The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

He had expected some kind of secret mechanism or hidden door, but Baal's answer shattered his illusions.

"Right there."

Following the direction, Chen Guan looked down and his gaze fell on the place where the throne base met the ground, where there was a crack.

The opening was dark and unpleasant to look at; it was only wide enough to barely fit an adult.

"Go in this way?"

Chen Guan checked it again.

"Otherwise what?"

Barr's tone was matter-of-fact.

"Do you expect me to put up a welcome sign at the entrance of my sealed territory?"

Guan Jinyue didn't listen to their nonsense at all. She walked to the crack, turned her slender body to the side, and squeezed in without any hesitation.

The silver hair was quickly swallowed up by the darkness.

Chen Guan looked at the opening, his scalp tingling, but he still followed Guan Jinyue's actions and squeezed into the crack sideways.

The space here was extremely cramped, with the cold stone walls pressed tightly against his chest and back, making it hard to breathe.

He had just taken two steps forward when suddenly his foot slipped.

My heart was pounding as my body plummeted downwards. The feeling of weightlessness lasted less than half a second before my feet touched the hard ground.

This is a downward-sloping stone staircase.

The passage was pitch black, and the only light coming through the crack behind us was the light source.

"Keep up."

Guan Jinyue's monotone voice rang out from ahead, becoming the only beacon in the darkness.

For some reason, Guan Jinyue felt unusually energetic.

Even though she had just tried to remove some of her protection, her spiritual energy did not diminish at all, as if it were inexhaustible.

Strange thing...

Chen Guan responded from behind, and with one hand touching the cold, rough wall, he slowly lowered himself down.

After he had completely descended several steps, the pitiful light behind him was blocked by the stone wall, and darkness covered everything.

At that moment, light seeped through both sides of the wall.

It was a layer of cool, silvery light, not dazzling, yet it illuminated the passageway clearly.

Chen Guan stopped in his tracks. The stone walls on both sides were covered with dense runes.

The silver light flowed from the grooves of the runes.

These strokes were extremely complex, layered upon each other, forming a massive and incomprehensible array that spread down the stone steps.

A sacred and solemn atmosphere filled the passageway completely.

Chen Guan raised his hand, his fingertips touching one of the glowing runes in mid-air.

A bone-chilling cold seeped into my veins through my fingertips; it felt like touching a glacier that had been sealed for millions of years.

"These are the shackles I've prepared for myself; don't touch them recklessly."

Baal's voice echoed in my mind.

Chen Guan recoiled as if electrocuted, his heart pounding as he stared at the wall covered in runes.

These things don't look like products of the demon realm at all; they look more like things used in the sanctuary to suppress evil.

However, since Bale won't say, asking is pointless.

"Let's go."

Barr urged him on.

Chen Guan suppressed his thoughts and followed Guan Jinyue down the path.

The stone steps are like a bottomless spiral; the further down you go, the faster the temperature in the air drops.

At first, it was just a chill, but before long, the breath Chen Guan exhaled turned into a thick white mist, which could be clearly seen under the silver light.

His mana bar had long since run out, and it was drained again as soon as it started to recover a little. Now he was relying entirely on his physical strength to hold on.

The cold air scraped against his skin, seeping into his bones, making his teeth chatter.

The road was incredibly long. Just when Chen Guan felt his blood vessels were about to freeze, Guan Jinyue finally stopped ahead of him.

The stone steps have come to an end.

The narrow passage suddenly widened, revealing a huge spherical space that had been completely hollowed out from the ground.

Chen Guan stood on the last step, looking up. The top of the space was so high that he couldn't see the end, and below him was a bottomless black hole.

In the very center of the space stood a pillar of light.

Countless dark gold chains, as thick as water vats, intertwined and grew out of the deepest darkness, piercing directly through the dome at the top.

The chains were also covered with those silver runes, the light flowing across the rusty surface, emitting a dull hum, one after another, making one's eardrums tingle.

This pillar of light, made of chains and runes, is the only source of light in this dead land.

That imposing and absolutely oppressive aura made it difficult for Chen Guan to even breathe.

Guan Jinyue stood in front, his pure black eyes reflecting the beam of light, and he rarely showed a dazed expression.

This is the cage that seals Baal.

"You asked me before about my attitude toward breaking the seal, and I said I'd answer when I got to that."

Baal's voice trailed off: "We've arrived now."

Chen Guan didn't speak, but simply looked up at the pillar of light that pierced through the heavens and earth.

The voice in my head continued: "I'll ask you one more time, do you regret it?"

"I regret coming to my seal, I regret about to break it."

"To be honest, I really didn't expect you to come here. I thought you would be kicked back to the human world by Asmodeus, because if Lord Baal were to be unsealed, it would not benefit the other demons."

"Therefore, there are many prefaces that I have not told you."

"Breaking the seal means that you, as a human of the yang side, have become involved in the karma of the demon of the yin side. Even Lord Baal dares not say what the consequences will be."

"Furthermore, if you touch the seal, you will directly confront the power that Lord Baal has sealed within, as well as the related memories. I cannot guarantee that the result will be positive."

"In the history of demons, there has never been such a precedent, neither by the demon gods who have sealed themselves here nor by the humans who have helped them."

"As for me personally destroying all the seals now, that's not feasible either; I can't do it in my current state."

"If I want to do this, I have to destroy all my clones in the world, and also destroy all contracts, including yours and Guan Jinyue's."

Chen Guan's body trembled uncontrollably from exhaustion and cold, and his breath condensed into ice crystals in front of his eyes.

Regret?

He slowly tugged at the corners of his frozen mouth, squeezing out a sound that was both like a gasp and a laugh.

What do you think?

He asked back.

For more than ten seconds, my mind was silent, with only the hum of chains echoing in my ears.

Then, Baal's voice rang out again, the coldness fading and replaced by an uncontrollable will that was about to break through everything.

"It seems you've made the same choice as that little girl. Go and untie it."

"I know you have many questions. Let's have a good talk when Lord Baal comes out."

Without further hesitation, Chen Guan took a step forward, firmly planted his foot on the ground, and raised his arm. The arm that had just recovered from demonization was now throbbing with pain due to overexertion.

He spread his palms out, palms facing upwards.

The black mark became scalding hot the moment it came into contact with the air in this space, like a red-hot iron pressed against his flesh, burning his nerves until they twitched.

Chen Guan looked up at the magnificent confinement composed of countless chains and runes.

He extended his hand.

"Let's begin, Miss Guan."