The third flight of stairs was imminent, leaving no reason to retreat further. Whether the third level was the limit or not, only crossing it would tell.
Bai Qianqian, Zhou Tao, and Li Mo gritted their teeth, pressing onward under the immense mental pressure.
Lu Fei also feigned an expression of pain, but in reality, the preceding levels, apart from the occasional Dark-element contract beasts, were negligible in terms of the spatial pressure.
The passage onward was relatively smooth, with no formidable contract beasts encountered.
Subsequently, the group unhesitatingly proceeded towards the stairs of the third level.
Stepping onto the third level, the four were already utterly exhausted. They collapsed onto the ground with a thud, gasping for breath.
Their resting place was like a platform, devoid of any pressure, offering a sense of relief. Ahead, the scenery of the third level was visible, but none dared to take another step. They feared that if the pressure were too intense, their current weakened bodies would not be able to withstand it.
A smile finally appeared on Zhou Tao's face.
"It seems it wasn't that difficult after all. You just get used to it, haha."
While saying this, his words were somewhat forced. His gaze towards the fourth level betrayed him; clearly, if he were alone, Zhou Tao would not have dared to challenge the fourth level.
Bai Qianqian and Li Mo exchanged smiles.
However, to their surprise, Lu Fei had also managed to reach this point.
Despite his lucky victory against Lei Mang in their confrontation, his Beastmaster level was still firmly at the beginner stage. The trials within this space were intrinsically linked to a Beastmaster's spiritual power.
How had he endured until here with just beginner-level spiritual power?
No one posed the question.
Suddenly, Lu Fei spoke, "Shall we continue climbing, or head back first?"
Upon hearing this, the other three couldn't help but answer in unison that they should return to recuperate. However, each of them was proud, and no one spoke up first.
Finally, Zhou Tao cleared his throat twice and said, "They are all waiting for us outside. Moreover, the difficulty of climbing the Undead Tower significantly increases after dark, so it’s best we retreat for now."
The others did not object, reaching a consensus.
They then took out their jade tokens. With a flash of light from the tokens, they vanished from their spots.
Lu Fei also produced his jade token, but just as he was about to crush it, he hesitated.
"Since I've already come this far, why not go in and take a look? If I encounter a powerful contract beast, I can always use the token to escape."
With this thought, Lu Fei made up his mind.
Clutching the jade token, he walked forward slowly.
As soon as he stepped through the barrier of the third level, a damp, earthy scent assailed his nostrils.
Lu Fei looked around and was momentarily stunned. Unlike the previous two levels, this third level was a space resembling a utopia. The surroundings were filled with various fruit trees, and flowerbeds spread out, covering almost the entire land.
An endless sea of flowers.
This stark contrast made Lu Fei wonder if he had come to the wrong place.
Lu Fei cautiously observed the changing environment around him, moving forward slowly.
After walking for about ten minutes, the tall trees no longer obstructed his view, and a tomb appeared before him.
The entire tomb was surrounded by flowers. If one didn't look closely, it wouldn't be recognized as a tomb at all.
"Why is there a grave here?"
Lu Fei was puzzled.
"Could it be that someone buried their contract beast here?"
With his curiosity piqued, Lu Fei approached the tombstone.
He pushed aside the flowers and grass, revealing the name of the tomb's occupant.
"Tomb of Beloved Wife Qiao Yi"
Lu Fei was greatly alarmed.
"This... this isn't a contract beast's grave? It's a human's?"
"But with so many people passing by, aren't they afraid of this tomb being vandalized?"
Amidst his surprise, Lu Fei clearly felt something crawling out from the surrounding walls.
A bone-chilling aura, extremely subtle, lurked in the darkness.
This subtlety was not true concealment, but rather a careful placement within the challenger's perceptual range.
Lu Fei remained calm, holding his breath and focusing, carefully surveying the surroundings.
*Chhh!*
A faint sound of something tearing through the air suddenly occurred, approaching rapidly from Lu Fei's rear left.
Lu Fei only had time to turn before the attack landed on his chest.
A paw, covered in sharp thorns, tore through the air and raked across his chest.
The light of spiritual power suddenly flared, accompanied by a dull thud, as if a blade had struck leather.
Taking advantage of the attacker's proximity, Lu Fei also got a clear look at his assailant.
It was a dark monster that, at first glance, resembled a humanoid creature.
It had a small head with a tuft of hair at the forehead, and a small, sturdy body with gray, spotted fur.
Its limbs were extremely long and slender, appearing like segmented tentacles formed from cartilage, ending in thorny pads that opened like petals.
What kind of contract beast is this?
Since arriving here, Lu Fei had encountered a wide variety of contract beasts. Some were so diverse that even the Beastmaster's Codex couldn't identify them, but they were not like the hybridized beasts from the Starfield.
Instead, they were actual ancient species that had simply not been discovered by humans.
However, the contract beast before him was clearly of the Dark element.
It was accustomed to operating in dark environments.
Its limbs had thorny pads, allowing it to grip the surface of various objects.
This greatly enhanced its mobility, making it like a nocturnal assassin, capable of attacking from different positions.
Just as Lu Fei was contemplating how to counter this unfamiliar contract beast.
Suddenly, a dark wave surged towards Lu Fei!
Lu Fei was astonished.
This guy specializes in ranged attacks?!!
"Ironhead! [Seven-Character Slash] Shield!"
The small and harmless-looking Ironhead quickly swung its short sword, forming a shield of condensed sword energy in front of itself.
Even so, Ironhead was still repelled by the dark wave, its feet scraping long marks on the ground!
This demonstrated the ferocity of the opponent's attack.
Ironhead was not adept at defense; it disdained defense, which led Lu Fei to devise this method of using offensive techniques as a substitute for defense.