Wai gulped nervously. Even though he was a little scared himself, he still said, "Khael, don't scare yourself."
Kael didn't say anything either. He was afraid that he might jinx it.
He was only an apprentice, and his senses were not as strong as wizards. Still, he could get "surprises" from time to time. To put it bluntly, the good didn't come true, but the bad did.
Kael prayed in his mind. He was just talking nonsense. Please don't let it happen. Please don't …
"Wai didn't mean what he said, but at least he's right," said Angor. He couldn't help but speak up when he saw the two trembling apprentices hugging each other. "If there really is a normal tunnel like the dog hole, it'll be easier for us to find it. Don't underestimate a wizard's abilities. "
Angor wasn't trying to comfort them. He was telling the truth.
Don't be fooled by the fact that they didn't seem to have any wariness and walked straight ahead without fear. However, both Angor and Black Earl were using their own methods to observe their surroundings.
For example, Black Earl's sense of smell. He also kept an eye on the runes on the walls and the floor.
If the dog hole was really big enough to look like a real one, then it must have a corresponding pattern. He could use the patterns to determine the situation, which was much easier than using the dog holes.
"Speaking of which, I'm really looking forward to seeing a dog hole like that. It'll help us find out if it's a man-made trap, or … some kind of living creature?"
If a piece of wood could become a spirit, then a rock on the wall should be the most basic thing to do. Of course, it was possible to think of it this way. Objects that gave birth to spirits needed the right time, place, and people. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so few spirits in the wizarding world.
The other apprentices didn't agree with Angor's words. After all, who would want to run into unknown dangers during an adventure?
Still, he really wanted to find a large "dog hole". Solving the problem was not the most important thing. He wanted to know how the "dog hole" found them.
One had to know that this was not the first time.
Most people thought that Angor was an alchemist, but Angor's priority was illusions, and alchemy was secondary.
As a matter of fact, he did. As long as he added nightmare energy to his illusions, even Sunders would not be able to see through them easily. This meant that Angor's mastery of illusions was far beyond his level. Even if he encountered a truth-level opponent, it wouldn't be difficult to temporarily control them with illusions.
But this time, he failed several times in his illusions, which he believed to be his best skill.
The first time he saw a dog hole, he did not pay much attention to it because he did not know how it worked.
Later on, he heard from the Black Earl that the dog hole would open when it met someone, but it would close when no one was around. At that time, although he didn't show it, he remembered it in his heart.
Later, when they were about to enter the sewers, he added several more layers of Purification Field to enhance the illusion's concealment. It was just a precaution. He did not expect to run into a dog hole again.
However, this time, under the enhanced illusion, the dog hole still discovered them in the illusion.
He really wanted to know how the dog hole sensed them. The answer to this question might help him further his understanding of nightmare illusions. Even if it didn't work, he could at least use it to make up for his shortcomings.
No matter what the answer was, it would improve Angor's foundation.
If he wasn't the leader of this expedition, Angor would have already gone to investigate the dog hole. But he was not in a hurry. As long as the underground maze was still there, he was sure that he would run into more dog holes.
Even if he couldn't find one in the real world, there was still the Nightmare Realm.
…
Angor suppressed his restless thoughts and took a deep breath to regain his "reliable leader" persona.
"Let's not worry about that dog hole for now. We're not here for it anyway."
"Let's keep moving. If we're on the right track, we shouldn't be too far away from the Stairs of Hanging Prison." "After all, Day said that the wood spirit is a bit of a coward. It won't go too far if it really came here."
The monsters in the sewers were much more dangerous than the Witch's Eyes above.
Even if the wood spirit could pretend to be dead for several years without being discovered by the monsters, Angor believed that it would not stay in the sewers for too long.
This place was filled with darkness, filth, filth, and an unbearable stench. Even an energy lifeform like a speed spirit had to go back to the purification field, let alone a wood spirit that was born with a "purifying aura".
"That makes sense. But first, we're on the right track," Dorcas mumbled.
Angor ignored Dorcas. They would know if they were on the right track after walking for a while. If there were traces of monsters nearby, they could be sure that they were on the wrong track. And vice versa.
They resumed their journey.
But this time, the atmosphere was much quieter.
It wasn't until Angor projected a familiar image on the screen that the tense atmosphere finally cleared up.
The pattern was a bit broken, and its color had almost faded away. However, they could still see the general outline of the pattern.
It was a black hollow circle that was evenly divided into two halves by a diagonal line. In each of the halves, there was a silhouette of a person.
Their faces could not be seen clearly, but they knew that the one on the left was a man wearing a hat, while the one on the right was a long-haired woman.
If this was the first time they saw this pattern, they would definitely be confused. However, not long ago, they had seen the exact same pattern. Furthermore, that pattern was complete and clear.
"This is … the pattern of the Mirror Demon?" Dorcas frowned. "Where did you find it?"
Angor first pointed in a direction. However, since it was dark and filthy outside, no one tried to use their spirit feelers. In the end, Angor used the illusion screen to clearly simulate the place where he found the pattern.
The first thing they saw was a broken and mottled wall, which was normal in the sewers. Most walls were corroded by the dark and filthy air. In the middle of the wall, there was a protruding platform. On top of the platform, there was a thin corpse that resembled dried wax. The dried skin of the corpse was engraved with the Mirror Demon God's pattern.
"Is this a wax seal?" Earl Black wondered.
Angor nodded. "Yes. The wax used to seal this corpse after death is of a very high grade. Judging from the patterns on his body, this wax corpse might be one of the Fiendcelestial Cult's disciples.
Dorcas said in surprise, "If that's really the case, then this wax corpse is close to ten thousand years old?"
"The wax is of a very high grade, so I can't rule out the possibility of it being sealed for ten thousand years. But I can't say for sure since I haven't touched the wax corpse yet. "
He paused and asked, "Do you want to check it out?"
"Is … is it dangerous?" Ray hesitated.
Angor shook his head. "I don't know. But according to Elmi's message, we didn't sense anything alive. But the location of the wax corpse is really strange. The platform in the middle of the wall … looks like it's there for this wax corpse. "
Because of this, Angor didn't take them there directly. Instead, he used the illusion to simulate the place and listen to everyone's opinions.
"If there's something strange, then … let's not go, shall we? We already saw the corpse and know that it's a follower of the Mirror Demon. That's enough. "Ray was a little scared.
Angor didn't express his opinion right away. Instead, he looked at the others. To be exact, he was looking at Dorcas and Earl Black.
Dorcas didn't say anything, which was rare. Instead, it was Earl Black who spoke up after a moment of silence. "Let's go check it out. My intuition didn't change. At least there's nothing here that can threaten us."
With that, Earl Black tapped Angor's shoulder with the stone slab, as if urging Angor to hurry up.
But Angor knew that Earl Black wasn't just urging him to go. He was also hinting that there was no danger here.
As for why Earl Black was so certain … it was probably another prophecy.
Angor didn't care if the previous prophecy was still working, or if Earl Black had already used another one. Since Earl Black said there was no danger, Angor decided to go check it out.
Since Earl Black suggested it, Ray had no choice but to change his mind. Angor also wanted to go, and more than half of the people agreed. Seeing that the situation had changed, Dorcas and Kael had no choice but to agree with Angor's suggestion.
The wax corpse wasn't far from them. It was only about 30 meters away. However, since it was close to the wall, and there was a drain under the wall, Angor could still smell the foul odor from outside even with two layers of Purification Field.
A third layer of Purification Field could be used, but it might cause the illusion of light and darkness to collapse. In the end, Angor found a way to use Speed Spirit to push the odor to the back of the wall and create a small space using Wind Wall.
Since the odor wasn't too strong, Speed Spirit didn't stop.
This made everyone … or rather, Wa Yi and the Black Earl let out a long sigh of relief.
Without the odor, and with Angor increasing the depth of the illusion, everyone could use their spirit feelers to check the wax corpse's condition.
A moment later, Angor lowered the illusion again. While maintaining the height, he also had to leave some space for Speed Spirit. Angor was a little worried that Earl wouldn't be able to handle it. Once everyone was done with their observation, Angor decided to shrink the illusion.
Before he could ask them about their findings, Count Dark spoke first. "You're right.
"We're pretty sure that the wax corpse is from ten thousand years ago. He must have reached the level of a wizard before he died. The wax seal was made by someone else after his death. Perhaps another Demon Follower. The runes on his body were already there when he was still alive, so he must be a Demon Follower. "Earl Black paused." Apart from that, we didn't find anything else. "
Angor looked at the others, including Dorcas, who all shook their heads. They either found the same information as Earl Black, or they didn't know anything at all.
After making sure no one else found anything, Angor added, "I'm not focusing on the wax corpse. Instead, I'm looking at the platform protruding from the wall. At first, I thought the platform came from the wall because the runes on it were connected perfectly with the other runes around it.
"But after careful observation, I noticed that the runes on the platform were made with blood ink that was slightly different from the other runes. It's not black, but dark gray. If Earl Black used his sense of smell just now, he should be able to tell the difference. "
Black Earl didn't say anything. He didn't use his sense of smell just now, mainly because his sense of smell was too sensitive. Even if Swift Spirit had dispersed the smell, as long as he used his sense of smell, he would still be able to smell it clearly.
"Based on the difference in the blood ink, I'm sure this platform isn't from the wall. It's built by someone else, and this person knows a lot about runes. "
Dorcas looked doubtful. "Who would be bored enough to build a platform just to put a corpse?"
"I didn't say that the platform was built to put the corpse. However, your guess is most likely correct. "
"As for why the platform was built in the air, maybe it was because the person was familiar with the corpse and didn't want to see the corpse exposed on the ground, eroded by filth, and eaten by monsters."
"If this person wanted to build a platform, why didn't they leave with the corpse?" Dorcas asked.
Angor shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the person who built the platform didn't leave the underground maze."
Dorcas noticed that Angor didn't mention a "person" this time. Instead, he mentioned a "person" who built the platform, and that person might not have left.
This was almost no longer a hint, but a clear indication. The person who built the platform was most likely an old monster who knew alchemy, who could wander around the underground maze, and who often came to the Stairs of Hanging Prison, and who had lived for ten thousand years?
"So the person who built the platform knows a Demon Follower?" Dorcas asked.
"They don't necessarily know the Demon God Cultists. They just know this person. For example, you know Angor as an alchemist, but you don't know Angor as an illusionist. "
Humans were multifaceted, but they only showed one side to the outside world. However, some people were different. They were more inclined to play different roles in different aspects. The wax corpse might be one of the latter. He might be a prison guard of the Stairs of Hanging Prison, or some other famous person in Nether City. But at the same time, he was also a follower of the Mirror Demon.
Of course, Angor couldn't be sure. Maybe he was a spy from another organization in the Mirror Demon's church.
Angor couldn't just look at one side.
The person who built the platform might know a Demon Follower, or he might not know who the wax corpse was.
Angor could only find out the specific answer from that person. However, Angor hoped that they wouldn't run into that person.
"If there's nothing else, let's get out of here. Or, if any of you are interested in the wax corpse, you can take it with you. The wax seal has sealed most of its energy, so the energy loss isn't too serious. It should be quite valuable. "
Angor was talking to Dorcas. Both Wai and Kael were obviously disgusted by the wax corpse. Angor didn't even need to ask to know that they wouldn't take it with them.
However, Dorcas rejected this very tempting offer. If Angor didn't hint that the wax corpse might have something to do with that person, Dorcas might actually take it with him.
But they might run into that person soon, so Dorcas didn't want to go looking for trouble.
Since Dorcas also refused, Angor didn't hesitate and asked everyone to move forward.
Since the Demon Follower showed up here, and Angor believed that the Demon Follower's target was the Stairs of Hanging Prison, he was sure that they weren't going the wrong way.
With great enthusiasm, the group quickly left the platform and disappeared into the darkness.
What Angor didn't notice was that the wax corpse on the platform suddenly glowed with a green light.
And the place that emitted the green light was the Mirror Demon God's pattern on the wax corpse's skin.
…
At the same time, inside a hidden space in the underground maze …
A mocking voice rang out. "Adanis who only likes to sleep, why don't you come over and take a look? What have I found?"
After a moment of silence, the lazy female voice spoke again, "Just a descendant of Noah with such weak blood essence. I don't think he's even qualified to enter this place. What are you so excited about?"
Many Noah descendants had explored the underground maze over the years, but none of them ever reached this place. Therefore, Adanis no longer had much hope for these Noah descendants with thin bloodlines.
"Compared to Noah's descendants, I'm more interested in the return of Hell."
"Return of Hell. Return of Hell. Everyone keeps saying the same thing. But does he really have a way to come back? "The mocking voice in front suddenly became low.
"Who knows? But those stubborn ones keep saying that. It's possible." The lazy female voice paused. "Alright, I'm going back to my training. Don't make so much noise before Hell comes back."
"You're not training! You're just sleeping! "
"I met a spirit once. She told me that I can train in my dreams. Since I have time, I'm doing it now. "
"That spirit is lying to you."
"It doesn't matter. Even if it's a lie, I still like the feeling of training."
"You just love to sleep. After you go to sleep, I'll be lonely. I don't even have anyone to talk to."
"Shut up. I'll smash you if you keep talking. Besides, I don't want to talk to someone with a loose mouth!"
After that, after a series of grievances, the dark space once again returned to silence.
There was a long and long silence.
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