The energy storm raged for nearly ten minutes.
When everything finally settled, the expedition team that had once numbered more than twenty people had been reduced to fewer than ten survivors.
Karl stood amid the ruins, his face dark with fury as he searched the area for anyone still alive.
"Damn it!"
His angry roar echoed through the mist.
"What went wrong?!"
"Captain..."
Old Wu crawled weakly out from behind a shattered boulder.
"We suffered heavy losses. And those two newcomers are gone."
"What?"
Karl's expression grew even colder.
"Where did they go?"
"No idea," another survivor replied. "We got separated during the chaos. They might have been swept away by the energy storm."
Karl carefully searched the surrounding area.
There was no sign of Rowan or Luo Feng.
No bodies.
No traces.
Nothing.
That only deepened the suspicion growing in his heart.
"Maybe they really did die," Karl muttered to himself.
"Fine by me. Less trouble later."
Meanwhile, Rowan and Luo Feng had already fled several kilometers away from the stone wall and reached a secluded valley.
Both were breathing heavily, but relief was written all over their faces.
"We finally got rid of those lunatics."
Luo Feng let out a long breath.
"I thought we'd be stuck following them until the very end."
"That energy storm came at the perfect moment."
Rowan felt equally fortunate.
"If that accident hadn't happened, finding an opportunity to escape would have been difficult."
"So what now?"
Luo Feng asked.
"Do we continue exploring the ancient ruins, or leave the Mist Forbidden Zone entirely?"
Rowan thought for a moment.
"We've already come this far. It would be a waste to leave empty-handed."
"Besides, that energy storm may have damaged the ruins' defensive systems. We might be able to find another entrance."
"Makes sense."
Luo Feng nodded.
"But first we need to figure out where we are. The fog is too thick. We could easily get lost."
Only then did both of them realize a serious problem.
In their desperate escape, they had completely lost their sense of direction.
"Where exactly are we?"
Luo Feng looked around.
Dense mist obscured everything beyond a few dozen meters.
"No idea."
Rowan frowned.
"I wasn't paying attention to our direction while we were running."
They took out their navigation devices.
As expected, they were useless.
The Mist Forbidden Zone interfered with most electronic equipment.
"Navigation system offline."
Luo Feng sighed.
"We'll have to rely on ourselves."
"Let's find high ground first," Rowan suggested.
"Maybe we can get our bearings."
The valley was enormous.
Jagged rock formations and bottomless crevices stretched in every direction.
Worse still, the fog here was even denser than before.
Visibility was reduced to only a few dozen meters.
"Something feels different about this mist."
Rowan suddenly noticed something unusual.
"Do you feel it?"
"There seems to be a special kind of energy mixed into it."
Luo Feng nodded slowly.
"I do."
"And strangely enough... it feels familiar."
"Familiar?"
Rowan immediately became alert.
"Like psychic energy."
Luo Feng's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Psychic fluctuations."
Rowan stopped walking.
"Why would psychic energy exist here?"
"Perhaps it's connected to the ancient ruins," Luo Feng analyzed.
"If this truly was the domain of an ancient civilization, residual psychic energy wouldn't be impossible."
The two continued deeper into the valley.
But the farther they traveled, the stranger everything became.
The psychic fluctuations grew stronger.
Even the terrain itself felt increasingly unnatural.
"Wait."
Rowan suddenly halted.
"Haven't we been here before?"
Luo Feng carefully examined the surroundings.
Ahead stood a distinctive rock formation they had definitely passed earlier.
"You're right."
His brow furrowed.
"We've been walking in circles."
"This place may contain some kind of spatial distortion."
"Spatial distortion..."
Rowan recalled the rumors he had heard.
"They say there are regions inside the Mist Forbidden Zone where space itself becomes unstable."
"Once you enter, finding your way out is extremely difficult."
"So we're trapped inside a spatial labyrinth?"
Luo Feng looked concerned.
"Most likely."
Rowan remained calm.
"But if it's a spatial phenomenon, then there must be rules governing it."
"We just need to find them."
For the next several hours, the two attempted every method they could think of.
They tried walking in straight lines.
They tested specific movement patterns.
They even attempted to destroy parts of the environment with brute force.
Nothing worked.
"This labyrinth is more complicated than we imagined."
Luo Feng sat down on a nearby rock, exhausted.
"We've tried everything."
"And we're still trapped."
"Don't lose hope."
Rowan encouraged him.
"If an ancient civilization created this place, then there must be a way out."
Suddenly, Luo Feng's eyes lit up.
"Maybe we're approaching this from the wrong angle."
"What do you mean?"
"You mentioned earlier that the mist contains psychic fluctuations."
Luo Feng stood up.
"What if psychic power is the key to solving the labyrinth?"
Rowan's eyes brightened instantly.
"That makes perfect sense."
"If the civilization relied heavily on psychic abilities, then its defense systems would probably operate on the same principles."
"Let's test it."
Luo Feng raised his hand.
"We'll use psychic perception to examine the structure of this space."
The two activated their psychic senses and carefully scanned the surrounding area.
Sure enough, they immediately discovered something invisible to the naked eye.
Hidden throughout the labyrinth were countless spatial nodes.
"These nodes form a pattern."
Excitement entered Rowan's voice.
"If we activate the correct sequence, we might find the exit."
"Let's divide the work."
Luo Feng nodded.
"You locate the nodes."
"I'll activate them."
The two worked in perfect coordination.
Rowan scanned the environment with his psychic perception, identifying hidden nodes one after another.
Luo Feng then used his psychic power to activate them.
"There!"
Rowan pointed ahead.
"A node on the left."
Luo Feng immediately extended his psychic energy.
The moment it touched the location, he felt a dormant energy point awaken.
A faint glow appeared.
"It worked!"
Luo Feng grinned.
"Find the next one!"
An hour passed.
Together they activated more than a dozen spatial nodes.
As additional nodes awakened, subtle changes began spreading throughout the labyrinth.
"Do you feel that?"
Rowan asked.
"The spatial distortion is weakening."
"I feel it too."
Luo Feng nodded.
"We're on the right track."
A few more nodes were activated.
Then suddenly...
The entire labyrinth shook violently.
The scenery around them twisted like a dream.
Solid rock and earth became transparent.
Reality itself seemed to warp and unravel.
"What's happening?"
Luo Feng tensed.
"The labyrinth is collapsing."
Rowan remained remarkably calm.
"We succeeded."
Moments later, the trembling stopped.
The world around them had completely changed.
They no longer stood within the valley.
Instead, they found themselves on a vast open plain.
Most importantly, the fog had become much thinner.
Visibility had improved dramatically.
"We're out."
Luo Feng finally relaxed.
"But where are we?"
"No idea."
Rowan surveyed the area.
"But at least we've escaped the spatial maze."
"Now we need to determine our location and decide our next move."
As they explored their new surroundings, they quickly noticed that the terrain differed greatly from anything they had previously encountered.
Everywhere they looked were traces of ancient construction.
Broken stone pillars.
Collapsed foundations.
Ruined structures half-buried beneath the earth.
"It looks like we've entered the actual ruins."
Rowan studied the remnants carefully.
"Most of it has been destroyed, but you can still see how magnificent it once was."
"These architectural styles are unique."
Luo Feng examined carvings etched into a stone pillar.
"I've never seen anything like them."
"Ancient civilizations are always full of mysteries."
Rowan sighed.
"Unfortunately, too much time has passed. Many answers have been lost forever."
Just then, a strange sound drifted through the mist.
It wasn't the wind.
Nor was it the cry of any known creature.
It was a deep, distant chant.
"You hear that?"
Luo Feng immediately became alert.
"I do."
Rowan frowned.
"It sounds like chanting."
"And it's coming from that direction."
The two turned toward the source.
Through the thinning fog, a massive structure gradually emerged.
Unlike the surrounding ruins, this building appeared remarkably well preserved.
It towered above the wreckage like a monument untouched by time.
"That may be the central structure of the ruins."
Rowan analyzed.
"Karl's group is probably heading there as well."
"So should we investigate?"
Luo Feng asked.
"We escaped the Black Shark Mercenary Corps, but if there really are treasures there, we shouldn't miss them."
"Of course we're going."
Rowan's eyes shone with determination.
"We didn't travel all this way to leave empty-handed."
"Besides, I have a feeling there's something inside that could help our cultivation."
"Then let's go."
Luo Feng nodded.
"But stay alert."
"Where there's treasure, there's always danger."
The two headed toward the mysterious structure.
As they drew closer, the strange chanting became clearer.
It felt as though something was calling to them.
"This chant is unusual."
Rowan listened carefully while walking.
"It sounds like an ancient language."
"And there's something else."
Luo Feng's expression became thoughtful.
"It carries a strange power."
"My mental strength seems to resonate with it."
He was right.
As the chanting continued, both of them felt subtle changes within their minds.
There was no discomfort.
Instead, a sense of peace and clarity washed over them.
It felt almost like entering a deep state of meditation.
"Maybe this is the power of that ancient civilization."
Rowan's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"A technology or ability we don't yet understand."
The structure finally emerged in full view.
It was a colossal pyramid, rising hundreds of meters into the sky.
The entire building was constructed from a dark-blue stone unlike anything they had ever seen.
Its surface was covered with countless glowing runes.
The runes shimmered softly, like stars scattered across a night sky.
"Amazing."
Luo Feng stared upward in awe.
"Even modern technology would struggle to create something like this."
"The wisdom of ancient civilizations should never be underestimated."
Rowan nodded.
"But now comes the real question."
"How do we get inside?"
They circled the base of the pyramid.
There was no visible entrance.
No doors.
No windows.
Nothing.
The structure appeared completely sealed.
"Looks like we'll need a special method."
Luo Feng completed another lap around the pyramid.
"Perhaps another psychic mechanism."
"Most likely."
Rowan agreed.
"The spatial labyrinth required psychic power to unlock."
"The entrance here probably follows the same principle."
The two began carefully examining the pyramid with their psychic senses.
After a thorough search, they finally discovered something unusual near the front base.
A unique cluster of runes.
"These runes are different."
Rowan pointed toward them.
"And I'm detecting a faint energy signature."
"Let's try activating them."
Luo Feng raised his hand.
The two simultaneously poured psychic energy into the rune cluster.
The runes immediately began shining brighter.
Then something astonishing happened.
The front face of the pyramid slowly split apart.
A glowing entrance emerged, radiating a gentle, welcoming light.
"We did it."
Excitement flashed across Rowan's face.
"We found the entrance."
"Then let's see what's inside."
Luo Feng grinned.
"And uncover the secrets hidden within this ancient structure."
The moment they stepped into the pyramid, both Rowan and Luo Feng froze in astonishment.
Outside, the world had been shrouded in dim gray mist.
Inside, it was bright as day.
Soft radiance flowed from murals covering every wall, illuminating the entire interior with crystal clarity.
"These murals..."
Luo Feng stared upward in disbelief.
"They're incredible."
The artwork was breathtakingly detailed.
It depicted strange creatures and magnificent scenes.
Some murals showed humanoid beings dressed in elaborate robes performing mysterious rituals.
Others portrayed gigantic interstellar warships sailing through the cosmos.
Still others illustrated planets and civilizations neither of them had ever seen before.
"The artistic achievement of this civilization was extraordinary."
Rowan studied the murals closely.
"And judging by these images, their technological advancement was equally impressive."
The two continued deeper into the pyramid.
Its interior was vast and complex.
A central corridor stretched ahead, while countless branching passages led toward unknown regions.
Every wall was covered in glowing runes.
The colors shifted constantly, as if the symbols themselves were telling an ancient story long forgotten by history.
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