Xiao Lou took the floor plan that Lao Mo had drawn on the handkerchief, pointed to the two secret chambers of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and said, "The exit of the maze is very likely in the Six Paths of Reincarnation chambers, but we have just observed carefully and have not found any special mechanisms?"
Gui Yuanzhang said, "Indeed, the six walls of that secret room and the Herbal Hut in the middle are covered with talismans. The Herbal Hut can rotate, revealing doors on the six walls. If, as you say, the exit of the maze is in the initial secret room… then what is the mechanism?"
Old Mo speculated, "Could it be that the Herbal Hut can still rotate?"
With time running out and no concrete results to be found, Xiao Lou suggested, "Senior Gui, please return to the Six Paths of Reincarnation chamber and examine it carefully again. We need to go back to Hell Path and complete the remaining three levels to see if everyone's deductions are correct."
Gui Yuanzhang nodded, and the group quickly left Peach Blossom Spring.
The Peach Blossom Spring is located on the platform of the stairs on the east side. Continuing eastward, you will find the Six Paths of Reincarnation chamber on the east side. If you go in the opposite direction, Gui Yuanzhang and his companions will return to the Six Paths of Reincarnation chamber on the west side.
Gui Yuanzhang led the team back to the secret chamber, while Xiao Lou used Li Qingzhao's teleportation to teleport the six of them to Volcano Hell.
Shao Qingge just copied Tang Ci's [Smart Armor] card using the [ Rich and Willful ] card.
Everyone donned their heat-resistant protective armor once more. The entire Volcano Hell was engulfed in flames; normally, entering would result in being burned to death. However, the heat-resistant armor completely shielded them from the raging fire, allowing the six to safely exit Volcano Hell.
We have completed sixteen levels of the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
The remaining two levels are "Stone Mill Hell" and "Knife Hell".
Among them, the Stone Mill Hell is like a giant rotating millstone.
Xiao Lou had seen this kind of millstone at his grandparents' house when he was a child. It could grind wheat to produce flour. At that time, the millstone, which occupied the entire room, spun rapidly. If it couldn't keep up, it would grind the wheat into mincemeat.
Xiao Lou used Li Qingzhao's speed reduction sign, and everyone quickly climbed over the top of the millstone.
The Hell of the Great Saws is filled with countless sharp saws that cut and saw back and forth endlessly.
These blades move extremely fast, and a slight mistake could cleave you in two. However, after a moment of careful observation, a pattern can be observed. Referring to the method for navigating the traps in the Scissors Hell, everyone carefully moved forward step by step.
After the Eighteen Levels of Hell ended, a beam of light appeared before them, and Xiao Lou led his teammates out through the glowing door—
It was indeed the Six Paths of Reincarnation secret chamber.
He saw the blue arrow mark he had left in front of the door of Hell Path.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance, and the latter whispered, "It seems the deduction is correct. The maze is indeed a mottled structure. No matter which path we take, we will eventually return to this secret room."
Simply put, this underground labyrinth is like having two giant flower petals, one on the east side and one on the west side.
Assuming Gui Yuanzhang and his group are located in the Six Paths of Reincarnation secret room, which is point B, and Xiao Lou and his group are located in point A, then Gui Yuanzhang's current route is: Secret Room B → Heavenly Path Mechanism → Secret Room B → Humanity Path Mechanism → Secret Room B.
Instead of venturing deeper into the maze, they circled around it twice.
Xiao Lou and his group's route was: Room A → Eighteen Hell Mechanisms → Room A, which was also a long detour.
Upon entering the Six Paths of Reincarnation chamber, you'll see six doors on six walls. You'll instinctively assume that one of these doors is the correct exit, which is why you'll split up to try different paths.
But now, whether it's the Way of Heaven, the Way of Humanity, or the Hell Path... the end is also the beginning.
Xiao Lou's gaze swept across the entire secret room. The talismans on the walls were still there, and the Herbal Hut in the middle corresponded to the six walls. Could it be, as Lao Mo said, that this Herbal Hut could continue to rotate?
Thinking of this, he looked at his teammates and said, "Let's see if this Herbal Hut can still rotate."
This Herbal Hut was so heavy that it took Lu Jiuchuan, Yu Hanjiang, and Lao Mo three working together to spin it. After hearing Xiao Lou's words, the three of them stepped forward again, each holding one corner and starting to spin it.
However, no matter how hard they tried, the meter-tall Herbal Hut remained completely still.
Xiao Lou asked Ye Qi, "Xiao Ye, what have you found over there?"
Ye Qi said, " The Herbal Hut won't turn. We've thoroughly checked every inch of the six walls, but we haven't found any other mechanisms. I even tried tearing down some talismans, but the secret room still doesn't respond."
Where exactly is the government office located?
Xiao Lou continued to observe the secret chamber of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Suddenly, he discovered that the three talismans on the Herbal Hut in the middle, corresponding to the Hell Path, the Heavenly Path, and the Human Path, would light up a sliver of light every now and then.
His gaze sharpened, and he walked over for a closer look—it wasn't his eyes playing tricks on him; the patterns on the runes corresponding to the Heavenly Path, Human Path, and Hell Path walls were indeed flashing.
Xiao Lou suddenly understood. He pressed his earpiece and said to everyone, "The three doors meant we didn't walk in vain. The design of the petal-shaped maze should be like this—the center of the flower is the mechanism, but all six petals must be lit up for the central mechanism to be activated. The lighting of the petals is shared. Senior Gui led the team through the Human Path and the Heaven Path, and we just finished the Hell Path. The three talismans of the Herbal Hut have been lit up. I guess all six talismans must be lit up for the Herbal Hut to be activated."
Upon closer inspection, Gui Yuanzhang noticed that within their secret chamber, the Herbal Hut in the center also had three talismans flashing.
Ye Qi said excitedly, "It's just like a single-player RPG game. You have to activate a few side mechanisms before you can open the main mechanism. It seems we still have to go through the remaining three doors?"
Xiao Lou said, "Seniors, why don't you take the Asura Path? We'll try the Animal Path instead."
Gui Yuanzhang had no objection: "Okay."
The group split up again.
After Xiao Lou and his six companions entered Animal Path, they inexplicably discovered that they had all been transformed into animals?!
Lu Jiuchuan became a black ox, Yu Hanjiang became a horse, Lao Mo became a rooster, and Xiao Lou became a lamb.
Since Tang Ci and Liu Qiao were already in transformation mode, their sizes shrank after they turned into animals— Tang Ci became a small dog the size of a thumb, and Liu Qiao became a small pig the size of a thumb.
Lu Jiuchuan: "Moo!"
Old Mo: "Hehehe!"
Liu Qiao: "Woof woof woof?"
Xiao Lou: "Huh? Huh?"
Lu Jiuchuan: "......"
This is a fucking cross-species speech, nobody can understand it!
The six people were speechless.
Animal Path reincarnated them as animals— Diamonds, you're really good at causing trouble.
Yu Hanjiang flicked his horse's tail and spurred his horse forward, as if to say, "Hurry up."
Lu Jiuchuan turned the bull's head and bent down to let Tang Ci climb onto its horns. The thumb-sized little dog Tang Ci had no choice but to climb up, while Liu Qiao struggled to climb up Old Mo's rooster tail.
Yu Hanjiang led the way, followed by cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and pigs.
Since they couldn't communicate, everyone kept quiet to avoid making strange "woof woof" or "baa baa" sounds.
The further they went, the more sinister the atmosphere became, and they could see the blood and corpses of many of their kind.
Xiao Lou was surprised to find that cards were disabled in this secret room.
Animal Path is clearly meant to let them experience the misery of being treated like cattle and horses.
The surrounding walls were covered with bloody murals depicting various animals tortured to death, their eyes filled with bloody tears. Xiao Lou became increasingly horrified as he looked. Fortunately, the secret room did not have any particularly dangerous traps. They walked for about ten minutes and reached the exit.
Upon seeing the door with light, Xiao Lou breathed a sigh of relief and left Animal Path with his teammates.
Everyone has finally changed back.
Lu Jiuchuan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on: "First I became an ugly duckling, then I tried what it's like to be a cow. The experience has been quite rich."
Xiao Lou, now a little lamb, didn't want to talk.
He walked over and looked at the central Herbal Hut; the talisman symbolizing the Animal Path was indeed lit up. Ye Qi and the others were walking the Asura Path, which wasn't lit up yet. Xiao Lou used Telepathic Connection to ask, "Xiao Ye, how's it going on your end?"
Ye Qi said, "We're surrounded by all sorts of strange monsters. They don't have physical forms; they're like wisps of black mist floating in the air, constantly attacking us. Luckily, Senior Gui is very powerful; he used his brush to drive the monsters away!"
Xiao Lou had seen Gui Yuanzhang's brush before; wielding it could make targets float and move. With Senior Gui around, Xiao Lou didn't need to worry about the dangers Ye Qi and the others faced for the time being, and led his teammates to continue on the final Hungry Ghost Path.
After entering the room and walking only a few meters, a large group of ferocious-looking ghosts suddenly pounced on them—
Xiao Lou hurriedly summoned Bai Juyi, and used her third skill [ Song of Everlasting Sorrow ] to immediately stop attacking a large number of targets!
Countless evil spirits seemed to have been paused, their movements instantly halting.
Xiao Lou, still shaken, hurriedly said, "Let's go!"
The six people ran forward quickly. After turning a corner, several more evil spirits pounced on them. At the same time, other evil spirits emerged from the ground and grabbed their legs tightly.
A chilling, eerie scream echoed in my ears.
Yu Hanjiang frowned deeply: " The Hungry Ghost Path wants us to become food for these hungry ghosts?"
After saying that, he suddenly drew his military knife and cleaved the bare bones of the little ghost that was hugging Xiao Lou's legs. He pulled Xiao Lou into his arms and at the same time, his Lightness Skill flew up, stepping on the heads of several ghosts and rushing forward at high speed!
Old Mo followed suit, taking Liu Qiao from his pocket and using his Lightness Skill to fly, while Lu Jiuchuan simply rode on the Vermilion Bird.
The Hungry Ghost Path is a very long path. The entire cave, from the ground and walls to the ceiling, is teeming with evil spirits. These evil spirits are baring their fangs and claws, revealing their bare bones. The scene is even more terrifying than a zombie horde!
Yu Hanjiang took the lead, wielding his military knife with incredible speed. Any hungry ghosts that reached out their bones to grab them from the walls on either side were instantly cut down by his military knife!
Xiao Lou focused on dealing with the evil spirits above his head. His Compass was drawing circles at a speed of one per second, and countless silver rings floated in the air as projectiles, throwing all the hungry ghosts that climbed down to attack them out of the air!
The two worked together to clear the area, with Lao Mo and Lu Jiuchuan following closely behind.
The endless Hungry Ghost Path seemed to have no end in sight. Xiao Lou was carried by Yu Hanjiang, flying in circles, feeling like his arms were about to break. The number of skeletons in the cave only increased. Finally, Lu Jiuchuan couldn't take it anymore and unleashed the ultimate attack of his divine beast—
Vermilion Bird Heavenly Fire!
Crimson flames instantly engulfed the cave!
The bones crackled and popped as they burned, the entire cave ablaze with flames. Taking advantage of the moment, Yu Hanjiang leaped forward swiftly with Xiao Lou in tow.
The group returned once again to the Six Paths of Reincarnation chamber.
At the same time, Xiao Lou heard Gui Yuanzhang's voice: "We just came out."
Xiao Lou
Press and hold the voice headset: "Me too."
The two walked in front of Herbal Hut in tacit agreement, and sure enough, they saw that all six talismans on Herbal Hut were lit up with a soft white light.
Xiao Lou was overjoyed: "The mechanism has been activated."
******