The Cemetery of Death was a legendary, sacred ground for necromancers, and the high hope that the group had held on their journey to the Dark Forest. Han Shuo took in his surroundings, matching them with Fanny's earlier descriptions. He could be sure that this was the legendary Cemetery of death.
No wonder Han Shuo had vaguely felt something so familiar about this place earlier. This was because Han Shuo also practised necromancy magic. The strong pulses of death magic in this area, including the smell emanating from the illusionary white bones, were all things Han Shuo was extremely familiar with.
He looked around and took in everything. Han Shuo frowned as he thought, "Everyone who has ever seen the Cemetery of death has ended up dead. Now that I am standing here, do I go in or not?
The Cemetery of Death was a place where powerful necromancers studied necromancy when that magic was at its peak. Later, all the necromancers had died, and the Cemetery had disappeared without a trace.
However, since this cemetery had been a place of research for these necromancers, some secrets of necromancy must surely exist here. This was a huge temptation for a novice like Han Shuo, someone who had just entered the halls of magic. This forced Han Shuo to seriously consider whether or not to take on this adventure.
After a while, Han Shuo walked towards the cemetery and stepped into the piles of stark white bones, a firm determination on his face. As he took a few steps forward and stepped into the inner parts of this area, the dark green round ball that was hanging high in the air suddenly landed back into the jade box, and the green light that was bathing the surroundings vanished without a trace.
Han Shuo started as he looked around in bewilderment. The outskirts that his eyes had just passed over had changed again. It had returned to the view he had first seen when he arrived. Only the areas around the cemetery, down to the ground beneath Han Shuo's feet, were the same scene of death and gloom.
Looking at the round ball in his hand, Han Shuo understood that this ball was a key item for entering the Cemetery of death. It seemed to be able to open the doors to the cemetery. The entire cemetery was shrouded in a field of concealment. No one would be able to see anything out of the ordinary if they looked in from the outside, nor would this place attract anyone's attention.
However, with this sphere, the true nature of the Cemetery of death could be revealed and the entire cemetery shrouded in a veil of silence and desolation.
The stark white bones creaked beneath his feet. The sound suddenly pierced the still and lonely air, giving Han Shuo the creeps. It was a good thing that he had just successfully broken through the 'solid' realm, giving him some courage from who knows where. In fact, he was running headlong towards the Cemeteries of death, paying no attention to anything else.
After a while, he stood in front of the cemetery. In front of the door was a circular moat, with inky black water flowing in it. A bridge made of black lines and white bones hung lonely over the moat.
Without hesitation, Han Shuo's hands tightened around the jade box that held the orb, and he stepped onto the bone bridge slightly apprehensive, slowly walking towards the gates of Cemetery of Death. The bridge swayed, throwing his body off balance. He didn't know what lay in the moat below, but a single glance was enough to make his hair stand on end. Somehow he felt that whatever was in the still, inky black waters of the moat was highly dangerous.
As Han Shuo stepped onto the bridge, the round ball inside the jade box began to emit the strange green light again. This seemed to be some sort of miraculous medicine for motion sickness, as the wobbly bridge stopped swaying as soon as the green light flickered out. The black lines that had once been large gaps in the bridge instantly bridged the space between the bones.
Han Shuo finally reached the door. In front of the two large grey doors, made of some unknown material, were the skeletons of two huge evil knights and their steeds.
Evil knights were dark creatures that possessed extremely powerful fighting abilities. Necromancers who hadn't reached the level of an archmage shouldn't even think about summoning evil knights. From the large skeletons of the two evil knights in front of the doors and the shape of their battle steeds, Han Shuo could vaguely tell that these two evil knights were the best of the best.
There were intricate and detailed magical patterns on the two grey doors. There was a round slit in the centre where the two doors intersected. The shape of this slit looked like a key that would open the doors.
At that moment, the dark green ball that Han Shuo was holding suddenly shot out a beam of green light, aiming straight at the round slit in the middle of the doors. Han Shuo's thoughts raced as he immediately understood what was going on. Without hesitation, he picked up the jade box and brought the sphere closer to the slit, slowly inserting it.
Throughout the process, Han Shuo was careful not to let his hand touch the round ball, for he understood that this ball was no ordinary object. He wasn't sure if some undesirable changes would occur if skin and flesh touched it, so he avoided touching it with his bare hands as much as possible.
Once the sphere was inserted into the slot, there was a roar as the doors abruptly opened with a creak. As the doors opened, the slit automatically split open, and the round orb that had been inserted remained in the jade box, unchanged.
A hazy mist and dust from the inside drifted out with the opening of the doors, causing Han Shuo to cough a few times before the doors opened.
There was a large hall in the cemetery of death and six rooms with closed doors around the hall. The whole hall was quite large and the ceiling was extremely high. It was about the size of a basketball court, and in the centre was a magic matrix in the shape of a large six-pointed star. It was about 80% to 90% similar to the one Han Shuo had taken from the Academy to the city of Zajoski, and there were ancient, picturesque magical images drawn in the centre.
Apart from the six-pointed star matrix, there was nothing else in the hall. There were only a few magical pillars supporting the building and a few broken pieces of bone in the corner.
There was a thick smell of decay in the air, and Han Shuo waited at the door for a while, only slowly entering when he felt the smell slowly dissipating through the open doors.
Aside from the six-pointed star matrix, there was only the high ceiling inside the hall and the six room doors that the matrix points pointed to. He searched the entire hall first, but didn't find anything of value. Han Shuo then turned his attention to the six rooms with the closed doors.
One, two, three...
Han Shuo was still empty-handed after going through all six rooms. From the shape of the six rooms, they were now just six warehouses with nothing in them.
He returned to the great hall and began to remember what Fanny had said the last time. Apart from the general appearance, Han Shuo gradually remembered that only a small part of the graveyard was exposed above ground. Most of it was buried deep underground, and the true secret would surely lie in the depths of the cemetery.
Except that Han Shuo hadn't seen any tunnels or stairs leading down after passing through the great hall and six rooms. This confused him greatly and he sank back into deep thought.
After a while, Han Shuo still felt that the round ball in his hands was the key. He immediately stood up and circled the hall again, including the six rooms in his inspection.
Finally, Han Shuo discovered another slit in the corner of one of the rooms. He was overjoyed and another rumble sounded as he inserted the round ball into the slit. A dark tunnel suddenly split the walls of the room and rows of six silver rods, made of a strange material that was neither stone nor wood, were laid on the first step of the tunnel. There seemed to be connecting points at the ends of each stick, as if the six sticks could be joined together.
Apart from the six sticks, there was only a thin piece of paper. A few hastily scribbled words were written on it, using ancient magic symbols. Han Shuo took the thin piece of paper.
When he had carefully read the magic words, Han Shuo understood that these six sticks could form a diagram with a six sided star and could be used in direct transport with the magic matrix in the hall. He also clearly understood that if one did not have sufficient mental strength, one would not be able to venture further into the depths.
Apart from that, Han Shuo was unable to glean any other useful information from the thin sheet of paper.
After a moment's thought, Han Shuo put the six magic sticks away and furrowed his brow as he began to walk down the tunnel. Suddenly, an invisible field appeared as a green light rippled and abruptly bounced off him. All Han Shuo could feel was his mind aching abnormally, and he thought to himself that the words on that thin piece of paper were true. His mental strength must be too weak and was prevented from descending any further into the depths of the building.
Cursing lowly, Han Shuo stayed in the room and connected the six magic sticks according to the instructions on the paper, forming a six-pointed star on the floor. He then stood in the centre of this mini-matrix and activated it with his mental power and Han Shuo appeared in the large matrix in the centre of the hall with a flash of white light.
Repeating the same method, Han Shuo infused the transport matrix in the hall with his mental power and returned to the same room after activation, appearing within the small six-pointed matrix.
His brow furrowed in deep thought, Han Shuo understood that he would not be able to enter the tunnel and explore the graveyard for the time being. It was a good thing that he had acquired the six magic sticks and the round ball, which would allow him to get here comfortably no matter where he was. This filled his heart with joy, as he'd already begun to think of this place as his secret base.
Since he would temporarily be unable to discover the secrets of this place, Han Shuo had no desire to stay any longer. After thinking for a while, he rolled up the six magic sticks and placed them on his back, put the piece of paper in his pocket, and walked out of the Cemetery in the same way he had carried the jade box.
When Han Shuo was safely out, he looked back and realised that the scene was the same as when he'd walked in. The growth of tall weeds, shrubs, and towering trees remained unchanged. His surroundings were still quiet and desolate.
A small satisfied smile appeared on his face. Han Shuo understood that this time, his trip to the Dark Forest had come to an end.
He had stumbled upon the legendary Cemetery of Death by sheer dumb luck. The secrets of this cemetery belonged to him and no one else, including the necromancy students and teachers.
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