The interior of the pyramid was pitch black, with only the beam of a flashlight wavering in the darkness. The walls were engraved with ancient runes, and in some places there were still broken murals depicting scenes of ancient imperial beast masters fighting side by side with spirit beasts.
"These murals..." Lin Fan stopped and scrutinized them, "It seems like they are telling a story."
Su Yuqing came over to look, "Indeed, it looks like an ancient imperial beast master fighting some kind of powerful spirit beast... Wait, this spirit beast looks..."
She suddenly froze and pointed at a spirit beast in the mural, "Isn't that Taotie?"
Lin Fan also froze. The Taotie in the mural was completely different from the current one, it was huge and its nine heads were open as if it wanted to devour heaven and earth. And across from it stood a group of Imperial Beast Masters, holding magic weapons and looking solemn.
Taotie glanced at the mural and said disdainfully, "Mortals, don't make a fuss. That's just what this seat looked like when it was young."
Lin Fan: "..."
They continued on and came to a huge stone chamber. There was an altar in the center of the stone chamber, and an ancient box was placed on top of it. The surface of the box was engraved with complex runes and emitted a faint glow.
"That's what we're looking for." Su Yuqing said, a trace of excitement flashing in her eyes.
Right at this moment, a cloudy wind blew by, and the temperature inside the stone room plummeted. Lin Fan felt that his breathing became difficult.
"Be careful!" Su Yuqing shouted.
A dark shadow pounced out from the shadows with astonishing speed. The Taotie instantly grew bigger and blocked in front of them. The black shadow crashed into the Taotie and let out a mournful scream.
Only then did Lin Fan see that it was a huge bat with bloodshot eyes, sharp fangs, and bizarre runes on its wings.
"It's a bloodsucking bat!" Su Yuqing exclaimed, "Be careful, it will suck the essence blood of spirit beasts!"
Taotie said disdainfully, "A mere beast, how dare it act recklessly in front of this seat?"
It opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar, "Nine Devilish Flames!"
Black flames erupted from the Taotie's mouth, instantly engulfing the bloodsucking bat. However, the bloodsucking bat was not annihilated, instead it expanded in the flames, becoming as huge as the Taotie in the blink of an eye.
"Not good, it's absorbing the power of the relic!" Su Yuqing shouted, "We must finish it off as soon as possible!"
Taotie narrowed his eyes, "Mortals, stand back. Let this seat deal with it."
Lin Fan and Su Yuqing stepped back to the side. The Taotie and the Bloodsucking Bat engaged in a fierce battle. The two behemoths collided within the stone room, each clash triggering huge tremors.
The battle lasted for more than ten minutes before the Taotie finally found an opportunity. It opened its bloody mouth and bit down on the Bloodsucking Bat's neck, "Devour Heaven and Earth!"
The Bloodsucking Bat let out one last scream and dissipated into a cloud of black gas.
Lin Fan sighed in relief, "Finally solved..."
Just then, the floor of the stone room suddenly began to vibrate. The runes on the walls began to flicker as if they were warning of something.
"Not good, the relic is going to collapse!" Su Yuqing shouted.
They hurriedly ran outside. The moment they rushed out of the ruins, the entire building collapsed. Amidst the dust, Lin Fan saw Taotie lazily walking over with that ancient box in his mouth.
"Mortal, your stuff." Taotie threw the box to Lin Fan.
Lin Fan took the box and his heart was a little complicated, "Thank you..."
Su Yuqing looked at the stone tablet in her hand, "This mission is finally completed. However..." She looked at the collapsed ruins, "It seems like we destroyed the ruins..."
Lin Fan: "..."