After reaching an agreement with the young boy, Ye Ling and his companions returned to the stone gate within the valley.
Ye Ling looked at the young boy, who was gnawing on a roasted rabbit beside them, and chuckled, "Kid, it's your turn to perform."
"Mhm, mhm..."
The young boy nodded, placed the half-eaten roasted rabbit on the ground, wiped his greasy hands on his backside, and then trotted towards the stone gate.
Watching the boy's retreating back, Ye Qingyan asked Ye Ling with some suspicion, "Ye Ling, can this guy you mentioned be trusted?"
Ye Ling nodded and smiled, "Don't let his lack of strength fool you. He's a natural spirit born here, so it's not wrong to consider him the master of this place."
"That powerful?" Ye Qingyan exclaimed, still harboring some doubt and disbelief.
"You'll know soon enough."
Ye Ling smiled faintly, his gaze fixed on the young boy. His divine soul spread outwards, monitoring all changes in the surroundings.
The young boy walked up to the stone gate, rubbed his hands together, and placed his palms on the stone surface.
*Hummm—!*
With a strange sound, the entire stone gate was instantly covered in runes, and a powerful force emanated from within.
"These runes..." Ye Qingyan's pupils contracted slightly as she saw the runes on the stone gate, and she looked at Ye Ling in astonishment, "These runes seem to be of the same type as the one on my wrist imprint!"
"Mhm..." Ye Ling nodded slightly, "The runes on this stone gate are all Creation God script. It appears they were deliberately carved onto the stone gate. It seems the person who built this valley was no ordinary individual."
As Ye Ling and Ye Qingyan conversed, a white line appeared in the center of the stone gate. The entire valley began to shake, and the massive stone gate slowly opened, releasing an aura that seemed to originate from ancient primordial times.
"It really opened!" Ye Qingyan exclaimed with delight upon seeing the stone gate open, marveling repeatedly.
Zhao Fugui, however, couldn't help but feel a surge of fear in his eyes as the gate opened, instinctively stepping back.
The terrifying experiences he had in this valley before resurfaced in his mind.
Ye Ling noticed Zhao Fugui's movement and asked, "What are you afraid of?"
Zhao Fugui swallowed hard, staring intently at the opening stone gate, and stammered, "Your Majesty... there are monsters inside. You must be extremely careful!"
Ye Ling didn't take Zhao Fugui's warning seriously, replying with a smile, "I'm quite curious as to how terrifying the monsters inside are. You lead the way."
Zhao Fugui trembled violently, "I... I lead the way?"
"Or else? Do you think I spared your life until now just for you to sightsee?"
Hearing Ye Ling's threat, Zhao Fugui knew he couldn't disobey Ye Ling's command. He could only steel himself and walk towards the stone gate.
Ye Ling and Ye Qingyan followed behind.
The young boy at the gate saw Ye Ling's group about to enter and blocked the entrance with his body. He pointed behind the gate and frantically waved his hands, shaking his head at Ye Ling and the other two.
Ye Qingyan asked in confusion, "What is this little fellow trying to convey?"
Ye Ling walked up to the young boy and crouched down, asking, "Are you saying it's dangerous inside and you don't want us to go in?"
"Mhm, mhm!" The young boy nodded vigorously.
"Then I'll release my aura, and you can judge who is stronger, me or the one inside."
Ye Ling then released one-tenth of his aura and asked the young boy, "Is the monster inside stronger, or is my aura stronger?"
The young boy pointed behind the gate.
Ye Ling released half of his aura and asked again, "What about now?"
The young boy's face turned slightly pale as he felt Ye Ling's terrifying aura, but he still pointed behind the gate.
"There's such a powerful being on Earth?"
Receiving the young boy's response, a hint of surprise flashed in Ye Ling's eyes, but he didn't further increase his aura.
His aura at fifty percent was already the limit the young boy could withstand; any higher would be meaningless.
After a rough estimation of the monster's strength inside, Ye Ling took out a roasted rabbit and handed it to the young boy, saying with a smile, "You don't need to follow us inside anymore. This roasted rabbit is for you."
The young boy took the roasted rabbit and stared intently at Ye Ling, his eyes filled with worry, clearly concerned for Ye Ling's safety.
With the roasted rabbit, Ye Ling had formed a deep friendship with this young boy.
Seeing the young boy's worried expression, Ye Ling smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. You just stay outside."
Zhao Fugui, on the other hand, became even more frightened. Seeing Ye Ling unleash such a terrifying aura, and the young boy still pointing inside, his face instantly turned deathly pale, and he stammered, "Your... Your Majesty, even the spirit here says it's dangerous. Do we really have to go in?"
He had only recently become a god and hadn't had a chance to enjoy life; he didn't want to die here!
"Or else?" Ye Ling stood up and said to Zhao Fugui, "You've been inside once. This time, you'll lead the way. After this matter is settled, I'll let you return to that world and be a god there."
"Until then, do as I say."
"I... I understand." Zhao Fugui's legs began to tremble upon hearing that Ye Ling still wanted him to lead the way, but he dared not disobey Ye Ling's command. He could only brace himself and walk inside.
After Zhao Fugui entered the stone gate, Ye Ling and Ye Qingyan exchanged a glance and followed suit, entering the stone gate.
*Rumble, rumble!*
After the three of them entered the stone gate, it slowly closed, trapping Ye Ling and the other two inside the valley.
"It... it closed..."
Zhao Fugui turned around in terror upon hearing the sound behind him, his fear intensifying.
To him, the closing stone gate felt like someone had placed a coffin lid over him!
He was doomed!
Ye Ling frowned at Zhao Fugui, who was still trembling in place, and urged, "What are you still standing there for? Lead the way, take us to where the stone gate is."
"Yes, yes..."
Prompted by Ye Ling, Zhao Fugui no longer dared to dawdle and quickly turned to walk deeper into the valley.
Ye Qingyan looked at Zhao Fugui's slender back and quietly asked Ye Ling, "This valley is so perilous. Is it appropriate to have Zhao Fugui, who has low strength, lead the way?"
After all, Zhao Fugui possessed the godhead of another world. Bringing him back to Earth was merely a temporary borrowing; if Zhao Fugui wasn't allowed to return alive, that world would eventually decline.
Therefore, Zhao Fugui could not die here.
Ye Ling, however, smiled and said, "Precisely because his strength is low, he is most suitable as bait. This valley is full of strangeness, and we don't know what's hidden within. Having Zhao Fugui lead the way is perfect for him to trigger traps for us."
Ye Qingyan asked, "What if he dies? Won't we be cheating the Heavenly Dao of that world?"
Ye Ling replied, "Don't worry, with me here, he won't die. It's just that the process might be a bit stimulating for him."
"Stimulating?" Ye Qingyan blinked in surprise.
Ye Ling smiled slightly, then placed his hand on Ye Qingyan, and they both concealed themselves.
Zhao Fugui, walking ahead, suddenly felt the area behind him become quiet. He looked back and was shocked to find that Ye Ling and Ye Qingyan had disappeared, leaving him alone in the valley.
"Your Majesty? Miss Ye?"
Zhao Fugui broke out in a cold sweat and his face turned ashen upon finding Ye Ling and Ye Qingyan suddenly vanish.
"Where... where are they?"
"Your Majesty?"
"Miss Ye?"
Zhao Fugui's heart filled with fear, and he began calling out Ye Ling and Ye Qingyan's names in the valley, but there was no response from any living creature other than his own echo.
Ye Ling and Ye Qingyan had truly disappeared.
"Th-they're gone..." Zhao Fugui collapsed to the ground, his face filled with terror, "Could it be that monster..."
He recalled his previous terrifying experience here, and felt the urge to urinate again, his lower body inexplicably damp.
"It's over, Your Majesty and Miss Ye are both dead, just like my teammates!"
"I shouldn't have come here!"
Zhao Fugui, believing that Ye Ling and Ye Qingyan had both been devoured by the monsters inside, was overcome with boundless fear. He ran frantically back towards the stone gate, but the stone gate remained tightly shut, and he couldn't get out.
"Open, open!"
"Little fellow, help me open the door, and I'll give you roasted wild rabbits! As many as you want!"
Zhao Fugui frantically pounded on the stone gate, trying to get the spirit outside to open it for him, but no matter how much he roared, the stone gate remained unresponsive.
He was completely trapped inside!
After knocking on the stone gate for a long time, Zhao Fugui finally had to accept the reality of being trapped. He turned to look deeper into the valley and muttered to himself, "There's no other way, I have to keep going forward. If I can find those stone gates, maybe there's a way to escape..."
Zhao Fugui finally resigned himself to his fate and began to walk deeper into the valley.
Now, only by continuing deeper would he have a glimmer of hope.
The valley was shrouded in white mist from above, with smooth stone walls on both sides. The entire space was hazy, giving off a sense of inexplicable oppression. Zhao Fugui walked alone in the valley, appearing incredibly solitary.
Ye Qingyan, hidden in the shadows, watched Zhao Fugui, who seemed like a walking corpse, and a flicker of pity crossed her eyes. She asked Ye Ling, "Isn't it a bit too cruel to leave him alone in this valley? He looks rather pitiful."
Ye Ling, however, did not think so. "You should think of it this way: he's from the Shadow Hall and should have died in the village square. It was we who spared his life."
"Every second he lives now is a bonus. Moreover, with us protecting him from the shadows, he's impossible to kill. At most, he'll just be a little scared, which is equivalent to helping him temper his spirit. Otherwise, with his tendency to wet himself at the slightest provocation, he'd only meet his end upon returning to the other world."
"The way you put it... it does make some sense. I might have been overly worried." Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye Qingyan nodded thoughtfully and finally hardened her heart, watching Zhao Fugui walk deeper into the valley.
In the vast, silent valley, Zhao Fugui cautiously advanced while looking around. Soon, he reached a pile of rubble.
"Huh? I remember there used to be stone gates here. Why has it turned into a pile of rubble now?"
Zhao Fugui's eyes changed slightly as he saw the pile of rubble ahead. He immediately looked back, and after confirming he hadn't taken a wrong turn, he quickly entered the rubble to examine the stones within.
Seeing Zhao Fugui scrambling around in the pile of stones, Ye Qingyan couldn't help but ask again, "Ye Ling, do you think he might have misremembered? Are there no stone gates in this valley?"
Ye Ling, however, shook his head and said, "No. On the contrary, I think Zhao Fugui has led us to a treasure trove."
"A treasure trove?" Ye Qingyan blinked in surprise.
Ye Ling glanced at the pile of rubble ahead and said in a deep voice, "The stones here... are the raw materials for those stone gates. And this valley... I've always felt it was very familiar, as if I've seen it somewhere before."
"You've been here before?" Ye Qingyan exclaimed in shock.
Ye Ling recalled the valley where he obtained the Soul Suppressor... If the stone walls on both sides of this valley were carved with runes, then this place...
It would be exactly the same as that valley!
Thinking of this, Ye Ling narrowed his eyes slightly and sighed, "This place... is likely the initial land from which the Creation Legacy was spread!"