In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

Lin Qiye didn't recognize the script, but when he gently placed his palm on the surface of the stone tablet, the dark golden source energy within his body resonated faintly with it. Fragments of images and information flowed into his mind along with that resonance—

An endless wasteland stretched out before three suns of different colors hanging in the sky. The earth cracked open under some terrifying force, and countless colossal figures crawled out from the fissures, battling against giants of light descending from the sky. Blood stained the earth, and corpses piled up like mountains. Finally, a towering, dark golden figure descended from the heavens, single-handedly suppressing all the chaos and sealing each of the cracks. This stone tablet was the mark of one of those seals.

The scene abruptly ended.

Lin Qiye withdrew his hand, his expression grave.

This stone tablet was actually part of an ancient seal. And the object of the seal seemed to be those "giant figures" crawling out of the cracks in the earth. Judging from the scale of the image, the level of that war was probably far beyond his current understanding.

"What's wrong?" Luo Sheng walked to his side and asked with concern.

"It's nothing," Lin Qiye shook his head, not elaborating. "It's an ancient stele that records some things from the past. Let's continue."

He took one last look at the stone tablet, then turned and led his team away.

But he knew in his heart that this seemingly barren land might hold more secrets than he imagined. The bloodline of the candle, the ancient altar, the sealed stone tablet... there seemed to be some kind of subtle connection between these things.

The group continued eastward, passing through thickets of thorns, until a dry riverbed came into view. The riverbed was wide, its bottom covered with smooth pebbles, and on either side were towering, oddly shaped earthen cliffs sculpted by the flowing water. Judging from the size of the riverbed, it had once been a rather magnificent river, but for some unknown reason, it had completely dried up.

"Follow the riverbed," Lin Qiye decided. "Riverbeds usually lead to lower-lying areas with more abundant water. Plus, the view is open here, making it less likely to be ambushed."

The group descended into the riverbed, their feet trodden on the rough, uneven pebbles. There wasn't a breath of wind in the dry riverbed; the afternoon sun beat down relentlessly, baking every inch of the land. The women were drenched in sweat, and the children began to cry restlessly.

Lin Qiye walked at the front, his sharp gaze sweeping over the earthen cliffs on both sides of the riverbed. Suddenly, he stopped and raised his hand to signal the group to halt.

There's some noise.

Lin Qiye stood at the front of the group and raised his hand to signal everyone to stop.

At the end of the riverbed, a tremendous roar accompanied by tremors came from the ground. The sound was deep and rhythmic, as if some enormous creature was pounding the earth with heavy steps. The women turned pale, and the children, startled by the sudden tremors, began to cry restlessly again.

"Stay where you are, I'll go check it out." Lin Qiye gave a brief instruction, and his figure flashed and disappeared around the corner at the end of the riverbed.

Luo Sheng hugged Lin Xi tightly and winked at Shuang'er and Man Ji. Shuang'er immediately signaled the maids to form a circle, protecting the children in the center. Man Ji, meanwhile, held her battle axe and warily scanned the towering earthen cliffs on both sides.

Lin Qiye circled a bend along the riverbed, and the sight before him made his pupils suddenly contract.

Ahead lay no longer a dry riverbed, but a wide basin filled with huge boulders and deep pits. At the edge of the basin, two colossal beasts, as large as mountains, were locked in a fierce battle.

The one on the left resembled a giant lizard, but its size was hundreds of times larger than those he had slaughtered in the wasteland. It was over a hundred feet long, its entire body covered in thick, dark blue scales, each scale as large as a cartwheel, its edges gleaming with a cold, metallic light. Its head was like a moving small mountain, spewing out scorching sulfurous breath, each breath creating a blazing storm. Most terrifying of all was its tail—a gigantic bone hammer covered in jagged bone spikes, each sweep of which cleaved a furrow tens of feet long.

The one on the right resembled a giant ape, but was equally enormous. When it stood upright, it was over two hundred feet tall, its body covered in grayish-white fur as hard as rock. Its arms were as thick as two pillars supporting the sky, and each time its fists slammed down, they blasted a crater tens of feet in diameter into the ground. Its eyes were bloodshot, and it roared with a deafening sound that would terrify any ordinary person.

Each collision between the two behemoths produced a thunderous roar. The giant lizard's bony tail swept across the giant ape's abdomen, tearing off a large chunk of grayish-white fur and flesh; the giant ape's fist slammed into the giant lizard's back, denting its thick scales, and dark blue blood gushed out like a waterfall.

The entire basin trembled violently as they fought, the ground cracked, rocks flew everywhere, and the air was filled with the strong smell of blood and sulfur.

Lin Qiye stood at the riverbed outlet, his expression solemn.

The strength of these two behemoths has surpassed that of all his previous opponents.

More importantly, he sensed in them an aura similar to that of the Canggu Mountains, the altar, and even the bloodline of the candle—an ancient, wild, and primal scent.

These two colossal beasts are likely not native to this wasteland. They probably come from a much more ancient era, perhaps even related to the time of the Candle.

Just as Lin Qiye was observing, the battle situation suddenly changed.

The giant lizard seemed enraged by the giant ape's repeated blows. It roared hoarsely to the sky, and the scales on its back suddenly opened, revealing a dense network of honeycomb-like holes. The next second, countless dark blue beams of light shot out from those holes, raining down on the giant ape like a storm.

Caught off guard, the giant ape was struck by dozens of beams of light. These beams contained terrifying corrosive energy, instantly corroding its fur and skin, creating deep, bone-revealing holes. The giant ape roared in agony, frantically pounding the ground with its fists, trying to regain its footing.

But the monitor lizard gave it no chance to catch its breath. Its massive body lunged forward, its huge head snapping open to reveal two rows of cleaver-like teeth, which it then bit down hard on the giant ape's neck.

The giant ape hastily raised its left arm to block.

"Click—"

A sickening cracking sound echoed through the basin. The giant ape's left arm had been bitten off by the monitor lizard, exposing the grayish-white bone and dark red muscle to the air, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

The giant ape let out a dying howl, and with a suicidal gesture, slammed its right fist into the giant lizard's head.