At this moment, Zhou Qing's whole body trembled, his face flushed, and the veins on his neck bulged fiercely.
Hearing the rapidly approaching rustling from behind, he roared inwardly and then leapt with all his might, directly jumping out of the last Gravity Zone.
Instantly, his whole body felt a burst of lightness, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
But he couldn't afford to rest. Rolling and crawling, he quickly hid behind a pillar not far away. Just as he slipped in, the Wandering Souls whizzed back through the passage.
Only after they had completely disappeared did Zhou Qing breathe a long sigh of relief, smiling bitterly with lingering fear.
"As expected, human potential only comes out when forced. To think I got through such a long stretch in so short a time!"
Before he could finish speaking, countless Wandering Souls once again roared out, this time in even greater numbers than before.
Watching this, Zhou Qing's scalp tingled.
"Could the Supreme Elder have sent people to rescue me?" Zhou Qing's eyes lit up.
After regaining some strength, Zhou Qing looked at the quiet passage ahead and immediately began to search around.
"It's still too dangerous here. I can't just sit and wait to die. I must quickly find that key. Once the gravity is lifted, the Supreme Elders can come in, and only then will it be truly safe!"
After thinking it through, Zhou Qing began searching cautiously, not daring to make any noise. If there were any Golden Core Realm Wandering Souls here, he would really be done for.
But after a turn around, he found nothing.
"That's strange, didn't the Supreme Elder say the key should be at the edge of the Gravity Zone?"
Feeling puzzled, Zhou Qing searched again, muttering curses under his breath, then looked deeper in.
"Zhou Qing, Zhou Qing, you are too naive. They even said the Gravity Zone was safe. How did it turn out? Like chasing dogs. Can you trust their words?"
Gazing into the depths, Zhou Qing hesitated. The Supreme Elder had specifically instructed him not to wander aimlessly after entering, but to wait for them in place after finding the key.
After a brief contemplation, Zhou Qing made a decision: "I'll take their words in reverse. If there's nothing, then there's something. If they say don't go in, that means go in."
Having made up his mind, he took out a Moonlight Pearl from his Storage Bag and began advancing.
Just a few steps later, he seemed to notice something, and quickened his pace.
At this moment, a half-meter-wide tunnel appeared on one side of the wall, with plenty of green bricks discarded on the ground.
Zhou Qing felt incredulous because the green bricks forming this wall were not ordinary bricks but made of a peculiar type of Cold Jade, even containing mysterious Array magic.
Even the Supreme Elders couldn't get in, and had to send them inside to open the gate from within.
But now, it had been silently destroyed by someone else.
As the Moonlight Pearl shone upon it, two words were arrogantly engraved beside it—Just this?
"Just this?"
Zhou Qing murmured, feeling indignant at the thought of the other party's smug expression.
The most mysterious Pocket World of the Taiqing Sect had been mocked by such petty thieves.
If the Supreme Elders and the Sect Leader saw this, wouldn't they be furious?
Zhou Qing poked his head into the tunnel, finding it pitch black, with no idea where it led.
He dared not use it to escape since even entering this Grotto Heaven, the Supreme Elders hadn't let them know the route.
As Zhou Qing stood up and continued forward, he soon saw the grinding disc.
Instantly, his face filled with joy, and he ran over.
"Was this left here by someone?"
Instead of turning it immediately, he looked around, noticing deep drag marks on the ground, indicating it had been hauled there.
"Could it be that thief?" Zhou Qing looked back at the large hole in the wall and whispered to himself.
Now that he had found the key, it was best to let the Supreme Elders in quickly. If he encountered more danger, he wouldn't be able to handle it.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, filled with a ghostly aura, even the air exuding a musty smell.
He quickly jumped onto the grinding disc, circulating the Spiritual Power within his body, ready to turn it counterclockwise.
But suddenly, a cold wind blew from the deeper passage, making Zhou Qing shiver.
The next moment, his entire body seemed to be forcefully dragged in by an irresistible power.
In a blur, the surrounding scenery rapidly retreated into the distance, who knows how far he was taken, leaving him dizzy.
Until he suddenly stopped, then fell to the ground, dry heaving.
After feeling slightly better, he immediately stood up, on guard, looking around.
When he saw the surrounding scene clearly, his face turned deathly pale.
In front of him lay a red river of unknown destination, eerily, with numerous black Dead Crows floating on it.
These emitted coldness and rot, making one's heart race with fear.
On the river's far bank grew a gigantic ancient tree, so enormous it seemed to support the sky, yet now appeared withered and decayed.
Its branches twisted and coiled like black steel pillars, full of cracks from age.
Most eerily, at the unreachable tree top, dozens of thick iron chains emitted a chilling cold light, tightly binding a pulsating black heart.
With each beat, the heart made a dull, eerie sound, seemingly freezing Zhou Qing's blood.
Furthermore, beneath the giant tree, six coffins were neatly arranged, exuding a powerful and mysterious pressure as if containing peerless warriors in deep sleep, daring no one to gaze directly.
Red River, Dead Crows, Giant Tree, Heart, Coffins...
The oppressive force radiated like a surging tide, making it hard for Zhou Qing to breathe, pushing him to the brink of fainting.
What was this place?
Why would there be such horrors within the Taiqing Sect's Pocket World?
Was this why the Supreme Elders forbade them from delving deeply?
Or was it that the Supreme Elder's Cultivation Technique breakthrough was to obtain something here?
And how did I get in?
Before Zhou Qing could clear his thoughts, a voice, indistinguishably male or female, suddenly echoed in his mind.
"A young man with extraordinary bones, your fortune has arrived. If you can pass the trial, this bowl with supreme power will be yours!"
Next, a broken porcelain bowl shakily floated down from the giant tree.
Zhou Qing was stunned, taking a step back.
But before he could refuse, the voice spoke again in his mind.
"There is only one trial question, super simple. Answer it correctly and not only will the bowl be yours, but you can also leave safely. Otherwise, if the tide begins here, you will die without a burial place!"
Zhou Qing hurriedly said, "Isn't this trial too sudden? You didn't give me any mental preparation. And besides, such a broken bowl doesn't look like a treasure."
"I told you the trial question is very simple. Let me give you a hint: there's a fifty-fifty chance, don't dawdle, let's begin!"
As the voice fell silent, lines of text suddenly appeared in the air.
[If you had cultivated bitterly for a hundred years and finally avenged your great enemy by exterminating his entire clan, and suddenly found a child in a corner, what would you do?]
Looking at the trial question, Zhou Qing blinked. It was indeed a fifty-fifty question as the voice had said.
"What would you do?" The indistinguishable male or female voice sounded again.