Evan Yang had no idea that the Nether Patriarch had pinned the armored man's death on him. Right now, he was still trapped in that pitch-black place.
Just moments ago, he could hear the sounds of pursuit between the two, but after the armored man started screaming like a madman, all Evan Yang heard was a splash—as if something had fallen into water. Then everything went quiet.
"Damn it, what are they up to?" Evan Yang cursed under his breath when the noise disappeared.
This made Evan Yang check his surroundings, looking for any way to escape from inside the False Mountain.
"There's a tunnel over there." Evan Yang spotted a small tunnel not far away, pulling his thoughts back from the outside and focusing on the strange interior of the False Mountain.
It was dim, barely any light to be seen. Evan Yang relied on his senses and the feel of the wall beneath his hand, moving step by step toward the other end of the tunnel.
After about half an hour, Evan Yang finally made it out of the long, dark tunnel and arrived at a place completely engulfed by a sea of fire.
"Hot." A wave of heat slammed into him, making Evan Yang feel like he was about to be devoured by flames. Thankfully, his Ice-fire Sacred Flame was already circulating inside him, quickly cooling him down as he stepped forward.
He saw that the tunnel connected to a platform, and on the platform stood a spiral staircase leading upward to who knows where.
"Should I try flying up?" Evan Yang wondered. But as soon as he tried to take off, it felt like a thousand-pound weight slammed down on him, pinning him to the ground.
That made Evan Yang realize flying was impossible here. Since that was the case, he could only climb the spiral staircase, which was surrounded by a sea of fire with flames erupting out of nowhere from time to time.
Whenever flames appeared, Evan Yang dodged them at lightning speed. The bursts of heat couldn't hurt him, so he managed to climb the staircase smoothly.
But what really got on Evan Yang's nerves was how long the staircase seemed—his divine sense couldn't even reach the top. It felt endless, like a path straight up to the heavens. With only one way forward, he had no choice but to keep climbing.
Unfortunately, the higher he climbed, the faster the flames appeared and the hotter it got. Just climbing twenty steps took Evan Yang half an hour.
Seeing how little progress he'd made, Evan Yang shuddered at the thought of how long it would take to reach the top.
With no other way out, Evan Yang pressed on, locking his divine sense in all directions. Whenever fire appeared, he reacted instantly, letting his Ice-fire Sacred Flame regulate his body temperature.
This was one of the toughest challenges Evan Yang had ever faced. Without his speed and the Ice-fire Sacred Flame, he would've died here already.
Step by step, Evan Yang climbed upward. If someone looked up from below, they'd see a lone figure weaving through countless flames, untouched by any of them.
Evan Yang had no idea what was waiting at the top. He only knew he had to get out, and this was the only way.
Meanwhile, outside, the Nether Patriarch found Captain Lee and started talking about the armored man's death, shifting all the blame onto Evan Yang.