"'Get out of here alive'? what does that mean?!"

"It's just to participate in a black market transaction, do you still have to work hard?"

"That is, what is this 'ghost market' going on this year?"

……

The words of the snake were like a thunderbolt, and the crowd in the square exploded. The elephant snake looked coldly at the people who were talking below, his face did not change at all, only to see him caressing the tip of his hair, and calmly opened his mouth again:

"If you want to quit now, listen to it. But this also means that you will not be able to get a chance to see that precious 'Soul Suppression Stone', or even get a chance to look at it!"

"......!" As soon as they heard the words "Soul Suppression Stone", the originally noisy people at the scene immediately quieted down, with different expressions on their faces.

"I wanted to ask before, this 'Soul Stone' has disappeared since ancient times, and it has not appeared for thousands of years, and now the 'Ghost Market' suddenly claims to auction the 'Soul Stone', is this true or false?"

"Heh, as the organizer of the 'Ghost Market', how has there ever been a scandal that does not match the truth in thousands of years?" "If you don't believe us, you can go away on your own, and I will not stop you like a serpent. ”

"......" faced with such a tough attitude of the elephant snake, the stubble man's face twitched, and he stopped speaking stupidly.

"Since you believe that what our 'Oniya Group' is saying is true, let's use our strength to win this 'special challenge'. The serpent looked around at the crowd again and spoke. "Do you have any questions......?

"Wait, you haven't told us what it means to 'get out of here alive'!"

"Hehe, naturally, literally. The snake sneered.

"Since this year's 'Ghost Market' will auction the precious 'Soul Stones', the specifications must not be low, if all kinds of cats and dogs are mixed in, wouldn't it be a mess? ”

"But don't you already have the threshold of an invitation?" someone asked.

"Invitations, hehe, don't tell me you all got your invitations through the 'normal channels'. The elephant snake said, intentionally or unintentionally glancing at the direction of Jiang Yao, Qiu Laosan and the others.

"The invitation is only one of the thresholds, and to screen the guests who are really qualified to participate in the 'Ghost Market' and bid for the 'Soul Stone', you have to pass this 'challenge'. It's just that...... Normal challenges can be boring, so we've prepared a venue like this for you. ”

The snake grinned, stretched out its slender jade fingers, and flicked it towards the dark jungle around it shrouded in a rusty red sky.

"As you can see, this is a different space from the real world, to be more specific...... This is a makeshift labyrinth that wanders on the edge of the 'Gap in the Three Realms'. The snake looked at the people below with slightly changed expressions and said slowly.

"As long as you can successfully escape from this maze within the time limit, then you will pass this challenge. As for exports...... Hehe, all I can say is in the center of this labyrinth, but it's up to you to figure out how to get there, but I can point you the location. ”

The snake's finger stopped on the west side of the space, and everyone hurriedly looked over, only to see a towering red stone pillar standing far to the west, looking ethereal under the cover of the hazy fog.

"The time given for this challenge is 10 hours, and if you don't get out of here in time once the challenge is over...... Hehe, this temporary labyrinth will all collapse, and the consequences at that time, I think you should also know the consequences. ”

"Could it be...... Will we fall into the 'rift in the Three Realms'?"

"What a joke! Once you fall into it, you will be displaced into nothingness forever, and it will be more painful than death!"

Hearing what the elephant snake said, the faces of many people below were visibly shaken.

"Hehe, since you are all masters who claim to be qualified to participate in the 'Ghost Market', then this challenge of difficulty should not be difficult for you. ”

The elephant snake gently twisted the tip of his hair, smiling and "appreciating" the different expressions of the people below, but then he seemed to remember something, raised his eyebrows, and added:

"Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that the spatial structure of this temporary labyrinth is quite unstable, and there may be a lot of strange phenomena, including various fallen monsters. And...... Every hour, the perimeter of the maze collapses, and the entire maze becomes smaller and smaller. ”

The snake played with his neatly trimmed red nails and said nonchalantly.

"Truth be told, this is a hint to you, that all external timing and positioning tools will fail in this space, and you can only estimate your remaining challenge time by the frequency of collapse. But well...... If you are unlucky enough to fall into the collapsed space, it will be equivalent to going out early~ Please be careful. ”

"W-What the hell is this challenge!

After listening to such a strict rule in the mouth of the elephant snake, the crowd below began to stir again.

"We just go to the 'ghost market' to trade, whether it's the 'Soul Stone' or other lots, as long as we pay the corresponding 'price', why should we block the threshold of participation!?"

"We don't accompany this kind of bullshit rules!"

"It's! it's—"

"Hmph, with all due respect, if you can't even pass this 'challenge', you simply don't have the capital to pay the price of the 'Soul Stone'. The elephant snake sneered, and with a slight touch of his toes, the whole person suddenly floated up slowly, hanging above the stone steps.

"And now, it's impossible to quit because ......"

"Rumble——!!

Before the words fell, a violent crackling sound was deafening, and I saw cracks spread out from under everyone's feet like a spider web, not only the square under their feet, but also the entire mountain where the "Ghost Gate Pass" archway was located also began to violently shake.

"What's going on!?"

"Oh no! ......!?"

"Hehehe...... It's too late to run, because this 'challenge' has already begun. The snake laughed, its body becoming more transparent. "Looking forward to your performance, I'm at the finish line...... Waiting for you!"

"Bastard! Don't try to slip away!!"

Qiu Laosan's face was hideous, he roared and called out a giant wolf-like god, and rushed towards the body of the elephant snake! However, the moment the giant wolf's claws touched the elephant snake, the figure of the elephant snake suddenly shattered and dissipated in front of everyone like dust.

"Tsk, that snake is just a phantom that has been transmitted into space, and the main body has never entered at all...... Damn!"

Lu Xingyue looked at the mountains and rocks that were gradually collapsing around him, and a pale yellow light cord instantly conjured out from his palm, ready to leave here with Jiang Yao. But at this moment, only to hear a loud noise, the ground under Jiang Yao's feet suddenly cracked, and Jiang Yao, who was caught off guard, was unstable and was about to fall into the gap.

"Oops!"

Lu Xingyue, who was quick-eyed, hurriedly swung out a light rope and wrapped it around Jiang Yao's arm, and at the same time, the light rope in the other hand also plunged into the mountain rock in front of him, and the two people in series suddenly threw it towards the mountain rock in front of him like a swing, and hit the bushes on the rock wall.

"Ahem...... Are you alright?"

Lu Xingyue shook his head, which was a little dizzy from the impact, and hurriedly looked down, only to see Jiang Yao holding the light rope and shaking not far below him, with the buffer of the trees on the rock wall, so that he would not crash into internal injuries.

"I'm fine...... What about you?"

Jiang Yao raised his head and shouted, slightly relieved after getting Lu Xingyue's safe reply. However, now is obviously not the time to take it lightly, the collapse of the chain has completely destroyed the mountain stone square where everyone was before, and at this time, under Jiang Yao's body, is a pitch-black bottomless abyss.

"Hold on a little longer! I'll find a way to pull you up!"

Lu Xingyue gritted her teeth and said, stepping onto the rock wall with the pull of the light rope, and turned her body into a sunken cave on the rock wall, and then turned around and struggled to hold on to the light rope, trying to pull Jiang Yao up the cave.

"Hoo ......"

The cold wind mixed with some kind of fishy smell blew up from the abyss below, making Jiang Yao shiver, as if something was coveting him in the abyss, making some uneasiness in his heart gradually spread.

This feeling...... What's going on?

Puff ...... Puff ......

The echo of his heartbeat was agitated in Jiang Yao's ears, and he turned his head stiffly, as if he was about to look down, but at this time, he heard Lu Xingyue's eager cry again:

"Be careful!"

"Boom la la ......"

The loose gravel slipped from between the rock walls and crackled on Jiang Yao's body, Jiang Yao quickly stabilized his body and dodged the collapsed rocks, so that he was not taken down.

"It's not close...... Hold on!"

Seeing that the crisis had not yet subsided, Jiang Yao could only temporarily suppress the uneasiness in his heart, try to concentrate, and crawl towards the cave that was getting closer and closer above. However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a cold ankle, and in the next moment, an external force suddenly pulled his foot and dragged him down coldly.

"Huh!?"

As if sensing that the weight on her hand was wrong, Lu Xingyue hurriedly adjusted her posture and leaned over to the bottom of the cave.

"What's going on??Jiang Yao, what's wrong with you!"

"I don't know ...... either!...... something seems to be pulling my feet."

Jiang Yao grabbed the light rope in his hand and looked down, but saw that there was nothing below him except the abyss. But to his horror, he found that the skin on his ankle had sunken automatically, as if he had been caught by something, and then a strange black handprint slowly appeared, imprinted on his ankle.