RUMBLE!

The Bone Palace trembled.

The palace doors swung open, and an immense suction force erupted from within.

Li Wei, standing a hundred meters away, was helplessly pulled into the Bone Palace.

BAM! CLANG!

Li Wei fell to the floor just inside the entrance of the Bone Palace.

The Death Knight’s Death Rider Spear clattered down beside him.

The doors of the Bone Palace slammed shut.

Li Wei looked back, his brow furrowed in extreme vigilance.

WHOOSH!

Braziers around the Bone Palace ignited with an ethereal blue Soul Fire.

The flames illuminated the dim Bone Palace.

Li Wei quickly scanned his surroundings.

The Bone Palace was empty, save for a Stone Coffin resting on a three-tiered stone platform in the center of the hall.

The Stone Coffin wasn’t large; even a child couldn’t lie down inside it.

Seeing this, Li Wei grew intensely curious about what the Stone Coffin contained.

’What could fit inside such a small coffin?’

He waited by the entrance for a long time, but nothing else happened inside the Bone Palace.

Only then did Li Wei begin to move.

He picked up the Death Rider Spear that had fallen nearby.

He tried to open the doors of the Bone Palace.

He blasted them with Fireballs, but even a Charged Blue Fireball couldn’t damage the doors.

The surrounding walls were just as indestructible; the high-temperature Blue Fire couldn’t burn through the bones that formed the Bone Palace.

Li Wei understood that he was trapped here.

He turned his head to look at the Stone Coffin in the center of the Bone Palace.

It was his only hope of survival.

Or a source of danger.

Unable to destroy the Bone Palace, Li Wei could only try to find a way to open the doors.

The Stone Coffin became his only option.

Even if it was potentially dangerous.

Li Wei had his Shadow Attendant approach the Stone Coffin.

"Shadow Attendant, go see what’s with the Stone Coffin."

The Shadow Attendant accepted the order and walked toward the Stone Coffin.

The moment it came within three meters of the coffin, its body disintegrated, transforming into a streak of light that was sucked inside.

Li Wei’s expression hardened.

’What’s going on?’

He carefully sensed the Shadow Attendant’s core within his body.

After a long while, he finally re-established contact with the Shadow Attendant.

The Shadow Attendant didn’t know what had happened either.

The instant it stepped within three meters of the Stone Coffin, it was annihilated.

Its consciousness Returned to the Nightmare Core in the Dream World.

It couldn’t remember or know anything that had happened during that time.

Seeing this, Li Wei created an Illusory Body and had it approach the Stone Coffin.

The Illusory Body came within three meters of the Stone Coffin, instantly shattered, and was devoured.

The feedback from the Illusory Body made Li Wei’s expression turn to one of shocked suspicion.

’The Stone Coffin can absorb all energy?’

The Shadow Attendant and the Illusory Body were both pure Energy Bodies.

That was why they were instantly devoured upon getting too close to the Stone Coffin.

This made Li Wei even more curious about what was inside.

He threw a Fireball at the Stone Coffin.

When the Fireball flew within three meters of the coffin, it instantly disintegrated, its Magic Energy completely consumed.

’What in the world is in there?’ 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Li Wei was intensely curious.

He walked toward the Stone Coffin.

At the very least, his previous tests had proven that there was no danger as long as he didn’t get within three meters of it.

The three-meter radius happened to be the edge of the first tier of the stone platform.

Li Wei picked up a dry bone from the floor and tossed it onto the platform.

There was no reaction.

He took some miscellaneous items from his Spatial Ring and threw them onto the stone platform.

This also didn’t trigger the Stone Coffin’s Power.

Li Wei glanced around before looking back at the Stone Coffin.

’It’s a shame I don’t have a living creature to test it with.’

’Just walking over is too risky.’

After hesitating repeatedly, Li Wei walked to the edge of the platform and cautiously extended his left hand toward the three-meter boundary.

His hand crossed the three-meter line... and nothing happened.

Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

’It seems the Stone Coffin only affects Energy Bodies.’

’This must be some kind of protective measure.’

Li Wei walked up the platform and touched the Stone Coffin. Still, there was no reaction.

He felt around the Stone Coffin for a moment but couldn’t find any switches.

Li Wei saw a seam along the edge of the lid, proving the Stone Coffin could be opened.

He took out the Death Rider Spear and tried to pry the coffin open.

KRAK! KRAK! KRAK!

The Death Rider Spear, which had remained intact even in the explosion of a Super Blue Fireball, was completely useless against the Stone Coffin.

It couldn’t even leave a single Trace on it.

After trying to pry it open for a long time, Li Wei still couldn’t open the Stone Coffin.

Somewhat discouraged, he sat down on the stone platform where the coffin rested.

He tapped the Stone Coffin listlessly with the Death Rider Spear, venting his frustration.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Perhaps the sound disturbed the Undead dwelling within the Stone Coffin.

Or perhaps, the Undead had finally noticed Li Wei.

The Bone Palace trembled.

The ethereal blue Soul Fire burning in the braziers turned into a white Flame of the Departed Soul.

A black, human-like figure materialized in mid-air.

The figure was shrouded in a black Magic Robe, its lower body incorporeal, with no visible legs or feet.

Li Wei scrambled to his feet, nervously watching the phantom that had appeared above the Stone Coffin.

He immediately backed out of the Stone Coffin’s attack range.

The figure floated in mid-air, looking down at Li Wei.

Although he couldn’t see its face, Li Wei could feel its gaze upon him.

Li Wei swallowed nervously.

"Human Mage."

A hoarse voice echoed.

Li Wei’s expression flickered.

Amid his tension, he felt a sense of relief.

’Being able to communicate is good news.’

’Otherwise, if we just start fighting, there’s nothing to be gained.’

Li Wei quickly cupped his hands in a salute and asked, "I am Li Wei. Greetings, Senior."

"Senior... It’s been a long time since anyone has called me that."

The black shadow remarked with a sigh.

Li Wei quickly said, "Senior, I stumbled in here by accident. I’m not a tomb robber. I ask that you show mercy and let me leave."

The black shadow looked at him and said slowly, "You want to leave?"

Li Wei looked up at it, waiting for its next words.

"No problem."

A look of joy appeared on Li Wei’s face.

"I need you to do one thing for me," the black shadow said.

Li Wei asked, "What is it?"

The black shadow looked down at the Stone Coffin and said, "Take this out of here."

Li Wei was stunned for a moment, somewhat bewildered.

"Just... take it out?"

"Yes. Leave the Barrier."

Li Wei looked at the Stone Coffin and the black shadow, lost in thought.

He stared at the black shadow for a moment as a theory formed in his mind.

’Could it be that the black shadow isn’t actually here?’

’Before entering the Blood Pool, I saw it was divided by a Magic Barrier.’

’The Bone Palace is inside the Magic Barrier, so the black shadow is likely outside of it.’

’It wants what’s in the Stone Coffin in the Bone Palace, but it can’t get it because of the Magic Barrier.’

Li Wei quickly deduced the cause and effect.

Of course, this was all just his speculation.

Li Wei felt there was a seventy percent chance he was right.

The remaining thirty percent possibility was that the black shadow was sealed inside the Stone Coffin.

And it wanted him to carry it out of here, breaking the seal.

Li Wei considered many possibilities, but his thought process was swift.

After hearing the black shadow’s words, he quickly agreed, "Alright, no problem."

Looking at the indestructible and immovable Stone Coffin, Li Wei asked, "How am I supposed to take this with me?"

The black shadow waved a hand, and the Stone Coffin opened, revealing its contents.

Standing below the platform, Li Wei couldn’t see inside.

The black shadow said, "Just take this."

With that, the black shadow vanished.

Li Wei waited a moment before stepping onto the platform and seeing what was inside the Stone Coffin.

A fresh, red heart.