In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

The giant face emitted a mocking sound.

Lin Qiye frowned slightly.

This regenerative ability goes beyond the scope of ordinary polluting organisms. The essence of this thing is probably not "biology," but an extension of some higher level of existence, or rather, the "tentacles" of that dormant will.

He couldn't keep arguing with them.

His family had already evacuated to a safe distance, and he had to get away as soon as possible.

Without hesitation, he retreated rapidly, transforming into a dark golden streak of light, and sped off in the direction his family had fled.

The lump of flesh did not pursue him. It began to wriggle again, slowly moving in another direction—seemingly searching for other prey.

In a few leaps and bounds, he had caught up with the group that was speeding along the other side of the cliff.

The women breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him return safely. The Barbarian Princess ran while looking back at him, her lips moving, but she only managed to utter, "Are...are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Lin Qiye replied briefly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "Keep going, don't stop. There might be more than one of these."

No one questioned it, and everyone quickened their pace.

It wasn't until they ran out of the basin and re-entered the wilderness, stopping to rest in a relatively open hilly area, that the women finally had a chance to speak.

Barbarian Princess plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, her eyes filled with lingering fear as she looked at Lin Qiye: "Just now... what the hell was that thing?"

"The guardians of the altar, or rather, the avatar of that sleeping will," Lin Qiye leaned against a rock, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. "They disguise themselves as survivors, luring people who have strayed into this area to approach the altar, probably to complete some kind of sacrificial ritual."

Qingyin held the sleeping Lin Yao, her voice still trembling slightly: "So... you knew from the beginning that they were fake?"

"Uncertain, but about 80% sure." Lin Qiye opened his eyes, his gaze calm. "In a place like this, it's better to kill the innocent than to take a risk."

Shuang'er was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "You did the right thing. If we had really believed them and followed them, we would probably be..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood the consequences.

Luo Sheng, holding Lin Xi, sat down next to Lin Qiye and asked softly, "That altar... what exactly is it?"

Lin Qiye remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "A passage. A passage connecting to a more ancient and dangerous place."

The group sat silently among the hills as night deepened. Having just experienced such a harrowing ordeal, no one felt sleepy. Lin Qiye closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, but his senses remained constantly alert to the outside world. The wind of the wasteland carried the faint, decaying scent of the distant altar, a silent reminder that they were still in grave danger.

"Next...where do we go?" The Barbarian Princess broke the silence. She picked up a pebble and rubbed it unconsciously in her hand. "Going back the way we came is definitely out of the question. That altar and those ghostly things are in the basin. If we go forward...who knows what we'll run into."

Lin Qiye opened his eyes and gazed into the depths of the wasteland. Under the moonlight, the undulating horizon disappeared into the boundless darkness. "East," he said briefly, "Avoid this area and continue inland. Stay away from the Canggu Mountains, and stay away from anything that might be related to 'The Candle'."

Shuang'er stood up, walked to a slightly higher spot, and squinted as she gazed eastward. "That area looks flatter, but the flow of Origin Qi is somewhat stagnant; it might not be a good place."

"It's better than staying here," Qingyin said softly. Lin Yao in her arms stirred and made a soft humming sound, which she quickly patted gently.

Luo Sheng held Lin Xi in her arms, her gaze fixed on Lin Qiye's profile. In the firelight, his features appeared even more hardened than usual. "You just said that the altar was a 'passage'," she asked softly, "Where does it lead? Is it related to... the 'candle'?"

"It may be related, or it may not." Lin Qiye looked at the leaping flames. "Yin He's memories mentioned 'Gate of Boundaries,' but the information was incomplete. The structure of that altar is older than the Bone Tower, and it may have existed long before the bloodline of the Candle fell. The place it connects to may be even older than the era of the Candle."

A night breeze blew by, and the campfire flickered violently. Everyone instinctively shrank their shoulders, as if the wind carried a chilling, probing intent.

"No matter where it leads, it's not a place we can touch." Lin Qiye stood up. "Let's rest for a while and set off at dawn. This wasteland is not safe to stay in for long. We must find a populated and orderly place as soon as possible."

In the latter half of the night, everyone took turns keeping watch. Lin Qiye told the women to sleep as much as possible, while he sat cross-legged at the edge of the camp, his senses spreading out like an invisible spiderweb. The night in the wasteland was not quiet; occasionally, the cries of unknown creatures could be heard from afar, and subtle disturbances of source energy were carried in the wind, as if something was slowly moving in the darkness, yet always remaining at the edge of the perception range, refusing to approach.

As dawn broke, the team set off again.

They traveled eastward along the hilly terrain, deliberately avoiding the basin area. The ground beneath their feet gradually transitioned from hard rock to soft sand, and the vegetation became increasingly sparse, with only occasional clumps of withered, oddly shaped low shrubs shivering in the morning breeze.

After walking for about two hours, a vast, cracked salt flat appeared ahead. White salt frost covered the surface, reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight. The air was so dry that it made one's throat ache, and even breathing had a salty taste.

"Is this place... safe to walk through?" The Barbarian Princess poked the ground with the handle of her battle axe, and the hard salt crust cracked with a "crackling" sound.

Lin Qiye crouched down, grabbed a handful of salt soil, rubbed it between his fingers, and then looked up into the depths of the saline-alkali land. His senses told him that there were faint water veins beneath this area, but the salinization was extremely severe, with almost no signs of life. More importantly, there was an unnatural gathering of primordial energy in the center of the saline-alkali land, like the remnants of some kind of man-made array.

"Go around it." He stood up. "It's a bit longer, but safer, by taking the north edge."

The group turned north, proceeding along the edge of the saline-alkali land. The ground was still hard, but at least it was no longer that unsettling pure white. After walking for another hour or so, a different scene finally appeared ahead—a low, grayish-green thicket of thorns, sparsely growing in the sand. Although it looked just as barren, at least there were signs of life.

"Look over there!" Qingyin suddenly pointed deep into the thicket of thorns.

Following the direction she pointed, everyone saw a half-exposed, grayish-white object that looked like a stone tablet, peeking out from the thicket of thorns.

Lin Qiye raised his hand to signal the group to stop, then slowly stepped forward. Pushing aside the dense thorns, a stone tablet about half a person's height was revealed. The surface of the tablet was covered with signs of weathering, but the characters carved on it were still faintly discernible—it was an extremely ancient pictographic script, with bold strokes, carrying a primitive and heavy sense of power.