Siheyuan: The Temptation of the Mountains

They followed the instructions on the map and walked for many days until they came to a deep canyon. The valley was filled with thick fog and a hint of chill. Lin Ze held the artifact tightly and stepped into the canyon first.

As I walked, I heard the sound of gurgling water. Following the sound, I found a dark river with a faint light.

Beside the quiet river, there stands an ancient stone tablet that has gone through the vicissitudes of time. This stone tablet is tall and solemn, and its surface is covered with dense and strange runes of various shapes, as if carrying endless mystery and power. Curious Lin Ze was deeply attracted by these runes, and he began to study them with full concentration.

However, at this moment, the originally calm air suddenly began to fluctuate strangely. Then, countless black shadows surged out from all directions like ghosts. They were erratic and quickly floated towards Lin Ze and the little girl beside him like ghosts. Faced with this sudden change, the little girl was immediately frightened and screamed in horror.

But Lin Ze calmed down in an instant, knowing that he couldn't panic at this moment. He waved the powerful artifact in his hand without hesitation, and in an instant, the artifact burst into a dazzling light, like a scorching sun shining in the sky. Wherever the light reached, the shadows were dispersed and dared not get closer.

After the crisis was temporarily resolved, the two people's eyes fell on the map in their hands at the same time. At this time, the route shown on the map clearly pointed to the other side of the dark river. Lin Ze thought for a while and then decided to use the magical power of the artifact to build a bridge so that they could cross the river safely.

Lin Ze did what he said. He concentrated his mind and continuously injected the power of the artifact into the river water under his feet. The river water seemed to have received some kind of call, and began to automatically gather and condense, and gradually formed an extremely solid stone bridge. In this way, they successfully reached the other side of the dark river.

As soon as he stepped onto the shore, a huge stone door that towered into the sky and was magnificent appeared in front of him. The stone door was tightly closed, giving people a heavy and oppressive feeling. Lin Ze carefully observed the stone door and tried various methods to open it, but no matter how hard he tried, it didn't work.

Just when Lin Ze felt helpless, the little girl standing beside him inadvertently reached out and touched an inconspicuous stone next to the stone door. Something unexpected happened. With a low roar, the huge stone door slowly opened a gap.

The moment the door opened, a strong light suddenly shot out from the crack of the door, making it almost impossible to open one's eyes. Lin Ze quickly pulled the little girl back a few steps, waiting for their eyes to adapt to the sudden strong light. After a long while, when they were finally able to see the scene in front of them clearly, they could not help but be stunned by what they saw.

It turned out that in the center of the space inside the stone gate, an extremely large crystal ball was quietly suspended in the air. The crystal ball was crystal clear and emitted a mysterious light that made people's heart palpitate. Through the surface of the crystal ball, one could vaguely see that it seemed to contain the source of some dark power.

Lin Ze knew that if he didn't destroy the crystal ball as soon as possible, once the dark power inside it erupted, the consequences would be disastrous. So he took a deep breath, turned his head to look at the little girl beside him, and nodded firmly. The little girl also understood, and held Lin Ze's hand tightly, indicating that she was willing to fight side by side with him.

The next moment, Lin Ze and the little girl simultaneously exerted their most powerful strength, transformed into two streams of light, and rushed towards the huge crystal ball with the force of thunder. There was a loud "bang" that shook the world, and the whole space trembled violently.

As the crystal ball shattered, a cloud of inky black smoke gushed out. However, the smoke did not last long and soon dissipated into the air. At the same time, the dark power that had been shrouding the land also dissipated, and the world finally regained its former brightness and peace.

After completing their mission, Lin Ze and the little girl smiled at each other, with indescribable joy and relief in their eyes. Finally, they held hands, turned around and walked briskly towards the bright place full of hope and warmth.

However, just as they were about to walk out of the area, the ground suddenly shook violently.

Lin Ze grabbed the little girl to prevent her from falling, and saw that the road they came from began to collapse.

Before they could figure out what was going on, a huge stone beast emerged from the ground.

The stone beast's body was covered with ancient patterns, and its pair of large copper-bell eyes flashed with a fierce light.

Lin Ze knew very well that things would not end so easily. Everything before him might just be the prelude to the final test. He took a deep breath, tightly grasped the mysterious artifact in his hand, and raised it high above his head again. The artifact seemed to have sensed the impending great crisis, and the already dazzling light instantly became even more blazing.

At the same time, the little girl standing by did not dare to be negligent. She danced her hands quickly, chanted something, and cast a series of exquisite auxiliary spells. With the blessing of these spells, Lin Ze suddenly felt an extremely powerful force pouring into his body, making him feel like he was reborn.

In a flash, Lin Ze rushed towards the hideous stone beast like an arrow. The stone beast was not to be outdone. It waved its huge claws, which were as big as a hill, and slapped Lin Ze fiercely with overwhelming force. However, Lin Ze was extremely agile. He dodged the fatal blow easily. Then, while the stone beast had exhausted its old strength and had not yet regained its new strength, Lin Ze seized the opportunity and swung the magic weapon in his hand with all his strength, hitting the stone beast's extremely hard body heavily.

There was a loud bang, and the stone beast howled in extreme pain. Obviously, this attack caused it considerable damage. The angry stone beast opened its bloody mouth, and a blazing flame gushed out of its mouth, shooting straight at Lin Ze. Fortunately, Lin Ze was prepared. He calmly controlled the artifact and created an extremely solid shield in the blink of an eye, successfully resisting the fierce flame attack.