Chapter 371: Chapter 370: Terrifying Tunnel
"Are you sure it’s this one?" Following Changmao’s paw, Shen Haoran looked at the central Bronze Gate, feeling a little hesitant.
"Sure? Sure my ass! All thirty of these Bronze Gates look exactly the same, and the auras coming from them are identical too. How the hell is anyone supposed to know which path is safe? I just picked one at random. They’re all the same anyway!" Changmao said, looking utterly dejected. "I’m genuinely useless at scouting! Since all these Bronze Gates look identical, what’s inside is probably identical, too. What difference does it make which one we take?"
Hearing this, the corner of Shen Haoran’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. ’Looks like Changmao is really useless in this regard.’ With that thought, Shen Haoran rudely stuffed Changmao back into his clothes and fixed his gaze on the Bronze Gate before him. ’Changmao’s right. Since all these Bronze Gates are the same, it doesn’t matter which one I pick. I’ll trust Changmao just this once and take the middle gate.’
Shen Haoran placed his hands on the Bronze Gate and took a deep breath. The Spiritual Power in his body surged, and a terrifying force poured out, slowly pushing the gate open. A bottomless tunnel appeared before him.
Staring into the pitch-black tunnel, Shen Haoran could clearly feel a sinister, cold aura wafting out from within, making goosebumps break out on his skin. But since he had chosen this path, he would not back down. He then took a step forward and walked into the depths of the tunnel.
And just as Shen Haoran’s figure vanished, the gray sea of mist behind him began to churn. Two figures emerged from it, one right after the other. A closer look revealed them to be none other than Xue Shitian, ranked first on the Hidden Dragon List, and Jian Wushuang, ranked second.
"Xue Shitian, it seems your strength has improved again!" Jian Wushuang said as he stepped out of the mist, looking at the stone-faced Xue Shitian.
"You too," Xue Shitian replied without turning his head, walking toward the thirty Bronze Gates.
Seeing this, Jian Wushuang quickened his pace to catch up. When they arrived before the Bronze Gates and saw the middle one had been pushed open, both were somewhat astonished.
"Someone was actually faster than us?" Jian Wushuang found it a little hard to believe. Among all the Martial Artists who had entered the Divine Martial Realm this time, his and Xue Shitian’s strength could be said to be at the very pinnacle. Yet now, someone had gotten ahead of them!
"Who could it be? Ouyang Shaoyu?" Jian Wushuang asked, puzzled.
"It can’t be him," Xue Shitian said coldly. "With his temperament, he’d never get through the Mist Illusion Realm without a serious struggle."
"Then who is it? It couldn’t be that Nameless guy, could it?" Another person suddenly came to Jian Wushuang’s mind. He had watched the battle between Xue Shitian and Nameless before, so he knew how powerful Nameless was—definitely stronger than him. The only one who could have an edge over both him and Xue Shitian was Nameless!
"Nameless?" Hearing the name, Xue Shitian couldn’t stop a baleful aura from erupting from his body.
But just as they were speculating, a figure shot over from behind them. It was none other than Nameless, completely wrapped in a black robe.
After Nameless arrived, he glanced at the Bronze Gate that someone had already entered, a flash of surprise in his eyes. He then gave Xue Shitian and Jian Wushuang a brief, indifferent glance before casually picking another Bronze Gate and slipping inside.
"It’s not Nameless! Then who the hell is that guy?" Jian Wushuang was now even more bewildered.
"Who cares? We’ll find out soon enough!" Xue Shitian’s gaze was fixed coldly on Nameless’s disappearing back. Then, his figure flashed as he also picked a Bronze Gate and slipped inside. Not to be outdone, Jian Wushuang followed close behind.
After the three of them—Jian Wushuang, Xue Shitian, and Nameless—had vanished into their dark tunnels, another wave of Martial Artists emerged intermittently from the gray sea of mist. Before long, all thirty Bronze Gates were occupied. Those Martial Artists who hadn’t managed to secure a gate could only leave in disappointment...
Meanwhile, inside the pitch-black tunnel, Shen Haoran summoned a ball of fire to float before him, dispelling the surrounding darkness. With the new light, he began to survey his surroundings.
On either side of him were smooth stone walls, upon which were carved countless headless skeletons. They looked so lifelike they seemed real. The entire tunnel was deathly silent, and a sinister, terrifying aura emanated from its depths.
’What on earth is in here?’ Shen Haoran wondered, peering ahead. But beyond the darkness, there was nothing.
Shen Haoran walked forward slowly. He didn’t know how long or how far he had walked, but he hadn’t encountered anything. ’Could it be true, just as Changmao said? Is my luck so heaven-defying that I actually picked a tunnel with no danger?’
However, Shen Haoran’s heart was now on edge. The calmer it was, the more dangerous the tunnel seemed. He glanced at the walls on either side. In the faint firelight, the carvings gave off an oppressive and terrifying feeling.
Shen Haoran grew vigilant and moved forward cautiously. But as he took a step, an extremely dangerous aura came from above his head. Shen Haoran’s body instinctively ducked, and in the next moment, two large bone blades slashed past where his head had been, slicing off a few strands of his long hair. If he had been a step slower, he would have been decapitated.
After dodging the two bone blades, Shen Haoran’s body shot backward. When he looked up, he was stunned by what was happening before him.
At that moment, on the walls on either side of the tunnel, the carved headless skeletons began to distort. Their once-curled bodies stretched out, slowly transforming from flat to solid, from two-dimensional to three-dimensional!
RUMBLE...
An arm suddenly struggled out of the wall, like a limb bursting from a grave. But the scene before him was even more terrifying, more sinister, more shocking!
Following the first arm, countless more struggled out of the stone walls. Like stubborn weeds in a rainforest, they instantly filled the entire tunnel, creating what looked like a forest of arms. Even more terrifying, these arms were constantly struggling and swaying, creating an incredibly bizarre sight!
CRACK... CRACK... CRACK...
A moment later, a series of crisp, cracking sounds echoed through the tunnel. From the stone walls—first the arms, then the legs, and finally the entire bodies—headless skeletons struggled free one by one. In the dim firelight, they radiated an innate aura of despair and slaughter. The large bone blades in their hands pulsed with a faint, eerie glow, a truly horrifying sight.
"What in the world are these monsters?" Shen Haoran muttered, his gaze fixed on the tunnel now packed with headless skeletons...
