"Just ask me a question to which I know the correct answer."
"Huh?"
Chen Mo couldn't help but doubt his own hearing.
He immediately asked, "You mean I'm supposed to pose a question to you? And it only counts if you know the correct answer to the question I ask?"
The Forbidden One shook his head without answering Chen Mo's question. The mouth visible beneath the semi-transparent black mist curved into a smile, and he said, "Brave Sir is rather clever, but the test has already begun. I must know the answer to any question you ask in order to respond, and I don't know the answer to *that* particular question of yours. So please, ask questions I can answer."
"So that's what you mean."
Chen Mo instantly understood. He had initially thought the task was too simple. How could the other party not know something as basic as their own name or age? So, that was the catch.
This meant that even if he asked a question to which The Forbidden One knew the correct answer, The Forbidden One would still deliberately claim not to know.
"No wonder you said this riddle has no solution. If you're intentionally set on opposing me, then anything I ask will be futile."
The Forbidden One smiled again. "This riddle is indeed too cunning and difficult. Brave Sir, it's quite normal if you cannot answer it. Why not stop wasting time and directly choose the trial of valor?"
Chen Mo contemplated for a moment. He suddenly recalled seeing similar riddles before. He closed his eyes and tried to remember.
It seemed to be a tricky question he had seen in a TV show. What was the question the protagonist asked back then?
After thinking for a while, a smile appeared on Chen Mo's face. He remembered.
He immediately turned to The Forbidden One before him and said, "Wait a moment, let me try again."
"Good. I also want to see if you, Brave Sir, can solve this difficult problem for me with your wisdom."
"Then I'll ask you a simple question first. If I write '1+1 equals what?' on a piece of paper and ask a math teacher, what would he say?"
"I don't know." The Forbidden One stuck to his usual tactic, answering in three words.
"Alright, then I'll ask you another question. I wrote three words on a piece of paper and found a scholar who could read these three words. If I asked him what these three words are, do you know what he would tell me?"
"I don't know." Again, The Forbidden One shook his head.
"Congratulations, you answered correctly!" Chen Mo laughed and patted The Forbidden One's shoulder.
"What!?" The Forbidden One looked completely baffled, not understanding what Chen Mo meant.
"I'm saying you're right. The answer to the question I just asked is 'I don't know'."
"How could this be?" The Forbidden One immediately began to recall Chen Mo's recent questions.
"Are you saying the three words you wrote on the paper were 'I don't know'?"
Muttering to himself, The Forbidden One suddenly had an epiphany.
So the riddle he had always believed to be unsolvable could actually be cracked so easily! All one had to do was trick him into uttering the very words he always used—"I don't know." There was no need to find a question that he, The Forbidden One, couldn't obstruct or find a loophole in.
"Brave Sir truly lives up to your reputation! Such great wisdom! I am deeply impressed!"
Chen Mo gave an embarrassed smile. "Enough with the praise. Please, hurry and help me disable the altar shield."
These two riddles were indeed very difficult if one didn't already know the answers. Most people encountering these riddles for the first time would be unable to solve them without a leap of unconventional thinking.
Chen Mo could solve them purely due to the knowledge he had accumulated in his past life.
Chen Mo naturally felt embarrassed to accept praise for wisdom he had merely borrowed from others. The ones who originally devised the solutions to these riddles truly deserved to be praised for their great wisdom.
With Chen Mo having solved the riddle, The Forbidden One took out a small mirror and, muttering an incantation, quickly disabled the altar shield.
He then very respectfully invited Chen Mo to step onto the altar.
In The Forbidden One's eyes, Chen Mo's wisdom at that moment seemed almost divine.
After all, in his opinion, both the earlier riddle in the God Altar Space concerning the Deified Body and this current one were exceptionally difficult. Yet Chen Mo had solved them both with such ease and in so little time; it was truly admirable.
Drawing on his previous experience, Chen Mo confidently placed his palm onto the hexagram formation pattern on the raised platform in the center of the altar.
As the hexagram formation pattern glowed, Chen Mo once again felt a surge of Energy pouring into his body.
It seems that every time I activate an altar, I gain an ability.
Chen Mo felt a strong urge to activate all the remaining altars, but considering the time it would take, it remained just a thought. After all, the ability gained from activating an altar was completely unknown. If an acquired ability wasn't useful, it would be better not to have gained it at all.
As The Heavenly Path's Hint sounded, Chen Mo immediately opened the translucent pop-up window.
[The Heavenly Path's Hint: You have successfully activated the altar. The corresponding Divine Power has been reclaimed, and the 'Thorny Body Guard' divinity of the Pseudo-God Incarnation has been eliminated!]
[The Heavenly Path's Hint: You have successfully activated the altar, causing space stability to decrease by half. The remaining time you can stay in this space is only 5 hours...]
[The Heavenly Path's Hint: You have successfully activated the altar. You have obtained the Energy feedback from the altar, and you have activated the special ability—'Permanent Invisibility.']
**Permanent Invisibility**: Unless you choose to reveal yourself, you will remain permanently invisible. Attacking, casting spells, or taking damage will not break your invisibility. (Dungeon-specific special ability; disappears upon leaving the dungeon.)
This is great! To think such an ability exists! Although I'm still vulnerable to area-of-effect damage, as long as I don't intentionally get close and rely solely on the Skeleton Monsters for damage output, the BOSS won't be able to see me at all. It won't be able to target me with area attacks, and I'll be completely safe! No wonder the simulation predicted a 0% mortality rate for me. With so many defensive abilities, plus the Shared Fate from my golden-grade Magic Wand, it's truly hard to be killed.
However, despite the zero mortality rate, Chen Mo still hoped for an ability that would boost his damage output. Chen Mo was already confident about his survivability before entering the dungeon; this just made him feel even more secure. The main concern now was still damage output. Unfortunately, this second ability was purely defensive.
Having successfully activated two critical altars according to his plan, Chen Mo checked the remaining time—a little under five hours. He then considered the remaining divinities. He decided to stick to his original plan and commence the battle as intended!
After bidding farewell to The Forbidden One in the forbidden land, Chen Mo returned to the surface. By then, only a little over four hours remained.
On the surface, the two nuns were still waiting at the cave entrance.
Chen Mo emerged in his invisible mode, and neither of them noticed him until he voluntarily revealed himself. They jumped in surprise, looking at Chen Mo who had suddenly appeared beside them.
"Brave Sir, did you succeed in activating the altar?"
"Yes. The Pseudo-God Incarnation's abilities should be considerably weakened by now. It's time to prepare to eliminate him. Do you know his current whereabouts?"