Langrum looked like she had been trampled by a giant beast. Almost no trace of her shiny green skin remained intact, but she still fought bravely with her black and giant sword.

Initially, Zane wanted to take the shortest and straightest path, but his sense of danger alerted him to a great peril. If two beasts attacked him together, he had no way to defend himself. So, he made some detours as a test. Soon, they entered an area that was the domain of those ape-like beasts.

No one would survive in that place, but their sense of danger immediately alerted them to where these stealthy beasts were. All those ape beasts moved slowly with a strong killing intent. Goku's group was thankful that they didn't come all at once, and with all that clear intent, they were like a beacon to Zane and Gael. Soon, they and Langrum calmly harvested all of them, always choosing to attack a pair as they advanced.

After five long and tense hours on the third level, they finally felt to the south a dense area that seemed like a wall, emanating immense pressure and danger. They were finally approaching the fourth layer.

They walked without feeling any relief, as things would only get worse. But as they passed a large tree, countless vines at the top of the tree silently fell toward them.

Everyone jumped in shock. Those vines were like serpents, with barbs that looked like teeth covering them. Seeing this, the whale pointed in a direction, and Mira quickly jumped off their shoulder with her bone saber lighting up.

The whale and Langrum blocked that attack with their weapons, but the vines seemed alive, and after being cut, they still advanced on their bodies and easily pierced their flesh. Langrum felt her mind darken, then the sound of a blade cutting something extremely tough resonated; in an instant, those sinister vines became limp.

Langrum swayed toward the ground, but the whale grabbed her arm and lifted her. In that second, she seemed to regain consciousness and quickly jumped away from them, saying it wasn't necessary and she was fine.

Zanou, who was further behind and wasn't attacked, ran forward with them. Then, they saw a distant tree, and Mira was pulling her saber out of it. A green liquid similar to blood flowed from it, along with infernal runes escaping from the wound.

These trees were very exotic; some of them had bizarre abilities. The accumulated infernal laws could even make inanimate plants gain a will. They walked in a region trying to avoid the trees and even the small plants on the ground. But now, very close to the exit of the third level, there were many of them together.

They put Mira back on their shoulder while she looked proud to be useful to this point. Now, after connecting the bone saber to the array, she could absorb the Yin from it on her own and stay well in that place.

With that, in no time, she could even use the saber, igniting its Yin power to attack. In that place where no one could use Qi, Mira, thanks to the saber having great harmony with infernal laws, could attack with some level of power. That tree didn't have many defenses after attacking, so with Zane and Gael's guidance, she was able to strike the right place.

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"Let's go quickly," leader Goku said, and everyone hurried to the south, still with a lot of apprehension.

Their getting there was already an impossible miracle, something no one would believe after they left. In the slightest carelessness, they could die in this place, and now they were advancing to an even deadlier place.

'We can handle any danger if we face it calmly. Something good is waiting for me, hahahaha,' Zane commented, laughing in his mind. He didn't feel the fear and apprehension the others did at all.

They all crossed that distinct border while their hearts beat like drums. There were fifteen hours left until the end of the test; if they maintained the pace, they could somehow reach the end of the fifth level.

When they took the first step into that place, they focused completely on their bodies, prepared for the impact pressing violently on them. But...

They felt nothing... on the contrary, a strange relief flowed through their meridians.

So, still stunned, their eyes were hit by something, making their vision go white, and everyone forgot to breathe, shocked.

"Is that... light?" Zanou whispered.

Then, Zane and Gael looked carefully in all directions and then back. From where they came, there was a large wall of scarlet runes rising to the sky, clearly where they came from. But now, they were in a completely different place from the prison.

'There is no more pressure from infernal laws... everything is calm like in the external world.' Zane analyzed, confused. 'The sky is like a dark, starless night... but aside from that, it seems like we are outside.'

They found themselves in a high and mountainous place, and the land beneath their feet was dry and lifeless. There was no obstruction to their views or senses, and their meridians returned to circulate Qi normally.

To the extreme south, several hundred kilometers away, they saw a large gray mass emitting a strong light. All the light came from that place, and they seemed to be in a night illuminated by a full moon, coming from the earth.

"So, this is the fourth level? It looks so normal... the records say that no one except the founders who entered here came back. How is that possible," Zanou commented.

The whale then seemed to sense something strange and took steps forward without saying a word; everyone followed him hurriedly. In front of them, there was a giant gorge. At this moment, they stopped behind a rock and looked at that abyss.

'Shit.' Zane spoke mentally, feeling incredulous.

Even someone like Zane felt a chill. This valley was like a celestial abyss in their path, and they couldn't see the end. Further away, they saw what seemed to be a mountain moving slowly.

However, when they looked closely, they discovered it wasn't a mountain. It was a gigantic beast resembling a dinosaur with wings, which was changing its location to take a nap.

Suddenly, the rock in front of them trembled. As a result, they jumped in shock and hastily looked down. Another giant beast was rubbing its back against the cliff wall, causing the ground beneath their feet to crack.

Then, Gael mentally muttered. 'This is not an infernal beast... it's a real, living, divine beast! We're screwed!'

Suddenly, a wave of Qi hit them, like celestial winds connected to the laws of the world, forcing them all to fall to their knees.

'That's a spiritual root... these beasts... they're in the Heaven Stage Realm!' Zane spoke, trying to stay calm. Heaven Stage, the fourth Realm of the cultivation path. That was not something they could even dream about contending against now.

They looked to the south in the sky from where that Qi pressure came from; it was a winged creature hundreds of kilometers away. Even so, its presence was enough to greatly affect them.

'It's coming our way!' Gael spoke incredulously.

The whale looked around, realizing they were in a high and open place with no hiding spot in sight. Then, it turned to the group beside it and spoke in a hurry.

"Let's turn back and come up with a plan! Quickly!"

Everyone snapped out of the shock, and adrenaline, along with the imminent threat, made them run in the opposite direction as fast as they could. In a few seconds, they were facing the wall of scarlet laws again and jumped. They decided to return to the third level for now.

Their bodies sank into the runes a few inches...

Then, a strange and bloodthirsty will made them freeze in the middle of the crossing, and suddenly, a repulsive force threw them several meters back, making them roll on the ground.

"No... we can't go back!" Zanou exclaimed, almost like a cry.