This ruin was more intact than any they had seen before, with several stone pillars still standing perfectly straight.
The intricate patterns carved at the top were highly similar to those on the ruins Phoebe had first teleported to.
In the center of the ground lay a circular indentation of uniform size, clearly meant for something to be slotted into.
The magic traces in Bai Xuan's vision slowly dispersed like ink, turning into blurry spots of light before dissipating completely.
He blinked, and only the gray-white ruins and the silently standing stone pillars remained before his eyes.
The surrounding air suddenly grew heavy. The potion's effects were fading; time was running out.
Bai Xuan squatted down and measured the dimensions of the indentation with his hands, a few theories forming in his mind. He spoke softly,
“This should be the place.”
He turned to look at Phoebe. She immediately stepped forward, squatted down, and gently placed her hand on the edge of the indentation.
She carefully felt the faint residual magic lingering on it, then raised her head, looked at Bai Xuan, and nodded gently.
She slowly held out her hand, palm facing up.
Understanding her intent, Bai Xuan retrieved the Silver-Wrapped Crystal Covenant Pendant from his Space Ring and gently placed it in her palm.
Phoebe took the pendant and stared down at it for a few seconds. Then, she stood up, walked to the front of the indentation, and raised the pendant to her chest.
With her other hand, she tore away the bandages on her left arm, exposing the golden pattern to the air. It began to glow faintly, as if being awakened.
The ground of the ruins began to vibrate gently, and the ancient runes on the stone pillars lit up one after another.
They shifted from a dark red to gold, eventually turning into a blinding white light that enveloped the entire ruins.
Phoebe slowly slotted the Silver-Wrapped Crystal Covenant Pendant into the indentation, the patterns on the pendant aligning perfectly with the carvings.
Golden light spilled from the crevices, washing over the entire ground like flowing water.
The golden pattern on her arm also shone to its limit, extending from her shoulder to her fingertips, making her entire arm look like a flowing river of light.
Bai Xuan instinctively took a step back, raising his hand to shield his eyes from the piercing light.
The air in the center of the ruins began to distort, the ripples growing increasingly dense.
Eventually, they converged into a spinning halo above the ruins, the runes along its edges flickering rapidly.
Phoebe turned her head, her eyes reflecting the swirling light. Her silver ponytail fluttered slightly in the rising draft.
She didn't speak, but Bai Xuan instantly understood her intent. He stepped forward quickly and tightly grasped her hand.
The intense light instantly swallowed everything.
...
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the eighth floor.
The first wave of adventurers was swarming out of the passage.
“Hurry! Faster! The undead haven't reacted yet!” A warrior clad in leather armor charged at the very front, his torch burning brightly, illuminating his excited face.
Behind him followed dozens of adventurers, including swordsmen wielding swords and archers holding bows.
There were also two mages clutching staffs, the gems at the tips still warm with residual magic.
They had fought their way down from the seventh floor, using sheer numbers to break through the undead defensive line.
Without any guardians summoning them, the scattered undead stood no chance against the crowd.
The mages chanted spells to clear out the Mist-Shadow Wraiths, the warriors held the front to pin down the Skeleton Wanderers, and the archers delivered precise finishing blows from the flanks.
Although there were quite a few casualties, the majority of those who reached the eighth floor were still alive.
“This is the eighth floor?”
A young archer stood at the entrance, looking at the sprawling gray-white ruins before him, and couldn't help but swallow hard.
“It's ruins! They're all ruins!” someone cried out, their voice trembling.
The crowd instantly grew restless.
Rumors had long circulated among adventurers that the ruins floors of dungeons were like blind boxes.
Some hid treasures, some displayed ancient weapons, and others concealed lost magic scrolls.
Some had even obtained legendary classes here.
These stories grew more and more miraculous with each telling, and now that they were seeing a vast expanse of ruins with their own eyes, no one could remain calm.
“Don't move!” a bearded veteran adventurer barked, raising his hand.
“Listen to me, you can't just touch these ruins blindly. Let the captain go first—”
Before he could finish, his voice was drowned out by the commotion of the crowd.
Some adventurers had already rushed out impatiently, heading toward the nearest ruins.
The veteran adventurer stamped his foot in anger, muttered a curse, and could only follow them helplessly.
The first group to rush into the ruins searched for a long time, only finding rubble, dry bones, and a few old clay jars.
Unwilling to give up, someone smashed a clay jar open, only to find it completely empty.
Others frantically clawed at the walls, trying to find hidden compartments, digging their fingertips into the stone crevices until they broke their nails.
Just then, a cheer echoed from the direction of a larger ruin further away.
“I found it! There's something here!”
Several people crowded together, holding a rusted iron box. After prying it open, they found an ancient gold coin and a faded gemstone inside.
Although it wasn't worth much, it was enough to make the surrounding adventurers' eyes turn red with greed.
“There's something here too!”
“I found something here as well!”
Cheers erupted one after another. Some sprinted toward the deeper ruins, while others bickered endlessly over the treasures, nearly coming to blows.
Standing on the periphery of the crowd, the veteran adventurer shook his head helplessly as he watched this near-frenzied mob with a grim expression.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently.
It felt as though the entire eighth floor was shaking violently. Rubble cascaded down from the ceiling above, kicking up clouds of dust as it crashed to the ground.
In the center of the largest ruin furthest away, a stone statue slowly rose from the ground.
It was several times taller than the guards Bai Xuan and Phoebe had encountered earlier. It was clad in heavy armor and held a massive stone sword in its hands.
【Ancient Guardian Lv.6】
【Status: Active】
【HP: 920/920】
The stone statue raised its stone sword and slashed down brutally at the adventurer closest to it.
Unable to dodge in time, the man was struck square in the shoulder. His upper body was instantly cleaved in two. Blood splattered everywhere as he let out a scream and collapsed to the ground, dead.
The surrounding people screamed and backed away in terror. Some turned and ran.
Others braced themselves and charged with their blades raised, only to be swatted away by the stone statue's sword, crashing heavily to the ground.
“There's a guardian! Get out of the way!”
“Mages! Where are the mages?”
The two mages were blocked behind the chaotic crowd. By the time they squeezed to the front, the stone statue had already hacked several people to death.
One mage immediately hurled a fireball, which exploded against the stone statue's chest. However, the statue only shuddered slightly and continued to advance steadily.
The other mage quickly chanted a spell, and an ice spike whistled through the air, nailing itself precisely into the stone statue's knee. The statue's pace finally slowed a bit.
“Aim for its joints! That's its weak point!” someone shouted at the top of their lungs.
The archers immediately drew their bows and fired, their arrows sinking precisely into the gaps of the stone statue's armor.
Although they couldn't deal fatal damage, they made its movements increasingly sluggish.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, several warriors circled behind the stone statue, swinging their swords and axes to hack viciously at its legs and waist.
Seeing this, one of the mages yelled, “Get back!” Then, both mages simultaneously unleashed their fully charged, high-tier spells.
Two beams of intense light struck the stone statue. Unable to withstand the force, it finally collapsed with a loud crash, shattering into countless stone fragments.
Yet, there was no cheering at the scene.
Several corpses lay on the ground, with two of the wounded still groaning in pain. The survivors looked at one another, their faces filled with fear and bewilderment.
“Should... should we keep exploring?” the young archer whispered to the person beside him, his voice trembling.
The person beside him didn't answer, only clutching his weapon tightly.
His gaze was fixed on the unexplored ruins in the distance, his eyes filled with a mix of greed and fear.
Standing behind the crowd, the veteran adventurer looked at the silent people before him and let out a heavy sigh.
“If you want to die, go ahead. If you want to live, follow me back to the seventh floor to report this. This floor is not something we can handle.”
The crowd remained silent; no one moved.
The veteran adventurer said no more, turning to walk back toward the seventh-floor passage alone.
Rate on N.U.
