Starting with SSS-rank talent, I contracted the Forbidden Ferocity.

"Trying to steal it?"

"Leave your hand behind."

The Heavenly Tribulation Eye of Calamity and Heavenly Punishment fully opened.

Grayish-white lightning illuminated the old staircase.

The pale, giant hand that had emerged from between the two doors suddenly froze.

Lightning bolted onto its wrist.

But in the next instant, all thirty-seven shadow doors on the wall trembled simultaneously.

Thirty-seven smaller, pale hands emerged from the shadows of the trapped person.

They no longer catch people.

Instead, they all grabbed at the second lock.

Zhou Xuan's expression changed drastically.

"Don't try to cut it head-on!"

"These hands are tied to the shadows of the trapped people."

"If you cut off the giant hand, the shadow souls of all thirty-seven people will be dragged into the door!"

Lu Chenzhou tightened his grip on the knife.

"It used people as ropes."

The broken body, depicted by the door mark, stands at the end of the stairs, a smile appearing on its cracked face.

"Weren't you going to save someone?"

"Slay!"

"I'll see if you cut off my hand first."

"Let's save lives first."

Shen Ye glanced at the thirty-seven shadow gates on the wall.

Those trapped still had their eyes closed.

But the shadows beneath their feet had been distorted by the pale hands.

Once the shadow is torn off, even if a person is alive, they will become an empty shell.

The system notification light appears.

[A lock-picking man has been detected.]

[Source: The extended will of the First Gate of Tianyuan.]

[Status: Guided by thirty-seven shadow souls.]

[Note: If the main body is forcibly severed, the Shadow Soul has an 81% chance of being destroyed.]

[Tip: Stabilize the shadow first, then strike with your hand.]

Shen Ye's voice was cold.

"Zhou Xuan".

Zhou Xuan gritted his teeth and said:

"The positions of the thirty-seven shadow gates have been constantly changing."

"I can place an order, but it will take time."

Shen Ye asked:

"how long?"

"Ten breaths."

Shen Ye said:

"Three breaths."

Zhou Xuan's eyelids twitched.

"You're really good at bargaining."

Lu Chenzhou took a step forward.

The Old Night King's sword was drawn.

"I helped him stall for three breaths."

After he finished speaking, he turned the blade and slashed directly at the knocking sound in the stairwell.

It wasn't a hand-chopping.

It wasn't a gate-cutting operation either.

Instead, it was the sound of each "thud" as it was struck.

The blade flashed.

The knocking rhythm of the thirty-seven shadow gates was abruptly disrupted.

Lu Chenzhou let out a muffled groan.

The old, bloody wound on his chest reopened.

But he did not back down.

"Zhou Xuan!"

Zhou Xuan formed hand seals simultaneously.

Thirty-seven array needles flew out from the sleeve.

Outside formations are not recognized here.

Then he wouldn't need the outer formation.

He raised his hand and grabbed the black and white light emanating from the second lock.

"Using a lock as an eye."

"Fix the shadow and return to your body!"

Thirty-seven array needles fell into thirty-seven shadows on the wall.

Each one was nailed to the boundary between the shadow gate and the shadow of the person.

The trapped person's shadow jolted violently.

The part that was originally stretched out by the pale palm was forcibly shrunk back by half an inch.

The smile on the figurative face of the door mark disappeared.

"Do you dare use the second lock to lock my hands from the inside?"

Shen Ye said:

"Too slow to react."

He took a step forward and reached out to grab the second lock.

The moment the black and white interlocking lock came into his hand, Shen Ye's vision went black.

Rental housing.

Awakening Square.

Old friend.

Night Feather hatches.

Two memories rushed in at the same time.

Someone on the left called him back.

Someone on the right called out to him to stay.

The door was pushed open from both sides at the same time.

But Shen Ye simply tightened his grip on the second lock.

The black gold king in the palm lowers blood pressure.

"Shut up, all of you."

The myriad beast divine patterns lit up.

The sounds from both sides were simultaneously suppressed.

A system notification sounded.

[The host has accessed the second lock.]

[Dual coordinate system stable.]

Should the Beast King's Contract be used in place of the second lock?

[Risk: The first gate scar in the host's body deepens.]

[Benefit: Old City Rifts can be relocked.]

Shen Ye said:

"Nominee holder".

The second lock suddenly shuddered.

Black and white light followed Shen Ye's arm and etched into the cracks of the Throne of Ten Thousand Beasts.

Night feathers hum softly.

The shadow of the candlestick.

Longyuan treads the earth.

Calamity and lightning pressed down on his wrist.

Guixu opened its mouth and bit the path behind that pale giant hand.

"Gotcha."

"It's going to run away."

Shen Ye looked up.

"Three breaths have passed."

Zhou Xuan's face was pale, and all thirty-seven array needles lit up.

"The figure has stabilized!"

Lu Chenzhou slashed away the last knock with a single blow, and a thin crack appeared on the Old Night King Blade.

"cut."

The pale giant hand finally panicked.

It suddenly contracted, trying to pull the second lock back between the two doors.

Shen Ye gripped the lock, and raised his sword with his other hand.

The power of the five beasts simultaneously flowed into the sword.

Night Feather Black Sun Netherfire sealed the lines on the back of his hand.

The shadow of the giant hand was locked in by the nine-year-old candle.

Longyuan grabbed the giant finger joint with both arms and dragged it outwards with all his might.

The King of Calamity's Eye Lock pinned his wrist.

Guixu bit off its escape route.

Shen Ye's sword blade fell.

"Leave your hand behind."

Ten Thousand Beasts Seal the Gate!

The black and gold sword light swept across the pale giant hand's wrist.

Click!

The entire giant hand was severed at the wrist.

The thirty-seven small hands shattered simultaneously, but they did not take away any of the shadow souls.

The trapped person's shadow was pulled back to their feet by the array needles.

The screen doors on the wall closed one after another.

The door mark materializes and emits a sharp whistle.

"Shen Ye!"

Shen Ye did not stop.

He swung his sword again, aiming at the last line of the door at the feet of the door-marked figure.

"You should shut up too."

The sword light fell.

The body, which resembles the door mark, is completely torn apart.

That face, identical to Shen Ye's, regained a moment of weariness before crumbling.

Like a severed part of an old life, finally letting go through the door.

It whispered:

"Don't open the door..."

"I'll turn back for you."

The sound faded away.

The door mark materialized into black and white light spots, merging into the second lock.

A system notification sounded.

The hand that snatched the lock has been severed.

The spirits of the thirty-seven trapped individuals have stabilized.

The physical traces of the door have vanished.

[Second lock in progress...]

[The progress of transforming Old Jiangcheng into a shadowy city has slowed down: 42%...31%...18%...]

Building No. 13 shook violently.

The words "You should have come back" on the stairwell wall are peeling off line by line.

The door to the rental room on the left closed quietly.

The gate to the Awakening Plaza on the right also slowly closed.

Finally, only the second lock in Shen Ye's palm remained.

It no longer pulls on both sides.

Instead, it transformed into a black and white wedge pattern and fell to the bottom of the old staircase.

boom!

The entire shadow of the old Jiangcheng trembled at the same time.

outside the city.

Qin Wuji finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw countless shadow gates closing on the street.

"Did it work?"

Li Xuance looked towards Building No. 13.

"not yet."

Inside the old staircase.

The system notification light appeared again.

The second lock on the old city rift has been secured.

The countdown to the opening of the first rift of the Heavenly Abyss has been postponed.

[Current remaining time: 30 days.]

[WARNING: With the second lock secured, the location of the third lock has been revealed.]

[The third lock: the first door mark within the host's body.]

Shen Ye looked down at his chest.

There came a soft knock on the door.

thump.

Lu Chenzhou's expression changed slightly.

Zhou Xuan also suddenly looked at him.

The second sound rang out.

thump.

Gui Xu leaned on Shen Ye's shoulder, her voice very low.

"Not outside."

"Inside you."

Third tone.

thump.

Between the myriad beast divine patterns on Shen Ye's chest, an extremely thin gray-white door mark slowly lit up.

Behind the door, a voice chuckled close to his heart.

"The third lock."

"I've found you."