After placing the Decaywood Gorilla's decaywood into his storage bag, Xia De sank into the shadow once again, returning to the place he had just left.
“OK, time to keep speedrunning!”
Taking a step forward, his figure teleported to the fifty-fifth floor. Before he could even make a move, a tiny golden, needle-like creature flew toward the space between his eyebrows at an extremely high speed.
Casually reaching out with two fingers, he pinched the “needle.” Looking closer, Xia De discovered it was an extremely tiny golden snake, only a few centimeters long.
His mind raced, and a look of realization dawned in his eyes.
“I remember Hilia mentioning this kind of snake that's only a few centimeters long and shaped like a small needle. I think it's called a Netherneedle Golden Worm.”
The little snake writhed constantly. With a gentle squeeze of Xia De's fingers, it snapped into two, and his black flames burned it to ashes.
“This magical beast's offensive power isn't strong, but its stealth is incredible. It parasitizes living organisms to feed on the host's flesh and blood.
However, its weakness is its extremely fragile body. As long as adventurers are equipped with proper armor and leave no gaps, this thing won't be able to parasitize them.”
The black lines of his shadow wrapped around his finger, playfully conveying:
“It's actually a bit like you.”
The black shadow lines seemed to understand what Xia De was saying. Their tips swayed back and forth, as if expressing dissatisfaction.
“I know, I know. You are indestructible!”
Xia De said with a laugh.
Then, the shadow dissipated, and he continued walking deeper.
Starting from this floor, the strength of the monsters mostly began at Tier Seven. Perhaps a month ago, he might have found himself in a tough battle.
But for the current Xia De...
Heh!
Easily speedrunning through the Tier Seven domain as well, Xia De stepped onto the sixty-fourth floor of the labyrinth.
And this was also the highest floor discovered by the adventurers of Toka City!
The moment Xia De entered the sixty-fourth floor, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
“Is this... the density of mana has doubled directly?!”
He didn't even need to use his Perception Domain; the dense mana had almost materialized, leaving a faint, viscous sensation in the air.
Even breathing felt slightly obstructed.
It made sense. Hilia had mentioned that Tier Eight was a very special stage, where one could already begin to utilize the “laws” of the world.
During the Age of Gods, those at Tier Eight could already enter the sight of the gods and were qualified to become divine attendants.
However, as Xia De stood in place, staring into the increasingly dark depths ahead, he sensed something more.
It wasn't just the dense mana. The depths of the darkness faintly exuded a wild, twisted aura.
There was also a thick scent of chaos, like the faint whispers of demons, making it incredibly easy for one to lose themselves.
If ordinary people encountered this situation, they would probably retreat from this floor immediately. This was also why the members of the Adventurer's Guild had stopped at this very floor.
Xia De took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
Fortunately, he possessed a monster-like constitution; as long as he was subjected to a bit of pressure, his strength would grow rapidly.
This enhancement was all-encompassing, affecting both his physical body and his mind, allowing him to resist the corrupting temptation from the depths of the darkness.
In truth, the scenery on each floor of the dungeon labyrinth was different, with no shortage of beautiful sights, but Xia De had never voluntarily stopped to admire them.
His primary goal was to increase his Combat Power.
His secondary goal was to investigate why the labyrinth's mana was denser than the outside world, and why monsters of the same level were stronger inside.
Having experienced death, he valued his life immensely. Having also experienced the information age, he naturally harbored all sorts of wild, imaginative conjectures.
The combination of these two factors brought him a great sense of unease.
From Hilia, he knew that the labyrinth had existed since the Age of Gods. And now that he had personally experienced its abnormalities today, he was certain that there must be something hidden behind it that could subvert the entire world.
He was always preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Without the strength to suppress everything, his heart would never truly be at ease. This was also why he came up with all sorts of amusing ideas.
He needed to relieve his stress.
But until his life was one hundred percent secure, he would not stop his steps.
Staring into the darkness that exuded chaos, Xia De's expression became incredibly solemn, his handsome face tinged with a deep, twisted stubbornness.
After using his Perception Domain to confirm over and over again that there were no creatures inside with Combat Power comparable to his, he took a step forward.
His footsteps made a crisp sound in the dark, pitch-black labyrinth, echoing for a long time.
“I'll say it again. The darkness is my home turf.”
Opening his lips slightly, he softly uttered two words.
“Black Prison.”
There was no loud noise, no passionate emotion. There was only calm—a calm like dead silence.
As he stepped forward, the domain behind him was completely draped in a deep shadow.
The shadow covered everything behind him. The already dim labyrinth became even darker, and the domain was filled with the breath of dead silence.
One step, two steps, five steps, ten steps...
With his hands in his pockets, Xia De advanced expressionlessly, accompanied by the dead silent darkness behind him.
With Xia De as the dividing line, a clear distinction could be seen.
The darkness in front of him exuded madness and chaos, while the darkness behind him was several shades deeper, filled with the breath of death, devoid of any vital energy.
The Black Prison continued to spread with Xia De's footsteps, but it never crossed half a step ahead of him.
Although Xia De's speed was fast, his movements appeared very, very slow.
Wherever he trod, the Black Prison spread.
The shadows within the Black Prison bubbled and popped like a swamp. The shadows seemed to have life, transforming into python-like and viper-like shapes that swam through the shadow-wrought darkness. From time to time, they poked their heads out, their bodies forming half-circles outside the shadows.
Xia De didn't speak. He simply walked slowly with his hands in his pockets, his black hair and black eyes contrasting with his expressionless, handsome face.
After clearing this floor, the magic circle to teleport to the next floor did not appear.
Because it was no longer needed.
He had folded the remaining floors together using his spatial abilities. The path before him now was equivalent to a long corridor composed of the rest of the labyrinth.
As he went deeper, the strength of the monsters grew stronger and stronger.
But along with this, the range of the Black Prison behind him grew larger and larger, and the shadow snakes became more and more numerous, densely packed and crisscrossing one another.
The monsters were bizarrely shaped, and their strengths varied from low to high. However, they all shared one thing in common.
None of them could get close to Xia De!
After Xia De expressionlessly bypassed them, the snakes formed from the shadows of the Black Prison would wrap around them and drag them into the darkness.
Tier Eight, Rank One?
Tier Eight, Rank Two?
...
Tier Eight, Rank Seven?
...
Tier Eight, Rank Nine?
Useless, useless.
Wherever the Grim Reaper passed, no life remained!
Finally, Xia De reached the end of the long staircase, where a twenty-meter-tall dark blue troll came into view.
The troll had two faces and four arms. The two faces had different expressions—one was crying, and the other was laughing.
The troll had no hair, and its dark blue skin had a granite-like texture. Its muscles bulged across its entire body. What was even more alarming was that it had two heads and four arms.
It knelt respectfully on the ground, its four arms hanging limply at its sides, its two heads lowered very low, with its eyes tightly shut.
Yet, it exuded the aura of Tier Nine!
As if disturbed by Xia De's aura, the troll slowly opened its eyes, which were filled with endless wild, twisted chaos!
Prolonged chaos had worn away its sanity. Letting out a low growl from its throat, it lunged toward Xia De like a wild beast.
Xia De spoke coldly. His tone was very flat, but his words seemed to come from ancient times, filled with endless coldness and majesty.
“Mindless beasts are unworthy of being my enemies.”
As if receiving an order, the Black Prison behind him suddenly surged forward in a frenzy. All the snakes formed from the shadows entered a manic state, scrambling to wrap around the troll.
Roar! Roar!
The troll constantly swung its muscular arms in an attempt to break free, while continuously stepping toward Xia De, letting out beast-like roars from its mouth.
It tore apart the shadows on its body time and time again, stepping toward Xia De over and over, but with every step it took, its body sank a few inches deeper into the shadows.
Finally, with madness on its face, the troll struggled as it was dragged into the shadows by the shadow snakes.
Only Xia De and the boundless darkness exuding the breath of dead silence remained in the entire space.
The Black Prison covered the entire space, except for...
...the teleportation portal that had been behind the troll!
【Name: Mysterious Teleportation Portal
Combat Power: 0
Combat Power Behind the Gate: 7,893,467
Skill: The portal only has teleportation capabilities. The maximum strength it can bear does not exceed a Tier Nine, Rank Two creature, which is a Combat Power of 200,000.
Evaluation: Oppressive, cold, wild, twisted, chaotic, and disorderly. Is it a prison of the gods? Or is it the end of the world?】
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