Xiao Lou had assumed that one of the paths chosen by the two teams, [Hell Path] and [ Hell Path ], would lead to the depths of the maze, or even to the only exit of the entire maze.
As a result, Ye Qi and his group only went through two secret chambers before they returned to where they started.
To confirm, Xiao Lou immediately initiated a voice call and asked, "Senior Gui, are you sure you've returned to the starting point? Could it be another secret room set up exactly the same as the Six Paths of Reincarnation?"
In escape rooms, similar scenes often appear, misleading players into thinking they've returned to where they were just walking, when in reality it's simply a duplicate room—a deceptive tactic. To avoid this, Xiao Lou made a prominent mark when leaving the Six Paths of Reincarnation room.
Gui Yuanzhang said confidently, "It is the origin. When we entered the Heavenly Path just now, we placed a marker arrow at the entrance. There is an arrow that I placed in this secret room."
Xiao Lou: "......"
That makes sense. Experienced maze players know to place arrow markers at forks in the road to show they've been there before. Since Mr. Old Gui saw the marker he placed, it means they've returned to the room they were in before.
So, Ye Qi and his group went through the Heavenly Path but gained nothing, and actually returned to the starting point of the Six Paths of Reincarnation?
Is the path of the Heavenly Human Path circular?
Gui Yuanzhang said, "It seems that the Heavenly Human Path is not the exit. We plan to choose another reincarnation gate to take a look. Professor Xiao, do you have any good suggestions? Which of the remaining paths—Human Path, Animal Path, Hungry Ghost Path, and Asura Path —should we enter?"
Xiao Lou was also feeling a bit confused.
This maze was more difficult than any he had ever encountered before. He had been inside for over an hour and still had no clue about the exit, nor even the internal structure of the maze.
Hearing his teammates' discussion, Lao Mo took out a map he had drawn. The Hell Path also showed signs of curvature, and it might even be a large circle, leading back to the starting point after completing the Eighteen Levels of Hell...
Xiao Lou thought about it carefully and said, "Shall we try human intercourse?"
Gui Yuanzhang nodded: "I think so too. Then let's enter the gate of human reincarnation. Contact me if anything comes up."
Xiao Lou cautioned, "Be careful of Hunter, always be on guard."
After hanging up the call, Xiao Lou looked at his teammates and said, "We've only reached the fifth level of Hell Path so far. Let's keep going. This path may not be the right one, but it's never worth giving up halfway."
Xiao Lou's teammates all agreed with his opinion.
While this path may not be the right one... it may not be the wrong one either, right?
If you turn back halfway, what if this is the right exit? Wouldn't you regret it to the point of despair? So, you have to finish the path you've chosen, even if you have to crawl on your knees. Only after you've finished can you completely eliminate the possibility of failure.
***
The six continued walking for a while and saw the sixth level—the Copper Pillar Hell.
It is said that those who deliberately set fires during their lifetime, or who set fires to destroy evidence or for revenge, causing innocent people to be implicated, will be sent to the Copper Pillar Hell after death. The demons will first strip them naked and make them hug a copper pillar one meter in diameter and two meters high. Charcoal will burn inside the pillar, and the demons will constantly fan it to create airflow. Soon, the copper pillar will become hot, and the person hugging it will be roasted alive.
Inside the secret chamber in front of them, countless enormous bronze pillars appeared.
Each one was burned to a bright red color and was constantly spinning, making a clicking sound as if it were a metal mechanism.
The distance between the copper pillars is less than 30 centimeters. If you accidentally touch one of the two scorching copper pillars, your skin will be burned instantly, or even charred.
For someone with a muscular build like Yu Hanjiang and Lu Jiuchuan, who are over 1.85 meters tall, it's difficult to guarantee that their entire body won't bump into a copper pillar even if they try to squeeze through the 30-centimeter gap between them, even if they turn sideways. What's more, the copper pillars are arranged haphazardly and fill the entire room. If you turn sideways the first time, you might bump head-on into the next copper pillar the second time...
The six of them stood at the entrance to the Copper Pillar Hell, and even Xiao Lou couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
How are we supposed to get through? If we try to force our way through, these bronze pillars will scald us to a pulp.
He had never encountered such a difficult maze in any single-player game he played during his university days; today he certainly learned something new.
Lu Jiuchuan looked up and said, "The bronze pillar is very tall, so it's probably impossible to fly over it from the top, right?"
Tang Ci said, "I'll put the drone up there and see."
A miniature reconnaissance drone, controlled by Tang Ci, ascended straight up to the top of the bronze pillar. He quickly discovered that the pillar was close to the ground at the bottom and directly above the roof, making strategies of climbing from below or flying from above ineffective.
You can only get past it from the middle.
The gap in the middle is too small. Unless you are as thin as a 30-pound paper doll, you can only pass through sideways. If you encounter a fat person, you will definitely get stuck between the two copper pillars.
As everyone was struggling to figure out what to do, Liu Qiao suddenly said, "I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work."
Xiao Lou turned to look at the little girl peeking out of Lao Mo's pocket: "Xiao Liu, what do you say?"
Liu Qiao said, " Professor Xiao, do you remember the fairy tale cards I drew before? Ugly Duckling and White Swan. I can transform into a group, turning up to 10 targets into Ugly Ducklings, or myself into a White Swan. After transforming, I can't be attacked for 30 minutes, but my movements become clumsy. I think ducks are generally smaller than humans, right?"
"A 30-centimeter gap should be enough for a duck to squeeze through, right?"
Everyone: "........."
Lu Jiuchuan sighed and rubbed his forehead: "What kind of cards did you guys draw?"
Liu Qiao didn't know how to answer this question either. Anyway, her hand was full of strange fairy tales. Xiao Lou had all sorts of ancient characters, Uncle Mo had things like sofas, marble, and dyeing materials, and only Captain Yu's weapons were somewhat normal, but unfortunately they couldn't be used in the maze.
Thinking of Liu Qiao's " ugly duckling " card, Xiao Lou couldn't help but laugh and cry: "That's one way, right? It can turn into 10 at once, right? Let's try turning Mr. Tang's scout ants into ducks first and see if we can pass the test."
Liu Qiao nodded: "Yeah, I've never seen how big the duck that card conjures up is either."
Tang Ci conspired to summon a mechanical ant.
Although Liu Qiao was in Lao Mo's pocket, she could still manipulate the cards smoothly. She found the ugly duckling. With a card and a skill transformation, the mechanical ant indeed turned into a cute little duck, about 10cm wide and 20cm long.
Tang Ci steered it forward...
A 30-centimeter gap is narrow for an adult, but for a duckling...
This is spacious!
Xiao Lou was overjoyed: "Okay, let's do it that way."
Liu Qiao reminded him, "Mr. Tang, after Ninth Brother turns into a little duck, why don't you ride on it?" After all, even if Tang Ci is reduced to the size of a thumb, he still won't have legs and can't sit in a wheelchair. Someone has to carry him; you can't expect him to crawl over slowly.
Lu Jiuchuan laughed and said, "No problem, I'll be Xiao Tang's mount."
Then, the card in Liu Qiao's hand flashed— Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang, Lao Mo, and Lu Jiuchuan instantly turned into four little ducks.
Four little ducks lined up neatly to pass through the Copper Pillar Hell; the scene was just like something out of an animated film.
Lu Jiuchuan: "Quack, quack, quack."
Tang Ci was stunned for a moment: "What did you say?"
Lu Jiuchuan: "Gaga gaga gaga"
Xiao Lou: "Gaga."
Yu Hanjiang: "Gaga gaga gaga"
Liu Qiao and Tang Ci, who remained unchanged: "......"
As humans, we can't understand what ducks are saying at all!
However, Liu Qiao could roughly guess what Lu Jiuchuan meant: he wanted Tang Ci to climb onto his back and be carried by him. So Liu Qiao helped out and let Tang Ci sit on the back of the last little duck ( Lu Jiuchuan ).
Lu Jiuchuan was relieved.
Liu Qiao led the way, after all, she was only the size of a thumb, and 30 centimeters was a wide road to her.
Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou, Lao Mo, and Lu Jiuchuan, four ugly ducklings, followed behind Liu Qiao. Although they were clumsy as ugly ducklings, 30 minutes was enough for them to get out of this copper pillar hell.
Xiao Lou feels that their team's style is getting weirder and weirder.
Walking through a mirror maze, Old Mo splashed paint all the way.
After a sweltering ordeal, Mr. Tang made everyone put on mechs.
Now, passing through the Copper Pillar Hell, Liu Qiao has turned me into an ugly duckling...
Someone accidentally brushed against the bronze pillar, and the duck feathers on its body were almost burned, making a "quack quack" sound in surprise.
In the end, the six people spent 15 minutes safely traversing the scorching hell filled with bronze pillars.
Liu Qiao breathed a sigh of relief, put the card away, and everyone finally returned to human form.
Lu Jiuchuan asked in confusion, " Xiao Tang, why didn't you react when I spoke to you just now?"
Tang Ci said expressionlessly, "I only heard a few quacks of ducks."
Xiao Lou and the other three: "......"
So, what Tang Ci and Liu Qiao thought was that the four ducks had been quacking the whole way?
Tang Ci asked, "What did you say?"
Lu Jiuchuan chuckled dryly, "Just ask me what it feels like to ride a little duck, cough, never mind... let's forget about what just happened."
It's best to forget about those embarrassing moments that everyone laughed about as soon as possible.
Xiao Lou chuckled and touched his nose, saying, "The next challenge should be the Hell of Knives."
Those who slaughter living beings will be sent to the hell of knives after death, stripped naked, and forced to climb the mountain of knives.
The six continued forward and, sure enough, saw the seventh level, the Hell of Knives.
Inside the spacious, enclosed room, there were countless sharp knives, their cold glint blinding.
This is an underground labyrinth after all, so it's impossible to make them climb a mountain. Therefore, the Hell of Knives was modified into a huge pit filled with sharp knives, and "knife rain" is constantly falling from the ceiling.
The Lightness Skill won't allow you to fly directly over it; if you use a knife as your landing point, you'll definitely get cut all over.
This level is much harder than the previous Scissors Hell. Xiao Lou stood at the door for a long time and observed, but couldn't find any pattern to the falling knives. Then Lao Mo suddenly came up with an idea: "My marble floor can pave a path in the knife pit. Everyone just needs to avoid the rain of knives overhead."
Many hands make light work; everyone's cards were truly put to good use today.
Old Mo's marble can be laid flat for flooring or vertically for building walls; it is indeed a very versatile building material.
Moreover, this card allows unlimited use of 100 marbles. The cuts are long enough to be completely covered by the marbles, which are of excellent quality. You don't have to worry about the marbles being pierced by the knife, as they are supported by the knife underneath and won't fall down.
Seeing that his teammates had no objections, Lao Mo took out the marble flooring and quickly laid it out.
The floor tiles were removed.
The pit was originally filled with countless sharp knives, a sight that sent chills down one's spine. Now, the knives underfoot were quickly covered by the marble floor, and a flat marble path was soon laid out in front of everyone.
Knives were still falling from the sky. Tang Ci said, "I'll use the drone formation to block the knives. Everyone, run!"
He usually only summons one or two drones for flight tests, but now he summoned a large number of drones, which flew together in the air, forming a metal protective umbrella. All the knives falling from the sky were blocked by the drones.
Protected by the drone formation, the group quickly walked across the marble floor.
Xiao Lou couldn't help but sigh. What seemed like an insurmountable hell had turned out to be the easiest challenge so far, demonstrating the importance of strategic card usage. If Ye Qi and her group were navigating this challenge, Old Gui's calligraphy brush could have cleared a path, or Ye Qi's teleportation card could have helped them pass through the pit of knives. There were actually many methods; it all depended on whether people were resourceful enough to use their brains.
******