Chapter 51: Hidden Exam Question
Yun Jiao followed the steps downward and entered, only to discover that the surroundings were pitch-black and filled with a bone-chilling cold. But unlike the deathly cold aura that came from the malicious ghosts she had encountered before, this place’s chill carried a violent and ferocious edge.
She hadn’t walked more than ten meters when darkness completely swallowed her sight. Yun Jiao had no choice but to pull out one of the talisman papers the old man had drawn for her. With a small motion, the talisman flared to life, glowing white and illuminating the space around her.
Only then did she continue forward. The passageway wasn’t wide; it twisted downward endlessly, its end invisible. Along the way, formations filled every corner. Unlike the playful, low-level formations inside the main hall, these were all genuine killing arrays of profound grade, some even layered in complex multi-tiered designs.
The further she went, the more she regretted being so careless during the first exam. This was what an exam was supposed to be like. Thinking back, the test paper she had filled out earlier was practically a joke. For the first time, Yun Jiao deeply reflected on her own attitude—she had underestimated the examination far too much.
She continued down, step by step, heading toward the heart of the formations. Gradually, the icy cold faded away, but the violent aura grew heavier. The air grew hotter and hotter, as if winter had suddenly turned into summer. Faintly, she thought she could even smell a trace of something metallic and foul.
After about ten more minutes, the ground leveled out and stopped sloping downward. The space widened, and the heat pressed against her like a living thing. At last, her way was blocked by a great door. From behind it came the faint sound of something flowing.
It was sealed by multiple overlapping formations. Yun Jiao frowned slightly and studied the door carefully. After about five minutes, she cracked the formations one by one.
With a creaking sound, the door swung open. Bright red light flooded out, illuminating the passage she had come through. The scorching heat surged into every corner.
Yun Jiao squinted against the glare. Looking closely, she found herself facing a vast cavern of molten lava—like the mouth of a volcano. Massive iron chains, thicker than a person’s torso, crisscrossed everywhere. At the very center, on a rocky platform surrounded by lava, countless chains wove together to form a gigantic cocoon.