Cataclysm King

Chapter 482: Sun Temple and Plague Fruit

After the Great Sword Group was ready, they continued to move deeper into the wet grass.

As we walked, a faint poisonous fog filled the air all around us, and the soil under our feet turned into soft mud.

But for a group of high-level card masters, it is not a big problem.

The assassins scattered, exploring the way and setting traps; melee card masters guarded the head and tail of the team; and Qin Rushi, the team leader, also stood in the front.

Ji Xun and several magic and support card masters were in the center of the team.

The team is full of elite members of the revolutionary army. Even if the fog is thicker, it will not affect the professional perception personnel to identify the direction. The targeted anti-toxic agents prepared in advance also allow them to avoid the hidden dangers caused by excessive inhalation of this neuro-paralytic poison in advance.
In general, all the preparations that can be thought of have been made.

Ji Xun in the team also walked calmly.

In the simulation, their team was strong enough to defeat the Black Water Swamp.

As expected, nothing to worry about.

The unexpected can only be known when it happens.

When it comes to dealing with poisons, Bonnie, the nurse, is the main force.

She had just drunk a few cans of toxins that increased her combat power, and now her face was glowing green.

Walking beside Ji Xun, she was still pondering what Qin Rushi had said before, and finally couldn't help but ask curiously: "Ji Xun, what did the leader mean just now? Are you good at fighting?"

Ji Xun smiled noncommittally: "Well, it's okay."

Bonnie blinked again and asked, "What level are you now? Why can't I sense your magic power at all?"

Ji Xun said truthfully: "Level 6."

He is a Qigong master, and this sequence has a unique ability which is "Qi control".

Certain methods of sensing strength through Qi are completely useless to him, so it is normal that he cannot sense it.

"Ah, you're already at level six?"

Bonnie stared at him in surprise, "I remember when you were on the wanted list, you were only at level one? Or was it level two? How on earth did you manage to advance to level six in such a short time?"

Although there are many fifth- and sixth-level card masters in their team, one must know that they are all cadres of the Revolutionary Army, and each of them is a top-notch talent selected from thousands.

But even so, each of them has grown little by little through hard training and fierce fighting to get to where they are today.

Ji Xun responded casually: "Yeah. I'm lucky. The Demon Mark and the Occupation Card are both good, so my training is faster. And with Aunt Qin's guidance, everything went smoothly."

When he said this, a deep look appeared in his eyes, as if he was recalling his own path of advancement.

From the time I first came to this world and met Chujiu in the first different dimension, I got the [Mark·JOKER], then went to the City of Innocence and experienced all kinds of things, and then all the way to now.

If we really talk about the speed of advancement, he is indeed faster than the average person.

But the process was far from as easy as he said.

Every time you advance, you are almost walking on the brink of life and death.

"Oh."

Bonnie listened and seemed to understand Qin Ru's instructions.

The revolutionary army cadres knew Qin Rushi's current realm, which was already as high as that of a true demigod.

There is also the special nature of the Bai family’s inheritance.

After hearing this, the worries of several revolutionary army cadres who originally wanted to protect Ji Xun disappeared.

The swamp felt very dangerous to them.

If I were to reach the sixth level, I would at least be able to protect myself.

Bonnie and Ji Xun have become quite familiar with each other along the way.

While being surprised at his rank, the chief nurse asked curiously, "Ji Xun, are you in the [Polyologist] sequence?"

She thought that if it was a polymath, it would still be a fragile profession and still need special protection.

Ji Xun listened and thought for a moment. Being erudite is just a hobby and cannot be considered a battle order, so he corrected him and said, "A generalist, right?"

Hearing this strange word, Bonnie looked at him with a question mark on her face and asked, "What is the sequence of the Miscellaneous Family?"

Ji Xun responded: "A sequence that knows a little bit about everything."

Bonnie felt that her brain was not working well: "Isn't that the polymath?"

Ji Xun thought about it and felt that it was too troublesome to explain, so he just said, "Well, that's about right."

"."

Bonnie thought the other party was joking with her and made a strange expression.

Ji Xun looked at her and reminded her, "Bonnie, your face is too green. It should be 'toxin overload'."

When these words came out, the teammates seemed to have experience.

He tacitly kept a safe distance from Bonnie.

[Plague Doctor] The combat methods of this profession sequence do not distinguish between friend and foe.

If you don't control it well, your teammates will be poisoned as well.

"Ah, I almost forgot to take my inhibitors while talking to you."

Bonnie was reminded by this and finally came to her senses and put on the black leather crow's mouth mask.

At the same time, her muffled voice came out from the mask: "Ji Xun, do you also know about toxins?"

Ji Xun: "Well, I've read some classics before, so I understand a little bit."

"."

Bonnie was used to it; this guy really knew everything.

The poisonous fog all around was already very thick.

As the group was walking, the leader Qin Rushi suddenly spoke up and reminded them, "Everyone, be careful."

Ji Xun walked up and saw some rotten weapons and armor appearing in the swamp.

Judging from the degree of corrosion, it may be hundreds of years old.

This means that adventurers had visited this swamp before.

But now they have all become nutrients for the swamp.

And since it can kill fully armed mercenaries, this should be the area where the [Spine Dragon Python] is active.

However, the Warcraft Forest is full of dangers, and the members of the Great Sword Group are mentally prepared.

Seeing these traces, instead of being afraid, everyone expected those blind swamp snakes to come out on their own initiative.

[Spine Dragon Python] is not very intelligent and has a cruel nature. Humans are the best food for them.

The leading black knight had a large piece of blood food on his spear, and he walked along, looking around as if he was fishing.

Ji Xun was also observing his surroundings carefully. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a puddle of water with ripples under his feet, and his eyes froze.

Almost at the same time, the perception card master in the team suddenly discovered something and shouted: "Here it comes!"

Although there was an early warning, the crisis had actually been lurking around for a long time.

Just as everyone raised their weapons, an arc appeared on the grass not far away, as if something was rapidly drilling a hole in the ground.

"Wow!"

The mud splashed and the smell of earth hit me in the face.

A huge snake head emerged from the swamp and rushed towards the blood food with its bloody mouth wide open.

Ji Xun took a closer look and saw that the snake's head was the size of a calf, with exaggerated scaly skin folds like a cobra, and a bunch of hideous protruding spines. Most of its body was still in the swamp, and its body length was estimated to be more than 20 meters.

As it opened its mouth, green poison spurted out from the two arm-sized fangs in the snake's mouth.

Ji Xun looked at it and raised his eyebrows: "This is the [Spine Dragon Python]"

He had only seen pictures in books, and this was the first time he had seen this kind of mythical blood-born monster.

Um.
It's really brutal.

Once snakes launch a sneak attack, they are extremely fast.

In the blink of an eye, the giant snake was about to swallow the black knight in one gulp.

But everyone was prepared.

Almost in an instant, there was a dull "bang" sound, and "Holy Hammer" Sam charged with a shield and hit the snake's neck.

The moment the giant snake paused, the black knight who was responsible for attracting hatred pierced its jaw with a gun.

The snake felt the pain and realized that this group of humans was not easy to mess with, so it wanted to escape. However, the puddles around it instantly condensed into ice pits, which spread over the snake's scales. Quietly, the dagger had already pierced into the snake's heart.
In the blink of an eye, the giant snake that had just launched a sneak attack with such momentum was already lying on the ground, its skin peeled off and its tendons drained out, turning it into material.

"Ah, it's just a fourth-level dragon python. With such a big body, I thought it was a sixth-level one. It's almost there."

"Haha, what a good start! As expected of a descendant of myth, a complete poisonous magic core has appeared! This is a rare item!"

"The leather is also very tough. It's so complete that I can make several sets of high-quality leather armor."

"."

There was no intense fighting at all.

In the Great Sword Group, a tacit team of card masters whose lowest level is fourth, being controlled means death.

The tacit understanding between the team members allows them to exert several times their combat power.

When the assassin used his skilled anatomical skills to take out the fist-sized green magic core from the snake's head, everyone was excited.

Not all monsters have magic cores.

Not all magical beasts with magic cores can produce such a large magic core.

Just this piece of [Highly Poisonous Magic Core] is more valuable than an ordinary fifth-level magic core.

Compared to the excitement of others, Ji Xun watched from the side with a thoughtful look.

Qin Rushi didn't do anything the whole time. She looked at Ji Xun's expression and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Ji Xun said solemnly: "I'm thinking about the Blackwater Swamp food chain."

Qin Rushi didn't think of the meaning of this sentence for a moment: "Food chain?"

Ji Xun nodded: "Yes. From the current point of view, the few magical beasts attracted by the water source alone cannot support such a large population of [Spine Dragon Python]. In other words, there are other food sources in this swamp. I wonder what it is and where it is."

"Ah."

After this explanation, Qin Rushi nodded and understood.

To ordinary people, this is a small problem that can be completely ignored.

But in Ji Xun's eyes, it is an essential part of a complete logical line.

From some small details, we can deduce the source.

He vaguely felt that there might be something special about this swamp.

After collecting the materials for the big snake, everyone continued to move forward.

[Spine Dragon Python] Although it is a group of magical beasts, there are many of them in this swamp.

But there is no ethnic consciousness, most people do their own thing.

Just like a fish, even if one is hooked, the bait is still there and someone will still take the bait.

So the members of the Great Sword Group encountered more than a dozen giant snakes that attacked them along the way.

One is level 6, two are level 5, and the rest are level 3 or 4
The harvest was huge.

This is the treasure deep in the Warcraft Forest.

As long as you have the ability to avoid being wiped out, you will definitely make a lot of money.

However, because they learned from the two elemental elves that there had been a seventh-level lord monster in this swamp before, no one dared to be careless.

As he walked along, Ji Xun began to wonder, "It's strange, why haven't I met him yet? Could it be that the lord is not in the swamp?"

The fighting along the way was quite noisy, and the lord-level monsters should have noticed it.

But it still hasn't appeared.

Ji Xun was very surprised.

But at this time, Sam in front shouted excitedly: "Look, there are architectural ruins here!"

As Ji Xun listened, his thoughts turned and his expression became expectant.

Korra, the elf in the pocket, also said to herself: "I don't understand why you humans are so interested in those stones."

Yes, this is also the direction the elf pointed out.

There are many ancient ruins in the Warcraft Forest that have been buried by history. In the eyes of the indigenous people such as the elemental elves, they are just some strange stones.

Ji Xun smiled and walked over. He saw a few broken stones covered with moss suddenly appeared in the swamp.

Some are exposed, some are soaked in water.

The water is very clear, with various fluorescent water plants and small fish swimming around.

Looking closely, there are some vague carvings on the stone, which look like the pillars of some hall.

The members of the Great Sword Group gathered around the pillars, unable to hide their excitement.

Because there are architectural remains, it means that this may have once been a territory of human activity, and perhaps there were some other treasures.

There are also archaeologists in the team, but this is the Southern Continent after all, and the knowledge of the Eastern Wilderness cannot help them to understand anything.

They all looked at Ji Xun in the team inexplicably.

Ji Xun uncovered the moss on the stone pillar and carefully studied the blurred lines on it. He recognized it at a glance and introduced it, "This is the sun god pattern of the Alterac civilization. This may be the site of a sacrificial temple."

Hearing this, Bonnie asked curiously, "Ah, Ji Xun, are you interested in archaeology?"

Not only him, but others also looked at him in surprise.

To tell the dynasty of the relics at a glance, a lot of knowledge is required.

Everyone knew nothing about the Alterac civilization, let alone the Church of Light.

"Ah."

Ji Xun nodded, it was really a coincidence.

There are many broken civilizations, but she happened to have been studying the Alterac civilization recently, so she recognized it as soon as she saw the "sun pattern".

This is the remains of an ancient civilization dating back more than 100,000 years.

This kind of stone that is exposed and still survives to this day must have been specially treated.

Even though they are just a few pieces of broken stones now, they were probably treasures worth more than gold back then.

They are usually either large palaces or religious places.

The water near the building is very deep, and in some places you can't see the bottom at a glance. The dark depths seem to hide ancient secrets.

Qin Rushi watched Ji Xun carefully looking into the water and asked, "What's wrong?"

Ji Xun introduced: "Judging from the size of these pillars, the size of the temple may be very large. Judging from the patterns, it is not a 'bishop's temple', but a high-end place like the 'Pontifical Palace'. Usually, this kind of building has a large underground space. Just like the sanctuary of the Holy See now, it is used to worship gods. In other words, there may be some sacrificial items."

"Yup!"

After hearing this, everyone in the team's eyes lit up.

Archaeological remains are like that, they need to be excavated.

Even if they come across something that has been discovered before, it is possible that previous people have not found it. If they find it, they can also become rich overnight.

Moreover, Ji Xun’s expertise is reliable as soon as he opens his mouth.

"Captain, let's go down and take a look!"

"Okay. Uncle Dong, be careful."

"."

As soon as Ji Xun said this, two assassins who were good at diving dived into the water.

Everyone dispersed and looked for clues nearby.

Qin Rushi looked at Ji Xun's frown, and guessed that he had concerns, so she asked, "Do you think the dragon python lord might be spying on us near the ruins?"

"Ah."

Ji Xun nodded and said, "I have read in the classics that the Temple of the Sun is usually the place with the most concentrated elements in an area. Even though it is a relic, it still has some spiritual gathering effects. This group of [Spine Dragon Pythons] is here, most likely for this reason. Also, the leader of the [Spine Dragon Python] gives me a very strange feeling. I think its wisdom is higher than the legend says, and it may have sensed the threat and didn't come out. Or, for some reason, it hid and didn't want to or couldn't come out. Either way, it's abnormal."

As he spoke, he also found it incredible.

The classics also said that two elemental elves said that this giant snake should not be so smart.

But no matter how he deduced it now, Ji Xun always felt that something was wrong.

Qin Rushi listened and nodded seriously.

But this is the charm of adventure after all. No one can guarantee what they will encounter.

Judging from the traces on the ruins, no one has set foot here in at least the last few hundred years, so the probability of unearthing treasures is quite high.

Everyone in the Great Sword Group was working very hard, some were diving, some were digging.
Soon, more and more stone pillar debris and broken walls were discovered.

Ji Xun seemed to be completely uninvolved, just standing on a pillar and observing.

But in his mind at this moment was the 3D structural diagram of the temple-building tribe.

This type of temple covers a large area, usually several kilometers in radius as the building area. However, as long as one is well versed in the architectural style of that era, the layout of the entire ruins can be restored to a certain extent based on the distribution of stone pillars.

Sure enough, not long after waiting, as everyone discovered more and more, Ji Xun suddenly took a fancy to a direction.
If you really want to search this area thoroughly in the swamp, the workload will be staggering. It is also possible that after digging, time will be wasted and nothing of value will be found.

That would be more of a loss than a gain.

But that's the average person.

Ji Xun walked over and quietly woke up his plug-in: "Ivan, can you help me sense if there is any space under the ground?"

In her trouser pocket, the sleepy little girl was awakened by a bag of candy. Then she chewed the candy, jumped down and landed on the grass. After sensing for a moment, she lazily responded, "Stupid Ji Xun, it's not here. It's over there, about a hundred meters underground, there is a big space."

Ji Xun felt a little embarrassed when he heard this, and laughed at himself: "Ah, the calculation is a little off."

Ivan jumped back into his trouser pocket as if he was sleepwalking and went back to sleep.

Qin Rushi, who was standing by, watched the whole scene, chuckled, and then called out to her partner in the distance, "Bonnie, dig this way."

The Great Sword Group didn’t know how Ji Xun and Qin Rushi determined their location.

But now everyone had no doubt about Ji Xun's professional ability and started to take action immediately.

First, use spells to solidify the swamp near the coordinates, and then dig all the way down.

Soon, a theft hole was dug out.

Just as Ivan said, when they were more than a hundred meters away, the people underground suddenly shouted, "Chief, we have reached the rock layer!"

In a swamp, it won't be a rock formation.

Ji Xun immediately guessed that it was the top of the underground palace!

The people below broke through the hard stone that was several meters thick, and sure enough, there was a huge space.

Soon, everyone went down to the underground space.

Even though everyone was knowledgeable and experienced, they were still shocked by the scene before them.

In this underground palace that has been forgotten for tens of thousands of years, the few remaining magic lights that are always on cast a mottled scene of light and shadow.

The air was not turbid, but instead was filled with a faint scent of dust and ancient magic.

The depths of the palace were shrouded in darkness, with no end in sight.

Its incredible size can only be vaguely felt.

In front of Ji Xun and the others was a row of huge steps leading to the temple hall.

Each step is several meters high.

It seems that it was not built for humans, but for the huge dragons.

And above the stone steps, two rows of giant stone dragons stand as guards, rudely coming into view.

These statues are tens of meters high, almost touching the top of the palace.

The giant dragon spread its wings, and its stone scales shone with a metallic luster in the dim light.

Its eyes are carefully carved from magic gems, and they are bright and emit a faint light even in this dark environment.

It was as if a real dragon that had been petrified could come back to life at any moment.

This group of giant stone dragons has been silently guarding this temple for who knows how many years.

"It really is a temple! Look, there is a complete statue of the god in this hall. Hey, what kind of dragon is this? Wow, it's so majestic! I can actually feel the power of a dragon from the statue."

"Oh my god, there is such a large space under this swamp. My goodness, these stone sculptures look like they are alive."

"What kind of dragons are these? Their scales look like metal. Why have I never heard of such dragons?"

"That's the Dragon Guard of the 'Church of Light'. It looks like the legendary metal dragon. Chromatic dragons and metal dragons are the two major branches of dragons. However, this part of history was erased by the Holy See."

"."

After listening to Ji Xun's popular science explanation, everyone suddenly understood.

Ji Xun was so shocked that he couldn't express it in words because he recognized him.

As he looked at these dragon guards, he seemed to see the once powerful Alterac civilization.

The temples of theocratic civilizations are usually the most exaggerated at the time, built with most of the society’s resources and dedicated to the gods!
Faced with this "miraculous" ethnic group, everyone in the Great Sword Group was shocked, but at the same time they were also very excited and expectant.

In a place like this, even moving these stones back would be worth a lot of money!
Moreover, this underground palace has obviously not been visited for a long time. Apart from natural damage such as that caused by an earthquake, everything else is still intact.

Qin Rushi didn't know what she noticed, so she reminded everyone, "Everyone be careful."

After listening to this, Ji Xun also looked towards the depths of the palace.

The Bai family's magical secrets allow them to perceive living things much more keenly than others.

There is a high probability that the Dragon Python Lord is really hiding here.

Since it hasn't come out, they are not in a hurry.

Ji Xun noticed some details and murmured in his heart: "The specifications of this temple are a bit beyond imagination."

However, before he could think about it, Bonnie, the team doctor who was sensitive to toxins, suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "Ah, look!"

Everyone looked closely, and suddenly saw a strange plant with three green fruits growing in a small black puddle not far from them!

The reason why it is weird is that the three fruits on this plant are emitting a green gas that looks extremely poisonous.

And that green gas also formed the shape of a skull?
Ji Xun guessed what this iconic fruit was and his eyes lit up.

Bonnie could no longer contain her excitement and exclaimed, "Ah, could this be the legendary divine fruit - [Plague Fruit]?"

After all, they are all people who have seen the world.

Hearing Bonnie's excitement, the outspoken "blaster" Rosen also asked curiously: "Bonnie, what is this thing? Can it be eaten?"

Bonnie said, "I don't know either. I just read in an ancient book that the juice of this fruit is said to be one of the most poisonous in the world. It is said that if a god touches it, he may be infected with the plague. And, and... I forgot. I may have to go back and look through the ancient books."

This statement obviously cannot solve the problem.

Even professional poison masters couldn't explain it clearly, so everyone could only look at Ji Xun.

Ji Xun had long been accustomed to being treated as an encyclopedia by everyone.

He lived up to everyone's expectations and said, "Bonnie is right. This fruit is extremely poisonous. The green gas can easily corrode steel. It is even said that it can corrode a person's soul. That's why its poison gas looks like a skull."

"what?"

When they heard that it was highly poisonous, everyone immediately lost most of their interest in exploring the matter.

Also silently maintained a safe distance.

But Ji Xun continued, "But it is said that as long as one can withstand the toxicity of this fruit, one can transform the genes of his bloodline and gain a poison-resistant body that is almost immune to all poisons, and even the soul can be tempered."

Bonnie also remembered this and said excitedly, "Yes, the All-Poison Body! That's the effect! I saw that ancient book also said so!"

For a plague doctor, there is nothing more exciting than encountering such highly toxic material.

But at this time, Ji Xun thought of something and added: "It is also said that only the bones of gods can be used as nutrients to breed such a poisonous fruit. Usually, it is also the favorite tonic of most poisonous monsters."

"."

Qin Rushi listened, thoughtful.

At the same time, her gaze suddenly looked into the darkness in the distance, and a pair of amber snake eyes suddenly lit up!
Before they could be warned, everyone had already felt the dangerous aura that sent chills down their spines.

Looking closely, a 100-meter-long [Spine-Spine Dragon Python King] was already lurking there.

The sound of breaking wind.

It rushed out from behind the statue at lightning speed, carrying with it a toxic smell so foul that even through the gas mask it attacked everyone.

However, everyone came here for it in the first place, and after a slight shock, they had already entered combat mode.

As the team leader, Qin Rushi also placed his hand on the big sword and exerted force quietly.

Ji Xun in the team murmured in his heart: "Is it really here?"

The big snake is here, and the previous deduction has come to fruition.

But compared to the inevitable appearance of a lord snake, Ji Xun had no worries. Instead, he was more interested in the environment of this underground temple. He thought to himself, "Where does the fresh air come from? Could this palace lead to somewhere else?"

(End of this chapter)