It is widely known that between Heaven and Earth lies endless, infinite Space.
Every world, every Secret Realm, is a Space, including Heaven and Earth itself, which is also one great Space.
These infinite Spaces are constantly evolving and transforming every moment—more precisely, they operate along the tracks of Heaven and Earth's order. Once they deviate from these orderly tracks, they break free from the order of Heaven and Earth and fall into the chaotic currents of the Endless Sea Beyond Heaven.
The reason Teleportation Arrays can transport between two otherwise unconnected worlds is precisely because they rely on spatial order to construct a 'Space Tunnel'.
If a Teleportation Array operates normally, then all is well.
If a Teleportation Array undergoes changes, causing the Space Tunnel to collapse, it will inevitably break free from the orderly track and plunge into the Endless Sea Beyond Heaven.
Since Gu Qingfeng had once experienced a Space Tunnel collapse that sent him tumbling into the Endless Sea Beyond Heaven, he had quite the shadow over this thing.
When teleporting from Yun Jue Temple, he had been on tenterhooks the whole time. During the journey, he had even encountered a mysterious powerhouse adrift in the chaotic currents of the Endless Sea like a lone leaf on a vast ocean. Fortunately, they arrived safely and smoothly in the end, with no mishaps. Who would have thought he'd be damned well entering a Space Tunnel again now.
Moreover, this Space Tunnel looked even more unstable than the previous one. Even though Da Xing the Mad Monk claimed he had personally repaired it and the tunnel's structure was relatively intact...
Yes.
Gu Qingfeng could see that the structure of this Space Tunnel was indeed still somewhat intact, but that was just the structure. The entire Space Tunnel had long since aged like a wooden bridge weathered by wind and frost, rotten to the core. If nothing went wrong, fine. But once an accident occurred, this broken thing simply couldn't withstand it.
Gu Qingfeng had a very bad feeling, a very ominous premonition. He always felt something was about to happen, and this feeling grew stronger the farther they traveled within the Space Tunnel.
Damn it!
Please, don't let anything go wrong!
And so, the group of ten stood obediently and properly within the Space Tunnel as it transported them.
No one spoke.
Everyone was on high alert, all worried about an accident.
Suddenly.
Da Xing the Mad Monk, who was leading the way at the front, let out a soft sound of surprise. He lifted his head, sniffing around, and asked, "Do any of you smell something strange?"
Water Moon Bodhisattva nodded. Tudigong and the other Five Monsters of Heishan, Gu Qingfeng, and Mo Wentian had all also caught this strange scent.
This smell was indescribable, like the briny scent of the sea. At first, it was very faint, but as they ventured deeper into the Space Tunnel, this sea-salt smell grew increasingly strong.
Huo Toutuo had become exceptionally well-behaved ever since entering the Space Tunnel, shrinking his head and asking, "What is this smell?"
The others all shook their heads. No one could say for sure what this smell actually was.
Mo Wentian asked, "Da Xing, did you smell this scent during your previous teleportation?"
"This old monk doesn't recall any smell," Da Xing the Mad Monk said, rubbing his bald head. He then asked, "Junior Sister, what about you?"
"I've traveled to the Little Zen Secret Realm three times via Teleportation Array. There was no such smell," Water Moon Bodhisattva replied.
"That's strange," Da Xing the Mad Monk muttered, puzzled and frustrated. "Why would such a bizarre smell suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
Gu Qingfeng speculated, "Could it be that your Zen Sect Elders discovered the Teleportation Array in the Little Zen Secret Realm?"
"The Teleportation Array in the Little Zen Secret Realm is very deeply hidden. It's unlikely those Zen Sect Elders found it. Besides, if they really had discovered it, they would have destroyed it long ago. The Teleportation Array couldn't possibly still be operating normally."
After much thought, Da Xing the Mad Monk still couldn't figure out what this strange smell was. He shook his head and said, "Forget it, let's not overthink it. Let's just teleport obediently."
Before his words faded, a thunderous rumble—the Space Tunnel shook violently as if struck by a powerful impact. The originally somewhat stable structure instantly began to destabilize.
"Damn it! What's going on!" Da Xing the Mad Monk's body flashed with golden light as he immediately worked to stabilize the Space Tunnel's structure. This scene truly frightened everyone present. The others didn't dare delay either, quickly channeling their power to first stabilize the spatial structure.
"What the hell is this?"
Don't be fooled by Huo Toutuo's usual loud, blustering, and domineering demeanor outside. At this moment, he was as scared as a giant infant, his face turning green with fear. He shouted, "Should... should we go back? Second Uncle is a bit scared!"
"Go back? Do you think this is like crawling into a mountain cave? You can just turn around and leave whenever you want? Once you enter a Space Tunnel, there's no turning back!"
"Then what do we do! Are we just supposed to wait here to die? Second Uncle doesn't want to be swept into the Endless Sea Beyond Heaven again! That place is awful. I barely got out last time; I don't want to be dragged back in..."
As Huo Toutuo was speaking, another thunderous rumble—the Space Tunnel shook even more violently as if struck again. This time, the tunnel's structure not only destabilized further but even began to fracture.
"My luck really isn't that great!" Gu Qingfeng's expression was also very grim. Gritting his teeth, he exerted himself to stabilize the fracturing structure of the Space Tunnel.
No one knew what was really happening. At this moment, they couldn't afford to think too much. They could only focus all their efforts on stabilizing the Space Tunnel's structure first.
"It's no good, no good! This thing is about to collapse any second!" Huo Toutuo was so scared he was scurrying around like an ant on a hot pan.
"Second Brother! Don't move recklessly!"
"Don't move!"
"Stop your damned jumping around!"
"If you keep jumping around like a damned fool, I'll kill you!"
Tudigong grabbed Huo Toutuo and held him down. Mo Wentian and Da Xing the Mad Monk both scolded him sharply. Gu Qingfeng even threatened outright to kill Huo Toutuo.
They all knew that the greatest taboo in a Space Tunnel was chaos, especially in a situation like this. They absolutely must not panic, and even more so must not move recklessly. Reckless movement would only make the Space Tunnel's structure even more unstable. It was like walking on a rotten, fracturing wooden bridge—the only option was to stop and stand still obediently. If one started running around wildly at this point, it would only hasten the bridge's collapse.
"Everyone, don't panic! As long as we stabilize the Space Tunnel's structure, everything will be fine!"
Although Da Xing the Mad Monk said this, his heart was already panicking like a dog. His face ashen, he was using his powerful Buddhist Dharma to support the Space Tunnel's structure.
Another thunderous rumble—the Space Tunnel was struck again, shaking even more intensely, even more violently.
What to do?
Nothing to do!
In such a situation, apart from exhausting all efforts to stabilize the Space Tunnel's structure, there was nothing else they could do. They could only pray to the heavens that they teleported through as quickly as possible.
If they could run through it, Gu Qingfeng would absolutely charge forward without a second thought.
Unfortunately.
A Space Tunnel is not a running track.
This thing operates and transports based on the tracks of spatial order. If you tried to run, not only would you fail to get through, you might even run right off the orderly track itself.