The three people and fox continued on their way, and it was obvious that this world was significantly different from the outside world. Along the grassy plains and tree branches, they saw many strange little creatures - some covered in fur, some completely bald, some with rabbit-like heads but walking upright, some clearly living on land but definitely dragging large fish tails, some with sharp teeth, able to bend down and gnaw on grass roots, and some that appeared very docile but turned around and pounced, knocking down the nearby creatures and biting their throats, with the liquid that flowed out not blood, but a greenish-blue substance with a faint sweet fragrance.
The most numerous creatures in the grassy meadows were a cat-like species, swaying their fluffy tails as they leaped from tree to ground and back to tree, making "meow meow" sounds. This sparked the curiosity of the two girls.
The girls had always had a soft spot for cute little animals. After witnessing the cat-like creature crossing their path for the thirty-eighth time, Ning Qing finally couldn't resist, handing her master to Qing Hong and squatting down quietly with the intention to catch the little cat.
The cat was highly alert, and just as Ning Qing quietly approached it from behind, it quickly sprang out. Ning Qing grabbed its tail in an attempt to catch it, causing the cat to yowl in pain and glare at Ning Qing with resentment.
"Hey, Little Kai, look, it's angry! It looks so funny when it's angry," Ning Qing exclaimed, excited. "I must catch it!"
She then pounced again.
The cat, seeing Ning Qing pounce at it, shivered and evaded her. This chase continued for a while, with Ning Qing trying to catch the cat, but the cat evaded her every time, leaving Little Kai beside himself, with nothing to say but a wry smile.
After a while, the cat's fur was in disarray, and the little girl, panting and sweaty, became a bit angry. "You little thing! Surrender now, or you'll force me to use my secret move!"
The cat ignored the threat and just scraped its claws before lifting its shiny black tail high and upright, similar to a human raising their middle finger. It seemed that certain gestures were universal among both animals and humans, whether in reality or in the world of books.
Ning Qing decided to vent her frustration. She took out a small shell-like object and said, "You little thing, you forced me!" She then threw the shell high and pointed at the cat. But to her dismay, the shell broke into several pieces upon landing on a stone.
"Oh…" Ning Qing looked dismayed.
The cat was overjoyed and pranced around, shaking its tail, seemingly mocking Ning Qing's failure.
"Umm, I need to explain," Little Kai said, "In this place, none of your magic items will work. So, your shell..."
"But that's not a shell," Ning Qing cried with a glum face. "It's a precious item my master gave me called 'Heavenly Net Canopy.' It can capture and refine any living creature; it's a very powerful item. I didn't expect..." She picked up the broken pieces and put them back in her pocket, glaring at the cat. "You little thing, I will definitely teach you a lesson!"
The cat shivered and suddenly scooted back two meters, making a surprising move. It turned around and fiercely bit into a towering tree!
Crack! The large tree, too big for two people to hug, was bitten deeply by the cat. Then, it raised its head and with a gulp, swallowed a piece of the tree, instantly causing its stature to grow slightly.
"Wow... It has sharp teeth!" Ning Qing gasped in shock.
The cat continued to gnaw at the tree, causing numerous small holes in the trunk. Its body expanded as if it were inflating, and before long, it had grown to the size of a large dog.
"Hmm, doesn't it look familiar to you?" Little Kai asked Qing Hong.
"It does seem familiar, like we've seen it somewhere before," Qing Hong replied, puzzled.
However, the cat paid no attention to them. Instead, it continued to eat voraciously until it gobbled up the entire tree.
After about a minute, when they looked again, the cat's appearance had changed. It had expanded at least a thousand times and now stood proudly, its huge eyes glowing green. It was staring menacingly at the group from a distance, just like the monster Little Kai had encountered when first entering the gate of world-annihilation.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Little Kai said, wiping his eyes in disbelief.
The monster roared loudly, as if in a display of power.
Ning Qing reacted quickly and dashed in front of Little Kai, spreading her arms like a mother hen protecting her chick and loudly declaring, "Little Kai, don't be afraid. I'll protect you!"
Despite her bold statement, her teeth were chattering, and her face was pale. It was evident she was quite frightened.
Qing Hong drew his sword, ready to eliminate the monstrous threat. Little Kai, realizing the opportunity to shine, stopped him and pushed Ning Qing aside, proclaiming, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it!"
Ning Qing watched in amazement as Little Kai confidently walked up to the monster, seemingly heedless of its gaping jaws and fearsome teeth, and delivered a punch to the creature's nose. The small fist, equivalent to a pimple on the monster's nose, sent the creature flying backward, causing the tree it crashed into to break. The monster lay motionless on the ground.
"Uh... Is it dead?" Ning Qing cautiously checked.
Little Kai nodded. "It's dead."
"Noble Heavens!" Ning Qing gazed in awe. "Little Kai, I only knew you were a cultivator, but today I see how powerful you really are!"
"Of course," Little Kai boasted, "I can defeat any foe with ease, and dealing with creatures like that fox is child's play. I can handle them by the dozens!"
This made Qing Hong chuckle. They all burst into laughter together, despite Little Kai glaring when Qing Hong laughed. The celestial demon was feeling extremely embarrassed, but the punch from the newly appointed leader was indeed over-exaggerated, making it hard for him to swallow his pride.
The monster seemed to take offense as well. Just as Little Kai had finished boasting, the creature moved.
"Um, I may have been mistaken," Little Kai said awkwardly, rubbing his eyes as the monster stirred.
"Hey, Little Kai, it doesn't seem to be dead!" Ning Qing pointed excitedly.
Little Kai coughed awkwardly. "Well, I feel that Heaven has its grace, and since we just arrived in this unfamiliar place, it's not wise to create more trouble, don't you think?"
"Little Kai is the kindest at heart," Ning Qing immediately declared, unquestioning.
In front of them, the monster's body began to shrink slowly, until it reached the size of a black cat and lifted its cute head, meowing at the trio.
"Um ..." Xiaokai was a little dumbfounded: "What does this mean?"
The little cat ran over, circled Xiaokai twice, and when Xiaokai ignored it, it nuzzled his leg a few times, then meowed.
"So cute!" Ningqing immediately forgot about the terror of the kitten just now, and eagerly grabbed Xiaokai's arm: "Xiaokai, it's trying to please you."
The kitten seemed to understand human language and obediently went to Ningqing's side. She was wearing a skirt today, and her fair and smooth legs looked like tender lotus roots. The kitten rubbed its head against Ningqing's leg. Ningqing immediately felt maternal and picked up the kitten and hugged it, the kitten's head resting on Ningqing's chest.
Xiaokai swallowed and said resentfully, "Be careful, it might bite you."
"Hmph, my little cutie wouldn't bite people," Ningqing joyfully stroked its fur and said to the kitten, "Little baby, I'm going to give you a name, you're all black, so how about calling you Xia Hei?"
The kitten raised its head, meowed twice, and then buried its head again.
"Wow, Xia Hei is so good," Ningqing was overjoyed, "Xiaokai, I've decided, I want to keep it!"
Unaccustomed to the illogical behavior and way of thinking of little girls, Xiaokai had experienced a lot of it recently. Besides rolling his eyes, he had no other way. He sighed and said, "Let's go."
Ningqing behaved much more calmly on the way. Although small animals continued to appear, she only played with the kitten in her arms and was no longer curious about other animals, proving that Ningqing was a loyal and devoted girl when it came to feelings.
About half an hour later, the number of small animals in the woods gradually decreased. People became more alert and, after walking for a while, they turned a corner around a large tree, when Qinghong suddenly exclaimed.
Not far ahead, a huge golden light filled the entire space. The light was very large, and Xiaokai, looking up, didn't see its top, so he kept backing up until he was more than ten meters away. Looking up, they could still see the entire appearance of the light.
It turned out to be a door, an unbelievably massive door.
It appeared to be at least fifty meters high when viewed from the top, and it was in a hazy state, looking like metal but also like a hallucination. With the breeze blowing, it even swayed faintly. At the top of the gate, from left to right, there were four large characters, the font looking peculiar with many twists and turns, resembling intertwined little snakes.
The three of them carefully searched their minds and had no impression of this type of writing. The existence of these characters was completely unfamiliar.
But on both sides of the door, there were two lines of ordinary traditional Chinese characters:
"The Gate of Destruction revolves here, and the world reopens after the Three Trials.
Those who enter my door are completely separated from gods and demons, giving up any thought of returning after the Three Trials."
"Xiaokai, should we go in?" Qinghong was worried. "Based on what is written here, once we enter, it won't be easy to get out."
Xiaokai also hesitated, "Should we go outside and prepare?"
Ningqing disagreed, "Xiaokai, what are you afraid of? You can defeat powerful monsters and even my master is not afraid. What else is there to be afraid of?"
"Hehe, of course I'm not afraid," Xiaokai scratched his head and awkwardly smiled. "Okay, let’s go in."
He gritted his teeth and reassured himself, "The Book of No Words is mine, what danger can there be here?" He closed his eyes and walked into the door.
The door was like a ripple, and Xiaokai's body only felt a slight pressure as he passed through it effortlessly. Ningqing held the nine-tailed fox and followed Xiaokai into the door with Qinghong.
"Seems like it's not a big deal," Xiaokai looked around, the same towering trees, endless grassland. "It seems to be all just a bluff."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud rumbling sound, and the golden door behind them suddenly flashed and vanished.
"What, it disappeared?" Xiaokai took a step back, but although there was nothing behind him, his feet seemed to touch an invisible wall, making it impossible to move back.
"It seems... we can't go back," Qinghong's voice was nervous. "Xiaokai, this should be imprisonment, we are trapped inside."
Xiaokai felt around the air, and indeed this place was sealed off. Although it couldn't be seen, it felt cold and hard beneath his touch. He tapped it with his finger and heard a crisp sound.
"Let's move forward," Ningqing was excited. "Just three trials, we can get through them."
As soon as she finished speaking, everything suddenly blurred in front of them. The whole world seemed to twist into a whirlpool. They could only see various colors spinning around endlessly, making them dizzy.
"Bang, bang!" came a muffled explosion from deep underground, and the ground began to shake violently.
"An earthquake?" Ningqing swallowed nervously.
"I think it's a volcanic eruption," Qinghong also swallowed nervously, her face pale.
"Don’t be afraid, with me here, everything will be fine," Xiaokai said, trying to sound calm.
As soon as he finished speaking, a strong force suddenly came from all directions. Xiaokai stumbled, almost sucked in by the force, but managed to grab the wrists of the two girls. The fox also got sucked away from Ningqing's embrace and was on the verge of flying out.
"Master!" Ningqing screamed, on the verge of tears.
In a critical moment, Xiaokai swiftly kicked the fox's tail. The fox immediately clung to his leg, entangling all nine tails around it, refusing to let go.
This action by Xiaokai was actually very risky. As soon as he kicked, he was nearly thrown off balance. However, Ningqing and Qinghong desperately held onto his arms and kept him from falling, so he finally managed to regain his balance.
The fox clung to Xiaokai's leg, gasping for breath, then suddenly raised its head, staring at Xiaokai and actually began to speak human language, "Honorable Master, you spared my life today and saved me as well. I will remember your kindness."
Xiaokai chuckled, "No need to thank me, there's no need for you to repay me. Once you stop killing indiscriminately and committing evil deeds, I'll be satisfied."
The tone of the fox's voice suddenly turned cold, "Heavenly Chosen Door Master, you saved my life, and I will repay it. But the harm you caused to me in the Moonlight Forbidden Land, I will not forget. Cultivators and monsters are like water and fire, you can forget about me putting down my guard."
Xiaokai was taken aback, suddenly realizing something, he exclaimed, "You can actually speak? How did your voice... change?"
Indeed, the fox's voice had changed. In the Moonlight Forbidden Land, it had a rough and bold voice. But now, its voice was soft and gentle, as if it was a woman speaking.
The fox sneered and its mouth opened, revealing the female voice: "It's none of your business whether I can speak or not."
Xiaokai asked, "Since you can talk, why did you stop talking again?"
Originally, Tianyao really couldn't speak. But since entering this door, when the whole world started to spin, it suddenly felt its throat itch. When it became anxious just now, it unexpectedly had the desire to speak, and once it had the desire to speak, it actually spoke.
Inside this gate of world destruction, everything was strange and contradictory to Tianyao's common sense. Even it couldn't understand, let alone explain it to Xiaokai. In the face of Xiaokai's inquiry, it could only hum and remain silent.
Just as Xiaokai was about to ask again, Ning Qing suddenly said, "Hey, Xiaokai, it seems like the external suction has decreased."
Sure enough, the external force decreased. Not only did the suction force decrease, but the rotating colors gradually softened. After a while, it finally came to a complete stop. When the three of them looked up, they couldn't help but marvel.
After this jolting experience, the environment the three were in was no longer the same as before. Towering trees and vast green grass, not a single shadow of them was in sight. Instead, the ground beneath their feet was made up of pieces of dark green stones, smooth as a mirror and almost able to reflect one's image. They were all connected piece by piece, seamless, and looked extremely exquisite.
Looking up, at a height of tens of meters above the ground, there was a ceiling made of the same dark green stones. Looking around, it was empty and bright with sunlight. This was actually a hall of immense size that was entirely constructed from this kind of dark green stone.
Tianyao "whooshed" down from Xiaokai's leg, lying on the ground and greedily taking a few breaths. Suddenly, its whole body started to tremble.
"Master, what's wrong with you?" Ning Qing was startled and crouched down to hug it, but Tianyao quickly dodged, leaping more than a meter away. It remained lying on the ground, completely stretching out its body, not allowing Ning Qing to hug it.
"Master, don't scare me, are you okay?" One had to admit, the little girl's respect and devotion to her master were sincere.
Tianyao suddenly raised its head, its voice filled with excitement. "Don't you feel... something different about these stones?"
"No, no," Xiaokai hurriedly said, "They probably just caught a cold, they were just sneezing."
"Oh, what's a cold? I've never experienced it, no wonder I can't understand," the Rogue Rabbit said, "The creature you brought, its life level is really low. In my presence, due to the inherent differences in life level, there may be some abnormalities. I can't do anything about this, I can only ask for your understanding."
It was then that Xiaokai remembered to check on Tianyao, who was lying on the ground, shivering all over. Her nine tails were obediently lying flat on the stone, as if experiencing great fear, looking quite pitiful.
Ningqing couldn't help but walk over and pick up Tianyao, whispering, "Master, what's wrong with you?"
Tianyao's mouth moved, as if trying to speak, but her body trembled so violently that she couldn't say a word. Her lips trembled for a long time, but she couldn't produce a complete sound.
A voice said, "In our world, I used to be a relatively high-level existence. Simply put, the vast majority of living beings in the world must submit to me and my companions. Due to the limitations of the world's rules, when they see me, they will feel a strong sense of oppression, which will make them bow and obey. Because of this level restriction, the creature you brought has encountered such a situation."
He thought for a moment and added, "If you still don't understand, I can give you an example using your understanding. For example, when a rabbit encounters a tiger, it must be afraid and submit, because the tiger is inherently the king of all beasts. Now, the creature you brought is like that rabbit, and I am like that tiger."
In fact, the Rogue Rabbit's analogy was already quite modest. In the world before the collapse, he was almost second only to the Creator God, not only did Tianyao have to bow and tremble before him, even the people in the immortal realm had no resistance when facing him and could only submit to his orders.
Xiaokai nodded and said, "Since your level is so high, why aren't we afraid of you?"
The Rogue Rabbit also seemed puzzled, and after a long time, he pondered and said, "In fact, I am also very curious. Your power is very weak, even weaker than this creature, yet your physical structure is quite advanced and remarkably similar to certain higher-level divine beings. In terms of level alone, you are definitely not beneath me."
Xiaokai added, "Then why isn't Xiaohei afraid of you either?"
The Rogue Rabbit laughed, "You're talking about Greedy Beast, right? This thing is really too low in class, it doesn't even have the qualifications to sense my aura, so how could it be afraid of me? Let me use my previous example to explain. Although I am a tiger, it is just an ant. It can't even see me clearly, so of course it ignores me."
Ningqing stroked the fox's fur to calm it down, unable to help but say, "My master, you are so pitiful. Can't you think of a way to make it stop being afraid?"
The Rogue Rabbit burst into laughter, "Even if it's afraid, it's only for a moment. You should think about how to pass the next three trials. If you fail these three trials, you will all die here, whether you're afraid or not."
"Die here?" Xiaokai was startled, "That's too much, I'm the master of the Wordless Book!"
"Wordless Book? That name sounds familiar," the Rogue Rabbit pondered for a long time and said, "I think I've heard that name in countless ages past, but now I've forgotten most of the things. You and the two people with you are indeed a bit different from the norm. I sense something very strange about you, something that can change the basic rules of the world, but I can't seem to remember what it is."
He smiled slightly, "Enough talk, let's start the trial!"
As this was said, the scenery in front of everyone suddenly changed!
"Swoosh!" It was as if an invisible veil had been suddenly lifted, and everyone's eyes suddenly filled with dazzling white light. In the vast and boundless hall, a rabbit suddenly appeared in the bright light.
A large bottom, long ears, Ningqing couldn't help but start laughing, "It really is the Rogue Rabbit."
The rabbit hopped over to the three of them, "Hello, welcome to the trial of the Door of Annihilation!"
"You are the Rogue Rabbit from earlier?" Xiaokai looked the rabbit up and down, finding it hard to imagine that this comical figure had such a deep and noble voice as well as such a prestigious status.
"You're wrong, I am Rogue Rabbit, and yet I am not Rogue Rabbit. To be precise, I am a pseudo-Rogue Rabbit," the rabbit said solemnly, "The Rogue Rabbit is the highest being in this world, but this world has collapsed for countless generations, and my power is now less than a thousandth of what it used to be."
"Oh," Xiaokai nodded, "So you're a Rogue Rabbit with a thousandth of your power."
"No, you're wrong again," the rabbit continued seriously, "My original form is a thousand times what it is now. I have only invested one thousandth of my consciousness in setting this test for you. So, what you see is not the complete me, but one one-thousandth of me."
Xiaokai nodded again, "It seems you are one one-thousandth of one one-thousandth, which is a millionth of the Rogue Rabbit, am I right this time?"
"Hehe, you're still wrong," the rabbit shook its head, "To avoid causing you too much trouble, I have sealed nine-tenths of my power."
Xiaokai fell silent and Qingqian took over, "So you're one one millionth of the Rogue Rabbit."
"You got it this time," the rabbit nodded with a smile, "Smart girls always have a higher IQ."
Xiaokai gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the urge to vomit, and continued to ask, "What are we supposed to do in this trial?"
"Very simple, kill me and you can pass, " said the rabbit, "This is the first level of the trial of the Reopening of Heaven and Earth: The Test of Strength. To pass, you must show enough powerful strength."
He paused and added, "Of course, because my strength is still so strong, I have reduced it to the maximum. If you can't beat me, you will die at my hands, and I don't show mercy when I kill."
Xiaokai was surprised, "If you will also die when you lose, why weaken your strength at all? Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Death? Hehe, what is there to fear about death," the rabbit's tone became desolate again, "I don't know how many generations I've lived since the birth of my world. I existed from the day my world existed. After the collapse of my world, I still existed. Even the Creator God has become a relic, only the remnants of his body exist in this collapsed world, and I still exist. I have lived so long that I don't want to live anymore. If it weren't to repay the kindness of the Creator God, if it weren't to guard the remains of the Creator God, if it wasn't to sustain this world that could collapse at any moment, I would have chosen to die long ago."
"If you want to protect the world, why aren't you afraid of death now?" Xiaokai still didn't understand.
The rabbit's eyes were full of bright light, which shot straight into Xiaokai's eyes, "Because you are the person who will reopen Heaven and Earth!"
"What does it mean to reopen Heaven and Earth?"
"As long as you pass the trial, you will have passed the Creator God's test. When the Creator God died, he predicted that if anyone could come to this abandoned world and pass his test, they could reopen the world, allow the collapsed world to expand and thrive, and be full of vitality, to re-operate until it becomes a true world."
"This is none of my business," Xiaokai shrugged.
"Of course it is your business!" the rabbit roared, "Kid, for this great and noble ideal, you must kill me, you must!"
"If you want to die, why not just commit suicide?" Xiaokai said, "As long as both sides are willing, it shouldn't violate the rules of the test."
"That won't do," the rabbit immediately calmed down, "In order to maintain the honor of my Rogue Rabbit clan and to live up to the trust of the Creator God, I must fulfill my duties as the guardian."
"Then give us a hint," Xiaokai said, "Do you have any weaknesses?"
"Well, I can tell you that my way of fighting is to guide thunder and lightning and use it to my advantage. I can release fire, lightning, hail, air arrows, and so on, all of which are natural elements that I can simulate. At the same time, I can absorb various types of energy and convert it into a form that I need," the rabbit thought carefully for a long time, adding, "Oh, I can't think of any weaknesses, it's as if I have never lost a battle in the past."
"That's an exaggeration!" Xiaokai was a bit dumbfounded, "Everyone has weaknesses."
"Technically speaking, I do have a nemesis," the Rogue Rabbit pondered, "In the prosperous time of my world, there was a creature known as the Tiny Bug. It was the lowest, weakest, most useless creature in the entire world. However, all things are mutually generated and restrained. They were bullied by all living beings, and I could bully all living beings. But the Tiny Bug just so happened to be able to restrain me. Whenever I saw it, I would feel an itchy nose, and then I would sneeze. The most fearful thing for us Rogue Rabbits is sneezing, because as soon as we sneeze, we will die immediately."
"Isn't that meaningless?" Xiaokai said, "I've never seen that thing you're talking about, so how can I get my hands on a Tiny Bug?"
"In that case, there's another way," the Rogue Rabbit said, "When I release lightning, there will be an interval in the middle, which is when I'm at my weakest. If you can take advantage of this opportunity to accurately attack my mouth, there's a chance to kill me. Based on my previous strength, this interval was extremely short, and no one could possibly take advantage of it, but now that my speed is only one millionth of what it used to be, this gap has become quite long, and you might be able to capitalize on it."
"How long is it?" Xiaokai asked eagerly.
"Quite long," the Rogue Rabbit said, "Judging by your concept of time, it should be a full one hundredth of a second."
"I rely on!" Xiaokai rolled his eyes. "This is considered quite long?"
"Can't you make use of it?" The rogue rabbit looked disappointed.
"Doubtlessly." Xiaokai also looked disappointed. "Do you have any other ideas?"
The rogue rabbit sighed and thought for a while. Finally, he shook his head. "Forget it, I can't think of anything. Let's just start the fight."
As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped back far away, creating a distance of about seven to eight meters between him and Xiaokai's group. Then, with a raised claw, a snow-white beam of light shot out from the tip of his claw, resembling a laser, as it swept across the ground in front of him, causing smoke and making a sizzling sound, as if a red-hot steel knife cut across the snow, leaving a deep groove in the ground. "I will not cross this line for an hour. You can come and attack me as much as you want as long as you don't step out of this boundary. But if you haven't killed me after an hour, I will cross the boundary and attack you."
Xiaokai and the others were amazed. According to Tianyao, each of these emerald green stones contained energy surpassing the sacred sandalwood bead. In the cultivation world, it would be a top-tier immortal tool. However, when faced with the rogue rabbit's casually released light, they seemed completely defenseless, making the strength of the rogue rabbit seem unbelievable.
"What should we do?" Xiaokai turned to the two girls.
"No other way, we have to fight!" Ning Qing gritted her teeth. "Xiaokai, we can't use any magical weapons here. We can only fight him hand-to-hand."
Ning Qing was right. Xiaokai thought for a while and realized that besides hand-to-hand combat, they had no other choice. Fortunately, the rogue rabbit didn't want to kill them immediately, so they had a chance to probe him first.
"All right, I'll go in front, you two take the back. I'll engage him head-on, and you grab his ears from the sides," Xiaokai said fiercely. "With his short stature, you can lift him in the air by pulling his ears."
He clenched his teeth and reminded them, "Now is a matter of life and death. Don't be soft-hearted. Beat him to death!"
"Don't worry," Qing Hong said fiercely. "Xiaokai, I've killed more monsters than you've ever seen."
Although Ning Qing didn't have as "glorious" a past as Qing Hong, she patted the sword at her waist and also looked heroic. "It's time for my sword to be unsheathed!"