Chapter 251 - 172: You’re Not Qualified
Seeing how heartbroken Xiaoluo was, Luo Ge quickly spared no Power of the Spirit Candle to fashion a nearly identical shell, which finally helped Xiaoluo to gradually stop crying.
He also carefully checked on Xiaoluo. Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously hurt—just badly frightened.
This allowed Luo Ge to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Her heart aching for the little one, Noxia also stepped forward to comfort her.
She felt that if she had been able to provide guidance, perhaps Xiaoluo wouldn’t have had to do what she did.
With the new shell Luo Ge had fashioned, Xiaoluo’s crying slowly subsided. Though she was still wiping away tears, she was clearly doing much better.
But what Luo Ge didn’t expect was that Xiaoluo’s first words after composing herself would cause his brow to furrow.
"They... they’re coming..."
"From... from that direction, I think..."
"Luo Ge... Nuonuo... danger..."
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Xiaoluo sobbed quietly, her eyes filled with worry for the two of them.
At the same time, she pointed in a direction—out beyond the Dark Boundary.
"Them?" Noxia’s hand suddenly clenched tight.
"...I understand. Thank you for your hard work, little one."
Luo Ge narrowed his eyes, then smiled gently and rubbed Xiaoluo’s head.
Afterward, his expression grew calm as he looked in the direction Xiaoluo had pointed.
The sky remained as dark and unchanging as ever.
But this was merely the calm before the storm...
...
The players’ exploration continued.
Forgotten Dao had now reached the end of the left path. Along the way, he’d encountered his fair share of Snake Soldiers and bosses from the Divine Hall Ruins, but none of them posed a real threat to him.
En route, he had also seen many "rooms."
But while they were called rooms, they were actually the nests where these Snake Soldiers lived, or places like training rooms or Storage Chambers.
These places had a strong Snake Race aesthetic. For example, alongside the armor hanging in a Storage Chamber, there would be large quantities of Snake Hide.
Forgotten Dao even picked up a good amount of Snake Shedding, which could be used as Magic Potion Materials.
Without a doubt, this clan of serpents, led by the Lion Serpent, already possessed Wisdom and had entered an age of civilization.
Their unique architectural style was quite an eye-opener.
"This dev team is really meticulous... Even the hammers they designed to fit on their tails are so detailed."
Even Forgotten Dao, who rarely paid attention to scenery, couldn’t help but pick up one of the tools and click his tongue in wonder as he examined it.
However, meticulous design or not, Forgotten Dao hadn’t forgotten his main objective.
After exploring a bit more, he finished his sweep of the left path. The route held almost nothing of importance, though there were some minor text fragments.
But that wasn’t what Forgotten Dao was interested in. The lore enthusiasts would probably be more interested in the culture of this Snake Race.
"I haven’t run into any corruption or anything that drains your SAN this time. I’m almost not used to it."
On his way back, Forgotten Dao stroked his chin and chuckled.
Indeed, the previous maps and dungeons they’d been through had all, to some extent, featured SAN-draining elements like "Corruption," "Madness," or "Possession."
But Gael’s Depression... at least so far, he hadn’t seen anything like that.
Compared to those previous threats, these little armored snakes almost seemed harmless.
Mulling this over, Forgotten Dao continued to explore.
Soon, he began to explore the right-hand path.
And this time, he made a significant discovery.
This path led downward into what seemed to be a separate, independent zone within the Divine Hall Ruins. It was dark and damp.
It didn’t take long for Forgotten Dao to realize what this place was.
It was the prison of the Lion Snake Race.
He saw numerous cells holding creatures that had lost their minds and become Living Corpses, most of which were lizards and snakes.
The rest were from other races—there appeared to be birds, insects, and the like. There was even a rhinoceros...
However, by now they had all become Living Corpses. Though their bodies weren’t withered, they had lost their minds just like the Snake Soldiers.
After a fruitless search, Forgotten Dao continued onward.
He suddenly stopped in front of one of the cells and peered inside.
Imprisoned within this cell was a powerfully-built lizard monster. Behind it lay two skeletons dressed in tattered clothes.
Just then, a prompt appeared in Forgotten Dao’s vision.
[Your item "Ancient Stone Compass" is reacting.]
Seeing this, Forgotten Dao took the item out of his inventory.
The moment he did, the Ancient Stone Compass pulsed with a faint light. A moment later, the Soul of a scruffy-bearded man appeared before Forgotten Dao.
He glanced at the two skeletons in the cell and sighed softly.
"A pity we couldn’t die together... I broke my vow..."
Then, he turned to Forgotten Dao and thanked him solemnly.
"Thank you."
"May you find the divine trace in this place..."
Before Forgotten Dao could ask a question, a flicker of relief crossed the man’s eyes. He looked toward the sky, and his Soul dissipated...
’Divine trace?’
Forgotten Dao was taken aback, not quite understanding what the man had meant.
But then, he noticed something.
The Ancient Stone Compass in his hand had somehow shed its stony outer layer, revealing a smooth, lustrous white surface beneath.
[Illusion-Dispelling Needle (Treasure Collection)]
[Type: Special Items]
[Effect: Charged by the nourishment of Warfire, this item fills with Power effective against Illusion Techniques. It can be released when needed, causing the item to shatter.]
[Explanation: Explorers venture toward the sea, yet those whose names are left to history are as rare as a single grain of sand plucked from a vast desert... Their stories lie buried with shipwrecks and bones...]
After reading the description of the Illusion-Dispelling Needle, Forgotten Dao was lost in thought.