Chapter 653 - 660: Trap

The Stone Man vanished in a matter of moments.

Song Wanning, however, paid it no mind, as she had already been pulled into a peculiar place.

A strange tunnel lay before her, filled with a light so dazzling it was hard to keep her eyes open.

Complex symbols flashed all along the sides of the tunnel, pulsing in response to one another and creating a profound sense of mystery.

Song Wanning could only crack her eyes open a sliver. Her body was being pulled forward automatically, completely beyond her control.

She could make out a few of the strange symbols, but she had no idea what they were for.

She even compared them to the special symbols she knew, but found no resemblance.

This was a domain entirely unknown to Song Wanning.

Time flew by. Song Wanning continued to hurtle through the tunnel at incredible speed, but the end was nowhere in sight.

At times, Song Wanning even suspected she was just treading in place.

Yet she remained unable to control her body, forced to passively continue onward.

Finally, just as she began to think she was trapped in some bizarre loop, an exit appeared in the tunnel ahead.

But the exit... unlike the brilliantly lit tunnel, was utterly pitch-black.

THUD—

Song Wanning’s body tumbled out uncontrollably. A powerful gravitational force pulled at her, and she slammed onto the ground.

HISS—

The sudden sensation of weightlessness as she fell was deeply unsettling.

She scrambled to her feet, only to discover with a shock that the Spiritual Energy inside her was sealed.

Song Wanning’s expression fell. She immediately tried to access her other powers, but the result was the same.

With no other choice, she tried to call upon the trace amount of Immortal Qi left in her body. The restraints binding her vanished in an instant.

’In other words,’ she thought, ’this world has some kind of seal, but it can’t suppress Immortal Qi.’

Song Wanning felt a wave of relief. She didn’t have much Immortal Qi, but it was enough to handle emergencies.

She withdrew the Immortal Qi, returning to her "mortal" state.

She looked up. The world around her was pitch-black; she couldn’t see a thing.

She summoned her Divine Nether Profound Fire for light.

But it only illuminated a radius of about ten meters. Anything beyond that remained shrouded in darkness.

Song Wanning frowned. ’Where am I?’

"Sister, the Yin Qi here is incredibly dense, but it’s also mixed with some kind of Demonic Qi."

the Dragon Spirit whispered. "I don’t like it at all. I keep getting the feeling that something malicious is watching us."

"Right, I feel it too. Something’s not right."

The Golden Dragon Sword nodded in agreement. "Sister, don’t you think this place is even more unsettling than the Netherworld?"

The Yin Qi in the Netherworld was extremely dense, yet they had never felt like this there. It was clear they had arrived somewhere terrible.

"This place is strange indeed."

Song Wanning nodded, her expression growing grave.

’I thought this was the Heavenly Dao’s guidance, but now that I’m here, it feels like I’ve walked into a trap.’

’It’s as if I was deliberately lured here...’

"Sister, do you think they guided you here on purpose? You can’t use any of your powers here."

"If you didn’t have Immortal Qi, you’d be a lamb to the slaughter, wouldn’t you?"

The Golden Dragon Sword suddenly lowered its voice, whispering in astonishment by Song Wanning’s ear.

’Thinking about it that way, it all makes sense.’

’The collapse of the Spirit Realm... only Sister would believe such a prophecy.’

’Besides, if the entire Spirit Realm was collapsing, how could Wuyang City have been spared?’

’It’s obvious they calculated that Sister would pass through Wuyang City and laid this trap long in advance.’

’If that’s true, this is terrifying.’

’This whole plot was aimed at Song Wanning.’

"Sister, we have to get out of here! This place is dangerous!"

The Golden Dragon Sword was suddenly frantic, hating itself for not realizing sooner. If it had, it never would have let its sister walk into such a dangerous place.

The Dragon Spirit and the other little companions grew tense as well. They all gathered around Song Wanning, carefully protecting her.

Seeing her little companions’ nervous expressions, Song Wanning chuckled.

She comforted them in a low voice, "Don’t worry. Since the Heavenly Dao didn’t prevent me from coming, it must mean there’s a real chance to rebuild the world here!"

"Besides, my Immortal Qi is my trump card. Great reward requires great risk. I’m not turning back!"

Her eyes firm, she stared into the darkness, as if declaring war on the mastermind behind it all.

"Let’s go. I’m curious to see who’s been scheming against me all this time."

A vicious glint flashed in her eyes. ’To go to such lengths to lure me here... their ambitions must be grand.’

’They must be after my life!’

"Okay! And you have us! We’ll protect you, Sister!"

The little companions were united. They began to float around Song Wanning of their own accord, ever-watchful for any danger.

As they ventured deeper, Song Wanning felt the surrounding Demonic Qi grow increasingly dense.

She already had an inkling of what was going on, and her gaze sharpened.

The Demon that appeared when Song Que died had come out of nowhere.

Coupled with the fact that the wood spirits had once been plagued by Demons, she had long suspected that these creatures existed in some corner of the world.

These Demons were completely different from Demon Cultivators. They were mindless beasts, monsters completely controlled by their Heart Demons!

They were typically volatile and delighted in slaughter, their methods exceedingly cruel.

’For Demons like these, you kill them on sight!’

But even after walking for a long, long time, her surroundings remained pitch-black. She still couldn’t see anything clearly.

Not a single blade of grass grew on the ground. There were no insects, birds, or beasts to be found—not a single trace of life.

The unease in her heart grew. Just as Song Wanning was about to say something to her companions, a shadow shot toward them from the distance.

"Look out!"

She cried out a warning as the shadow closed in, materializing a short distance away.

Only then did she get a clear look. It was another Stone Man!

It still had a human head and a stone body, but this Stone Man’s eyes were brimming with Demonic Qi. A single glance told her it was mindless, merely a puppet under someone’s control.

RUMBLE—

The Stone Man was immense. Song Wanning barely reached its calves, looking tiny in comparison.

With her Spiritual Power sealed, she could only rely on the strength of her physical body.

’And I can’t even fly...’

Song Wanning leaped into the air and kicked at the Stone Man’s calf.

That was as high as she could reach.

The fact exasperated her, but her Immortal Qi was a last resort for life-or-death situations. She absolutely could not reveal it now.

’Even if things get dangerous, I have to hold back for now!’

"Let me!"

As Innate Spiritual Objects, the Golden Dragon Sword and the other little companions weren’t affected by the seal, so they immediately became the main fighting force.

They were all fired up, attacking the Stone Man with a vengeance.

They fought with desperate ferocity!

In the past, their sister had always been the one protecting them, leaving them with little to do.

Now that they had their chance, they were determined to prove their worth and absolutely would not let their sister be put in danger.