Full Activation: Three-Dimensional Maze and Super Kongming Lock

When was the last time I went on a solo adventure?

Honestly, I can't really remember. Maybe I've never truly gone exploring all by myself, but it always feels like I'm going solo anyway. Sure, I've had company along the way, but this familiar sense of traveling alone just won't go away. Now, walking single-handed through this underground temple, I feel an oddly refreshing sense of freedom—like it's been ages.

Step by step, Jack Young relaxed his breathing as he walked along the rough, sturdy stone path. It might sound weird, but with the three Flower Shifting girls blocked off somewhere else, besides the worry and concern, there was also a bit of excited anticipation bubbling up inside him.

Most people wear masks on their faces and costumes on their bodies. Jack Young never really tried to hide who he was, but unlike 'her,' he wasn't keen on showing off either—he leaned toward being reserved and low-key. He wasn't a fan of being in the spotlight; he'd much rather enjoy some peace and quiet. So, alone in this deserted corridor, he felt a strange sense of ease.

In this pure silence, he let his five senses roam free. Normally, he thought his senses were already sharpened to the max, but now he realized there was still room to grow.

"Looks like I need to find a chance for a solo trip and really unwind." Of course, all those travel plans are for later. Right now, the main thing—click! The floor suddenly opened up beneath him, but Jack Young, as if he'd seen it coming, sidestepped in time—was to explore this South Wasteland Temple and see just what kind of wonders it was hiding!

He kept walking down the passageway, which twisted and turned with countless bends—right angles, slants, you name it—but Jack Young started mapping it out in his head. Compared to the totally random natural caves, these man-made paths were easy to remember, so he felt zero stress.

"Another legendary weapon—a sword sharp enough to slice a hair." At the end of the passage was another square stone chamber, with a pedestal in the back. Just like the Sword in the Stone, there was a sword stuck in it. This one looked like a two-handed broadsword—wide blade, meant for heavy slashing. In this setting, the scene could've come straight out of an epic movie.

"Now, let's see what kind of traps and mechanisms they've got here." Jack Young grabbed the sword hilt, activating his senses, and gave it a solid yank. With a clang, the sword was in his hand—and with a rumble, some distant mechanism was triggered. Strangely enough, he could faintly hear a trace of zither music.

The music drifted in from afar, so faint it barely reached Jack Young's ears, but something about it was unmistakably personal. He raised an eyebrow: "So, a familiar face showed up after all. And—" Clang! He stuck the sword back in. After listening carefully for sounds near and far, Jack Young's face lit up with excitement: "Now this is an interesting mechanism—really makes you think!"

Jack Young ended up taking the sword with him and found the passage leading to the next stone chamber. He wandered through room after room, each with a stone pedestal and a different weapon on display. This thirteenth level was way bigger than the previous twelve—much bigger. The chambers and corridors were all strung together, enough to make your head spin and your eyes blur.

As Jack Young walked on, his eyes grew brighter—he was starting to really get it, and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

"These South Wasteland folks are something else—how did they come up with such a complex maze?" He hadn't figured out the whole layout yet, but he was starting to get an idea. In this massive labyrinth, every pedestal and weapon was a trigger for some mechanism. And all these mechanisms were linked together. For example, yank a sword in the southeast corner and nothing happens nearby, but a door pops open in the northwest or a stone drops in the northeast.

And the tricky part? Even if you put the sword back, the mechanism might not reset. It's like a Rubik's Cube—twist it once, then twist it back and sure, it's solved. But if someone else twists it while you're doing your thing, then good luck getting it back to normal.

Jack Young was sure this maze was the final hurdle guarding the ultimate treasure. Crack this puzzle, and you'd finally see the prize. The best way to solve it? Don't touch anything. Avoid triggering any traps, map out the whole place, then test each mechanism one by one. Slow, but safe and foolproof.

"I'm guessing this maze was designed by the ancient South Wasteland folks to test elite teams—see if they've got focus, brains, patience, and teamwork. If anyone gets impulsive, the whole rhythm falls apart, and you have to start over. Want to brute-force your way through?" Jack Young knocked on the diamond-hard stone wall. "Not sure how a martial arts master with a legendary weapon would do, but if you're just relying on raw strength, you'd need at least dragon-level power. As for me right now, I've got just one thing to say—ha!"

This maze was sneaky—downright devious. It didn't have many deadly traps; a person with thirty or forty years of martial arts could dodge them easily. Its real danger wasn't killing you, but tricking you into messing up. How valuable is a legendary weapon? Who wouldn't want to grab one? Someone picks up this one, someone else grabs the next, and pretty soon, the whole maze is a mess.

Boom—a stone wall suddenly swung open, revealing a corridor. Jack Young looked up and saw another group on the opposite side. Nobody knew each other, but everyone just stared, dumbfounded.

This chapter isn't over yet~.~ Click next page to keep reading the good stuff!

Jack Young raised his hand with a grin: "Hey!"

Then—boom!—a stone wall dropped down, separating the two groups again.

A brief encounter, a quick farewell—this maze is perfect for guerrilla tactics!

Normally, the more people you have to solve a maze, the better. More cannon fodder to trip the traps, so everyone else stays safe. But this maze is the total opposite—the more people inside, the bigger the mess, and the harder it is to find the real way out.

If the way forward is blocked and the way back is sealed, then everyone's just stuck here, doomed to suffocate in the maze.

So, how many people have actually entered this maze? No one knows for sure. All Jack Young could hear was the rumbling of shifting stones growing more frequent, and more voices echoing—clearly, it's getting crowded.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, a tremor came from below. Jack Young adjusted his balance before the real quake hit. But instead of a wall rising or falling, the whole passage started to move!

About ten meters of corridor started sinking with a loud rumble—and Jack Young was right in the middle of it. Sure, he could've escaped, but the more he learned about the maze, the better his chances of solving it. Brave and curious, he rode the passage down.

Thud—a heavy crash, and the whole corridor dropped about ten meters. It wasn't a trap; the passage still connected on both sides, only now it was the fourteenth level, darker and dimmer than before. Jack Young looked around, shouted to test the echo, then kept moving. Soon he found another stone chamber, with a pedestal holding an even higher-grade legendary weapon. Not quite a supreme artifact, but close.

He yanked out the weapon and listened for any nearby sounds. The unique, persistent grinding and force told Jack Young that another corridor or chamber was shifting somewhere.

"Oh, come on—I thought this maze was just a sliding puzzle, but turns out it's three-dimensional! This isn't just a brain teaser, it's a brain burner!" Even Jack Young couldn't help but click his tongue, then wondered: "Seriously, how was this thing even built? All these massive stones moving up and down—what powers it? Did the South Wasteland folks have some kind of alien tech?"

Well, that's a question worth complaining about—but also totally pointless.

While Wind Wushang and his crew herded all the treasure hunters into the maze like ducks, marveling at the Killing Stone's powers, while Lady Sanmiao strummed her zither to send her followers off to scout (or die), and while Shatongtian and a bunch of grannies dashed around in chaos, Jack Young discovered something even more jaw-dropping—the maze wasn't a sliding puzzle at all. It was a Super Kongming Lock!

The thirteenth level—the maze's first layer—had mechanisms that opened and closed hidden doors. The second layer's mechanisms could raise or lower whole sections. But the wildest part was the third layer. The third layer's pedestal held a true supreme weapon, sharp enough to slice iron like mud. And its mechanism? It could actually rotate entire sections, changing their orientation.

Put simply, it's like the rotation button in Tetris. You can flip things north-south, turn corners into straight lines.

If there was only the first layer, it'd just be a regular brain teaser. Add in the second layer's linkage, and it's a hardcore brain burner. But throw in the third layer, and it's not even a puzzle anymore—it's like your brain is being grilled on a skewer! Link all three layers together, and you've got infinite possibilities!

For example, drop a section from the first layer down to the third, rotate it to a new position or shape, then bring it back up to the first layer—you'll discover a whole new path, maybe even a hidden map. And that's just the simple version. If the pedestal chambers themselves can move, and their mechanisms change after moving, then—

This is a nightmare!

Man, I've played the toughest mazes in the Sword and Fairy series and never seen anything like this. Is this thing designed to kill people? Anyone with less than 250 IQ and maxed-out luck is gonna feel the pressure!

"No way, it can't actually be that complicated—or else even the South Wasteland folks couldn't get out." Jack Young's sharp eye quickly noticed something: there wasn't a single skeleton in the maze. "If it was truly unsolvable, there'd be bodies everywhere—no one could rescue you from this mess! But the corridors and chambers are spotless, so there must be a simple solution. If I look carefully, I'm sure I'll find it!"

While Jack Young was pondering how to crack the maze, the treasure hunters had already spread out across all three layers. Their random fiddling had fully activated the three-dimensional sliding puzzle maze—the Super Kongming Lock!