The guide and the liaison immediately declined the invitation, especially the former, who had unconsciously moved away from the entrance. If it weren't for the soldiers watching him, he would have probably fled already.

Luo Se, however, chose not to wear the bizarre suit. "I don't need it. Just leave one behind as a backup."

"Are you sure?" Sean frowned.

"The resistance and self-healing abilities of God's Punishment Warriors are much stronger than ordinary people. Common plagues and toxins are ineffective against us. I don't think a disease that can plague mortals for ten years can threaten a God's Punishment body, and that's the most common thing in the ruins." She shrugged. "On the contrary, this jumpsuit will make me clumsy and reduce my perception. Wearing it in an unknown environment is tantamount to tying my hands and feet, so I'll pass. Besides, if we really encounter a dilemma, having a spare suit will allow the people outside to rescue us – although the chances of that happening are slim."

This was a very sufficient reason. God's Punishment Witches rely solely on sight and hearing to perceive their environment, making them particularly dependent on these senses. Hundreds of years of training have even allowed them to determine the humidity and flexibility of the soil by the sound of footsteps on the ground, something Aqi Ma had already witnessed on the journey.

Therefore, a protective suit that only slightly covered the ears and eyes for ordinary people would probably have a much more serious impact on a God's Punishment Witch.

"But what if...it really is a god's curse?" Aqi Ma worried.

Luo Se laughed – the same smile as before, with a hint of ferocity at the corners of her mouth. "Let's not even talk about whether a leather suit can withstand a god. If there really is one, let it come at me. I'd like to see what else a god can curse us with after a million Taqila people were buried in the Fertile Plains!"

"I understand," Sean nodded after a moment of silence. "Then let's go."

Aqi Ma took a deep breath and followed the guards through the stone door.

The interior of the ruins was not as humid as imagined. The sand and gravel that had seeped in from the entrance occupied most of the passage space. At first, everyone had to move forward with their bodies bent, but as they gradually went deeper, the passage gradually widened. Although it was still downhill, the slope was much gentler.

Within the range of the torchlight, the stone walls on both sides could be seen to be quite damaged. Roots and vines had pried open layers of brick seams, extending in from the outside and blocking the passage in a crisscross pattern. Luo Se, walking at the front, used a hand axe to chop and hack, clearing the way for everyone. If it weren't for the God's Punishment Witch leading the way, this downhill journey alone would probably take most of the day.

"This place has indeed been abandoned for a long time, but it's not entirely as Nav said, closed off because that team was cursed," Sean suddenly said. "At least for a while, it should have been a place where people came and went."

"What did you see?" Luo Se asked curiously.

"There are torch slots in the wall." He pointed to the wall at waist level. "The texture of the chiselled surface is much clearer than the wall, indicating that the two were formed at very different times. If they were just temporarily sheltering from the rain, they wouldn't need to leave a torch every ten or so steps in the wall, would they?"

Without a doubt, it was only necessary to chisel torch slots in a place where people needed to enter and exit frequently and for a long period of time.

"Heh, I knew it. As long as there's treasure, how could the local lord not be interested?" Luo Se sneered. "That mortal guide may not necessarily be lying, but the rumour itself has been embellished."

"What I'm worried about is whether what His Majesty asked us to find is the treasure he mentioned..." Sean pondered. "If there are many sources, how much has been transported away over the past hundred years, and where has it been transported to? According to His Majesty, it's the key to creating the Glory of the Sun. We must not let it fall into the hands of others."

"These questions can only be answered after Aqi Ma xiaojie leads us to the first source," Luo Se's body suddenly paused slightly. "...I think we should be close to our target."

The soil underfoot finally receded, revealing the stone steps buried below.

The group's speed suddenly increased a lot.

About a quarter of an hour later, the ground illuminated by the torchlight in front was suddenly swallowed by darkness, as if there was a black wall that isolated everything.

"That's..." Aqi Ma said in surprise.

"A big hole," Luo Se said, holding up the torch as he stepped into the darkness, instantly disappearing without a trace.

Next was Sean.

"Please watch your step," the soldier guarding the rear reminded.

"Mm," Aqi Ma took a deep breath and stepped towards the darkness – before agreeing to His Majesty Roland, she had always thought that she was not lacking in courage, but now it seemed that she had a significant gap compared to Sean and Luo Se. Perhaps it was this gap that had prevented her from making up her mind to leave Sleeping Island.

"To put it bluntly, it's just cowardice."

Ye Ying's words echoed in her ears once again.

But this time, it was no longer just sarcasm, but a different kind of meaning.

Darkness enveloped her.

After about a few breaths, her eyes finally readjusted to the thick, inky blackness, and the torches of the two people in front of her reappeared in her sight, but the torchlight seemed to have shrunk a lot, leaving only a circle of dim orange-red.

"Is this the bottom of the ruins?" Luo Se looked around, while a faint echo came from overhead. "It's not that big, no more than two hundred steps across."

"Can you see the boundary?" Sean asked.

"This is nothing to us. Spend a hundred years underground, and you either adapt to the environment or become completely blind."

At this moment, Aqi Ma understood the meaning of the other party's reminder of the "big hole." After entering this place from the passage, as the space suddenly expanded, the torchlight lost the reflection of the stone walls, so it appeared much dimmer. In addition, there was a certain angle between the entrance and the cave, so the people walking in front seemed to have suddenly disappeared.

"How far away is the source from us?" Luo Se turned back to look at her.

Aqi Ma quickly took out a coin from her pocket, and a green light instantly occupied her entire field of vision! From the dome to her feet, countless emerald green light spots flowed happily, outlining the entire outline of the ruins. It was like a fictional world. The originally invisible, boundless underground became clear and distinct. Under the outline of the light spots, she could even see the shape of each floor tile!

The surrounding walls were covered with bizarre fluorescent murals, scenes that she could not describe in words. Their content seemed crazy and chaotic, and definitely not from human hands. Below the murals were rows of iron cages, with piles of white bones inside, not knowing how many lives had been imprisoned here and then died in despair.

About a hundred steps away from them, the ground sank downwards, forming a huge pit. A dazzling beam of light rose from the pit, echoing the coin in her hand, but with a much higher brightness.

She had never seen such a scene before!

"Aqi Ma?" Seeing that she didn't answer, Sean also turned around. "Are you okay?"

Aqi Ma couldn't help but feel her throat was a little dry. She licked her lips and answered with difficulty, "We...have arrived."

"Ah? Are you saying the source has been found?" Luo Se spread out his hands. "Where is it?"

"We are now...at the source."

The witch murmured in a low voice.