Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Shen Ye put away his motorcycle.

——Xiao Mengyu, on the other hand, did not pay much attention to the ring in his hand, as if it were commonplace.

The two of them determined their direction and, holding the Candlelight Flame, quickly approached the direction of the stream.

A few minutes later.

By the creek.

The two stood bewildered.

——There were no statues or remains to be seen.

Because of the rain earlier, the stream had swollen, almost forming a fast-flowing river.

Standing on the shore and looking out, there was nothing but rapids and rocks as far as the eye could see.

The sound of the wind between heaven and earth grew stronger.

It seemed as though something was truly about to arrive.

"No good, there's absolutely no clue; we must find shelter immediately," Shen Ye said sharply, looking at the stream.

Xiao Mengyu stared at him with a burning gaze:

"Don't lie, do whatever you want to do. In times like these, you need to follow your intuition, not treat me as a burden."

Shen Ye sighed.

He had only a slight feeling, and his gaze could hardly leave the stream when she instantly noticed.

Then time was of the essence!

He opened his arms and with a "plop" fell into the creek, immediately swept away by the current.

Xiao Mengyu hopped from stone to stone, following him along the way.

One of them underwater and the other above, the two moved along the stream, growing further and further away.

The scenery around them got darker and darker.

Black currents blew through, passing the stream and stirring up countless fallen leaves in the woods, like a dense flock of startled birds.

Xiao Mengyu showed a look of anxiety.

Several minutes had passed.

Even with decent strength, after all, he was just a fifteen-year-old Normal human and couldn't stay underwater for long periods.

Not to mention the stream was full of rocks; she had already seen him get hit several times.

If he did not surface soon, he would be in danger!

Xiao Mengyu grabbed the card and saw that it already displayed two lines of small text:

"Last 30 seconds."

"Tide of Lamentation is coming."

There was no other way!

Xiao Mengyu continued to dash above the creek's surface.

Underwater.

Shen Ye was still moving forward with the current, occasionally coming up for air.

All of a sudden, his sword burst out with a piercing cry.

In the blink of an eye.

Dark mists emerged from all around like a flood, appearing from every direction and sweeping through.

"Shen Ye..."

Xiao Mengyu's heart was anxious, but she was worried about interrupting Shen Ye's search and could only cautiously follow.

Suddenly.

The great sword lunged forward, unleashing a ferocious slash.

Something in the black mist seemed to be hit, emitting a sharp screech.

As that thing retracted, it cleared the black mist for a moment, allowing Xiao Mengyu to see it clearly—

A giant centipede, as long as a train, its steel-like carapace dark red, constantly emitting clouds of poisonous mist.

"This kind of thing..."

Xiao Mengyu looked around.

The endless black mist enveloped the creek, and rustling sounds came from all over.

No.

It wasn't just that giant centipede.

There had to be even more terrifying monsters lurking in the mist!

At that moment, Shen Ye finally stopped underwater.

The stream converged here to form a deep pool, and he was diving into it.

——It looked like he had found the place!

Xiao Mengyu's spirits lifted, and she called out in a low voice, "Great sword, let's buy him some time."

The great sword emitted a buzzing sound.

Together, sword and wielder stood back to back, holding their breath in wait.

Suddenly.

The giant centipede once again emerged from the black mist.

The long sword instantly met its charge, releasing a surge of Sword Qi meters long, slashing it away.

Yet Xiao Mengyu remained still, standing guard before the deep pool.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—

From across the water, a massive hand quietly appeared.

This hand, along with the arm behind it, was even bigger than the centipede, covered with densely packed eyeballs, all focusing on Xiao Mengyu.

Had Xiao Mengyu ever seen such a horrifying thing?

The eyes seemed to possess a kind of spiritual power, and she was instantly paralyzed.

——She was immobilized!

The gigantic hand dropped silently, reaching toward the pool.

Xiao Mengyu couldn't move her entire body, but her eyes suddenly crystallized with determination.

No.

Shen Ye was still underwater.

She couldn't let it go down—

She absolutely couldn't!

Xiao Mengyu jolted awake as if electrified, her whole body erupting with ripples of spiritual power. She pulled out the Luo Shui Sword from her waist and circulated her Sword technique with all her might, crying hysterically:

"Kill!"

The frigid Sword Qi gathered into a dazzling blade of light, streaked across the water, and struck heavily on the giant hand.

The hand withdrew with unbelievable Agility back into the black mist.

The next second.

The great sword rushed back, delivering several more slashes into the mist as if venting its rage.

When it returned, Xiao Mengyu finally regained her senses.

She gasped for air, her whole body trembling, about to collapse.

But she couldn't.

It wasn't the time to give up yet.

I have to guard this place, at least until he returns!

Xiao Mengyu bit down on her silver teeth, one hand gripping the Luo Shui firmly, and with her other hand, she drew out the Remnant Snow, adopting a defensive sword position.

The black mist continued to spread.

Suddenly.

With a splash, water sprayed in all directions.

Shen Ye emerged from below the water.

He was holding something tightly, landing on the large rock where Xiao Mengyu stood.

Xiao Mengyu exclaimed joyfully:

"Found it?"

"Yes, let's hurry and find a shelter first!" Shen Ye said in a rush.

He was holding a piece of wood covered with wet and slippery moss in his arms.

It was actually wood!

Though Xiao Mengyu was astonished, she knew this was not the time to ask questions.

The two of them leaped onto the shore, and under the protection of the great sword, they sped through the jungle towards the direction of the mountain.

"How much farther?"

"Almost there!"

"Damn, there's nothing on the mountain wall in front of us, it's a dead end!"

"No worries."

Xiao Mengyu drew out the Luo Shui Sword and slashed fiercely forward.

Debris flew in all directions.

She kept on attacking, the sword turning into a blur of shadows, unleashing a barrage against the hard mountain wall.

Rustling sounds ensued—

Tiny pebbles scattered all over the ground.

Now the mountain wall had a crack wide enough for two people to pass through.

"Done!" Xiao Mengyu said.

Shen Ye sighed and muttered, "Using a sword feels so good? I'm starting to want to learn swordsmanship."

"Didn't you learn some sword techniques following the great sword?"

"Oh, right."

The two continued talking as they squeezed into the crack.

The great sword floated on the outside, waiting for them to hide before flying forward to block the gap.

Outside, a thick fog spread.

Gradually, the fog turned dark red, like flowing blood.

Countless wailing sounds emanated from within the blood mist, growing louder and more piercing.

Some overly powerful presences were emanating through the blood fog.

Just sensing these presences made one feel fear and suffocation.

At this moment.

All the examinees suddenly realized—

—the earlier events were just the appetizer, and the Tide of Lamentation had just begun!

Xiao Mengyu, without blinking, watched the blood fog outside, and after a while, suddenly remembered something and turned around to look.

She saw Shen Ye squatting there, chanting to the piece of wood.

"Could it be that your resonance is with plants or something similar?" Xiao Mengyu asked, curious.

"I don't know either," Shen Ye said with a wry smile.

He had been drifting in the water for so long before he felt the source of that resonance—

It was this piece of wood.

It lay buried at the bottom of the pond, not floating, and it was unknown how many years it had been hidden.

Such a concealed place…

Had someone discovered it before?

Anyway, when he found it, he immediately saw the small characters floating above it:

"??? Wood."

"Under the Moon Series Divine Tree Carving."

It was from the Under the Moon Series!

Shen Ye coughed lightly and brought his hands together towards the wood, saying:

"Wood, oh wood, if you are a Divine Spirit sculpture, could you protect us and help us through the Tide of Lamentation?"

A silence followed.

The wood remained motionless.

"Is it really a divine statue?" Xiao Mengyu asked uncertainly.

"Yes."

Shen Ye said.

—Something's not right.

He had a resonance of 9 points, plus 20 points brought by Moonlight Divine Illumination, making it 29 points of resonance.

This number was already the highest attribute value he had ever seen.

"Big brother, lend us a hand, cover us up," Shen Ye said.

Click-clack-click-clack-click-clack.

Amidst the sounds, Shen Ye looked down.

He saw the wood had grown roots which dug firmly into the ground, and its body sprouted lush green leaves and branches—

—it seemed to have come to life!

On the trunk, a row of small characters appeared:

"Offer me water, sunlight, and fertilizer so that I may grow and protect you."

The conditions were not difficult!

Xiao Mengyu noticed the commotion and spoke up, "You figure out how to nourish it; I'll keep watch on the outside."

"Right!" Shen Ye responded.

First was to get some water.

That wasn't difficult!

When he last went to the Nightmare World, he had prepared some food and drink, including bottled water!

Shen Ye reached into his ring and took out a bottle of water, pouring it onto the wood's roots.

However, the water rolled around on the roots without soaking in.

On the wood, the small characters for "water" remained unchanged.

"Is it not enough?"

Shen Ye poured another bottle of mineral water.

Out of nowhere, a new line of characters sprang up on the wood:

"The water needed by this tree must be nutrient-rich, containing the following ingredients:"

"Water, fructose syrup, granulated sugar, food additives (carbon dioxide, phosphoric acid, caffeine), flavoring."

—This wood had been buried under the stream for countless years, and now that it had just emerged, it actually craved a carbonated drink!

If only it had said so earlier; I have a few bottles with me.

Shen Ye twisted open a bottle of carbonated drink and poured it on the roots.

All of the liquid swiftly soaked into the roots.

"Water" was crossed off.

Only "sunlight" and "fertilizer" remained.

Sunlight—

How could there possibly be sunlight here?

"Bring over the Candlelight Flame to shine on it!" Shen Ye shouted.

"Okay." Xiao Mengyu aimed the candle at the wood.

The wood trembled slightly.

Next to the small characters for "sunlight," a note appeared:

"Insufficient sunlight."