Inside the half-collapsed temple, only a few stone pillars remained somewhat intact, together supporting a small portion of the main hall.
At the very front of the main hall stood a cracked altar, and at its center rose a pitch-black, enormous crucifix.
Hanging upon the crucifix was an inverted, naked man. Nails of a rusted color jutted from his ankles, his thighs, and his body, accompanied by streaks of vivid red blood.
Derrick knew full well that this was a statue of the "Fallen Creator," yet he still could not help letting his gaze drop to study the target's face.
He saw that the statue's nose, mouth, and ears were all rather blurry—only the eyes had been carved with extraordinary clarity.
The "Fallen Creator" had its eyes tightly shut, as though bearing the weight of sin and suffering.
"Avert your eyes. Do not study the statues of evil gods!" "Demon Hunter" Colin reminded them in a low voice.
"Yes, Chief." Several members of the exploration team hastily looked away.
—Before today, although
The portion of the temple remaining above ground was not spacious. The exploration team quickly split into groups of two or three to conduct their inspection, finding nothing out of the ordinary.
Chief Colin of the Six-Person Council observed this and deliberated for a few seconds before speaking:
"Head underground."
As he said this, he drew one of the twin swords strapped to his back with a swish and applied an ointment that shimmered with a silvery-gray luster to the blade.
Next, he removed a small metal vial from a hidden compartment in the belt at his waist, pulled the stopper, and gulped down the potion within.
In that instant, Derrick felt that the Chief's pale blue eyes seemed to grow brighter.
The exploration team members each completed their most cautious preparations, and under the illumination of four beast-hide lanterns, they descended step by step along the staircase to the left of the statue into the underground area.
Derrick rotated into the lantern-bearer's position and walked at the front left, carefully advancing into the darkness.
He heard his own footsteps and those of his companions ripple outward from the stone steps, producing deep, hollow echoes.
These echoes were undisturbed by anything, signaling absolute silence below. Yet in the hearts of every exploration team member, they sounded like knocking—attempting to pry open a secret buried for untold ages—and this made their nerves taut beyond measure.
After an indeterminate amount of time walking, Derrick finally saw the path ahead flatten out. He also spotted the newly discovered murals described by the contaminated Dark Riggins.
Those murals covered vast stretches of the walls on both sides, simply colored and appearing ancient, weathered, and dim.
Derrick glanced at them casually, but his gaze was immediately caught by one particular mural.
On the wall to the left front, a pure white crucifix stood at the very center, surrounded by blackness like a drowning sea that swallowed many humans struggling to reach out their arms.
Upon the crucifix hung the inverted "Fallen Creator," with rusted nails and bloodstained marks no different from the statue outside.
But in this mural, the "Fallen Creator" was enduring erosion from the blackness, to the point where parts of the crucifix's white surface had turned pitch-black.
Beyond that, the crucifix supported a hazy stretch of land, and countless humans knelt in prayer before the "Fallen Creator."
At the edges of the scene, in the deepest recesses of the darkness, lurked six figures like evil gods.
In the upper left was a woman wearing a black classical gown. Her garments were layered yet not ornate, inlaid with star-like radiance. Her body appeared somewhat ethereal, with ripples spreading outward from it, and her face was blurred and indistinct, as though wearing a mask with no features.
Around her, the darkness churned and undulated, with eerie eyes appearing and vanishing.
Directly above was a young man clad in pure white robes. His face had been painted an immaculate gold, and luminous tendrils sprouted from his head.
In his two hands he gripped a rotting green book and a spear condensed from radiance, while his chest and back had swapped positions.
In the upper right was a monster wielding a trident. It had an octopus-like head, wide-open eyes, and lightning coiling around its body.
Countless bird feathers formed its cloak, and the darkness turned into waves that cradled its feet.
In the lower right was a gentle lady cradling a baby with a rotting face. At her feet were black wheat ears, a spring writhing with flesh, and herbs dripping with pus.
Directly below was an elderly man wearing a hood, his mouth, wrinkles, and white beard exposed.
The old man held an open book, above which hovered an eye symbolizing omniscience.
At first glance, the old man seemed the most normal of all, yet the smile etched at the corner of his mouth carried an indescribable sense of malevolence.
In the lower left was a giant warrior in tattered armor, leaning on a long sword and seated upon a throne, the backdrop a desolate dusk.
The meaning of this mural was that when the great catastrophe arrived, the evil gods crawled out from the abyss, and the "Fallen Creator," in order to save humanity, bore the brunt of the sins and suffering, which resulted in the appearance being eroded and its form changing… However, I believe He is the greatest evil god of them all… Derrick carried his beast-hide lantern and walked along, studying the murals on the wall. He found them basically consistent with Dark Riggins' description. The central theme was that the region had not been abandoned by the gods—on the contrary, it had received the "Creator's" protection, sustaining civilization amid the end of days.
Of course, Dark Riggins had only mentioned it briefly before, nowhere near as detailed as what the murals themselves presented.
Throughout the entire process, Derrick had not relaxed his vigilance. Having learned his lesson from freezing up earlier, he remained on guard against the possibility of something unexpected happening, prepared to react at a moment's notice.
Under the dim, yellowish candlelight, the exploration team passed through corridor after corridor, hall after hall, room after room, penetrating deeper into the temple's underground area.
Suddenly, before them appeared a half-open gray stone door.
Outside the door grew clusters of beautiful mushroom-like things. They were palm-sized, with pure white stalks and vivid red caps, their crystalline surfaces dotted with dark gold spots.
The moment the exploration team members saw these "mushrooms," a powerful surge of appetite arose within them. They only wanted to rush over, pluck one, and stuff it into their mouths.
Gulps echoed throughout as many swallowed hard.
However, most people who could enter the exploration team possessed extensive experience and a reasonably high Sequence. Having been warned beforehand, someone immediately stepped forward and said in a low voice: