378: A low roar came from below the altar

Bi Yao's fingers fumbled on the rough stone surface of the altar, cold sweat trickling down her forehead, sticking her broken hair to her cheeks.

From a distance came the muffled sounds of Su Han wrestling with the Monster King; each impact felt like a blow to her chest.

She suppressed her inner anxiety, searching inch by inch in the shadow of the altar, her fingernails aching from scraping against the stone edges.

Suddenly, her fingertips touched an extremely fine crack, almost imperceptible in the dim light.

Tracing the crack, she found it was circular, surrounding the flame totem in the center of the altar.

Bi Yao remembered the hint on the stone slab, the legend that the ancient rune array would hide the most crucial node in the most conspicuous place.

She took a deep breath, placed her palm on the center of the flame totem, and pressed down hard.

However, the expected light did not appear.

Bi Yao's heart sank abruptly; just as she was about to adjust her posture, the altar suddenly vibrated violently.

Countless tiny runes rose from the ground, weaving into a shimmering net of light in the air, trapping her in the center.

"Su Han!"

Su Han's shout carried anxiety and worry.

He was cornered by the Monster King, having already sustained several injuries, blood staining his collar.

The Monster King seized the opportunity to lash out with sharp claws; Su Han dodged sideways but was swept by the Monster King's tail and slammed heavily against the stone wall.

Bi Yao's heart tightened seeing Su Han injured, but she noticed the rune net of light was slowly contracting.

She lowered her head to carefully observe the totem at her feet and suddenly noticed several tiny protrusions within the flame pattern.

She tried pressing them in the order of the protrusions, and the contraction speed of the net of light indeed slowed down.

Just then, a smaller Monster darted out from the shadows, lunging at Bi Yao's back.

Bi Yao heard the wind and instinctively rolled forward but accidentally hit a stone pillar at the edge of the altar.

The pain made her vision go black, almost causing her to faint.

But she gritted her teeth, climbed back up, and continued trying to decipher the totem.

Su Han propped up his body and charged towards the Monster King again.

His dagger struck sparks against the Monster King's hard shell, searching for any possible gap to exploit.

The Monster King seemed enraged, opening its massive maw and spewing a cloud of foul-smelling black mist.

Su Han held his breath, nimbly dodging within the black mist, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

Bi Yao's forehead was covered in sweat beads, her fingers constantly fumbling over the totem.

Suddenly, she noticed a certain protrusion in the flame pattern was slightly hot.

She mustered her courage and covered it with her entire palm.

In an instant, a strong light erupted from the totem, and the rune net of light shattered with a roar.

However, a greater crisis followed.

A low rumble came from beneath the altar, and the entire ground began to crack.

Eerie blue flames surged from the cracks, even more vigorous than before.

The group of Monsters seemed encouraged by the flames, their attacks becoming fiercer.

Su Han and Bi Yao exchanged glances across the flames, both with unwavering determination in their eyes.

Bi Yao shouted loudly, "The last node must be related to these flames!"

Su Han nodded, swung his knife to force back the surrounding Monsters, and charged towards the flames.

The two weaved through the flames, dodging the Monsters' attacks while searching for clues.

Bi Yao noticed several faint golden lights shimmering in the flames; she reached out to grab them but was burned by the flames.

Seeing this, Su Han took off his jacket, wrapped it around his arm, and helped her shield against the flames.

Finally, Bi Yao grabbed a golden light.

It was a golden rune embedded in the flames, its surface covered with complex patterns.

She carefully removed the rune, and the altar's vibration suddenly intensified.

The Monster King let out a roar and charged towards them recklessly.

Su Han shielded Bi Yao behind him, engaging in the final confrontation with the Monster King.

Bi Yao seized the chance to embed the golden rune into the central groove of the altar; the entire altar was instantly enveloped in dazzling light.

The eerie blue flames began to churn violently, the red light of the rune array completely disappeared, replaced by a soft white light. (End of Chapter)