Chapter 381: Chapter 381: The Underground Palace Mechanisms

Under the impact of the light beam, the blue stone floor cracked inch by inch and slowly slid open to both sides.

A huge hidden door, so deep that its bottom could not be seen, appeared before the three of them.

Below the hidden door was a downward staircase made entirely of obsidian. It stretched all the way into the endless darkness below.

"This is the path to the underground palace."

Rainn put away the token, her beautiful face carrying a serious look.

"The core of the Supreme Miko’s treasure is sealed down there."

Cheryl carefully leaned forward and looked into the pitch-black hidden door.

All she could see was darkness, as if it could swallow everything.

Whoosh—

A cold, gloomy wind, as if it came from the Nether Abyss, suddenly rushed out from the depths of the hidden door.

The bone-chilling cold made Cheryl, who had already reached level 75, shiver despite herself.

"Hiss... It’s so cold."

Cheryl rubbed her arms and turned to look at her sister.

"Will there be danger inside the underground palace?"

"Yes. And it will be extremely deadly."

Rainn’s expression became very grave, as if she were facing a powerful enemy.

"The memory fragments of the third-generation Primordial Miko told me that this underground palace is the final defense line of the Miko clan."

"It is filled with ancient mechanisms and linked traps powerful enough to kill gods."

"Even a Venerable above level 90 could die without a grave if they made the slightest mistake!"

Hearing this, the air instantly turned cold and heavy.

But just then, a soft laugh broke the silence.

"They’re just dead things."

Aiden stepped forward with his long legs and calmly walked to the edge of the hidden door.

He slowly raised his well-defined hand.

Boom!

A dazzling golden flame, so bright it seemed able to burn everything in the world to ash, suddenly formed above his palm.

This was his unique Divine Golden Sunflame.

The terrifying heat instantly drove away the cold around them. Even the space itself twisted violently under the burning golden flame.

Aiden’s eyes were calm and indifferent as he casually threw the golden fire into the endless Abyss.

Whoosh!

The ball of golden fire fell like a meteor, dragging a long tail of flame behind it as it rolled down the obsidian stairs.

The holy and overwhelming golden light tore through the darkness that had gathered there for millions of years.

The deep, gloomy staircase was lit up as bright as day.

The light stretched far into the depths of their sight.

"I’ll take the lead."

Aiden turned his head, his deep gaze sweeping over the two sisters’ faces.

"Rainn, you have the inherited memories. Stay in the middle and handle the mechanisms."

"Cheryl, you guard the rear and watch our way back."

His tone was calm, but it carried an absolute authority that made it impossible for anyone to resist.

This was the unquestionable power that came from absolute strength. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Understood!"

"Okay."

Rainn and Cheryl did not hesitate at all. They immediately nodded in agreement.

Aiden held his Legendary Rank staff with the tip pointed down. A visible barrier of magic power rose around him as he stepped first onto the cold obsidian stairs.

Rainn followed close behind him. The white vertical mark on her forehead faintly glowed with a mysterious light.

Cheryl held her staff in a reverse grip and watched the surroundings carefully. She was the last to step into the hidden doorway.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Their footsteps echoed back and forth through the long, silent ancient passage.

Boom!

The moment Cheryl’s heel fully left the temple hall, the hidden door above them let out a deep rumble.

The extremely heavy blue stone slabs locked together and slowly closed.

The last trace of light from the outside world was completely cut off.

This ancient underground palace, filled with the unknown and hidden danger, was like a terrifying beast opening its bloody mouth and swallowing them whole.

The heavy hidden door closed completely, cutting off all life and light from the outside.

On the deep, silent obsidian stairs, only the golden flame dancing at Aiden’s fingertips drove back the darkness.

The passage was extremely long. It twisted downward like the throat of a giant beast.

They walked for the time it took an incense stick to burn.

The thick smell of death in the air grew stronger and sharper.

Just then, a ninety-degree turn appeared faintly in the darkness ahead.

Aiden suddenly stopped without warning.

He slowly raised his left hand, his long fingers making a stop gesture in the air.

A vast soul sense swept forward like an invisible storm.

"There’s a trap."

Aiden’s voice was extremely calm, but in the dead silence of the underground palace, it sounded like thunder.

Boom!

The moment he finished speaking, the seemingly unbreakable obsidian walls on both sides suddenly exploded with a loud roar.

Countless ugly cracks split open across the wall surfaces.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hundreds, even thousands, of strange black bone arrows shot out madly from the cracks like a heavy rainstorm.

The sharp sound of them cutting through the air instantly tore apart the silence in the passage.

At the tip of every bone arrow, a chilling dark green light flickered.

"It’s a deadly poison that corrodes magic power!"

Rainn’s beautiful eyes narrowed sharply. She immediately recognized the cruel substance coating the arrows.

If even a tiny bit of skin was scratched, the magic power inside the body would be corroded by the poison in an instant, turning into a lifeless pool.

But Aiden reacted even faster than the deadly bone arrows.

Buzz—!

The surface of the Nocturnal Boots suddenly burst out with a dark glow, as deep as the Abyss.

Legendary Rank equipment effect: Extreme Speed!

Aiden’s figure blurred on the spot, turning into a ghostly afterimage that could not be caught by the naked eye.

Facing the overwhelming rain of poisoned arrows, he did not retreat. Instead, he charged forward.

The Legendary Rank staff in his hand drew countless sharp afterimages through the air.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A dense series of metal strikes rang out like a violent storm.

Those poisoned arrows were strong enough to kill an ordinary Venerable in an instant.But before they could get within half a meter of Aiden, they were all shattered into powder that filled the air.

Absolute control.

Absolute calm.

At the same time, Rainn did not hesitate at all.

The white vertical mark on her smooth forehead suddenly burst out with a strange white light.

An invisible but extremely powerful force of the Primordial Miko instantly filled the entire passage.

Space twisted in a strange way.

The few arrows that had slipped through and were flying toward blind spots were forced off their original paths in midair. They slammed into the walls on both sides instead.

"Ice wall, rise!"

Cheryl shouted clearly. She gripped her staff tightly, turned around, and aimed it at the passage behind them.

Crack, crack, crack!

With a wave of freezing cold air, a thick, crystal-clear wall of ice rose from the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The bone arrows shooting out from the cracks in the rear wall all sank into the hard ice wall and could not move another inch.

At that moment, the three of them showed almost perfect teamwork.

The wild rain of arrows lasted for more than a dozen breaths.

When the final sound of an arrow cutting through the air faded, the passage fell back into dead silence.

Broken black bones covered the ground. Dark green poison hissed as it burned into the stone floor, making a sound that set their teeth on edge.

"Is... is it over?"

Cheryl peeked half her head out from behind the cracked ice wall, breathing a little hard.

"Not yet."

Aiden’s eyes were as cold as blades as he stared fixedly at the turn ahead.

The huge cracks in the walls on both sides, the ones that had fired the bone arrows, showed no sign of closing.

The next second, something changed.

Whoosh—!

A thick black mist rushed out of the cracks like a flood breaking through a dam.

The mist rolled and roared, filling the passage ahead in an instant.

This aura was exactly like the Nether Mist outside the temple, the mist that swallowed everything.

"Not good!"

The color drained from Rainn’s beautiful face. For once, there was a hint of urgency in her voice.

"This black mist can corrode the soul directly!"

Once the soul’s strength was weakened, forget understanding the Force of Laws. Even their current level could collapse.

A cold, sharp light flashed in Aiden’s eyes.

"Get close to me!"

Boom—!

He did not hesitate. The terrifying magic power inside his body erupted like a volcano.

The Divine Golden Sunflame, which had only been dancing in his palm, suddenly expanded wildly in the air.

The dazzling golden flame instantly turned into a huge upside-down golden bell, protecting the three of them tightly in the center.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

The black mist rushed at the golden shield like starving wolves that had smelled blood. But the moment it touched the golden fire, it was burned into nothing, letting out sharp, piercing shrieks.

But the black mist in the underground palace seemed endless. Wave after wave rushed at them madly.

Even the space around them twisted violently from the clash between extreme cold and extreme heat.

"Move! My flames won’t hold for long!"

Aiden shouted sharply, battle intent burning in his deep eyes.

With one hand, he held up the sky of golden flames. Like a god patrolling the Abyss, he led the two women forward without hesitation and charged straight into the deadly mist ahead.

Their target was the deep, dark corner up ahead.

Boom!

A dazzling golden pillar of fire tore through the darkness like a divine sword, forcing open a path through the thick black soul mist.

Aiden held up the massive golden shield with one hand, protecting Rainn and Cheryl as they stepped around the dark corner.

The next second, the view in front of them suddenly opened up.

The suffocating pressure from the black soul mist vanished in an instant.

Aiden clenched his fingers.

The raging Divine Golden Sunflame turned into countless bright golden sparks and flowed back into his body.

But then, the terrifying scene before them made both women behind him stop breathing for a moment.

It was a huge underground space, so large it felt oppressive.

It was the size of several football fields.

Cold ghostly flames drifted in the air, lighting up a hellish scene that sent chills down the spine.

Corpses.

Mountains of corpses.

Countless white bones and dried bodies were piled on top of each other, covering almost every inch of the black obsidian floor.

There were broken arms and legs from human Reclassers.

There were skeletons of Miko in torn robes.

There were even the huge bodies of Abyss Demons, the hard skeletons of Earth Dragons, and all kinds of fierce-looking Abyss races.