41: Mineral Core
“Cracked Space Core”
A thumb-sized, irregularly rhombic crystal lay quietly in Lin Feng's palm.
It was a deep, ethereal purple, as if containing a starry sky, and its surface was covered with fine cracks, as if it would shatter with a light squeeze. But even so, Lin Feng could still feel a faint yet profound spatial energy fluctuation from it.
This was the only key to activate that one-way teleportation array.
Lin Feng's heart was a mix of emotions.
He had not expected that the Senior mage, whom he had never met, would hide his last hope so deeply.
Was he testing the latecomers in this way?
Only those who had truly studied his space notebook carefully and observed meticulously would have a chance to discover this final secret.
“Thank you, Senior.”
Lin Feng bowed solemnly to the skeleton once more.
Then, without hesitation, he squatted down and carefully embedded the “Cracked Space Core” into the groove in the center of the magic array on the ground.
“Click.”
With a soft sound, the Space Core perfectly fit into the groove.
The next second, an anomaly suddenly occurred!
Boom—!
The entire magic array, like a sleeping giant instantly awakened, suddenly lit up with dazzling silver-white light!
Countless profound and complex runes rapidly rotated and reorganized on the ground, forming a three-dimensional halo filled with mysterious beauty.
A powerful spatial energy, which Lin Feng had never felt before, instantly filled the entire small cave!
He could clearly feel that the surrounding space seemed to become viscous, rippling in layers like water.
Lin Feng dared not neglect, and immediately stood in the center of the magic array, following the vague description of “Space Dao Beacon” in the space notebook.
The moment he stood firm, the light beneath his feet became even more intense!
He felt his body being gently lifted by an invisible force, and the surrounding scenery began to twist and blur, finally transforming into a rapidly receding, colorful tunnel of light and shadow!
Weightlessness, tearing, dizziness... countless unfamiliar sensations simultaneously assaulted his nerves!
This feeling was hundreds, even thousands of times more intense than the teleportation he experienced when entering the instance before!
“Ding! You are undergoing an ‘unstable’ space teleportation...”
“Warning! Your body is enduring immense spatial pressure!”
“Your talent ‘Earth Force’ is passively activated, resisting part of the spatial erosion for you!”
“-15!”
“-18!”
“-16!”
A series of damage numbers continuously floated above his head!
The teleportation process alone was continuously causing him damage!
Lin Feng's heart tightened, and he immediately mobilized all his strength to firmly guard his Spirit, letting the violent spatial energy wash over his body.
He didn't know how long this process lasted, perhaps just an instant, or perhaps an eternity.
When he regained consciousness, what came from beneath his feet was a solid, cold touch.
The light and shadow before his eyes also re-condensed into a clear scene.
He... succeeded.
“Hoo...”
Lin Feng let out a long breath, finding that his clothes on his back were already soaked with cold sweat.
He looked around and found himself in an even larger and more magnificent underground cavern.
This cavern was several football fields in size. From the high dome, countless huge stalactites hung down like sharp swords. On the rock walls of the cavern, countless Ores emitting various colored lights were embedded!
Red “Flame Crystals,” blue “Ice Essences,” and... the most numerous “mithril vein” emitting a soft silver-white light!
Elemental energy, so dense it was almost liquefied, filled the entire space, making him feel his Mental Energy and physical strength rapidly recovering with just one deep breath!
“Is this... the core area of the King's Mine?”
Lin Feng was utterly awestruck by the fantastical scene before him.
This place was simply an unexploited, massive treasure trove of elemental energy!
His gaze instantly became fervent.
The Ores everywhere here, to him, were like Attribute Points and Talent Fragments scattered all over the ground, waiting for him to harvest!
However, he was not overwhelmed by the immense surprise.
Because he clearly felt that in this seemingly beautiful cavern, there was a deathly aura, more terrifying and suffocating than any place he had encountered before, permeating the air.
His gaze slowly turned towards the very center of the cavern.
There, a gigantic throne, tens of meters high, stood, piled high with countless skeletons and black crystals!
And upon the throne, a figure was seated.
It was a Lich, dressed in a magnificent black magic robe, wearing a bone crown, and holding a white bone staff made from a human spine!
Its body was completely withered, like a mummy, but in its hollow eye sockets, two ethereal purple Soul flames burned, as if capable of devouring all Souls!
A terrifying pressure, as heavy as a mountain and filled with death and decay, emanated from its body, enveloping the entire cavern!
“???”
“Rank: ???”
“Type: ???”
With Lin Feng's current strength, he couldn't even detect the most basic information about the opponent!
This was the Ancient Lich, imprisoned for a thousand years, as recorded in that diary!
It was the final BOSS of this instance, or rather, this area!
Beneath the Lich's throne, four Skeletal Knights stood guard, clad in full-coverage black heavy armor, wielding massive battle axes and tower shields!
Their aura was several times stronger than the one Lin Feng encountered on the walkway earlier!
Clearly, these four were the Lich's true “Royal Guard”!
Lin Feng's heart instantly sank to the bottom.
He immediately reined in all his aura, silently hiding his body behind a large mithril vein, not even daring to breathe.
He knew that with his current strength, let alone challenging that Lich, he would surely die if any of those four Skeletal Knights discovered him!
“I must... find a way to leave here.”
Lin Feng's brain began to churn rapidly.
The teleportation array was one-way, making return impossible.
And the only exit seemed to be at the other end of the cavern, but it was heavily guarded by the four Skeletal Knights.
“Wait...”
Lin Feng's gaze suddenly solidified.
He remembered the last, and most crucial, sentence recorded in that diary.
“...Its phylactery... is hidden in the spatial interlayer beneath its throne...”
Lin Feng's gaze involuntarily turned towards the area beneath the gigantic throne piled high with skeletons.
An incredibly crazy, yet incredibly tempting thought, began to uncontrollably surge in his heart!
What if... what if he could use the “space notebook” left by that Senior to find the so-called “spatial interlayer,” and then... stealthily “collect” the Lich's phylactery... what would happen?