He glanced again at the quest he had received regarding Withered Bone.
【Quest】: Hunt Secret Cult Dark Hall Deacon · Withered Bone
【Introduction】: Secret cult Dark Hall Deacon “Withered Bone,” 7th-Rank early stage, controls undead-type evil arts, stationed in an abandoned mine in the border region. Multiple cleanup squads have already been attacked. Quest Objective: Penetrate deep into the mine and eliminate him.
【Difficulty】: Extremely High
【Required Authority to Accept】: Mid-Rank Apostle and above
【Rewards】: Holy Light Origin (large amount), Quest Points, Apostle Experience
Jiang Lin traveled west along the slope outside the mine in the twilight, the gravel beneath his boots making a fine rustling sound.
The evening wind blew from the direction of the main range of the Ash Mountains, carrying a cold, dry chill, a faint scent of sulfur, and the distinct bitter aroma of broken dry grass.
He walked for about one and a half shichen, and the sky had completely darkened.
Two dim satellites hung in the sky, casting their silver-gray light over the rolling hills and barren shrubs.
Based on the general location marked on the map and matching it with the terrain features he passed along the way, he found a dry river valley located at the intersection of the northern branch and the main range of the Ash Mountains.
The river valley was wide, its bottom covered in smooth cobblestones washed by water, and the rock walls on both sides were about three to four zhang high, their surfaces covered with weathered cracks and pits of varying depths.
He walked about one li upstream along the river valley and stopped in a hollowed-out area beneath a rock wall.
There was a clearing sheltered by rocks, the ground relatively flat and completely invisible from the outside.
He squatted down, took out several pre-prepared dark stones and a carving knife from his spatial ring, and began to carve the lines of the teleportation array on the ground.
This time, he worked even more carefully than he had in the watchtower at Bramble Town. The layout of the lines was more compact, with a three-ring nested structure progressing layer by layer: outer layer binding, middle layer anchoring, and inner core.
Each layer was connected by hidden guiding circuits to ensure that they would all activate in an instant when triggered.
It took him nearly two ke to completely carve the entire array.
Then, he embedded three high-purity dark magic crystals into the array cores and covered the runes with a thin layer of sand, making the ground look no different from the surrounding rocks.
After completing all of this, he stood up, stepped back a few paces to observe for a moment, and once he was sure there were no flaws, he continued walking west along the river valley.
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the river valley ahead suddenly narrowed, and the rock walls on both sides transitioned from slopes to near-vertical cliffs.
At the base of the cliff was a naturally formed crack, with dried, blackened traces remaining on the rock surfaces on both sides, gleaming with a dark hue under the moonlight.
A faint rotting odor, like decaying flesh, drifted out from deep within the crack, carried by the evening wind.
Jiang Lin stopped outside the crack and extended his Space Perception along the ground.
The inside of the crack was a narrow passage, wide enough for only one person to pass sideways. After walking for about ten-odd zhang, it gradually opened up, connecting to a much larger underground space.
The ground of that space was scattered with many stones and broken bones of various sizes, and the air was thick with a heavy, decaying scent.
Deep within that space, he captured a cold, heavy presence.
Unlike Blood Raven, which was full of restless vitality, this presence was more silent and solidified.
Like dead wood buried underground, it appeared to have no life on the surface, yet still stored a certain power within.
Withered Bone.
A 7th-Rank early stage secret cult Dark Hall Deacon who specialized in undead-type evil arts, stationed in this abandoned mine.
Having confirmed the target's location, Jiang Lin did not go any deeper.
He retreated along his original path back into the river valley, stopping at the hidden, hollowed-out area he had found, and sat cross-legged.
He needed to return to Shadow City first to stabilize his “Drake” identity before coming back to deal with Withered Bone.
Before noon the next day, Jiang Lin returned to Shadow City.
He did not go to his lodging first, but instead went straight to the church side courtyard and found the gray-robed deacon.
The deacon was sitting in the small room, flipping through a document. Seeing Jiang Lin enter, he set down the papers, his gaze lingering on him for a moment.
“Returned? How is the situation at the mine?”
“Cleared. Three demons. The leader was at the 4th-Rank early stage, and the other two were at the 3rd-Rank mid-stage. It has been confirmed that there is no one else inside.” Jiang Lin stood before the desk, his tone steady. “I also took a turn around the perimeter and found no other abnormalities.”
The deacon nodded slightly, not pressing for details.
“You handled it alone?”
“Left three low-rank cultists at the entrance, they didn't go in.”
“Mhm,” the deacon leaned back in his chair. “Well done. Independent handling of this level of threat right after breaking through to the 4th-Rank, the Lord Bishop should be pleased. Go back and rest for two days; I will notify you of any subsequent arrangements.”
Jiang Lin acknowledged and turned to walk out of the room.
As he crossed the side corridor, he felt that familiar gaze sweep over from the shadows at the end of the hallway, lingering briefly for an instant before shifting away.
The old-robed man was still there.
But the duration of his gaze was even shorter than before.
When he returned to his lodging, the Big Guy was squatting in the yard, wiping his short sword.
Seeing Jiang Lin push open the door and enter, he set down his sword, stood up, and swept his gaze over Jiang Lin.
“Smooth?”
“Smooth.” Jiang Lin sat on the stone steps next to him. “A few demons in the mine, handled them on the way.”
The Big Guy nodded, asking no further questions.
He squatted back down, picked up his short sword, and continued to wipe the blade with the blackened oilcloth.
The two spent some time in the quiet of the afternoon. The sunlight shone diagonally from above the courtyard wall, casting two parallel shadows on the blue-brick ground.
Jiang Lin returned to his room, closed the door, and sat on the edge of the bed.
He closed his eyes and circulated his magic essence for a full cycle.
The power obtained from sacrificing Blood Raven had completely integrated into his magic essence circulation after these past few days of settling, but he was still one final breath away from breaking through to the 5th-Rank mid-stage.
He needed to quiet his mind and take the final step.
He had plenty of time now; the secret cult would not arrange any new quests for him for the time being, and the old-robed man's gaze had also noticeably weakened.
He sat cross-legged in his room, running his three breathing techniques to their limits simultaneously.
Holy Light magic essence, ice soul power, and blood energy surged and intertwined within his body like three streams of water converging into one.
With every breath, a strand of magic essence was drawn from the air, flowing along his meridians and into his dantian.
The gold-red liquid magic essence in his dantian began to spin, faster and faster, its color gradually transitioning from gold-red to a deeper dark gold, as thick as molten metal.
His meridians grew slightly hot under the washing of the magic essence, widening and strengthening with every cycle.
The power absorbed from Blood Raven's body was now being completely activated.
Awakened from the depths of his meridians, it turned into a stream of pure energy that merged into the main circulation, driving the magic essence vortex in his dantian to continuously accelerate, compress, and condense.
Clenching his teeth, he compressed all the power in his body to the limit, turning it into a solid three-colored light spear that pierced toward that thin bottleneck.
The bottleneck shattered at the impact. An indescribable, massive wave of energy surged from the rupture, coursing through his body. His dantian expanded once more, his meridians grew wider, and his total magic essence leaped to a whole new level.
He opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
That turbid breath condensed in mid-air into a tiny ice crystal lotus, which spun for a moment before shattering into countless fine specks of ice crystal powder, dispersing in the afternoon sunlight.
The 5th-Rank mid-stage had been reached.
He clenched his fists, feeling the newborn power surging within his body.
It was more than twenty percent richer than at the 5th-Rank early stage, the density of the liquid magic essence was higher, and the fusion of his ice soul power and Holy Light magic essence was even more seamless.
His combat strength had once again increased significantly.
He stabilized his aura, solidifying his newly broken-through realm once more, and then stood up.
It was still early; he could return to the abandoned mine where Withered Bone was located today.
When he walked out of his room, the Big Guy was no longer in the yard.
On the blue-brick clearing, only the wiped-clean short sword remained leaning against the corner, its blade gleaming with a dull luster in the afternoon sun.
Jiang Lin stood at the courtyard gate for a moment. After confirming there was no unusual sense of being watched around him, he turned and walked back into his room, closing the door behind him.
He took out the positioning crystal corresponding to the river valley teleportation array from his spatial ring, held it in his palm to sense it, and confirmed that the node on the other end was still operating normally.
Without lingering, he directly activated the crystal.
A silver-white light spread from his palm, enveloping his entire body.
After a brief sensation of weightlessness, he was once again standing in the hollowed-out area of that dry river valley.
The lines of the teleportation array beneath his feet were covered with thin sand. He squatted down to inspect it, and after confirming there were no signs of it being tampered with, he stood up and walked along the river valley toward the crack.
The night was darker than the previous two nights.
Clouds obscured the two dim satellites, making the river valley almost pitch black.
However, Jiang Lin's Space Perception had already taken full control of the surrounding terrain. Every step he took landed in the most stable position, making no unnecessary sound.
The entrance to the crack appeared exceptionally deep and dark in the night.
The decaying scent was even stronger than before, as if something deep within the crack was continuously emitting a rotting odor.
Jiang Lin stopped outside the entrance and extended his Space Perception inward once more.
Withered Bone's aura was still there.
That cold, heavy presence still occupied the depths of the underground space, showing no noticeable change compared to two days ago.
He probably had not noticed that anyone had been here yet.
Jiang Lin withdrew his perception, turned, and walked back along the river valley for a distance, stopping at the spot where he had previously set up the altar.
He took out several dark stones from his spatial ring and began to expand the scale of the altar.
The array diagram he had set up last time only had three nested circles, which probably wouldn't be enough to deal with the 7th-Rank early stage Withered Bone; he needed to add two more layers.
Squatting on the ground, his carving knife steadily swept across the rock surface as new rings of rune lines extended outward.
The outermost layer was a larger-scale binding, the fourth layer was an enhanced spatial anchoring, and the fifth layer was a purification and binding specifically targeted at undead-type evil arts.
He connected these lines one by one with the original three layers, repeatedly confirming that the energy flow at each node was smooth.
After completing it, he checked the overall layout once more to ensure there were no breaks or misalignments before embedding several high-purity dark magic crystals into the array cores one by one.
The altar was now in place.
Jiang Lin stood up from the side of the altar, made a final check of the integrity of all the rune lines, and then turned to walk along the river valley toward the crack.
In the darkness, the entrance to the crack looked even narrower than it did during the day.
The dried, blackened traces on the rock walls on both sides completely merged into the shadows in corners where the moonlight could not reach.
The decaying odor in the air surged out along the crack, so strong it felt as though something had been slowly rotting deep inside for a very, very long time.
Jiang Lin slipped sideways into the crack.
The passage felt even narrower than when he had entered last time, his shoulders almost scraping the rock walls on both sides.
He moved forward for about ten-odd zhang, and the space ahead suddenly opened up, entering a naturally formed underground domed space.
The dome was about four to five zhang high, and the ground was scattered with a large amount of fractured bones and rusted metal fragments.
Several dark crystals embedded in the rock crevices emitted a dim red light, illuminating the entire space like twilight.
The air was cold and dry, carrying a stale scent as if no living creature had stepped inside for a very long time.
And near the inner part of the domed space, a figure was sitting on a protruding rock.
It was a person wearing a dark gray, old robe, his figure so thin he was nearly withered. His skin presented an unhealthy grayish-white color, clinging tightly to his bones like tree bark that had been drained of moisture.
His face was sunken, his cheekbones high, and his eye sockets held two turbid eyeballs that gleamed with a dark green light.
His hands rested on his knees, his fingers long and thin, with nails showing an abnormal dark black color, as if stained with some kind of toxin.
That was Withered Bone.
The moment Jiang Lin stepped into the domed space, those dark green eyeballs turned slightly, locking onto his position with precision.
“Another Temple apostle,” Withered Bone spoke, his voice dry, as if he hadn't used his vocal cords in a long time. “The last one who came to seek death has already become a part of my collection.”
Jiang Lin did not reply.
His Space Perception had already taken complete control of the entire domed space.
The scattered bones on the ground were not ordinary skeletons.
An extremely faint fluctuation of magic essence lingered on every single bone, connected by some invisible thread like a spiderweb buried underground.
Withered Bone's dark green eyes watched him.
Suddenly, he raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and pressed down toward the ground.
The bones scattered throughout the domed space trembled simultaneously.
Then, as if drawn by some force, they began to assemble, piece together, and stand up on their own.
First was the skull, springing up from the ground, hovering in mid-air to rotate half a turn before landing on top of the cervical spine.
Next came the spine, ribs, shoulder blades, arm bones, and leg bones.
Every single bone fell into its proper place on its own, making fine clicking sounds like countless gears interlocking simultaneously.
Within just a few breaths, hundreds of complete skeletons stood upon the ground of the domed space.
......
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