By the time they returned, Evan Yang and Lena King had already left. Liam Blaze and his cousins saw the stone by the tombstone—the very stone they had wanted to take earlier—with a few words written on it.
"Idiots."
The three saw those words and erupted in anger. "Damn it, someone dares to mess with us!" Liam Blaze cursed loudly.
"Who has that kind of ability?" Darren Fang wondered, recalling how they couldn't even leave the area just moments ago.
"It can't be anyone among the eight of us—they don't have that skill. That leaves only one possibility: it's a living person, someone who may have been here a long time. If they wanted to kill us, they would've acted; instead, they let us go but made us leave our treasures. That means they're afraid of us and must've run off to hide." Liam Blaze analyzed.
Darren Fang and Easton Fang exchanged glances, unsure if Liam Blaze's analysis made any sense.
Fueled by anger, Liam Blaze took a while to calm down. "Let's go check somewhere else. If there's nothing in this sixth layer, we'll try for the seventh."
Darren Fang and Easton Fang nodded and began searching the area again. Meanwhile, Evan Yang and Lena King followed behind, grinning, eager to see what the trio would find—and planning to sabotage them further.
But after thoroughly searching the sixth layer, Liam Blaze and his cousins found nothing. Frustrated, they decided to head for the seventh layer and arrived at the Earth Temple team's checkpoint.
When they arrived, the two remaining Earth Temple cultivators looked at them. The one who had first passed the checkpoint had already disappeared.
"You all go ahead," Liam Blaze said, then sat with Darren Fang and Easton Fang to wait.
"Looks like they're heading to the seventh layer," Evan Yang said. "Hmm, I wonder what challenge is inside this light ring. Will I be able to pass through?" Lena King asked, a bit worried.
"Don't worry, I'm here. What are you afraid of?" Evan Yang reassured her.
"That's true," Lena King replied.
"As for those three items, except for the Hexa-Flame Cauldron, which you can't use, the other two will be useful to you," Evan Yang said after thinking for a moment.
"That's true," Lena King nodded.
After the other two Earth Temple cultivators passed through and left, Liam Blaze, Darren Fang, and Easton Fang also took on the challenge one after another. Once they had all entered, Evan Yang said, "Let's go."
Evan Yang walked up to the edge of the light ring and said, "I'll go in first and check things out. I'll come back and let you know."
"Hmm," Lena King nodded.
Evan Yang stepped forward into the light ring. The moment he entered, he saw a figure—not one of the people ahead. The figure looked at Evan and smiled, saying, "Welcome to the sixth layer."
"Are you the gatekeeper of the sixth layer?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"That's right," the person replied.
"Are you dead or alive?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Me? I'm half-dead. I volunteered to stay here and guard this checkpoint. If you defeat me, you pass; if you can't, you die. You still have a choice," the person said.
Evan Yang hadn't expected the checkpoint to work like this. He replied, "I'll still try to pass, but before I do, I want to know—who are you all? Why did you volunteer to stay here?"
"That question? Didn't you know? Well, I'll tell you. We're people from the Three Temples—Fire Temple, Earth Temple, and Water Temple. We're scattered across each layer, and the deeper you go, the stronger we are. Now you understand?" the person said.
"I see. Then let's begin," Evan Yang said.
"I'm from the Earth Temple. What's your attribute?" the person asked.
"Sorry, mine is water—so I counter you," Evan Yang said with a smile.
"Oh? Not necessarily. Let's start," the person said. He and Evan Yang began to fight. The sixth layer was no challenge for Evan, so he easily defeated the gatekeeper.
Strangely, after being defeated, the gatekeeper recovered within a few breaths, as if he couldn't be killed. He said, "You passed."
"Thanks. I'll go back to check on someone and come through later," Evan Yang said.
Evan Yang turned and walked back. The gatekeeper muttered, "Clearly just an Immortal Lord, but so terrifying."
Evan Yang went outside and told Lena King what happened inside. Then the two entered together—it was still the same gatekeeper as before.
Seeing Evan Yang with a woman, the gatekeeper said, "Only one person can challenge the checkpoint at a time. Since you passed, go wait to the side."
Evan Yang nodded and moved aside while Lena King stepped up. Evan estimated the gatekeeper's strength to be about fourth-tier Emperor, so Lena should easily pass.
Sure enough, after a quarter hour, the outcome was decided. Lena King happily joined Evan Yang and left.
Watching them leave, the gatekeeper muttered, "That kid really gives people a terrifying feeling."
Evan Yang and Lena King quickly passed through the area and entered the seventh checkpoint. Because they had spent quite a bit of time, Liam Blaze and the others were nowhere to be seen.
But this layer was rather special. All around were volcanoes, as if at any moment they might be engulfed by flames.