The Scale That Weighs Souls

[Poisonous Hand] Gisela looked at the ancient bronze gate in front of her, a hint of suspicion in her expression, and stopped her pursuit.

Although the door was only slightly ajar, she didn't dare to rush in.

Upon closer inspection, all that could be seen was darkness, thick and viscous like ink, as if it were sucking in one's gaze. And yet, this single glance failed to provide the brain with any useful information; it was as if one had seen nothingness.

Gisela took out a flare, lit it, and threw it into the crack in the door, only to find that the burning incendiary flare seemed to pass through a dark barrier and suddenly disappeared from sight.

"Is there a magical restriction?"

Upon seeing this, Gisela frowned and hesitated, feeling a sense of unease.

Her intuition told her that rushing into the Bronze Door would surely put her life in danger!

All signs indicate that the "mysterious person" who just stole the Holy Grail acted with premeditation, and she suspects there's probably an ambush behind this door!

While Gisela paused for a moment, the Rosas Family members carefully avoided the poisonous fog and rushed over around the main hall.

Those who were able to reach the Bronze Door in the first instance were mostly Second Tier- or Third Tier experts. However, even they, seeing the dark gate before them, did not dare to rashly break in.

They had already experienced firsthand the dangers of this Underground Palace, whether it was the dog-headed monster or these poisonous creatures.

Not to mention what new monsters might appear behind this Bronze Door, they could easily be trapped and killed by the mazes from the previous level.

But right now, there are clearly more important things to do.

Just then, the second wave of people seeking help arrived.

Several guards carried the pale-faced Young Master George over in a panic.

"Master Gisela, something terrible has happened! Young Master George has been poisoned. We've injected him with a potent Antidote Potion, but it hasn't helped much. Please save him quickly!"

"."

Gisela frowned as she looked at the Young Master George.

Young Master George was seriously injured, and she couldn't afford to be distracted by what was behind the Bronze Door, so she turned her thoughts back to the present.

She didn't dare to delay and went over to check it carefully.

There's no need to guess why George was poisoned; he was taken to the Rainbow Fog Zone by that "mysterious man" and inhaled the toxins.

"Rainbow Toxin" is not a single biological toxin, but rather a mixture of many. It includes neurotoxic, septicemic, frost-inducing, corrosive, and paralyzing toxins—a complex blend of various poisons that have been expelled over countless years.

This complex toxin is completely ineffective against common Antidote Potion.

There are many types of Antidote Potion, and generally one type of antidote is only effective against a single toxin.

Even the highest-grade Antidote Potion on the market can only neutralize three to five mixed toxins at most. Gisela, however, could distinguish at least twenty different toxins from this rainbow-colored poisonous mist after just one inhalation.

This complex poisoning would likely leave other doctors helpless. The time it takes for the poison to take effect is too short to allow for any rescue efforts.

If it weren't for those two Third Tier holy priests casting spells to prolong his life, this guy would probably have died just now.

But for Gisela, a poison expert, it wasn't a big problem.

Instinctively, she reached into her Storage Ring to retrieve some antidote. But when she did, she found her fingers completely empty, which only fueled her anger.

That guy even stole my Storage Ring!

Thinking of this, Gisela's face turned ashen, but she didn't dare hesitate any longer. She directly cut George's wrist, letting out some pus and blood, and then used magic to guide the toxins out.

Fifteen minutes later.

George's dark complexion finally returned to its normal flesh color.

Gisela stopped and said expressionlessly, "Young Master George's poison is no longer a problem."

Upon hearing this, the Rosas Family's high-ranking members finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Master Gisela."

The guards didn't dare leave George in the Underground Palace any longer; they carried him on a stretcher and planned to take him to the ground camp to recuperate.

At this moment, the person was saved, and everyone's attention turned to the Bronze Door.

They just sent two teams of a hundred men into the gate, but so far, there has been no word from them.

No survivors emerged, and the "magic mark" could not be detected at all.

It was as if it had completely disappeared.

This made the Rosas Family even more panicked.

I wanted to go on, but I didn't know what dangers were lurking in the darkness.

"What should we do now?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the third level of these ruins is probably the real treasure trove. I definitely need to find a way to go down there. Besides, that assassin is inside too; we have to catch him."

"But... what if this third level has monsters like the previous mazes? Even if our knights have a lot of men, we won't have enough to fill the gaps."

"Yes, even if we start conscripting slaves and Civilian Scavengers now, they won't arrive for at least seven or eight days."

"."

Gisela frowned as she listened.

Her intuition told her that the two "hundred-man teams" that had gone down earlier must have been completely wiped out. But the "mysterious man" who stole the Holy Grail must still be alive.

With such deep cunning, having schemed to rescue the young master of the "Redwood Merchant Guild" and seize the Holy Grail, she would never rashly venture into a dangerous place to die.

It's definitely not a situation where certain death is inevitable.

But she dared not gamble, dared not take the risk herself.

But if we don't go in now, it will be too late in seven or eight days.

The current situation felt to Gisela like a few mice had gotten into her rice bin. All the treasures of the ruins originally belonged to them, but now they'd been "stolen." And who knew if those "mice" would eat their fill and then dig a hole and escape?

Simply waiting is definitely not a good option.

Just when the Black Wind Territory group was at their wits' end, another exploration team arrived.

That was none other than the main branch of the Rosas Family, the hunting party led by "Prince Harper".

Although they both belong to the Rosas Family, hunting in the wilderness involves the distribution of profits, so it was agreed beforehand that the two groups would each do their own thing.

Originally, the "Black Wind Territory" group thought they would make a fortune because Gannix was the first to solve the maze and thus had the opportunity to explore the second level. However, they never expected such a "big accident" to happen.

The battle just now cost nearly a thousand lives, and it was only with great difficulty that we managed to quell this second wave of poisonous creatures.

Before they could find any treasures, young master George was nearly killed. The only treasure they saw, the [Malakas's Holy Grail of Ten Thousand Poisons], was stolen right under their noses.

Prince Harper was not worried at all when he saw his cousin's team suffer a setback; on the contrary, he was delighted.

The young man, also sporting a head of shiny green hair, arrived at the Bronze Door surrounded by a group of people and asked, "Oh, I just saw my brother George being carried out. What happened?"

Despite the conflict of interest, and the fact that Harper was a junior member of the same family and a prince, the old mage named Pickell had no choice but to tell the truth, "There was a slight mishap just now; an assassin attacked George."

He slowly recounted the details of the previous sneak attack by Rein.

"An assassin? Only one?"

Hearing this, Prince Harper and his entourage were also quite surprised.

However, they didn't take it to heart.

After all, his team included the Fifth-tier Extraordinary [Curse Master] Archmage Borlag, as well as several elite knight orders led by top Fourth Tier experts.

This lineup, even the "Ten Great Legends" wouldn't fare well against a lone assassin.

But after hearing what had happened, Prince Harper and his party faced the same problem.

So how do we explore the "third layer of the ruins" behind this Bronze Door?

Finally, after trying various methods and losing two Third Tier captains and several hundred elite Scavenger Gang, the group finally gave up the foolish idea of using their own people to test the waters.

Behind that Bronze Door lay darkness, like a colossal beast with gaping maw; once inside, there was no return, and not a single useful piece of information could be gleaned.

Without any intelligence feedback, they didn't even know what was going on inside.

It's a trap, a palace, a monster, or something else entirely.

Finally, the prince's fiancée, Maritise, the Moon Beauty, offered a feasible suggestion.

Then, Prince Harper made this decision.

"We're short-handed? Aren't there still over two thousand people alive in the maze up there? Send them all down and let them go test the waters first!"

"But, Your Highness, wouldn't doing this be bad for the reputation of our Rosas Family? After all, they now know it's dangerous and certainly won't want to take any more risks."

"Heh, just a bunch of civilians. They're dead, so what? Do we need to ask for their consent? Our Radiant Kingdom has no shortage of people right now. Besides, as long as we don't leave any survivors, who will know what happened here?"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"."

It now seems that this site must contain a great treasure.

The Rosas royal family couldn't wait any longer, nor were they willing to stand by and watch someone steal their treasure and escape!

On the other hand, in the third layer of ruins.

After descending the Bronze Door, there is a long passageway.

Once inside that thick Magic Barrier, it wasn't as pitch black as it appeared from the outside.

There is a light source here.

The ceiling is nearly 100 meters high, and the suspended ceiling is a magnificent "Starry Sky Ceiling". Looking up, you see a deep blue sky, dotted with dazzling "stars", like the ultimate starry sky of a summer night.

Although the light source was weak, it was enough for a person to see everything on the third floor clearly.

What comes into view is a row of exquisitely carved stone pillars, and on the pillars, crouch some fleshy winged monsters that look like stone sculptures. These are the Alchemical Creatures called [Hell Gargoyle], a total of thirty-six.

At this moment, the passageway and stone pillars were covered with corpses and blood.

The nearly one thousand-strong exploration team sent by the Rosas Family was completely wiped out here.

Even High-tier Extraordinary being of the Third Tier couldn't escape the gargoyle's grasp, which was immune to both physical and magical attacks.

After waiting here and ambushing several waves of intruders, Rein also noticed that the Rosas Family members showed no intention of coming in again.

Having caught no big fish, he completely lost interest in waiting.

So he simply used the Demonic Language to control the Bronze Door and completely closed it.

The layout of the third level of the Underground Palace is very simple; you can almost see the end at a glance.

Along the walls, there are sixteen enormous stone statues of gods. They wear crowns and sit on stone thrones. Sixteen exceptionally ornate golden coffins are placed at the feet of the statues.

This is the resting place of the sixteen kings of the Ancient Monkel Kingdom.

No, to be precise, there were only fifteen bodies.

The body of Pallas the Fifteenth, also known as Thunder Nightmare Arurete Pallas, one of the "Seventy-Two Divine Generals," was not here.

At the foot of the sculpture was an empty coffin without a lid.

Although Rein suspected that there might be burial treasures in these dozen or so coffins, he did not open them.

The temple always bore the warning. "Disturbing King Pallas's rest will bring a cursed death."

Moreover, he wasn't there to rob tombs; what truly interested him were things related to Transcendent powers, such as the magical portal in the main hall marked "Place of Inheritance."

Catherine and her son were reunited safely, and although the process was thrilling, it was a happy ending for everyone.

They were initially worried that the Rosas Family outside had a large and powerful force, and that their situation would be very bad if they broke in.

Unexpectedly, the monster statues on those stone pillars actually "came back to life"!

What's even more surprising is that Rein can actually control them!

Then, because of the presence of these gargoyles, which could kill even Third Tier Extraordinary with a single claw, several groups of a hundred men who broke in were easily wiped out.

With their survival crisis over, the mother and son breathed a sigh of relief and settled comfortably in the Underground Palace.

Catherine, still recovering from her injuries, lay on the open ground to rest; while Gannix, unable to bear the loneliness, explored everything in the Underground Palace.

At that moment, the Bronze Door slowly closed, making quite a commotion.

Catherine watched as Rein approached, then asked curiously, "Mr. Rein, have you been here before? I heard you recite a spell just now, and the Bronze Door closed by itself?"

Ever since the assassin's night raid, she's become quite used to all of Rein's amazing antics.

Several times they were in dire straits, but thanks to this man's appearance, they were able to escape danger.

Now that she sees that Rein can control gargoyles and manipulate Bronze Door, Catherine is no longer as surprised as she was at first.

In her mind, she had formed another impression of Rein: a guy who could always bring miracles.

"Um."

Rein walked over, checked Catherine's injuries, and replied, "I encountered a similar Bronze Door in another temple before, and I happened to know how to control these things."

"Oh?"

Catherine readily allowed him to examine her body, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Was it the time you and Canossa were in danger?"

Rein nodded. "Yes."

He paused, then changed the subject, saying, "The injuries are healing quite well."

"I see."

Upon hearing this, Catherine suddenly realized something.

She glanced at him, then stopped asking questions, instead curtsying a meaningful smile.

Just then, Gannix, who was examining the stone carvings with a magic lamp not far away, saw Rein make a move and greeted him warmly, "Hey, Mr. Rein! Come here quickly, I've made a great discovery!"

Rein tilted his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

The young adventurer had a deep understanding of the Monkell Civilization and was eager to share his discovery with someone, so he excitedly said, "Mr. Rein, I have just carefully studied the contents of the stone carvings and found that what is carved on them seems to be the way to enter!"

Rein turned his gaze over. "Oh?"

Gannix frowned. "The method on the stone carving is rather strange. It says that to enter this magical portal, one needs to place their own heart on that scale."

"."

Upon hearing this, Rein raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

He could read the Monkel Ancient Language, so he naturally knew what was written on it.

Near that pale gold "magic gate" is also the most bizarre sculpture on the third floor.

This is a pure gold Dog-headed Man statue over three meters tall, dressed in the same magnificent clothes as the king statues next to it.

The strange thing is the golden scales it is holding.

A white feather is placed on one side of the scale, while the other side is empty, causing the entire scale to tilt slightly towards the side with the feather.

Inscribed on the stone wall beside the sculpture are the words: "Trial Warrior, your 'wisdom' and 'courage' have successfully passed the test. The final test is the 'soul.' Place your heart on the scales; for the righteous, it will be as light as this 'Angel's Feather'; for the sinful, entering the gate of light will bring a cursed death. Enter the gate of the void, and you will receive an extraordinary inheritance."

In short, this long passage states that one condition must be met for the portal to be entered normally.

The stone carvings behind the Dog-headed Man statue bear an "Instruction Manual," the meaning of which is self-evident even without understanding the text.

There are two designs.

One of the images shows a person cutting open their chest cavity with a knife, placing their heart on a scale, balancing the scale, and then walking into the gate of light.

The second image shows the scales tilting towards the heart, and the person who had his heart removed collapsed to the ground, his soul swallowed by the dog-headed monster.

The inscription on the stone is also the main reason why Rein had discovered the location of the magic gate long ago, but dared not venture in rashly.

Since it is a "trial ground", it must be conducted according to certain specific rules.

He could choose to ignore the rule and just barge in.

But the outcome is almost predictable: those who break the rules will inevitably trigger something unpleasant.

This is a world where gods exist now or once existed, and everything must be done with a great deal of reverence.

Judging from the moments depicted on the first and second levels of the Underground Palace, what the people of this ancient civilization carved were not fictional "myths and legends," but "facts."

Both the dog-headed monster and the two-headed python are real.

This level is probably not just a bluff.

But if Rein were to follow the method in the stone carving and cut out his own heart to weigh it on a scale, he felt that this method was very unreliable.

Although his current medical capabilities are already very advanced, even if his heart were removed from his body for a short period of time, it wouldn't be a big problem.

However you look at it, a heart is heavier than a feather.

How can we keep the balance scale in equilibrium?

This was also his concern.

Perhaps the method is wrong?

Whether this method of entry had some other hidden meaning or not, Rein ultimately did not dare to rashly cut out his heart and place it on top.

Finally, after searching the entire hall for a week without finding any other method besides "weighing the heart," Rein temporarily gave up the search.

Finding secret passages and mechanisms is better left to energetic professional adventurers like Gannix.

At this moment, Rein took out the Storage Ring of [Poison Hand] Gisela and examined it carefully.

Almost everything inside is highly poisonous.

However, thanks to the real-time monitoring by the "Mind Core," Rein doesn't need to worry about dying from poisoning.

In addition to various bottles and jars of poisons, many ancient books related to the use of poisons were also found.

Moreover, he also discovered a piece of dark gold copper plate engraved with a secret technique exclusive to Poison Master— [Void Ten Thousand Poisons Hand]!

"It's actually a body-refining martial art that can ignore Bodyguard Battle Qi to a certain extent? No wonder her poisonous python spell easily penetrated my Bodyguard Battle Qi before, so she has this secret technique!"

When Rein saw the method for cultivating this poisonous hand, his eyes suddenly lit up.

In his mind, the Transcendent beings of the [Poison Master] lineage, like assassins, valued surprise attacks more when killing enemies.

Their ability to engage in direct combat will be greatly reduced.

Especially for High-tier Extraordinary of the fourth or fifth tier, as long as they are on guard, the toxins are not very useful.

The body is enveloped in High-tier Extraordinary Bodyguard Battle Qi. Unless one's rank is significantly higher or poison is administered unexpectedly, it is impossible for any toxin to enter the body.

The power of this poisonous hand lies in the fact that its attacks can ignore Bodyguard Battle Qi to a certain extent, which means it has extremely high "damage penetration"!

The palms are tempered with poison, and then the poison is gathered in the palms.

With a single strike, the poison can easily penetrate the Bodyguard Battle Qi of Transcendent of the same level, and it is also remarkably effective against Transcendent beings of a higher First Tier.

After reading the cultivation instructions for this secret technique, a thought suddenly occurred to Rein: "What if this were combined with [Sky God Strike], wouldn't it be able to directly force the poison into the target's body?"

[Sky God Strike] also uses qi to generate force, forcing the Qi Flow into the target's body, possessing the special effect of "ignoring the target's defense". However, the extent to which the force can penetrate is ultimately limited by the Bodyguard Battle Qi.

If there were another poisonous hand martial art that enhanced "damage penetration", wouldn't the damage be off the charts if a poisonous substance was injected at the same time as the punch?

Moreover, the most powerful aspect of the [Void Ten Thousand Poisons Hand] is not how to practice the secret technique, but the "poison" itself!

This is a secret technique with an unlimited growth potential.

The stronger the toxin used for hand training, the stronger its "penetrating" ability to ignore Bodyguard Battle Qi, and the greater the damage!

The more Rein thought about it, the more astonished he became. "No wonder that 'Poison Hand' Gisela has a record of killing Fifth-tier Expert. I originally thought it was a sneak attack with poison, but it turns out she has this other trick up her sleeve. Luckily, I didn't confront her head-on, otherwise I probably would have suffered a great loss."

Toxins in the skin and flesh are completely different from those in the internal organs and meridians.

On the surface of the skin or in the respiratory tract, Rein can completely ignore the toxins. This is because his [Divine Healing Technique] can heal instantly before the toxins have a chance to damage the body.

However, if it is in a vital internal organ, the poisoning may be so sudden that there is no time to detoxify, and the person may die on the spot!

Upon seeing this, Rein immediately had the idea of learning this secret technique.

He now happens to have "Seven-Colored Poisonous Crystal" in his possession. Is there anything more toxic than this in the world today?

Originally, he only intended to use it to improve his toxin resistance, but because of this secret method, he felt that he would be able to master a new killing move in the near future!

Anyway, no one else could open the Bronze Door, and Rein originally planned to stay on the third floor of the temple for a while.

Then, after finding no other way to enter the magic gate, they sent Catherine and her son out through the secret passage.

He'll stay behind and cause trouble for the Rosas Family.

Unexpectedly, the plan was disrupted.

Just two hours later, the Bronze Door slowly opened.

This door can only be opened using the Demonic Language.

Hearing the noise, Rein realized that besides himself and the Great Shaman Mafat, there was another person who could speak the Demonic Language.

That's Nareta, the little girl from the Curse Tribe!

Thanks to 'Meng Suanxiangxiao' for 5,000 coins, '20201220183239643' and 'Wandering Ranger' for their generous support. Thanks.