Chapter 1139: The Three-Dimensional Gate

Song Qi slowly took a step forward.

He knew that no matter how pitiful Xuan Wu might be, she was still his enemy. Today, if Xuan Wu didn't die, then everyone in the "Cat" team would. After all, for Xuan Wu, death was the only true release. She had long ceased to be human, yet she continued to endure inhuman torment.

Su Shan lowered her head and looked at the ground, spotting a fragment of Xuan Wu's heart that had somehow flown up and landed near her feet. She could tell at a glance that it was a piece of the "heart" because it was completely pitch-black and was wriggling on the ground like a worm.

Su Shan noticed a faint glow emanating from it, barely outlining the shadow of the characters "Bu Mie." An idea suddenly struck her, so she widened her eyes to take in every object in the scene. Everywhere her gaze fell, in various corners, shadows of "Bu Mie" flickered. Xuan Wu's heart had been shattered into countless pieces, each one turning into a separate black worm. These worms appeared divided but were interconnected, pulsing together in unison.

In other words, the "heart" was still functioning. Even though it had been split into countless fragments, it continued to beat rhythmically. This was just like Xuan Wu's arm—although Ma Shier had taken it far away, it could still attack independently. It was under Xuan Wu's mental control, as if some invisible force connected the body and its organs.

Su Shan bent down and picked up the wriggling fragment of Xuan Wu's heart. It showed signs of life, pulsing in rhythm with the countless other fragments. Rather than saying Xuan Wu had no heart, it was more accurate to say that her heart was everywhere.

So, what exactly was connecting this heart together...?

As she pondered, the ground assault team launched their attack.

Wang Ba with "Ju Hua," Luo Shiyi with "Wang You," Jiang Shi with "Bu Mie," and Cui Shisi with "Chuan Suo" all stepped into the battlefield.

They unleashed the simplest and most direct forms of violent assault, but what caught Su Shan's attention most was Cui Shisi's attack method. She wielded two strange weapons, like small hula hoops. Upon closer inspection with "Ling Shi," Su Shan saw that each hoop had been enhanced with "Chuan Suo."

The "Cat" team's coordination was flawless. Jiang Shi took Cui Shisi's hula hoops and began circling around Xuan Wu. Cui Shisi's punches entered the hoops in her hands and instantly emerged from the ones held by Jiang Shi—this was the essence of "Chuan Suo."

The bizarre attacks left Xuan Wu momentarily unable to defend herself. Unfortunately, because Xuan Wu carried "Bu Mie," these punches caused no harm at all. Some even burrowed into Xuan Wu's body.

Seeing this, Wang Ba activated "Ju Hua," enlarging Cui Shisi's elusive punches the moment they appeared. At most, this only pushed Xuan Wu back a step, with no other effects.

Up on the roof, Su Shan watched this unfold and slowly narrowed her eyes.

"Chuan Suo..." she murmured to herself.

In certain ways, the way Cui Shisi's punches emerged from the other hoop resembled Xuan Wu's arm. Both had detached from their bodies yet could still move freely.

"Wait a minute..." Su Shan vaguely grasped something. She stared at Xuan Wu with her brilliant eyes for a long time, as if spotting a clue.

What if the "Bu Mie" covering Xuan Wu's body was actually a form of "Chuan Suo"?

All attacks directed at her were shifted away by the "Chuan Suo" on her body, then transferred to... another space.

Even if her limbs were separated, the effect of "Chuan Suo" persisted, forcibly linking the detached parts back to her main body.

Su Shan realized that no one in the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di" had likely analyzed Xuan Wu's abilities from this seemingly scientific angle. Just contemplating the concept made her head feel hot.

She glanced down and squeezed the heart fragment in her hand. It was a three-dimensional object, yet it contained space within. If you attacked it with a toothpick, the toothpick might fall inside the fragment and drift into a vast starry sea.

"This is too abstract..."

Su Shan closed her eyes and analyzed Xuan Wu's current state.

A body that shone like a starry sky, with arms that could engulf things into thorns...

"I think I've got it," Su Shan said. "She's like... a three-dimensional... door?"

Li Jingguan and Song Qi heard this baffling statement, and their expressions instantly filled with confusion.

"It's a three-dimensional body, but it functions like a door that things can enter, shifting them to other locations..." Su Shan explained. "That's exactly it..."

"Do you have a strategy?" Li Jingguan turned and asked.

"I'm not sure if it counts as a strategy... but I have a bold idea," Su Shan replied. "It might be pointless, or it could be a brilliant move. I've never encountered anything like this before, so I'll have to tackle this abstract problem with abstract methods."

"That's fine, go ahead," Song Qi said. "As long as there's even a slim chance to break the deadlock, we can try it."

Su Shan listened, then stared seriously at Xuan Wu and pointed a finger at her dark body.

"What do you mean...?" Li Jingguan asked.

"I want to go inside and take a look," Su Shan said.

After she spoke, both of them froze.

"Xuan Wu's body is like a door or a cave—it can swallow and carry away objects. So, could it swallow... a person?" Su Shan said seriously. "What would happen if a person went in?"

The atmosphere fell silent for about ten seconds before Song Qi slowly came to his senses.

"You... hold on..." Song Qi said. "Does this tactic sound right...? I'm a bit confused..."

"I want to jump into that vast starry sky inside Xuan Wu and see," Su Shan said. "I want to know where the things her body swallows end up and what kind of space is in there."

"No... wait..." Li Jingguan hesitated. "I think I get what you mean, but it's still not right..."

"How so?"

"Maybe, as you said, there's something tricky about the space inside her body..." Li Jingguan paused. "But it's like dealing with a shark. Destroying a shark's innards can kill it quickly, yet no one would voluntarily let themselves be swallowed first."

"That's because being eaten by a shark is extremely dangerous—almost certain death for humans," Su Shan replied. "But what's inside Xuan Wu is unknown. We can't judge the unknown based on what we already know."

Song Qi thought carefully about Su Shan's words and felt it was indeed a strange breakthrough point.

However, Su Shan couldn't go herself—this mission needed someone else.

"You can't go," Song Qi said. "I know the perfect person for this. When she's angry, her whole body turns into a sea of flames, which makes her ideal for this task."