Chapter 1152: The Scarlet Fissure
In that bizarre space, Qiu Shiliu closed her eyes, feeling the wind howling past her ears.
This had been going on for several minutes now. In this space, Qiu Shiliu knew that theoretically, there was no upper limit to her movement speed.
After all, it was the space that was moving, not her. So her physical body didn't need to endure the backlash of high-speed movement.
But moving at such a speed for several minutes... where would she finally stop?
Qiu Shiliu couldn't help but grip the small "door" in her hand tightly. This "door" was her only anchor in this unknown, infinite space.
She knew it would be very difficult for her to return to the space where her teammates were. Neither "faith" nor "time" allowed her any possibility of escape.
The fact that she could even move normally here was already rare. If she ultimately stopped "before the most important door for the Black Tortoise," it would mean she might be able to help the team kill the Black Tortoise here.
Once the Black Tortoise died, she was destined to be buried with it.
A person who died within the Black Tortoise's body... what right did they have to enter the next reincarnation?
Whenever she thought of this, the anger in Qiu Shiliu's mind would steadily decrease, replaced only by sorrow.
"Let me burn..." Qiu Shiliu murmured with her eyes closed. "I want to remember all of this..."
Several more minutes passed. The wind in Qiu Shiliu's ears gradually weakened, then quickly stopped.
It seemed this boundless journey had finally reached its destination.
Qiu Shiliu slowly opened her eyes and looked at the space before her, both familiar and unfamiliar.
What lay before her was a "door." A real "door," with old, grainy wood textures and a nearly rusty doorknob.
"This 'door'... is the most important thing to the Black Tortoise," Qiu Shiliu murmured. "Ninth Sister, I think I've arrived."
"You've arrived?" Bai Jiu's ethereal voice came from the other side of the door. "I was so scared when there was no movement for so long. I was afraid of disturbing your faith, so I didn't dare make a sound until now."
"It should be fine..." Qiu Shiliu said softly, holding the "door." "I think I'm normal now... There's a 'door' in front of me too."
"Put the door in your hand away safely. If you encounter anything, don't act rashly. Listen to my instructions," Bai Jiu said. "Before you enter, see what's inside the door first."
"Okay... Ninth Sister, I understand. Don't worry." Qiu Shiliu nodded, then took a deep breath and slowly reached her hand toward the "door" in front of her.
But as soon as she extended her hand, she noticed a faint red glow spreading across the back of her right hand.
Qiu Shiliu found it strange. She reached with her other hand to scratch the back of her hand, but it felt normal, as if some red light was shining on her, casting her hands in a faint red hue in this pitch-black space.
Thinking this, Qiu Shiliu looked down at her body. An eerie red light was shining from behind her, dyeing her body a faint red.
This red looked somehow familiar, like the "Crimson of the End." It was that terrifying color found only in the blood-red land. But she had been moving in one direction for about ten minutes now—why was this red still shining on her body?
She slowly twisted her body in the void space and looked behind her.
About ten meters away from her was another strangely shaped "door." It looked like a vertical fissure, over two meters long and half a meter wide.
Threads of red light were seeping out from that fissure, making people feel deeply uneasy.
The light inside that fissure was even redder than the "Crimson of the End." Within it, beast-like whimpers sounded faintly, as if it led straight to a true hell.
Qiu Shiliu stood frozen for a long time, unable to figure out what she was about to face.
"Sixteen... What's wrong...?" Bai Jiu's voice came from Qiu Shiliu's palm. "Is there something inside that door?"
"No... Ninth Sister..." Qiu Shiliu's voice caught. "I haven't entered the door yet, but there's something strange here..."
"Strange...?"
"I found something very eerie." Qiu Shiliu raised the "door" in her hand, then flipped the image, aiming it at the fissure. Her voice carried a hint of caution as she asked, "Ninth Sister, do you know what that is?"
Bai Jiu stared through Jiang Shi's eyes for a long time, but due to the limited viewing angle and the dim light, she couldn't make out what was inside that blood-red fissure at all.
"Sixteen... this thing isn't normal. I suggest you stay away from it," Bai Jiu said through Jiang Shi's eyes.
"But Ninth Sister..." Qiu Shiliu seemed to have her own thoughts. "Is it possible that I'm the last—and only—person who can explore this space? That door is right there. If I just take a look, it should be fine."
"But—"
"Ninth Sister, earlier I kept thinking about how to tell you what I've found. Now the situation is perfect—everything I see can be conveyed to you. So watch carefully. Every door here should hide secrets we haven't discovered yet..."
"Wait a minute..." Bai Jiu urgently called out through Jiang Shi's eyes, but she saw that Qiu Shiliu was already slowly moving toward the red fissure.
Bai Jiu felt a sense of foreboding, but couldn't articulate what exactly was wrong.
Only one thought occupied her mind: "One shouldn't challenge the unknown."
Qiu Shiliu slowly approached the scarlet fissure. Just one peek inside made her scalp tingle and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
Both sorrow and anger vanished at that moment, replaced only by fear.
Though Qiu Shiliu wasn't sure what she was seeing, she felt a profound, deep-seated terror.
The thing revealed inside the door was enormous, and it was pulsating.
"Damn it..." She swallowed hard. From the "door" in her hand, Bai Jiu's voice kept coming.
"Sixteen... Just seeing it is enough. Don't, under any circumstances, step into another door!"
"Ninth Sister, don't worry... I won't go in..." Qiu Shiliu took a deep breath. "But I want to see a little more clearly..."
Qiu Shiliu slowly reached her hand into the fissure, then grabbed the edge of the crack. With a little force, she pried off a fragment, making the fissure larger.
She looked down at the fragment in her hand. This small, wall-like piece was actually a tiny "door" as well. Its texture was soft, like a clump of cotton in her hand. One side was pitch-black starry space, the other a scarlet world.
She slowly released her grip, and the fragment, as if losing gravity, began to drift slowly downward into the bottomless abyss beneath her feet.