I walk sideways in the game world

Chapter 136: Fog-locked Ruins, Heart Towards Light

The giant claw tore through the starry sky, carrying a devastating pressure as it fiercely struck Ren Xiaoyao and the others. In this critical moment, Ren Xiaoyao pushed his entire body's true energy to its limit, flinging Xia Lin and the two scholars to a relatively safe area behind him, while he himself faced the giant claw head-on.

"Boom!" A loud bang shook the ground, and Ren Xiaoyao's figure was instantly engulfed by the light of the explosion. When the light dissipated, everyone was horrified to find that the place they had been in had become a ruin, and Ren Xiaoyao was nowhere to be found.

"Brother Xiaoyao!" Xia Lin screamed heartbreakingly, desperately rushing towards the ruins, but was pulled back by Master Mo. "Calm down, child, it's too dangerous to rush over now!"

"Let me go! I want to find Brother Xiaoyao!" Xia Lin struggled, her eyes blurred with tears.

"Trust him, he will be fine." Pharmacist Li comforted, but there was also a hint of worry in his tone.

Ren Xiaoyao was slapped away by the giant claws, and his consciousness was blurred for a moment. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. It was white all around, and the visibility was extremely low. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

"What is this place?" Ren Xiaoyao was puzzled and observed the surrounding environment vigilantly.

"Brother Xiaoyao, where are you?" Xia Lin's anxious voice came from the fog, but it sounded vague and it was impossible to determine the direction.

"I'm here!" Ren Xiaoyao responded loudly and walked towards the direction where the voice came from. However, after walking for a long time, he found that he was always going around in circles and could not get close to Xia Lin at all.

"It seems we're lost." Master Mo's voice came from not far away. "This fog is very strange. It seems to interfere with our perception."

"I have a plan!" Pharmacist Li said, pulling out an ancient map from his pocket and carefully examining it in the dim light. "If I'm not mistaken, we should be at the edge of the ruins. As long as we find the right path, we can get out of this fog."

However, they walked for a long time following the map but still could not find a way out.

"This fog..." Ren Xiaoyao frowned, and a bad premonition arose in his heart.

"Wait," Xia Lin, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up, "Maybe I can try..."

Everyone looked at her, hope glimmering in their eyes.

Charlene took a deep breath and pulled some metal scraps, magnets, and other miscellaneous materials from her backpack. These were all things she had collected daily. As a skilled assistant, she was always prepared for any eventuality. In the dim light, she expertly assembled the materials, crafting several simple compasses.

"This is..." Master Mo looked at the object in Xia Lin's hand in surprise. "You want to use a compass to determine the direction?"

Charlene nodded. "Although this fog is very strange, I don't think it will affect the magnetic field."

However, things went against her wishes. When Charlene placed the compass on the ground, the needle began to spin wildly as if it were drunk, and it could not point to a fixed direction at all.

"How could this happen?" Charlene looked at the compass in disbelief, beads of sweat oozing from her forehead.

"It seems this fog is even more complex than we imagined," Pharmacist Li said solemnly, "Not only does it interfere with our perception, it even affects the magnetic field."

"Are we stuck here forever?" There was a hint of despair in Charlene's tone.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Master Mo suddenly spoke up, "Wait, I think I remembered something!" He flipped through the ancient tome in his hand, carefully examining every word. "According to the ancient text, the builders of this ruin possessed a mysterious power. They could manipulate the elements of nature and even change the laws of space..."

"You mean..." Pharmacist Li seemed to understand something, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

"If I'm not mistaken, this fog is most likely a protective mechanism they've set up to prevent outsiders from breaking in," Master Mo said solemnly. "And to break this mechanism, we must find specific runes to lift the seal of the fog."

"Rune?" Ren Xiaoyao repeated these two words, his eyes gleaming with determination. "I understand. Let's split up and look for it!"

"Okay!" Everyone responded in unison, and the fire of hope rekindled in their eyes.

In the dense fog, four figures cautiously groped their way forward. Ren Xiaoyao walked in front, his longsword tightly gripped, constantly alert to his surroundings. He knew that in this fog, any negligence could lead to fatal danger. Xia Lin followed behind him, a faint magical light flickering between her slender fingers, illuminating the path ahead.

"Watch your step!" Charlene suddenly reminded.

Ren Xiaoyao stopped immediately, only to see a bottomless abyss beneath his feet. If Xia Lin hadn't warned him in time, the consequences would have been disastrous. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "This fog is indeed strange. We must be more cautious."

Time passed minute by minute, and the fog showed no sign of dispersing. Just as everyone was about to despair, Pharmacist Li suddenly exclaimed, "Look, what is that?!"

Following the sound, everyone looked and saw some strange patterns faintly visible on a boulder not far away. They hurried over and carefully examined it in the dim light, discovering that it was actually a stone slab engraved with runes!

"It's the rune, we found the rune!" Pharmacist Li said excitedly, with a hint of trembling in his voice.

However, before they could be happy for long, a chill ran through their hearts. They discovered that the ground around the stone slab was covered with dense traps, flashing with a cold light.

"Damn, these guys are so cunning!" Ren Xiaoyao cursed under his breath, scanning the surrounding environment sharply, trying to find a way to break the trap.

Pharmacist Li also calmed down and carefully observed the structure of the trap, trying to find the pattern. He knew that these traps were interconnected and that if they were not careful, they would be triggered, and then all of them would be in an irretrievable situation.

"Let me try." Charlene said, and was about to go forward to check.

"Wait!" Ren Xiaoyao grabbed her and said, "These traps are too dangerous. Let me do it."

He took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on one of the traps, a glint of confidence in his eyes. "Stand back, everyone, stay away."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly took a few steps back and watched Ren Xiaoyao's every move nervously.

He held his breath, took a light step, and then stabbed the sword in his hand into a mechanism of the trap with lightning speed.

With a soft "click", the trap was successfully triggered, but instead of launching an attack, a narrow passage was revealed...

With a soft click, the trap was successfully triggered, but instead of launching an attack, a narrow passage was revealed. A gleam flashed in Ren Xiaoyao's eyes. He took a step back, and after confirming that there were no other traps, he gestured to his companions behind him, "It's safe, let's go."

Everyone carefully crossed the passage and approached the stone slab. Pharmacist Li couldn't wait to study the runes on the slab. Comparing them with the ancient book in his hand, he excitedly said, "Yes, this is it! The rune that can dispel fog!"

"Great!" Master Mo rubbed his hands excitedly. "As long as we clear the fog, we can find a way out of here!"

Xia Lin also breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to look at Ren Xiaoyao, her eyes full of gratitude and admiration: "Xiaoyao, thanks to you. If it weren't for you, we would never have been able to get here."

Ren Xiaoyao smiled faintly: "This is what I should do."

Pharmacist Li was absorbed in studying the runes, his hands rapidly forming seals. Rays of golden light shot out from his fingertips and landed on the stone slab. As the golden light infused the runes on the stone slab, they began to glow brightly. The surrounding mist seemed to be affected as well, and began to churn violently.

"We're almost there!" Pharmacist Li's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "Everyone, keep working harder!"

At that moment, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the fog, shaking the entire ground. A terrifying aura instantly enveloped the ruins, as if a behemoth from ancient times was about to awaken.

"What's that sound?!" Master Mo asked in horror.

Before anyone could react, a massive black shadow slowly emerged from the mist. It was a massive, hideous monster, covered in black scales and exuding a suffocating, oppressive presence. Its crimson eyes stared intently at Ren Xiaoyao and the others, as if watching a group of lambs to be slaughtered.

Everyone was stunned by the scene before them. They had never seen such a terrifying monster before. Ren Xiaoyao clenched his sword tightly, a strong sense of unease welling up in his heart...