Chapter 206: Unyielding Advancement

"Stop!" Mo Yi, seeing the Envoy of the Blood Night Demon Family so arrogant, angrily rushed toward the Envoy, intending to fight. A raging blaze ignited around them, like a meteor cutting through the darkness, bearing an unstoppable momentum, and slammed into the swirling dark force.

"Don't overestimate yourself!" the Envoy of the Blood Night Demon Family sneered, and the dark power churned even more violently. A massive black palm emerged from the darkness, bearing mountain‑crushing pressure, and easily slapped Mo Yi flying away.

Mo Yi let out a wail, crashing heavily to the ground, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Yet they could not attend to their injuries, struggling to rise and continue the fight.

"Mo Yi, calm down!" Xiao Dian hurried forward, grabbing Mo Yi, and said anxiously, "You're not his match; charging now will only lead to a needless death!"

"But…" Mo Yi clenched fists unwillingly, looking at Zhang Cheng shrouded by the dark power, worry filling their eyes.

"Trust Zhang Cheng," Xiao Dian said in a low voice, "He will surely find a way to resolve the crisis."

Xiao Dian's gaze fixed tightly on the battle, brows knit, mind racing, trying to find a method to untangle the present predicament.

He noticed that the dark power released by the Envoy of the Blood Night Demon Family, though formidable, exhibited periodic fluctuations, like tides, alternating between strong and weak.

"Could it be…" Xiao Dian's mind stirred, a bold conjecture surfacing.

He observed the dark power's changing pattern closely, becoming increasingly convinced of his hypothesis.

"Zhang Cheng!" Xiao Dian suddenly called out, shouting toward the Zhang Cheng enveloped by the dark power, "Focus your mind, seize the gaps in the dark power's fluctuations, and speed up breaking the maze!"

Hearing Xiao Dian's voice, Zhang Cheng felt a jolt in his heart. He forced himself to endure the searing pain, focused his mind, and carefully sensed the surrounding dark power's changes.

Indeed, as Xiao Dian said, the dark power's intensity was not constant but showed periodic fluctuations, sometimes strong, sometimes weak.

"This is…" a glimmer of hope flashed in Zhang Cheng's eyes; he realized this might be the key to breaking the deadlock!

He inhaled deeply, concentrating all his attention on solving the maze, ignoring the raging dark power around him.

He held his breath, steadied his mind, and his hands swiftly formed seals; golden runes shot from his palms, merging into the maze.

In the briefest lull when the dark power was weakest, Zhang Cheng's movements became extraordinarily swift; the golden runes, like meteors, landed precisely on the maze's nodes, stirring bursts of dazzling golden light.

Bathed in golden light, the maze gradually revealed its original form, and hidden passages and mechanisms surfaced as well…

Zhang Cheng felt as if he were in a storm‑tossed ocean, each strike of the dark power like towering waves trying to engulf him. Yet he constantly recalled Xiao Dian's words, clutching the gaps in the dark power's fluctuations and racing against time to solve the maze.

Beads of sweat covered his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and pattering onto the ground with a faint sound. He had no time to wipe them; his gaze remained fixed on the maze, his hands fluttering like butterflies, rapidly forming and shifting seals.

As time passed, Zhang Cheng gradually grasped some of the maze's changing patterns. He discovered that whenever the dark power peaked, the maze's structure altered dramatically—existing passages could vanish, and new traps and obstacles could appear. Conversely, when the dark power waned, the maze's changes became slow and regular.

"What is he doing? Trying to break my maze?" the Envoy of the Blood Night Demon Family saw Zhang Cheng, under the dark power's onslaught, not only unscathed but becoming increasingly composed, and a hint of doubt rose in his mind.

"Impossible! My maze was constructed using the Blood Night Demon Family's secret arts; he's just a petty human—how could he possibly solve it?" the Envoy quickly dismissed the thought, yet a faint unease lingered within him.

To eliminate Zhang Cheng swiftly, the Envoy decided to amplify the dark power's output. He pressed his palms together, muttering incantations, and a far stronger dark force surged from his body into the maze.

The entire maze quaked violently, the already intricate passages becoming even more chaotic; walls, floor, and ceiling seemed to turn liquid, constantly twisting and deforming, making direction indecipherable.

"Damn it!" Zhang Cheng muttered inwardly upon sensing the maze's shift. He realized the Envoy had become serious, and the danger he faced had multiplied.

Yet he did not give up; instead, his fighting spirit surged. He inhaled deeply, forcing himself to stay calm, and focused all his attention on solving the maze.

His hands formed and shifted seals at a speed invisible to the naked eye, golden runes pouring into the maze like a raging storm, wildly flooding it.

The maze's alterations grew ever more violent, the dark power surging like a tsunami, wave after wave assaulting Zhang Cheng. He felt his body as if being torn apart, the intense pain nearly causing him to faint.

"Zhang Cheng! Hold on!" Xiao Dian's urgent voice echoed from afar, but now he could barely hear it; all that filled his ears was a deafening roar, and before his eyes lay the endlessly twisting, deforming maze.

At that moment, an incomparably powerful force erupted from the maze's depths, instantly sweeping the entire maze. Zhang Cheng was struck as if by a massive hammer, flung backward and crashing heavily to the ground…

"Kelinda…"

The intense pain felt like countless needles piercing his body; Zhang Cheng sensed his bones shattering, a sweet‑bitter taste rose in his throat, but he clenched his teeth and forced the blood back down. His vision blurred, the dark power's impact nearly tearing his consciousness, he struggled weakly to rise, only to find even moving a finger was excruciatingly difficult.

"Zhang Cheng!" Xiao Dian's frantic voice came from afar, but now he could hear nothing; he could only see a vague silhouette wavering—that was Xiao Dian, recklessly trying to break through the obstacles to aid him.

"Useless. You think you can stop me?" the Envoy's cold voice echoed through the maze, laced with mockery, "Just accept your death!"

Despair and helplessness surged like a tide, and just as Zhang Cheng was about to give up, Kelinda's image suddenly flashed in his mind—her clear eyes, gentle smile, and the steadfast words: "I believe in you, Zhang Cheng."

"Kelinda…" Zhang Cheng mustered his last ounce of strength, forcing her name out between his teeth.

The call rang like a beam of light, illuminating the darkness within Zhang Cheng's heart. He recalled his promise to Kelinda, his entrusted mission, the people who had supported and helped him, and a powerful will surged from deep within.

"I can't give up! I must live! I must save Kelinda!" Zhang Cheng roared inside, his eyes reigniting with hopeful flame. He struggled to lift his body, trembling hands forming seals again; this time, his movements were no longer mechanical mimicry but infused with his will and belief.

The Long Xing Sage observed everything calmly; witnessing Zhang Cheng's astonishing perseverance in adversity, a hint of admiration flickered in his deep eyes. Yet regarding the Envoy's actions, he slightly frowned, seemingly displeased by such excessive interference, but ultimately took no action, merely watching silently as if awaiting something.

"A dying struggle!" the Envoy sneered, amplifying the dark power's output, and the maze's tremors grew even more violent, as if about to collapse at any moment.

At that instant, Zhang Cheng suddenly sensed a discord in the maze's changes; he endured the excruciating pain, focused his mind, and carefully perceived everything around him. Finally, he uncovered a crucial node hidden beneath the chaotic forces—the maze's core and the key to breaking the deadlock!

"Now!" a flash of resolve lit Zhang Cheng's eyes; he knew this was his sole chance and he had to seize it.

However, the Envoy also detected Zhang Cheng's intention; his complexion shifted, a cold malice flashing in his eyes as he sneered, "Think you can break my maze? Dream on! Go to your death!"

He abruptly raised both hands, an unprecedented surge of power coalescing in his palms, the entire space seeming to freeze; this was his strongest strike, intended to utterly erase Zhang Cheng.

"Zhang Cheng…" the Long Xing Sage observed the scene, a complex expression flashing in his eyes as he spoke slowly, seemingly trying to halt the Envoy, yet a moment later regained composure, merely watching silently as if awaiting something.

"Go to death!" the Envoy, now impatient, ignored the Long Xing Sage's reaction, intent on eliminating Zhang Cheng as quickly as possible.

Sensing the world‑shattering force, Zhang Cheng felt no fear; instead, a resolute smile appeared. He summoned every ounce of his internal energy, pouring it entirely into that crucial node.

"Break for me!" Zhang Cheng roared, the entire maze trembling violently, as if on the brink of collapse.

"Don't overestimate yourself!" the Envoy sneered, a black beam bearing annihilating aura hurling toward Zhang Cheng with a thunderous blast.

At that hair‑trigger moment, a figure suddenly appeared before Zhang Cheng.

"Mo Yi! What are you doing?!" the Envoy exclaimed, shocked and angry; he hadn't expected Mo Yi to intervene at this moment.

"Stop! He's already gravely wounded; you cannot kill him!" Mo Yi blocked in front of Zhang Cheng, saying firmly.

"Get out of the way! This is a matter of our Blood Night Demon Family, none of your concern!" the Envoy roared, the black beam unaltered by Mo Yi's obstruction.

Mo Yi did not waver; he spread his arms, his entire body erupting in dazzling red light, forming a solid barrier to block the lethal strike.

"Mo Yi!" Zhang Cheng, seeing the scene, felt both moved and worried; he knew Mo Yi acted to protect him, yet he also understood that, with Mo Yi's current strength, he could not withstand the Envoy's full-force attack.

Boom!

The black beam slammed into the red barrier, exploding with a deafening roar, the entire space shaking violently as if about to collapse…

And at that instant, the maze before Zhang Cheng finally split open with a fissure…