167: Chapter 167 Underground Temple
Time flowed swiftly by amidst the dull yet tense exploration.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
During these three days, Mo Wen had leveraged the immense advantages in 'intelligence gathering' and 'exploration efficiency' of his nascent Hundred Beasts Legion to the fullest, almost to perfection!
He was like the most skilled 'mine-clearing engineer', meticulously marking every potential danger within this area spanning hundreds of miles.
Where there were deadly spatial rifts.
Where there were terrifying law imprints.
Where lurked terrifying existences even he dared not provoke lightly.
A 'safe map', detailed to an almost insane degree, slowly took shape in his mind.
However, the ultimate goal of their journey—the soul nurturing wood that could allow Lin Qingzhi to fully recover, or the spatial passage that could let them leave this accursed place—still remained without a single trace.
It was as if this world contained nothing but death and despair.
Just as the faint sense of 'satisfaction' Mo Wen had begun to feel from his 'achievements' was about to be replaced by endless disappointment—
*Bzzz—!*
A burst of intermittent spiritual fluctuation, filled with 'confusion' and 'excitement', suddenly transmitted from the deepest part of the earth into his sea of consciousness!
That spiritual fluctuation came from the largest and most diligent 'Engineer Corps' under his command!
It came from a Cave Worm tasked with performing an 'extreme deep dive' into the earth!
Mo Wen's mind jolted violently!
Without the slightest hesitation, he focused the vast majority of his 'consciousness' onto that very Cave Worm that was frantically 'sounding the alarm' to him!
The next second, his 'perspective' switched to the perceptions of that Cave Worm!
He 'saw'!
He 'saw' that he was deep underground, a thousand meters down!
Surrounding him was pitch-black, icy, oppressive underground bedrock.
And directly 'in front of him', his ever-victorious, all-corrosive 'circular fangs' were actually blocked dead by an invisible yet indestructible 'wall'!
It wasn't rock.
Nor was it metal.
It was a kind of energy barrier, filled with profound law fluctuations, that he had never 'gnawed' on before!
And, through that layer of energy barrier invisible to the naked eye, he 'saw' that on the other side was actually a vast, empty... underground cavern!
And at the center of that cavern stood a cluster of man-made structures, brimming with an aura of antiquity and grandeur!
Though those buildings were long marked by the traces of time, their magnificent style and exquisite design still silently spoke of their past... glory!
A temple!
An underground temple, sealed away for who knows how many tens of thousands of years!
Found it!
An unprecedented surge of... wild joy rose in Mo Wen's heart!
He unhesitatingly halted all ongoing 'search missions'!
He transmitted the coordinates, filled with 'surprise', to Lin Qingzhi.
Then, he eagerly jumped onto the back of his long-waiting 'personal mount'—the Black Rock Demonic Rhinoceros!
"Let's go! Destination, the underground temple!"
"Roar—!"
The Black Rock Demonic Rhinoceros let out an excited roar, its four colossal hooves, like pillars holding up the sky, stomped heavily on the ground!
*Rumble!*
Its massive, hill-like body instantly transformed into an unstoppable 'humanoid tank', charging wildly towards those underground coordinates!
Even on Lin Qingzhi's perpetually serene and unreadable beautiful face, a trace of barely concealable... excitement finally surfaced.
Her figure moved, light as a feather, landing silently beside Mo Wen.
...
Half an hour later.
At the end of a massive underground tunnel temporarily excavated by the 'Engineer Corps', Mo Wen and Lin Qingzhi stood side by side.
Before them lay a vast, empty underground cavern emitting a faint fluorescent glow.
And at the center of the cavern, the 'underground temple', filled with an aura of antiquity and mystery, stood quietly, like a prehistoric beast slumbering since time immemorial.
A vast, desolate aura, heavy with the sediment of ages, washed over them.
"This is the place." Mo Wen's eyes sparkled with excitement.
However, Lin Qingzhi did not show any joy like he did.
Her cold phoenix eyes were locked onto the layer of invisible barrier outside the temple.
Her face was etched with unprecedented... gravity.
She slowly extended her right hand, fair as jade, and gently reached towards that seemingly empty air.
*Bzzz—!*
Just a split second before her fingertip was about to touch that invisible barrier.
A massive, visible curtain of light, composed of countless profound and complex golden runes, suddenly manifested from that very air!
A majestic and vast, terrifying pressure erupted from the light screen, enough to make even a King Rank powerhouse's heart tremble with fear!
Lin Qingzhi's fingertip, about to touch the light screen, abruptly halted!
Her face, which had always been serene and unreadable, changed dramatically in this moment!
Her cold phoenix eyes were filled with an indescribable... shock and... disbelief!
"Such... such a powerful... ancient restriction!"
"This craftsmanship..."
Her cold voice carried a tremor she herself hadn't noticed.
"...it's even comparable to some... Emperor-level formations I saw in my past life!"