The battle reached a deadlock, and Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue felt unprecedented pressure.

Amidst the fierce fight, Shen Jingqi suddenly noticed that the monster seemed to have a special reaction to the crystal. Whenever the crystal emitted light, the monster appeared somewhat flustered. A thought struck him: could the crystal be used to deal with this monster?

He focused his mind, attempting to stimulate the crystal's energy once more. This time, the crystal shone with a light even more dazzling than before. Seeing the light, the monster let out a roar of fear, seemingly wanting to escape yet bound by an invisible force, unable to move.

Seeing the opportunity, Shen Jingqi leaped high, raised the crystal above his head, and then smashed it down onto the monster. The collision of the crystal with the monster's body resulted in a deafening boom. Light instantly engulfed the monster, which let out a heartrending scream as its body gradually dissipated in the light.

With the monster's disappearance, the black fog also slowly dispersed. The ground ceased shaking, and the cracks began to slowly mend. The mysterious figures, seeing the monster eradicated, knew the situation was lost and turned to flee.

Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue collapsed to the ground, their bodies utterly exhausted. But as they looked at the crystal in their hands, their eyes were filled with joy and pride.

After resting for a moment, the two struggled to stand up, supporting each other as they continued on their unknown journey. The surrounding environment grew increasingly eerie, with a sinister aura permeating the air as though countless eyes were secretly watching them.

Suddenly, a low roar came from a distance, trembling the ground slightly. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue exchanged glances, a hint of tension flashing in their eyes as they quickly tightened their grip on their weapons.

"What is that sound?" Lin Yue asked softly, her voice tinged with a slight tremble.

Shen Jingqi squinted, vigilantly observing the surroundings: "It sounds like some kind of gigantic beast. Be careful."

As the sound grew nearer, a massive silhouette appeared in their line of sight. It was a dragon as tall as three floors, covered in black scales that shimmered with a cold light under the sun. The dragon opened its bloody maw, spewing scorching flames that ignited the surrounding trees, forming a sea of fire.

"Get out of the way!" Shen Jingqi shouted, pulling Lin Yue aside to roll away. The flames brushed past their backs, the searing heat causing a stinging pain on their skin.

Missed by the attack, the dragon angrily flapped its wings, stirring up a fierce wind. Under the cover of the dust whipped up by the wind, Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue quickly ducked behind a large rock.

Soon, Shen Jingqi took a deep breath and dashed out from behind the rock, shouting at the dragon, "Hey, big monster, come chase me!"

The dragon, enraged by his taunt, turned its head to lunge at him. Shen Jingqi deftly evaded the dragon's attacks, sometimes leaping, sometimes rolling, leading it away from Lin Yue's direction.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yue quietly circled to the dragon's side, and at the right moment, she leaped up, her dagger flashing like lightning as it aimed for the dragon's eye. The dragon, hit and in pain, let out an angry roar, its massive tail sweeping towards Lin Yue. Lin Yue quickly retreated but was still struck, sent flying, and landing heavily on the ground.

"Lin Yue!" Shen Jingqi shouted, worried sick. He disregarded his own safety and rushed at the dragon, thrusting his sword into it fiercely. The dragon, unable to bear the pain, wobbled and finally crashed to the ground.

The two collapsed onto the ground, exchanging smiles. Though their bodies were exhausted, the joy of defeating the dragon filled them with strength.

As they pressed on, a mysterious castle appeared ahead, its gates tightly closed, surrounded by an eerie aura.

"Maybe the second key is hidden inside this castle, but it feels extremely dangerous in there," Lin Yue said worriedly.

Shen Jingqi took a deep breath: "What are we afraid of? We've already gone through so many hardships. No matter what, we must make it through."

The two cautiously pushed open the castle doors, inside was dimly lit, filled with an ancient aura.

They continued forward, but deeper in the castle, a mysterious barrier of light blocked their path. Strange runes flickered on the barrier, seemingly hiding some kind of power.

"How do we break this barrier?" Lin Yue pondered, frowning.

Shen Jingqi observed the runes closely: "These runes seem to follow a pattern. Perhaps we can find a way to break them."

They started studying the arrangement of the runes, trying various methods. Just when they were about to give up, Lin Yue suddenly noticed a special mark among the runes: "Look at this mark, it seems somewhat similar to the patterns on the crystal."

Shen Jingqi's eyes lit up: "Could the crystal be the key to opening the barrier?"

They took out the crystal and moved it closer to the barrier.

The crystal resonated with the runes, and the barrier gradually dissipated, revealing a passage.

Inside, it was brightly lit but shrouded in an eerie aura. In the center of the palace was a large treasure chest, decorated with intricate carvings.

They headed towards the chest, but after a few steps, countless skeleton soldiers poured out from the walls of the palace. These skeleton soldiers, holding sharp blades, charged at them. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue quickly drew their weapons, engaging in a fierce battle with the skeleton soldiers.

The number of skeleton soldiers grew, and they were gradually overwhelmed. Just then, Shen Jingqi noticed a mechanism on the treasure chest. He guessed that pressing it might open the chest and possibly stop the skeleton soldiers' attacks.

While evading the skeleton soldiers' attacks, he approached the chest. Finally, he reached it and forcefully pressed the mechanism. The chest slowly opened, a dazzling light shooting out from within. At that moment, the skeleton soldiers collapsed, turning into dust.

However, around the chest, bizarre monsters guarded it. These monsters looked like bats but had human limbs, their eyes flashing green and uttering shrill cries.

"How do we get past them?" Lin Yue quietly asked, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Shen Jingqi surveyed the surroundings, noticing some protruding rocks on the cave's roof, possibly providing a way to bypass the monsters.

"Let's go above," Shen Jingqi suggested.

Cautiously, they climbed to the cave's roof, moving slowly along the protruding rocks. Each step was taken with extreme care, fearing any sound could alert the monsters.

Just as they were about to reach the platform, a monster suddenly spotted them. It let out a sharp cry, alerting the other monsters, which all raised their heads and looked their way.

"Not good, we've been discovered!" Shen Jingqi exclaimed.

The monsters unfurled their wings, flying towards them. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue swiftly increased their pace, leaping between the rocks to dodge the monsters' attacks.

Finally, they reached the platform's side.

Shen Jingqi took the second key from the treasure chest.

With no time to rest, they immediately left, continuing their search for the final key.

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