Deep within Monica's wine-red pupils, the identification array was spinning at a low speed with unprecedented concentration, and her fingertips slid across the simple map marked on the task scroll.
She looked up from time to time, comparing the directions in which the twisted and strange trees around her grew, the strange mineral veins on the exposed rock formations, and the dark energy flow in the air that was almost condensed into substance.
Finally, her eyes locked on the front.
"This is it." Her voice was particularly clear in the dead silence, with a hint of tension and solemnity.
The entrance to a valley was completely blocked by huge dark purple vines twisted like dragons and hideous trees.
The vines are as thick as giant pythons, covered with slippery dark green moss. They are entangled with each other, forming a natural barrier full of malice.
The valley entrance was filled with a thick gray-white mist, which could not be completely penetrated even by the strongest sunlight at noon.
The light was distorted and scattered, making the valley hazy and eerie.
The cold damp air, accompanied by a strong sense of corrosive dark energy, rushed towards them, causing goose bumps to appear on their exposed skin.
Cut through the vines, part the bushes, and enter the valley.
Two huge gargoyle statues stand silently on both sides of the valley entrance like forgotten sentinels.
Time and moisture have eroded them beyond recognition, leaving only vague outlines of their originally hideous faces, covered with deep cracks and thick moss.
Their twisted postures seemed to be roaring silently, or struggling desperately.
The base of the statue is engraved with ancient characters of the Lumi Kingdom that have long since become blurred.
Monica leaned in for a closer look, her fingertips brushing against the cold stone carvings, her brow furrowed.
"Warning... Trespassers... Cursed... Souls forever imprisoned..."
There was a hint of chill in Monica's voice as she interpreted it.
A corridor covered with slippery moss and broken black stone slabs, like the rotten throat of a giant beast, extended downward from between the two gargoyles and disappeared into the depths of the gray-white fog.
The air here became bitingly cold, and the erosion of the invisible dark energy became increasingly clear, as if countless cold fingertips were touching the soul.
Xiao Mu in Anna's arms twisted uneasily, and the three colors of light, colorful black light, holy light, and gray-blue undead magic, which originally flowed freely on his body.
At this moment, it became slightly disordered and fluctuated like disturbed water waves, making an extremely subtle "muwu" sound.
Mark took a deep breath, and the cold air mixed with the smell of decay and moss filled his lungs.
He held the cross necklace tightly in his palm. Under the warm touch, the perception of the [Soul Harmonizer] was like an invisible spider web that instantly spread out and cautiously explored the fog ahead.
He was the first to step onto the slippery corridor.
The soles of the boots stepped on the thick humus that had been deposited for who knows how many years and the tiny broken bones that had long been calcified. It made a silent feeling as if stepping on a wet sponge, which added to the weirdness.
The team followed closely behind, entering one after another.
The light was suddenly swallowed up, as if falling directly from dusk into deep night.
The only sources of light were the dark green viscous liquid emitting a faint phosphorescent glow that occasionally seeped out from the stone walls on both sides, and the ghostly blue light spots that floated like will-o'-the-wisp in the depths of the corridor.
Monica whispered a reminder:
"These phosphorescent lights are the negative energy residue left after low-level vengeful spirits have completely dissipated. They have no consciousness, but excessive exposure will corrode the mind. The slime on the wall is slightly corrosive, so be careful."
The corridor did not go straight down, but meandered in the darkness, as if leading to the intestines of hell.
The stone walls on either side were wet and covered with slippery moss and dark lichens.
It is filled with murals that have long been blurred by time and twisted runes of unknown meaning. Only some fragments depicting ancient sacrifices, wars and some iron armor can be vaguely recognized.
A rustling sound that made your scalp tingle came from the cracks in the rocks.
With the help of the light from the holy light shield that had been condensed, Mark could see some huge corpse worms that had mutated due to the long-term erosion of the dense negative energy of the tomb. Their fat and pale bodies were wriggling in the cracks of the rocks.
There are also palm-sized skeleton spiders with ominous gray-white bones, crawling quickly on the slippery walls using their slender bony limbs, and a faint green light occasionally flashes in their empty eye sockets.
Enzo gripped his rune forging hammer tightly, his short and strong body leaning forward slightly, his mithril breastplate reflecting a cold and hard luster under the faint blue phosphorescence.
The mysterious runes on the hammer head seemed to sense the dark magic hidden in the environment at this moment.
It was emitting a faint black light that attracted the dark magic and became an anchor point for attracting the dark aura in this dead silence.
Anna already had a longbow in her hand, and an armor-piercing arrow wrapped in light green natural magic was silently placed on the string. Her emerald green eyes were as sharp as a knife in the dim light, capturing any movement.
Monica was in the relatively central position of the team. Deep in her burgundy pupils, the identification array was running rapidly.
Scanning the road ahead for energy traps, hidden biological fluctuations, and any possible traps in the environment.
In the royal mausoleum, dark or undead creatures that may appear at any time may not necessarily threaten Mark's team.
However, the mechanisms and traps built into the mausoleum itself may not be something that Mark's team can handle.
After walking in dead silence for about an incense stick of time, the feeling of oppression almost solidified.
The cobblestone road beneath everyone's feet seemed to have become smoother, but it was still slippery and covered with broken bones.
Just as Enzo's rune forging hammer accidentally brushed against a nearby stone slab with a distorted eye pattern engraved on it that Monica hadn't noticed—
“Click!”
An extremely slight sound of a mechanism was heard, but it was enough to detonate thunder in the dead silence!
Buzz——!
The ground of the entire corridor shook violently!
An icy, invisible energy wave instantly spread out like ripples.
The phosphorescence seeping from the stone walls on both sides suddenly became brighter, and the blue light spots danced wildly.
"Alert!" Monica's voice was cold and urgent. "The ancient guard circle of the mausoleum has been triggered! Underground!"
Before he could finish his words, the ground in front and on both sides, which was covered with moss and broken bones, suddenly arched upwards and cracked!
Dozens of skeleton warriors wearing tattered and rusty bronze armor broke out of the ground as if they were pulled out from the depths of the grave by an invisible hand!
Their bodies were not ordinary white bones, but an ominous gray-black color drenched in filth, as if their bone marrow had been completely corroded by darkness and undead energy.
In the skeleton warrior's empty eye sockets, two balls of dark green soul fire burned and jumped violently, emitting pure malice and hatred for the living.
In their hands were rotten bronze swords and spears with chipped edges, or rusted battle axes that were only half broken.
The movements were stiff and slow, and the joints made a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound when they turned, as if they would fall apart in the next second.
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