Chapter 68: Chen Hao's Advice

"You, you should be more careful!" Chen Hao knocked the stick away, scolding Feng Yan.

"Isn't this because you're here?" Feng Yan scratched the back of his head, smiling as he said.

Chen Hao opened his mouth to speak, but at a glance saw the iron rod behind them rise again, and the surrounding scenery began to change! The two exchanged looks, confirming it wasn't anyone's illusion, nodded, and closed their eyes. They leaned against each other's backs, then suddenly opened their eyes, and Chen Hao burst into loud laughter. Feng Yan watched Chen Hao, puzzled, and stared at him with confusion.

Chen Hao slapped Feng Yan across the face with a loud smack; Feng Yan winced in pain and shouted, "It hurts!"

Feng Yan tried to say something, but Chen Hao cut him off, saying, "Now, let's see if the wall is still moving."

"It's stopped, but why?" Feng Yan answered Chen Hao's question while also asking another.

"It's simple; it's just a psychological effect," Chen Hao replied, then asked Feng Yan, "Have you ever played a classic shooting arcade game?"

"Which arcade?" Feng Yan pressed.

"Metal Slug. One level involves flight and shares a similarity with this: the map's background itself moves, but when you stop, it still feels like it's moving. I'm not sure of the exact mechanism," Chen Hao explained to Feng Yan.

"Uh, no, this isn't the time to talk about that. We should be thinking about how to get out of here, or at least get rid of this damned stick, and I just felt the enemies here aren't just a single stick," he said.

"You mean? There's something else…?" Chen Hao hurriedly asked, his mind racing, thinking: It's already bad enough; if something else shows up, that's just too much.

Before Chen Hao could finish, a huge crash sounded from behind.

"Boom!"

"You mouth, I want to tear your mouth to shreds!" Feng Yan teased Chen Hao while gripping the Red Sword with both hands.

"Hehe." Chen Hao laughed awkwardly, scratching his head.

Feng Yan watched the wall warily; it was dark purple, covered with countless tiny patterns that seemed normal at first glance, but as the candle flame flickered up and down, the markings began to move!

Feng Yan's eyes widened; he couldn't believe the wall's effect! It was truly a static wall, yet the patterns gave a sense of motion. He showed a worried expression and asked Chen Hao, "So, what can we do to deal with this thing now?"

Hearing Feng Yan's question, Chen Hao smiled and said, "It's simple: when we move, they move too, so if we close our eyes, we won't see them."

Feng Yan slowly approached the iron rod, picked up the black iron bar, and stared absentmindedly at it. A growing confusion filled his gaze—why did this lifeless iron bar suddenly shrink and then return to its original size? These questions lingered in his mind, and when he turned his head, he saw the spot where the stone statue had been shattered, its body reduced to powder.

Chen Hao watched Feng Yan's actions, equally puzzled; when Feng Yan bent down, Chen Hao moved to his side and saw Feng Yan grasp a handful of the stone statue's powdered remains with his left hand, as if he had realized something.

"What is this? The corpse of the stone statue that attacked me? It turned straight into powder—impressive!" Chen Hao asked, admiring the power of Feng Yan's sword.

But Feng Yan kept staring at the powder in his left hand, ignoring Chen Hao's words. He examined the gray dust carefully; after a while, he set the iron bar aside, drew the Black Sword from his back, and slowly sprinkled the powder onto the blade of his Black Sword.

Chen Hao was puzzled; he watched Feng Yan's odd behavior but didn't intervene, then heard Feng Yan say, "If I'm not mistaken, these things will try to control the sword spirit of my blade."

Then Feng Yan laid the sword flat on the ground, intending to observe the white powder's movement on it; the results truly gave the two a shock, their backs sweating, and he silently thought, "Luckily I'm lucky."

The gray powder on the Black Sword slowly seeped into the blade, which struggled fiercely, and suddenly the Black Sword burst into flames!

"Uh! Can we still use it?" Chen Hao asked Feng Yan.

"I don't know if it can be used," Feng Yan replied, half‑joking, "but I feel it's definitely scorching hot to touch now!"

"Alright, are you being cheeky now?" Chen Hao grinned maliciously, asking Feng Yan.

"This isn't about being cheeky, okay!" Feng Yan replied irritably; he knew that if this wasn't resolved, things ahead would get even worse.

He picked up the nearby iron bar and slammed it directly at the Black Sword's blade!

"Bang!"

The iron bar struck the blade with a huge clang, and the fire on the Black Sword gradually faded, shrinking until, after a while, the flames vanished completely.

"Hmm, the bet paid off!" Feng Yan laughed, then tossed the iron rod aside and picked up his Black Sword.

Chen Hao picked up the iron rod Chen Hao had just tossed, thinking, "Nice guy, this thing isn't bad at all!"

Just as Chen Hao lifted the iron rod that Feng Yan had dropped, it emitted a burst of sound.

"Boom!"

"It looks like something fell!" Chen Hao said, looking up at the opening.

"A boulder! Ah, a boulder!" Chen Hao shouted, calling to Feng Yan, "Hurry! Smash that boulder!"

"Hm?" Feng Yan heard Chen Hao's shout, drew his Black Sword, and looked up; a massive rock hovered overhead, which, if it fell, would crush them both into mush!

"Yes, Master Chen Hao!" Feng Yan replied, preparing to smash the rock, but just as he was about to strike, the rock stopped descending.

Feng Yan's eyes widened as he saw another huge iron rod wedged against the stone!

"Is that luck?" Feng Yan laughed, sheathing his Black Sword.

Chen Hao didn't know what had happened; he only realized his iron rod was gone, his face showing deep disappointment as he said, "It's gone. That thing was good, and now it's taken away—how shameless! My face isn't black, why is this happening!"

Seeing Chen Hao's dejected expression, Feng Yan tossed him a Red Sword—the other one from the Black Sword set. Chen Hao's eyes lit up as he quickly grasped it, and Feng Yan said, "We must think of a solution quickly, or we'll be doomed."

Hearing Feng Yan's words, Chen Hao instinctively looked up; the iron rod was already bent by the boulder, visibly warping at eye‑level speed. Chen Hao said, "Can't you just split it apart?"

"No, it's too hot!" Feng Yan replied.

"That excuse leaves me speechless," Chen Hao muttered, forced to think of another way.

The boulder descended inch by inch, causing Chen Hao anxiety, while Feng Yan gripped his Black Sword, ready to cleave the stone at any moment. Yet they pondered: if they shattered the rock, the falling shards might cause severe injury, though not death; if they left it, they'd await death in this game, and they didn't know whether they could return to reality.

After much deliberation, the two decided on a single strike to split the boulder overhead.

The candle flame flickered gently, its light trembling; the two slowly reached the cavern's center, standing together there. As they prepared to cleave the overhead rock, a faint bluish glow erupted from beneath their feet.

"What's happening?" Feng Yan watched the flickering light beneath his feet, puzzled, then the glow vanished.

"Did the server explode?" Chen Hao joked half‑heartedly, gripping the Red Sword Feng Yan gave him, ready to attack together.

"Then, as I said at the start, let's begin!" Chen Hao declared, and Feng Yan nodded.

The two tensed, gripping their swords tightly, and Chen Hao shouted, "Ready…!"

Before the attack could be called, darkness fell suddenly; before Chen Hao and Feng Yan could react, they heard water dripping inside the cavern.

"Drip!"

"What's going on?" Chen Hao sensed trouble and asked Feng Yan, "What should we do now?"

Feng Yan was momentarily flustered, and after hearing Chen Hao's question, he helplessly replied, "Even if you ask me, I don't know!"

As soon as Feng Yan finished speaking, violent tremors erupted around them!

"What's going on?" Chen Hao shouted.

The azure light grew brighter, then slowly revealed its power; the spell formation began to take effect, gradually destroying everything inside the cavern, and then they entered a completely dark world.

The two floated in midair, gripping their longswords, barely supporting their bodies, trying to stay conscious; the spell formation was like a vortex, pulling them toward a mysterious place, and just then Feng Yan looked back, finally realizing—it was a hexagram spell formation!

"So that's it." Feng Yan laughed, then said to Chen Hao, "I guess we're being taken somewhere."

"Where?" Chen Hao asked.

"The true treasure of the state!" Feng Yan said.