Zane and Gael were confident in this test initially. They and Langrum were the only survivors of the entrance test, so the elders had no information about their true power.

In this place where no one could use Qi, normal cultivators became completely useless. But, of course, evil cultivators naturally weren't defenseless, as they possessed a strong body due to the large amount of death energy they had accumulated.

Blood was the place where all the energy of life circulated, along with a small amount of Qi. This life energy was nothing more than a mixed amount of Yin and Yang laws, the quantity of each varying according to race, gender, and individual. After death, this energy was converted into pure Death Yin caused by the resentment and lack of will of the deceased.

This naturally seeped into the one who killed, and evil cultivators reveled in bathing in their blood, further increasing the death energy received. Soon, this energy fused into their bodies, giving them a sinister power that enhanced their physique and facilitated the understanding of Yin laws.

The physical cultivation of Zane and Gael made them almost god-like in this place, but this was effective only against those of the same realm. The elders, who had lived for hundreds of years, had bathed countless times in death energy, and their physiques were very dense.

This difference was clear to them; probably, one of these elders had a physique level equivalent to theirs. But even if they were surrounded by three of them together, they still had confidence in winning. Since cultivation made no difference here, only the physique mattered along with combat experience, and Zane and Gael were ancient beings who had fought practically their entire lives.

The group ran with all their might, following the lead of the whale. Mira was on their shoulders, clinging to Zane and Gael. Zanou, on the other hand, was extremely slow. He lost the only thing he was slightly good at, his fire Qi. With Qi sealed in this place, he was pretty much useless. After all, even his physique was below average among evil cultivators. He wiped out an entire city at once, but after entering the sect, he became just a young master who bullied the weak and went out very little.

So, without thinking too much, Langrum grabbed poor Zanou and dragged him, carrying him by his clothes. She was much taller and stronger than him, and the scene was ridiculous, with him looking like a child being carried by her. But no one complained; they realized the desperate situation they were in very quickly.

Gael led the group while Zane sensed the surroundings. They ran in the direction where the laws were denser, clearly toward the center of that world. The elders certainly prepared something in the opposite direction since anyone in this situation would try to go back to level one.

'Damn, I feel ten murderous presences surrounding us. We have to go faster!' Zane spoke mentally.

They could run twice as fast, but Langrum couldn't. She was at her limit.

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Gael then quickly said, 'We'd better split up so they'll focus only on us so we can run with everything.'

'It's an option, but do you have the confidence to run faster than all the elders? The most likely outcome is that we'll have to fight two or three to clear the way. If that happens, we won't be able to protect Mira.'

Zanou's presence was essential for Mira's protection. They already didn't have the confidence to run from ten now. Carrying Zanou with them would slow their speed, and they might have to fight against more than three, which was already beyond their capabilities.

Leaving Mira behind with the two was also very risky. Now that they knew several others besides old Dyen were targeting them, it was very likely that the three of them would be attacked without him. Thus, they couldn't transfer the laws of the earth to Zanou's armor through the array. Langrum wouldn't be able to fight alone, either.

'Damn! Where are the infernal beasts? They could slow them down a bit.' Gael commented as he ran and thought.

Zane replied sharply. 'We were sent to a place previously marked by that bastard. But even he couldn't know the exact location since it's quite large here, hence the marking with lightning. They must have entered here a long time ago and prepared the ground in advance.'

'We have no options; we have to enter the third layer! There, they won't dare to act freely, and it's a deadly danger even for the patriarch.' Zane added, still hesitant.

'We'll end up dying going there without knowing anything about the place. Damn, this maniac place, just because we drew too much attention, they want to kill us at any cost.' Gael said, extremely frustrated. In the end, none of the elders, including Dyen, wanted to wait for Zane and Gael to surpass them.

They ran with all their strength, deciding not to separate. Langrum, at some point, suggested splitting up, but they denied it without giving many explanations. At this moment, surprisingly, Langrum didn't curse and just trusted them in silence. Something unthinkable until recently.

Soon, the first elder appeared in front of them. Despite the dense scarlet mist, they could feel him just a few meters away. When they were a few centimeters away, Gael suddenly activated all the contained power in his physique. His speed and power multiplied, catching the elder by surprise.

Everyone just heard the sound of bones breaking and blood splattering. Following Gael's order, they just kept running without stopping. The elder was caught off guard, and they didn't try to kill him. Just threw him as far as possible.

Zane felt the approaches and the environment where they were all the time. 'We've run two-thirds of the way. From what I can sense, we are not far from an area where the density of infernal laws is extremely higher than here. It's certainly the third layer!'

Suddenly, Zane exclaimed as their earth sense caught new figures approaching. 'What?! Two elders coming from the right! They are moving very fast... No, wait! They're back at the previous normal speed.'

Gael made a detour to the opposite side. It would increase the time it would take for them to arrive, but it would increase the distance from the elders.

Something beyond their knowledge was clearly unfolding. It was impossible to use QI here. How did they run so fast, as if they had teleported? But they didn't have time to think too much.

'Damn... two coming from the left... go straight, very little left. From the South, there are five more enemies coming, but they're several minutes away at this speed. I don't believe they can all do the same, seeming to teleport.' Zane spoke quickly, clearly concerned.

Everyone felt the air of despair coming from the leader; Langrum clenched her fists tightly, seeming to know something.

'At this rate, in thirty seconds...' Zane was suddenly cut off.

A wave of infernal laws hit them from the front, immediately forcing them to stop the run, taking several steps back.

Then, ahead, a black flame could be seen like a beacon in the middle of the scarlet sea. The pressure coming from it made them take another step back, preventing them from advancing.

'This... we've seen something like this before...' Gael muttered.

'Fucked! We're surrounded.' Zane exclaimed seriously, not giving them time to think.

Three seconds standing still were enough for the two elders coming from the right and the two coming from the left to arrive. Then, in front of them, that phenomenon faded, and another lone elder stepped in their direction.

Soon, five elders surrounded them in a circle, closing them off completely. Zane and Gael were clenching their fists tightly, trying to find a solution. They could barely win against three of them... now five... it was impossible.