Chapter 284: Difficulties

The remaining eight people were all working hard. Upon seeing Rod and his two companions arrive, they were clearly stunned—they hadn’t expected them to be able to escape the pursuit of the other three in such a short time. What about Zi Yang and the others? This thought filled them with concern. Could Rod and his group really be that strong, capable of dealing with Zi Yang’s party in such a short time? Wary, they kept their distance to avoid any problems.

Fortunately, the arrival of Zi Yang’s party soon relieved everyone. It wasn’t as terrifying as they had imagined—Rod and his group weren’t that powerful after all.

Rod, Sognar, and Lucy didn’t rush to attack the defensive barrier upon arriving. Instead, they observed it carefully. To do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools; a blind attack would yield no results. Understanding the characteristics of this barrier before attacking would surely maximize their effectiveness.

As for Zi Yang and the others, they glared fiercely at Rod but did not launch an attack. When they saw two people already inside, their brows furrowed. So strong? They grew wary. Time was running out. According to the rules, the first layer of the barrier had to be broken within six hours of entering. If it couldn’t be broken within that time, they would be sent back outside, losing the chance to proceed to the second level—meaning their entire journey to the Netherworld would be in vain.

Now, with only a little over two hours left, without any time to waste, they quickly found a corner to study the barrier.

Seeing that Zi Yang’s party wasn’t causing trouble for him, Rod breathed a sigh of relief. If those guys came for trouble now, it would really be problematic. Time was scarce, and there was no room for delay.

By pouring his mental energy into the barrier to study it, Rod was shocked to discover that it was actually composed of various elements—fire, water, wind, lightning, darkness, light, and more—everything present, nothing missing. It was a comprehensive barrier with no inherent advantages or disadvantages, fair to everyone. What surprised Rod even more was that after several attempts, he discovered a significant issue: the barrier had different effects depending on the strength of the person using it.

The stronger one is, the more intense the counterreaction, just like a spring—stronger when you are strong, weaker when you are weak! These discoveries made Rod and the others admire the creator of this barrier for their strength and wisdom. Almost no one has any advantage in front of this barrier, except for those at the divine level; their abilities simply aren’t enough to enter thisNetherworld. Moreover, it seems this barrier is only accessible to those above the divine level. Time passed by second by second, and before they knew it, three more people had entered the second stage. By now, as many as five people had made it, with five spots left. The rest began to worry, rushing at the barrier with loud, deafening noises. Looking over at Zi Yang’s group, they also weren’t in a hurry to act, seemingly observing in hopes of finding a weakness in the barrier. The five people who went in first were undoubtedly those who had experienced theNetherworld before; they were able to enter mostly due to sufficient experience accumulated over time, with some even having passed the first stage several times—unlike them. “What do you think?” Rod asked solemnly, turning to Sognar and Lucy. “It’s difficult. It’s a very powerful barrier, a combination of elements. There are only two ways to pass: either you reach the pinnacle in mastering one element’s combat energy and can control and fuse that element well enough to gain its recognition, or you master all elements to such a degree that they harmonize terrifyingly well, allowing you to enter!” After a moment of thought, Sognar said with a wry smile—the difficulty seemed indeed great. Controlling one element to make it recognize you within the barrier, then summoning that element to fuse with your own body and create a path in—how easy could that be? It demanded strict control over elements, combat energy, elemental harmony, and force control. At the very least, controlling force was challenging; using too much force would result in a counterreaction, while not using enough would yield no effect—balance was essential. “What about you?” Rod asked anxiously, seeing Lucy’s indifferent expression. She seemed to be the most at risk. “It’s fine. I can enter!” Unexpectedly, Lucy’s reply shocked Rod and Sognar. Seeing her confident demeanor, they couldn’t help but wonder.

“My compatibility with elements is very high. Don’t worry, I’m confident I can get in. You guys hurry up and find a way—it’s a shame I can’t help you!” Lucy said with a bitter smile as she saw Rod and Sognar’s confusion. Indeed, if she could help, she would definitely do so without hesitation.

“It’s okay. As long as you can get in, we’ll figure it out on our own. Don’t worry!” Rod said slowly after taking a deep breath. As long as Lucy was fine, things would be a bit easier for them.

“Rod, you…” Sognar couldn’t help but worry. If this barrier was a terrifying obstacle, it would be pure hell for Rod. Rod’s situation was unique—his combat energy was in chaos, unable to be classified under any specific attribute. Breaking through would be extremely difficult, harder than for anyone else. It seemed this barrier was designed specifically for people like them.

“I know a way to buy our way in. Let’s start!” With a bitter sigh, Rod knew full well his current situation, but what else could he do? He had to enter the Core of the Netherworld—he couldn’t miss this chance!

“Okay, let’s begin!” Sognar nodded and spoke in a deep voice.

They then focused their mental energy on integrating it into the barrier, trying to communicate with its defensive elements. Once their mental energy entered the barrier, they felt as if they had entered a brand new world—vast and immense. They were like a small boat adrift in a huge ocean, feeling a bit lost and helpless.

Taking a deep breath, Sognar began communicating with the dark elements first. As he did so, dark elements quickly flowed toward him from all directions, gathering in front of him.

Outside, it was clear that the barrier in front of Sognar was changing, with abnormal elemental flows.

“Let’s hurry up too! There aren’t many spots! We can bother them once we get in!” On the other side, Zi Yang said to the two people beside him, and the three of them began to push against the elements.

As time passed, the elemental fluctuations in front of Sognar grew more and more pronounced. Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Lucy’s lips. He was almost successful. Truly, you can’t judge a person by their appearance. Sognar usually seemed careless and unstable, but at a critical moment, he showed terrifying strength.

His compatibility with elements was actually this high—not much worse than hers. In a little while, he should be able to complete the element condensation and then use his combat energy to integrate into it.

Looking back at Rod, a hint of concern flashed in his eyes—no sign of movement, as if he had vanished into the depths of the sea!
“Lucy, start quickly. Don’t worry about me!” Seeming to sense Lucy’s gaze, Rod turned to her with a bitter smile and said, “Go in first. Wait for me inside. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely get in. Be careful of Zi Yang and the others—stay close to Sognar!” His expression toward Sognar was complex.
“Okay, Brother Rod, go for it! I’ll wait for you inside!” Lucy nodded and smiled, still full of confidence in Rod. No matter when, he was always the person she trusted the most.
As soon as she finished speaking, Lucy closed her eyes. In an instant, the world around her changed. A loud noise caught everyone’s attention. Fire elements condensed around her like solid matter, and the barrier in front of her trembled and shifted violently. Soon, a fiery red door appeared. Then, with a soft cry from Lucy, a fire dragon emerged from her hands. The white fire dragon emitted a terrifying aura as it rushed straight into the barrier.
There was no collision or roar as expected—only silence. The magic entered the barrier and quickly merged with the red door. The barrier continued to tremble and struggle, until finally, with a crisp cracking sound, an empty door appeared.
“Brother Rod, I’ll wait for you inside!” Leaving those words behind, Lucy slowly walked inside and disappeared from everyone’s sight. She entered so effortlessly, beyond anyone’s imagination!
So simple? So easy? It was hard to believe. Looking at where she had disappeared, everyone felt deeply puzzled. Truly, they were among the strongest in a hundred years—talents abounded. Passing the first level so easily could be said to be unprecedented. It was even easier than for those old guys who had tried many times before.
Next was Sognar. A black door appeared quickly for him. Then, he gathered his combat energy and threw a punch. After another moment of silence, a cracking sound came, and an empty door appeared again. Sognar gave Rod a deep look, nodded, and walked inside.
Once again, gasps of surprise arose—Zi Yang had also succeeded in entering. By now, eight people had passed the second level, leaving two spots remaining. Rod grew anxious. Why wasn’t there any sign of him? He quickly dismissed all distractions and poured his mental energy back into the barrier, hoping to achieve something.