Qi Bei walked down the stone stairs step by step, and suddenly, a soft light lit up above him. Those were crystal balls, each the size of a fist, embedded in the ceiling.
There were many of these crystal balls, forming intricate patterns that seemed to be vibration-sensitive, as every step Qi Bei took would cause a corresponding crystal ball to light up.
Millions of years. How long was that? The battle of gods had only happened a hundred thousand years ago.
The incredible lighting system of the goblin ruins, which had been in operation for at least a million years, left Qi Bei in awe. He couldn’t help but feel admiration from the bottom of his heart for these goblins who lived underground year-round and were short, ugly, and unattractive.
This was the peak of a civilization named after a race, and as Qi Bei found himself in it, he couldn’t help but feel small.
In the process of a civilization, one could be as insignificant as a speck of dust, but even a civilization in the long course of history was no more than a wave that surged and fell, no matter how high that wave might be.
And what was history in relation to the entire universe?
Qi Bei shook his head and didn’t think about it any further. He wasn’t a philosopher, and he didn’t want to ponder anything profound. As long as he lived a wonderful life in this world, that would be enough.
After descending ten thousand steps, Qi Bei finally reached the end.
Once again, he was astonished. Facing this vast ruin, even the gods would probably feel inexplicable wonder.
He had thought he would be stepping into an underground palace, but what he found was an underground world.
Giant pillars rose from the ground, too numerous to count, each reaching hundreds of feet high. Broad but dilapidated roads led in all directions, flanked by rows of collapsed, peculiar buildings.
What surprised Qi Bei the most was that there were no light sources like at the entrance, yet the underground world was as bright as day, with light seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
Qi Bei stared at everything in front of him in shock, speechless for a long time.
A huge demonic rat suddenly jumped out from the corner, which startled Qi Bei.
He walked forward and stopped in front of a metal object resembling a car from his past life. The thing was already in a state of disrepair, covered in dust, but the incredibly precise mechanical parts exposed made him stare in amazement. He found a crystal inlay hole similar to the goblin armor on it.
“Roar…” The Iron Armored Fire Dragon suddenly roared, and the animal shadows in the distance fled in panic.
This underground world had long become a paradise for demonic creatures and fierce beasts.
Further ahead, Qi Bei found several beast corpses that had been gnawed beyond recognition, with debris everywhere and several earth-element magic thorns piercing through the ground.
Xiao Jiu!
Qi Bei jumped onto the back of the Iron Armored Fire Dragon and began to rush forward.
………
“Hurry up.” Xiao Jiu held Yan Fangfei’s hand and ran desperately in the ruins of the underground world, with flames occasionally erupting from the ground cracks.
Behind the two of them was a large group of strange insects emitting flames.
Xiao Jiu gritted her teeth, unable to hold on any longer. Her magical power had been exhausted, and the attack and defense magical tools that had been sealed were also used up in the frequent battles before. Yan Fangfei had been very weak since using her Beast Spirit, and the Snow Lynx she had tamed had also been severely injured and returned to the Beast Ring.
“Xiao Jiu, let go of me, I really can’t run anymore.” Yan Fangfei said.
Xiao Jiu didn’t speak. She had the energy to speak, but it was better to run a few more steps than to speak.
The speed of the two became slower and slower, and several flame insects crawling ahead had climbed up the pants on their legs.
“Sizzle…”
The pants melted, and the flesh and skin were burned to emit a scent of meat.
Yan Fangfei felt a bit hopeless. If she had known she was going to be devoured by these flame insects, she would have rather let Xiao Jiu not save her at that time.
Just then, Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei suddenly stepped on nothing and fell down, followed by a group of flame insects that fell along with them.
“Bang!”
The two fell onto a hard surface, but unknowingly hit a trigger and the entrance they fell from suddenly closed.
At the same time, a soft light lit up at the top.
More than a hundred flame insects fell down with them, which was only a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands outside. However, both Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei had reached their limits and were not much stronger than ordinary people. These more than one hundred flame insects were enough to end their lives.
Seeing the flame insects rushing towards them, Yan Fangfei and Xiao Jiu retreated backwards.
As they retreated, Xiao Jiu suddenly found a glass box full of water behind her. She pushed Yan Fangfei aside and exerted her strength to overturn the water box onto the ground.
“Splash!”
As soon as the flame insects touched the water, they immediately emitted a faint white smoke and their flames were extinguished. They soon died and turned out to be almost transparent beetles.
Both Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei were exhausted and sat down on the ground at the same time.
After a while, Xiao Jiu regained some of her energy and began to look at the underground secret room that was built in the ruins of this underground world.
This secret room was made entirely of white metal and was filled with messy and peculiar tools, but nothing else seemed particularly special.
“Xiao Jiu, are you okay?” Yan Fangfei asked, propping herself up and looking concerned.
“I’m fine,” Xiao Jiu said lightly.
“Xiao Jiu, do you think we’ll die here?” Yan Fangfei asked, her beautiful eyes looking softly at Xiao Jiu.
“Perhaps,” Xiao Jiu’s eyebrows under her hood furrowed slightly. She already had a vague feeling of Yan Fangfei’s thoughts. But those were feelings were based on a huge misunderstanding.
“As long as I can die with my beloved, I shouldn’t feel any pain,” Yan Fangfei murmured, leaning her head on Xiao Jiu’s shoulder.
Xiao Jiu felt a little reluctant and said, “Actually, I…”
“Bang, bang, bang.”
Just as Xiao Jiu was about to tell Yan Fangfei that she was also a woman, there was suddenly a violent banging sound on the metal wall across the room. The metal wall was being pushed up by protrusions.
“Xiao Jiu, I’m so scared,” Yan Fangfei whispered in fear, curling up next to Xiao Jiu.
Xiao Jiu didn’t say anything. At this point, she didn’t have the strength to comfort her anymore.
“Bang.”
A sharp, long horn drilled out of the metal wall, and then it retracted. A pair of dark brown beast eyes looked in through the hole and showed a greedy and ferocious look upon seeing Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei.
“Bang, bang, bang.”
The hole was getting bigger and bigger, and Xiao Jiu’s heart was getting colder and colder.
“Master, it seems I won’t be able to see you again.” Xiao Jiu closed her eyes, but the image of Qi Bei’s bright smile appeared in her mind.
………
Qi Bei rode on the Iron Armored Fire Dragon, following the traces left behind by various clues. They had already traveled hundreds of miles into the underground world, and they had not yet reached the end of the underworld. It was unimaginable how the goblins managed to build it.
From the beast corpses and the scenes of destruction, Qi Bei could sense that the battles were becoming more and more fierce. His heart was tightening as he could see that Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei were probably at the end of their ropes.
At this point, the underground world was already full of ruins, cracks on the ground, occasional magma eruptions, and frighteningly high temperatures, like an apocalypse.
Suddenly, the Dragon Seal on Qi Bei’s palm fluctuated.
“Xiao Jiu.” Qi Bei immediately sensed that Xiao Jiu was nearby.
When he had treated her injuries, he had implanted a Dragon Mark in her body just in case, and now it was finally paying off. Following his intuition, Qi Bei ran like crazy.
Just then, Qi Bei saw thousands of fire insects gathered in front of him.
And Jinzi whimpered and came back with a shoe that was riddled with holes, belonging to its owner, Yan Fangfei.
Qi Bei’s heart ached, his eyes were about to burst, and he rushed forward with a roar.
The internal energy of the Divine Dragon Art shone on the black long sword, turning into a golden flame, swinging towards the dense swarm of fire insects.
“Boom.”
“Boom”
Groups of fire insects were shaken up and turned into ashes. The Iron Armored Fire Dragon spewed flames, killing the swarms. The flames on the insects were ordinary flames and their bodies were actually extremely fragile. However, when millions or tens of millions of them gathered together, their power became extremely terrifying.
But when faced with beings like Qi Bei and the Iron Armored Fire Dragon, they only had the fate of being slaughtered.
Soon, the swarm of insects began to disperse after countless deaths.
Qi Bei looked around but did not find the presence of Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei, nor any trace of their bodies.
“Did I make a mistake?” Qi Bei touched the Dragon Seal on his palm and felt that Xiao Jiu should be nearby.
At this moment, in the secret room under Qi Bei’s feet, the hole in the metal wall had already cracked open wide enough for half of the fierce beast to squeeze in. The beast emitted a chilling aura and its black and rough fur had a flickering bluish light.
“Woo…woo…” The fierce beast let out a howl like a wolf and crawled forward with its front legs, leaving deep marks on the ground.
Yan Fangfei struggled to stand up and walked towards the fierce beast with her sword in hand, aiming for its eyes and stabbing it hard. But at this moment, the beast’s head tilted, and the tip of the sword pierced its scalp without causing any harm. Instead, a strong rebound force caused Yan Fangfei to fly out.
The fierce beast struggled to squeeze in, and finally its entire body gradually wriggled in.
“Master, goodbye forever.” Xiao Jiu sighed lightly. Her closed heart suddenly opened a crack before she died, containing her many complex but genuine emotions, some of which she herself may not understand.
Qi Bei had already searched for nearly a hundred meters ahead, but he found nothing.
Suddenly, his heart trembled, the Dragon Seal became hotter and the feeling grew stronger.
Qi Bei turned around, his body leaping like lightning, and his hands instantly transformed into dragon claws as he fiercely scratched the ground.
Qi Bei walked down the stone stairs step by step, and suddenly, a soft light lit up above him. Those were crystal balls, each the size of a fist, embedded in the ceiling.
There were many of these crystal balls, forming intricate patterns that seemed to be vibration-sensitive, as every step Qi Bei took would cause a corresponding crystal ball to light up.
Millions of years. How long was that? The battle of gods had only happened a hundred thousand years ago.
The incredible lighting system of the goblin ruins, which had been in operation for at least a million years, left Qi Bei in awe. He couldn’t help but feel admiration from the bottom of his heart for these goblins who lived underground year-round and were short, ugly, and unattractive.
This was the peak of a civilization named after a race, and as Qi Bei found himself in it, he couldn’t help but feel small.
In the process of a civilization, one could be as insignificant as a speck of dust, but even a civilization in the long course of history was no more than a wave that surged and fell, no matter how high that wave might be.
And what was history in relation to the entire universe?
Qi Bei shook his head and didn’t think about it any further. He wasn’t a philosopher, and he didn’t want to ponder anything profound. As long as he lived a wonderful life in this world, that would be enough.
After descending ten thousand steps, Qi Bei finally reached the end.
Once again, he was astonished. Facing this vast ruin, even the gods would probably feel inexplicable wonder.
He had thought he would be stepping into an underground palace, but what he found was an underground world.
Giant pillars rose from the ground, too numerous to count, each reaching hundreds of feet high. Broad but dilapidated roads led in all directions, flanked by rows of collapsed, peculiar buildings.
What surprised Qi Bei the most was that there were no light sources like at the entrance, yet the underground world was as bright as day, with light seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
Qi Bei stared at everything in front of him in shock, speechless for a long time.
A huge demonic rat suddenly jumped out from the corner, which startled Qi Bei.
He walked forward and stopped in front of a metal object resembling a car from his past life. The thing was already in a state of disrepair, covered in dust, but the incredibly precise mechanical parts exposed made him stare in amazement. He found a crystal inlay hole similar to the goblin armor on it.
“Roar…” The Iron Armored Fire Dragon suddenly roared, and the animal shadows in the distance fled in panic.
This underground world had long become a paradise for demonic creatures and fierce beasts.
Further ahead, Qi Bei found several beast corpses that had been gnawed beyond recognition, with debris everywhere and several earth-element magic thorns piercing through the ground.
Xiao Jiu!
Qi Bei jumped onto the back of the Iron Armored Fire Dragon and began to rush forward.
………
“Hurry up.” Xiao Jiu held Yan Fangfei’s hand and ran desperately in the ruins of the underground world, with flames occasionally erupting from the ground cracks.
Behind the two of them was a large group of strange insects emitting flames.
Xiao Jiu gritted her teeth, unable to hold on any longer. Her magical power had been exhausted, and the attack and defense magical tools that had been sealed were also used up in the frequent battles before. Yan Fangfei had been very weak since using her Beast Spirit, and the Snow Lynx she had tamed had also been severely injured and returned to the Beast Ring.
“Xiao Jiu, let go of me, I really can’t run anymore.” Yan Fangfei said.
Xiao Jiu didn’t speak. She had the energy to speak, but it was better to run a few more steps than to speak.
The speed of the two became slower and slower, and several flame insects crawling ahead had climbed up the pants on their legs.
“Sizzle…”
The pants melted, and the flesh and skin were burned to emit a scent of meat.
Yan Fangfei felt a bit hopeless. If she had known she was going to be devoured by these flame insects, she would have rather let Xiao Jiu not save her at that time.
Just then, Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei suddenly stepped on nothing and fell down, followed by a group of flame insects that fell along with them.
“Bang!”
The two fell onto a hard surface, but unknowingly hit a trigger and the entrance they fell from suddenly closed.
At the same time, a soft light lit up at the top.
More than a hundred flame insects fell down with them, which was only a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands outside. However, both Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei had reached their limits and were not much stronger than ordinary people. These more than one hundred flame insects were enough to end their lives.
Seeing the flame insects rushing towards them, Yan Fangfei and Xiao Jiu retreated backwards.
As they retreated, Xiao Jiu suddenly found a glass box full of water behind her. She pushed Yan Fangfei aside and exerted her strength to overturn the water box onto the ground.
“Splash!”
As soon as the flame insects touched the water, they immediately emitted a faint white smoke and their flames were extinguished. They soon died and turned out to be almost transparent beetles.
Both Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei were exhausted and sat down on the ground at the same time.
After a while, Xiao Jiu regained some of her energy and began to look at the underground secret room that was built in the ruins of this underground world.
This secret room was made entirely of white metal and was filled with messy and peculiar tools, but nothing else seemed particularly special.
“Xiao Jiu, are you okay?” Yan Fangfei asked, propping herself up and looking concerned.
“I’m fine,” Xiao Jiu said lightly.
“Xiao Jiu, do you think we’ll die here?” Yan Fangfei asked, her beautiful eyes looking softly at Xiao Jiu.
“Perhaps,” Xiao Jiu’s eyebrows under her hood furrowed slightly. She already had a vague feeling of Yan Fangfei’s thoughts. But those were feelings were based on a huge misunderstanding.
“As long as I can die with my beloved, I shouldn’t feel any pain,” Yan Fangfei murmured, leaning her head on Xiao Jiu’s shoulder.
Xiao Jiu felt a little reluctant and said, “Actually, I…”
“Bang, bang, bang.”
Just as Xiao Jiu was about to tell Yan Fangfei that she was also a woman, there was suddenly a violent banging sound on the metal wall across the room. The metal wall was being pushed up by protrusions.
“Xiao Jiu, I’m so scared,” Yan Fangfei whispered in fear, curling up next to Xiao Jiu.
Xiao Jiu didn’t say anything. At this point, she didn’t have the strength to comfort her anymore.
“Bang.”
A sharp, long horn drilled out of the metal wall, and then it retracted. A pair of dark brown beast eyes looked in through the hole and showed a greedy and ferocious look upon seeing Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei.
“Bang, bang, bang.”
The hole was getting bigger and bigger, and Xiao Jiu’s heart was getting colder and colder.
“Master, it seems I won’t be able to see you again.” Xiao Jiu closed her eyes, but the image of Qi Bei’s bright smile appeared in her mind.
………
Qi Bei rode on the Iron Armored Fire Dragon, following the traces left behind by various clues. They had already traveled hundreds of miles into the underground world, and they had not yet reached the end of the underworld. It was unimaginable how the goblins managed to build it.
From the beast corpses and the scenes of destruction, Qi Bei could sense that the battles were becoming more and more fierce. His heart was tightening as he could see that Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei were probably at the end of their ropes.
At this point, the underground world was already full of ruins, cracks on the ground, occasional magma eruptions, and frighteningly high temperatures, like an apocalypse.
Suddenly, the Dragon Seal on Qi Bei’s palm fluctuated.
“Xiao Jiu.” Qi Bei immediately sensed that Xiao Jiu was nearby.
When he had treated her injuries, he had implanted a Dragon Mark in her body just in case, and now it was finally paying off. Following his intuition, Qi Bei ran like crazy.
Just then, Qi Bei saw thousands of fire insects gathered in front of him.
And Jinzi whimpered and came back with a shoe that was riddled with holes, belonging to its owner, Yan Fangfei.
Qi Bei’s heart ached, his eyes were about to burst, and he rushed forward with a roar.
The internal energy of the Divine Dragon Art shone on the black long sword, turning into a golden flame, swinging towards the dense swarm of fire insects.
“Boom.”
“Boom”
Groups of fire insects were shaken up and turned into ashes. The Iron Armored Fire Dragon spewed flames, killing the swarms. The flames on the insects were ordinary flames and their bodies were actually extremely fragile. However, when millions or tens of millions of them gathered together, their power became extremely terrifying.
But when faced with beings like Qi Bei and the Iron Armored Fire Dragon, they only had the fate of being slaughtered.
Soon, the swarm of insects began to disperse after countless deaths.
Qi Bei looked around but did not find the presence of Xiao Jiu and Yan Fangfei, nor any trace of their bodies.
“Did I make a mistake?” Qi Bei touched the Dragon Seal on his palm and felt that Xiao Jiu should be nearby.
At this moment, in the secret room under Qi Bei’s feet, the hole in the metal wall had already cracked open wide enough for half of the fierce beast to squeeze in. The beast emitted a chilling aura and its black and rough fur had a flickering bluish light.
“Woo…woo…” The fierce beast let out a howl like a wolf and crawled forward with its front legs, leaving deep marks on the ground.
Yan Fangfei struggled to stand up and walked towards the fierce beast with her sword in hand, aiming for its eyes and stabbing it hard. But at this moment, the beast’s head tilted, and the tip of the sword pierced its scalp without causing any harm. Instead, a strong rebound force caused Yan Fangfei to fly out.
The fierce beast struggled to squeeze in, and finally its entire body gradually wriggled in.
“Master, goodbye forever.” Xiao Jiu sighed lightly. Her closed heart suddenly opened a crack before she died, containing her many complex but genuine emotions, some of which she herself may not understand.
Qi Bei had already searched for nearly a hundred meters ahead, but he found nothing.
Suddenly, his heart trembled, the Dragon Seal became hotter and the feeling grew stronger.
Qi Bei turned around, his body leaping like lightning, and his hands instantly transformed into dragon claws as he fiercely scratched the ground.
