My Right Hand Allows Me to Merge Thousands of Races-Chapter 289 - 172: The Deadliest Predicament! Sealed Artifact!_2
"Phew~"
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, their tense faces easing as their hearts settled down.
Scholar Lu's judgment on the situation was once again precise and accurate!
After narrowly escaping disaster, everyone sat on the ground, utterly exhausted.
However, Lu Xun's next words made their hearts rise again—
"Don't celebrate too soon, look."
Lu Xun pointed towards the crimson sea beneath them and said in a serious tone, "The tide is rising. If we want to survive, we have to keep moving upwards. We can't stop."
Rising tide?
Everyone looked towards the blood sea.
But they didn't notice any sign of the tide rising.
Staying on the stone steps seemed safe, so they didn't understand why Lu Xun said this.
However, the next moment, they understood...
Boom!
Once again, a familiar loud noise thundered from the skies, deafeningly loud.
It was that evil heart.
It vibrated once more, bursting forth a tidal wave of crimson as before.
The blood tide swept out with ferocity, tossing into the distance from high above.
Thus, on the distant horizon, another wave of crimson energy surged forward.
Everyone: "..."
That's when they realized what Lu Xun meant by "rising tide."
The evil heart, source of the chaos, was like a fountain.
It would intermittently erupt, releasing this crimson mysterious energy.
With each wave, the sea level would rise continuously by dozens of meters. Although under the rules here, the blood tide wouldn't destroy or damage the Celestial Ladder, the people were not part of the ladder.
As the water rose, it would gradually engulf everything until only bones remained.
"It's toying with us, mocking us... damn it! Just kill me already." A boy, losing control, screamed hysterically at the evil heart, ignoring all warnings, "What are you playing at? If you're going to kill me, then make it quick!"
Clearly, after enduring so many mental stresses, even a mentally sound person would find it hard to bear. Those with weaker psychological endurance would be more prone to losing control and breaking down.
All the people here were essentially high school students, some even underage, others just reaching adulthood.
Not everyone has a strong survival instinct.
When faced with adversity, realizing their hope was slim, those with weaker wills might easily give up.
Damn, living is so hard, dying doesn't sound so bad, let's just give up!
We're dead if we ascend anyway.
If we don't want to be swallowed by the blood sea, we must climb the Celestial Ladder, but the closer one gets to that evil heart, the more severe the contamination.
Ordinary people, after climbing a few dozen steps, would likely succumb.
Even Wuer and Wei'Er, the two Mages, would have their souls tainted upon entering the heart's core area.
In the end, no one could survive!
Given that, why keep struggling?
Wait for death to come slowly in despair.
It's too tormenting.
Better a swift end than prolonged agony!
This student wanted to jump into the sea.
Wuer, quick as lightning, delivered a sharp hand chop, knocking him out on the spot.
But he wasn't the only one who had a mental breakdown.
Ordinarily, a sane person wouldn't have the courage for suicide.
But after climbing the steps, everyone's mind was influenced by the heart, making them irritable, impulsive, and quick to anger.
Under the influence of this evil entity, their sense of despair was infinitely magnified.
A few seconds later, several other students also lost it and wanted to jump into the sea.
"Forest's Lullaby."
Wei'Er cast a spell.
With a sizzling sound, beautiful dark purple flowers bloomed, releasing a thick, enchanting fragrance.
The fragrance lulled them into sleep, quieting the out-of-control students.
"You better not give up easily, Brother Lu." Wuer whispered to Lu Xun, "Take deep breaths, stay focused. Until the final moment, I won't let you jump into the sea!"
"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile." Lu Xun rolled his eyes.
Even if he jumped into the sea, it wouldn't matter to him.
This crimson energy, deadly to others, was just child's play to him.
With a body invincible, he feared nothing.
He could activate Gluttony and drink the blood sea dry.
Lu Xun glanced at the distressed crowd, feeling a bit helpless and guilty.
They faced this peril all because of his Prayer.
Though he didn't intend to harm these classmates, ultimately, it was the risk accompanying his opportunity that dragged them into this.
"There's always a way out, let's hang in there. We will all make it out alive, nobody will die."
Lu Xun reassured his classmates.
He then turned to Wuer and Wei'Er, "Let's keep climbing the Celestial Ladder. Maybe we'll make new discoveries in the first temple." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
"Mm-hmm."
"Alright."
The two nodded.
Wuer summoned Evil Spirit and Skeleton Warrior to carry those who had difficulty moving.
Then, the group forced themselves to rally their spirits and began ascending the stone steps.
The Celestial Ladder consisted of several hundred steps, each two to three meters high.
They hadn't climbed for long.
The blood tide roared in, and the sea level rose significantly.
After a while, the evil heart erupted again, releasing massive amounts of red seawater... the third wave arrived.
It repeated over and over.
But at their current climbing speed, they could stay ahead of the rising tide.
Soon, they reached the entrance of the first temple.
The temple was pyramid-shaped, an inverted triangle, with a towering facade of large, square stones, grand and imposing.
The group stopped before the large doors.
