Caution Is the Parent of Safety

Xia Lin didn't bother Sera, who was engrossed in her diary. He held up his torch and wandered around the main tomb chamber on his own.

His gaze swept over the rune-covered walls. The distorted lines made his head spin. [Item Appraisal] only provided "ancient protective rune, energy unactivated" and no other useful information.

Since the coffin couldn't be touched for now, he decided to start looting the "periphery."

His eyes fell on the miserably deceased grave robber's skeleton not far in front of the stone coffin—the unlucky fellow whose head had been pierced, the same one he'd seen outside earlier.

Xia Lin pulled a sturdy wooden stick from his space bag and carefully nudged the skeleton over.

The skeleton scattered a bit with a "clatter." Most of the fragmented metal tools and daggers on it were already rusted beyond recognition.

However, the leather armor on his body, though covered in dust and dried blood, still exuded a strange, supple sheen under the torchlight, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding decaying items that crumbled at a touch.

"Heh, this is interesting," Xia Lin narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself. "Everything else is rotten to dust, but this leather armor is fine. There's definitely something fishy going on!"

He hesitated no longer, concentrated his mind, and activated [Item Appraisal] on the leather armor.

[+1 Magic-Reinforced Leather Armor]
[Quality: Fine]
[Effect: Defense rating gains a +1 enhancement bonus. Made from specially tanned supple leather, making it lighter and sturdier than ordinary leather armor.]
[Appraisal: A rather practical magic defensive gear that can effectively increase your survival rate. Its previous owner clearly couldn't fully utilize its value--Friendly Reminder: Magic leather armor is good, but don't forget to dodge!]

"Jackpot! Jackpot!" Xia Lin was overjoyed, almost shouting out loud.

+1 Magic-Reinforced Leather Armor!

This thing would cost at least ten gold coins in any reputable shop in Orlando City!

He never expected to get one for free from this unlucky fellow. If nothing else, this armor alone made this trip into the tomb worthwhile!

Xia Lin quickly stripped the magic leather armor, still smelling of corpse stench and bloodstains, from the skeleton without caring about the filth, planning to clean it thoroughly after they got out.

With another "trophy" added to his space bag, Xia Lin's mood improved greatly, and his enthusiasm for looting surged.

He circled behind the stone coffin, the torchlight illuminating the corner shrouded in shadow.

His sharp eyes spotted that a few scattered stones and some decaying debris were piled up somewhat deliberately, as if concealing something.

"Oh? Hiding some private stash or some unspeakable little secret?" Xia Lin muttered, carefully moving the debris aside with his long sword, then using the tip of the sword to pry at a stone that looked relatively loose.

The stone rolled aside with a "thump," revealing a small, dark hiding spot beneath.

Inside the hiding spot, the soil was damp, and a plant with a peculiar shape was growing quietly.

Its leaves were a deep dark purple, with finely serrated edges, and they shimmered with a faint glow under the torchlight, like the spectral flames of the undead.

At the top of the plant, a crystal-clear fruit hung, as if condensed from the dew of a moonlit night.

"Found it!" Xia Lin's heart leaped with joy. The appearance of this plant was exactly as the old dwarf had described "Graveyard Ghost"! He instinctively reached out to pluck it.

Halfway through his reach, Xia Lin suddenly stopped, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

The string of bad luck he'd encountered had made him instinctively wary of such "overly coincidental" good fortune.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement, and meticulously scanned the hiding spot and the surrounding area.

[Graveyard Ghost]
[Status: Growing well, energy stable]
[Effect: Contains rich necrotic and shadow energy, a necessary ingredient for certain rare alchemical potions or evil rituals.]
[Appraisal: Seems harmless, and even smells a bit fragrant? Friendly Reminder: Don't pick wild flowers by the roadside.]

The plant itself seemed fine, but the appraisal felt ominous.

Xia Lin, not entirely at ease, expanded his scanning range, the torchlight inching across the ground and walls between the stone coffin and the hiding spot.

Finally, just as his Mental Power was about to be depleted, the faint blue light screen in his vision flickered slightly, and a line of text, almost imperceptible like a spider's silk, appeared:

[Unactivated Magic Link (Source: Stone Coffin Core, Target: Soul Devouring Flower)]
[Status: Dormant, Link weak]
[Appraisal: An invisible dog leash, one end tied to a sleeping fierce beast, the other... tied to a delicious piece of meat and bone. Guess what happens if you move that piece of meat and bone? Will the fierce beast wake up and treat you as an appetizer?]

"As expected!" Xia Lin felt a chill down his spine. This link was so hidden and weak. If it weren't for his golden finger's careful observation, any other Adventurer would have excitedly pulled out that "Graveyard Ghost" and triggered something terrifying.

"Xia Lin! What are you dawdling over there for? Found anything good?" Sera's voice came from behind him.

She had clearly recovered from the strange content of the diary and was walking towards him.

When she saw Xia Lin squatting by the hiding spot, staring at the faintly glowing plant, her face suddenly changed, and her tone became anxious: "Wait! Don't touch that plant! Absolutely don't pull it--Oh, you weren't planning to pull it."

Xia Lin shrugged, a wry smile of lingering fear on his face. "After falling so many times, I should at least learn something, right?"

He pointed to the empty ground between the "Graveyard Ghost" and the stone coffin. "I feel like there's an invisible magic link between this plant and that stone coffin. Very weak, but definitely there."

Hearing this, Sera couldn't help but scrutinize Xia Lin, as if surprised that this human, whom she always found a bit unreliable, possessed such keen observation skills.

"Magic link?" She walked to the spot Xia Lin indicated, reached out her hand, and let the shadow energy flow from her palm, sensing carefully.

A moment later, she nodded, her expression growing more solemn. "That's right, it's a negative energy link, very subtle, almost integrated with the surrounding death aura. If you hadn't reminded me, I might not have noticed it either."

She took a deep breath and handed the thick diary to Xia Lin. "You read it yourself, especially the last few pages. I think the 'Graveyard Ghost' we found is probably the 'Soul Devouring Flower' mentioned in the diary, and that link is the key to activating some evil ritual."

Xia Lin took the diary and quickly flipped to the last few pages. When he saw the description about the "Great Revival Ritual" and "pulling out the Soul Devouring Flower from a living person will activate the ritual," his expression turned grim. "Damn it! This is a trap!"

"What do we do now?" Sera asked. "Do you still want that 'Soul Devouring Flower'?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I?" Xia Lin gritted his teeth. "The 'Mind-Expanding Potion' is only missing a few rare items like this. I can't just give up halfway. However, I need a safe method." He looked at Sera. "Do you think holy water can isolate or destroy that negative energy link?"

Sera pondered for a moment. "Theoretically, it's possible. The divine energy contained in holy water has a restraining effect on negative energy and necromancy. If the link isn't strong, it might be temporarily suppressed or severed."

"Then let's try it!" Xia Lin pulled out another small bottle of holy water from his space bag.

This time, he didn't splash it directly. Instead, he carefully unscrewed the cap and slowly poured the holy water along the trajectory of the invisible magic link, forming a line of silver water that emitted a faint divine aura.

As expected, after the holy water covered the area, Xia Lin scanned it again with [Item Appraisal]. The prompt about the "unactivated magic link" had quietly disappeared.

"It worked!" Xia Lin rejoiced inwardly and no longer hesitated. He reached out and carefully pulled the "Soul Devouring Flower" out by the roots.

The moment the plant left the soil, the temperature in the tomb seemed to drop several degrees.

Without any warning, the huge black stone coffin suddenly let out a chilling "creak." The heavy lid slowly slid upward on its own, revealing a pitch-black gap!

"Uh oh!" Sera was about to speak.

Xia Lin let out a startled cry and, without waiting for her to finish, swiftly wrapped his left arm around Sera's slender waist. He stomped his right foot hard, and the light of the [Ring of Swift Wind] flashed.

He almost dragged Sera, like a wild boar whose tail had been stepped on, and sprinted madly towards the tomb entrance without looking back, moving so fast he left only an afterimage.

The two tumbled and scrambled out of the underground tomb, returning to the sunlight.

Hiding behind a large toppled tombstone, Xia Lin and Sera panted heavily, still shaken.

They waited for a full half hour. The expected monster pursuit or curse outbreak didn't happen. The tomb entrance remained quiet, with only a few crows perched on a dead tree, letting out hoarse caws.

Xia Lin cautiously scanned the tomb entrance again. After confirming there were no new danger prompts, he exchanged a look with Sera and they cautiously slipped back inside.

In the main tomb chamber, the lid of the huge black stone coffin was now fully open, lying quietly there.

Holding torches, the two cautiously approached.

In the torchlight, they saw the scene inside the stone coffin. There was no ferocious monster or powerful lich, only a skeleton lying quietly within.

Judging by the shape of the pelvis and the slender bones, it appeared to be a female skeleton.

She was wearing a gorgeous, long-rotted robe, on which some magic runes embroidered with gold thread were still discernible.

On her finger bones, a ring of ancient design still rested, emitting a faint magic aura.

"Phew... so it was a mage lady," Xia Lin sighed in relief, then a greedy smile appeared on his face again. "Since this lady is so 'hospitable' and opened her own 'boudoir,' it would be rude of us as 'guests' not to 'visit' and perhaps take some 'souvenirs,' wouldn't it?"

Sera was about to retort to his vulgar analogy...

BOOM!!!

A deafening roar suddenly came from the center of the graveyard!

Immediately after, the ground itself seemed to tremble.