Chapter 416: Stone Chamber
Chapter 416: Stone Chamber
Li Qian scanned the area and found that the underground palace was quite spacious.
Since the archaeological team had placed some Crystal Stones for lighting in various corners, the space wasn't particularly dim.
Upon entering, the three of them naturally slowed their pace.
Some excavation and exploration work was still ongoing, with many team members busy at work.
Li Qian didn't want to disturb them. He was just there to observe and certainly didn't want to interfere with their work.
Their footsteps were light, as the underground palace, though spacious, had a smaller area compared to the surface. Li Qian wasn't in a hurry; he started examining the walls and statues from the left side.
Li Qian didn't miss any detail, making a concerted effort to remember the images of the stone carvings and the patterns of the murals in his mind.
He didn't know which information might be useful, so he had to resort to this methodical approach.
After thoroughly examining most of the stone carvings, murals, and statues in the palace, Li Qian's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of disappointment crept into his heart.
The progress on Task Three, the second evolution method for the Four-Tailed Cat, had not advanced. It remained at 75%.
This meant that his inspection had not yielded any Inspiration Points.
Although Li Qian was somewhat disappointed, he didn't lose heart. He shifted his focus to a specific spot on the north wall.
Seeing this, Bai Bingbing quickly walked over and continued her explanation, "There are three stone chambers here."
Li Qian nodded and followed her.
Without hesitation, he entered the nearest stone chamber, which was the one on the far right.
Bai Bingbing and Irina followed closely behind.
Upon entering, Li Qian found that the stone chamber wasn't very large, probably less than a hundred square meters.
The most prominent feature was a statue standing in the center.
To be precise, it was two statues, but they were connected, giving the impression of a mother and child statue.
The main figure was a Raon person.
The Raon person was about 2.2 meters tall, covered in jagged Iron Armor, looking very imposing.
Next to the armored Raon person was a white cat, roughly the size of an adult tiger.
This white cat statue was highly recognizable, with its most distinctive feature being a vertical eye on its forehead, making it look quite extraordinary.
"Each of the three stone chambers has a similar statue," Bai Bingbing continued to explain to Li Qian, "These three statues are likely the most respected figures in Falling Petals City."
Li Qian nodded, agreeing with this assessment.
Only the most respected individuals would receive such a statue.
They were likely the leaders or ancestors of the Raon people in Falling Petals City.
"Could the three cat-type companion beast statues next to the Raon person be their strongest combatants?" Li Qian speculated, based on Bai Bingbing's explanation.
Bai Bingbing nodded and then said, "Don't you find it strange?"
"Strange? What do you mean?" Li Qian was puzzled, not sure what Bai Bingbing was getting at.
Bai Bingbing pointed to the statues in the stone chamber, "Here, each statue corresponds to one person and one companion beast!"
"Indeed, that seems to be the case..." Li Qian recalled the scenes he had seen on the surface and pondered.
Bai Bingbing slowly approached the statue, her gaze fixed on it, "That's because... in the Fourth Epoch, the Raon people followed the Transcendent Path, which included Beast Mastery, but their main method of contracting was one person to one companion beast."
"After a brief pause, she continued, "Just like some of the Sole Bonding Secret Arts in our world, it can greatly enhance the growth rate of companion beasts and allow you to focus on nurturing a single companion beast."
Li Qian nodded, adding his thoughts, "But the limitations are also obvious. The combat flexibility is biased, and if countered, it could be troublesome."
As they spoke, the two of them examined the statues.
After a while, with no new findings, Li Qian shifted his gaze to the engraved murals on the walls on both sides of the stone chamber.
The murals were densely packed with intricate details.
The recorded content was also complex.
Some depicted battles between companion beasts, while others showed the Raon people fighting alongside their companion beasts. There were strange flowers, and even more incomprehensible symbols resembling tadpoles.
[Task 3: The second evolution method for the Four-Tailed Cat, +8 Inspiration Points, current task progress 83%!]
As Li Qian's gaze swept across a pattern, a prompt sounded in his mind.
"This is the Serpentine Fruit..." Li Qian focused his attention on it, frowning slightly as he seemed to discern something.
But soon, he shook his head, dismissing his previous thought, "No, it's not the Serpentine Fruit. It's just a fruit that resembles it."
"What is this? It looks like the Serpentine Fruit?" Li Qian asked, pointing at the pattern on the stone engraving.
"It only looks like the Serpentine Fruit. In fact, it's not. I remember Teacher Yang mentioning that this fruit is called the 'Emerald Spirit Eye'," Bai Bingbing recalled and said.
At the moment Bai Bingbing spoke the words "Emerald Spirit Eye," Li Qian's mind received another two Inspiration Points, and the task progress reached eighty-five percent.
This meant that the Emerald Spirit Eye was indeed one of the extraordinary materials required for evolution.
Li Qian silently noted the name without saying more and continued to scan the murals.
When Li Qian saw the densely packed little figures in the stone engravings dancing a strange dance, his heart stirred once more.
[Task 3: The second evolution method for the Four-Tailed Cat, +10 Inspiration Points, current task progress 95%!]
Suppressing his joy, Li Qian turned to Bai Bingbing, hoping to gather more information from her.
However, his attempt was in vain.
She shook her head helplessly, indicating that she didn't know either.
Li Qian decided that after leaving the underground palace, he would ask Professor Liang. It was normal for Bai Bingbing to be unaware, as she was just a freshman.
Professor Liang was different; she was the leader of this archaeological team and a renowned archaeologist in the Dongxia Federation. She should have some information.
Soon, Li Qian finished examining all the murals in the stone chamber.
The three of them hurried to the adjacent stone chamber.
This second stone chamber was also filled with dense murals.
In the center stood another statue.
However, this statue was different from the previous one. Although the figure was also a Raon person, they were not wearing iron armor but a loose robe.
The companion beast statue beside it was also different, with pointed ears and a long tail, resembling a... cat person.
(End of Chapter)
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