Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Preliminary Exploration of the Underground Passage

You realize that this is the skeleton of a female child, approximately ten years old. It is severely weathered, clearly having endured many years. Now, seeing the familiar white dress, you understand that this is the very remains of the “evil spirit” you encountered yesterday.

It seems she had fallen from above the chapel. Your candlelight could not reach the ceiling, which explains why you could not locate her remains—she had hidden herself away. But with her death, the skeleton dropped down.

Seeing the prompt, Colin let out a sigh of relief. He suddenly recalled the little girl’s final ability: a terrifying skill that could raise the shattered bones of all “Wailers” once more.

To avoid any mishaps, Colin turned and said, “Number One, have the other teams come in and collect all the bones from the ground. Cremate them and bury them outside the chapel, and place a tombstone.”

“Yes, sir!”

“And her remains are to be cremated separately. Make it a solemn affair. Pour one hundred milliliters of ‘ordinary tainted blood’—no, use one hundred milliliters of ‘rare tainted blood.’ Ensure it is burned thoroughly, collect all the ashes in a wooden box, not a single speck must be lost, then seal it with iron nails and hand it over to me. Understood?”

Colin issued these instructions with caution. He vaguely recalled that when facing this “evil spirit” girl, the prompt from “Knowing All” had been unable to confirm whether she truly was an “evil spirit.” Though he did not know the reason, it was best to burn her remains, just in case.

After ten minutes, the bones of over a hundred “Wailers” were reduced to dust by the raging flames fueled by the dark tainted blood, then buried on the land beside the chapel. The girl’s skeleton was burned with rare blood, the brilliant flames lighting the night as bright as day, driving the gray mist thirty meters away.

At length, Colin placed the sealed ash box into his “backpack,” an unusual space, and personally carried out the “seal.”

Having completed these tasks, Colin finally breathed a sigh of relief—his shoulders no longer ached.

Only then did he lead everyone to the front of the twisted statue to examine the square-meter entrance to an underground passage.

This time, under the bright lantern light, the interior details became much clearer.

Beneath the near-vertical two-meter drop was a rough stone staircase sloping downward, far wider than the mouth of the passage, about five meters across. It stretched toward the rear of the chapel, deep and dark, as if leading straight into the earth.

Meanwhile, Colin, whose strength had vastly improved since before, did not hesitate to use the prompt again.

You discover that this entrance does not lead to an ordinary basement, but rather to a layered zone filled with dangers, unaffected by the gray mist.

Judging by the direction it extends, you believe it leads toward Crow Mountain, where, evidently, a hidden treasure unknown to all lies.

That treasure may be the reason the priest once became the Thirteenth Saint.

After a brief assessment, you believe that with your current strength, you have the confidence to explore the place.

“The prompt has changed—it’s no longer a dead end,” Colin felt somewhat reassured and was about to withdraw his gaze and send someone down to investigate, when a new prompt appeared.

Some barely perceptible aura makes you realize the basic attributes of every member of the exploration team should not be lower than two, or else they will suffer unknown mental effects.

“Basic attributes not lower than two?”

Colin was taken aback. He himself should be fine, and so should Shana, but this meant that any servant entering must be at least level three.

This indicated that his previous plan of advancing with large numbers, step by step, building a base and steadily pushing toward the ruins of the High Court, had to be abandoned. To explore, aside from assembling an elite squad, there was almost no other way.

After all, if the requirement is basic attributes greater than two, Colin didn’t have enough funds to upgrade all participants, nor the time to train them slowly.

Letting the servants upgrade themselves was practically a false hope.

“A level-three servant costs about one hundred eighty mist points. I have around three thousand mist points now...”

Colin’s eye twitched, feeling a pang in his teeth. He had just managed to earn some money, and now most of it was gone.

But the situation had reversed from yesterday—yesterday, entering meant certain death; today, not entering meant certain death.

Whether he liked it or not, this exploration had to be launched, and he had to lead the team himself.

As for the number of personnel, it would probably be fewer than twenty.

“No wonder yesterday the prompt said entering meant death; we didn’t even qualify to start...”

Colin took a deep breath, his mind made up.

There was still more than an hour before sunset, so he planned to conduct a preliminary exploration here before heading to the mine.

With the mobility of the armored vehicle, he could investigate those places.

Once he collected information and made arrangements, tomorrow’s exploration would begin immediately.

Though the prompt said this zone was unaffected by the gray mist and could be explored at night, Colin knew the importance of caution, especially after a busy day. He resolved not to act rashly.

Colin abandoned his previous idea of starting the operation today.

“Number One, find three reliable people and have them go down for a quick look.”

Colin addressed Number One, who stood at his side.

Soon, three level-one servants were selected and stood tall and straight before Colin.

They looked familiar; Colin recalled they had helped block the vehicle earlier. Their posture was good—evidently well trained by Number One, Colin noted inwardly.

Then, to Number One’s astonishment, his three “subordinates” were promoted to level three.

Under Colin’s pained gaze, their physiques changed, muscles swelling slightly, their bodies growing to one meter seventy, appearing much more robust.

“Praise the Lord!”

Amid the envious stares of the other servants, the three shouted with excitement—their strong voices clearly a result of Number One’s training.

“Good,”

Colin nodded, seemingly unconcerned, and handed over the lantern.

“Just check below and see what’s there. If you sense any danger, withdraw immediately, understood?”

“Yes, my lord!”

One of them took the lantern and led the others into the hole.

Their strength, now twice that of ordinary men, made the drop negligible.

“Take care of the lord’s lantern, you rascals!” Number One barked at them.

“Yes, Captain!”

The three figures quickly disappeared into the tunnel, the light gradually fading, and silence fell once more.

It was ten minutes before any sound emerged from below.