“Are you willing to become my race’s representative? My race will bestow you with supreme brilliance, an eternal brilliance, turning you into an immortal existence.” The skeleton held the vine flag in one hand and stood above the white sand. Although it was only a skeleton, its supercilious stance left one reeling. It was as though it had millions of formidable soldiers under its command, all capable of flattening the world once the order was given.
Two white flames burned in the skeleton’s eye sockets, resembling eyes as they stared straight at Zhou Wen, who was standing between Lu Yunxian and Lu Ning.
Once the skeleton spoke, Zhou Wen felt a sense of disgust and contempt rise up from his body. It was none other than the Sigh of the King
Lu Yunxian and Lu Ning looked at Zhou Wen and the skeleton in shock. They didn’t know what was going on. Despite all their knowledge, they had no idea what a representative implied.
However, the brilliance that ignited over the skeleton resembled a god’s descent into the world. The ordinary flag burst into a blinding radiance. It was like a blinding sun.
“Young Master Wen, I once heard that the six heroes became heroes after obtaining the heritage of powerful creatures. Could it be that there are similar opportunities here?” Lu Yunxian said to Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen knew that this place was likely the same as the Holy Temple in the Holy Land. It could inherit the bloodline powers of a race, but the Sigh of the King didn’t give him a good feeling, so he didn’t plan on accepting the offer.
“What race are you from?” Zhou Wen wasn’t in a rush to refuse as he asked the skeleton.
This rare chance of seeing the anchor symbol and learning that it belonged to some race made Zhou Wen want to ask the skeleton which race the symbol belonged to.
“Your soul tells me that you’re not willing to become my race’s representative. What a pity... A pity...” As the skeleton spoke, the light on its body and flag faded.
The skeleton slowly sat back on the ground just like in the beginning. It leaned against the vine flag and lowered its head, returning to its lifeless state.
Can you not be so straightforward? Can you at least answer a few of my questions? Zhou Wen felt depressed. The answer was right in front of him, but he couldn’t crack the mystery. He had the urge to agree to the skeleton to get the answer.
Clang! Clang! Clang!Clang! Clang! Clang!
As the skeleton returned to its dead silence, the strange vehicle chugged on again. The puppet moved the crank, causing the strange vehicle to move again.
Zhou Wen and company hurriedly jumped onto the strange vehicle. They didn’t know where they were, so they had to rely on the strange vehicle to find their way.
Lu Yunxian worried that the strange vehicle would leave the ruins, but it didn’t retreat. It continued to drive deeper into the desert.
The desert wasn’t as big as they imagined. In less than half an hour, it had already driven out of the desert and entered an endless mountain range.
The underground mountains were not very tall. The highest was only a few hundred meters, its peak almost reaching the sapphire sky.
As the strange vehicle entered the mountainous region, Blood Threadworms reappeared. Moreover, there were more than had previously been seen in the tunnel. There were patches of rocks seemingly covered in black blood everywhere. In fact, they were crawling with Blood Threadworms.
When the Blood Threadworms discovered them, they crawled over but the puppet didn’t even need to play the stone musical instrument to scare them from approaching any further. They gathered on both sides of the vehicle like spectators watching a motorcade, parting a path for the strange vehicle to pass.
The terrain on the mountain became more and more complicated. The vehicle even drove into the belly of a mountain. With the changes in the strata, Zhou Wen felt that the vehicle was still moving down.
Lu Ning observed the cliffs and tidal-like Blood Threadworms and said with some hesitation, “I think I have some memory of this place. It’s like I’ve been here before. However, I didn’t pay too much attention to the situation down there since we were walking on the cliff up above, so I can’t be certain.”
Just as she said that, Lu Ning’s eyes lit up and she pointed ahead. “No mistake about it. This is it. This is the valley of the fault before entering the temple. That stone pillar is the path to the stone temple. On the other side is the stone temple.”
Zhou Wen and Lu Yunxian looked over and indeed saw a stone pillar on the cliff ahead. The stone pillar wasn’t the same as the stone walls beside it. It was grayish-white and eye-catching. Its shape was angular, making it obvious that it had been carved.
“If this strange vehicle doesn’t stop when we pass by the stone pillar, should we get off? We have to make a choice now,” Lu Yunxian said to Zhou Wen and Lu Ning.
“If we get off here, we can enter the temple directly. We can find the fault that Adjutant An fell into.” Lu Ning obviously agreed to get out of the vehicle.
Lu Yunxian looked at Zhou Wen who said after some thought, “Finding An Sheng is more important. Let’s get off here.”
Since their original target was the fault inside the temple, they could get there directly from here. There was no need for them to continue riding the vehicle.
Seeing both of them agree to alight, Lu Yunxian nodded slightly. When he reached the stone pillar, he used flames to open a path, burning the Blood Threadworms on a nearby mountain wall. Then, the three of them climbed up the pillar and soon arrived at the top.
Indeed, they saw a stone temple built against a mountain. It was like half a temple growing from the mountain wall. Zhou Wen saw an anchor sculpture at the top of the temple. The woman with the side profile was carved on the front of the anchor
However, he didn’t have the time to carefully examine the ship’s anchor sculpture because, in front of the stone temple, Lord Alcohol and about a dozen people had summoned all sorts of Companion Beasts. They appeared to be preparing for battle, staring at something beyond the temple doors.
As they didn’t move or make any noise, Zhou Wen and company hadn’t noticed them until they arrived at the top.
After Zhou Wen and company charged up the stone pillar, Lord Alcohol and company immediately looked in their direction. Instantly, the atmosphere turned tense.
Lu Ning stared at them and said coldly, “Lord Alcohol, you heartless bast*rd. You betrayed and plotted to harm Adjutant An despite all the benefits he gave you. Aren’t you being too ruthless?”
When Lu Ning said that, the expression of Lord Alcohol and company changed drastically as they gaped their mouths, as though they were saying something. However, Zhou Wen wondered if there was something wrong with his ears—he couldn’t hear anything. They kept opening and closing their mouths, and from the shapes of their mouths, it felt like they were repeating two words.
Don’t speak! Zhou Wen lip-read and connected it to the anxious looks written all over the faces of Lord Alcohol and company. He immediately had an ominous feeling as he hurriedly pulled Lu Ning to stop her from speaking
Lu Ning also realized that something was not right. She had long shut her mouth and stopped talking, but she heard a loud rumbling coming from the temple as if it was thunder.