AWB Chapter 290 The Mysterious Enigma Behind the Hidden Door
Chapter 290 The Mysterious Enigma Behind the Hidden Door
As the hidden door swung open, a musty, decaying, and chilling aura wafted out, as if emerging from the depths of endless time. Behind the door lay a narrow, deep passage, its walls shimmering with a ghostly blue light, like countless eerie eyes peering in. The passage's floor was paved with uneven stone slabs, from which a dark green, viscous liquid seeped, emitting a nauseating stench.
Huanmo took a deep breath, suppressing his unease, and stepped into the passage first. His heart pounded involuntarily. "The place behind this hidden door is even more dangerous and unpredictable than before. Every step could lead to a deadly trap. But in order to uncover the truth about the dark forces, we have no way back." He looked back at his companions, who also had solemn expressions, and gave them a resolute look.
Ling'er gripped Huanmo's arm tightly, her voice trembling slightly, "Brother Huanmo, this place is so scary. I feel like there are so many bad things around us." Huanmo gently patted Ling'er's hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. I'm here. We're all together. Nothing will happen."
Ying, blade in hand, surveyed her surroundings warily, whispering, "This passage is too quiet, unusually so. Everyone must be on high alert." Wanru pointed her longsword diagonally at the ground, its sword energy subtly shifting, ready to respond to any unexpected situation. The guardian's entire body shimmered with golden light, its powerful aura resonating slightly within the passage. Yichen and the woman in white followed in the middle of the group. Yichen intently examined every detail of the passage, while the woman in white silently maintained supportive spells, providing protection for everyone.
The group proceeded cautiously along the passage. After walking for a while, they discovered that the walls on both sides of the passage were covered with densely packed runes. These runes shimmered with a faint light, the color of which shifted from time to time, as if conveying some kind of mysterious message.
Huanmo stopped and carefully examined the runes, a sense of familiarity welling up inside her. "These runes seem to be related to what I saw in the ruins before, but they also seem more complex and profound." Yichen also came over, frowning as he studied them for a long time, before slowly saying, "These runes seem to be telling the story of an ancient ritual, related to the sealing and release of dark power. Perhaps we can find the key clues to stop the revival of dark power from within them."
Just as everyone was focused on studying the runes, suddenly, the runes' light intensified, illuminating the entire passage as if it were daytime. Then, the light began to flicker rapidly, forming streaks of light and shadow. Within these streaks, blurry images emerged: a group of people dressed in black robes surrounded a massive magic circle, chanting incantations. Endless dark power surged from the circle, the earth trembled, and the sky was shrouded in darkness…
Huanmo felt a chill run down his spine. "It seems the secret of these ruins is indeed closely related to the resurgence of dark forces. These images may be things that happened in the past, or they may be a harbinger of an impending disaster. We must hurry and prevent the tragedy from repeating itself."
Just as everyone was immersed in the images displayed by the runes, the floor of the passage suddenly began to shake violently. The stone slabs began to move slowly, some bulging upwards and others sinking downwards, forming an intricate web of traps and mechanisms.
"Watch out!" Huanmo shouted, pulling Ling'er and leaping backward. However, the trap was triggered too suddenly, and Wanru couldn't dodge in time. The stone slab beneath her feet suddenly collapsed, and she plummeted downwards. Wanru reacted extremely quickly; in the instant of falling, she plunged her longsword into the wall, temporarily stabilizing herself.
Seeing this, Ying rushed over without hesitation and threw the rope in her hand to Wanru. "Grab it!" Wanru reached out and grabbed the rope tightly. Ying and the guardian pulled together and lifted Wanru up.
Meanwhile, the mechanisms in the passage continued to change, with more stone slabs shooting out sharp spikes and black smoke billowing from the walls. Huanmo was extremely anxious. "At this rate, we'll be trapped here sooner or later. We must find the control center of the mechanisms and stop all of this."
While dodging the attacks from the traps, he quickly surveyed his surroundings. Suddenly, he noticed a crystal emitting a red glow at the end of the passage, the runes around it slightly different from those elsewhere. "Perhaps that crystal is the key!" Huanmo thought to himself, and rushed towards the crystal.
Despite the numerous obstacles posed by the traps, Huanmo struggled to approach the red crystal. He moved nimbly, weaving through sharp spikes and billowing smoke. Finally, he reached the crystal.
Huanmo stared at the crystal emitting an eerie light before him, took a deep breath, channeled his spiritual power, and struck the crystal fiercely. The crystal trembled slightly under the impact of the spiritual power, and cracks appeared on its surface. As the cracks spread, the crystal emitted a piercing shriek, and then its light gradually faded.
As the crystal light faded, the mechanisms in the passage gradually stopped functioning. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and gathered around. Huanmo wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "That was close, we almost couldn't get out."
However, before the group could even rest, a massive stone door suddenly appeared at the end of the passage. Carved on the door was a huge monster, its claws outstretched as if about to leap out. A powerful and malevolent aura emanated from the doorway, sending chills down their spines.
Huanmo stared at the stone door, her heart filled with doubt and worry. "What's behind this stone door? Why is there such a powerful evil aura?" Yichen stepped forward, carefully examining the stone door, and said, "Judging from the carvings and the aura of the stone door, something related to the core of dark power may be hidden behind it. But we don't know what consequences opening the stone door will bring."
Standing before the stone door, the group faced a dilemma. Opening the door might reveal the truth about the dark forces and find a way to stop their resurgence, but it could also unleash an even greater danger. Leaving the door open would render all their previous efforts futile, and the threat of the dark forces would remain.
Huanmo frowned, his heart filled with conflict. "If we don't open the stone gate, once the dark forces revive, the entire world will be plunged into utter destruction. But opening the stone gate might mean facing annihilation. Even so, we cannot back down."
He looked at his companions and said firmly, "I've decided to open the stone gate. Even if endless dangers lie ahead, we must uncover the secrets of the dark power and stop its resurgence. Are you all willing to join me?"
Ying smiled slightly, a cold light flashing from the blade in her hand. "Between life and death, I will naturally follow you." Wanru nodded as well, "Let's go together and face danger together." The guardian let out a deep roar, its golden light shining brightly, indicating its agreement. Although Ling'er was afraid, she still held Huanmo's hand tightly, "Wherever Brother Huanmo goes, I will go." Yichen and the woman in white exchanged a glance and nodded as well.
With the support of her companions, Huanmo took a deep breath, circulated her spiritual energy, and imprinted it onto the monster pattern on the stone door. As the spiritual energy flowed in, the pattern on the stone door began to glow, and the monster seemed to come alive, letting out a deafening roar. Then, the stone door slowly opened, and a powerful dark force rushed out.
As the stone door opened, a dense, dark power surged out like a raging tide, instantly enveloping everyone. From within the darkness came eerie roars, as if countless evil souls were struggling in agony.
Huanmo struggled to open his eyes, trying to make out his surroundings. In the depths of darkness, he vaguely saw a massive black vortex, emanating a chilling power. "Is this the source of dark power?" Huanmo was filled with shock and fear.
At this moment, the dark power was relentlessly eroding everyone's spiritual energy shields, and cracks began to appear on them. Huanmo knew in his heart that if this continued, their shields wouldn't hold for long. "Everyone, concentrate your spiritual energy and strengthen your shields! We can't let the dark power devour us!" Huanmo shouted loudly.
Upon hearing this, everyone rallied their spiritual power to try and stabilize the shield. However, the dark energy was too strong, and the shield cracked more and more. Just as the shield was about to shatter, the woman in white suddenly cast a powerful defensive spell, temporarily blocking the impact of the dark energy.
Looking at the vortex in the darkness, Huanmo felt a surge of determination. "We can't just sit here and wait to die. We must find a way to get closer to the vortex and see if we can find a way to seal the power of darkness." But as he prepared to take a step, he found an invisible force preventing him from moving forward, as if the darkness did not want them to get close to the vortex.
In this dark abyss, the group is trapped in a desperate situation. Ahead lies the powerful source of dark energy, behind them a closed stone gate, and their spiritual energy is rapidly depleting, their defenses on the verge of collapse. What secrets does that mysterious black vortex hold? Can they find a glimmer of hope in this dire predicament and prevent the resurgence of the dark forces? Everything remains uncertain…