You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Judging from its layout, atmosphere, and even the materials used, this space before us strongly resembles a meticulously crafted, artificially arranged "self-refining furnace"!

Chen Yang's heart skipped a beat, and his gaze swept over the charred bones once more.

"You mean... these skeletons were materials used by the owner of this 'Refining Furnace' for 'alchemy'? He refined other cultivators to improve himself?"

"Probably."

Li Rou's tone was heavy.

"Moreover, judging from the number and distribution of these skeletons, this person was definitely not a kind person, and his methods were extremely cruel and vicious. To be able to set up a 'self-refining furnace' of such a scale, his cultivation level in life was probably... at least at the Tribulation Transcending stage, or even higher!"

Seeing Chen Yang's changing expression and silence, Liu Piaopiao couldn't help but ask.

"Brother Chen, have you discovered something?"

Chen Yang took a deep breath of the scorching air and briefly told Liu Piaopiao about Li Rou's speculation, omitting Li Rou's presence and only saying that it was his own judgment.

Liu Piaopiao's face turned pale as she listened. Looking at the "treasures" and skeletons around her, she felt no joy, only deep fear.

"Using people to refine pills? This...this is terrifying!"

"So we're... right here in this devil's alchemy furnace? Will we be refined as well?"

"calm."

Chen Yang pressed down on her shoulders, trying to give her some strength.

"The furnace master may have already perished or left. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been completely unresponsive when we entered. The problem now is, how do we leave this 'furnace'?"

"right!

We must get out!

Liu Piaopiao forced herself to calm down.

"I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place forever, getting roasted or turning into another pile of bones!"

The two rallied and began searching the surrounding area more systematically for possible exits or clues.

This time, they were no longer fooled by the "treasures," but instead focused on checking for any unusual patterns or mechanisms near the skeletons, inside the alchemy furnace, and on the ground.

About half an hour later, Liu Piaopiao suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted with a hint of excitement.

"Brother Chen! Look over there! It looks like... there's an altar! And something that looks like a teleportation array!"

Chen Yang looked in the direction of the sound and, sure enough, there was a relatively open area about a hundred feet away.

There stood a square altar, about ten feet high, made of some kind of black rock, its surface covered with dense, illegible dark red inscriptions.

Not far from the altar, on the ground, there was a circular pattern about two zhang in diameter, with complex array patterns outlined in silver-white metal—that was the style of a teleportation array commonly seen in the cultivation world!

"Walk!

Let's go take a look!

Chen Yang perked up and walked quickly with Liu Piaopiao toward the altar and teleportation array.

Soon, the two arrived at the altar. The altar was ancient and mysterious, exuding an aura of vicissitude and oppression. The inscriptions on it were like scribbles, completely incomprehensible.

As for the teleportation array… after carefully examining it, their hearts sank.

Although the main array pattern of the teleportation array was intact, several key core rune nodes that provided energy and positioning had clearly been destroyed by human force! There were also some broken fragments of grooves that might have been inlaid with spirit stones scattered around the edges.

The entire teleportation array is currently just an empty shell, completely incapable of being activated or operated!
"This... the teleportation array has been destroyed?!"

Liu Piaopiao cried out, the flame of hope that had just ignited in her eyes instantly extinguished, replaced by a deeper despair.

"How could this happen?! Who did this?!"

Isn't this going to trap us here completely?!

Chen Yang's expression was also very unpleasant.

He crouched down and carefully examined the signs of damage, discovering that the damage seemed to have occurred a very long time ago, and the marks had long since merged with the formation itself.

"It seems that the person who set up this place, or the person who came in later, did not want anyone to be able to leave easily through this teleportation array."

Chen Yang stood up, his voice low.

"Then what do we do?"

Liu Piaopiao slumped to the ground, feeling the scorching air around her becoming even more unbearable. She was almost completely drained of sweat, and her lips were cracked and bleeding.

"Is this really all we can do but wait to die here, or... turn into those bones?"

"Don't give up."

Chen Yang also felt a wave of fatigue and heat, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"If people can be teleported in, there must be a way out."

Although this teleportation array is destroyed, it might not be the only exit. Let's go check that altar again.

The two walked toward the black altar. Apart from the incomprehensible inscriptions, the altar had a smooth surface, without any buttons, grooves, or other obvious mechanisms.

They walked around the altar several times, even trying to infuse their magic into the inscriptions or carefully scan every inch with their divine sense, but still there was no reaction.

"There doesn't seem to be anything special about this place."

Liu Piaopiao shook her head in disappointment.

"It's just a stone platform with words carved on it. Are we really going to be trapped and die in this endless, godforsaken place?"

Chen Yang did not answer. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to communicate with Li Rou again, but Li Rou seemed to have fallen into a deeper silence due to the previous exhaustion and the special suppression of this space, and did not respond.

He opened his eyes and looked at the seemingly unchanging dark red scene around him, as well as the hazy "horizon" in the distance, and a sense of unease rose in his heart.

But he quickly suppressed his emotions and said to Liu Piaopiao.

"Piaopiao, have you noticed another problem?"

"What's the problem?"

"We were clearly teleported into a tower. Theoretically, this space should have boundaries, at least in a room or mezzanine at the top of the tower. But what we see is a strange world that seems to have no end."

This doesn't make sense.

Chen Yang analyzed.

"Unless... the 'scene' we see is not real at all. Or, the space here has been greatly distorted and expanded."

Liu Piaopiao was taken aback, then suddenly realized.

"You mean... an illusion? A mirage?"

"possible."

Chen Yang nodded. "But my Yin General's perception should have a certain resistance to illusions and ghostly tricks, yet I can't sense any obvious illusion fluctuations here."

More likely... it's a 'real illusionary realm' created by a highly sophisticated spatial folding or array. We might have been circling within a fixed area, simply being misled.

"Then... what should we do? How can we find the real border or exit?"

Liu Piaopiao felt a glimmer of hope rekindled.

Chen Yang thought for a moment and then said.

“We choose a direction, mark it, and then move forward in a straight line to see if we will return to the starting point or encounter an insurmountable ‘wall’.”

At the same time, pay attention to any unusual energy fluctuations along the way.

"it is good!"

Liu Piaopiao agreed.

The two carved an arrow mark on a prominent rock next to the altar with their swords, then chose a direction at a 90-degree angle to the altar and began to move forward in a straight line.

To ensure he stayed on course, Chen Yang even used his sword energy to draw a shallow mark on the ground every so often as a reference line.

Time slipped away again amidst the scorching heat and tedium.

The two walked until their mouths were dry and they were drenched in sweat, their bodies rapidly depleting of moisture and magical energy.

The surrounding scenery seemed monotonous—dark red ground, scattered "treasures" and skeletons, and scorching, suffocating air.

After walking for about two hours, the outline of a building suddenly appeared on the previously empty "horizon" ahead.
It appeared to be... a city? But it was entirely black, as if built from coke, standing out starkly and eerily against the dark red background. Most of the city walls had collapsed, revealing the ruined streets and building skeletons within, equally desolate, devoid of any sign of life.

"Brother Chen! Look! There's a city!"

Liu Piaopiao pointed ahead, her voice carrying a hint of excitement at discovering a new continent, but more so a sense of vigilance and unease.

Chen Yang also saw the black city.

They did not return to the original altar, but instead arrived at a completely new area that had never been seen before.

"This city... appeared too abruptly."

Chen Yang stopped and stared at the lifeless black city.

"Something feels... off."

Liu Piaopiao also sensed that sense of disharmony and eeriness. The city was out of place with the surrounding environment of the "Refining Furnace," as if it were a foreign object forcibly embedded in.

"So...should we still go in?"

She hesitated.

Chen Yang looked at the black city, then at the seemingly endless dark red wilderness behind him, his eyes gradually hardening.

“Now that we’ve come here, we should go and see. Staying here and wandering aimlessly isn’t going to solve anything. Maybe the exit or a clue is in this city. Let’s go in, but be careful and stay close to me.”

Seeing Chen Yang's resolute attitude and reasonable analysis, Liu Piaopiao nodded, suppressed her unease, and followed closely behind Chen Yang.

The two walked toward the abandoned city, which was pitch black and resembled the remains of a giant beast.

As the distance closed, the details of the city became clearer. The city walls were thick but riddled with cracks and huge gaps, as if they had been blasted open by some terrible force. Most of the buildings inside the city were reduced to charred skeletons, with collapsed beams and pillars lying haphazardly.

In addition to the original scorching heat, there was a faint, decaying smell in the air, as if something had been charred and then cooled for millions of years.

What's even more chilling is that among those ruins, you can also see a lot of skeletons.

These skeletons were also charred black, but unlike the scattered skeletons outside, the skeletons inside the city seemed to be distributed in a more "regular" way, especially in some relatively open areas, resembling squares or crossroads.

But when they entered the city and walked a short distance along a main road, an even stranger sight appeared.

In the center of a relatively complete circular plaza paved with black stone slabs, a arena, also made of black stone and three feet above the ground, stands prominently.
The arena was about three zhang square, its surface engraved with dark red patterns similar in style to altar inscriptions but simpler. Scattered around the arena were several charred skeletons in various poses, as if they had been engaged in some kind of…fight?
And as they looked out over the street and into the distance, it seemed that there was one of these black stone arenas at irregular intervals!
They are like silent black chess pieces, scattered across the desolate ruins of this city.

"What...what are these arenas for?"

Looking at the arena and the surrounding skeletons, Liu Piaopiao felt a strong sense of unease.

"Did the people in this city used to fight every day?"

Chen Yang's gaze, however, was fixed on the dark red patterns on the surface of the arena.

Although the patterns were simple, they subtly gave him a sense of resonance with the energy of the surrounding space.

He said in a deep voice.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

These arenas... may be more than just places for fighting.

They are more like some kind of... array nodes, or... places of trial and sacrifice.

Upon hearing this, Liu Piaopiao's curiosity temporarily overcame her unease, and she pointed to the nearest arena and said.

“Brother Chen, I… I want to go up to that arena and see what’s going on. Maybe I can find some clues? See what’s interesting… uh, I mean, what’s strange about it.”

Chen Yang immediately shook his head, giving a serious reminder.

"No, this is too dangerous! Piaopiao, don't forget where we are!"
Every brick and tile here may conceal a deadly danger!
These arenas are especially strange; they shouldn't be touched lightly!

Seeing Chen Yang's seriousness, Liu Piaopiao shrank back, but still didn't quite take it seriously, muttering under her breath.

"It's just a stone platform... those bones around it might have been from someone who fell and died... I'll just take a look, I won't touch the patterns, okay?"

As she spoke, her feet moved involuntarily toward the edge of the nearest arena, as if she wanted to get closer to observe.

"Piao Piao! Don't go over there!"

Chen Yang shouted sternly and reached out to grab her.

Chen Yang's warning came too late.

Just as he shouted to stop her, Liu Piaopiao's toes had already lightly touched the edge of the black stone steps. The next instant, something unexpected happened!

Liu Piaopiao was suddenly pulled by an invisible rope, as if the stone steps beneath her feet had suddenly turned into a magnet with terrifying suction. Her delicate body stiffened abruptly, and then with a "thud," she was pulled directly by that force and heavily "stuck" to the center of the arena!

She lay there in an extremely awkward position, as if she were being suppressed by an invisible mountain. Not to mention getting up, even moving a finger became extremely difficult!

"what!

"Brother Chen! Help me!"

Liu Piaopiao only had time to let out a short cry of surprise before she felt an indescribable heavy pressure enveloping her. That feeling... was strikingly similar to the terrifying pressure from the level of rules that they had just experienced when they were teleported into this "Refining Furnace" space!
The intensity seemed to have decreased, but it still made her instantly have difficulty breathing, her blood and qi stagnate, and her internal organs feel like they were about to shift!
"Piao Piao!"

Chen Yang's pupils contracted, and he flashed to the edge of the arena like lightning, but dared not step onto the black stone steps rashly.

He saw Liu Piaopiao's face flushed red, veins bulging on her forehead, struggling desperately but to no avail. (End of Chapter)