After glancing at the three Destiny Rings in front, Xia De surveyed his surroundings.
The lift platform had descended into the middle of a mine shaft, which looked like a long-abandoned tunnel stretching endlessly in both directions.
The ground was littered with bones, stones, pickaxes, glass shards, and all sorts of other debris. At regular intervals, thick wooden pillars in the center of the mine shaft supported the ceiling to prevent a complete collapse.
The temperature and eeriness in the mine were even more terrifying than the abandoned village above ground. The specters wandering around were almost visible to the naked eye of an ordinary person. However, the evil spirits attracted by the fighting of The Society of Truth's Ring術士 still wouldn't attack Xia De and the Black Dress Girl; they would even actively circle around them.
Those evil spirits weren't merely spiritual entities; when The Society of Truth's Ring術士 eliminated them, the fragments of their souls would surprisingly drop remnants of bones and flesh.
Because the black mist in the mine was even denser, Xia De also tried inhaling a tiny bit of the black mist, which had been extremely thinned by Red Butterfly's filtration. He then realized that this black mist possessed the functions of undead curses, flesh mutation, and soul distortion.
This mountain village did not originate from Sicar Mountain itself, nor was it a village from the Central Continent of the fifth epoch. Yet, in this era, it was incredibly suited to the current disaster in Mi Fort City. If the relic went out of control and the evil spirits entrenched in this abandoned village escaped, the Church's sealing ritual would likely be postponed for a long time.
"Professor, are these disgusting things really worth studying? We still have samples from the fifth epoch's undead calamity; aren't those samples much more valuable than this rotten flesh?"
The young apprentice carried the middle-aged woman, the High-Ring Sorcerer was at the very front, and the Middle-Ring Sorcerer collected the flesh remnants left after the distorted evil spirits disappeared.
"The fifth epoch's undead calamity?"
Xia De heard a new term again.
"Everything develops forward; if one is always immersed in the glory of past eras, then what truth is there to seek?"
If this group of people could be a little more normal in their pursuit of truth, they might truly bring progress to human civilization.
The Society of Truth's Ring術士 were at the front, holding a tattered map that looked like it was found in the village, constantly delving deeper into the mine. They must have thoroughly explored the village and solved most of its mysteries.
Xia De and the Black Dress Girl followed behind, protected by the Red Butterfly. Of course, the two of them weren't just walking; the latter told Xia De other stories about this mountain village, but she refused to say what was beneath the gold mine, which was the source of the black mist.
It wasn't that she didn't know, but that she couldn't tell Xia De.
And the Black Dress Girl also admitted that her desire to enter this village wasn't solely for her academic report. It was also because she needed a sacrifice deep within the mine to summon back a loved one she had been waiting for a long time.
The underground mine area was much larger than the surface, and it was even excavated like a labyrinth. Time Perception had already detected abnormalities in the flow of time, leading to a noticeable difference between subjective time and the normal time of the material world.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Sicar Mountain time, the group finally reached the deepest part of this gold mine. At the end of the mine shaft was a bottomless, irregular hole leading underground, from which the thick black mist was emerging.
The three members of The Society of Truth were already exhausted at this point. The specters near this cave were all the souls of children who had been sacrificed. Due to excessive contamination by the power of these black mists, even if he faced just one of these evil spirits, Xia De couldn't guarantee that he would gain the upper hand.
"This is it."
The "Professor" lowered his voice at the end of the dim mine shaft. He was panting heavily, and the collar of his originally neat black formal jacket was already torn open:
"This is the core of the relic. After it goes out of control, we'll use the Gap to return to the city. This trip was really not easy; next time, please don't give us such a task again."
Saying that, he forcefully threw the skull lantern in his hand towards the bottomless hole in front of him, and the abyss itself seemed to respond to his action, with even denser black mist surging out, followed by a slight Vibration of the ground.
But unfortunately, the skull lantern that could dispel the black mist did not fall into the abyss. Red Butterfly flew over, its wings scattering specks of red light downwards. The Red Butterfly enveloped the pale skull lantern and carried it away from above the abyss hole.
After passing over the heads of The Society of Truth's group, the Red Butterfly came to Xia De and the Black Dress Girl.
"Who are you?"
Only then did the three notice with surprise that two people were following behind them.
Xia De glanced at the girl beside him and, seeing that she had no intention of speaking, explained:
"Well, we came to this village to do some folklore research and unexpectedly ran into you."
More and more Red Butterfly fluttered around the two, illuminating the gold mine shaft in a fiery red. Xia De, protected by the Red Butterfly, only felt that this scene was incredibly beautiful, while the three members of The Society of Truth perceived a danger to their lives.
"Red Butterfly's whisper, this is..."
High-Ring Sorcerer Mr. Johnson's eyes widened slightly, and he took a step back:
"Run!"
A sudden thick fog enveloped them, but the white mist failed to allow them to enter the Gap.
"Space Stabilization Aura!"
Having been escaped from once by the Middle-Ring Sorcerer using this trick, Xia De learned his lesson this time:
"The woman you knocked out, is she one of the four nails resurrected from the Gap?"
He questioned, and seeing that the three merely looked at him nervously without answering, he turned to the Black Dress Girl beside him and said:
"I might not be able to defeat them."
"Sir, you should have some confidence in yourself."
The cloth wrapped around the Night Watchman was removed. On the silver sword blade, the bright yellow Ling Rune "Clear Heart, Sword Slashes Demons" glowed. Dozens of Red Butterfly flew from behind and attached themselves to the sword blade, adding a touch of crimson to this longsword that fought against evil.
Xia De felt power.
Gripping the sword with both hands, he stepped forward, swinging the sword forward. A red sword mark was forcefully cleaved out, leaving deep imprints on the top and bottom of the mine shaft as it shot out.
"Get out of the way!"
Professor Johnson suddenly pushed his two companions, while he himself stepped forward. Unless they jumped into the bottomless abyss behind them, there was no place to hide in the narrow passage. He crouched slightly, and behind him, the Miracle Ling Rune "Iron Wall" and "Shield," the blasphemy Ling Rune "Solid," and the Enlightenment Ling Rune "Castle" all flashed with spiritual light simultaneously.
A tall tower shield, like a door panel, appeared in his hand. After he forcefully slammed it onto the ground, the crimson sword mark cleaved out by Xia De had already arrived before him.
Xia De didn't even see the whole process; the Miracle cast by the High-Ring Sorcerer completely collapsed. In the scattered spiritual light, Professor Johnson's skin turned a brass metallic color, and the core Ling Rune "Iron Man" on his back was casting an unknown Miracle. His flesh body collided with the sword mark, directly knocking him to the ground.
Crack~
A clear cracking sound came from the Destiny Ring; the core Ling Rune "Iron Man" actually developed cracks. When this High-Ring Sorcerer got up again, his skin had returned to its original color, but his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears were all bleeding.
"So strong?"
Xia De looked at the sword in his hand in surprise.
"How despicable, to actually use the power of a relic!"
The panting Professor Johnson said, and Xia De immediately frowned:
"Didn't you use the power of a relic? Besides, there are three of you, and two of us..."
"Are you two really 'people'?"
He cursed in carson rick regardless of his image, reaching out and pulling his two companions, who he had protected behind him:
"Even if I die, I won't let a despicable person like you live. Watch my Sublimation Words..."
Xia De swung his sword forward again, and as the crimson sword mark cleaved out, he wanted to rush forward, but the Black Dress Girl behind him suddenly pulled him back:
"Be careful!"
There were no Sublimation Words. Professor Johnson took out a dark, pointed-top seal from his Arms and quickly pressed it onto his two companions. As their eyes widened in surprise, the relic had already taken effect:
"Human Bomb!"
With a loud bang, the shockwave of the explosion almost knocked Xia De to the ground. The explosion in such a confined space caused countless dust and pebbles to fall from the ceiling with a rustling sound, and it made Xia De almost believe that he was about to be buried here.
This was not a simple explosion, but rather, through an unknown relic, the complete shattering of the flesh and souls of two Ring術士, even more brutal than a corpse explosion spell. Even with the Red Butterfly protecting him in front, Xia De still perceived the powerful might of this "bomb."
Fortunately, this was inside the relic, and the terrain was not so easily changed. After the smoke and dust from the explosion dissipated, the Red Butterfly illuminated the surroundings, and the figures of all three members of The Society of Truth had disappeared. Two of them were blown to pieces, leaving no ashes behind, while the High-Ring Sorcerer "Professor Johnson" escaped alone.
"He called us despicable, but isn't he even more despicable? sage-level relic 'Demon Bomb Seal,' I didn't expect it to be in The Society of Truth's hands."
The Black Dress Girl explained softly, then frowned and looked at the intact woman lying on the ground. She was at the center of the explosion but was completely unharmed.
"If he ran, he ran. I don't believe he'd be perfectly fine being at the center of the explosion himself."
Xia De brushed the dirt from his hair, then also looked at the intact middle-aged village woman:
"The Ancient One said that only death can fight against death. The nails resurrected from the Gap must be sent back with the power of death."
He summoned the Great Sin Chains, wrapping the unconscious woman like a mummy and carrying her on his back. As for the god's gift box, he could only carry it in his hand.
"Sir, the bothersome people are finally gone."
Seeing Xia De finish these tasks, the Black Dress Girl smiled and then pointed to the abyss in front of them:
"Let's continue our story."
The Red Butterfly Twins, who discovered the village's sacrificial tradition, like us, came all the way to the deepest part beneath the mountain village. But even they could not completely solve the problem here, and thus could only seal the village. No existence could leave from here, even living people who accidentally entered. So, the woman you are carrying should also have died from accidentally entering here, and then been resurrected by the Gap."
"So how do we leave?"
"It's simple. This is the source of all calamity, but it is also the only way to leave. Sir, do you have the courage to jump down with me?"
She stood beside the bottomless hole, turned around, and extended her right hand to Xia De, surrounded by the Red Butterfly.
PS: Thanks to reader @Meteor Night for becoming the 16th Alliance Leader of this book. Extra update of 4K, only 3K here because it's hard to break the chapter, so the other K will be tomorrow. Tomorrow morning will be a 4K chapter, very important plot, please do not skip it.
