Chapter 243: Escape from the Abyss

In a dark room.

At this moment, a tall theatrical costume floated in midair, swaying in the wind. The five of them, the evolved ones, could not escape its attacks, nor could they leave the room—they could only be seized by cold hands extending from within the costume, slowly dragged into the depths of darkness.

No matter how strong Ren Ping and the others were, it was useless—all their methods had been exhausted; now they had no options left, only waiting for death to come.

Their struggles grew weaker, for the deeper they sank, the tighter they were bound. At first, they could still resist somewhat, but later, even those of the Spiritual Perception realm could not fight back—no matter how hard they tried, they could not budge those hands an inch.

This force, which overturned all understanding, should never have appeared in a world like this.

They were unlucky—right on their first cross-dimensional journey, they encountered it.

Just as everyone was about to vanish completely from this world.

Suddenly.

The tightly shut door suddenly creaked open, and a chilling aura spilled out from outside. Moreover, a figure unexpectedly walked slowly in from beyond—the place that could seal even a Soul Perception cultivator could not stop this person's entry.

But no one noticed any of this abnormality anymore.

Because most of their bodies had already been swallowed by the eerie theatrical costume.

At this moment, the head of Zhang Xun on the costume slowly turned, fixing its gaze on the person slowly entering—the precise term being a woman.

On her pale face was a strange smile. Merely by appearing, crimson blood began dripping from the ceiling—drip, drip, drip. The woman did nothing but walk toward the costume and extend her equally cold hand, gently resting it upon the costume's shoulder.

At this instant.

As if two forces had collided, the entire dark room seemed to tremble and twist. Zhang Xun's head now wore an expression of horror—as if terrified.

The next moment.

The costume floating in midair suddenly lost its support and plummeted to the ground. Simultaneously, the darkness capable of swallowing all of them vanished rapidly. The grotesque hands gripping them recoiled as if burned, retreating all at once.

All anomalies disappeared. Everything seemed to return to calm.

Feeling the restraint vanish.

At this moment, all who still lived unleashed their full strength, bursting free from the large theatrical costume.

Due to excessive force, some even crashed into the walls with loud thuds.

"W-what happened? I'm still alive?"

Qin Bing, still shaken, gasped for breath, fear flickering in his eyes.

"I don't know. I felt, in an instant, the hands pulling me retracted—and the darkness that could swallow the living vanished too." Li Yi was equally startled and terrified—he had truly walked the edge of death, certain he was dead, yet somehow he was alive.

"Look—the door's open?"

Tao Yuan, also barely surviving, glanced sideways and saw the previously sealed door now wide open.

"Run. Get out of here."

No matter why things had changed this way, they could not endure any more torment—they had to flee immediately, to reach safety.

Qin Bing instantly unleashed his power and charged out.

Li Yi and Tao Yuan reacted instantly—they too must escape now. Who knew if the door would shut again? They never wanted to relive what had just happened.

But before leaving, Li Yi paused—he noticed Zhang Jing and Xu Qiumei on the ground, motionless, dead or otherwise.

"Take them too. We can't leave them here. Cross-dimensional information must not be exposed." Li Yi picked up Xu Qiumei and said.

"Makes sense."

Tao Yuan also snapped to attention, grabbed the unconscious Zhang Jing, and fled.

The group quickly left the room and sprinted downstairs—less than ten seconds later, they had retreated back to the building's first floor.

This time, they were smarter—they split up, avoiding the mistake of before, where encountering one ghost nearly wiped them all out.

"Scatter and run. Regroup later," Li Yi ordered, shouting as he sprinted off in one direction, still carrying Xu Qiumei.

"Agreed. First, get out alive. Then find a chance to regroup," Qin Bing and Tao Yuan responded immediately.

Soon.

The three still-mobile individuals headed in separate directions.

But as soon as they exited the building, their movements were detected—immediate warning cries rang out.

"Stop! Don't move, or we'll shoot!"

"Don't move!"

"Bang!"

Li Yi heard gunshots—likely Qin Bing and Tao Yuan had been attacked by security personnel. But for a Spiritual Perception cultivator, even sniper rounds could be dodged, let alone ordinary bullets.

Figures leapt and darted through the night, evading several bursts of gunfire. Qin Bing and Tao Yuan immediately broke through the cordon and vanished into the city's crowds.

"What the hell? Superhuman?" The shooter stared, dumbfounded.

Even bullets couldn't hit them?

Li Yi had it easier—distractions from other gunfire drew attention. In the brief moment when nearby guards were distracted, he slipped away and fled the area swiftly toward safety.

Less than half a minute later, he had left the building's vicinity and entered a quiet alley in the city.

He did not keep running. He set Xu Qiumei down.

"Cough! Cough!"

Xu Qiumei coughed twice, spitting blood. Her body twisted and deformed—she had suffered grievous injuries. Had she not been an evolved one with tenacious vitality, she would have died long ago.

"I didn't expect you'd save me. I thought you'd kick me while I was down and kill me then." She lifted her head, looking at Li Yi—her eyes held surprise and bitterness.

How ironic.

She was too wounded to move—and yet Li Yi carried her out of danger.

"We were teammates. Though we had grievances, if I wanted to kill you, I'd do it openly—not sneak behind you or kick you while you're down." Li Yi spoke calmly: "If I did that, who'd ever team up with me again?"

"Didn't expect you to have principles. But you won't get the chance to kill me—I'm too badly hurt. I won't live long." Xu Qiumei added.

She knew her condition well—her body had been slowly crushed by that terrifying force. Even an evolved one couldn't withstand it.

Li Yi fell silent. Though he bore grudges against Xu Qiumei, he did not wish to see this outcome.

A teammate from another dimension had died so senselessly before an unknown horror.

After all, in some way, all members of the team shared the same goal.

"Li Yi." Xu Qiumei suddenly looked at him again.

"Any last words? If I return, I can deliver them for you." Li Yi said calmly.

"No last words. Before crossing dimensions, I prepared to die. But I want to say sorry—for what I did before." Xu Qiumei spoke weakly.

Li Yi said nothing. His expression was complex.

It seemed the ancients were right: when a man is near death, his words turn kind.

Was saying "sorry" now too late?

But after speaking those words, Xu Qiumei's head slumped to the side—her life ended. Yet blood still flowed ceaselessly from her mangled body.

Looking at Xu Qiumei's corpse, Li Yi hesitated, then took her belongings—lest cross-dimensional information be exposed.

And as he did so.

Suddenly.

Li Yi suddenly shouted: "Who? Show yourself!"

A certain sensation made him sense something unnatural. His eyes glowed faintly in the dim alley.

"Ordinary humans, lacking spiritual energy, yet displaying extraordinary power—you people have truly amazed me. But you're different. You carry a curse. A terrible one." A voice came from the alley's end. No one was there—but the next instant, as a dim streetlamp flickered, a young man appeared out of nowhere directly before Li Yi.

"Who are you?" Li Yi watched him warily.

He instinctively realized: this man was likely a cultivator of this world. After all, if such terrifying ghosts existed here, there must be those who could fight them—or the world would have perished long ago.

But their numbers must be few.

Yet their power was undoubtedly terrifying.

"Wang Qiao, head of Dazhuang City, assigned to handle all spiritual incidents." The young man revealed his identity without concealment, then asked: "What's your name?"

"Li Yi." He did not hide either.

Because no one in this world knew Li Yi—there was no need to conceal anything.

"Li Yi? Looks like your teammate died. A pity."

Wang Qiao glanced at Xu Qiumei's corpse and shook his head slightly: "But I bear responsibility for her death. I deliberately ignored her. I wanted you all to perish inside that building—you're too unusual. Better dead."

"So you came to kill me?" Li Yi's expression darkened.

Indeed, as soon as practitioners are discovered, they immediately arouse hostility from the locals, who view them as heretics who must be eradicated.

Of course, he understood—if he were in their place, he'd likely do the same.

"I did intend to. But now? We're the same kind. If I kill you, what if it awakens the vengeful ghosts? I don't have much time—I don't want unnecessary trouble. But I can't ignore you either. It's a headache." Wang Qiao sighed wearily, his tone utterly cold, devoid of any emotion.

"I know a place in Dahanshi suited for people like you. I happen to know a courier. Three days from now, you'll receive a letter. Follow him when he delivers it. If you're lucky, you'll survive. If not… I'm sorry."

With that, he finished speaking.

Wang Qiao turned and left.

As the alley's lamp flickered with a hiss, he vanished again, as if he had never been there.