Chu Tian discovered that with every distance he traveled, the temperature dropped by several degrees.
Yue Shang was gradually unable to endure, his body starting to tremble.
His footsteps were already falling behind Chu Tian.
Yue Shang gritted his teeth, stubbornly keeping pace with Chu Tian.
After a few more steps, Chu Tian stopped to wait for him. The fellow was already over ten meters behind.
After Yue Shang caught up, Chu Tian reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Chu Tian separated a strand of the seven-colored aura and infused it into Yue Shang's body.
However, as the seven-colored aura left Chu Tian's body and entered the other's, its color became singular.
"Thank... thank you!" Yue Shang looked at Chu Tian with gratitude.
"Let's go."
Chu Tian nodded and glanced at Yue Shang. His hand remained on the other's shoulder. Without Chu Tian's seven-colored aura, Yue Shang would likely have collapsed.
Was this the strength of the native inhabitants of the Virtual God Realm? Chu Tian couldn't help but feel a sense of contempt. He had assumed everyone in the Virtual God Realm would be a cultivator of great power.
With Chu Tian's support, their speed increased significantly as they rushed toward the center of the sand vortex.
As they approached the center, the sand beneath their feet clearly flowed faster.
At this point, even if they stood still, the sand would carry them along, sucking them into the sand pit.
Soon...!
Whoosh...!
The two of them finally reached the exact center of the sand pit, a large, black hole.
"Go in?" Chu Tian looked at the black hole, feeling a sense of dread.
It looked too unnerving.
"Yeah!" Yue Shang nodded with difficulty.
Chu Tian also knew that asking was pointless. He relaxed his resistance to the suction.
The two of them shot straight into it.
As they entered the black hole of the sand pit, they were like two grains of rice falling into the ocean, utterly insignificant.
The calm yellow sand plain remained calm.
...
Upon entering the sand pit's black hole, Chu Tian felt an endless cold. This coldness didn't seem to come from outside.
Instead, it originated from within his own body, emanating from the inside out, making him extremely uncomfortable.
There was also a sense of dizziness, as if his entire body were inside a spinning washing machine.
Looking at Yue Shang beside him, his complexion alternated between purple and green. Despite the support from Chu Tian's aura, he had still suffered significant harm.
Whoosh...!
Fortunately, this coldness and dizziness lasted for only a few minutes.
Strangely, there wasn't a single grain of sand within the black hole of the sand pit.
It was nothing like the quicksand Chu Tian had encountered in the Sea of Death last time, where the endless flowing sand had nearly crushed them.
After a few minutes, the two of them saw a light appear below.
Then, they were directly propelled out of the opening.
A dazzling light emerged, and Chu Tian and Yue Shang were sequentially thrown out.
"Benefactor, run!"
Before they could even get a clear look at their surroundings, Yue Shang suddenly shouted.
Chu Tian was taken aback. He quickly scanned the area, his gaze slightly sharpening.
"Where is this?" Chu Tian didn't move.
His vast divine soul power, released at that moment, revealed that escaping would be difficult.
The instant they emerged, more than a dozen figures resembling statues, all looking like winged humans, instantly opened their eyes.
They were in a hall-like place.
Walls surrounded them, and above was a high, domed ceiling adorned with paintings of various nude figures.
Sleek white pillars stood on either side.
If Chu Tian hadn't known he was in the Virtual God Realm, he might have thought he was in some cathedral on Blue Star.
At this moment, Chu Tian's gaze locked onto one direction.
In the center of the hall, a figure sat enthroned on a raised platform.
The entire hall was dimly lit, appearing somewhat gloomy. Unlike the radiance of Blue Star cathedrals, this place exuded a sense of oppression.
The figure seated on the high platform had its head bowed, its hands resting on the armrests of the chair. For a moment, Chu Tian couldn't tell if it was alive or dead, but it exuded an aura of majesty.
After shouting to Chu Tian, Yue Shang had already darted out, heading toward what appeared to be the main entrance.
However, upon reaching it, his forceful strike resulted in a muffled thud.
He himself was sent flying back, spitting blood.
He flew back to Chu Tian's side, staggered a couple of steps, and then turned his gaze toward the platform, his expression filled with horror.
"What is this place?" Chu Tian asked Yue Shang, his voice calm.
Yue Shang pursed his lips, swallowed, and glanced around at the angel statues standing on either side.
At this moment, the eyes of these statues had opened, emitting a golden light. They remained motionless, staring intently at Chu Tian and Yue Shang.
"This... this should be the entrance to the Ghost Vine Purgatory... the guard post. I didn't expect another hurdle. This is bad!"
"You didn't know you'd end up here?" Chu Tian asked, tilting his head.
Yue Shang replied with a grim expression, "Before I entered, I was thrown here by someone, branded, and then tossed into the Ghost Vine Purgatory.
Just now, I used the Boundary Breaking Bead, and the teleportation direction was the opposite of how I arrived.
When I was taken in, it wasn't yellow sand, but a sea of fire! I never expected to end up here!"
Chu Tian furrowed his brow slightly and shook his head.
It seemed this place was akin to where the warden of a prison resided. Everyone about to be thrown into the Ghost Vine Purgatory would first face judgment.
Yue Shang, this fellow, had never considered whether other entrances, even if different, would also have such an institution.
Just as Chu Tian was about to ask him if this was the place he had visited last time.
Suddenly...!
"You transgressors are unforgivable, daring to escape the Ghost Vine Prison before your sentence is complete!"
At this moment, the figure who had been looking down slowly raised its head.
Crack crack crack...
It sounded as if it hadn't moved for years. As it raised its head, its neck let out a series of teeth-grinding noises.
Chu Tian even feared its head would fall off.
Boom...!
Simultaneously, an immensely powerful pressure emanated from the figure, instantly bearing down on Chu Tian and Yue Shang.
Yue Shang grunted, utterly unable to resist. He immediately knelt on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Show-off!"
Chu Tian, however, sneered, and an even greater force surged from him, pushing back against the opponent's pressure.
Thud...!
A dull thud echoed, causing the space itself to vibrate.
"Pfft...!" Yue Shang, kneeling on the ground, beside Chu Tian, spat out a mouthful of blood.
Then, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
His last thought was: If you're going to fight... could you do it somewhere else?
Truly, when gods fight, mortals suffer.
Before fainting, Yue Shang simultaneously marveled at Chu Tian's strength, which was indeed extraordinarily powerful.
He could actually confront the warden of the Ghost Vine Purgatory head-on.
Judging by the aura, he even seemed to have the upper hand.
He could only hope Chu Tian would defeat the warden and, perhaps, take him out of here as well.
"Hmm?" a confused voice came from the raised platform.
Following that, an even more formidable power directly struck Chu Tian.