I walk sideways in the game world

Chapter 134: The Heart of the Snake Demon Activates the Teleportation Array

The interior of the ruins was filled with an ancient and mysterious atmosphere. The walls were carved with bizarre patterns, resembling ancient writings or mysterious symbols, casting eerie shadows under the flickering firelight. As Ren Xiaoyao and his group entered, their footsteps echoed in the empty passage, adding to the silence.

"This place is really huge..." Zhao Hu couldn't help but sigh, looking around with the torch in hand, "Will we get lost?"

"Don't worry, I have a map." Master Mo confidently patted the backpack on his chest and took out a yellowed parchment scroll. "According to ancient records, the structure of this ruins..."

Before Master Mo finished speaking, a gust of cold wind blew, causing the torch to sway violently for a few times before going out completely. The entire space was instantly plunged into darkness.

"What's going on?" Xia Lin exclaimed and subconsciously grabbed the sleeve of Ren Xiaoyao beside her.

"Don't panic, it might be a mechanism." Ren Xiaoyao said calmly, took out a flint from his backpack and lit the torch again.

However, when the firelight came back on, they found that the surrounding environment had undergone earth-shaking changes. The originally wide passage became narrow and twisted, and the patterns on the wall became more hideous and terrifying, as if they would come alive at any time.

"What...what's going on?" Master Mo looked at the parchment scroll in his hand, his face full of disbelief. "The map...the map is invalid!"

"What?!" Everyone was shocked. Losing the map in this intricate maze was like losing direction in the ocean. The consequences were disastrous.

"What should we do now?" Zhao Hu asked anxiously, with a hint of panic in his tone.

Ren Xiaoyao looked around, pondered for a moment, and said, "It seems that we can only rely on our own wisdom and intuition to find a way out."

"But..." Charlene looked at him worriedly, "What if we can't find it?"

Before Ren Xiaoyao could answer, he heard a strange sound coming from not far away, like the growl of some creature, which was particularly clear in the silent maze.

"What's that sound?" Zhao Hu asked nervously.

Ren Xiaoyao's face darkened and he whispered, "Be careful, there might be danger!"

He gripped his sword tightly, signaling everyone to be on high alert, then cautiously walked in the direction of the sound. The passage twisted and turned, and it was unknown where it led. The darkness seemed to harbor countless unknown dangers, which was terrifying.

"Wait, this wall..." Master Mo, who was walking at the end of the team, suddenly exclaimed, pointing to a dent on the wall, his tone revealing a hint of disbelief, "This... could this be..." Master Mo brushed away the dust in the dent with trembling hands, revealing a strange pattern, which was exactly the same as an ancient formation recorded on the parchment scroll in his hand!

"This is... a teleportation array!" Master Mo exclaimed in shock, "Could there be another dimension within this maze?"

Ren Xiaoyao's heart moved. Could this be the key to getting out of the maze? However, the teleportation array was complex and ancient. If one was not careful, one would trigger the mechanism and even get lost in the unknown space cracks.

"Let me take a look." Xia Lin, who had been silent the entire time, stepped forward. Familiar with ancient texts since childhood, she knew a thing or two about formations. She carefully observed the patterns of the formation, comparing them with the records on the parchment scroll. Her brows gradually relaxed. "Although this formation is complex, it's not unsolvable. It's just..."

She paused, her eyes falling on a vacant spot in the center of the formation. "We need something to act as a key to activate the formation."

"What is it?" Zhao Hu asked anxiously.

Charlene pointed to a line of small words on the parchment scroll, "A... snake demon heart."

"The heart of the snake demon?" Everyone looked at each other in surprise. There was actually a demon in these ruins?

Just as he finished speaking, a cold wind blew in from the depths of the passage, carrying with it a sickening stench. Immediately afterwards, a hoarse and piercing voice echoed through the maze: "Hehehe... Who is it that wants to find the snake demon's heart?"

The firelight flickered, and a hunched figure slowly emerged from the darkness. It was an old woman in a black robe, her face wrinkled and her eye sockets sunken, gleaming with a creepy green light. Her bony hands grasped a twisted cane, the top of which was inlaid with a red gem that emitted an eerie glow.

"Who are you?" Ren Xiaoyao asked vigilantly, gripping the sword tightly in his hand.

"Hehehe... young man, you can call me Ghost Granny." The old woman smiled sinisterly, "I know what you want, and I know how to get out of this maze. I can help you, but..."

She paused, her cloudy eyes fell on Ren Xiaoyao, and her tone was filled with a hint of pressure that could not be refused, "You must agree to one condition of mine."

The ghost woman's words were like a stone dropped into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves. Ren Xiaoyao and the others fell silent. They were eager to get out of the maze, but they knew nothing about the ghost woman's conditions and were full of doubts about her identity and purpose.

The firelight illuminated Ren Xiaoyao's resolute face. His deep gaze met the ghost woman's cold green eyes. A tense atmosphere filled the air...

The ghostly woman's cold gaze, like a venomous snake, coiled around Ren Xiaoyao, as if scrutinizing his inner being. Silence permeated the maze, the flames flickering, illuminating the ever-changing expressions on everyone's face. Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath, knowing that the decision at this moment hinged on the fate of the entire team.

"What do you want me to do?" Ren Xiaoyao looked directly into the ghost woman's eyes, his tone calm but with a hint of imperceptible vigilance.

The ghost woman let out a creepy chuckle, her hoarse voice echoing in the empty maze. "Young man, don't be nervous. My conditions are simple. Help me get something."

"what?"

"I'll tell you when you help me get out of this maze." The ghost woman didn't answer directly. She leaned on her crutches and walked step by step to the teleportation array. "Time is running out. Come with me."

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin exchanged a glance. They both knew that the ghost woman hadn't revealed much information, and cooperating with her would be like courting disaster. But now, they had no choice.

Guided by the ghostly woman, Ren Xiaoyao and the others embarked on a more hidden passage. The walls on either side of the passage were carved with ancient and eerie patterns, seemingly telling stories of forgotten history. The air was filled with a nauseating, decayed odor.

"Be careful!" Charlene suddenly cried out. Just ahead, a massive spider descended from the ceiling, blocking their path. The spider was enormous, more than a man's height. Its eight scarlet compound eyes flashed with a ferocious light, and a sticky liquid dripped from its sharp mouthparts.

"Hmph, a mere spider spirit dares to block the way!" The ghost grandmother snorted coldly, slammed the crutch in her hand to the ground, and a green light instantly shot towards the giant spider.

The spider let out a shrill scream, its massive body trembling violently. A green light, like a maggot, quickly spread throughout its body. However, the spider's vitality was incredibly tenacious, and it wasn't killed immediately. Instead, it attacked everyone even more frantically.

"I'll deal with it!" Zhao Hu roared, waving the giant axe in his hand and rushed towards the giant spider.

"Be careful, this spider is poisonous!" Xia Lin warned.

Ren Xiaoyao remained silent. He gripped the sword tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed on the giant spider's every move, searching for its weakness...

The giant spider roared and swung its massive claws, each strike carrying the force of a mountain-splitting, rock-shattering force. Though Zhao Hu was valiant, he gradually felt his strength failing him against such a formidable foe. The spider's venom corroded many parts of his body, sending waves of excruciating pain through the wounds, and his movements became sluggish.

"Xiaoyao, think of a solution quickly!" Xia Lin shouted anxiously. She kept waving the staff in her hand, and one healing spell after another fell on Zhao Hu, but with little effect.

Ren Xiaoyao had been searching for an opportunity. He discovered that despite its massive size, the spider was slow to move and its attack methods were relatively simple. His eyes flashed, and he seized the moment when the spider attacked. His figure flashed like a ghost, and the longsword in his hand transformed into a streak of silver light, piercing the spider's eyes.

"Puchi!" The sound of a sharp blade piercing into flesh was heard, the spider let out a shrill scream, and its huge body fell to the ground with a bang.

"Good!" Zhao Hu was overjoyed when he saw this. He endured the pain and rushed forward, chopping off the spider's head with an axe.

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, but before they could catch their breath, the ghost woman's cold voice rang out again: "Don't be too happy too soon, this is just the beginning, follow me!"

She continued to walk forward along the passage. Ren Xiaoyao and others looked at each other and saw seriousness in each other's eyes.

I don’t know how long I walked before a stone door appeared in front of me. It was carved with complex patterns and exuded an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.

"This is it." The ghost grandmother pointed at the stone door and said, "What I want is inside."

Ren Xiaoyao and others pushed open the stone door together, and an ancient atmosphere came to their faces. Behind the stone door was a spacious stone chamber. In the center of the stone chamber was an altar, and there was nothing on the altar.

"Where are the things?" Charlene asked.

"It's right here, you can find it yourself." After saying this, the ghost grandmother turned and left.

"Wait!" Ren Xiaoyao stopped her, "You haven't told me what you want!"

The ghost woman ignored him and walked straight towards the exit.

"What do you want to do?" Ren Xiaoyao felt an ominous premonition in his heart.

At this moment, the stone chamber began to shake violently, and the stone door slammed shut, trapping them inside.

"Oh no, we've been fooled!" Zhao Hu exclaimed.

Ren Xiaoyao's face was gloomy. He walked to the altar and looked at it carefully. He found some strange runes engraved on the altar. He had never seen these runes before, but they gave him a very dangerous feeling.

"Xiaoyao, look!" Xia Lin exclaimed, pointing to the corner of the stone chamber.

Ren Xiaoyao turned his head and saw a skeleton in the corner, with a jade pendant tightly grasped in the skeleton's hand.

"Could this be..." Ren Xiaoyao was about to step forward to investigate when suddenly, the entire stone chamber began to spin, cracks appeared in the ground, and swallowed them in...

When everything returned to calm, Ren Xiaoyao found that they were back to the place where they first entered the maze.

"What's going on? Why are we back again?" Zhao Hu looked confused.

Ren Xiaoyao didn't say anything. He looked at the jade pendant in his hand, his face terribly gloomy. He finally understood that all this was a conspiracy by the ghost woman. She used them to find what she wanted and then trapped them in the maze.

"What should we do now?" Charlene asked.

Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath. He knew that now was not the time to panic. He had to stay calm and find a way to leave the maze.

However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a powerful force eroding his consciousness. The scene before him began to distort, and strange whispers came to his ears...

"Xiaoyao, what's wrong with you?" Xia Lin noticed his abnormality and asked anxiously.

Ren Xiaoyao wanted to answer, but found that he could no longer speak. His consciousness gradually blurred and he finally fell into darkness...

"Xiaoyao, wake up! It's dangerous here!" Xia Lin's anxious cries echoed in his ears, but Ren Xiaoyao felt as if he were trapped in a fog, unable to wake up. He vaguely saw a blood-red lake appear before him, and countless hideous faces were reflected in the lake. Those faces were twisted and roaring, as if they were dragging him into an endless abyss...