Chapter 158: The Unusual Reaction of the Taikoo Flame Pearl
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Irving approached the eerie and terrifying building. Without any hesitation, he stepped directly into the structure.
Immediately, Irving's figure vanished from everyone's sight.
Elder Seville observed everything with an impassive expression.
His emotions were extremely conflicted. On one hand, he hoped Irving's endeavor would succeed, as that would mean he might obtain the legendary artifact once possessed by the Smith family ancestors.
On the other hand, he wished for Irving to perish during this mission.
After all, Irving was the strongest adversary Elder Seville had ever encountered. If Irving survived, Elder Seville was certain that more troubles awaited him.
Beside Elder Seville, Vicky stared anxiously and worriedly at the ominous building. She only prayed for Irving's safe return.
The moment Irving stepped into the sinister building, he felt as if he had been transported to another realm.
The space Irving now found himself in was filled with various elemental forces. Throughout this space, the agonized screams of different individuals echoed intermittently.
Irving did not panic.
He calmly analyzed his current situation.
"I should not be inside that eerie building. I must have been transported to this unknown region the moment I made contact with the structure.
The screams around me likely belong to those who perished near the building previously. Since these screams can linger, it indicates that this space is not far from the building."
Having reached his conclusion, Irving began to harness the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl within him.
The energy of the Taikoo Flame Pearl gradually filled Irving's body, and a silver glow emanated around him. This silver glow shielded Irving from the surrounding screams.
Irving then proceeded quickly through the unknown space.
As he advanced, he could feel the elemental forces around him growing increasingly violent.
These forces seemed intent on destroying him.
"No matter who is controlling these elemental forces, I must warn you. It is impossible for you to kill me this way. My power is far greater than you can imagine."
Irving hoped that by issuing such a warning, he might caution any potential enemies present.
However, his warning was to no avail. No sooner had Irving finished speaking than the elemental forces around him launched an even more ferocious attack.
Faced with this violent onslaught of elemental forces, Irving could only rely on activating the "Blessed by Light" skill of the Taikoo Flame Pearl to withstand the assault.
After advancing for quite some time, Irving finally came across an ancient-looking door.
Intricate patterns adorned this door, and upon first seeing them, Irving had a fleeting sense of déjà vu, as though he had seen these patterns somewhere else before.
He decided not to proceed immediately and instead took a moment to carefully observe the complex patterns on the door.
After about fifteen minutes of scrutiny, it suddenly dawned on him. The intricate designs on the door, while differing slightly in detail, were fundamentally identical to the patterns contained within the Taikoo Flame Pearl.
The moment Irving realized this, he felt an unusual reaction from the Taikoo Flame Pearl within his body.
The Taikoo Flame Pearl began to rapidly absorb the various elemental forces surrounding Irving into his body.
Irving's power surged dramatically in a short span of time, but this sudden increase in power came at a cost. He felt as though every cell in his body was being seared by the intense energy.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the excruciating pain in Irving's body finally began to subside.
At this point, Irving noticed that the various elemental forces around him had completely vanished. It seemed that all of the energy had been absorbed by the Taikoo Flame Pearl.
Although Irving couldn't immediately harness the power absorbed by the Taikoo Flame Pearl, he believed that with time, he would eventually be able to fully utilize all of its energy.
Once he was certain that his body was no longer in danger, Irving turned his attention back to the ancient door in front of him.
The door was now open.
Behind it lay a deep, shadowy corridor. There was no light within the corridor, and Irving had no idea where it led.
However, he had no other options available to him now.
Irving had no choice but to step into the dark corridor.
The moment he entered, the ancient door slammed shut behind him. Irving turned around, intending to stop the door from closing, but he was too late.
"Since the door is already shut, the only way now is forward; there's no turning back," Irving remarked with a slight sigh, then swiftly proceeded down the dark corridor.
Although the corridor appeared pitch black when viewed from outside the door, upon entering, Irving discovered that there were indeed candles along both sides. However, the candlelight was exceedingly faint.
With the help of the dim candlelight, Irving could barely make out the condition of the walls on either side of the corridor.
The walls were entirely constructed from a variety of bones. Most of these bones were not human, and some were astonishingly large.
"Is this really a corridor built by the ancestors of the Smith family? Could the ancestors of the Smith family have been powerful enough to vanquish such a diverse array of creatures?"
As Irving advanced through the corridor, his doubts grew.
While the Smith family ancestral home was indeed filled with numerous traps, they were at least within the realm of what Irving could comprehend.
After acquiring a legendary artifact, it was conceivable that the ancestors of the Smith family could marshal enough power to construct such a trap-laden and mysterious ancestral home.
However, the existence of this corridor was something Irving found hard to accept.
Irving even began to suspect that the bones lining the walls came from creatures of different eras.
Upon considering this possibility, Irving suddenly realized something. He focused his mind and continually drew upon the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl within him.
As the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl gradually awakened, the bones on either side of the corridor began to tremble violently.
Irving closed his eyes and extended his consciousness, continuously exploring the dark corridor ahead. Finally, at the end of the corridor, he discovered a model of the Smith family ancestral home.
The moment he laid eyes on the model, Irving understood exactly where they were!
They weren't in the real Smith family ancestral home at all. From the very beginning, everyone had fallen into a trap set by the ancestors of the Smith family.
Elder Seville believed he was in control of the situation, but in reality, it was the ancestors of the Smith family who held all the cards.
The ritual Elder Seville spoke of, which was supposed to lead them into the true Smith family ancestral home, was utterly wrong.
The ritual performed by Elder Seville was not a ritual to enter the real ancestral home, but rather one to enter a cursed space that the ancestors had long prepared. NovelFire,mp|y|r hosted
Apart from Irving, everyone else was inside the model of the Smith family ancestral home at the end of the corridor.
Irving could even see small figurines representing each person, each displaying a different expression.
Focusing his mind, Irving reached out and grabbed a figurine representing a member of the Night Blades, crushing it in his hand.
Simultaneously, the Night Blades member represented by the figurine disintegrated into pieces right before everyone's astonished eyes.
Elder Seville looked on in shock, his expression shifting unpredictably.
Although Irving wasn't physically inside the model, it seemed he could use the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl to observe what was happening within it.
"Perhaps I can use this opportunity to kill Elder Seville and all the members of the Night Blades!"
Irving realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
However, just as he reached out to crush the figurine representing Elder Seville, his connection with the Taikoo Flame Pearl was abruptly severed.
Irving's consciousness snapped back to his own body.
"I won't let you succeed so easily," a familiar voice echoed from the front of the corridor.
The moment Irving heard the voice, he prepared himself for battle.
The voice belonged to the ancestor of the Smith family, who had recently attempted to use Irving's body for resurrection.
"You don't need to be so tense. While I won't allow you to succeed easily, I'm not your enemy either. My only goal is to ensure that the artifact of the Smith family does not fall into the wrong hands," the ancestor's voice reverberated again.
Irving remained on guard, as he did not trust the ancestor at all.
"If your sole purpose is to safeguard the Smith family's artifact, why trap me here? And why imprison everyone else inside that model?" Irving retorted, prompting a derisive laugh from the ancestor.
"Do you think this was my doing? The Night Blades' failed ritual led them astray into the model of the ancestral home. Despite possessing the power of the Taikoo Divine Clan, you can only save yourself, not others," the ancestor mocked, without launching an attack on Irving.
Irving's tension eased slightly.
"You should know very well that my companions and I are not here to seize the Smith family's artifact. We were brought here against our will by Elder Seville and the Night Blades.
If you're willing to help us safely exit the model of the ancestral home, we can cooperate with you.
Eliminate Elder Seville and the Night Blades, and the artifact of the Smith family will remain secure," Irving proposed, offering his terms for collaboration with the Smith family ancestor.