傅家湾.

The Xiahou Aotian's office, a machinery R&D company.

Wearing a silver mask, a pink suit jacket and pants, the foppish President Hui Chang leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs on the desk.

"In a moment, I will send you into the Five Elements Secret Realm Instance. Before you go in, I need to tell you some precautions." President Hui Chang's posture was exaggerated, but his tone was very serious.

"You are time-travelers, not The Way of the Extraordinary going into an Instance. To the Spirit Realm, you are bugs, viruses, factors that interfere with its operation. When it detects you, it will choose to expel you from the Instance or eliminate you on the spot."

"Therefore, you must remember the following rules: First, do not touch the items in the Instance, especially materials and props. Second, do not conflict with the NPCs in the Instance. Third, do not unleash high-level power."

"Uh, it seems my uncle paid a price for finding the Thor's Set components for me from the Instance."

"Even though it's a Dominator-level Instance, he dared to take the Thunder Spear but didn't dare to bring Zhai Cai out. This shows that interfering with a running Instance carries a greater price...."

Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "However, I don't know if taking out the Unfavorable Handsome Guy Waist Token will trigger drastic changes."

And the Unfavorable Handsome Guy is likely a demigod. When dealing with such figures, he can't spy on the process and outcome through Astrology or Star Phase Arts.

In other words, he can't calculate whether this trip is auspicious or ominous. There's no way to figure that out.

President Hui Chang spread his hands. "But don't worry, if you encounter danger, crush the jade talisman I gave you, and this President Hui Chang will descend from the sky and take you out of danger."

President Hui Chang didn't plan to enter the Five Elements Secret Realm Instance, worried that it would provoke an excessive reaction from the Unfavorable Handsome Guy. If that happened, the Spirit Realm would first detect abnormal fluctuations and mete out punishment.

Secondly, if a conflict were triggered, communication with the Unfavorable Handsome Guy would be difficult.

The Five Elements Secret Realm is indeed a Level 7 Instance. Even San Yue and Bing Ge encountered it shortly after being promoted to Dominator.

Of the six Dominators, only the two of them survived. Zhang Yuanqing said, "I'm ready. I can enter the Instance at any time."

Xiahou Aotian raised his chin and said, "I don't need to prepare, because the protagonist is always ready."

President Hui Chang sized him up and chuckled. "You're quite interesting, kid." He raised his hand and snapped his fingers crisply. "Relax!"

In an instant, the two felt a force pushing against their chests, but what was receding wasn't their bodies, but the entire world. They seemed to be abandoned by this space, and the surrounding scenery was rapidly moving away from them.

The next second, the receding scenery stopped.

What came into view was a dim sky with thick, solidified dark clouds, threatening rain.

In the distance was a recently erupted volcano. Red-hot lava flowed from the crater, surging toward a cluster of buildings at the foot of the mountain.

The building complex wasn't large in number, but each structure was a grand palace.

"What a depressing atmosphere." Xiahou Aotian looked around, frowning. "I feel like the spiritual energy in my body is suppressed, becoming like syrup."

Zhang Yuanqing quickly focused his mind and sensed that the power of stars and Taiyin had indeed become extremely sluggish, but the Solar Divine Power was free and natural, unaffected.

The mental fluctuations of the alchemist from the Qin Dynasty came from the Black Iron Ring. "The Five Elements merge into one, all things return to chaos, only the Solar Divine Power transcends."

"This place is filled with the power of the Five Elements, mutually merging and restraining each other. You're still okay. If The Way of the Extraordinary with the five major professions of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth were matched to this Instance, it would be hell mode."

Xiahou Aotian said "Oh," sounding somewhat enlightened. "No wonder it's an S-level Instance. The entire environment is a circular, ancient weakening array."

He turned to look at Yuan Shi Tian Zun and asked, "Where do we go to meet the First Emperor?"

"I'll go up and take a look from above." Zhang Yuanqing pointed to the sky, riding the wind straight up. He quickly reached an altitude of a thousand meters, taking in the vast landscape....

The plain stretched to the end of the horizon, with no oases or forests. The black land was barren, filled with nothing but sand and gravel.

The center of the world was that cluster of buildings. Looking down from above, one realized that it was actually five huge palaces, and the close proximity had created the illusion of a complex.

The five palaces were arranged in a circle, with an open space in the central area.

The architectural styles of the five palaces were completely different. One was mainly built with bricks, tiles, and wood, planted with lush greenery, resembling the palaces of an ancient imperial city.

One was constructed primarily of white stone, grand and imposing, yet exuding a sense of loneliness and sharpness.

One palace was built with pure limestone and granite, its overall style simple and heavy, reminiscent of a pyramid.

One palace on the periphery was built with a large amount of black wood, the eaves and pillars damp, as if they had just been rained on.

Outside the palace were many pools of various sizes, appearing like water-filled pits when viewed from above.

Another palace was built with reddish-brown cobblestones for the walls and pillars, and even the roof was pieced together with reddish-brown cobblestones.

All these palaces shared a common characteristic: they were enormous, not built for humans at all, but more like the dwellings of giants six meters tall, as described in legends.

Zhang Yuanqing continued to increase his altitude. Before long, he finally saw the edge of the horizon, a blurry spatial barrier.

He estimated in his mind that the total area of this Instance was only six or seven hundred square kilometers.

"San Yue said that after they defeated the boss, they saw an abyss, and the aura in the abyss made even Dominators tremble..." Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, then transformed into a ray of starlight and disappeared.

Find the abyss first.

After ten consecutive Star Teleports, he arrived at the edge of the world, but he didn't see the abyss.

Zhang Yuanqing used Star Teleport again to return and said, "Let's search around the edge of the world for the abyss first, but this Instance is a bit big. It will take some time to explore the entire boundary."

Xiahou Aotian chuckled. "At this time, this protagonist needs to step up."

He opened his inventory and forcefully pulled out a rectangular metal box, two meters high and one meter wide.

The box opened with a "click," and dozens of palm-sized drones flew out of the grooves, sixty in total, hovering above the two.