The echoes of their footsteps resounded in the darkness as Xue Chang and the others made their way down the steps.
Oddly enough, the floor and the walls were smooth to the touch. The the air was almost pleasant instead of the muddy air one would expect from an underground chamber.
And most importantly of all, within his eyes Xue Chang could clearly see ribbons of blue light flowing from the ceiling of the chamber down into its lower depths.
Clearly this wasn't just some sort of tomb that happened to be found near the village, this place was built here for a reason.
He just wasn't sure if the reason had any connection to the slaughter at the village.
Advancing further down the steps, the group finally reached an open area lit by torchlight. It was a room with pitch black walls and a checkered floor of black and blue.
within the walls to their side were dozens of large grooves filled with statues kneeling with their heads facing toward the ground, as if welcoming back a returning king. And further down within the chamber, a single altar could be seen.
Atop the altar was a brilliant blue orb that floating leisurely in the air. But oddly enough, there seemed to be nothing holding it up. It was just floating by itself.
"What is this place?" Tian Hai released a quiet sigh as he inhaled a deep breath. Once he released the air from his lungs, visible traces of black matter could be seen escaping his lungs.
"It can't be!" Xue Chang wasn't paying attention to it before, but now that he saw Tian Hai's actions, he focused his mind a little. A golden light flickered within his pupils as the world around him changed drastically.
Now he could see the room was filled with an extremely dense layer of spiritual force, many times thicker than on the outside.
"What is going on? Why is the force here so more robust than in other places."
"More importantly Tian Kai, how was it that no one had found this place yet? It is incredible enough that these walls, I assume, are able to keep the spiritual force here from exiting the chamber, but the entrance was very well hidden so how could we be the first to find it?"
Xue Chang though it was too strange that a place like this hasn't been reported in yet. It was basically a holy land! Yet he hasn't heard about this place at all...
Why was that?
Tian Hai rubbed his chin in wonderment as well while Tian Kai stepped forward suddenly.
He caught something the corner of his eye snd approached it without thunking, "Hey, I think I found something over here." Walking over to one of the statues, he saw something strange stuck under its foot.
Bending over to pick it up, he pulled out a thin piece of cloth. But while holding it in his hand, he froze for a second.
The cloth had been drenched in blood.
Slowly bringing his gaze up, Tian Kai saw the statue, which had originally been facing toward the ground, now stare directly at him.
An instinctual sense of danger overwhelmed him as he immediately jumped back without a second of hesitation. And in the place where his head had just been, the clenched fist of the statue was now there.
"EVERYONE!"
He didn't need to shout out more than that as just in that moment, all of the statues began to move, notifying Xue Chang and Tian Hai of the situation.
The three of them grouped together with their backs pressed against on another.
Xue Chang looked back the way they came, but it was already too late. Two statues of large men stood in the way of the stairs. And now they were surrounded.
Looking around at what stood before them, a single word escaped from Xue Chang's mouth, "Golems...!"
He had only heard about these stone automatons in stories and rumors. They were a magic treasure used by cultivators. But golems didn't have any cognitive ability so their movements and actions depended on how one would program them.
But he never heard of golems ever being here before. No, it wasn't that he had never heard of it, it should've been impossible!
In order to function, golems needed a large amount of spiritual force to power themselves. Usually they would have cores that could absorb energy from the air to continuously refill their supply, but one needed to place them in places abundant in the energy to work properly.
The spiritual force found in Water Cloud City and the surrounding area was nowhere near enough to power these golems, so how where they able to function!?
That was when Xue Chang remembered that the chamber they were in had a thick layer of spiritual force quenching it.
But it still didn't make any sense, energy didn't just come out of nowhere. Where was the spiritual force being supplied from?
However Xue Chang didn't have time to consider that question.
He had to worry more about the dozens of golems currently surrounding them now.
Tian Hai whipped out his sword while pointing it toward the enemies in front of him.
Meanwhile Tian Kai pulled his arm back, spear in hand, "They're just a bunch of rock people right? Shouldn't be too hard now..."
Xue Chang doled his eyes at the jinxing words Tian Kai said. And as expected, when the golems approached them a little more, they revealed something else.
The grooves and holes the golems were kneeling in weren't empty, instead they were filled to the brim with what seemed to be hundred of bodies. And from the sensation the corpses gave off, these weren't just mortals either.
Tian Hai saw the scene and couldn't help but joke, "At least we now know what happened to anyone who found this chamber before us."
He wouldn't be joking soon though as immediately a golem launched toward him at a blinding speed.
Immediately, he brought his blade up to block the first strike before spinning around and kicking away a golem who had snuck up behind him.
A swelling pain erupted in his foot as the recoil from kick in a stone person came to him. Tian Hai was no longer in a joking mood as the exchange had made him realize something.
The golems had the strength of a first level Qi refiner at least, and with their naturally hardened body, they weren't something that could be dealt with easily.
Xue Chang had also came to the same conclusion, holding his saber out in front of him, e prepared himself for a long battle.
But just before he could make a move, a voice rung in his head once more. Yong Heng had awoken.
"THE ORB, get the orb if you want to live!"