Chapter 984: The Basement

Li Xiaofei took out the fragmented map he had found earlier. The markings on it were very clear. This place was indeed labeled as the Temple of Wisdom, and there were several other Temples of Wisdom marked across the map as well.

So by all logic, this place could not be the Evolution Temple. But then what was the meaning behind the contents of that beast-hide scroll? Li Xiaofei was momentarily confused.

He put the scroll away and continued deeper into the temple. The great hall was vast and empty. Yet the sinister and violent aura lingering in the air hadn’t dissipated in the slightest.

As expected, Li Xiaofei was soon ambushed by another wave of wasteland monsters. This time, it was a giant serpent with a human face that was capable of continuously spewing toxic mists.

The creature wielded the power of venom but it posed no real threat to Li Xiaofei. He swiftly wiped it out. What disappointed him was that he found nothing else of value within this central hall.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

No maps, no records, no books, not even the corpse of a single Reaper. Strangely, his gains here were even less than what he had uncovered in one of the modest Temples of Endurance.

Why is it like this?

Li Xiaofei felt a sense of frustration.

By all logic, this city-temple complex built in the center of a magma lake should have been one of the Reapers’ key strongholds. Even if it had been overrun by the wasteland monsters, it should have left behind traces such as clues, relics, anything.

A short while later, the undead bone dragon Ao Ying arrived. It too had found nothing of significance. Ao Ying had searched through the remaining buildings throughout the city.

It had encountered some wasteland monsters along the way, but none of them had posed any real threat to it. There were no special discoveries.

Li Xiaofei furrowed his brows tightly. It didn’t make sense. He turned and returned to the central shrine, conducting another thorough search. Eventually, he arrived at the deepest part of the temple.

It held another massive statue that was also smashed to pieces. Fragments of stone were scattered across the floor, impossible to reassemble or identify in full.

It was just like the scene he had found in the Temple of Endurance, so Li Xiaofei surmised that the two statues, though in different locations, were likely identical in form.

The invaders hadn’t destroyed the rest of the temple. Instead, they had specifically targeted and shattered the godly statues enshrined within. What kind of clue was hidden in this detail?

Unlike before, this particular statue was clearly larger. Judging from the remnants of the pedestal, it must have stood at least sixty meters tall. Its head would have nearly touched the temple’s vaulted ceiling.

There were still visible bite marks, claw scratches, and scorch marks left by various elemental attacks on the base of the statue.

“Hm?” Li Xiaofei suddenly felt something stir in his chest.

He stepped forward and pressed one hand firmly against the massive pedestal. Then, he pushed with sudden force.

Boom.

A deafening rumble echoed through the temple. The massive base of the statue trembled slightly. Li Xiaofei pressed both palms against the pedestal, and his divine strength exploded forth in a sudden burst.

A thunderous rolling noise followed as the colossal stone base was pushed aside, revealing a sloped stairwell descending into darkness. A frigid wind howled out from the passage, carrying the stench of death and blood. He could also faintly hear the distant, piercing roars of beasts.

"As expected, there was a secret beneath the statue’s base," muttered Li Xiaofei.

Delighted, Li Xiaofei descended the steps, accompanied by Ao Ying, who had shrunk in size. The cold wind was biting. It felt as though he had returned to the Frost Plains.

A layer of frost quickly formed on Ao Ying’s skeletal body. Thankfully, as an undead creature, it had no sense of cold or heat. The frost only slightly slowed its movements and caused no real harm.

As for Li Xiaofei, who had long mastered the power of the Ice Sword, this level of chill no longer posed any threat to him. They followed the sloping stone passage for about twenty meters before the stairs ended.

A massive wooden door stood before them. Its surface was reinforced with black metal bands, and strange white totems that were drawn in a familiar pigment covered it in erratic, flickering patterns of faint light.

The door was split into two panels. From the narrow seam between them seeped a vivid, eye-piercing crimson glow. It gave the impression that beyond the door lay a space utterly submerged in blood.

Li Xiaofei hesitated briefly, then activated the Heart of Guardianship, forming a protective barrier around himself. He stepped forward and pushed the doors open.

Rumbling.

A muffled roar, like distant thunder, sounded as the twin doors slowly swung inward. No torrents of blood gushed out. Instead, what lay beyond was a massive chamber. No, to be precise, it was a vast hall.

The air inside was highly ventilated. Wind howled through the chamber. In the distance, a dozen or so flames flickered and danced, swaying with the gusts.

Li Xiaofei instinctively covered his mouth and nose. A thick, suffocating stench of blood and decay rode in with the wind, nearly choking him. But the undead bone dragon Ao Ying seemed to relish this environment.

It surged forward eagerly. Li Xiaofei flicked his fingers. A blazing fireball in the shape of a flame-blade rose into the air, illuminating the entire space.

This was an artificially constructed hall; the neatly paved stone floor and the smooth walls made that clear. Scattered throughout were overturned tables and chairs, remnants of what had once furnished the space.

Signs of combat were everywhere. A fierce and large-scale battle had clearly taken place here. The flickering lights in the distance came from steady, long-burning flames. Some were lit within iron sconces mounted on the walls, fed by burning stone marrow. Others burned in large iron pots supported by metal stands.

Dried blood, now deep black, had splattered across the walls and floor. The ground was littered with Reaper corpses. They had died many years ago. Yet, for reasons unknown, their bodies had not fully decomposed. Instead, they remained in a half-mummified state.

These Reapers still retained their ancient forms. They had not taken on human appearances. Judging by the expressions frozen on their faces, filled with both rage and terror, it was clear they had faced a terrifying enemy. They had fought to the death in a final, desperate struggle.

The number of corpses was staggering. They covered the entire floor of the hall, densely packed like a sea of the dead. Deeper within the hall, the bodies were piled into a towering mound.

Shoulder to shoulder, back to back, they formed a wall of flesh and blood. It looked as if they had been standing guard, protecting something behind them. Even Li Xiaofei, as a human, couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of awe.

Every intelligent race or species, when facing destruction, had something they wished to protect. Even the Reapers, so often regarded by humans as cold-blooded beings, were no exception.

But what exactly had they been protecting?

His curiosity stirred, Li Xiaofei stepped forward.

At that moment, the undead bone dragon Ao Ying accidentally stepped on an unremarkable stone slab on the ground.

Crack.

It sounded like a twig snapping underfoot. A faint glimmer of light flashed across the slab. Then, thin strands of silver lightning began to appear in the air above.

Li Xiaofei’s eyes narrowed as he realized what was happening. Sure enough, in the very next instant, the silver lightning threads shot into the sea of corpses spread across the hall.

They began to stir. These Reapers, long dead and half-mummified, began to rise with the sound of countless bones grinding and snapping back into motion. Elemental energy surged through their decayed bodies.