Chapter 189: Entering the Tomb Chamber
Chapter 189: Entering the Tomb Chamber
Liam had cast several layers of protective spells on the Mummies and even stuck seven or eight charm papers on them. After the preparations were complete, the Mummies stepped onto the stone bridge under the watchful eyes of the two.
The moment the Mummies set foot on the stone bridge, it seemed as if a gust of wind blew through. The layer of dust covering the bridge was swept away, revealing an intricately carved crystal bridge beneath.
"Looks like just a welcome ceremony, huh?" Liam chuckled, but before he could finish his sentence, the black mist floating over the Blood Pool suddenly surged toward the Mummies on the bridge and enveloped them. After about seven or eight seconds, the black mist dissipated, and the Mummies had been reduced to scattered bones that fell into the Blood Pool.
Liam: "Well, that was a quick slap in the face."
In that instant, Liam realized that the black mist floating over the Blood Pool wasn't mist at all but a vast swarm of sesame-seed-sized insects. These insects had a natural resistance to magic and a formidable ability to gnaw. In their swarm state, they easily devoured the Mummies, who were well-prepared with magical defenses, in just a few seconds.
Next, Liam tried throwing various items from his possession onto the bridge, but nothing could withstand the insects' gnawing. However, during his experiments, Liam discovered that the insects had two states: a physical state and an ethereal spirit body state. The ethereal state was even more lethal to living objects than their physical state was to inanimate ones. (With the bribe of five Sunlight Crystals, Little Qing sacrificed an avatar to investigate this.)
Similarly, these insects had a high resistance to magic, and all magical attacks were ineffective against them. It seemed that charging through would only provide more nourishment for the Blood Pool below.
"Maybe we should just turn back and rush through the main path", Hermione suggested after seeing Liam standing there, looking troubled after his experiments.
"The problem is that the people blocking the main path are terrorists", Liam hesitated for a moment but then became more resolute as he thought about the information he had on the Blood God Cult. "If we fall into their hands, wizards often end up as experimental subjects. Compared to that, at least here we can die quickly. Besides, I think I have a way to deal with these insects."
Liam then pulled out a white cloth covered in various mysterious patterns from his Spatial Bag and laid it at the junction of the platform and the bridge. He sat cross-legged on the cloth. This cloth, made from the silk of a Giant Octo-Eyed Spider in the Forbidden Forest, had been commissioned from the Centaurs and was adorned with many valuable materials and runes. Its purpose was to serve as a temporary altar in the absence of a real one, but it could only be used three times before its magical power was exhausted.
Sitting on the cloth, Liam took out a small knife and made a cut on his hand, letting the blood pool on the floor in front of him. He then drew Krinvi's Fang and used the blood to trace runes in the air. These runes, once drawn, turned into silver and floated around Liam, slowly rotating.
"These look like Chinese characters", Hermione murmured to herself. Indeed, they were runes from Maoshan Qingcheng Daoism used to communicate with the undead.
If Northern European Life Magic was like a raging fire, adept at decisively manipulating various dead beings and deathly powers, especially effective against undead without self-awareness, then the Eastern methods of communicating with the dead were like a gentle stream, subtly and gradually seeping in, more gentle in operation and better suited for communicating with potentially self-aware undead.
"Supreme Command to All Lost Souls and Wraiths, Receive the Grace..." After Liam finished reciting the spell, he glanced at the swarm of insects above the pool and noticed that they were flying even more chaotically.
This Soothing Incantation should theoretically calm the insect swarm. He decided to investigate further. With a gesture of his left hand, he muttered, "Open the Third Eye", and then silently opened his eyes.
Everything before him turned a hazy gray. He first checked himself and Hermione, noticing that the three orange-yellow Life Flames on their bodies were burning brightly, indicating that their souls were temporarily safe.
When he turned his gaze to the Blood Pool, he was stunned. He saw countless blue Ghost Flames floating above it, each representing a human soul after death. The number of bright spots above the Blood Pool indicated that there were at least 100,000 souls here. However, unlike normal souls, these souls were frozen in place, each bound by black misty chains.
But these souls still seemed to have some instinct. Liam noticed that they had formed a magical circle around the platform where he stood, hovering silently in mid-air. They must have been drawn by the spell he had just cast to guide the souls.
The spell seemed to be working. With this thought, Liam added Righteous Power to his recitation. As he continued, the black misty chains around the Ghost Flames began to dissipate. After reciting the spell forty-nine times, the black mist finally vanished completely. The Ghost Flames slowly recovered from their frozen state, beginning to show signs of life.
However, unlike souls that had been successfully guided, further recitation of the spell had no effect. Liam sensed that these souls had something to tell him.
"They shouldn't be hostile", Liam thought to himself as he sent a mental command to the souls, hoping they would choose a few representatives to convey their message.
A few minutes later, three Ghost Flames, larger than the others, emerged from the crowd and approached Liam. They then sent him a mental message.
The information contained in this message was extensive. It took Liam several minutes to fully understand what the spirits were trying to tell him.
This pyramid was indeed a temple, but it was also the tomb of the most powerful Wizard King of the ancient local civilization. In the era when this Sorcerer King and his Wizard followers ruled the land, they could produce abundant seeds and use powerful magic to alter the course of rivers and level the land, making the wooden and stone tools of the natives as strong as metal.
With such power, the local natives quickly conquered vast territories, and a Jungle Empire was born. It was believed that everyone could live happily under the rule of the Wizards. However, they forgot that Wizards were still human and would age and eventually die.
Thus, the Sorcerer King began a frantic search for the path to immortality. One day, he left without a word and returned a year later, covered in wounds. From that point on, the Sorcerer King became incredibly tyrannical. He killed all who advised him, including his favorite concubine and most loyal ministers. He then forced everyone to build this massive pyramid in the dimension he had created.
All the souls in the Blood Pool were those of the builders who were killed for not being sufficiently compliant during the construction of the pyramid.
(End of Chapter)
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