Chapter 80: Continued

Xie Juanhan took a deep sniff, smelling the decaying, damp scent of earth.

I don't know how long it's been since anyone came here, that the air has become so polluted.

He began, "There's treasure here—"

Before the first sentence could be finished, a rustling sound came from the abandoned hall.

Countless lizards and insects darted out from every corner right before their eyes, wagging their tails, and vanished into the deeper ruins in the blink of an eye.

Xie Juanhan: "..."

Well, even if there was treasure, it's probably rotten to the core by now.

The Pixie pointed with its tiny hand. "Chirp chirp."

Xie Juanhan: "Is the treasure still ahead?"

Xie Juanhan believed his eyesight was still good. He scanned his surroundings but saw no trace of any treasure.

The other Pixie riding flying squirrels flew to a corner of the wall, landed on the ground, and turned to look at them. "Chirp chirp!"

Xie Juanhan and Telingewei walked up.

The corner looked like an ordinary stone wall, Xie Juanhan looked at it for a long time but didn't find anything special about it.

He tapped the wall with his finger; the sound from inside was muffled and solid, not like there was a hidden space.

The Pixie all went to a corner and struggled to move a brick.

Telingewei extended his hand.

The Pixie dodged and vanished in a flash, never letting him touch them.

Telingewei glanced at them, said nothing, and simply took the brick off the block.

The moment the bricks were removed, the stone wall in front of Xie Juanhan and the others suddenly collapsed with a "crash," and a large section of the outer wall fell off.

Telingewei pulled Xie Juanhan away to avoid them.

The Pixie quickly ran to the back.

Fortunately, the ground was damp, so the falling bricks and stones didn't stir up much dirt.

After the water had all fallen, a magic circle was clearly carved into the stone wall.

The magic circle still shimmered with light, its Demonic Core embedded within, and Magic Power flowed throughout the circle like water.

Clearly, this magic circle still works.

Xie Juanhan exclaimed in surprise, "Is this the magician's arrangement?"

Who would have thought that the mage had hidden a teleportation array behind the stone wall?

No wonder the adventurers who came here to explore couldn't find this treasure!

The Pixie on Xie Juanhan's shoulder chirped smugly.

Xie Juanhan said to Telingewei, "Shall we go in and take a look?"

With the strength of the two dragons, there's naturally nothing to worry about.

Telingewei nodded. "I'll input the Magic Power."

Telingewei placed his hand on the magic circle and gently activated it.

Xie Juanhan immediately felt himself enter a space filled with chaotic and dense Magic Power.

This was his first time using a teleportation array in this world.

The passageway was crudely constructed, and the elements and rules within it were so chaotic that he felt nauseous.

After he came out, he reached up and pressed his temple.

Telingewei immediately helped him up. "Are you alright?"

The Pixie on his shoulder and the Pixie riding the flying squirrel came in, looking at him with concern.

Xie Juanhan took a deep breath. "I'm fine, just a little dizzy in the spatial passage."

Xie Juanhan thought that after coming out, he could stand in the treasure room.

However, he underestimated the magician's caution.

They found themselves standing in another passageway, facing a large black metal door.

The metal door and the secret chamber behind it are cast as one, and only Magic Power patterns can open the secret chamber.

Xie Juanhan looked at the Pixie on his shoulder.

The Pixie, lacking confidence, murmured, "Chirp chirp."

This indicates that it knows there must be treasure inside, and that no one has ever been inside before.

"That's true," Xie Juanhan muttered, rubbing his temples. "If they hadn't hidden it so well, we definitely wouldn't have gotten a turn."

They didn't help the Pixie much; they just healed a flying squirrel and gave it a potion.

The Pixie were already being very kind by bringing them here.

Xie Juanhan looked at the door. "Let me see if there's any way to open it—"

Telingewei is watching too.

After looking at it for a while, Xie Juanhan frowned. "Besides forging Magic Power patterns, it seems there's no other way?"

There may be magicians in this world who can forge Magic Power patterns, but they are clearly not included.

He was just a dragon from another world; his Dragon Power wasn't even Magic Power in the narrow sense.

He looked at Telingewei.

Telingewei fell into deep thought; clearly, there was no solution.

Telingewei was never the kind of learned dragon.

He also did not attend a formal magic academy or receive a formal education.

The Pixie looked at them expectantly, waiting for them to come up with a solution.

Xie Juanhan had no choice but to nudge Telingewei with his hand, signaling Telingewei to come over.

After thinking for a long time, Telingewei said, "You all step back a bit, I'll give it a try."

Without saying a word, Xie Juanhan retreated several meters away.

The Pixie followed him and retreated.

Just when Xie Juanhan thought Telingewei might have some solution, Telingewei transformed back into his dragon form.

Telingewei didn't use his largest size, but he still used a large size that filled the passageway.

After transforming back into his dragon form, he didn't say much. He simply stretched out his claws, grabbed the metal door, and pulled it outwards with all his might.

The metal door, cast as one with the secret chamber, slowly deformed under the immense force of the Black Dragon.

The Black Dragon glanced at it, then bit down on it, using both its mouth and claws to continue tearing at the door.

It's estimated that the magician who commissioned the Dwarf craftsmen to create this secret chamber at great expense never imagined that a creature could destroy it with sheer brute force.

Xie Juanhan hadn't expected Telingewei's method to be so simple.

Simple yet effective.

The dragon patiently tore the gate open, bit by bit.

He only stopped when the gate was so badly deformed that they could pass through in human form.

Xie Juanhan stood to the side, staring intently at him.

Telingewei: "Hmm?"

Xie Juanhan: "Now I finally know who Harper and the others learned from. How are your teeth?"

Telingewei: "It's alright."

Xie Juanhan: "When we eat later, do you need to order something softer?"

Telingewei: "Or would you like to inspect it yourself?"

Examining Telingewei's teeth naturally wouldn't be done like examining Harper's teeth—where they would be directly touched.

Xie Juanhan looked at the Pixie and shook his head with some regret.

The magician's chamber was torn open, and they rushed in without hesitation.

The Pixie, who had been huddled together shivering, could no longer contain their curiosity. After hesitating for a moment, they followed suit and squeezed inside.

All these years later, the magician's secret chamber is still functioning.

As soon as they entered, the mermaid lamps inside automatically turned on, illuminating the small, enclosed room with a bright and warm glow.

The secret room turned out to be a large study, with bookshelves reaching all the way to the ceiling, crammed with books. In the center stood a table with ink, quill pens, animal hide notebooks, and other items on it.

This is clearly a magician's private study.

This secret chamber did not contain the traditional gems, gold, and Demonic Core.

The Pixie who was guiding the way was also seeing the true appearance of the secret room for the first time.

It looked up at Xie Juanhan and whispered, "Chirp chirp?"

Does this mean this counts as treasure?

Xie Juanhan, who was surveying the private study, turned his gaze away upon hearing this and smiled, "Of course, 'books hold a wealth of knowledge,' this is the true treasure."

The Pixie breathed a sigh of relief, then became happy, revealing its tiny teeth. "Chirp chirp!"

Xie Juanhan sensed that there was no defensive magic on the bookshelf, so he reached out and picked up a book, quickly flipping through it.

This place truly lives up to its reputation as the Archmage's private study; every book here is a rare gem.

Xie Juanhan only flipped through the book once before his attention was immediately drawn to it, and he couldn't wait to read it carefully on the spot.

Telingewei: "Shall I put the books away first?"

Xie Juanhan: "Save it, save it, do you still have enough space?"

Telingewei nodded. "Enough."

Xie Juanhan: "Then put it in your spatial storage."

The two dragons took the books off the surrounding bookshelves and stuffed them into their spatial storage.

They were very careful, not missing a single piece of paper.

After taking the books, Xie Juanhan also took down the notebooks from the desk.

He glanced through it briefly.

The notes are clearly the magician's personal reflections.

The insights of a mage of this level are extremely valuable. Xie Juanhan glanced at them a few times and decided to keep them for later reading.

Telingewei tidied up all the items on the desk, then glanced at the desk a few more times.

Xie Juanhan: "What's wrong with the desk?"

Telingewei: "These large desks usually have many hidden compartments, and only the owner of the desk knows how to open them."

Xie Juanhan looked at the large, thick desk. "Why does everyone like to hide things so much?"

Telingewei: "Culture?"

Okay, there is indeed a culture of escape rooms in this world; hiding things is also a hobby.

Xie Juanhan reached out and lifted the desk.

The desk was clearly integrated into the secret room, making it impossible to remove it separately.

Xie Juanhan looked at Telingewei.

Telingewei didn't stand on ceremony either.

With a wooden desk made of such a strong material, he didn't even need to change his dragon form; he simply reached out, his arm muscles bulging, and removed the wooden tabletop from the desk.

The hidden compartment inside was revealed, containing several notebooks and a few magic boxes.

They unceremoniously took these things into their space.

Telingewei sensed something else underneath and proceeded to dismantle the second layer.

The second layer of wood was thicker, and he managed to dismantle it quickly with some effort.

Xie Juanhan peeked out and saw a slender magic wand in a hidden compartment on the second floor.

The wand was just an ordinary wooden wand, but the patterns on it were exquisite.