Time passed silently. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Lan Yuan’s forehead, sliding down his pale cheeks and dripping onto the stone door with a very faint sound.

His fingers trembled slightly. Each output of spiritual energy required extreme focus and precision. The slightest mistake would lead to failure or even trigger a restriction, attracting enemies.

His mind was filled with only the patterns of the runes and the flow of spiritual energy. He was completely isolated from everything outside the world, and he had only one thought in his mind: to break the restriction as soon as possible and rescue Lan Xi.

Shenliu stood behind him, not daring to relax in the slightest. His eyes vigilantly scanned both ends of the passage, and his ears were pressed tightly against the wall, listening to the sounds outside.

The passage was eerily quiet, with only the faint sound of Lan Yuan’s spiritual energy flowing through his palm and his heavy breathing.

Shen Liu could sense that Lan Yuan’s spiritual power was being rapidly depleted, and his face was growing paler and paler. He was increasingly anxious, but dared not disturb him and could only pray for him silently.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the last rune on the surface of the stone gate flickered for a moment, and then went completely dark like a lamp that had been extinguished.