"Didn't I go through all this trouble to come here for your sake?"
The old man looked at his grandson with fond affection.
"Your talent is the best our family has ever seen. With just one more advanced Meditation Method and some magical artifacts to assist you, reaching the second or third rank will be child's play — and even Morning Star is well within reach!"
The old man was so excited his whole body was trembling, practically foaming at the mouth.
This immediately drew an eye-roll from Leilin, hidden in the shadows. On the subject of the difficulty of advancing to Morning Star, he had the most to say — and what this old man was spouting was complete nonsense.
If good talent plus an advanced Meditation Method were enough to reach Morning Star, there wouldn't be so many Crystallized Wizards on the continent who had exhausted their lifespans without ever breaking through.
But Leilin didn't entirely dismiss the possibility. The other world was simply too vast — it was entirely possible that the man's ancestors truly possessed some secret art that allowed unimpeded advancement all the way to Morning Star.
"But…" The young grandson hesitated, clearly not entirely convinced by this claim. If it weren't for the fact that this tomb had been left by his ancestors, and that the person who had brought him here was his own grandfather, he might have turned around and left on the spot.
"With my blood, I awaken the souls and honor of my ancestors. The gate to success must end in hell…"
The old man produced a silver-white dagger, sliced open his own wrist, and let the blood flow freely onto the tree roots, all while chanting something ceaselessly, as though conducting a solemn and sacred ritual.
But the heavy scent of blood spreading through the air, combined with the surrounding environment, only made the young man hunch his shoulders further in fear.
"Grandfather, look!" Suddenly, his pupils contracted. He grabbed the old man's sleeve and shouted.
Following his line of sight, one could see that all the blood at the base of the tree roots was being absorbed by the soil and roots. The speed was incredible — like water meeting a sponge.
"This is a defensive formation our family set up. Only the direct bloodline, combined with the correct incantation, can open it…"
The old man explained slowly, but a flicker of doubt lit up in Leilin's eyes. "A Blood Lock! Another Blood Lock! Could it be that they're also a warlock family? They clearly don't have any warlock aura about them…"
Crack! After absorbing the old man's blood, the massive walnut tree's branches swayed wildly and began to tremble, the entire trunk turning a vivid crimson.
Snap! Suddenly, the trunk split down the middle, forming a hollow that revealed a downward passage within.
"Follow me!" The old man descended first. The young grandson followed closely behind, both hands clutching his grandfather's sleeve tightly, looking thoroughly terrified.
Leilin tilted his head in thought for a moment, then followed after them.
The passage was short, and before long they arrived at a burial chamber.
The old man lit an oil lamp in the center, and under its dim yellow glow, everything in the tomb became visible to Leilin.
The chamber was quite small. On either side stood a gargoyle sculpture, standing guard in silent stillness.
And at the center of the gargoyles' protection, a stone coffin was prominently displayed, its surface covered with numerous sealing runes.
"Cl-cl-clack! Cl-cl-clack!" The young man's teeth began chattering uncontrollably, and he pulled even harder on his grandfather's sleeve. "There's… clearly nothing here. We should leave as quickly as possible. I have a really bad feeling…"
"What's there to be afraid of?" The old man flicked his sleeve impatiently, and a current of air began to circulate, the breeze passing over the oil lamp and dimming the entire chamber by another degree.
"Look carefully!" The old man's voice was ethereal, laced with barely concealed excitement. "I specifically lit this lamp for you to see…"
The young man couldn't help but widen his eyes, and his pupils immediately dilated.
Through the dim yellow flame, he could see that the tomb walls were covered with vivid murals. The paintings depicted the struggles of a
And beyond that came what seemed like a mythological battle. The wizard in the mural — the tomb's owner — had obtained something during the fight, and subsequently advanced to Morning Star.
The young man strained to make out every detail, but apart from discerning that his ancestor's opponent was a demon covered in scales with countless eyes and arms, he couldn't make out anything else.
"This is the most glorious chapter in our ancestor's history, and it only appears when this oil lamp is lit…"
The old man's voice carried unmistakable pride. "If an outsider who didn't know about this mechanism tried to force their way in, they would very likely trigger an attack!"
Leilin, concealed in the gaps between the shadows, felt a stir in his heart upon seeing the murals.
The demon that had ultimately been slain — he had seen it before, though in a different painting: "We meet again —
Leilin's voice was soft, but filled with conviction.
In the ancient era, an incarnation of the Gluttony Lord had descended upon the Wizard Continent, causing immense death and destruction before finally being slain, its body shattered into countless fragments.
One of those fragments had fallen into the hands of the Quicksand organization, and then into
And now it seemed that the owner of this tomb had also been a participant in that great battle, and had been fortunate enough to obtain a piece of the Gluttony Rune.
"If that's truly the case, then the reason this wizard immediately advanced to Morning Star after the great victory makes sense!"
Leilin stroked his chin. "Using the power of Gluttony to drive the breakthrough in Spiritual Power — that does carry a fair chance of reaching Morning Star!"
He already had one such rune in his possession and had even planned to use it when advancing to Morning Star. But his preparations had been sufficient, and he didn't need to introduce external forces. More importantly, Leilin had no desire to entangle himself with the Gluttony Lord — after all, the entity's true body still existed, and it was certainly an unfathomable existence above the seventh rank. A single finger could crush the current Leilin into oblivion. He naturally wanted no connection with such a being that might come knocking on his door someday, so he had set the rune aside.
"And according to the ancestral records, his Meditation Method, along with the secret treasures that can assist in the breakthrough, are all placed inside the coffin, sleeping with him for eternity…"
The old wizard's eyes blazed with piercing light as he slowly stepped forward, arriving before the coffin.
Creak! Creak!
The sound of a mechanism activating rang out. The gargoyles on both sides emitted red light from their eyes, shed the stone skin from their bodies, and lunged at the old wizard.
Hum! A golden energy barrier suddenly rose from the old wizard's body, deflecting the gargoyles' razor-sharp claws.
But the expression on the old wizard's face was one of utter disbelief. "I am the descendant of the ancestor! I followed the instructions to come here — why am I still being attacked?!"
Creak! But the gargoyles obviously had no intention of answering. Both creatures immediately unleashed piercing sonic waves, and the violent sound blast swept across the chamber, causing the apprentice to instantly lose consciousness and crumple to the ground.
"Bru!" The old man's eyes instantly turned red, and both of his hands transformed into beast-like claws.
Crack! He grabbed one of the gargoyles and tore it in two with savage force, sending stone fragments flying everywhere. Meanwhile, the other gargoyle froze in place, the light on its body dimming inwardly as intense fluctuations radiated outward.
"Trying to self-destruct?"
The old wizard's eyes blazed with light. He lunged forward, thick layers of energy coating his claws as various sharp-enhancement wizardry glows surfaced upon them.
Thud! The old man drove a single claw forward, plunging it into the gargoyle's body as easily as cutting through tofu. With a sharp twist, he ripped out a massive mechanical core.
Creak… With its power core removed, the gargoyle's aura vanished entirely, as though it had truly become a lifeless object.
"Bru! Bru! Wake up!" The old man deactivated the beast transformation on his hands and enveloped the boy in a layer of verdant, life-rich green light.
Several minutes later, the young man finally regained consciousness, his eyes dazed and unfocused.
"This tomb… it's probably not our ancestor's burial site at all, but rather a place where something terrifying has been sealed. Otherwise, why would there be guardian creatures like these?"
The young man's first words upon coming to his senses were a warning to his grandfather.
"But just leaving like this — I can't accept it!!!" The old wizard's eyes turned red, his face twisted with obsession. "Perhaps these two guardians are merely an ancestor's test, or just a joke played on us younger generations…"
Even as he said these words, he himself barely believed them.
But his longstanding conviction, along with a faint, persistent calling from deep within his heart, urged him to open the coffin and claim what lay inside.
"I'll just take one look! I promise — afterwards, we'll seal this place up again and leave immediately!"
The old man stepped forward with slightly vacant eyes, pushed aside the stone coffin lid, and revealed what was inside.
"Hm?!" Leilin, who had been watching from the side the entire time, felt his expression shift.
Inside the massive coffin lay the remains of a wizard. His body was somewhat gaunt, but his hair and eyebrows were all intact, making him appear remarkably lifelike. A presence befitting a Morning Star emanated from his form — the same tier as Leilin's own.
Though his eyes were shut, his features looked as though they had been carved by knife and chisel, exuding resolve and tenacity. His hands were clasped at his chest, seemingly cradling something.
With Leilin's keen eyesight, there was no obstruction whatsoever — he could see it clearly. It was a stone rune!
Though it differed slightly from the one in his possession, it was unquestionably an authentic Gluttony Rune!
"I knew it — the secret treasure definitely exists!" The old wizard's condition had deteriorated considerably. His expression was blank and glazed, as though something had taken control of him. He stepped directly forward, both hands reaching to seize the rune.
"Grandfather!" At the very instant his fingertips were about to touch the rune, the young man's desperate cry pulled the old man back.
"What happened? How did I get here?" The old man's face was filled with confusion — but then, a far greater transformation suddenly erupted!
Woo… woo…
As though the wailing of the abyss itself had been recreated, countless dark phantoms suddenly materialized throughout the burial chamber, tendrils of black energy seeping from within the old man's embrace.