The Shattered Hollow is a notoriously infamous area within the Underground World of the Northern Continent.
There are no intact paths here; looking down from the entrance, beneath her feet was an abyss of pitch-black darkness, bottomless and unfathomable.
Looking straight ahead, the view was filled with floating stones, arranged haphazardly throughout this space, with nothing else visible.
According to the elven scholar who first discovered this mysterious space, the Shattered Hollow is most likely the middle layer between two underground caverns.
But long ago, a terrifyingly powerful battle took place here, destroying this space. Large sections of ground shattered and sank into the lower cavern, leaving only small fragments of earth that, affected by the magnetic field changes caused by the great war, now floated in midair.
At this moment, Lu Qiuchen was flying across this strange region, carefully observing her surroundings as she avoided the large floating debris and headed northward.
According to the drow nobles she had kidnapped, beyond this shattered space and a bit further ahead was the Demon Realm Gate—the place where the demon clan had invaded the Eternal World. It used to be a Demon Outpost.
Thinking of this, she sneered inwardly. The middle and lower ranks among the drow were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their clan’s interests, and only one drow, driven to madness, had revealed the truth. Yet the upper echelons, cowardly and clinging to life, spilled everything just from a few threats, without her even making a move.
After passing through the chaotic darkness, Lu Qiuchen saw a stretch of solid ground ahead. She continued flying until reaching the end of this hollow, where the space gradually narrowed on both sides, eventually forming a narrow canyon.
She cautiously landed on the ground. From here onward, she was truly within demon territory. Moving forward meant facing danger at any moment.
Pausing briefly at the canyon entrance, Lu Qiuchen chose to enter and investigate. Twisting and turning, she soon spotted a patch of red flames ahead.
This was a world covered in molten lava—crimson magma flowing slowly, emitting a golden-red glow, and a scorching heat that assaulted her senses.
Within the lava, Lu Qiuchen spotted numerous towering figures with dark red forms.
Surprised by this sight, she hadn’t expected so many Flame Demons here. The environment reminded her of the domain of the Flame Demon King within the Demon Realm, further confirming that the Demon Realm Gate was close by.
She carefully leapt from one rocky outcrop to another, trying her best not to disturb these formidable brutes.
Beyond this fiery region, the dark canyon reappeared. A thin veil of mist began to drift inside, growing denser as she pressed forward.
After walking some distance, Lu Qiuchen realized that even with her night vision, she could no longer see the path ahead clearly.
As she continued, doubts crept into her mind, but thinking the goal was near, she gritted her teeth and pressed on.
She heightened her alertness—the mist now carried traces of demonic energy. Not far ahead should be the Demon Realm Gate itself.
Suddenly, a murderous intent radiated from the fog beside her, causing her heart to leap. “So the demons really are watching here!”
Since she had been discovered and this environment was disadvantageous, she immediately transformed into her dragon form and took flight, rushing forward.
Lu Qiuchen sped ahead without caring about the demons pursuing her, soon breaking free from the mist.
But upon seeing the scene before her, she panicked.
A colossal gate hundreds of meters tall stood firmly at the center of a basin-like terrain.
Above floated large swarms of flying demons, while dense demonic energy pooled thickly in the basin, flowing like liquid at the bottom.
As Lu Qiuchen entered this space, all the demons turned their gazes toward her.
She shuddered at the sight before her. Tens of thousands of demons gathered here. Among them was a presence even more imposing than her own.
This was no mere Demon Outpost—it was clearly a demon stronghold!
She had imagined many demons would be around the Demon Realm Gate, but never expected such numbers! From just a brief glance, there were no fewer than a hundred high-level demons.
If demons like this existed in the Eternal World, what kind of strength did the Demon Realm possess? With demon lords such as the Demon King and the Flame Demon King leading them, their power could easily surpass that of the entire Eternal World combined.
No wonder Lu Qiuchen had been reckless. No one could have foreseen the demons’ overwhelming strength.
The demons around her were also stunned. A full-grown silver dragon, only a legendary grade, dared to come here alone? Surely her mind must be broken.
Faced with prey delivered on a silver platter, they naturally did not hold back and surged forward all at once.
Lu Qiuchen’s heart raced as she activated spatial teleportation, retreating back into the misty canyon to escape.
But just as she took flight, she saw that the canyon’s exit ahead was blocked. A group of Flame Demons charged toward her, and from behind appeared a figure wielding a massive two-handed greatsword.
Realizing she had fallen into a trap, Lu Qiuchen tried to use spatial teleportation again, only to find that the space had already been sealed off.
Frustrated, she knew that a legendary grade demon must be assisting from nearby.
Over the past half month, Lu Qiuchen had studied spatial magic and forbidden water spells under Gaierfu, learning that her previous blame of Impart was misplaced.
When Gaierfu had rescued her earlier, he could use spatial teleportation even in a sealed space because his rank was high enough to forcibly break through spatial barriers cast by lower-rank spellcasters.
Now was not the time for such thoughts. With predators in front and behind, Lu Qiuchen was trapped.
In the end, she roared and charged forward. Though the Flame Demons outnumbered her, none emanated a legendary aura, so they couldn’t block her for long. She had no choice but to fight!
Leaping into the Flame Demon horde, Lu Qiuchen unleashed her full power, casting forbidden ice spells to freeze them in place.
One by one, the Flame Demons fell, but those behind continued to press on fearlessly.
This was because Flame Demons were more like elemental beings than true demons. As long as their cores remained intact, plunging into lava would quickly restore them.
And this silver dragon was too focused on fleeing to have time to destroy each core.
The Flame Demons slowed her down, and eventually the demon general with the greatsword caught up.
Lu Qiuchen dodged his first strike by sidestepping, then abandoned the few remaining frozen Flame Demons and turned to face the demon general.
“Boom!” The greatsword slammed into the rock, suddenly glowing bright red as fiery elemental energy erupted forth. Upon hitting the ground, it caused a massive explosion!
Though Lu Qiuchen evaded the strike, she was still caught within the blast radius and was blasted high into the air.
The demon general quickly followed up with attacks.
Lu Qiuchen struggled to twist her body mid-air but was too slow. Helpless, she reverted to human form, shrinking to evade the incoming strike.
Seeing her smaller form, the demon general attacked again.
Though the greatsword appeared heavy and powerful, it was surprisingly agile.
After a few moves, he had Lu Qiuchen cornered and seized an opportunity to strike.
“Spatial Legend!” Lu Qiuchen forced every ounce of mental strength to break through the spatial seal, disappearing to a distant location.
Her mind nearly empty, Lu Qiuchen felt dizzy but had no time to feel unwell. Seizing the chance, she transformed back into her dragon form and flew away, widening the gap between them.
The demon general roared angrily but was powerless to stop her, watching helplessly as the silver dragon’s figure shrank in the distance.
Suddenly, his expression brightened. He sensed a powerful will descending here and completely sealed off the space.
Far away, Lu Qiuchen’s form suddenly froze midair.
The last time she felt this sensation was when the Flame Demon King had made a move.
She recalled killing so many Flame Demons earlier and realized she was now right above the lava—could there be another Flame Demon King here?
Unfortunately, she was correct.
Lu Qiuchen saw a massive figure slowly rising from the magma—not just an arm this time, but the Flame Demon King himself appeared!
Glancing around the area, then at the name above the Flame Demon’s head, she suddenly understood.
The Flame Demon King Angola had never truly been in the Demon Realm! He had been guarding the Demon Realm Gate here all along!
Regret washed over Lu Qiuchen, mixed with despair.
She had barely escaped from the Flame Demon King not long ago, and now she had willingly walked into his trap.
Had she known, she wouldn’t have been so reckless. She should have gathered more information from other dragons before setting out.
The last escape had happened near Dragon Island, but this time she had no luck and no Gaierfu to save her.
Regretting was useless now. She struggled, but the bindings held firm.
At this moment, she could also feel the despair she had once inflicted on the drow—a true reversal of fortune.
The scorching heat drew nearer, and though she had no hope, she summoned her system.
“Beta, get your ass out here! If I die, who’s going to be the boss in the game? This time I’m really going to die!” Lu Qiuchen cursed furiously at the air.
“Beta received… Beginning detection of player’s current status… Confirming player is in extreme danger, meeting emergency escape criteria. Upon player confirmation, emergency escape will be executed immediately.”
The system, which had been silent before, finally responded.
“Confirmed!” Lu Qiuchen heard Beta’s voice in her mind and replied excitedly. Beta had been nowhere to be found whenever needed until now—finally useful!
A flash of white light, and Lu Qiuchen vanished.
The Flame Demon King’s outstretched arm halted midair.
He stared intently at the space where Lu Qiuchen had been, eyes wide, then his gaze turned frenzied.
“It’s the aura of the Spirit World… Is this why the Demon King wants her?”
The deep voice echoed through the molten lava space.
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