novelonline Chapter 3625 The Secret Chamber Stone Slab
Chapter 3625 The Secret Chamber Stone Slab
Chapter 3625 The Secret Chamber Stone Slab
The "Winter Fragment" was given to Stella, and Claire picked up the last fragment of the spear, weighed it in her hand, and then handed it to Shad:
"Here you are, the power of the stars is here."
The fragments of the spear possessed a cold gentleness, similar to the power of the moon, yet not entirely the same. Shad initially thought the spear, powerful enough to shatter stars and originating from the temple, was the power of fate, but upon touching it, he immediately understood that it also possessed the power of the stars, perhaps even being a legendary astral artifact.
However, the spear was already broken, and the power it contained was like the last foam before the sea dries up, no longer enough to help everyone.
"Can you turn back time and restore it to its original state?"
Matilda, standing beside Emilia, suddenly asked the elf in a soft voice, expecting a negative answer. But the pointy-eared elf frowned, thought for a moment, and then said uncertainly:
"Maybe. It's possible."
Emilia, of course, could not restore the weapon of the Fourth Age to its full power. After all, she had only been a Chosen One for a short time. Even if the Elven tribe had many secret techniques for her to learn, it would be too much to ask of her to reverse the time of a transcendent weapon back two ages.
When Emilia said "yes," she meant exactly this:
"Give me some time to communicate with the remaining time information on the fragment. If I have enough time, I can summon the phantom of this weapon in the river of time by permanently consuming the remaining power in the fragment."
The Phantom can be used, but its power is inferior to the original, and it's a one-time use item. If we were to actually do that, the fragment would have to become ordinary metal.
The original spear was also disposable, and Shad agreed almost without hesitation:
"No problem, then I'll leave the rest to you."
The fragments were transferred to Emilia's hands again, and the little fairy was happy that she could be of help. However, because she needed to concentrate on sensing, she would sit on Ellie's back for the rest of the journey.
The little unicorn didn't mind either; Emilia in her fairy form was the lightest girl Shad knew, besides Agelina.
The fact that the northern tribes were connected to the Fatu people was something no one had anticipated before the trip. While Shad and Emilia were talking, Claire looked at Miss Asperger with a rather complicated expression. Although thousands of years had passed since the division between the two tribes, knowing they shared a common ancestor still gave her many thoughts.
As for Stella, the Fourth Age phantom didn't strike too hard. Although she was knocked away, she recovered quickly after a little treatment. The white-haired girl was very depressed; since arriving on the island, she seemed to have done nothing of value. Now, with an opportunity to prove herself, she had failed to seize it.
She followed Claire with her head down. The Great Witch, of course, noticed her apprentice's emotions and would comfort her on the way.
"The problem now is, we've learned about ancient secrets, the origins of the Fatu people, and even obtained some useful items, but what's next?"
As everyone prepared to set off again, Vanessa looked around and asked:
"Did that person forget to mention where the passage is? My senses didn't detect any exit here either."
“Generally speaking, ancient tombs from the Fourth Age would have ingenious mechanisms and would intentionally conceal spatial traces. Perhaps we can start with the candlesticks and chairs.”
Mr. Mortis said that although there were no professional tomb raiders present, Shad happened to know a tomb raider lady who lived in the Fifth Age. Back in the hut in Tombstone Wasteland, Miss Liad had told everyone some interesting stories about tombs, and when they entered the tomb of the Giant King together, she also used her experience to solve many of the traps.
"Actually, the mechanism here is quite obvious."
Shad told everyone to move away from the coffin against the wall, then he summoned flames to relight the candlesticks on either side of the chair in front of the coffin.
Sure enough, as the candlesticks lit up, the coffin moved into the rock wall amidst a rumbling vibration, revealing the opening hidden beneath it.
"What's the point of this?"
Megan was quite curious about this, but this way, everyone could move forward by getting around the candles and chairs.
But Shad frowned again.
"What's wrong? Is there something else?"
Sevier asked with concern, and Shad nodded:
"This mechanism seems a bit too simple. I'm not worried that it's a trap; there's no need for them to do something like that. According to the very professional lady I met, these simple mechanisms are often used to conceal the real treasure."
He didn't urge everyone to set off immediately, but instead sat back down in the stone chair, and nothing happened. The others offered their own suggestions, but none of them were effective.
Their time was actually very tight, as the church and the Prophet's Association could catch up at any moment, and since there were other passages, there might be others also heading towards the "Fallen Star Beast".
Bella tried several divinations, but to no avail:
“There is a strong source of interference here. Apart from you, I have never encountered such strong interference with fate. Is this also the power of the Fallen Star Beast? But aren’t we still a long way from it?”
Knowing that time was of the essence, Shad looked at Ellie, recalling how the little unicorn had used its powerful intuition to find little Leona inside the "House of the Pseudo-Humans":
"Ellie, can you sense anything?"
Emilia hadn't yet ridden onto Ellie's back when the little unicorn heard Shad's call and happily came over. It circled the candle and chair three times before letting out a "woof!"
Shad looked at Emilia, who then translated for him:
"What Ellie means is, where did the coffin go after it disappeared?"
Upon hearing Emilia's words, everyone looked at the wall through which the coffin had entered; it had seemed to have merged into the wall. Then, as Shad extinguished the flames of the candlesticks on either side, with a rumbling vibration, the coffin slid out of the wall again, covering the entrance to the passage below.
When the coffin appeared, Vanessa stood by the wall to test it, confirming that nothing could follow it into the rock wall. Furthermore, she sensed the earth and knew that there should be nothing inside the rock wall.
"Then this is the only way."
The coffin was opened again, and Shad curled up and lay down next to the smaller inner coffin. Then the coffin lid was closed, and after the candlestick flame was lit, Shad went into the interior of the rock wall along with the coffin.
He agreed with everyone that they would extinguish the flames in three minutes to allow the coffin to appear. After lying in the coffin and waiting for the tremors to subside, Shad tried to push the lid open from the inside. He certainly wouldn't have been able to push it open if there had been a thick layer of rock above the coffin, but this time he did.
"Ellie is right."
The silver moonlight illuminated the small, dark chamber inside the rock wall. At Xia De's height, his hair even brushed against the ceiling when he stood upright. The chamber wasn't large; besides the coffin, less than three meters away, a stone pillar supported a thin, square stone slab about two palms long. Light from an unknown source illuminated this slab from above.
Normally, there should be a treasure chest or gift box on top of the stone slab, but it's empty:
"Could someone have come here beforehand and taken the things?"
But then Shad realized that what was stored there was the square stone slab that looked like a display stand. He noticed that the slab wasn't connected to the pillar below, and when he removed the slab, the light illuminating it disappeared.
The stone slab was less than two inches (about 5 cm) thick, and judging from its weight, it appeared to be solid. The side that was originally facing upwards was carved with a neat circle, which was one of the reasons Shad initially thought the slab was just a display stand; while the side that was originally facing downwards was inscribed with ancient script from the Fourth Age—
Now that you've found it, please take it with you. However, please do not forcibly open it to remove its contents; it will appear on its own at the appropriate time.
"What could be hidden inside such a thin stone slab? The Myriad Manifestations Plaque?"
Xia De pondered this question, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't sense anything inside the stone slab. However, time was running out, so he didn't continue investigating and instead lay back down in the coffin with the stone slab.
After rejoining the group, he shared what he had just witnessed with his companions. The others couldn't figure out what was going on, but they all praised Ellie's keen observation.
The passage then opened, and the group continued forward. The flames on the candlesticks on both sides went out automatically shortly after the group left, allowing the coffin to once again block the entrance leading forward.
The entrance under the coffin connected to a passage with neat walls, just like a tomb passage. However, after walking forward for more than ten minutes, the passage returned to the appearance of a natural crack in the ground, which meant that the group had officially left the area of the mausoleum.
Claire whispered to Stella, comforting her apprentice. Matilda held the stone slab that Shad had just found, because she discovered that it couldn't be turned into a toy.
After passing the tomb, the road ahead, though not perfectly straight, was almost entirely straight ahead, with no further branches.
Shad and Miss Asperger led the way, while Vanessa, at level 13, brought up the rear with Megan. The group of over thirty people wasn't very long; the light illuminated at least twenty meters in front and behind them, and most remained silent, preparing for any eventuality.
Miss Asperger asked Shad softly:
"Since that figure just said that only three people can attack the Fallen Star Beast at the same time, how do you plan to arrange the selection?"