After walking about a hundred meters, the path suddenly opened up into a vast circular hall. The ceiling was high, though the central portion had collapsed, allowing stones and soil to spill in. Under the glow of the magic light stone, the hall's full appearance gradually became clear.
Most striking of all were the massive murals encircling the interior walls. The colors had long since faded, and many sections had peeled away or crumbled, but the content was still recognizable.
The first mural depicted tiny humans prostrate on the ground, kowtowing toward giant dragons in the sky. The dragons dominated the frame—some soaring through the heavens, others perched atop mountain peaks, all radiating majesty and divinity. The humans offered various sacrifices, worshipping and performing rituals as if to gods.
Ed felt a flicker of discomfort and frowned slightly. "Are they... worshipping dragons?"
Renly's gaze swept across the mural. "Keep looking," he said grimly.
In the subsequent murals, the tone shifted abruptly. Fire and blood became the primary colors. A race of giants—several times taller than humans, clad in thick fur or scales with savage faces—wielded massive weapons and rampaged across the land. They destroyed human villages and abducted women and children; the scenes were filled with despair and brutality.
Interspersed among these depictions of giant atrocities were other scenes: humans, under the protection of the dragons, engaged in a life-and-death struggle against the savage giants. The dragons unleashed devastating dragon breath and tore giants apart with powerful claws. Among them were strange humans—some covered in scales, some with horns on their heads, and some even possessing wings—who charged bravely alongside the dragons against enemies far larger than themselves.
The final mural depicted a grand celebration. The giants had vanished. Under the watchful eyes of the dragons, humans cheered and rebuilt their homes. Sunlight bathed the land in a scene of total peace.
"I see," Renly mused, looking at the murals. "This must be a temple of an ancient 'Dragon-Worshipping Cult.' In that era, the Giant race ruled the land. Humans were weak and could only survive by attaching themselves to powerful dragons. By offering faith and sacrifices, they gained protection and fought alongside the dragons against the giants."
Ed listened in a daze. These secrets, which usually existed only in ancient legends, were now presented vividly before his eyes. It was a lot to digest. "The era when giants ruled the land... what a distant time that must have been," he muttered, his voice full of awe for the primordial past.
Renly nodded slightly, his eyes scanning the hall. In the center was a stone platform resembling an altar, but it was empty. Scattered around it were broken pottery and metal shards, most so rusted and decayed that their original forms were lost.
"Search around. See if anything was left behind," Renly ordered.
The two searched the hall thoroughly. Ed moved several collapsed stones and found a rotted wooden box. He opened it excitedly, only to find a pile of powder—remnants of unknown items—and a few ancient coins covered in green patina that crumbled at a touch.
"My Lord, it seems... there's nothing of value left here," Ed said, sounding disappointed.
Renly wasn't surprised. After so many aeons of erosion, very few things could survive. Near the altar, he found some heavily worn bone rune-plates. The runes were blurred, likely ceremonial items of some sort.
On either side of the hall were several doorways blocked by stone slabs, appearing to lead to other chambers. "Check over there," Renly pointed to a doorway on the left.
Ed stepped forward and pushed the sealing stones aside with a heavy grunt. With a harsh grating sound, an opening just wide enough for one person was revealed. Inside was a small stone room, equally empty save for some rotted wooden racks and broken stone tools. It had clearly either been looted or turned to dust by time.
They checked several rooms with similar results. Aside from worthless broken implements, there were no discoveries. Ed's initial excitement began to fade into frustration. "It seems this place was either abandoned or picked clean long ago," Ed sighed.
Renly didn't speak. His gaze was fixed on the inner wall of the very last room. This room was smaller than the others and had almost no furniture, but the back wall looked unusual. It wasn't made of a single massive stone but was composed of stone slabs of varying sizes, all polished flat and fitted together with tight seams. The surface was covered in patterns and ancient script.
"This is—" Renly stepped forward, his fingertips brushing against the cold stone. His breathing quickened slightly. "Ed, if I'm not mistaken, this is exactly what we came for!"
He carefully scrutinized the script and diagrams. These ancient characters were entirely different from modern writing systems—older and far more complex. Renly remembered seeing similar records in his family's ancient archives.
As he deciphered them, Renly's heart hammered against his ribs. These slabs recorded a complete Knight cultivation system!
Its name: The Dragonblood Knight Inheritance!
The contents were incredibly detailed. Not only did it include a Knight breathing technique called the "Dragon Breath Method," but more importantly, it detailed a special secret art. By extracting the essence blood of dragons and integrating it into one's own bloodline, a person could gradually remodel their physique, eventually transforming into a "Dragonblood Knight" possessing a portion of a dragon's power!
The humans in the murals fighting alongside the dragons were undoubtedly Dragonblood Knights. Becoming one would not only drastically increase physical attributes and elemental resistance but could even awaken draconic talents—such as dragon scales, dragon's majesty (aura), dragon wings, and even the rudiments of Dragon Language Magic!
"The Dragonblood Knight..." Renly felt a tidal wave of shock in his heart. He took a deep breath to steady his excitement. "Ed, this might be our greatest gain of the trip. These slabs must be taken back in their entirety."
"Yes, My Lord!" Ed immediately took the order.
Renly checked the wall one last time to ensure nothing was missed, then began the careful process of dismantling it with Ed. The slabs weren't just stacked; they were joined by a clever mortise-and-tenon structure.
"Ed, lend a hand. Be careful; these are priceless."
"Understood, My Lord!"
Working together, they removed the slabs one by one. Each was quite heavy, but the engravings remained clear and sturdy despite the passage of countless years. It took nearly two hours to dismantle all of them. Renly counted—exactly twelve slabs.
Ed cut some vines from outside to bind the slabs into several bundles, and they moved them to the entrance.
The Return Trip
Renly and Ed secured the twelve heavy obsidian slabs to the back of the Storm Griffin King, "Storm." Storm shook his yellowish-brown iron feathers, appearing impatient from the long wait.
"Easy, old friend," Renly patted the griffin's thick neck, signaling him to crouch. It took considerable effort to balance the weight on both sides of Storm's back, securing them with leather straps and vines to ensure they wouldn't shift during flight. Storm let out a low huff, weighing the new burden, but soon settled.
Renly then turned his attention to the massive carcass of the Marsh Caiman-Dragon. For the rebuilding Blackstone Territory, every high-tier resource was precious.
"Ed, process that beast," Renly ordered.
"Yes, My Lord." Ed drew his knightly longsword. The Caiman-Dragon's scales were incredibly hard even in death. Ed skillfully probed the body and found the location of the magic core. With a surge of Dou Qi into his blade, he stabbed and pried. With a crack, a fist-sized, diamond-shaped crystal glowing with an earthy yellow aura was removed—the Caiman-Dragon's core.
Renly took the core, feeling the pure earth-element energy within. The energy of the core in the Soul Horn had been depleted to deal with this beast; this was the perfect replacement.
Next, Ed sliced a deep opening near the beast's heart. A thick, crimson blood with a strange, cloying sweetness flowed out. Ed quickly filled a pre-prepared crystal vial with the essence blood of the heart.
"Though this dragon is a sub-species, its blood still carries a hint of draconic nature. This heart essence might be useful," Renly said, tucking the vial away. He thought of the secret art in the inheritance; while this blood was diluted, it would serve as perfect material for preliminary research.
The rest of the work was simpler. Ed used the "Grasp of the Giant" and raw strength to hack the carcass into manageable segments. Even with the artifact, it took fifteen minutes of heavy breathing and two sets of magic stones to dismantle the beast.
Renly looked at the segments and signaled Ed to stop. The other Storm Griffins, attracted by the scent of blood, were circling restlessly. "Let them have a taste," Renly smiled.
Ed threw segments of the meat to the other griffins. They let out excited screeches, tearing into the flesh with beaks and talons. One younger griffin tried to hog a second piece but was swatted away by a stronger companion's wing, making Ed laugh.
"Let's go home."
Renly mounted Storm, and Ed climbed onto his own griffin.
"SCREE!"
Storm let out a thunderous cry and beat his wings, kicking up a gale as he took to the sky toward Blackstone Castle. The other griffins, carrying chunks of the Caiman-Dragon in their talons, followed in a small formation.
The journey back was not entirely peaceful. The flesh of a Tier 4 Caiman-Dragon was an irresistible lure. Within a hundred miles of the swamp, several Iron-Back Falcons followed the scent. These Tier 3 monsters, with wingspans of five to six meters, tried to snatch the meat from the griffins' talons.
"Storm, drive them off!"
Storm roared and accelerated like a yellowish-brown bolt of lightning. With wings spread wide and talons gleaming, he struck. The lead falcon couldn't dodge in time; Storm's claw tore through its wing, sending it spiraling down with a shriek. The other unburdened griffins acting as escorts moved in to engage the remaining falcons, and the sky was briefly filled with the sounds of shrieking raptors and flying feathers.