Chapter 361 Final Ruin Exploration

"That's not safe at all." Shaoke tightened his cloak, as if it could shield him from the wind. Of course, under the protection of a Defensive Spell, no wind or snow could affect mages. "We might be able to find a way to advance in that underground ancient ruin." Shaoke voiced his true thoughts.

The Blue-robed Mage slightly quickened her pace, "I don't know. I hope there's something we need there." After a brief pause, she added, "You've already learned the ancient magical script?" Seeing Shaoke nod, she frowned and thought for a moment, then added, "After we return, I'll give you the ancient magical books I have. Maybe there's a method for advancement in them." She sighed and shook her head, not believing that ancient mages would casually leave ways to ascend to the Ninth Rank in tombs or dwellings.

"I want to create a new spellbook," Shaoke said during the evening rest, revealing his idea. "The current one's additional effects are too weak. It no longer meets my needs." He twitched the corner of his mouth, unsure why he mentioned this desire to the female mage.

His words made the Blue-robed Mage frown for a long time. Finally, she nodded without saying anything. After resting for a while, they continued flying toward the Fallen Capital through the night. Two days later, they arrived there once more.

Everything was as before. Sensing the powerful auras of hundreds of professionals in the Fallen Capital, they did not enter the city, as there was nothing worth exploring or lingering over. More importantly, they wanted to retrieve the treasures stored in the underground ruins as soon as possible.

The large pit left by the Blue-robed Mage and her companions when they hunted the Avatars remained, now filled with calm, clear lake water. Boats drifted leisurely on the surface, and young men and women frolicked there, enjoying their youth. They had the right to indulge, given the pleasant conditions. This might be instinct, Shaoke mused as he watched them.

"The monsters in the lake are gone," the Blue-robed Mage announced after a mental scan, then added with a wry smile, "I hope there's no trouble inside." Without further hesitation, she discussed the precautions with Shaoke before descending from the high sky into the lake. Shaoke paused briefly, then loudly warned the playing youngsters to leave, as any accident below could cost them their lives.

Some of the youngsters were professionals who recognized the significance of figures hovering in the sky, so they called others to the shore. Shaoke quickly caught up with the Blue-robed Mage.

As she had said, there were no monsters in the lake, only ordinary fish and shrimp. They activated two layers of defensive spells and added a special protective one. Above Shaoke's head, a gray-black butterfly fluttered slowly, giving him a strong sense of security. The Blue-robed Mage's crown emitted a blue light shield composed of small nets. This appeared to be a unique defensive spell belonging to the Confinement Mages.

They descended again to the stone cave entrance. The waterproof barrier had been replaced, but the Blue-robed Mage quickly broke the spell, and they entered.

During the long flight, they remained silent. The transparent, burning paper was once again released by the Blue-robed Mage to lead the way. After nearly three magic hours, they stopped in a corridor inlaid with countless magical arrays. The Blue-robed Mage examined it with a special method, then pointed at the wall ahead, indicating a space behind it with stored items.

This time, they did not simply use Arcane Fire to burn through. Instead, they employed the deciphering methods Shaoke had gleaned from ancient books to quickly break through. After dozens of magic hours, the wall suddenly crumbled into powder.

Without hesitation, they heightened their vigilance and entered the stone chamber. Everything was arranged as before: over ten stone coffins positioned in a specific layout, a huge Six-pointed Star Magic Array embedded in the floor, and a central altar with a golden horn about the height of a person—ten times larger than the horns Shaoke had previously obtained. Despite its size, it bore only thirteen strange characters, all appearing highly unusual.

"This chamber is different from the previous one," Shaoke said, puzzled, as he looked at the decorations. He then turned his attention to the wall carvings of ancient magical text, which he quickly deciphered. He shared his findings with the Blue-robed Mage.

"Stranger, take everything here and leave. When you become a Legendary Being, return here. Otherwise, a millennium of imprisonment awaits you." After Shaoke slowly translated, the Blue-robed Mage frowned. She sensed no surveillance or detection here, which unsettled her. More notably, the golden horn on the altar floated up and flew to Shaoke. Then twelve identical horns emerged from the altar, arranged in a simple thirteen-pointed star formation before him.

Under their astonished gaze, the altar slowly cracked open. Three or four small golden boxes flew out and landed near the Blue-robed Mage. This sequence filled both with fear and panic.

"Take everything and leave," Shaoke said, taking a deep breath. He loudly reminded the Blue-robed Mage. Though unsettled by the lack of magical fluctuations, the male mage tried to calm himself and began collecting everything without restraint.

They opened each stone coffin, finding only a few magical materials but many ancient magical books. According to their agreement, Shaoke took most of the books, while the Blue-robed Mage collected the precious materials. As for the thirteen large horns, Shaoke decided to take them boldly. Once they finished, the chamber began to tremble. A powerful surge of magic emanated from the Six-pointed Star Magic Array, followed by mournful howls, as if a Giant Beast were about to enter through the array.

They fled without hesitation, racing out of the chamber. During their escape, Shaoke felt the surveillance that had been absent earlier return. This time, the oppressive monitoring was so intense that neither of the powerful Eighth Tier Mages dared to look back. The Blue-robed Mage's speed slowed increasingly; eventually, Shaoke had to pull her arm to help her fly. Under the growing pressure, his speed also diminished. Finally, he slashed his staff forward, creating a spatial tear, and dragged the Blue-robed Mage into it, instantly vanishing from the underground ruin.

Not far from the lake shore, behind a large tree, a tear suddenly appeared, and two figures tumbled out: Shaoke and the Blue-robed Mage, who had just escaped the underground ruin. They lay on the ground for a while until, after half a magic hour, the Blue-robed Mage slowly sat up, then leaned against the tree, quietly watching Shaoke as he continued his Meditation to recover.

The Blue-robed Mage had intended to explore further, but the invisible pressure had overwhelmed her. She believed that without Shaoke's use of the Spatial Tear technique to bring her out, she would have remained trapped in the ruins forever.

Half a day later, Shaoke emerged from deep meditation. He groaned in pain as he sat up. The forceful spatial teleportation with another person had caused him severe injury. Fortunately, his meditation space had recently undergone a major change, preventing its collapse. Nevertheless, he had permanently lost a significant amount of mental energy and magic power, which could not be restored through meditation. But it was over; they had escaped alive.

"Can you tell me how you knew about this ruin?" Shaoke leaned against a tree like the Blue-robed Mage, puzzled as to why she had so accurately located the treasure-filled chambers.

"Many years ago, when I was only a Third Tier Mage, I found a record of this ruin in a library book. It contained a special map. Without it, we wouldn't have found the ruin so smoothly," she said, twitching the corner of her mouth.

Shaoke did not press further. He closed his eyes to rest, knowing that if he asked more, she would either refuse to answer or offer a poor excuse, as she clearly did not want to reveal more.