72: The idols have been revived!

The system notification sounded in every team member's mind.

"We did it!"

Chen Hu grinned broadly, laughing like a two-hundred-pound child.

"Quick! Captain, check which chrysanthemum this thing is supposed to be plugged into... I mean, which keyhole!"

Wang Yi ignored Chen Hu's nonsense. Holding the key, he scanned the surrounding hall.

This was a magnificent central hall.

Aside from the path they came from and the three branching paths where they had split up earlier, the only thing left was the giant mural directly ahead, depicting the life of the Pharaoh King.

"Could the entrance be behind this mural?" Zhang Wei guessed, stroking his chin.

Wang Yi thought the same.

He stepped forward and searched the giant mural carefully, hoping to find a keyhole or something similar.

However, he felt over almost the entire wall, but the mural was as smooth as a single massive stone, without any cracks or recesses.

"That's strange, there's no keyhole."

Chen Hu also leaned in, knocking on the wall with his fist the size of a clay pot, producing a muffled "bang bang" sound.

"Captain, how about... I smash it open?"

"Don't do anything reckless!"

Wang Yi stopped him immediately.

Every corner of this pyramid was filled with eeriness. Who knew what kind of lethal mechanism violent destruction might trigger.

Just as everyone was at their wits' end, Academician Qin Ming's voice sounded again from the Command Center, carrying a hint of sudden realization and excitement.

"I understand! I understand! Hahaha, so that's how it is! This Pharaoh King was truly an incredibly conceited fellow!"

"Old Qin, what did you discover now?" Wang Yi asked immediately.

"The key isn't for opening a door."

Old Qin's voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"It's used to activate this pyramid! Look at the mural. After the Pharaoh King sacrificed the three Sacred Objects, what did he do?"

Everyone immediately turned their gaze to the mural.

On the mural, after the Pharaoh King gathered the three Sacred Objects, he didn't go to open any door. Instead, he walked back to the entrance of the pyramid and held the three Sacred Objects high!

"Go back?"

Wang Yi was taken aback. "Back to where we entered?"

"Exactly!"

Old Qin said with certainty.

"According to the mural's description, the Soul Altar isn't deep within the pyramid, but at its very peak! To go up, you must return to the entrance and face the final trial!"

"The final trial?"

Chen Hu scratched his head.

"Didn't we just butcher the watchdog?"

"That was just an appetizer."

Wang Yi's expression became solemn. "Let's go, we're heading back!"

No longer hesitating, the group immediately turned and ran toward the corridor known as the Corridor of Truth, which they had first used to enter this central hall.

When they re-entered the Corridor of Truth, everyone was surprised to find that the stone doors and puzzles that had previously trapped them had all disappeared.

The entire corridor was completely unobstructed.

They sprinted all the way and soon saw the familiar golden sunlight of the desert shining in from ahead.

The exit was here!

However, when they rushed out of the corridor and returned to the familiar yellow sands, everyone froze.

In front of them, there were no stairs leading to the top of the pyramid.

Instead, there were only those two hundred-meter-tall, jackal-headed gods holding spears and radiating an aura of death—the giant statues of Anubis.

They were just as they had been when the team first arrived, standing silently on either side of the pyramid entrance, as if unchanging since time immemorial.

"What's going on? Didn't Old Qin say there was a trial? Where is it?" Chen Hu looked around, seeing nothing but sand.

"Everyone, be careful!" Wang Yi sensed something was wrong.

The air was thick with an oppressive aura a hundred times stronger than when they faced The Faceless One.

It was the kind of insignificance and awe that originates from the depths of the soul, felt only when a mortal gazes upon a god.

"Captain, look at the statues' eyes!"

Zhao Zihan's voice suddenly rang out in the channel, carrying a faint, imperceptible tremble.

Everyone immediately looked up at the two giant anubis statues.

They saw that within the hollow eye sockets of those two statues, which were originally carved from cold rock...

At some unknown point, two points of eerie blue light, like ghost fires, had ignited!

That light was cold, deathly, and devoid of any emotion, staring down coldly at the people below.

"Holy crap... no way, right?"

Chen Hu swallowed hard, feeling his calves go weak.

He had an extremely bad premonition.

Rumble—

The entire desert began to shake violently!

The surfaces of those two giant statues, which had stood for thousands of years, began to develop massive cracks!

Countless fragments of rock peeled off them like a rain of stones.

"Crack... crack..."

The grating sound of rock grinding against rock came from inside the statues.

Under the horrified gaze of the twenty members of the Dragon Team, the two hundred-meter-tall giant statues actually began to move slowly!

They stiffly turned their massive jackal heads, locking their gazes—burning with eerie blue ghost fire—precisely onto Wang Yi and the others.

Then, they slowly lifted their mountain-sized feet made of rock!

Boom!

A foot landed, and the earth shook!

A giant footprint over twenty meters in diameter appeared in the sand!

The statues had come to life!

"Run! Run fast!"

Seeing the giant statues walking toward them step by step like two moving mountain ranges, someone let out a terrified scream.

The Dragon Team's entire formation fell into chaos instantly.

How could they even fight this?

You've got to be kidding!

Those were two statues over a hundred meters tall! Forget fighting; their sheer size alone was enough to make anyone feel despair! A single casual stomp could crush all twenty of them into meat paste!

"Everyone, stand your ground! Do not panic!"

At this critical moment, Wang Yi's roar sounded in everyone's ears like a thunderclap!

"Run? Where could you possibly run to?!"

"Now, immediately, form a defensive formation!"

Wang Yi's voice seemed to carry an unquestionable magic, forcibly pulling everyone back from their immense fear.

It was true; in this vast, endless desert, how could their two legs possibly outrun those two colossi?

Fleeing would only lead to certain death!

Suppressing the fear in their hearts, the team members quickly formed a circle back-to-back, pointing their weapons at the looming figures drawing closer.

"Captain... how... how are we supposed to fight this?" Chen Hu's voice was on the verge of tears.

In front of these two statues, he felt as insignificant as an ant.

Forget fighting; he couldn't even muster the courage to attack them.

It was an absolute suppression originating from the level of existence itself!

"Even if we can't win, we have to fight!" Wang Yi gritted his teeth.

He knew this was their only way to survive!