The water spirit's voice had barely faded when the earthen platform beneath the blue-robed thief collapsed.

Instead of falling into the water, the blue-robed thief stepped onto the surface and charged towards the source of the voice, shouting, "Hall Master Li, if you want to live, fight!"

"You have a fate master and a Qi Luck ghost deity; you can definitely kill him."

The blue-robed thief was clearly trying to divert the danger.

Knowing he was no match for the water spirit, he wanted the spirit to see us as the greatest threat.

As he spoke, two daggers appeared in his hands, their blades flashing white light as they slashed towards the water.

As his blade energy entered the water, several humanoid fish flew out, biting at the blue-robed thief from different directions.

The thief flipped his twin blades outwards, engaging the strange fish.

At the same time, I felt several currents striking the earthen platform beneath our feet from different directions.

The water spirit was indeed attacking us.

As I was about to leap into the water, Zang Tianji held my shoulder, "No need to rush; Ling has already prepared."

When I looked back at Ling, a burst of red light erupted in the water, crisscrossing like flames to form a chessboard covering the entire secret realm.

We were standing at the center of the board, the tianyuan.

The water spirit cried out in alarm, "Heaven and earth as the board, ghosts and gods as the pieces! Who are you?"

Ling said calmly, "Take us out of here, and I won't kill you."

"I can't get out!" The water spirit had barely spoken when the water filling the space began to boil. Whirlpools appeared on the surface, and the spirit's battle cry rose from below.

It sounded as if hundreds of warriors were fighting underwater, each holding their ground.

Ling had not only laid down the chessboard but also thrown the pieces into the water. She used the pieces to trap the spirit while blocking the aquatic creatures who wanted to rescue it.

As the battle began, the currents they stirred up collapsed the nearby earthen platforms. Sorcerers fell into the water, and as some desperately swam towards us, Zang Tianji raised Yao Lei and pointed at one of them.

The sorcerer only managed to swim half a meter further before spitting out blood and sinking into the water.

Zang Tianji flicked Yao Lei several times, killing nearly half the sorcerers in the water. One cried out, "We have no grudges against you, why are you being so ruthless?"

Zang Tianji sneered, "If we have no grudges, why did you chase us down here? Did you want to save someone?"

His words left the sorcerer speechless. They had chased us down to kill and steal treasure.

They just hadn't found the opportunity before being trapped in Ling's chessboard.

The sorcerer quickly said, "We were wrong before; give us a chance, we..."

"There's no need!" Zang Tianji said coldly, "Opening the secret realm requires a blood sacrifice; you'll do just fine as offerings."

As Zang Tianji swung Yao Lei, the remaining sorcerers exploded, their blood instantly staining the water red.

The glaring crimson blood didn't just bring a bloody stench, but also a flame-like red glow. The temperature of the space began to rise sharply, and the churning water seemed on the verge of boiling.

"Burning the Heavens and Boiling the Sea!" the water spirit cried out. "Just who are you people?"

This was the second time he had asked who Ling and Zang Tianji were.

I was also curious as to why Ling and Zang Tianji had suddenly unleashed such incredible power.

Ling remained calm and said, "Now, I'll give you a chance. Take us out, and you can become one of my pieces. Otherwise, you will never be reincarnated."

Zang Tianji cut off the spirit before it could argue, "I am a fate master; don't bother trying to argue with me. Just answer yes or no."

"Your tribulation is the Burning of Heavens and Boiling the Sea; I'm not blocking your tribulation. You will die without a burial."

"I'll give you a few minutes to consider."

The water spirit fell silent, perhaps weighing the pros and cons or watching to see if Zang Tianji's Burning the Heavens and Boiling the Sea was just a bluff.

I asked deliberately, "Tianji, will your secret art work?"

"It might not work anywhere else, but it's foolproof here!" Zang Tianji said, "This so-called Dark Domain doesn't actually have any living people. It's just that someone used fate or something similar to keep them alive."

Then it dawned on me that the legendary Yin-Yang Inn was an ominous place. No one had entered it for many years.

Didn't that mean the tenants here had lived in the inn for at least decades, or even longer?

Sorcerers were still just mortals; how long could they live?

Zang Tianji meant that someone had used a secret method to isolate the sorcerers from their tribulations, even their fates, allowing them to live this long.

If that were the case, then Zang Tianji, who could summon tribulations, could run rampant in the Dark Domain!

Jiang Junci: Happy birthday, Wang Xiaohuan!

Li Po: Happy birthday, Wang Xiaohuan.

Ye Yang: Same as above.