Fang Zhen immediately activated the Gang Zan Seal's incantation.

He had previously guessed that the Gang Zan Seal might be able to block Aiden's Thunder Strike Cloud. He recalled seeing Maticvia use it to block some of the flames from a Molotov cocktail; the flames had only gotten through because the incantation wasn't active initially, and later because the seal offered no protection from below.

The reason he hadn't activated it immediately was that he wasn't one hundred percent sure his theory was correct. If it failed to block the attack, he would be in deep trouble.

But then, inspiration struck.

Besides the Gang Zan Seal's incantation, he had another very useful passive skill... Death Aversion.

So, all he had to do was activate the Gang Zan Seal's incantation and try to cross the Thunder Strike Cloud. He could just see if his Death Aversion reacted.

The Death Aversion passive made him feel extremely uncomfortable whenever he attempted any life-threatening action. In a situation that meant certain death, it would instinctively prevent him from acting at all.

By combining the two, he would know instantly whether the Gang Zan Seal was effective against the Thunder Strike Cloud.

Fang Zhen put his thought into action.

He immediately activated the Gang Zan Seal's incantation.

Instantly, an invisible force field appeared around his body.

Fang Zhen's next move wasn't to step directly into the cloud. Instead, he increased his power output, expanding the incantation's range.

This was mainly because he had his Holy Garment box.

As for his long spear...

A sharp glint flashed in Fang Zhen's eyes. The long spear in his hand flashed with white light as he hurled it forward.

Power Mountain Seal, plus the Precision Throw skill!

The spear flew out with a BUZZ. Empowered by the Power Mountain Seal, it pierced the ground, which was made of some unknown stone, and stuck fast.

With the solid metal spear stuck diagonally in the ground, a large portion of the lightning constantly striking down from the Thunder Strike Cloud was drawn to it, crashing into the titanium alloy weapon.

Titanium alloy is somewhat conductive, and with the spear stabbed into the ground, most of the electrical charge was channeled into the earth.

Aiden's Thunder Strike Cloud wasn't as ferocious as real lightning, after all.

Fang Zhen had used his spear to fashion a makeshift lightning rod.

With the Gang Zan Seal active, he didn't feel any warning from his Death Aversion's threat intuition.

'It's working!'

Fang Zhen's eyes lit up as he charged into the Thunder Strike Cloud's area.

Lightning flashed within the cloud, striking toward him.

Fang Zhen moved through it quickly.

He could feel the hairs on his body stand up slightly, but it was only to the degree of static electricity. The lightning strikes didn't affect him.

The only slight threat was that the Gang Zan Seal's incantation was consuming more power than usual.

The Thunder Strike Cloud's range wasn't very large. After enduring a wave of lightning strikes, Fang Zhen had already reached the entrance to the Netherworld Stone Gate.

He pulled out the spear with one hand.

The spear was extremely hot, possibly even glowing red.

Thankfully, his Flying Feather Iron Wall armor had fire resistance, and his gloves were quite thick. Holding it felt scorching hot, but it was still within a tolerable range.

As Aiden, Mela, and the others watched in shock, Fang Zhen pulled out his spear and arrived at the entrance of the Netherworld Stone Gate.

He looked back, gave a taunting wave to those behind him, and then stepped through the Obsidian Gate.

Behind him, the eyes of Aiden, Mela, and the others were burning with rage.

Fang Zhen stepped through the stone gate.

He was suddenly overcome with an indescribable sense of tranquility.

It was as if he had returned to infancy, back inside his mother's womb. He was without worries, in a place of such safety and comfort. He unconsciously closed his eyes, wanting to immerse himself in this feeling, never wanting to return to a reality filled with pain and frustration.

However, this sensation lasted only for a brief moment before Fang Zhen's eyes suddenly cleared.

Interrupt.

His Interrupt skill activated again, forcibly pulling Fang Zhen out of the hypnotic state.

Fang Zhen quickly observed his surroundings.

After looking around, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

The place he was in was clearly a square stone chamber, yet looking up, down, and all around, he saw an endless sea of stars in the darkness.

He could clearly feel he was standing on a stone floor. Yet, his eyes were met with a boundless, infinite space all around him. A brilliant river of stars flowed in the distance, its light illuminating the area as if he had entered the depths of the cosmos.

And not far in front of him, floating in the air, were a jeweled belt and a strangely shaped sword.

The jeweled belt looked a bit like a heavyweight boxing champion's golden belt. Its overall design was similar, with a huge, round gem in the center that looked like it had been cut from a giant pearl. On either side of the massive central jewel were three smaller gems.

The floating sword was strangely shaped. Instead of sharpened edges, its sides had smaller, symmetrical blades protruding from them. The entire thing looked crystalline, not made of metal but some other material.

Fang Zhen's perception had sharpened, and as he looked at the gems on the sword and belt, he instantly recognized them.

'Isn't this stuff Crystal Bone?'

The gems on the belt and the material of the sword were polished from some kind of Crystal Bone.

He didn't know what the belt was for, but the sword had to be the King's Sword.

After seeing the King's Sword, Fang Zhen didn't rush forward to snatch the treasure immediately.

Instead, he turned around, gripped his spear with both hands, and assumed a traditional martial arts opening stance.

He waited with extreme patience.

One breath. Two breaths. Three breaths.

After a period of three breaths,

a dark figure suddenly materialized, its form gradually becoming clearer.

As soon as this dark figure entered the space of the infinite starry sky, it also revealed a one-second window of hypnotic vulnerability.

Without a second thought, Fang Zhen lunged, thrusting his spear at the person.

PFFT!

The spear, still carrying residual heat from the lightning strikes, pierced the dark figure's body.

"AARGH!" A pained scream rang out.

The person who entered was run through the abdomen by Fang Zhen's spear and began to scream in agony.

The person's figure fully stabilized.

Fang Zhen looked and saw that it wasn't Mela, but the female assassin from the other two members of the Night Shadow Family.

He didn't know when this female assassin had gotten away from Batuma to pursue him here.

He shook his head slightly. 'A shame it isn't Mela.'

With a sharp flick of his spear, he flung the grievously wounded, nearly dead assassin's body back out of the Obsidian Light Gate.

Instantly, it felt as if everything on the other side went quiet.

Fang Zhen once again assumed his stance, ready to run through the next person.

But this time, he waited for several breaths, and no one came in.

A smile touched the corners of his lips.

'This was my goal all along.'

Fang Zhen didn't know if grabbing the King's Sword would trigger some special condition, like falling into another hypnotic state. If someone came in and attacked him in a moment of weakness, he'd be in a bad spot.

So he had decided to camp the door from the other side.

That Thunder Strike Cloud skill outside was so powerful that its duration couldn't be very long. Someone was bound to come after him.

But he now held the advantageous terrain. Plus, the Netherworld had a powerful hypnotic effect. No matter who came in, he could take them down with a single thrust.

Having run through the Night Shadow Family's female assassin and flung her body back out, he was betting that no one outside would dare enter now. They had no idea how long Fang Zhen would be camping the entrance.

Now, it would be much safer for him to go and claim the King's Sword and that mysterious belt.

At least, it was safer than grabbing them right away.

Fang Zhen waited for two more breaths to confirm that the people outside truly didn't dare to come in, then turned around.

He strode quickly toward the belt and sword floating in the air.

Fang Zhen first grabbed the belt.

Nothing happened.

He breathed a sigh of relief. The belt fit his waist quite well, and it was simple to equip, so he wrapped it around himself.

'It's pretty sturdy and looks good, too.'

Then, Fang Zhen reached out and grasped the King's Sword.

However, the instant his hand closed around the King's Sword, an unexpected change occurred.

Countless words, like those of the undead, suddenly echoed in Fang Zhen's ears. An unknown number of voices whispered ceaselessly in them.

And the King's Sword in his hand also underwent a strange transformation!