The chaotic and hurried footsteps of the Dark Hall members were like dense drum beats hitting back and forth in the dilapidated alley, wave after wave from far to near. Duan Litang tightly grasped the blood sword, the veins on the back of his hand bulged, and his palm was already soaked with sweat. He hurriedly turned back and saw Ye Li trying her best to activate the teleportation array. Ye Li's originally pale cheeks were densely covered with beads of sweat, and her hair was also stuck to her face by sweat, but her eyes were like torches, staring at the magic circle, focused and determined. The light emitted by the magic circle became weaker and weaker, as if it would be completely swallowed up by the thick and inky darkness around it at any time.
"Hurry up! They're catching up soon!" Duan Litang shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing and buzzing in this narrow space. Su Xueli, Ling Xian'er and Tang Xiaotang stepped into the magic circle without hesitation. The light of the magic circle slowly rose and slowly enveloped their figures. At this moment, a dark red arrow, wrapped in a sharp wind, cut through the sky like a ghost and shot straight towards the magic circle. Duan Litang reacted very quickly, his figure flashed in an instant, like a swift blood-red lightning. He swung the blood sword and split the arrow in half. The arrow exploded, and the sharp fragments flew everywhere, leaving blood marks on his arm, and the bright red blood oozed out.
Ye Li bit her lower lip, her hands dancing faster and faster on the magic circle, chanting the spells in her mouth in a hurry and almost panic. Finally, the magic circle shone brightly, and the figures of Su Xueli and the other two gradually blurred in the dazzling light until they disappeared. At the same time, the members of the Dark Hall had surrounded the hut. The leader was the mysterious old man in a golden robe. The old man's mouth corners slightly raised, and he raised a very cold smile. The smile was full of cruelty, and his eyes flashed with greed, just like the madness of a hungry wolf seeing its prey.
"Blood Contract Host, I wonder where you can escape this time!" The old man snorted coldly, raised his hand and waved it, and the members of the Dark Hall behind him rushed towards Duan Litang and Ye Li like a surging tide. Duan Litang quickly protected Ye Li behind him, and waved the blood sword in his hand wantonly, splashing blood wherever he went. His eyes were firm and fearless, and he fought a thrilling and desperate battle with the enemy who rushed up. Ye Li was not to be outdone, the long whip in her hand whirred in the air, and every whip fell accurately on the enemy, splashing blood, showing her courage and determination.
The battle became more intense, and the situation became more stalemate. Duan Litang had more and more wounds on his body, and the bright red blood had already soaked his clothes, and he looked miserable. But his eyes became more and more determined, like a burning flame, the power of the blood contract surged wildly in his body, and the light of the blood sword became more and more dazzling, as if to dispel the darkness. In the fierce battle, Duan Litang saw from the corner of his eye that the old man was quietly circling around the magic circle, intending to destroy it. He was suddenly startled, and immediately rushed towards the old man regardless of everything.
"Litang, be careful!" Ye Li's terrified cry suddenly rang out. Duan Litang instinctively dodged to the side, and a black chain brushed past his shoulder, leaving a shocking deep mark on the wall beside him. He ignored the severe pain in his shoulder and continued to run towards the old man. Seeing this, the old man quickly formed seals with his hands, and in the blink of an eye, a huge black sphere appeared in his palm. This black sphere exuded a creepy aura, as if it contained endless evil and destructive power.
"Go to hell!" The old man's face was grim, and he threw the black sphere fiercely at Duan Litang. Duan Litang gritted his teeth and used all his strength to increase the power of the blood contract to the extreme. The blood sword's light surged, like a scorching sun hanging high in the sky, emitting a dazzling strong light. He swung the blood sword with all his strength and slashed at the black sphere head-on. There was a loud "bang", like a thunder exploding on the ground, and the strong air wave was like a surging tsunami, instantly blowing Duan Litang away. He hit the wall heavily, and a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth uncontrollably, and the whole person was shaky.
Ye Li was extremely anxious, and the long whip in his hand became more and more fierce. After forcing the enemy beside him to retreat several steps, he rushed towards Duan Litang. At this moment, the old man seized the opportunity and rushed towards the magic circle, trying to completely destroy it. At the critical moment, Duan Litang supported his shaky body and used up his last bit of strength to throw the blood sword. The blood sword drew a gorgeous blood-colored arc in the air, like a speeding meteor, and accurately pierced the old man's shoulder. The old man let out a shrill scream, staggered back several steps, and his face was full of pain and shock.
Duan Litang took the opportunity to rush forward, snatched back the blood sword, and leaned against Ye Li back to back. At this time, the two of them were already exhausted, and every part of their bodies was protesting, but the members of the Dark Palace were still attacking like crazy, without any sign of stopping. Suddenly, the magic circle emitted a dazzling light, and a strong and mysterious suction came from the light. Duan Litang and Ye Li looked at each other and saw the same firmness and determination in each other's eyes. They knew that this was the last chance given by the teleportation array. The two of them tried their best to fight their way out of the enemy's encirclement and rushed into the magic circle regardless of everything.
The magic circle light instantly surrounded them tightly. Duan Litang felt dizzy and his body seemed to be torn by countless invisible and powerful hands. When he slowly opened his eyes, he found himself in an extremely strange space. There was neither a vast sky nor a solid earth. All he could see was a vast expanse of white mist. In the mist, blue dots of light flickered faintly. These dots of light were like the bright stars in the night sky, looming in the mist and exuding a mysterious atmosphere.
Duan Litang held the blood sword tightly with vigilance, his eyes like torches, and looked around carefully. He saw Ye Li not far away, rubbing his aching forehead, and slowly stood up with difficulty. "Where is this?" Ye Li whispered softly, and the voice echoed in this foggy space, seeming particularly ethereal and ethereal, as if coming from the distant sky. Duan Litang shook his head slightly, his expression solemn, and also looked confused, indicating that he had no idea where he was.
The two of them groped forward cautiously in the fog. Every step they took seemed like they were stepping into an unknown abyss, filled with unknown and fear. Suddenly, a low and majestic roar came from the front, and the sound was filled with endless anger, like thunder exploding on the ground, which made people's eardrums hurt. The fog rolled violently in an instant, and a huge figure loomed in the fog, like a towering mountain, exuding a chilling sense of oppression. Duan Litang and Ye Li stopped instantly, their muscles tensed, as if facing a great enemy, ready to fight at any time.
As the mist gradually dissipated, an extremely large beast appeared before their eyes. The beast was as majestic as a mountain, covered with silver scales, which shone coldly in the mist, like an indestructible armor. It had a pair of huge antlers on its head, each of which was wrapped with blue lightning, which flashed and jumped like a smart dragon from time to time, making crackling sounds. Its eyes were like two blazing suns, emitting dazzling light, as if it could burn away all the darkness in the world.
"Human, why did you break in here?" The voice of the divine beast rang out like a huge bell, constantly echoing in this space, causing pain in Duan Litang and Ye Li's eardrums, and their bodies couldn't help but tremble slightly. Duan Litang took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and said loudly: "We were being hunted by the Dark Palace, and accidentally broke into this place in a panic. I hope you can forgive us." The divine beast looked at them up and down with a look of suspicion and scrutiny in its eyes, as if weighing the truth of their words.
"Dark Palace? Those evil guys. However, you humans are definitely not good people. Since you have entered my territory, you must pay the price!" The beast roared, and lightning danced wildly on its huge antlers, instantly condensing into a thick lightning, and swiftly struck Duan Litang and Ye Li. Duan Litang and Ye Li reacted quickly and dodged. The lightning struck the ground heavily, and a huge deep pit was instantly exploded. The surrounding land was burned black by the high temperature, and the pungent smell of burning filled the air.
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Duan Litang knew that he couldn't just sit there and wait for death. He and Ye Li exchanged a glance, and their eyes showed their tacit understanding. Duan Litang quickly activated the power of the blood covenant, and the blood sword shone brightly, like a burning torch. Ye Li also waved his long whip, and the tip of the whip whistled in the air. The two of them rushed towards the beast bravely. The blood sword in Duan Litang's hand carried a sharp momentum, like a silver streak, piercing the belly of the beast. Ye Li's long whip was like a smart snake, wrapping around one of the beast's feet, trying to slow down its movement.
The beast was enraged, and let out a roar that shook the earth. With a powerful swing, it threw Ye Li away fiercely. Duan Litang took the opportunity to leap up, and like a black arrow, the blood sword stabbed at the beast's head. The beast opened its huge mouth, and a stream of extremely hot flames gushed out, like surging magma, sweeping towards Duan Litang. Duan Litang flexibly turned his body in the air, cleverly avoiding the flames, and at the same time, he seized the opportunity to accurately stab the blood sword into the beast's shoulder. The beast felt pain and struggled frantically, its huge body twisting continuously, and the surrounding fog was stirred into even more chaos, as if it was caught in the center of a storm.
Ye Li struggled to get up from the ground, not caring about the pain on his body, and swung the long whip again, wrapping the other leg of the beast. Duan Litang aimed at the weakness of the beast and continued to attack. The blood sword left shocking wounds on the beast, and the bright red blood flowed out. However, the vitality of the beast was extremely tenacious, and those wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. Moreover, as the battle continued, Duan Litang and Ye Li gradually lost their physical strength, and their breathing became rapid and heavy, and every swing of the weapon became more and more strenuous.
Just when they felt desperate, Duan Litang accidentally glanced at the eyes of the divine beast. Although the eyes of the divine beast were as hot as the sun, deep in the pupils, there was a trace of imperceptible pain and sadness. He suddenly stopped attacking and shouted: "Senior, you seem to have something to hide. Can you tell us something? Maybe we can help you!" Hearing this, the divine beast was slightly startled, and the crazy attack stopped instantly, with doubts and scrutiny in its eyes.
"You humans have always fought for your own interests, how can you really help me?" The voice of the divine beast was full of disdain and sadness, as if it had already seen through the nature of humans and was extremely disappointed. Duan Litang said sincerely with a serious face: "Senior, we are enemies with the Dark Palace in order to protect the peace of the world. If you are willing to believe in us, perhaps we can really help you solve your problems."
The beast was silent for a long time, and the light in its eyes gradually dimmed, as if the burning flame was about to go out. It slowly spoke: "I used to be the guardian of this space, guarding a great secret here. But I don't know when, an evil force quietly invaded and planted a curse in my body, making me suffer. Now, I can no longer control my own power, and can only wait for death to come."
Duan Litang and Ye Li were filled with sympathy after hearing this. "Senior, we will do our best to help you remove the curse!" Duan Litang's eyes were firm and his tone was decisive. The divine beast looked at them, and a faint glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes. "If you can really help me remove the curse, I am willing to tell you the secret of this place, which may be helpful to you."
At this moment, a strange laugh suddenly came from the mist, and the laugh sounded like the cry of a night owl, which was creepy. "Want to lift the curse? It's just a foolish dream!" A mysterious voice echoed in the mist, as if it came from all directions, making it difficult to tell the direction. Duan Litang and Ye Li looked around vigilantly, and saw a black figure gradually emerging from the mist. The figure was tightly covered by a black robe, and his face could not be seen clearly. Only a pair of eyes flashed with a strange light, which seemed particularly abrupt in the darkness.
"Who are you?" Duan Litang shouted, his voice full of determination and fearlessness. The black-robed man did not answer, but laughed wildly. "Do you think you can easily lift the curse of the beast? I will never let you succeed!" The black-robed man waved his hand, and countless black tentacles emerged from the mist in an instant, like venomous snakes with bared fangs and claws, and swiftly wrapped around Duan Litang and Ye Li.
Duan Litang and Ye Li hurriedly waved their weapons and tried their best to cut off the tentacles. However, the tentacles continued to grow like mushrooms after rain, and they became more and more numerous, seemingly endless, and continuously emerged from the mist. Seeing this, the divine beast also joined the battle. With its powerful strength, it attacked the man in black robes. But the strength of the man in black robes seemed unfathomable. He was flexible and easily avoided the attacks of the divine beasts. At the same time, he continued to launch counterattacks. Each counterattack was powerful and hard to defend against.
The battle reached a stalemate. Duan Litang and Ye Li felt unprecedented pressure, their bodies exhausted and their spirits tense. But they knew that they could not give up no matter what. While fighting hard, they racked their brains to think of a way to break the situation. Suddenly, Duan Litang found that when the black-robed man launched an attack, a gap would appear on his black robe for a moment. He had an idea and decided to take a risk.
Duan Litang concentrated all the power of the blood contract on the blood sword, and the blood sword's light suddenly increased, instantly illuminating the entire dim space, like daylight. He took advantage of the gap between the black-robed man's attacks and rushed towards him like a flash of lightning, stabbing the blood sword into his body. The black-robed man let out a shrill scream, and his body began to slowly dissipate. But before he completely disappeared, he left behind a sentence: "Do you think this is the end? The real crisis has just begun!"
After the black-robed man disappeared, the black tentacles also disappeared without a trace. The divine beast let out a long sigh and looked at Duan Litang and Ye Li with gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, humans. Maybe you can really help me remove the curse." Duan Litang nodded and said, "Senior, we will do our best. However, we need your help, and we hope you can tell us in detail about this curse."
The beast pondered for a moment, then slowly began to tell the story. It turned out that the curse was cast by an ancient and evil dark magic, and the curse could only be lifted by finding three mysterious treasures. The three treasures were: the Stone of Light, the Fountain of Life, and the Sword of the Soul. They were hidden in different corners of this mysterious space, and were all heavily protected by powerful guardian forces.
Duan Litang and Ye Li looked at each other, and both of them were determined. They knew that the road ahead would be full of thorns and difficulties. But in order to help the beast and explore the secrets of this mysterious space, they decided to embark on a journey to find treasures. Before setting off, the beast told them that the Light Stone was hidden in the Light Forest in the east. That forest was full of light power, but it was also guarded by powerful light elves and was full of dangers.
Duan Litang and Ye Li bid farewell to the beast and walked steadily towards the direction of the Forest of Light. The fog gradually became thinner, and a lush and dense forest appeared in front of them. In the forest, the trees were tall and straight, reaching into the sky, and every leaf was shining with soft light, as if it was given life. The sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, forming golden spots, like stars falling on the earth. However, behind this beautiful and charming scene, there are many unknown dangers hidden, like a gentle trap.
They walked into the forest cautiously, and not long after they walked, they heard a pleasant song. The song sounded like the sound of nature, full of temptation, as if an invisible hand gently pulled their hearts, making them want to get closer involuntarily. Ye Li's expression changed drastically, and he covered his ears vigilantly, shouting: "Li Tang, be careful! This is the song of the light elf, it will make people lose their minds!"
Duan Litang also noticed the difference in the singing. He clenched his teeth and tried to stay awake. He took out a black stone from his bosom. This was something he had accidentally found in Evernight Harbor. It was said that it could resist some mental attacks. He pressed the stone tightly against his chest. Sure enough, the influence of the singing on him was much reduced, and his consciousness gradually became clearer.
They continued to move forward, and suddenly, a group of light elves flew down from the tree. These light elves were small and exquisite, like delicate dolls, with transparent wings on their backs, and the wings flashed colorful light under the sunlight. They held glowing bows and arrows in their hands, and the arrow tips flashed cold light. They stared at Duan Litang and Ye Li vigilantly, their eyes full of vigilance.
"Human, why did you break into the Forest of Light?" A light elf who looked like a leader asked, his voice clear and pleasant, like a spring flowing in the mountains. Duan Litang said quickly: "We are here to find the Stone of Light, and our purpose is to help the beast remove the curse. I hope you can understand." After hearing this, the light elves showed vigilant looks, whispered to each other, and talked a lot.
"The Light Stone is the sacred object of our Light Forest. How can we give it to you so easily!" The elf leader said firmly, with an unquestionable majesty in his eyes. Duan Litang knew that it would take some effort to get the Light Stone. He patiently explained their purpose and mission to the Light Elves in detail, trying to convince them. However, the Light Elves were unmoved, and instead tightened their bowstrings and prepared to attack.
A new battle was about to break out. Duan Litang and Ye Li clenched their weapons tightly, their eyes as firm as iron.