Martial research master

"This cave is quite spooky." Li Meng said.

"I couldn't scan what was inside of this place. Something is warding off my powers. It means that the is at least a sealing power present which is higher than the Monarch level. You need to be careful." The Keeper warned Li Meng. After some thinking, Li Meng finally decided to go inside. 

As he entered he could see that numerous runes covered the walls of the cave and they slowly lit up as he walked past them, lighting the passage. Li Meng could see that the passage was unusually long and he decided to inspect the walls first. He slowly began to inspect the runes one by one, which eventually led him to touch them.

A weird vibration suddenly took place.

"Jump to your right." The Keeper was immediately warned, and Li Meng did what he was asked to do. When he looked back at the position he was standing in, he could see metal spikes covering the whole space.

"This passage is rigged with traps. You should inspect them from a distance." Li Meng continued his examination. He found some of them quite familiar and soon enough a pattern began to emerge in the passage. He decided to test some of his theories out and used objects which he had received from the rings as scapegoats.

The first inspection was when an object was thrown at a nearby location and a voice opened and it fell inside. When Li Meng decided to get a grasp of what was inside the void, all he could see was darkness. Ominous feelings arouse in his heart when he looked down at the passage. 

"I can feel the energy from the river from this passage. This hole must be leading to a deep part of the river. A sure kill if someone accidentally falls into it."

After a series of attempts, Li Meng found a dozen traps around the cave passage. Some were spiked, while others were axes, voids, and even on fire. Li Meng was sure that he would be long dead if it weren't for the Crimson World Artifact. As he went through the passage, they finally managed to get a grasp on the exit.

Although it was far away, it was in sight. Li Meng carefully inspected the area, and with the help of the Keeper managed to identify a formation that was hidden beneath walls.

"It's an illusion formation with a  specific design. I can't imagine what its contents are, but it must be pretty horrible. The one who designed this cave didn't want intruders to come rushing into his resting place. Li Meng had to take some time and try to devise a pathway across the formation.

He finally managed to formulate a set of formations which would work as antigens, keeping him conscious as he walked through the formation in front. It all depended upon the power of the formation, and Li Meng decided to cross the passage at full speed." He bent his body and rushed forward.

The formation beneath the walls began to act, but so did the set of formations that Li Meng had managed to devise. The two were opposing each other's power. He was around halfway done when he felt the formations starting o crack. They wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

Li Meng decided to utilize his full power and all his energy onto his legs and instigated the thunder and wind laws to rush out of the passage at full speed. He was just about to reach the end lines when the formation brushed out, but the explosion managed to kick him out of the passage. He sighed a breath of relief, before standing up and inspecting the hall he was in.

To his surprise, the hall was quite massive and had been decorated with strange sculptures all around. He could see, what he assumed to be figures of devils marching around, attacking, and conquering the world. He then even saw scenes of gigantic beasts and devils fighting with each other.

It felt like he was in a trance as he managed to comprehend many things from the sculptures. He could feel weird energy rising from within his body.

"Snap out of it." A loud shout from the Keeper managed to get him out of the trance.

"What happened earlier?"

Li meng was surprised that even after having such a powerful soul, he was still entrapped in the hallucination.

"The sculptors around us are created by powerful beings. Although it doesn't contain their Qi, it does contain their wills. Your soul is not strong enough to directly oppose theirs, and hence you were entrapped in the hallucination. The weird energy in your body is Yin-Energy which you need to take out."

Li Meng sat down and managed to extract the energy from his body. Just who created such a mysterious cave? He began to look around and soon found a plaque describing the situation.

"Ahead of you lies the tomb of the Nether King. Only those who deem themselves worthy of becoming the next Nether King may proceed. Others will be punished by death." The words were straightforward, but a weird feeling arose in Li Meng's heart as if someone or something was watching him.

"What should we do?" He asked the Keeper.

"The only way to get your hands on the Yin Tree is by going through the passage to the core area. That is the only way you would be able to ever gain a comprehension of world energy." Li Meng decided to ignore his nervousness and began to proceed through the cave.

...................................

In the core region-

"A rather interesting being has entered the cave just now. From my observation, he is  a human." A voice spoke out in the dark.

"It's starting to get interesting after such a long time. The last time someone tried to pass through the passage of eternal suffering was around some centuries ago, maybe more. Let's see how he performs."

"You seem to be interested in him."

"Why wouldn't I be. He simply trespassed through all the traps I laid at the entrance which proves his talent and knowledge. Let's see his will and power next.  The other voice said.

" I just hope we don't see another idiot perishing in front of us."