Please be my partner.

The left one is black, with a dark and ominous power surging in it, and just seeing it will send a wave of warnings through your heart; the right one is red, with a burning breath blowing in your face, as if even steel will be easily melted after entering it.

The surrounding treeman army formed a siege again, leaving them no time to think. After a slight hesitation, Vic headed towards the red area.

Mellen nodded slightly. Compared to the ominous feeling coming from the black area, the visible and tangible danger in the fire area was easier to deal with.

Amid the angry roars of the tree people, everyone broke through the last obstacle and entered the flame area.

After entering the flame area, everyone seemed to have crossed the barriers of the world. The environment and rules changed drastically. When they looked back, they saw that the area behind them had turned into a green light curtain, and they could no longer see the shadows of the tree people.

After waiting for a while, there was still no response, so they felt relieved.

Lucas said, "It seems that monsters cannot cross the area where they are located. This is good news."

Then, everyone began to divide the spoils.

Tiana took out all the green liquids she had collected, a total of 113 drops. According to her analysis, with the vitality contained in these green liquids, even if a legendary strongman was seriously injured, only one drop was needed to stabilize the injury. Taking three drops could greatly speed up the recovery of the injury. There was no need to take more, which would cause serious waste.

As agreed before, Tiana will take 60%, and Mellen and the others will each take 10%.

Of course, it doesn't have to be so evenly distributed. Everyone knows that the green liquid is of great significance to Tiana, and only it can bring out more effects, so each person only took 11 drops, leaving 69 drops for Tiana.

After distributing the harvest, they began to look around the current area.

What was before my eyes was a scene of charred black and red. The ground was made up of a charred black rock with an extremely hard texture. As for the red part, it was the lava rivers that could be seen everywhere.

At first glance, Melen thought he had come to the world of abyss, but there were no demons here.

Faced with this extreme fire environment, although Tiana would not be restrained, she also exuded disgust and urged everyone to move forward quickly and leave the area as soon as possible.

With caution and vigilance, everyone began to move forward.

Not long after they walked out, Xin Ke suddenly said, "The owner here is quite hospitable and seems ready to welcome us."

Lucas also said: "After scanning, there are traces of life in the lava river. Attention, there is a high-energy reaction ahead!"

A lava river about ten meters wide suddenly exploded in front of them, and dozens of dark red beetle-like creatures, about three meters long, wide and high, jumped out of it.

The eyes of these beetles are made of rubies, and the carapaces on their backs have dark patterns that are even deeper in color, through which flows the rich power of the fire element.

Seeing these beetles rushing towards them angrily, Melen laughed and said, "This doesn't look like a welcome to us, does it?"

Xin Ke smiled and said, "Of course, it's just that the way they express their enthusiasm is a little different."

The two of them teased each other, and the others looked like they were watching the fun.

It really proves the old saying that when you have no power, no matter how fierce you think you are, you will only be cute in the eyes of others.

Although these insects are quite powerful, they are only at the second level. They can survive in the lava river only because of their special innate body structure. They are not taken seriously by Melen and others at all.

Garuru differentiated into more than a dozen giant mechanical wolves and launched a beautiful hunt for the beetle. This was an elegant use of wolf pack tactics.

In less than a minute, dozens of beetles were hunted down.

Xin Ke stepped forward, transformed into a master dissector, and began to dismantle the beetle. After a moment, he paused, holding two rubies in his hands. He said, "These beetles look large, but their useful value is not very high. Their most valuable part is probably their eyes. These ruby-like eyes contain a strong fire element and can be used as an excellent alchemical item."

"I was originally very optimistic about the patterns on the backs of their shells, but unfortunately, those patterns seem to be derived from the rules of the current area and naturally disintegrate after the beetles die. In this case, even if we can research some new features, they will only be effective in this flame area, so there's no point in going to all this trouble."

While Xinko was dissecting the beetle, Lucas also started scanning and analyzing it. He added, "Although the beetle's body structure has adapted to the current environment, it still has many flaws. A higher-level beetle might be able to correct these flaws, which could lead to the creation of more valuable derivatives."

Xinke thought about it and agreed with what Lucas said.

After hearing what Xinke and Lucas said, Vic immediately made a decision: "Then let's explore this area a little bit. It would be best if we could find some legendary beetles to kill and see if we can get more rewards."

No one else had any objections, not even Tiana, who disliked the current environment. However, after hearing that they would have to stay in the fire area for a while, the latter's mind was in a state of slight fluctuation, as if she was... muttering?

The group continued to explore deeper. Although they decided to look for the legendary beetle in the current area, they would not stay for too long.

There are hundreds of areas in the entire Broken Land. Even if they plan their route, they still have to pass through more than ten areas. Unless the harvest is particularly rich, they don’t have time to stay in a single area for too long.

As they moved forward, Garuru and Spike dealt with the small groups of beetles they encountered along the way. Occasionally, they encountered a large group of them. In order to save time, Vic and the others would take turns to attack them.

When they came to a huge lava lake in the center of the area, they encountered the legendary beetle for the first time, which made them understand why they had never encountered it before.

Dense swarms of beetles crawled out of the lava lake like a tide. In a short period of time, ten legendary beetles appeared, and the number was still increasing. There were countless third-level beetles.

Vic said, "No wonder, all the legendary beetles are concentrated in the lava lakes. No wonder we didn't encounter them before."

Lucas said, "There must be some incredible treasures in the lava lake."

Xinke's eyes flickered as he smiled wryly, "There's no point in saying that. There are over two hundred Legendary Beetles in this lava lake, some of which are at the late Legendary stage, and some are even at the peak of the Legendary stage. Add to that the environmental impact, and we have no chance of success if we attack head-on."

Mellen nodded slightly and said thoughtfully, "Unless we are willing to spend time luring out those legendary beetles and killing them one by one. After all, these beetles don't seem to be very intelligent. A little trick should be enough, but it will probably take a long time."

Tiana's flower disc was shaking wildly. Although no specific information was transmitted, the resistance in her mental fluctuations was already very obvious.

Vic shook his head and said, "It's not worth it. Let's stick to the original plan and hunt a few legendary beetles and then leave."

Xin Ke laughed and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's finish this quickly!"

After he finished speaking, he pulled out threads of light from his hands and rushed towards the swarm of beetles.

Knowing that they would leave the fire area after this battle, Tiana became particularly active. Countless silver roots emerged from the ground and intertwined into a web, crushing large swarms of beetles and collecting their eyes.

Vic shook his head helplessly and immediately summoned crystal weapons to help. Lucas and Mellen's two dogs were not to be outdone and provided either close or long-range support.

Soon, a legendary beetle was disassembled by Xinke. What made everyone's eyes light up was that they actually saw a very regular dark red crystal the size of a baby's fist inside the legendary beetle.

"In stock!"

Xin Ke shouted, and a ray of light pulled the dark red crystal into his hand. His expression was delighted at first, then became suspicious. Finally, he shook his head and said, "This is the object containing rules that I need, but the rules within it only apply to this area. It's of average value. Let's go."

After hearing what Xinko said, everyone stopped hesitating and immediately changed direction to avoid the front of the beetle swarm and used a roundabout way to bypass the lava lake from the side.

However, Melen and his companions' behavior had obviously angered the beetles. The lava lake began to shake violently like a volcano about to erupt, and then even larger swarms of beetles gushed out, including dozens of legendary beetles.

Xin Ke exclaimed, "My goodness! This enthusiasm is a bit too much."

Vic glanced at Xinke unhappily and said, "Stop playing tricks and run!"

Although the scene before them was spectacular, it did not make them feel much of a sense of crisis. The reason they ran away was because they were sure that the gains would not be great and they were too lazy to waste time and energy fighting, so they were quite relaxed.

Fighting and retreating all the way, they soon reached the edge of the flame area. The interaction area ahead was still two...

One of them was filled with a gray atmosphere and seemed a little quiet, while the other was dancing with thunder and was full of destruction.

Tiana was in a state of distress. She had just experienced fire, and now she was about to endure the baptism of thunder?!

After a moment of thought, Vic looked towards the gray area and said, "I can sense the power of the earth in this area. It should be easier to navigate than the thunder area. Let's go this way."

Everyone had no objection, and Tiana raised her hand in agreement.

Under attack from the beetle swarm, they plunged into the gray area.

Chapter 264 Distorted Time and Space

"Huh!~ Finally out!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although the beetles could not cause much impact on them, being besieged by a dense swarm of beetles like a tide was not a friendly experience.

Vic and Lucas each handed a dark red crystal to Xinko. These were obtained when they killed the legendary beetles during the breakout. Together with the one in Xinko's hand, he now has a total of three.

Looking at the dark red crystal in his hand that had cracks due to leaving the flame area, Xinke shook his head helplessly, but it was still of some use to him, which was better than nothing.

Tiana also distributed the ruby eyes she collected along the way to everyone. Everyone got a few hundred, which was a good harvest.

Only then did they look around the current area. It was an entirely gray area, with tiny dust particles constantly falling from the sky, making the scenery in front of them extremely hazy.

These dust particles are condensed energy, and when they fall to the ground, they merge into the earth.

Melen and the others used their strength to protect themselves as soon as they came in to prevent the dust from falling on them.

Xinke's eyes flickered slightly. He removed the protective shield from his hands, letting the dust settle on them. After a moment, he said, "It is indeed the power of the earth, but it seems to have undergone some changes, and is also mixed with some other distorting forces. Direct contact will make our bodies and minds become increasingly 'heavy'. Other effects are currently unknown."

Vic nodded and said, "Let's go, let's do it as before."

After walking for a while, Mellen looked at the uneventful, unchanging surroundings and said, "It seems that determining direction is also a consideration in this area."

Tiana shook the flower disk and said, "Don't worry, I have released the flower demon to locate us and ensure that our direction of advancement remains unchanged."

An unknown amount of time had passed, but the surrounding environment remained the same. Xinke frowned slightly, his expression becoming somewhat dazed and confused. He opened the Eye of Truth with all his strength, constantly scanning the surroundings, as if he was looking for something.

Noticing Xinko's abnormal behavior, Mellen and the others immediately stopped and became alert.

Vic asked, "Xinko, what's wrong? What did you find?"

"No, I just..." Xin Ke hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "I just feel something is wrong."

No one doubted Xinke, but waited quietly for his next words.

After thinking for a moment, Xin Ke suddenly asked, "How long have we been walking in this area?"

Vic glanced around and said casually, "How long have we been walking? Didn't we just set out? It's only been five minutes at most since we entered this area."

"Huh?!" Mellen looked at Vic in surprise, then said solemnly, "What five minutes? Haven't we been walking for almost an hour?"

The others' expressions suddenly changed upon hearing this. Tiana's dancing petals conveyed a violent mental fluctuation: "From my perception, we have been walking for at least three hours!"

Lucas said simply: "9 minutes and 37 seconds."

They were clearly acting together and they communicated with each other from time to time during the process, but there was such a huge deviation in the way they perceived the passage of time.

Xin Ke said solemnly, "It seems that this is correct. This area is mixed with the distorted power of time and space. Even the time we each perceive now is not the actual time that has passed. We may actually have been wandering around in this area for a long time!"

Melen and the others all looked grim. This strange area was simply impossible to guard against. If Xinko hadn't noticed something was wrong, they might still be immersed in the illusion that they had just entered this area.

Once they are trapped here for a long time, more than a month, not gaining more is just a small matter. They will most likely be caught up in a new round of rule tides without any preparation, and be washed into the endless void outside the spiritual world along with the broken land.

Xinke took a deep breath, and the eyes of delusion in his eyes shone brighter. He said, "Tiana, take the flower demons back. In this situation, they will not only fail to help you, but will become a burden to you."

"Everyone follow me closely, we need to get out of here as soon as possible!"

After saying that, Xinko burst out with strength and rushed away quickly, with Melen and the others following closely behind.

Xinko's route was not fixed. Sometimes he went straight, sometimes he turned, and sometimes he even stopped to observe for a moment before turning around and leaving. Except for Lucas and Garuru, no one else could record his route. Of course, it would be useless even if they recorded it.

After a period of time that was unclear whether it was long or short, a silver light suddenly appeared between the gray sky and earth.

Everyone was excited. Xin Ke laughed and said, "We've finally reached the edge of the area. There's another area junction ahead. Should we look for other intersections? We shouldn't get lost if we follow the edge of the area."

Vic said, "Although we won't get lost, time distortion is still unavoidable, right? Let's get out of this area quickly!"

Others nodded in agreement.

After a period of spatial changes, everyone left the gray area.

"Out!"

Everyone looked at the gray area behind them, feeling a lingering fear.

"How long exactly were we in the gray area?" Vic asked.

Lucas said: "About 26 hours."

The faces of several people were not very good. You know, in the initial forest area, even though they spent some time collecting the green liquid, they only stayed there for less than three hours. The subsequent fire area was even shorter, only about an hour or so.

But they actually spent more than a day in the gray area, and this was the result of their quick departure under the leadership of Xinke after discovering something was wrong.

With their previous experience, after entering the silver area, they were no longer as relaxed as at the beginning, but instead looked around at the surrounding environment first.

This is a quiet valley. A bright full moon hangs in the sky, casting a soft glow. The ground is covered with lush vegetation, but the color of the plants is different from the usual green. Instead, they are mainly purple and red.

The sudden appearance of Mellen and his companions seemed to have disturbed the indigenous people here. Insects that flashed like fireflies flew out of the grass. Rabbits with silver fur and deer with silver spots on their bodies looked at them curiously, and some even ran over to take a closer look.

The eyes of these animals are clear and pure, and they seem to be unaware of danger.

A little rabbit came up to Spike and, not caring about the dog's wariness, touched its huge body with its little paws.

Instead of attacking rashly, Spike backed away slightly, baring his fangs and growling threateningly.

The little rabbit was startled and looked at Spike blankly for a moment, then came towards Mellen.

Although the little rabbit looked like an ordinary animal, due to the danger of the Broken Land, Spike certainly could not allow the unknown little creature in front of him to get close to the boy, so he stopped it again.

Soon, they were surrounded by many small animals.

After observing for a moment, Xin Ke said, "No threat, just some ordinary animals."

Tiana also emitted a mental wave: "They are quite peaceful and seem unaware of danger, so when they saw us, they were just curious."

Mellen patted Spike lightly, then came to the little rabbit, reached out and grabbed its ears and lifted it up. The little rabbit was a little angry, kicking its limbs and struggling, and only calmed down after Mellen put it in his palm.

The little rabbit and Mellen stared at each other for a moment, then seemed to find it boring, jumped to the ground, and then hopped away.

Most other small animals were the same, and they quickly dispersed after the novelty wore off.

Mellen looked at the direction where the little animals left, his expression solemn and as if he was thinking about something.