Chapter 116: Unexpected Allies, Turning the Tide

Ji Chen and Ceng Yue stood side by side, eyes like torches, staring fixedly at the violently pulsing mysterious fluctuation ahead.

That fluctuation felt like a giant heart, every beat making one's heart tremble, as if mocking their overestimation of their own capabilities.

The two were about to take another step to continue exploring this unknown realm when a strange sound suddenly came from behind them.

"What's the situation?" Ji Chen turned around abruptly, a sharp aura erupting instantly, shielding Ceng Yue beside him tightly, like a lion protecting its cubs.

Ceng Yue also quickly entered a battle state, airflow surging around her, her eyes as cold as knife blades, ready to meet unknown challenges at any moment.

The surrounding air seemed to have solidified, the tense atmosphere exploding instantly.

Only to see a group of uninvited guests appearing behind them like ghosts, surrounding the two of them.

These Ability Users were all tall and straight, their auras powerful, and they radiated a strong sense of oppression, like an invisible giant net, trapping Ji Chen and Ceng Yue firmly.

"Holy crap, what the hell is this?" Ji Chen felt the surrounding space seemingly shrinking, a sense of suffocation rushing toward him.

The strength of this group could not be underestimated; they were like a pack of hungry wolves, staring covetously at the prey before them, as if they would tear them to pieces in the next second.

He could clearly feel the murderous aura permeating the air, and could even hear the sound of his own heart beating faster, as if it were about to jump out of his chest.

Ceng Yue also frowned tightly; she could feel the energy fluctuations on these people, who were by no means ordinary.

This sense of oppression from being surrounded was simply like being blocked in a novice village by a group of bosses, making one's scalp tingle.

She raised her hand slightly, a cold energy condensing at her fingertips, ready to strike at any moment.

A stifling atmosphere permeated around the two, as if a storm were about to arrive.

Ji Chen and Ceng Yue stood back-to-back, watching the surrounding enemies vigilantly; they knew clearly that a fierce battle was probably unavoidable.

Their eyes met, silently conveying each other's determination; even if they had to fight, they would give this group a "first blood."

Just when Ji Chen and Ceng Yue thought a heaven-shaking battle was about to erupt, one of the Ability Users in the encirclement suddenly took a step forward, breaking this stifling silence. He looked at them with complex eyes and said: "We..." "We... are here to help." The person spat out this sentence with difficulty, the voice not loud, yet like a giant rock crashing into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves.

Ji Chen and Ceng Yue were both stunned, as if they had heard something fantastical; the atmosphere that had just been tense and ready to explode instantly became strange.

These guys aren't here to pick a fight?

Are they here to help?

This reversal was too sudden, simply more exciting than a roller coaster!

"Help? Are you sure you aren't here to throw your lives away?" Ji Chen raised an eyebrow, his tone filled with skepticism; he didn't believe that pies would fall from the sky.

These guys all looked fierce and malicious; saying they were here to help, only a ghost would believe it.

"We know you are exploring this mysterious fluctuation," the person seemed to have anticipated Ji Chen's reaction, continuing: "We were also attracted here by this fluctuation, and we possess some data regarding it, which might be helpful to you."

Saying this, the person took out a strangely shaped instrument, which flickered with strange light.

He operated it quickly, and a 3D projection appeared before them, displaying various data about the mysterious fluctuation in detail, dense and dazzling to the eyes.

"Holy crap, this thing looks very high-end!" Ji Chen exclaimed, instantly putting away his previous guard; he was instinctively interested in such tech-heavy things.

Ceng Yue also glanced sideways slightly.

Ji Chen scanned the content on the projection quickly, his brain like a high-speed computer, rapidly absorbing and analyzing this information.

The more he looked, the more surprised he became; the intelligence this group possessed was far more than theirs, simply like having a full-map cheat!

"This fluctuation is actually related to space-time energy?" Ji Chen muttered in a low voice, his tone filled with shock; he seemed to have grasped some key clues.

He hooked the corner of his mouth slightly, a confident smile appearing on his face; this smile was like a ray of sunlight in the darkness, filled with hope and power.

He raised his head confidently, scanning this group of "allies"; they seemed to see a natural leader, leading them toward victory.

The group of Ability Users looked at each other; they secretly rejoiced that they hadn't started fighting directly, otherwise they might have been beaten into "pig heads."

"It seems we have our work cut out for us," Ji Chen said slowly, a meaningful smile outlining his mouth, and he turned his gaze back to that mass of mysterious fluctuation.

"Then, next..." Ceng Yue just wanted to say something, but was suddenly stopped by Ji Chen raising his hand.

"Shh..." Ji Chen put his index finger to his lips, signaling everyone to be quiet.

His eyes were like torches, staring fixedly ahead, seemingly having discovered something unusual.

He slowly reached out his hand, as if wanting to touch something invisible, while his eyes were filled with indescribable complexity.

Ji Chen's "shh" sound was like pressing a pause button, causing the atmosphere that had just eased slightly to tense up again.

He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips lingering with faint golden light, as if touching the invisible veins in the air.

"Something's wrong, the energy of this fluctuation... seems even more violent."

"No way? Didn't we just figure out its principle?" a new ally couldn't help but say, his tone carrying a hint of panic.

"Principle is principle, reality is reality; the ideal is plump, but reality is skinny!" Ji Chen shrugged helplessly; he could feel that this mysterious fluctuation was becoming increasingly difficult to control.

"I think we should stabilize for a wave first, wait for me to calibrate the energy of this instrument, and then take the next step," another new ally, the guy holding the instrument, suggested, feeling it was better to be safe.

"No, the current situation cannot be delayed any longer; the longer it drags on, the more dangerous it becomes. I think we should just charge straight in!" Ji Chen directly vetoed this proposal.

"Charge in? Do you think we're Superman? What if it's Hell Mode ahead?" The new ally clearly disagreed with Ji Chen's point of view, feeling this was simply throwing their lives away.

"What are you afraid of? Wealth is sought in danger; how can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den!" Ji Chen looked disdainful; he didn't like to hesitate.

Both sides argued back and forth, neither willing to give in, and the atmosphere became tense again. The surrounding supernatural energy began to become disordered, and a thick smell of gunpowder permeated the air, as if it were about to explode at any moment.

Ceng Yue, however, always stood by Ji Chen's side. She didn't speak, just silently released her own ice energy, helping him stabilize the chaotic aura around them.

She knew Ji Chen's decision wouldn't be wrong.

Ji Chen felt Ceng Yue's support and turned to look at her.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. I think we should synthesize the opinions of both sides; we need to be both stable and reckless." The new ally who spoke before hurriedly came out to smooth things over; he didn't want infighting right after forming an alliance.

Ji Chen also felt this proposal was good. He took a deep breath and looked at everyone, "Then it's settled: stable but reckless, speed must be fast, posture must be cool!"

With everyone's joint efforts, they finally broke through a barrier.

This barrier, like a natural moat, blocked their path forward.

They gathered their strength and tore it apart; this feeling was simply awesome.

However, the moment they passed through the barrier, the scene before them left them stunned instantly.

A huge, abyss-like vortex appeared before their eyes; within that vortex emanated terrifying energy fluctuations, like a monster swallowing everything.

Ji Chen, Ceng Yue, and the new allies looked at the terrifying scene behind the barrier, their hearts filled with shock. ===== CHAPTER 117 =====