Temple

Blue light surged in from all directions; it was too bright.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but squint, trying to see clearly what was ahead, but he stopped the next moment.

Ore.

There are Ore everywhere.

Those translucent blue crystals were layered upon each other, piling up to form walls, condensing into pillars, and so on.

Lu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, but it wasn't a buildup.

It's a package.

Through the light refracted by the Ore, Lu Yuan saw the outline.

The outline of the stone pillar.

Dozens of stone pillars, even thicker than the Iron Whale, are hidden beneath this translucent Ore. Something is faintly engraved on the pillars, distorted and deformed by the refraction of blue light, making it difficult to see clearly.

Those were runes; Lu Yuan recognized the style.

Similar symbols were engraved on the altar in the Strange Dream, indicating it belonged to the Deep Sea Church.

Lu Yuan's gaze followed the stone pillar upwards, higher and higher—behind the Ore, he saw a towering, dark Temple.

Its scale far exceeded expectations; the Dome supported by stone pillars disappeared into the darkness, and blue crystals enveloped the entire building like a cocoon, with runes appearing and disappearing under the refraction, like an ancient kingdom sleeping in the Deep Sea.

Majestic, solemn, even terrifying.

Lu Yuan finally understood.

This place has never been a mine, and these Ore are not mineral deposits.

These are the secretions of the "Mother." The injured "Mother" recuperated in this Temple, secreting these crystals to envelop herself and the Temple, layer upon layer, for countless years.

Even today.

Until they broke in.

Lu Yuan's breath hitched for a moment.

You have trespassed into the Temple.

[You have glimpsed something that should not have been seen; you have taken a difficult step in your exploration of Forbidden Studies.]

[Sanity III: +10..15/70] The gray text jumped, and the long-dormant rationality experience value jumped forward by a large margin.

He didn't have time to think it through, because he saw the center of the mine shaft.

The area had been cleared, revealing the black rocky ground beneath, as if someone had deliberately created a sacrificial site within this space enveloped in blue light.

In the very center of the site stood a tiered altar.

The altar was pyramid-shaped, rising in layers, reaching a height of seven or eight tiers. Each tier was covered with runes, which shimmered faintly under the blue light.

Behind the altar, a wide passageway extends deeper into the area.

The passage was also mined out, with the Ore on both sides neatly cut. The end of the passage disappeared into the darkness, and the bottom could not be seen.

The heartbeat was coming from there.

At this moment, three gray-robed figures stood atop the altar, facing the cave entrance, as if they had been waiting for a long time.

The one in the lead spoke slowly.

The sound had an eerie rhythm:

"Welcome, guests from Grim Port." As he spoke, a cloudy blue light flickered in his eyes. "Mother has been waiting for you."

Marcus's mechanical eyes glowed brightly red, Gear spun rapidly.

Alice had already raised her warhammer, lightning crackling and leaping across its head.

The device on the Judge's chest began to preheat, emitting a low hum, and steam billowed out from the gaps.

The Born scattered, their arms deformed, weapons in place.

The church Deacon raised the Holy Emblem, and golden light began to gather.

But the gray-robed man did not move.

He simply stood on the altar, looking down at the crowd as if they were prey walking into a trap.

"But I want to see my mother..."

He paused for a moment.

"At least, let's survive first."

The moment the words left his mouth.

The ground began to shake; it wasn't the slight tremor of a heartbeat, but a real tremor.

The tremors were so powerful it felt like the entire underground space was about to collapse!

[WARNING: Large-scale ritual traces detected; unusual biological activity underground...]

The sudden tremor caused Lu Yuan to stumble, and Gray caught Lu Yuan and then stood in front of him.

The ground around the altar began to crack in densely packed fissures, from which a viscous blue liquid oozed.

Then countless tentacles surged out of the crack.

Its size was larger than any I had seen on the road, with the bottom part even as thick as an adult's torso.

They twisted and tangled wildly, their countless tentacles intertwined, eventually piling up into a mountain, their surface constantly writhing, gradually forming a coiled cocoon-like structure.

My heart is pounding.

Thump, thump-

The tangled, intertwined tentacles had already reached several meters in length, but they continued to grow and spread. Every now and then, something would open and close within that mass of Flesh.

Is it an eye?

Lu Yuan tried to look away, but he had already seen it.

[Witnessing a Deep Mutation:██]

[Warning: Determining sanity... Determination failed]

[Sanity: -5...-5...-5...45/70]

Reason crumbled like flowing water, as if something was tearing his brain apart, whispering, murmuring, and calling out from the depths of his consciousness—

Lu Yuan's vision blurred.

The scene before him was distorting. Lu Yuan heard the song of the Deep Sea, beckoning him to go forward, to touch that mass of Flesh, to let him—

"Hmm--"

A muffled groan came from the side.

Lu Yuan's consciousness was pulled back slightly, and he barely turned his head, only to realize that not only him, but everyone around him was experiencing a severe breakdown of their rationality.

Gray knelt on one knee, his hands covering his head, his body trembling violently.

Alice knelt on the ground, her warhammer supporting her body. Lightning flashed intermittently, her lips were pale, and blood vessels were spreading from the corners of her eyes.

Ed and Leonard had fallen, curled up on the ground, groaning in pain.

Not just them.

Even the modified Born encountered problems.

Some covered their heads, some knelt on the ground, some even had their mechanical arms twitching uncontrollably, suppressed groans came from under the bird-beak masks, and bodies convulsed beneath the black robes.

Even Marcus's movements froze.

Pain flashed in the human's eyes, the red light of the mechanical eye flickered violently, and as if disturbed, the sound of the Gear turning became intermittent.

Everyone is being Contamination and eroded.

Lu Yuan managed to stay upright and looked around.

Only one person remained standing.

Philip.

But at this moment, his condition was also extremely dangerous. His face was deathly pale, his eyes were tightly closed, sweat was dripping down his forehead, and his hands were pressed tightly on the Holy Emblem. Pale golden light flickered around him, like a candle flame in the wind, which could be extinguished at any moment.

But he was still standing.

"Philip!"

Lu Yuan used all his strength to shout hoarsely:

What are you waiting for?!

Lu Yuan didn't know what other tricks Philip had up his sleeve, but right now, the church was the only hope of protecting those around him.

Upon hearing this, Philip's body trembled, as if he had suddenly come to his senses. His bloodshot eyes scanned his surroundings, and with a gritted tooth, he pulled a scroll from his robes.

The scroll was yellowish all over, with faint scorch marks on the edges, and the runes on it emitted a faint golden light.

The next moment, Philip tore it open.