171: Chapter 171 I'm in the Underworld, Digging Up Your Secrets

The light at the end of the faint passage suddenly magnified, causing Chen Fan's pupils to contract—a submerged palace stretched before him. The star sigils on the dark green stone pillars glowed with a faint blue, resembling the tear mole at the corner of Su Shuang's eye.

He quieted his steps. Su Shuang in his arms was still sound asleep, the fox tail mark flickering faintly in the dim light, like a fire that wouldn't burn brightly but also wouldn't extinguish.

A half-scorched scroll floated above the central altar, its edges still stained with dark red blood.

Chen Fan had barely taken two steps when the Critical Hit Foresight light screen on his forehead suddenly flashed so brightly it was blinding—bloody characters exploded across his retina: [Three steps ahead: Illusion Trap, real path is 7 degrees to the right].

His throat moved, and a cold sneer pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"A gentleman does not return an aggressive act in kind," he hummed lowly. He lightly tapped his toes on the ground, seemingly walking straight toward the altar, but at the third step, he suddenly deviated seven inches to the right—almost instantly, the bluestone slab where he was about to step cracked with a 'ka' sound, and three poisoned black spikes shot out from the ground. A flash of cold light grazed his trouser leg, scraping against the stone surface with a harsh screech.

Chen Fan drew the hammer of the thunder god from his back in a reverse motion. The moment the hammer handle smashed onto the ground, lightning burst forth, shaking the entire palace with a low hum.

The black spike trap was uprooted. Amidst the flying gravel, a child's light cough came from the corner: "You... aren't sent by them."

The voice was like a thin sheet of ice, ready to shatter with the slightest touch.

Chen Fan quickly turned around, seeing a little girl with double buns tied on her head standing up, leaning against a stone pillar. Her eyes were covered with a layer of white film, and she clutched a broken horn in her hand.

She fumbled two steps toward him, the broken horn scraping fine sounds against the ground: "I was thrown in as a sacrifice, but... I can see the 'True Water'."

"True Water?" Chen Fan frowned, his gaze sweeping over the pale blue ligature marks around her neck—traces left by a spirit chain.

"Everything under the water is fake, except for the altar," the little girl tiptoed and pointed at the central scroll. The tip of the broken horn trembled slightly. "That scroll can only be read with fox blood."

Chen Fan lowered his head to look at Su Shuang in his arms.

Her eyelashes were still damp with water stains, but her lip color was even paler than before.

He gritted his teeth, drew the short blade from his waist, and cut open his palm. Fresh blood dripped through his fingers and spread across the scorched scroll, blooming into a flower of blood.

"Chii—"

The scroll suddenly emitted blue smoke, and the scorched outer layer peeled off in pieces, revealing silver-glowing text inside.

Chen Fan leaned closer to look, and his pupils violently contracted: "...The Extraterrestrial Eye is parasitizing through the System, requiring the sacrifice of ten thousand Awakened within seven days to open the 'Star Gate'."

"Xiao Fan..."

Su Shuang in his arms suddenly trembled, and the fox tail mark on her chest lit up blindingly, actually resonating with the star sigils beneath the altar.

Chen Fan felt a hot current surge from her chest, burning his arm until it went numb—it was the power of the moon marrow, hotter and more volatile than before.

"Shuanger?" he called out softly, only to see her brow furrowed, as if she had fallen into a dream.

Su Shuang was indeed dreaming.

She saw herself standing in a chaos, with a blurred figure floating ahead, half a broken sword hanging at its waist, and undried blood beads still coagulated on the blade.

"Moon Severer?" she blurted out. Memories that didn't belong to her suddenly flooded in—the great fire at the Fox Clan Ancestral Hall, the warmth of her mother stuffing the moon marrow into her chest, and the sword light that cleaved the moon apart.

"I severed the moon marrow back then only to break its connection," the Moon Severer's voice was hoarse with the rust of iron. "Now that it has been taken out, the seal is loosening, and the Star Gate will inevitably appear within seven days."

Su Shuang clenched the moon marrow over her heart, her fingertips trembling: "Then I... am the key?"

"No," the Moon Severer shook its head, the phantom figure swaying in the chaos. "You are the lock heart.

Only if you die, or if you awaken, can it be decided whether it opens or closes."

The dream suddenly shattered. Su Shuang abruptly opened her eyes, running straight into Chen Fan's worried gaze.

She opened her mouth but was interrupted by a dull thud coming from the altar—Chen Fan's hammer of the thunder god was heavily smashing into the ground. Amidst the flying gravel, a crystal coffin was revealed.

"This is..." Su Shuang struggled to get down, but Chen Fan held her firmly.

Inside the crystal coffin lay a corpse in a red robe, with half a moon marrow embedded in its chest. Its face was exactly the same as the 'Elder' they had seen at the Shadow Pavilion headquarters three days ago!

Chen Fan's temples throbbed. Cold sweat beaded on the handle of the hammer in his palm—the system prompts were exploding crazily:

[Cognitive Critical Hit · Triggered]

[Discovered 'Parasitic Host' Specimen: Extraterrestrial consciousness parasitizes high-ranking humans through the moon marrow, current sample survival cycle: 273 days]

"So you were eaten long ago," Chen Fan sneered through gritted teeth, his knuckles turning white from clenching his fingers.

He recalled the benevolent look of that 'Elder' when he spoke of uniting all players against the System, and the warm touch when the other patted his shoulder saying, 'Young man is hope'—it turned out it was all the extraterrestrial consciousness acting through a borrowed shell.

"Boom—"

The entire bottom palace suddenly shook violently, and stone debris rained down from the ceiling.

A ringing filled Chen Fan's ears—it was Water Flawless's roar, like steel needles piercing his eardrums: "Seal the lake!

Seal the eyes!

Seal all vain thoughts!"

"The exit is collapsing!" Jing Tongtong's scream mixed with the sound of cracking stones. "They are going to seal the bottom palace and the Star Gate together!"

Chen Fan looked up. The stone wall at the entrance of the passage was collapsing downwards, with gravel raining down like a violent storm.

He quickly carried Su Shuang on his back, stuffing the remaining pages and the moon marrow into his embrace. The Critical Hit Foresight light screen flashed frantically before his eyes, finally locking onto a blood-red path: [Escape route requires traversing three collapse zones within 12 seconds].

"Hold on tight to me," he yelled at Su Shuang, then reached out to Jing Tongtong. "Little girl, grab the corner of my cloak!"

Jing Tongtong fumbled and grasped the edge of his cloak, clutching the broken horn so tightly her palm turned white.

Chen Fan took a deep breath and sprinted toward the dark passage—the moment he took the first step, a stone beam overhead cracked, and he side-stepped, knocking Jing Tongtong aside. He raised the hammer of the thunder god overhead to block, sparks flying as gravel struck the hammer face.

"Seven seconds left," he recited silently in his mind, glancing sideways to see Su Shuang's fox tail mark glowing so brightly it almost burned through her clothes.

"Five seconds!"

The stone wall ahead suddenly cracked open, revealing a gap. Chen Fan bent down and squeezed through, scraping blood marks on his back against the stone wall.

Jing Tongtong was protected beside him; the tip of her broken horn hit the stone and snapped in two.

"Three seconds!"

The debris from the last collapse zone was still falling. Chen Fan gritted his teeth and charged, diving into the dark passage just before the stone beam crashed down.

He could hear the crisp sound of the crystal coffin being struck by gravel behind him, and he could hear Water Flawless's roar gradually being muffled by the pile of stones.

"Go!" he roared, turning back and fiercely jamming the hammer of the thunder god into the crack behind him—the direction where the crystal coffin was. "I'm not just smashing the eyes, I'm digging up your foundation!"

With a deafening crash, the passage sealed completely.

Chen Fan leaned against the stone wall, gasping for breath. Su Shuang in his arms was burning fiercely, her forehead alarmingly hot.

Jing Tongtong huddled in the corner, coughing, blood seeping from the broken end of her horn, yet she was still smiling: "See... True Water didn't lie to me."

Chen Fan looked down and saw the remaining page in his arms glowing with a cold light in the dimness. The moon marrow pressed against his chest, heating up with every beat of Su Shuang's heart.

Dripping sounds echoed from deep within the dark passage, very slow, very slow, like some kind of countdown.

He carried Su Shuang on his back and walked forward in the dark.

In the ruins behind him, a golden light slowly extinguished—it was the last light of the half moon marrow inside the crystal coffin.