Chapter Fifteen: Unraveling the Mystery, Silently Vanquishing the Tiger

As Huang Hong’s words fell, the four of them took off at a sprint, clearly afraid that the monstrous hunting dog would break down the door at any moment.

At that moment, "Hero Trapped by a Cup of Wine" spoke with a tone full of righteous conviction, even clearing his throat twice for emphasis. “Listen to me. We need to run forward quickly now. Maybe we’ll come across some special mechanisms ahead that can help us slay that hunting dog monster.”

Huang Hong, Luo Wei, and Tan Cong all looked calmly at "Hero Trapped by a Cup of Wine." Aside from his slightly stronger strength, this guy’s mind was clearly offline—beyond anyone’s comprehension.

Still, they didn’t say anything. After all, "Hero Trapped by a Cup of Wine" was the best suited to lead among the four, so they followed closely behind him, running steadily forward.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ye Yu and his two companions were swept along by a fierce wind and arrived at a place covered with ancient roads.

“Where have we ended up?” Qu Zheng looked around, noting the vastness of the area. Unlike the ancient roads, this space wasn’t completely dark; a faint light filtered down from a great height.

Ye Yu looked up and saw a dazzling halo of light spreading out, while Qu Zheng explained, “That’s a luminous crystal stone embedded in the ceiling. We must be inside some sort of ancient relic space.”

“Definitely,” Ye Yu nodded.

Just then, Luo Feng quickly whispered, “Hide! Get into that corner.”

Without hesitation, Ye Yu and Qu Zheng leapt into a nearby stone mortar to hide, their eyes following Luo Feng’s gaze.

When their eyes landed on the spot Luo Feng was watching, their pupils constricted sharply. Before them stood a massive magical beast over ten meters tall, resembling a tiger but with saber-sharp, crescent-shaped fangs gleaming with a faint cold light, capable of piercing one’s eyes.

“Don’t make a sound!” Luo Feng gestured for silence, and all three immediately fell silent, their eyes filled with intense dread. A gigantic tiger beast of that size, rated at Level 60—even regular monsters at that level would be extraordinarily dangerous, let alone this elite predator.

Ye Yu’s mind raced, wondering what situation "Hero Trapped by a Cup of Wine" and the others were facing on the other side. Surely it couldn’t be any better.

As the tiger beast slowly passed by, they held their breath, afraid to even breathe, praying it wouldn’t detect their presence inside the stone mortar right next to its claws.

Suddenly, the tiger’s nose twitched, and its massive head swayed side to side. It lowered its head to sniff the residual scent on the ground.

This was bad.

Panic flashed in Ye Yu’s eyes. The enormous tiger head was now right before him, its deep yellow eyes gleaming faintly with a blood-red light, reminiscent of the blood-colored mist Ye Yu had seen earlier.

Yet, after several minutes, the beast seemed unaware of their presence, as if the scent of the stone mortar itself masked their own.

The tiger then resumed moving forward, its low, thunderous roar seeming to carry some meaning. Though they did not understand it, the sound drenched Ye Yu and his companions in cold sweat.

“That was close. The tiger didn’t discover us,” Qu Zheng sagged with relief, collapsing onto the mortar’s floor, gasping heavily.

“The stone mortar retains the scent of other monsters. Clearly, that scent masked our own, which is why the tiger lingered, sniffed around, and then left when it lost the trail,” Ye Yu explained, his expression serious but slightly relieved.

Nearby, Ye Yu noticed a rather old formation covered in dust. His keen eyes spotted it despite the dust, and above the formation, the air shimmered with a faint distortion, indicating the formation was still active.

“I understand now!” Ye Yu’s eyes lit up, a smile curving his lips, revealing his excitement.

Luo Feng stared at Ye Yu in astonishment. “Are you messing with us? What exactly do you understand?”

“If I’m correct, this place is essentially a puzzle, but one connected to the monsters. This means we have to either fight these creatures or find some way to temporarily gain the strength to confront these formidable foes,” Ye Yu replied.

Qu Zheng suddenly had a thought. “You mean, that tiger beast just now—we might be able to activate some kind of mechanism here to attack and kill it?”

“Yes. Those bone-white little bugs earlier didn’t run away because of our strength but because there was a mechanism nearby that transported us here. They didn’t want to be teleported, so they abandoned the chase,” Ye Yu nodded.

“There’s a formation about two hundred meters from us at the one o’clock direction, hidden beneath dust and rubble,” Ye Yu continued.

“I didn’t see any formation there,” Luo Feng said.

“That’s because you’re looking at the ground. The ancient patterns there deceive the eyes into thinking there’s nothing. But if you look just above the patterns, you’ll notice a subtle, strange phenomenon,” Ye Yu explained.

Following his instructions, Luo Feng and Qu Zheng stared intently at the air over the spot.

After a short while, they both noticed something odd.

“The airflow there is slightly distorted. Even when smoke drifts past, it twists subtly. Without careful observation, we wouldn’t see the active formation,” Luo Feng said thoughtfully, then cautiously asked, “Is that formation meant to deal with the tiger beast?”

“Exactly. That formation is definitely related to the tiger we just encountered. Perhaps activating or destroying it will have a significant effect on the beast. Once triggered, we might gain the ability to defeat it,” Ye Yu analyzed.

Both Luo Feng and Qu Zheng nodded in understanding, saying in unison, “So that’s how it is.”

Ye Yu’s expression turned somewhat puzzled. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Getting close to that formation won’t be easy. This place is vast. While it’s a lot for us, it’s nothing for that tiger. If it turns back, it could easily track us.”

Hearing this, Luo Feng seemed to realize something. From his sleeve, he pulled out a crystal stone with a faint fiery glow inside.

“Third brother, do you think this crystal has some connection to that formation?”

Ye Yu quickly took the crystal, furrowing his brows. “When I point this stone toward the formation, the flame inside burns brightly. But when I move it away, the flame dims, as if ready to extinguish at any moment.”

“This crystal probably needs to channel its flame into the formation to affect the tiger. Defeating that beast is our only way out of this place. This is clearly a trial we must pass,” Ye Yu said.

“Third brother, you’re amazing. How did you come up with such logical deductions?” Qu Zheng exclaimed, admiration shining on his face.

“This is just a basic puzzle. The difficulty will increase later. Don’t think we’ll escape just by passing this stage. We’ve already spent a lot of time here, which isn’t good,” Ye Yu warned, then slowly rose from the stone mortar and began heading toward the formation.

“By the way, haven’t you played a lot of puzzle games before?” Ye Yu suddenly turned to look at Qu Zheng, frowning with a mix of curiosity and mild disdain.

“I have played many puzzle games, but...” Qu Zheng smiled wryly, scratching the back of his head like a child apologizing after being scolded. “I never passed any of them. My puzzle-solving success rate is nearly zero, maybe actually zero. I just wanted to coast through, so I’m sticking with you—because you know I’m not great at fighting monsters.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Yu’s expression turned icy cold. The faint warmth in his smile vanished completely.

“Who gave you the nerve to follow me down this puzzle path? You’re less reliable than Luo Feng. Planning to just coast through, huh!” Ye Yu said with a half-joking scolding, his tone tinged with helplessness and annoyance.

Though he said that, Ye Yu didn’t do anything further. The three quickly approached the formation, which was buried under a pile of rubble.

Ye Yu knelt down, his left hand touching the ancient patterns on the ground. Purple light swirled in his palm. When the patterns met the purple glow, the pitch-black, faintly dull lines suddenly brightened slightly.

At that moment, a terrifying roar echoed nearby, shaking the heavens and the earth. The entire space trembled with the fury of that shout.

“Bad! The tiger discovered us,” Qu Zheng said, turning his head to see the massive beast stalking toward them several hundred meters away. Its menacing yellow eyes and razor-sharp fangs fixed on the three as if they were prey entering its jaws.

“Third brother, what now!” Luo Feng asked anxiously.

Ye Yu frowned deeply. Time was running out.

He slowly rose and said grimly, “Blast away this rubble. Expose the formation.”

“Got it.”

The three summoned their inner strength, gathering it in their palms. Each struck the rubble with a powerful palm strike. Gusts of wind swept out, scattering the stones and debris, revealing the entire formation beneath.

At that moment, the tiger roared fiercely and broke into a sprint toward their position.

“That’s bad. It clearly realized we want to use the formation against it. It’s charging right at us,” Ye Yu said, glancing back at the approaching beast.

He clenched the crystal tightly, watching the flame inside blaze wildly, as if alive and ready to burst free to merge with the formation on the ground.

Bang—

Purple light swirled fiercely in Ye Yu’s right hand. Brilliant purple rays surged from cracks in the crystal.

The crystal shattered, pieces falling onto the formation. The fragments melted into a pool of sparkling light on the ground, while the flame floated freely in Ye Yu’s palm.

Boom—boom—boom—

The tiger’s massive body was suddenly covered in savage wounds. Its eyes, filled with pain and rage, blazed with fury.

“So it is,” Ye Yu said with a smile. “Goodbye.”

He flung the flame in his palm into the formation.

Whoosh—

The flame turned into a scarlet rainbow, diving into the formation. Ripples spread across the glowing pool.

The tiger’s body ignited instantly, engulfed in flames as fierce as hellfire, consuming everything.

In an instant, the beast turned to ash, dispersing into the air.

Ye Yu had effortlessly slain the Level 60 elite tiger beast.

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