Telepathy

As Xia Lin and Sera stepped into the main tomb chamber, a thick scent of dust and death washed over them.

The chamber was circular, with a high-vaulted ceiling.

In the center, a massive black stone sarcophagus rested silently. Its lid was carved with intricate and ferocious reliefs, seemingly depicting the wrath of some ancient Deity.

The surrounding walls were densely inscribed with runes that shimmered with a faint magic aura, like countless pairs of watchful eyes silently observing the intruders in the darkness.

The firelight cast distorted, wavering shadows on these runes, making the entire tomb feel eerie and unsettling.

The moment Xia Lin's second foot crossed the threshold into the tomb…

The thick, unmoving shadows around the stone sarcophagus writhed like disturbed vipers.

Immediately, two translucent figures clad in tattered bronze armor, their hands gripping rusted spears, emerged silently from the shadows.

They lacked physical form, possessing only vague humanoid outlines. Two points of ghostly blue soul fire burned in their hollow eye sockets.

Ghost Guards!

"Woooo—" They made no sound, yet an invisible howl with a mental impact exploded directly in Xia Lin and Sera's minds.

Two streaks of grayish-blue lightning, one left, one right, moved towards Xia Lin and Sera in a way that defied all laws of physics. The tips of their spears flickered with an ominous, ghostly glow.

One of the ghosts floated before Xia Lin, its spear thrusting towards his chest with bone-chilling cold.

Xia Lin shifted his footing, narrowly dodging the spear tip, and simultaneously swung his sword back towards the ghost's "arm."

"Chii!" The sword passed through the ghost's translucent body as if slicing through air, encountering no resistance and stirring not even a ripple of energy.

"Damn it! Incorporeal creatures!" Xia Lin's scalp tingled. This was the first time he was seriously facing these phantoms that were immune to physical attacks.

This was the troublesome nature of incorporeal creatures.

They were like a thin veil between reality and the spirit world. Ordinary swords, axes, and hammers, no matter how much force was infused, would pass through them like air, unable to inflict substantial damage.

Mortal steel was merely a passing breeze to them.

Unless the Weapon itself was imbued with magic, or divine energy, or pure force field, Adventurers facing these specters lingering on the boundary of life and death would often find themselves in a desperate situation with no way to apply their strength.

They could pass through objects and other creatures at will, treating solid walls as nothing. Only areas blessed by divine energy or powerful magic barriers could impede their spectral advance.

"Don't panic! Use something with 'magic'!" a voice, tinged with impatience, drilled directly into Xia Lin's mind like an electric current.

The voice was crystal clear, and it was Sera's.

Xia Lin blinked, then reacted.

"Thanks!" Xia Lin replied in his mind, not bothering to ponder how this Tiefling could speak directly in his brain.

He sidestepped, narrowly avoiding a Ghost Guard's spear thrust, and with his other hand, fumbled in his space bag for a small vial of holy water he had previously decanted. He flicked open the cap with his thumb and flicked his wrist, splashing the holy water towards the Ghost Guard.

"Sizzle—!!!" Like boiling oil poured onto ice water.

The moment the holy water touched the Ghost Guard's translucent body, it erupted in a blinding white light, accompanied by a piercing shriek that seemed capable of tearing souls apart.

The Ghost Guard's body contorted violently as if corroded by strong acid, its movements becoming sluggish, its spectral glow rapidly dimming.

At the same time, another Ghost Guard lunged at Sera.

Sera neither dodged nor weaved. She pushed her palm forward, and shadow energy condensed in her palm once more.

"Hallelu-Yah!" Another condensed ray of purplish-black energy shot out.

This time, the ray's target was not the ghost's "head," but its spectral arm holding the spear.

Boom! The purplish-black energy struck the target precisely. The Ghost Guard's half-arm and the spear it held instantly exploded, disintegrating into a shower of light particles.

It let out a silent wail, its entire body dimmed, and its attack faltered.

Taking advantage of one weakened by holy water and the other crippled by Eldritch Blast, Xia Lin took a deep breath and channeled Arcane Energy into his longsword again.

The sword vibrated, emitting a sharp hum, followed by two lightning-fast [Furious Slash] attacks that tore through the air, whistling towards the spectral forms!

The enchanted blade sliced through the Ghost Guards' illusory bodies with ease, like a hot knife through butter.

Each slash sent large swathes of ghostly blue light fragments scattering.

After two short, sharp shrieks, the two entangled Ghost Guards finally dissipated completely into the air, leaving only a few wisps of fading smoke.

"Phew... Finally done." Xia Lin leaned on his sword, catching his breath. He felt more exhausted than after defeating ten Orcs.

Dealing with incorporeal creatures put immense psychological pressure on him.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and walked over to Sera, looking at her curiously. "Sera, how did you... talk in my head just now? It was like a dream."

Sera glanced at him. "It's just a small, insignificant trick bestowed by my 'Sovereign.' As long as you're within my line of sight, we can have this rudimentary mental communication. It's nothing major."

She paused, then added with her characteristic mockery, "Of course, it requires the other party's mind to have something to 'communicate.' For some empty skulls, this ability is probably like talking to a rock, a complete waste of effort."

"Thanks, you're complimenting my brainpower, right?" Xia Lin rolled his eyes, having developed considerable resistance to this Tiefling's occasional sharp tongue.

While their attention was completely captivated by the Ghost Guards and the sarcophagus before them, neither of them noticed that high above in the tomb chamber, covering the ceiling, was a layer of even older and more hidden murals.

These murals were not painted with ordinary pigments. Instead, they were directly branded onto the rough rock ceiling using a material mixed with stardust and an unknown liquid.

Under the dim light of the torches, most of these murals remained hidden in darkness. Only when the light occasionally swept past could a corner be glimpsed.

What they depicted was not earthly scenes.

Twisted geometric lines formed an incomprehensible background, while occupying most of the mural space were countless giant, distorted black shadows.

And beneath these shadows, a group of black figures of various forms, only discernible as different races, were slaughtering another group of figures more humanoid in shape, emitting a faint blue halo, in a bloody and brutal manner.

Blue blood flowed like rivers, soaking the scene, as desperate flight and ruthless pursuit intertwined.

Some of these giant shadows seemed to coldly watch the slaughter below from high above, while others extended blurry giant hands, as if directly pouring some ineffable power into the bodies of those black figures.

This mural, hidden in darkness and height, silently told a forgotten story, a secret far darker and more terrifying than the tomb itself.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Xia Lin and Sera knew nothing of this.

They were fully focused on guarding against potential dangers ahead, completely missing the silent whisper from antiquity above their heads.