Suppressing the shock in their hearts, everyone quickly sprang into action.

Having experienced all that came before, they had developed a numb understanding of such sudden spatial shifts and mandatory mission procedures.

The unknown ahead was dangerous, but stagnation likewise meant death or a worse outcome.

Just as Bai Cheng led the Employees to open the train door and step onto the cold, hard valley floor rocks.

Just then, the sound of tracks vibrating suddenly came from not far away.

Woo—woo—

Two distinct yet equally approaching train whistles tore through the valley's silence, coming from the direction they had arrived from.

Everyone whipped their heads around.

In the limited view of the valley entrance, two iron dragons were speeding along parallel tracks.

One was painted entirely dark blue, with ferocious ice-breaking angular decorations on its head;

The other was deep green, its body covered in biomimetic camouflage vine-like patterns, exuding the wild aura of the Rainforest.

They slowed down, braked, and finally stopped steadily at the side and rear of Bai Cheng's train.

The cabin doors opened almost simultaneously.

Jumping down from the dark blue train was the team led by Liu San. They were all bundled in heavy cold-weather gear, with traces of unthawed frost seemingly clinging to their brows and hairlines, carrying the chill of the Frigid Snow Mountain.

Leaping from the deep green train was Ye Liangchen. His movements were agile, his gaze sharp, and he carried the dampness and faint vegetative odor unique to the Rainforest, as if he had just traversed a dense jungle.

Upon seeing this scene, Bai Cheng instantly realized that the terrain they had experienced had become vastly different from before.

At least it would no longer be as "safe" as it originally was.

And now, the three teams had reunited at the strange and oppressive entrance of the valley.

Liu San rubbed his slightly reddened, frozen face and exhaled a puff of white air, breaking the silence first with a voice carrying the harshness of the snowfield.

"Miss Bai Cheng, the guys we were chasing were a group of Survivors from the Special Channel. They had almost all reached the King Rank, but they wouldn't fight back against our attacks..." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Listening to Liu San's explanation, Yu Nian raised an eyebrow and immediately chimed in, "Our situation was exactly the same as yours!"

Hearing this, Bai Cheng also looked toward Ye Liangchen.

The latter also nodded.

It was only then that Bai Cheng noticed that Liu San and Yamato, including Ye Liangchen, had all broken through to the King Rank.

But that made sense; after all, they had all reached Guardian Peak following the Ten Thousand Frequency Hegemony Tournament.

Breaking through now, using this mission opportunity, was also a good way to prevent unexpected situations from arising later.

"This valley... is a terrain I have never encountered before."

Ye Liangchen glanced around the gloomy valley, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the hilt of the blade at his waist. He grinned, but the smile held no warmth.

"Lava Volcano, Frigid Snow Mountain, Deathly Rainforest... After running a loop, the final destinations have converged."

Bai Cheng's gaze swept over her two comrades, then looked toward the direction of the detection marker deep within the valley. All the fragmented clues in her mind collided and pieced together at this moment.

After a moment of thought, her eyes darkened.

"Perhaps the ultimate goal of those #1 Channel Survivors is hidden right here."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ye Liangchen sneered. "It's time to reveal the mystery."

Having said that, he took the lead and walked toward the valley before them.

Liu San looked at Bai Cheng. She nodded, and everyone stepped into the valley together.

The wind passing through the narrow crevices of the valley made a whimpering sound.

The light inside was dimmer than at the entrance, and the air was so viscous it felt like it could be wrung out.

Jagged black rocks interlocked like canine teeth, creating a natural sense of oppression.

The rock surfaces were covered in a damp, cold, moss-like dark substance that felt uncomfortably soft when stepped on.

There was no vegetation, only scattered Crystal Clusters emitting a faint blue glow, providing an eerie light source that illuminated only a few steps.

The moment everyone stepped into the heart of the valley, an indescribable change quietly descended.

It wasn't a direct enhancement, but rather like a thick membrane that had always encased the soul was silently withdrawn.

Yu Nian was the first to let out a surprised "Huh." She felt that the subtle energy flows in the surrounding air, which were previously {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} hard to detect, had become clearly visible, like countless fine light threads illuminating the darkness.

Liu San took a deep breath. Now, he could "hear" the residual Geothermal Heat inside the distant rocks pulsating with a rhythmic beat,

And could even "feel" the cold subterranean water systems slowly flowing deep beneath his feet.

He knew perfectly well that he did not possess this kind of sensory ability.

Ye Liangchen loosely clenched his five fingers. His sensitivity to Life Energy had been magnified several times over.

He could "smell" the Ancient Spores sleeping deep within the rocks and "sense" the faint electric charge carried by every particle of dust in the air.

"This is..."

Spiritual Power felt as if it had been cleansed by pure water, becoming exceptionally clear and acute, with both its operational speed and sensory range significantly boosted.

The flow of power within their bodies was also much smoother. Energy that previously required conscious guidance to mobilize now rushed forth almost instantaneously at a thought.

Their strength had indeed increased here, as if this valley was a domain created specifically for combat.

However, Bai Cheng's feelings were completely different.

Beneath the universal "sense of enhancement," she keenly captured a deeper layer of abnormality.

It wasn't that they had gained something, but rather... that they had lost a "restriction" that had always been there but was never noticed.

It was like a person who had walked in shackles for years; when the shackles suddenly disappeared, their body felt lighter, yet retained an empty, discordant feeling, and an unsettling nostalgia for the "habit" of that weight.

What exactly was this "shackle" or "power"?

She couldn't define it, but a faint sense of unease rose from the depths of her heart.

It was as if they hadn't stepped into a simple dangerous area, but rather a loophole or weak point in some grander "Rule."

"There is definitely a huge problem here."

"Look there!" Leng Ningxue suddenly frowned and warned.

Everyone immediately followed her gaze, and Bai Cheng, upon looking up, was instantly captivated by the sight above.

Countless astonishingly thick, dark-gold chains extended from the mountain ridges soaring into the darkness on both sides.

These chains were not static; their surfaces flowed with a molten-like luster, occasionally flashing with the cold brilliance of ice and snow or the emerald light and shadow of the Rainforest.

They converged from all directions, all pulled taut and straight, their other ends sinking into the deeper, darker low valley at the center of the canyon.

The chains trembled slightly, emitting a low, continuous hum. With every tremor, a visible, materialized energy torrent rushed along the chains toward the center of the low valley.

It was the scorching Earth Fire Power, the intensely cold Ice Soul Essence, and the vigorous yet murderous Forest Life Energy... These were the "Power of the Earth" forcibly extracted from terrains like the Lava Volcano, Frigid Snow Mountain, and Deathly Rainforest!

Survivors could not absorb this kind of thing at all.

"What exactly are these energies being used for?"