... could we talk more in the future?"

She pleaded earnestly.

Shen Xing looked at him strangely; it was the first time he had ever heard such a statement.

Can doing this kind of thing really improve one's physical condition?

I'm not well-educated, so don't try to fool me.

However, since he could help his subordinates, he, as the lord, naturally felt it was his duty.

"I understand. I'll try to interact with you more in the future," Shen Xing said somewhat awkwardly.

"Thank you, Lord!" Leina said happily, a glint of triumph flashing in her eyes.