Looking at Eric's expectant eyes, the old man said slowly, "The words inscribed on these carvings indicate that there is an ancient magic palace buried deep beneath the desert. Inside the palace, there is a powerful divine artifact. This artifact has the power to reverse the course of events. If you can find it, it might be of great help to your journey home. And the key to leaving the desert is hidden within that palace."
Hope ignited in Eric's heart, along with excitement for the unknown challenges. Guided by the old man, Eric found the entrance to the underground palace. The entrance was covered by a thick layer of sand and dust. Eric used his magic to blow away the sand, and a deep passage appeared before his eyes.
The passage was filled with an old and mysterious atmosphere. Gems that emitted a faint glow were inlaid on the walls, barely lighting the way forward. Eric walked carefully down the passage. From time to time, a slight rustling sound could be heard in his ears, as if something was watching him in the dark.
As he walked, Eric came to a huge stone chamber. The floor of the stone chamber was engraved with complex magic arrays, and ancient murals were painted on the walls, depicting a once - glorious magic civilization. In the center of the stone chamber, there was a large stone platform, and on the platform lay a treasure chest that emitted a faint glow.
When Eric approached the stone platform, the magic array on the ground suddenly lit up, and rays of light shot towards him. Eric quickly cast defensive magic to form a shield in front of him to resist the attack of the light. However, the power of the light was beyond imagination, and the shield was tottering under the continuous impact.
Eric realized that he couldn't just defend passively. He observed the patterns of the magic array, trying to find its weakness. After some thought, he found that the energy of the magic array seemed to be concentrated at one point. Eric concentrated all his magic power and released a powerful attack magic towards that point.
With a loud bang, the light of the magic array weakened, and finally, the attack stopped. Eric let out a sigh of relief, came to the stone platform, and opened the treasure chest. Inside the chest lay a sword that emitted a blue glow. The sword body was engraved with mysterious runes, and a bright gem was inlaid on the hilt. The moment Eric grasped the sword, a powerful force poured into his body. He could feel that this sword contained huge magic power.
Just as Eric was about to further explore the stone chamber, a group of black shadows suddenly emerged from the corner of the chamber. These black shadows gradually condensed into human forms, all wearing black armor and holding sharp blades, and they rushed towards Eric. Eric brandished the sword and engaged in a fierce battle with the black shadows. The sword was wielded freely in his hand. Every swing could release a powerful sword energy, repelling the black shadows.
However, the black shadows kept emerging continuously, and Eric gradually felt his strength waning. Just when he was starting to struggle, he noticed that these black shadows seemed to be very sensitive to light. Eric immediately cast light magic, and a dazzling light illuminated the entire stone chamber. The black shadows let out painful roars in the strong light and dissipated one after another.
Eric knew that this was just a small test in the palace, and more unknown dangers awaited him ahead. He put away the sword and continued to move forward along the passage, thinking about how to find the clue to leave the desert and where the divine artifact that could reverse the course of events was hidden. How many more secrets were waiting to be uncovered in this mysterious underground palace?