Chapter 014: The Passage

At this thought, Du Fan instinctively felt nervous. He reached into his arms and stroked Chenchen’s head for a while before his rapid heartbeat gradually slowed down.
Nicholas waved slightly ahead, and the two Temple Knights in front nodded and stepped forward. Yet even now, they didn’t dare be careless—their knightly swords were already drawn and held across their chests.
As they moved forward, the passage lit up uniformly from all directions. Though the light was faint, it was enough to illuminate several meters around the two Temple Knights.
The weak glow cast a mysterious atmosphere over them, yet it also gave people a sense of comfort.
Nicholas was about to step forward when Alfred suddenly blocked his path and went in first.
Watching Alfred’s actions, Nicholas seemed to think of something, smiled slightly, and then followed him in.
Outside the passage, only four people remained. Du Fan tilted his head slightly and glanced at the expressionless Tasia, then whispered, “Should Miss Tasia go first?”
Tasia nodded slightly without answering. Instead, she waved her hand, and a faint blue light appeared before her. She held the light with her hand before slowly stepping into the passage.
Du Fan was slightly stunned by her actions but didn’t overthink it and followed her in. The two Temple Knights behind them also realized that among the four main figures in this journey, Du Fan was the weakest. Although they didn’t know how he had managed to enter this place, they knew they had to protect him.
These two Temple Knights were loyal; after seeing Du Fan go in, they followed closely behind him.
The passage didn’t seem as dilapidated as expected. The exquisite stone slabs on the floor were free of dust, with no signs of decay from years of disuse. Even the walls on both sides bore mysterious patterns, their colors extremely vivid. But at such a time, no one had the interest to appreciate these artworks left behind centuries ago.
The blue light in the passage flickered intermittently, accompanied by a gentle breeze. Compared to the place they had been in before, which was filled with stench and blood, the air here was infinitely better.

Tasia didn’t know why either. After moving forward and catching up with the group ahead, she turned to look at Du Fan and explained in a low voice, “The light around us must be created by a magic array. This array likely has other functions as well, which is why the air in this passage remains clear. I even suspect it might be a rare infinite-loop magic array. Once such an array is set up, it will keep functioning unless its structure is violently damaged. With such an array, I think our destination should be just beyond here.”

Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “It would be great if it were that simple.”

Tasia was slightly stunned. After a moment, she nodded and said, “You’re right, Lord Du Fan. I’ve oversimplified the issue.”

Although he didn’t understand why this icy beauty suddenly shared these thoughts with him, Du Fan didn’t feel like flirting at the moment. He simply nodded in response to Tasia and quickened his pace, soon catching up to Nicholas and the others.

After walking hundreds of meters through this peculiar passage, the terrain seemed to gradually slope downward. Everyone could sense this change, causing them to pause for a moment. But after exchanging glances, they said nothing more. Taking a breath, they continued walking. The passage grew increasingly dark and winding. Eventually, what had once been a relatively straight path became twisted and convoluted. If there hadn’t been no side paths along the way, Du Fan and the others might have doubted if they were lost.

Moreover, wherever Du Fan and the others stood, the surrounding walls and ground would faintly light up, only to darken again once they left. This design was somewhat similar to the sensor lights from Du Fan’s past life… Truly, it was ingeniously crafted!

Watching all this, Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh and say, “This magic array is truly astonishing. At least I’ve never seen anyone use such techniques in my lifetime.”

Tasia nodded beside him and said, “Not to mention Lord Du Fan, even I… have never seen anything like it…”

As she spoke, Tasia’s pace unconsciously quickened again. Du Fan glanced at her in surprise, even more puzzled by why this girl, who usually didn’t talk much to him, suddenly acted like a professional instructor.

But at such a moment, Du Fan had no interest in guessing the woman’s thoughts. After sighing for a while, he fell silent again. After walking for some time, the passage ahead suddenly opened up, with a slightly brighter light coming from the end of the passage. The group hurriedly quickened their pace to go forward, but when they saw what was there, they all stopped abruptly. Du Fan stared ahead, his gaze flickering. After a moment, he couldn’t help but sigh, “This… this… what kind of place is this?” Before them lay a huge cave—much larger than the one they had reached earlier. Where they stood seemed to be in the middle of the cave, and from their perspective, at the bottom lay an ancient city. Above the cave, whatever it was that was placed there emitted a faint light that illuminated the entire cave, allowing Du Fan and the others to see the city below more clearly. After taking a few glances, Du Fan couldn’t help but marvel. This suddenly appearing city, in terms of layout, size, and arrangement of buildings, was exactly like a standard city. Only in the very center of the city stood another tall building, shaped like a sword tip, somewhat similar to the so-called pyramids from Du Fan’s past life. From their position, they could see a solemn temple at the top of that building. But what surprised Du Fan the most was that although the temple appeared ancient, it vaguely resembled the temple they had seen under holy light not long ago. Seeing this scene, everyone present exchanged glances, not knowing what to do for a while. After a moment, Du Fan couldn’t help but say, “Lord Nicholas, do you think that place in the middle might be the real temple?” Nicholas hesitated for a while, closed his eyes to sense things for a while, and his expression grew increasingly strange. After staring at that place for a while, he said, “I’m not sure either, but it’s definitely right to go there now.” The group exchanged glances and nodded at each other. Under these circumstances, there really was no other option but to keep moving forward.

At this moment, the four Temple Knights had already explored the area nearby and returned. Fere stepped forward and whispered, “My lords, there is only one path leading to the city below, but… that path… is rather strange…”

Alfred frowned and asked, “What’s strange about it?”

Fere replied, “Well, I’m not sure either. In any case, my lords, you’ll understand once you take a look.”

Du Fan and the others nodded and headed in that direction.

When they arrived, they were stunned by the slope winding down slowly around the cave. The slope indeed circled the cave walls and led to the city below, but it seemed rather narrow and strange. On one side of the slope was a steep cliff; at such a height, unless one was a powerful saint, even a magician who could fly would be crushed to pieces if they fell from here. On the other side, the cave walls were covered with numerous stone carvings.

However, the shapes of these statues were truly bizarre—some resembled people torn in half, others looked like human skeletons, and still others seemed to be a combination of humans and some kind of animals. From a distance, Du Fan even recognized several mythical beasts from the Roland Continent among them…

But beyond that, most of these statues had shapes that were hard to describe. Regardless of their form, all of them appeared lifelike. For example, the statue that looked like a person torn in half, though grayish in color, still gave a strong visual impact, as if it were truly a person split in two.

Du Fan felt uneasy and instinctively didn’t want to pass through this place. But since it was the only path ahead, he hesitated, not knowing what to do. Alfred, on the other hand, snorted coldly and said, “Just illusions. We’ll go down through here. There’s nothing to fear. Can these statues possibly come to life?”