Chapter 59

In the high stone ceiling of the grand hall, four thick black iron chains hung, extending from the four corners and converging at the center of the ceiling, where they were cast together. At the point where the chains intersected, there was a sinister metal structure that resembled the claws of some monstrous creature. These claw-like twisted metals formed a cage, firmly gripping a black crystal that appeared to be over a meter long.

As Vivian had described: half a meter to a meter in length, slender and irregular in shape, with a black texture like smoked glass, and at one end, a faint red glow could be seen.

When the three of them rushed in earlier, they had no time to pay attention to what was hanging from the ceiling. Lily did glance up, but the young werewolf girl didn't recognize it and thought it was just an ordinary decoration. Now, both she and Hao Ren knew what it was: the Demon Stone.

Hao Ren felt his data terminal vibrate, and then a flat, emotionless voice echoed in his mind: "This unit is truly saddened..." "Hehe, shut up."

"Can we be this unlucky..." Lily immediately plopped down on the ground, thinking about it for a moment, "I'm still just a little wolf pup, I haven't even had a boyfriend yet..."

"Stop fooling around," Hao Ren tapped Lily's head, "it's just a stone right now! It might not summon a demon..."

Vivian's indifferent voice came from the side, "Do you think the defenses in the crypt would suddenly activate for no reason? And why did all those armors wake up?"

Hao Ren's forehead broke out in a sweat: "Do I need to say it? It's obvious the Demon Stone is active!"

"Do you think it's time to request backup when you haven't even seen the real enemy yet? Don't you think that's embarrassing?"

Hao Ren started cursing, "So, do I have to wait until I'm about to be beaten to death to request backup?!"

"Most of us in the Temporal Administration only request backup when we're about to be beaten to death."

Hao Ren almost choked and passed out, but what happened next made him realize he couldn't faint, because the real excitement was just beginning: a low rumbling sound came from above, and then he felt the entire underground hall start to shake!

Dust and gravel rained down from the dilapidated rock ceiling, and the rumbling hadn't even stopped when the hall began to emit a series of bone-chilling sounds of rock cracking and grinding. Everything around them started to shake, and the four massive iron chains hanging from the ceiling also began to creak and sway. The black iron claws that seemed to be firmly holding the Demon Stone, under the pull of the heavy chains, actually... actually started to loosen, can you believe it?!

The moment the hall began to shake, Hao Ren had the urge to run out, at least to find a corner to hide in, but when he saw the movement of the chains on the ceiling, he forgot to run. Along with Vivian and Lily, the three of them were completely fixated on the Demon Stone hanging from the ceiling. The small stone seemed to be directly tied to each of their hearts, and every time it swayed, their hearts would twitch. Even Vivian didn't dare to fly over and catch it; they could only watch as the black iron claws holding the Demon Stone slowly loosened, and the first chain finally gave way to the accumulated wear and tear of centuries, breaking with a "clank" at the point where the four chains intersected...

The heavy chain silently traced an arc in the air, appearing in slow motion to the three of them as it crashed into a corner of the hall, producing a deafening sound: "Clang—"

The black iron claws holding the Demon Stone disintegrated under the final strain, and with the collapse of all the chains, the one-meter-long black crystal finally fell, emitting a brilliant red light the moment it touched the ground.

Hao Ren's myriad thoughts condensed into one sentence: "So, when making something so critical, why the hell did they care about Gothic aesthetics? They used it to secure the Demon Stone, why not just make a simple, sturdy iron cage? Who the hell designed those flimsy-looking black claws?!"

"Run!" Lily's fur on her ears and tail stood up the moment the Demon Stone hit the ground, and she let out a scream as she dashed towards the nearest passage. However, just as she started to run, a red halo spread out from the Demon Stone in all directions, instantly enveloping the entire hall. Hao Ren saw countless Leta runes suddenly appear on the walls, but they quickly dimmed one by one, and a series of sounds like breaking glass echoed from all sides.

The seal of the demon chamber had only lasted a few seconds before it completely failed!

After the Leta runes shattered and dissipated, Hao Ren heard that familiar sound again: "Clank, clank..."

Apart from the passage that was already completely blocked, the hall had three other exits, and now the sound of armor clashing and colliding was coming from those exits. Lily only managed to run a few meters before she had to stop abruptly: countless pairs of blood-red lights appeared from the darkness, and a far greater number of armored skeletons were shuffling into the hall from three directions!

When the runes of the demon chamber failed, these ghostly guards could enter the chamber.

Moreover, the armored skeletons that appeared this time were clearly different from the previous ones: they were wrapped in layers of faint gray mist, and the red lights in their helmet visors were brighter, indicating that the power of the Demon Stone had influenced the guards in the crypt—just as Vivian had said, these armor spirits were called sacred guardians, but they were essentially vengeful spirits driven by obsession, and the technology used to create them had a deep connection to demons. When the crypt's seal was intact, there was no problem, but now that the Demon Stone had completely broken free, these guards had instantly become another disaster.

"Those reckless demon hunters," Vivian cursed angrily, but before she could take action, an even louder rumbling sound came from above the hall!

More soil and gravel fell from the four corners of the hall, and even a large stone slab detached from the ceiling, landing directly on Lily. The young werewolf girl didn't even have time to look up when she heard the wind, and she had to lunge to the side to narrowly avoid the fatal blow—though the slab still grazed her tail, and Hao Ren heard a dog-like scream of pain.

"What's happening up there?" Hao Ren felt that the continuous rumbling was not like the normal collapse of the crypt, but more like an explosion, "It sounds like a bomb."

As soon as he said that, a cracking sound came from the center of the hall's ceiling, followed by a pile of stone slabs and dirt falling. Amidst the dust, bright moonlight appeared before their eyes: a large hole had been opened in the center of the hall.

This earth-shattering event seemed to have stunned the surrounding iron-clad guards, or perhaps the sudden moonlight had thrown them into confusion. In any case, all the hollow armors paused for a moment, and the three of them took the opportunity to look at the large hole in the center of the hall: what was this sudden opening? And it led directly to the surface?

"Can we go up this time?" Lily bared her teeth and hopped over to Hao Ren, her tail trembling. She looked up at the hole in the ceiling, her golden eyes full of curiosity.

"Wait a moment, something's off," Vivian used a gust of wind to clear the dust from her eyes, gesturing for Lily not to act rashly. At the same time, Hao Ren saw a rope suddenly drop from the large hole.

What happened next made him want to curse.

The "demon hunter" Nangong slid down the rope...

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