Chapter 324: The Strange Trial in the Heart of the Lake

Qin Feng and his companions followed the path guided by the water dragon. Slight ripples appeared on the lake, as if welcoming their arrival. There was a sense of tranquility and peace in the air, but they all understood that the more peaceful a place looks, the more unpredictable dangers are often hidden.

"Everyone be careful, this road looks stable, but we don't know where it will lead." Ye Li looked around, and the Frost Fox stood beside her vigilantly, ready to deal with any emergency at any time.

"This trail is really long," Chu Tian complained, "Why does it feel like I've been walking for a long time but still haven't reached the end?"

"Be patient, Chutian." Qin Feng turned around and comforted him, "If this is really the last level of the Dragon Holy Land, it will definitely not be that simple."

Zhang Meng looked around as he walked, and suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, "Look, everyone! There seems to be a small island ahead!"

Everyone looked in the direction Zhang Meng pointed, and sure enough, a small island appeared at the end of the path. The island was covered with emerald green trees, and in the center there was a huge, glittering stone tablet that seemed to be calling them.

Approaching the island, Qin Feng was the first to step forward and carefully examine the stone tablet. There were strange runes engraved on the stone tablet, which flashed colorful light in the sun, looking extremely mysterious.

"These runes seem familiar." Ye Li frowned and said, "I remember seeing similar records in an ancient book in the library."

"Let me take a look." Chu Tian came over and took a closer look at the runes on the stone tablet. Suddenly his face changed. "These are ancient seal characters! It seems to say something like 'ultimate trial'."

"The ultimate trial?" Zhang Meng exclaimed, "Haven't we already gone through so many tests? There's still a final trial?"

"It seems we still have to keep working hard." Qin Feng sighed, "However, no matter what the trial is, we can't back down."

Just as they were discussing, the runes on the stone tablet suddenly emitted a dazzling light, a strong beam of light shot into the sky, and then the entire island began to shake violently.

"Be careful!" Ye Li shouted, and quickly summoned the Frost Fox to protect everyone.

After the shaking stopped, they found themselves no longer on the island, but were transported to a strange fantasy world where the sky was purple and the ground was made up of all kinds of strange geometric shapes, looking weird and chaotic.

"Where is this? We were just on a small island!" Zhang Meng shook his head, obviously confused by the scene in front of him.

"This should be an illusion." Qin Feng analyzed calmly, "The so-called ultimate trial may require us to find a way out here."

"Everyone, be careful. Places like this often hide various traps and tests." Ye Li reminded, "We must remain vigilant."

Suddenly, a huge maze appeared in the illusion. The walls of the maze were towering into the clouds, and there seemed to be no end.

"I hate mazes the most." Chu Tian complained, "I spent a whole day wandering around in a maze last time, and I was almost exhausted to death."

"We have to find a way out." Qin Feng said firmly, "Let's go. No matter how difficult it is, we have to get out."

Entering the maze, the walls around them seemed to be constantly moving and the passages were constantly changing, as if deliberately confusing them.

"This maze seems to be alive and constantly changing." Zhang Meng looked around, trying to find a fixed route, "I really can't understand its pattern."

"We should not try to remember the route," Qin Feng reminded everyone, "but we should feel the changes in the maze and adjust the direction at any time."

As they went deeper into the maze, several huge checkers boards suddenly appeared on the ground. On the boards were huge chess pieces, each with strange runes engraved on it.

"What the hell is this?" Chu Tian squatted down and looked at the chessboard, scratching his head, "Do you want us to play checkers?"

"This may be a mechanism in the maze." Ye Li analyzed, "Perhaps we can only move forward by following certain rules."

"Okay, let's try it." Zhang Meng said, and pushed a chess piece casually. As a result, the chessboard suddenly vibrated and almost knocked them all over.

"Don't move!" Qin Feng hurriedly stopped him, "We have to think it over before we act."

They stood at the edge of the chessboard and began to carefully observe the runes and the arrangement of the chess pieces. Soon, Ye Li discovered some patterns.

"Look here, the order in which these chess pieces are arranged seems to represent a special movement rule." Ye Li pointed at the chessboard, "We need to move the chess pieces to specific positions in order."

"It's like solving a puzzle." Chu Tian suddenly realized, "Okay, let me try."

He followed Ye Li's instructions and pushed the chess piece carefully. Every time he pushed it, the chessboard would vibrate slightly, but there was no violent reaction like before.

"Success! Keep following this order!" Qin Feng encouraged, "We're almost there!"

They gradually pushed all the pieces to their designated positions, and suddenly the walls of the maze began to change, revealing an exit to the next area.

"Great! We succeeded!" Zhang Meng jumped up excitedly, "I knew we could do it!"

"Don't be too happy too soon," Ye Li warned, "it may be more difficult next time, we must remain vigilant."

After passing through the exit of the maze, they returned to the island in the middle of the lake again, but this time, the scenery on the island had changed. The lake became as calm as a mirror, and a strange stone bridge appeared in the middle, leading to the other end of the lake.

"This stone bridge looks a bit strange." Chu Tian walked closer to the bridge and observed it carefully. "There seem to be some words on the bridge."

"Let me see." Qin Feng walked forward and saw a few lines of words engraved on the bridge. He read them carefully, "'Those who cross this bridge must unlock the lock of fate before they can pass.'"

"The Chain of Fate?" Zhang Meng asked in confusion, "What's new about this?"

"Perhaps we need to solve some kind of puzzle before we can move on." Ye Li guessed, "Why don't we give it a try?"

They walked onto the stone bridge, and suddenly, a bright light flashed, and a glittering bracelet appeared on everyone's wrist. There was a small lock on the bracelet, which looked indestructible.

"Is this the lock of fate?" Chu Tian shook the bracelet, "How do we unlock it?"

"Maybe we need a specific key, or we need to solve some kind of puzzle." Qin Feng speculated, "Look at the other end of the bridge, there might be a clue."

When they walked to the middle of the bridge, a huge ball of light suddenly appeared, and in the ball of light emerged a strange old man with a long white beard and a wrinkled face, but with wisdom flashing in his eyes.

"Welcome to the Bridge of Destiny." The old man said with a smile, "You need to pass my test before you can unlock the lock of destiny."

"Another test?" Zhang Meng said helplessly, "Are we here to pass levels today? Why are there one level after another!"

"This test is not difficult," the old man stroked his beard and smiled, "As long as you answer my three questions, you can unlock the lock if you answer correctly."

"Okay, come on, we're ready." Qin Feng said firmly.

"Question 1: What has four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?" The old man blinked and waited for their answer.

"Isn't this the question we have answered before? It's people!" Chu Tian answered immediately.

"That's right." The old man nodded. "Then, the second question: A bottle is full of water. How can I reduce the amount of water in the bottle by half without pouring it out?"

"By evaporation?" Ye Li guessed.

"No." The old man shook his head.

"Let me think... should I put the bottle in the refrigerator and then take it out after the water freezes, so that it won't be full?" Zhang Meng answered on a whim.

The old man was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help laughing, "Although your answer is interesting, it is still wrong."

"I see!" Qin Feng suddenly had an idea, "Break the bottle, and the water will naturally be reduced by half."

"That's right!" The old man laughed. "You are really smart! Then, one last question: What is the most important thing in your heart?"

"It's trust." Ye Li replied with a smile, "The most important thing for us is trust and support for each other."

The old man nodded with satisfaction. "Very good, you answered very well. Unlock the lock of fate!"

As soon as the words fell, the bracelets on everyone's wrists flashed, and then they automatically untied with a "snap" sound, turning into a ray of light and disappearing into the air.

"We succeeded!" Chu Tian shouted happily, "Finally, we unlocked the lock of fate!"

"This shows that we have nothing to be ashamed of and have always trusted each other." Qin Feng looked at everyone with a smile, "This is why we can get here."

At the other end of the stone bridge, the lake water suddenly parted, revealing a path leading to the center of the lake.

"It seems this is the last leg." Zhang Meng said excitedly, "Are you all ready?"

"Ready." Ye Li nodded firmly.

They walked along the path towards the center of the lake. The light gradually became brighter and a huge altar could be vaguely seen in front of them. There seemed to be something on the altar emitting dazzling light.

"No matter what lies ahead, we will face it together." Qin Feng tightly grasped the Dragon Shadow Sword and led his companions to move forward.

In the dazzling light, their steps are unwavering, as if no test or challenge can stop their determination to move forward. In this mysterious holy land of the dragon clan, they will face the final test and solve all the mysteries.