One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

"It's... 'it'..." The mountain guardian's voice was hoarse and almost inaudible, with a barely concealed tremor. "How could it be... 'it'... actually... still... retains... a trace of... activity? And... was... completely... awakened... by... the... filth... and... blood... of... those... fools..."

"'It'? What is it?" Nie Lingfeng forced himself to stand up, walked to the mountain guardian's side, and asked in a deep voice. He could sense the fear in the guardian's tone, an instinctive reaction to some kind of comprehensible and extremely dangerous being.

The guardian slowly turned his head to look at Nie Lingfeng. His dark pupils reflected Nie Lingfeng's pale yet resolute face: "It is... the true... final guardian of this altar... or rather... the only one from that calamity who wasn't completely corrupted, but fell into eternal slumber, using himself as a lock to seal the altar's most fundamental secret... an ancient being..."

"Back then... calamity struck... the Qilin was severely injured and went into seclusion... the Phoenix's feathers burned, scattering embers... and guarding this altar... was an ancient great shaman, or rather... the 'Earth Deity,' who willingly sacrificed himself, completely merging with the altar's core and the earth's spiritual core, becoming the final barrier... its body became the altar's foundation stone, while its soul and will fell into the deepest slumber, leaving only a trace of instinct to guard the 'Sacred Relic Chamber' deepest within the altar, where fragments of the 'Key' are stored, and to suppress the deepest evil that bred after the altar was corrupted..."

"Those outsiders... their intrusion, their battles, their bloodshed... especially the blasphemous aura they carried, the same one that originated from the calamity of yesteryear... like sparks thrown into boiling oil... awakened the last remaining vestige of 'it's' dormant... instinct for protection and purification... But 'it's' body had long since merged with the polluted ley lines and altar, and its intelligence, eroded by the long years and pollution, was probably already distorted and confused... Now, 'it' probably can no longer distinguish who the intruders are, who the blasphemers are, and who... the 'filth' that needs purification..."

An ancient high priest? A deity of the earth? Merged with the core of the altar? The last guardian? Awakened by blasphemous intent, but whose mind may already be twisted and chaotic?

Nie Lingfeng gasped! This was more troublesome than any monster he had anticipated! This was not a simple, corrupted evil creature, but an ancient being of extremely high status, unknown power, bizarre state, and whose friend or foe was difficult to discern! Jida and the "Council" team were very likely dealt with or controlled by "it" in an instant!

"So what do we do now?" Nie Lingfeng asked quickly. "Retreat? Or..."

"We cannot retreat." The mountain guardian slowly shook his head, his gaze falling on the unconscious Chen Duo, then on Nie Lingfeng. "'It' has awakened... If... we retreat... driven by its chaotic instincts... it might leave the altar... and enter the outside world... That would be an unimaginable disaster... and..."

He paused, his voice growing even lower: "Although you have purified the source of this altar's pollution (the blood pool and the ultimate monster)... the wounds on the ley lines and the remaining pollution still need time to heal... 'It's' existence is the last shackle to stabilize the ley lines and prevent the spread of residual pollution... If 'It' completely goes out of control or leaves... this land may undergo even more terrible changes... More importantly..."

The mountain guardian looked at Nie Lingfeng, a strange light flashing in his eyes: "In the 'Sacred Relic Chamber'... there might really be... fragments of the 'Key' from back then... or... other important... relics of the 'Guardian'... those things... must never fall into the hands of the 'Council'... and must never be damaged or... contaminated while 'it' is out of control..."

A dilemma! If we go forward, we'll face a "last guardian" whose condition is unknown and extremely dangerous; if we retreat, it could lead to an even more serious disaster, and it would also mean giving up potentially crucial clues and relics.

Nie Lingfeng took a deep breath, and the last bit of strength restored by the "Earth Mother Leaf" slowly circulated within him. He looked at Chen Duo, who was still unconscious but breathing slightly more steadily, in his arms, and then at the dark entrance to the passage that seemed to lead to another world. His eyes became firm and sharp again.

"I'll go." Nie Lingfeng's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve. "Chen Duo needs you and your people to take care of her. Besides, I might have more experience dealing with that kind of... 'thing' than you." He was referring to the power of the Qilin and Phoenix blood fused within him, which might give him a special sensitivity or restraint against such ancient and sacred (even if corrupted and distorted) beings.

The mountain guardian gave Nie Lingfeng a deep look but did not object. He knew that what Nie Lingfeng said was true. This young man before him carried the aura of a Qilin and a Phoenix, and had just purified the biggest source of pollution on the altar. He might truly be the only one with the opportunity to communicate with the "Last Guardian," or... to subdue "it."

"Be careful... its... attack... might... be more than just... physical..." the mountain guardian warned hoarsely. "It is one with the ley lines... and this altar... and can mobilize... a portion... of the power of the mountains and rivers... and... its... spirit... may be... filled with... chaotic... fragments of memory... and... a corrupted... obsession with protection... Don't... be dragged into... its... spiritual realm..."

"I understand." Nie Lingfeng nodded, carefully handed Chen Duo to the old pharmacist, and thanked her again solemnly. Then, he picked up a perfectly good tactical flashlight that the "Council" team had discarded from the ground, checked the battery level, and took out the last bit of the powder that Azanki had given him, which could refresh the mind and resist mental erosion, and put it under his tongue.

After doing all this, he took one last look at Chen Duo's sleeping (unconscious) face, a hint of tenderness and determination flashing in his eyes, before turning to face the dark arched passage.

There were no grand pronouncements, no hesitation.

He took a deep breath, gathering the faint yet concentrated power within his body to protect his entire being, especially his spiritual center and sea of ​​consciousness. Then, he stepped into the darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything.

"Woo-woo-woo" The mountain guardian blew the wooden whistle behind him again. This time the rhythm was longer and more peaceful, as if it was seeing him off, or as if it was trying to make a final, faint communication with "it" deep in the passage.

Inside the passage, it was darker and quieter than outside. The air was chilling and biting, carrying the scent of aged dust and rock, but the heavy, ancient, slightly chaotic, yet strangely "active" pressure emanating from it grew increasingly clear. The ground beneath their feet was paved with neatly laid stone slabs, remarkably smooth despite being covered in dust. The rock walls on both sides were also covered with exquisite bas-reliefs, depicting scenes of ancient people's sacrifices, mythical beasts patrolling the heavens, and favorable weather. Unlike the defiled murals in the caves outside, these were relatively well-preserved, only covered by the dust of time.

Nie Lingfeng shone his flashlight, the beam slicing through the thick darkness like a sharp sword. He moved slowly and carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible with each step, his senses heightened to the limit, wary of the slightest disturbance.

The passage wasn't long, only about thirty meters. At the end was a massive, heavy, tightly closed double stone door, cast from a mixture of some dark gold metal and black rock. The door was five meters high and over three meters wide, its surface covered with extremely intricate reliefs and runes. At its center was a huge symbol, similar to the base of the outer stone pillars, with a circle at its center surrounded by mountains, only this symbol was larger and more exquisite, radiating a faint, restrained dark gold glow.

At this moment, the stone door was ajar. The gap was small, just enough for one person to pass through sideways. Along the edges of the gap were fresh signs of violent impact and some kind of high-temperature burning and corrosion, clearly indicating that it had been forcibly broken open by someone (most likely the "Council" team). Inside, it was pitch black, and the heavy, ancient, chaotic yet "active" pressure emanated continuously from within.

The scene in the open space in front of the stone gate was chilling.

Several people lay sprawled out. Near the door was the scarred captain of the "Council," lying face up, eyes wide open, his face contorted with the extreme horror and terror of his dying moments. A huge, gaping hole, charred and melted at the edges, ran through his chest, as if pierced instantly by some extreme heat and powerful energy. The gun in his hand was twisted and deformed, lying to one side. Not far away were two other "Council" members, their deaths equally gruesome. One was twisted into a pretzel by an invisible force, the other seemed to have been drained of all moisture, becoming a dried-up corpse. The "Doctor" in the white coat lay a little further away, the silver metal box he had been carrying rolled to the side, its lid open, revealing its emptiness. Blood flowed from his seven orifices, his face contorted in a grotesque expression, as if some terrifying mental shock had instantly destroyed his consciousness.

The hunter Jida's body was not found.

Nie Lingfeng's heart sank. Had Jeddah gone in, or...?

He carefully avoided the corpses and bloodstains on the ground, and squeezed through the crack in the stone door.

Behind the door is a square stone chamber, completely different in style from the caves outside, yet even more breathtaking.

The stone chamber was small, about twenty meters on each side and ten meters high. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all paved with a peculiar stone, warm and lustrous like jade, radiating a faint milky-white glow. The stone's surface was smooth as a mirror, devoid of any decoration or carving, yet it gave off an incomparably pure, sacred, and solemn feeling. However, at this moment, this pure stone surface was covered with a thin layer of dark red stains, like spiderwebs, disrupting the overall harmony and emanating a faint, malevolent aura that clashed with the chamber's true nature.

In the center of the stone chamber was a square platform, also made of milky-white stone, about half a meter above the ground. On the platform, there were no statues of gods or altars, only a stone coffin that was completely black, neither gold nor jade, made of an unknown material, and covered with even more complex and mysterious dark gold runes.

The stone coffin was about three meters long and one and a half meters wide, its lid tightly closed. The dark golden runes within flickered and shimmered, as if breathing, each flash emanating a heavy, ancient, chaotic yet vibrant pressure. The suffocating oppression throughout the stone chamber originated from this pitch-black coffin!

Beside the stone coffin, below the platform, Nie Lingfeng saw the hunter Jida.

Jida knelt on one knee, his back to the stone door, the long sword in his hand deeply embedded in the ground, supporting his body. He hung his head, motionless, as if turned into a stone statue. But there were no obvious external injuries on his body, only an extremely weak breath, as if he had fallen into the deepest coma, or... been forcibly "frozen" by some force.

Before Jida, on the ground directly in front of the sarcophagus, lay several items: a palm-sized, irregularly fragmented, dark red crystal with shimmering edges and seemingly flowing liquid inside (similar to the "Holy Blood Sample" seen by Yaoxing Society and Yanben, but purer and more powerful); a broken fragment of a crimson-gold jade pendant carved with phoenix patterns; and... an ancient scepter about three feet long, entirely black, neither gold nor wood, with a strange gem the size of a pigeon's egg at its top, constantly flashing with a dark golden light!

The scepter was planted diagonally on the milky white stone slab in the ground, its shaft trembling slightly, and the gem at its tip flashing rapidly, as if it were in some kind of confrontation or resonance with the oppressive aura emanating from the stone coffin.

Was it a "relic" found by the "Council" team? Or... something that was originally in this stone chamber?