Chapter 44

Delivered at the third watch! Seeking all kinds of support and promotion.

Lin Qing felt around, continuing his exploration. "It can't be used! This thing burns too quickly, it's a one-time use item."

Above, Li Meilin beckoned, signaling to Little Oriole to fly over.

Although she didn't know if it would work, at this moment, only Lin Qing could save her and her daughter.

Little Oriole, formed from Yanran's soul and understanding of human nature, immediately flew to Li Meilin's shoulder.

Li Meilin whispered, "Can you find Lin Qing and bring him here?"

She knew that her daughter's Little Oriole had a special ability to accurately find a specific target within a certain range. From the peak of Brightness to the six major sects' bases, it could always find her.

This time, she could only pin her hopes on Little Oriole.

Little Oriole tilted its head, its black-bead eyes blinked, and it fluttered up.

Cold sweat seeped from Li Meilin's palms.

She didn't know how long the Hong Gang, who were suspicious of everything, could be fooled.

She stood her ground, motionless, facing off against the Hong Gang.

Lin Qing's exploration failed again.

This was clearly a dead-end cave. Once someone was thrown down from the revolving door, there was only one path to death.

He felt around and found a human leg bone. An idea struck him, and he picked it up, wrapped it with some dry moss, and rubbed it against the rock to ignite the phosphorus inside, using it as a light source.

The moment he lit it, Lin Qing's face turned pale.

Because, unfortunately, he had entered the tomb of a Brightness Sect leader this time!

This unknown 33rd generation leader had become a mummy, lying peacefully not far from Lin Qing.

Around him, various rare treasures were piled up like mountains.

But Lin Qing felt no joy at discovering such a rich find; instead, he was filled with despair.

Because the mission briefing had clearly stated:

This secret passage on Brightness Peak was actually the resting place of the successive leaders of the Brightness Sect.

And besides the unpredictable traps, there were other dangers.

What dangers?

These Brightness Sect leaders!

Would these leaders, who were martial arts masters in life, have a terrifying backlash if someone invaded their resting place?

In the game, the greater the risk, the greater the reward, and vice versa.

With so many supreme treasures here, the power lurking in the darkness was bound to be terrifying.

Lin Qing didn't want to be a tomb raider, but someone didn't think so.

The mummy of the Brightness Sect leader, who had been resting in the darkness, suddenly twitched.

Lin Qing was terrified.

He wasn't afraid of killing, but he was afraid of the dead, especially the mummies of powerful leaders.

"Damn it, wasn't this supposed to be a D+ difficulty? What the hell is a mummy of a Brightness Sect leader doing here?"

Lin Qing cursed inwardly.

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"Right! Since they are all leaders, the remains of Yang Dingtian and Lady Yang that we need to find in this ruin should also be treated the same way. Once the remains are taken and the mechanism activated, they will sink into an underground cave!"

Lin Qing suddenly understood.

This was the most dangerous and challenging part of the "Secret Passage of Brightness Peak" mission.

There were 33 generations of Brightness Sect leaders' tombs, and only one belonged to Yang Dingtian. They were all similar to this revolving door trap.

But which one was it?

This would test the adventurer's knowledge and courage!

Lin Qing mustered his courage and looked closely.

Behind the mummy of the Brightness Sect leader, there was a pattern of raging flames, forming a scene of the mummy being burned on the fire.

Lin Qing knew this was related to the Brightness Sect's creed.

"Burn my mortal body, in the holy fire, what joy in life, what sorrow in death? For the good and the evil, only the light remains, joy and sorrow, all return to dust. Pity the world, suffering is indeed much!"

In the story, after the defeat at Brightness Peak, the Brightness Sect followers, regardless of age or rank, gathered together to chant this creed, preparing to die with dignity. It was clear that the Brightness Sect, also known as the Fire Worship Sect, associated death with the holy fire.

Below this pattern, a single character "惟" (wei) was engraved.

This character piqued Lin Qing's interest.

As an archaeology student, he had developed the habit of meticulously examining details.

He knew that as a religious leader, every detail of the burial of a Brightness Sect leader had deep religious significance.

Especially when the body and the holy fire pattern formed a "holy fire burning the body" symbol.

What did this "惟" (wei) mean?

Was this generation's leader named Wei?

There were too few details to make a judgment.

Just as Lin Qing was absorbed in the details of the tomb, the mummy leader twitched again.

Lin Qing knew something was wrong.

The damned mission had indeed set a terrifying difficulty here for him!

The mummy looked like it was about to stand up.

Worse still, the blue phosphorus light in his hand, which was already dim, was about to go out.

The mummy leader let out a long groan. From its decayed throat, it sounded like a person desperately thirsty, futilely swallowing and moaning as it sat up from the stone bed.

Lin Qing was in mortal danger!

No matter how many levels of his White Eyebrow Eagle Claw Kung Fu he had reached, he couldn't possibly defeat this terrifying mummy of a Brightness Sect leader!

At that moment, he suddenly heard the chirping of a lark.

Lin Qing was overjoyed and looked up sharply.

High above, at a height of ten zhang (about 33 feet), a familiar little lark was hopping and flying out.

He couldn't believe that he was actually ten zhang deep underground at this moment!

He almost shouted out.

But the terrifying mummy of the Brightness Sect leader had already stood up.

Using the last light from the phosphorus bone, Lin Qing saw the mummy clearly.

Perhaps because this part of the mission was too difficult, the mummy's attributes were unusually visible to adventurers as a hint, to prevent overconfident adventurers from dying.

"Brightness Sect Leader (Mummy): This is a Brightness Sect leader who has been dead for an unknown amount of time. In life, he led countless heroes and roamed the world. Now, because his resting place has been invaded, his body has undergone a transformation due to the invasion of yang energy, and he is filled with resentment and hatred towards those who desecrate the Brightness Sect's holy ground and his tomb. Strength 50, Reflexes 20, Constitution 50, Intelligence 1, Charisma 1, Skill 1 [??], Skill 2 [??], Skill 3 [??]. It cannot leave this mission world."

"Due to the extreme difference in strength, it is strongly recommended to retreat."

Unfortunately, Lin Qing's phosphorus bone light went out, plunging the tomb into darkness.

But Lin Qing knew his life was in grave danger.

He could hear the mummy leader sit up, groan, and stand up. Its hollow eye sockets burned with furious phosphorus light, and its long, curled nails scratched the stone bed, making a creaking sound as it prepared to pounce.

His only hope was the cute little lark.

The place where the lark emerged seemed to have a cave entrance, a way out!

But how could he jump up ten meters of stone wall?

He suddenly remembered the climbing rope in the game!

This rope was incredibly versatile, a lifesaver.

He immediately took out the rope, tied a stone to one end, and threw it up with all his might.

Without the lark, the stone would certainly not have held.

But the lark was very smart. Seeing Lin Qing, it recognized him and obediently picked up the rope, flew to a protruding stone pillar, and skillfully tied the rope with its beak.

Lin Qing could now escape using the rope!

At that moment, he felt a bone-chilling, low growl from behind.

The leader was awake!

He immediately climbed up the rope, pulling it as he went.

But the stone wall was smooth, and his speed was not fast.

A cold wind blew in his face.

The mummy leader pounced at the base of the wall.

Its first pounce, Lin Qing jumped up, narrowly escaping.

The mummy leader, enraged, leaped up from the ground.

Lin Qing, in a panic, climbed faster.

But the mummy leader, though a mummy, still had 20 points of agility, despite the significant reduction due to its mummified state.

This leap was over two zhang (about 6.6 feet) high.

Lin Qing, caught off guard, was fiercely clawed by the mummy leader.

The long, curled, sharp nails instantly tore a large strip of flesh from Lin Qing's leg!

"You have been attacked by the mummy leader!"

"You have taken 20 points of damage."

"You have been infected with severe zombie poison."

"Severe zombie poison: Lose 10% of your health per hour. If you do not receive a C-level antidote within 24 hours, you will turn into a zombie."

"Damn it!" Lin Qing cursed, the pain piercing his heart.

He couldn't believe that even after climbing seven meters, he was still severely injured by the mummy leader.

His thigh immediately went numb and itchy, and a foul-smelling pus oozed out, dripping down.

He felt his speed and strength decrease significantly.

Fortunately, he knew that his life was on the line and couldn't stop. He forced himself to climb up the rope.

This was a narrow opening, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

The lark perched on his shoulder, chirping incessantly, its wings pointing to the distance, indicating that the owner was in danger and needed help quickly.

Lin Qing, still shaken, looked down into the tomb.

The mummy leader in the tomb was still relentlessly leaping, trying to grab the tomb raider and desecrator.

Its nails left deep marks on the hard stone wall.

Lin Qing smiled bitterly.

This was extremely dangerous, almost costing him his life.

He barely supported his poisoned body, climbed up, and limped out.

Lin Qing turned around and saw the revolving door.

It turned out that the revolving door trap was designed to transport anyone who entered it to the bottom, to become the mummy leader's prey. Unless you were an extraordinary martial artist who could defeat the mummy leader or had exceptional lightness skills to jump up the ten-zhang-high stone wall.

Of course, there were other methods.

For example, if you were a tomb raider, you could use black donkey hooves or dragon-binding ropes to deal with the mummy. Or if you were a necromancer, you could communicate with the dead.

In any case, there were many methods, but they all required extremely high skill levels.

At this moment, Lin Qing had nothing. Escaping with his life was already the greatest gain.

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