381: Altar Edge

Su Han's fingertips went numb from an electric current the moment they touched the barrier. He looked at Bi Yao, trapped in the light screen.

Bi Yao's figure flickered in the dark blue light. Her palm was pressed against the barrier, and the patterns of the runes were winding along her skin, like some strange parasitic vines.

"Don't touch!"

Bi Yao suddenly looked up, her voice distorted by the barrier. "These runes are absorbing my Spirit Energy!"

Her hair moved without wind, the tips gradually turning frosty white. Her originally smooth cheeks showed faint purple web-like patterns, like a spiderweb.

At that moment, the roar of the Monster King came from afar. This time, the sound held a hint of anxiety, mixed with the harsh scraping of claws against the rock wall, creating a teeth-grinding echo in the cave.

Su Han clenched his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm. The metallic taste of blood spread in his mouth.

He suddenly noticed the crystal fragments scattered around the altar. Under the faint light, the crystals glowed with a strange reddish-gold, forming a stark contrast with the barrier's dark blue.

"Bi Yao! Try using crushed stones to disrupt the rune frequency!"

Su Han picked up a piece of crystal and threw it forcefully at the barrier.

The crystal burst into dazzling sparks the moment it touched the light screen. Bi Yao's body trembled violently, and the runes on the barrier twisted wildly, yet showed no signs of breaking.

Instead, more purple patterns spread along her arm, converging at her collarbone into a snake-like totem.

Bi Yao felt her consciousness gradually blurring, and countless images exploded in her mind:

The snake-like patterns behind the bronze door came alive and wrapped around her neck. The runes in the pile of white bones turned into black mist and drilled into her nasal cavity. And in the hollow eye sockets of that skeleton warrior, the eerie green light became a pair of familiar eyes...

She forced herself to bite the tip of her tongue. The taste of blood brought a moment of clarity, and she suddenly remembered the relief carvings on the stone coffin.

The tip of the sword held by the warrior seemed to be pointing in a certain direction.

"Look at the edge of the altar!"

Bi Yao struggled to lift her arm, pointing to a circle of grooves just outside the light screen.

"Those gaps... they're the same shape as the sword marks on the stone coffin!"

Su Han immediately bent down to check. Indeed, he found that the curve of the grooves perfectly matched the trajectory of the skeleton warrior's sword move.

He tore off a piece of his collar to wrap around his hand and began searching the cave for suitable stones.

The roars of the Monster King grew closer. The ground began to shake, and water droplets from the stalactites fell like heavy rain.

Su Han's back was already soaked with cold sweat. His fingers fumbled on the cold stone wall, finally touching a sharp-edged piece of gravel.

The moment he embedded the stone in the groove, the barrier let out a crisp sound like shattering glass. Bi Yao stumbled out of the light screen, and Su Han quickly reached out to support her.

"Quick, go!"

Bi Yao's voice was weak but firm. She pointed to the compass; its needle was now steadily pointing towards a crack deep within the cave.

The light coming from the crack was no longer dark blue, but a warm amber color, subtly echoing the reddish-gold crystals they had encountered before.

As they took just two steps, a huge boom came from behind. The Monster King's giant claw finally broke through the rock wall, and sticky saliva dripped onto the ground, corroding wisps of white smoke.

The crack was narrower than expected. Su Han led the way, using his dagger to cut away the hanging stalactites.

Bi Yao followed closely. The rusty sword in her arms suddenly grew hot, and the rust on the blade began to peel off, revealing the blade beneath with dark gold patterns flowing on it.

The moment they squeezed through the crack, their vision suddenly opened up.

In a huge circular space, twelve stone pillars stood in a circle, each carved with different runes.

In the center, a mechanical device made of countless gears was suspended. The clicking sound of the gears meshing gradually overlapped with the sound of a heartbeat.

The roar of the Monster King made their eardrums ache. Su Han turned and shielded Bi Yao behind him, but found that the Monsters did not immediately attack.