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墨書 Inktalez
When Fang Lin Kong saw the International Demon Alliance's Sultan Branch, which was as ancient as the Mawangdui Lady, he was utterly shocked. He asked Murphy, "Is your Sultan Branch really in such dire financial straits every year?"
Murphy scoffed and replied, "Our Sultan Branch receives a hundred thousand dollars in annual support from headquarters, and we earn about fifty thousand dollars on top of that. But you must know, we have nearly two thousand members who all rely on subsidies. We have an agreement with the Demon Hunting Team that demons must not violate human laws; otherwise, there will be no mercy! So, we either live in this miserable state or try to provoke the Demon Hunting Team's killers. Both paths are difficult choices!"
In his subconscious, Fang Lin Kong had always believed that demons possessed abilities that some humans did not, and thus they should live better than ordinary people. However, the current state of demons in Sudan shattered that belief completely. Murphy continued, "Africa is the oldest continent in the world and has the most preserved species. Therefore, every year, the number of plants and animals that become demon clan members through cultivation exceeds that of all other continents combined. Most of these low-level demons don't even have the ability to transform into human form, let alone any special abilities or spells! Without our help, they are always on the brink of death! Compared to them, we in Sudan are relatively better off. Go take a look at Ethiopia, Zambia, Zaire, and Burkina Faso; there, both people and demons live in even harsher conditions!"
Fang Lin Kong finally understood why Yuan Qian Kun was so determined to have the demon clan migrate to the Gouli Continent and why Zhou Qingzhe was busy trying to bring resources from the Gouli Continent back to Earth. Perhaps their methods differed, but their goals were remarkably aligned: to improve the lives of the demon clan.
Ultimately, Fang Lin Kong was not a saint concerned for his country and its people; after a moment of sympathy, he let it go. Murphy was very decisive; within ten minutes, she had arranged accommodation for Fang Lin Kong and insisted that he wait for her tomorrow without going out.
Leaving the hotel and without air conditioning, the heat of Sudan was unbearable for Fang Lin Kong. He initially thought he could endure it for one night, but he tossed and turned restlessly as if he were submerged in humid steam. Although Zhou Qingzhe had strictly forbidden him from using any spells or magical artifacts, Fang Lin Kong hardly regarded such prohibitions seriously.
Huan Huo was a Fire Tamer; not only was she incredibly strong, but she also naturally possessed the ability to control flames. She was an exceptionally rare magical beast. Huan Huo shouldn't have been afraid of heat. Fang Lin Kong scratched his head and pondered for a long time before forcing out his demonic energy to form a protective shield around himself. Then he released a jade tablet that could cool him down within the shield.
In fact, Fang Lin Kong wanted to take out the dragon horn given to him by the Divine Beast White Dragon. After testing it, he discovered that this dragon horn sealed off all creatures near the White Dragon Pool. It was a natural resting place.
"However, being so ostentatious might not be wise."
Finally able to sleep comfortably, Fang Lin Kong reluctantly woke up when someone knocked on his shield. Murphy looked at him with an unfriendly expression, leaving him unsure how he had offended this beautiful dark-skinned woman.
"We urgently need some personnel to explore a relic from six thousand years ago during the Darsin King era! Mr. Ember, can you set off immediately?"
Fang Lin Kong nonchalantly replied, "I have no problem with that as long as I can have breakfast first!"
Murphy glared at him for a long time before saying, "We’ll have breakfast on the way."
Fang Lin Kong, unable to lift his head under the low eaves, could only endure in silence.
It wasn't until he left the dilapidated building with Murphy that Fang Lin Kong realized this expedition consisted of just the two of them. As for breakfast, Murphy tossed him a bucket of drinking water and two hard, dry loaves of bread, which was all they had.
Fang Lin Kong felt utterly humiliated. Little did he know that the shield he had released was composed of pure fire energy, making the already hot weather even more unbearable. Murphy, initially unaware of the reason for the sudden change in weather, thought it was just a natural occurrence. It wasn't until she called Fang Lin Kong to wake him up that she discovered he was the culprit behind her sleepless night. If Murphy wasn’t furious, it would have been strange.
Moreover, Murphy's attitude throughout their journey was nothing short of terrible.
However, she was quite curious about Fang Lin Kong. According to the information she had gathered, this Huan Huo likely possessed abilities beyond what was recorded. Huan Huo had traveled the world over the years and had participated in numerous sensational events; while stronger monsters had either perished or retired, Huan Huo remained carefree. Additionally, this morning Murphy had seen Fang Lin Kong sleeping with his protective aura activated—a feat not typically achievable by monsters with a power level of only four or five hundred.
The old Hummer they were riding in seemed to be from an unknown era. Fang Lin Kong possessed a Pocket Grimoire and countless Mechanical Demon Soldiers but couldn’t use any of them, which left him feeling extremely frustrated. Since stepping into the realm of cultivation, although he had faced crises multiple times, thanks to Future Seer’s careful arrangements, he had never endured such hardships in daily life.
After being scorched by the blazing sun all day, Fang Lin Kong felt drowsy despite his profound cultivation. When he noticed that Murphy only had a slight sheen of sweat on her nose and appeared much stronger than him, he felt a twinge of shame. To ease the atmosphere, Fang Lin Kong asked about the era of Darsin King. He had seen some magical items from that period in a shop at Flora Dam but assumed they belonged to some obscure Western king due to his lack of knowledge.
Murphy was quite surprised by Fang Lin Kong's ignorance. In her view, he should have been well-educated and somewhat worldly. However, throughout their journey, Fang Lin Kong hardly spoke and seemed listless. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, it only deepened her disappointment.
Nevertheless, Murphy explained to Fang Lin Kong: "The Darsin King era was the only magical age on Earth, predating human civilization. Although it declined due to wars and certain unknown reasons, many magical items from that time are still extremely valuable."
After being enlightened by Murphy about history, Fang Lin Kong finally perked up and asked her, "So what is our purpose in exploring this ruin? Such ancient sites should have been visited by adventurers thousands of times already!"
Murphy replied helplessly, "The magic from the Darsin King era reached heights we cannot currently aspire to. Therefore, ruins from that time are filled with powerful magical traps. The dozens of known ruins are controlled by various factions and are under constant secret study by countless mages. This one is an ancient ruin under the control of African Headquarters; it has been mostly excavated and is now open for internal members to observe and learn."
Fang Lin Kong lost all interest upon hearing such a response. What benefits could there be in a place that had already been thoroughly explored? He lazily adjusted his position to make himself more comfortable and fell silent.
As evening approached, the two finally arrived at their destination. It was a large pyramid. Fang Lin Kong had learned a bit about pyramids in history class and knew that they were not unique to Egypt; it was just that the Egyptian pyramids were more renowned, with the Great Pyramid of Giza being unparalleled, overshadowing those of other countries. However, he had seen several smaller pyramids in Sudan, built by the pharaohs of the Kush Kingdom between the seventh century BC and the third century BC.
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, around 300 BC, the political and economic center of the Nubians shifted southeast from Nabata to Meroë, where they established their last capital and largest city. On two sand ridges outside the city, the kings and queens of Meroë built over forty pyramids as their tombs, each with a chapel in front. However, by the fourth century AD, Meroë gradually declined, and these smaller pyramids became difficult to study until they were rediscovered by Western archaeologists in the late nineteenth century. Compared to Egypt's pyramids, these smaller ones were low and steep, with the tallest only reaching several dozen meters.
However, the pyramid that Murphy brought Fang Lin Kong to visit was truly magnificent. Spanning several kilometers in length and width, it stood on a gravel surface that added to its ancient grandeur. To Fang Lin Kong's surprise, although it was nearing midnight, the crowd here was even larger than during the day, with hundreds of bustling tourists mingling with some local natives, creating a lively atmosphere.
After getting out of the car, Murphy led Fang Lin Kong straight to the entrance of the pyramid. Unbeknownst to them, a group of about ten people had slowly gathered around them. Fang Lin Kong had already sensed that there was something off about the crowd; they all carried a hint of demonic energy, but this group had an even stronger presence.
"Murphy! Have you brought another unfortunate soul here? This week's exploration is going to be tougher than last time. Not one of those four you brought back made it out alive. I hope this one isn't useless too," one man said.
Murphy frowned slightly and replied coolly, "Last time, didn't you lose over ten people as well? For now, let's focus on cooperation. If anyone has skills, let them speak through their actions when we get down there."
Fang Lin Kong felt an ominous vibe but quickly reassured himself: "These creatures don't have very high power levels; at most they're just above a thousand. What seems difficult for them might not be for me. What am I afraid of?"
Murphy whispered something to the man who had first spoken before returning to Fang Lin Kong's side. She gently tugged at his sleeve and said quietly, "Stay close behind me and don't act rashly. The magic from Darsin King's era far surpasses modern levels. This place is very dangerous!"
Fang Lin Kong thought to himself, "If you know it's dangerous, why did you bring me here? I'm not after any cursed Darsin King treasure!" However, he didn't express his doubts aloud and simply replied, "I will be careful!" while feeling unconvinced inside.
As Murphy leaned closer to him, a faint scent wafted from her that distracted Fang Lin Kong's attention. After a long day of travel, he finally noticed her attire: tight-fitting clothes reminiscent of military uniforms from some country and long boots that accentuated her toned legs. A holster on her lower back held a Desert Eagle pistol, while her bulging backpack likely contained a Psycho Gun.
Sure enough, as their group ventured deeper into the pyramid, Murphy quietly opened her backpack and pulled out several metal pieces that she quickly assembled into an HK83 submachine gun. These weapons emitted very low energy fluctuations; it was clear they were not standard-issue Psycho Guns but rather modified ordinary firearms.
"Is it really this poor? They don't even have a decent weapon," Fang Lin Kong thought, recalling how he had purchased a large number of energy firearms at the Grand Auction, enough to fill a small armory. Even Wen Yi, Chen Mingbin, and Ma Jingjie were well-equipped, each possessing twenty or thirty Spiritual Energy Firearms.
As Fang Lin Kong was lost in thought, he heard Murphy call out softly, and a Desert Eagle was tossed his way. Fang Lin Kong smiled wryly and accepted Murphy's gesture. The pyramid looked magnificent from the surface, but the space beneath was ten times larger than what appeared above ground. Unbeknownst to him, although this place had been excavated before, it was once the pinnacle of human magic during the Darsin King era. Besides the normal space, there were countless corridors within, making the true area virtually limitless. Therefore, despite dozens of excavations by the International Demon Alliance, they had only scratched the surface.
For the higher-ups of the International Demon Alliance, the magical prowess from the Darsin King era was indeed beyond what current Earth magic could achieve. However, that did not mean that the strong from that time surpassed Kyo Kusanagi today. Rather than expend vast amounts of energy digging through these Magical Ruins, it would be more effective to spend time cultivating. Thus, they opened these ruins to lower-level personnel. After all, any new discoveries would surely reach them; if nothing was found, it wouldn't be a loss for them either. It was far better than holding onto something without the energy to explore it.
Since entering, Murphy and the others had not spoken a word. Fang Lin Kong had no way of knowing their identities. However, he quickly realized that these individuals were very familiar with this Magical Ruins and skillfully avoided numerous dangers. Fang Lin Kong's spiritual sense could penetrate illusory spatial barriers to see hidden threats. Yet these people had never triggered any of the extremely dangerous traps. Perhaps they lacked Fang Lin Kong's abilities, but just listening to Murphy and the leader discuss casualties among their Exploration Team suggested that these experiences were validated by their companions' lives.
After descending for about an hour and a half, the team came to a halt. Murphy dropped back to Fang Lin Kong and moved to the front of the group to confer with the leader briefly before everyone dispersed.
Fang Lin Kong silently observed those in front of him and quietly stepped back a few paces. When no one was paying attention, he extended his left hand into the void; when it reappeared, he held something new. Aside from Murphy being an attractive woman whom he felt some affinity for, he had no emotional connection with anyone else in the group. However, ahead lay a square with four massive stone statues; if they ventured in carelessly, it would surely lead to death. Fang Lin Kong couldn't just stand by and watch others die before his eyes without doing anything.
His Spatial Seven Laws allowed him to easily traverse spatial barriers and disrupt the energy sources of those four stone statues. Stealing a glance at the four Black Orbs in his palm sparked his interest in this Magic Dynasty.
Fang Lin Kong's abilities were quite diverse but rooted in Eastern Immortal Path teachings. He had dabbled in some Western magic but only superficially. As a great nation with five thousand years of civilization, despite modern China's setbacks, there remained an inherent pride within its people that made him less enthusiastic about Western Magic; subconsciously, he believed that magic could not compare to the profundity of Eastern Immortal Path.
However, after entering this pyramid, Fang Lin Kong discovered many things that Murphy and her team could not see. The ancient Darsin King era indeed possessed some astonishing magical techniques. For instance, these four Black Orbs in his hand were not much larger than longan fruit but contained enough energy to support a ten-meter-tall Stone Giant in battle—an advanced technique within Eastern Immortal Path.
Murphy's team had suffered heavy casualties during their last expedition here and had to retreat in defeat. This time they brought more personnel and were extra cautious. The official members from Sultan Branch who could fight were few; after losing four colleagues last time, Murphy struggled to find suitable replacements and thus brought Fang Lin Kong along as an extra.
The leader signaled his subordinates to prepare before revealing a round object as thick as his arm—a shoulder-mounted missile launcher. With a flick of his finger, flames shot out half a meter away. Ahead lay what appeared to be a complex maze; however, it was merely an illusion they could not unravel and could only attempt to break through with brute force.
Such attempts usually ended in failure nine times out of ten. However, with Fang Lin Kong present and curious about what this ruin might reveal, he silently recited incantations and used his powers to dispel this layer of illusion.
The leading man initially intended to fire a shot, knowing it would likely trigger a magical backlash, so he prepared several backup plans to deal with any unforeseen circumstances. However, to his surprise, a single shot easily created a passageway, leaving him somewhat puzzled. As an experienced veteran in this field, he didn't feel excitement; instead, he retreated to discuss the situation with Murphy. They talked for quite a while before deciding to proceed cautiously.
Murphy did not move ahead but instead returned to remind Fang Lin Kong to carefully follow her footsteps. Fang Lin Kong chuckled in response, which struck Murphy as very strange. This time, Fang Lin Kong was surprisingly obedient, completely different from the rumors.
Not long after, the group ahead discovered that Northern Lin Kong had taken the power source from the Stone Giant. Panic set in among them as they became increasingly tense. When they realized that the power source had lost its effectiveness and chaos ensued, they were left in a state of confusion.
Fang Lin Kong noticed their excitement and quickly dispelled the earlier tense atmosphere by starting a conversation about how to divide the spoils. He was somewhat puzzled and pulled Murphy aside to whisper, "We found four Stone Giants, and everyone seems really happy about it?"
Murphy shot him an incredulous look and replied, "These four Stone Giants are worth at least two hundred thousand dollars. I could take five thousand from that. That’s enough to support our Sultan Branch for a month. Why wouldn’t we be happy?"
Realizing he had asked a foolish question, Fang Lin Kong tried to redirect Murphy's attention by saying, "These four Stone Giants must have been placed here to guard something. Should we continue exploring?"
Murphy shook his head thoughtfully and said, "We’re not in a hurry; we need to move these four Stone Giants first. It’s time for you to help out. Mr. Ember, if I remember correctly, your original form is a Fire Tamer? You belong to one of the few strong races among the demon clan! Get down there and help!"
Fang Lin Kong was taken aback and turned around to see that those men were indeed moving the Stone Giants. However, they had only moved three of them, leaving one behind—clearly meant for Murphy.
Feeling uneasy under Murphy's gaze, Fang Lin Kong felt a pang of guilt. He had never done heavy physical labor during his training and truly didn’t know if he could lift such a thing. He certainly didn’t want to be a laborer. By now, those men had moved quite far away and showed no intention of helping out. Clearly, if the two of them couldn’t move this loot, they would have no choice but to abandon it.
Seeing that Fang Lin Kong showed no signs of action, Murphy grew furious. She pointed her gun at Fang Lin Kong's head and threatened, "If you don’t plan on helping out, I’ll shoot you right here!"
Fang Lin Kong scratched his head and suddenly remembered that he had a recently crafted storage artifact on him. Being quite fond of cultivation novels and their ethereal journeys, he had fashioned it into a bracelet. However, due to some mishaps during its creation, this bracelet only had three compartments of varying sizes; the largest one could hold up to one cubic meter—just enough for a Stone Giant.
At this moment, Fang Lin Kong decided not to worry about leaving any traces behind. He stretched out his hand and stored the Stone Giant into the storage bracelet before casually handing over the damaged artifact to Murphy. He said, "This bracelet is half broken and isn’t useful anymore; I’ll give it to you along with the Stone Giant!"
Murphy's mouth fell open, shocked by what Fang Lin Kong had just done. This guy was utterly clueless; he had no idea that storage artifacts were extremely rare on Earth. Just looking at the Cosmic Backpack series, which was huge yet had limited capacity and still sold so well, made it clear how precious storage artifacts were. The main issue was that there were no materials left on Earth to forge new ones. Although Fang Lin Kong's bracelet was a failure in terms of craftsmanship, its price on the black market was likely not far off from that of a Stone Giant.
Since Fang Lin Kong was so generous, Murphy felt no need to be polite. She quickly snatched the storage bracelet from him, pulled out a necklace, slipped it on, and tucked it back into her chest for safekeeping. Fang Lin Kong, unaware of how this shabby item was being treated, couldn't help but admire Murphy's impressive figure, his thoughts wandering into dangerous territory.
The others who had entered with Murphy had already left; only Fang Lin Kong and Murphy remained. Suddenly, Fang Lin Kong felt a wave of heat wash over him. He thought to himself, "If I just pounce on this dark beauty and... given our strength difference, I could easily subdue her struggles..."
In his mind's eye, he imagined Murphy beneath him, screaming, writhing, crying, begging for mercy while her body twisted alluringly. Fang Lin Kong truly understood that what people called evil was merely an inflated desire that erupted when left unchecked.
He shook his head vigorously to dispel the dangerous thoughts but could already feel his mouth drying out. Murphy, of course, had no idea how perilous Fang Lin Kong's recent thoughts had been and didn't realize she had narrowly escaped a disaster. Fang Lin Kong was a very upright young man; even after dating Ding Qingya for so long, they had only ever kissed. He had never let his mind wander into such treacherous territory before. Yet Murphy's allure was simply too great.
"We should continue exploring; if we wait for them to return, we might miss out on the best treasures! Mr. Ember, let's split whatever we find evenly!"
After securing the storage bracelet, Murphy decided to press on with the adventure. She recalled Fang Lin Kong's earlier words about the Stone Giants being created as guardians of some secret. It seemed impossible that four Stone Giants would be placed here without any treasure.
Feeling an inexplicable surge of youthful impulse, Fang Lin Kong dared not let Murphy continue to murder his visual senses by walking ahead of him. Therefore, he took the lead and thoroughly searched the area where the Stone Giants stood. In truth, he was merely putting on a show for Murphy; he had already discovered an entrance hidden in the dimensional space.
Deceiving someone like Murphy was something Fang Lin Kong could accomplish seamlessly. After making some subtle adjustments, he gently tapped the air in front of him. After a wave of vibrations, the empty atmosphere seemed to melt away, gradually revealing a large hole about half a person's height.
Fang Lin Kong grinned and stepped through the opening. Murphy tried to grab him but didn't have time to react. As she followed him through this strange doorway, she found herself staring at something astonishing...
(To be continued)
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