Chapter 1152: Scarlet Rift

Qiu Shiliu closed her eyes in the strange space, feeling the wind whistle past her ears.

This sensation had persisted for several minutes. In this space, Qiu Shiliu knew that theoretically, her speed of movement was limitless.

After all, it was the space that was moving, not her, so her physical body didn't have to bear the consequences of high-speed travel.

But after moving at such a high speed for several minutes... where exactly would she end up?

Qiu Shiliu couldn't help but tightly grip the small "Men" in her hand. This "Men" was her only anchor in this unknown, infinite space.

She realized it was already very difficult to return to the space where her teammates were, as neither her "belief" nor the "time" allowed for any possibility of escape.

The fact that she could still move normally here was already a rarity. If she ultimately stopped in front of the "Men" most important to Xuanwu, it might mean she could help the team defeat Xuanwu here.

Once Xuanwu was dead, she was destined to perish along with it.

A person who died inside Xuanwu's body... what right did they have to enter the next cycle of reincarnation?

As soon as she thought of this, the anger in Qiu Shiliu's mind gradually faded, replaced only by sorrow.

Let me burn...

I want to remember all of this...

Another few minutes passed, and the wind in Qiu Shiliu's ears grew weaker, soon coming to a stop.

It seemed this endless journey had finally reached its end.

Qiu Shiliu slowly opened her eyes and looked at the unfamiliar yet familiar space before her.

Right in front of her was a "Men"—a real one, with aged wooden grain and a rusty doorknob.

"This 'Men'... is the most important thing to Xuanwu," Qiu Shiliu murmured to herself. "Jiu Jie, I think I've arrived."

"You've arrived?"

Bai Jiu's faint voice came from the other side of the "Men." "That took so long without any sound—it really scared me. I was worried about disrupting your belief, so I didn't dare say anything until now."

"It should be fine..."

Qiu Shiliu said softly, holding the "Men," "I'm okay now... There's another 'Men' in front of me."

"Put the 'Men' in your hand away for now, and don't act rashly if something happens—listen to my instructions," Bai Jiu said. "Before going in, take a look at what's inside the 'Men.'"

"Okay... Jiu Jie, I understand. Don't worry." Qiu Shiliu nodded, then took a deep breath and slowly reached out toward the "Men" in front of her.

But as soon as she extended her hand, she noticed a faint red glow appearing on the back of her right hand.

Qiu Shiliu felt something was off. She reached over with her other hand to scratch the back of it, but found nothing unusual—it was more like some red light was shining on her, casting a faint red hue over both her hands in this dark space.

Realizing this, Qiu Shiliu looked down at her body and saw a strange red light emanating from behind her, bathing her entire form in a faint red color.

No matter how she looked at it, this red shade seemed familiar, like the "Crimson of the End"—a terrifying color that only appeared in that blood-red place. But she had been traveling in one direction for about ten minutes, so why was this red light still shining on her?

In the void space, Qiu Shiliu slowly turned her body to look behind her.

About ten meters away, there was another oddly shaped "Men," resembling a vertical crack roughly two meters long and half a meter wide.

Strands of red light were seeping out from the crack, evoking a sense of unease.

The inside of the crack was even redder than the "Crimson of the End," and faint, beast-like whimpers echoed from within, as if it led straight to true hell.

Qiu Shiliu stood there, frozen for a while, completely unsure of what she was about to face.

"Shiliu, what happened...?"

Bai Jiu's voice came from Qiu Shiliu's palm. "Is there something inside that 'Men'?"

"No... Jiu Jie..."

Qiu Shiliu stammered, "I haven't gone in yet, but things here are a bit strange..."

"Strange...?"

"I found something really weird." Qiu Shiliu lifted the "Men" in her hand, then turned it to face the crack, asking cautiously, "Jiu Jie, do you know what that is?"

Bai Jiu stared at it through Jiang Shi's eye for a long time, but due to the limited view and the dim light, she couldn't make out what was inside the blood-red crack.

"Shiliu... this doesn't seem normal. I suggest you ignore it," Bai Jiu said into Jiang Shi's eye.

"But Jiu Jie..."

Qiu Shiliu seemed to have her own ideas. "Could I be the last, or even the only, person who can explore this space? That 'Men' is right nearby. If I just take a quick look, it probably won't be a problem."

"But..."

"Jiu Jie, earlier I was thinking about how to tell you all about what I found. Now's the perfect chance—I can show you everything I see, so pay close attention. Every 'Men' here must hide secrets we haven't discovered yet..."

"Wait a minute..."

Bai Jiu shouted anxiously into Jiang Shi's eye, but she saw that Qiu Shiliu was already slowly moving toward the red crack.

Bai Jiu had a bad feeling about this, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

The only thought in her mind was that they shouldn't challenge the unknown.

Qiu Shiliu slowly approached the scarlet crack and felt a shiver run down her spine the moment she peeked inside, with every hair on her back standing on end.

Both her sorrow and anger vanished in that instant, replaced only by fear.

Although Qiu Shiliu couldn't tell exactly what she was seeing, she felt an overwhelming sense of terror.

The thing emerging from the "Men" was enormous and appeared to be pulsating.

"Damn..."

She swallowed hard, and Bai Jiu's voice kept coming from the "Men" in her hand.

"Shiliu... you've seen enough. Whatever you do, don't go into any other 'Men'!"

"Don't worry, Jiu Jie... I won't go in..."

Qiu Shiliu took a deep breath. "But I want to see it more clearly..."

Qiu Shiliu slowly extended her hand into the crack, then grasped the edge of it and gave a gentle pull, successfully breaking off a piece and making the crack larger.

She looked down at the fragment in her hand and realized that this small, wall-like piece was actually another tiny "Men." It felt soft, like a ball of cotton, with one side showing a dark starry sky and the other a scarlet world.

She slowly let go, and the fragment drifted downward into the bottomless abyss below, as if it had lost all gravity.