After successfully passing through the spatial portal, Long Chen entered the seventh layer. He immediately heightened his alertness upon entry, glancing around to guard against any sudden attacks.

To his surprise, however, there were no attacks. Instead, the area was eerily calm. Before him stretched a long, dark corridor.

Long Chen used his Divine Demon Eye to peer down the corridor. Seeing nothing, he stepped inside.

The moment Long Chen stepped into the corridor, the pitch-black passage suddenly became bright. Lights along the walls flared to life, illuminating the space. He walked a long way, remaining cautious, but found no danger. The initial tension in his heart began to ease slightly.

After walking the length of the corridor, Long Chen stopped dead in his tracks. A Stone Door completely blocked his path. He closely examined the Stone Door and noticed a switch in the center. His brow furrowed as he began to wonder what lay beyond it.

Long Chen reached out, placed his hand on the switch, and pressed down hard!

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

At that very moment, a series of whistling sounds echoed through the air. Countless poisoned arrows shot toward him from all directions at incredible speed. More importantly, they were all coated in a lethal poison!

Long Chen dared not be careless. Facing the onslaught of arrows, he activated his Divine Demon Eye, taking in their trajectories in an instant. His figure flickered and vanished, leaving only an afterimage behind. He skillfully dodged every arrow.

The arrows all struck the walls instead. The sturdy stone burst on impact, and the poison seeped into the cracks, staining the surfaces pitch-black.

Just as Long Chen landed, the entire corridor began to shake. Seeing this, his frown deepened. He had thought the danger was over, but it seemed the traps in this place were endless.

The four walls of the corridor began to close in, threatening to crush him.

If I don’t get out of here now, I’ll be turned into pulp!

With this grim thought, Long Chen immediately tried to retreat. However, an invisible force suddenly enveloped him, blocking his path. At the same time, the walls closed in with terrifying speed, leaving him no room to escape.

With no way out, Long Chen had to act fast. He thrust his hands out against the closing walls as an immense force erupted from his body. But even with both hands pushing, he couldn’t stop the walls from contracting. A grave expression appeared on Long Chen’s face. He never imagined that even with his full strength, he would be unable to hold them back.

Furthermore, a tremendous pressure bore down on him, as if Mount Tai itself were falling, making it hard for him to breathe. As his knees began to buckle and his body was forced to curl, he had no choice but to whip out the Blackwind Sword and wedge it between the walls.

Fortunately, the Blackwind Sword held the walls at bay. Long Chen, who had been hunched over, slowly lay flat on the floor of the now-narrow corridor and let out a long breath.

Long Chen crawled through the narrow passage toward the Stone Door. When he reached it, he hesitated for a moment, then conjured a Defensive Barrier around himself before carefully reaching for the switch again.

BOOM!

When the switch was pressed, the Stone Door rumbled a few times and then began to rise slowly. Seeing the Stone Door respond, the grave expression on Long Chen’s face finally eased.

Without hesitation, he turned sideways and slipped through the opening. Once inside, Long Chen turned back and reached out a hand. At his summons, the Blackwind Sword that was propped against the corridor walls trembled a few times before flying back into his grasp. The corridor walls seemed to have stopped moving, perhaps because he had opened the Stone Door.

Long Chen withdrew his gaze and continued deeper inside.

Once he entered the new area, his surroundings once again fell into a deathly silence, so quiet he could clearly hear his own breathing. Long Chen walked toward the center of the room and saw a statue. It depicted a man with wings, wielding a Trident Sword. His sculpted gaze was sharp and exuded a somber aura.

A single glance was enough to feel an intense oppressive force from it, sending a chill down one’s spine.

As Long Chen approached the statue, before he could even discern who it depicted, a beam of light shot out from it. It was so dazzling that he could barely keep his eyes open. Immediately after, a shadowy figure emerged from the light. It looked exactly like the statue, only much older.

Upon seeing this figure, Long Chen promptly cupped his fists in a salute. "Senior," he said apologetically, "I am only here to pass the trials. I meant no disrespect."

The shadowy figure nodded slightly at Long Chen’s words. It stared intently at him, a hint of satisfaction on its face. "Many years have passed," it said. "I have spent most of that time in slumber.

"No one has come here for a very long time. I have slumbered for years, waiting, and the person I was fated to meet has finally arrived."

Long Chen’s curiosity was piqued. "Senior," he asked cautiously, "may I be so bold as to ask your identity?"

The shadow suddenly burst into laughter, and as it did, it unleashed an incredibly powerful oppressive force. Even from a distance, Long Chen felt an immense weight, as if Mount Tai itself were pressing down on his shoulders, making it a struggle to stand.

Seeing this, a grave expression crossed Long Chen’s face. He assumed the figure’s reaction was because he had asked a forbidden question. "My apologies, Senior," he said quickly. "I should not have asked. Please forgive me."

Long Chen was no fool. There was no need to offend this being before understanding its identity. Besides, even though it was just a phantom on its last legs, he could still sense its formidable power. It was a power sufficient to kill him in an instant. This was why Long Chen remained wary, not daring to be too presumptuous. The most prudent course of action was to first learn more about this entity.

Fortunately for Long Chen, while the being was powerful, it did not seem to be unreasonable.

The figure waved a hand dismissively. "It’s nothing. There’s no harm in asking," it said. "I just imagine that after all these years of silence, the outside world has probably forgotten me."

Long Chen looked at the figure and remained silent.

"I am Hei Peng," the shadow announced.

"Hei Peng?"

Hearing the name, Long Chen fell deep into thought, murmuring it to himself. However, no historical records of such a person came to mind. In fact, he was certain he had never even heard the name before.

Seeing the confused look on Long Chen’s face, Hei Peng just smiled faintly. "You’re just a youngster. It’s normal that you don’t know of me. Besides, those are all matters of the distant past."

"Hundreds of years ago, I came from the Otherworld, where I was the young master. I stood second to only one and above tens of thousands, destined to become the ruler of my realm. But in the end, I was tragically betrayed by my own brother. He usurped my position, leading to my downfall here."

As he spoke, sorrow filled Hei Peng’s heart, and a look of anguish crossed his face. He had never imagined he would fall to such a state, nor had he ever expected his own younger brother would use such insidious schemes against him. Whenever he recalled these events, his heart filled with grief and indignation.

Hearing Hei Peng’s story, Long Chen fell silent as some of his own unpleasant memories were stirred. "I have also been betrayed by someone close to me, so I can understand how you feel," he said. "That is not something one can easily let go of."

Hei Peng gave a wry smile. "I have already perished. In my current state, I lack the strength for revenge. Even if I have the will, I no longer have the power."

Long Chen fell silent again. He understood the feeling of powerlessness all too well.

Perhaps not wanting the atmosphere to remain so heavy, Hei Peng addressed Long Chen directly. "Do you know of the Otherworld?"