Chapter 622 Determining the Goal

Xiao Ling's figure was like a silent gust of wind, easily passing through the seemingly extremely heavy mausoleum gate. When he stepped into the door, the scene in front of him instantly made him gasp.

Just from the outside, the gate of the mausoleum is so majestic and awe-inspiring. However, when you really step inside, you will realize that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The interior of the Huangling Mausoleum in front of us is more like a carefully constructed underground palace complex than a mausoleum.

A wide stone staircase avenue like a jade belt extends straight forward, with palaces and pavilions of various styles densely stacked on both sides.

These buildings are not simply piled up together. Each one has carved beams and painted buildings, with flying eaves and pointed corners. Under the eaves hang copper bells that have long lost their luster but are still exquisite.

On the wall, there are lifelike reliefs depicting celestial phoenixes spreading their wings and flying. Each one has a different expression and looks lifelike, as if it will walk down from the stone wall at the next moment.

The air was filled with a stale and gloomy smell mixed with a hint of spices, which was not as cold and decadent as imagined.

The sunlight penetrated from somewhere, casting mottled shadows between the huge stone pillars, adding a sense of mystery to this solemn place.

The astonishing grandeur seen from the outside is magnified countless times inside, with a luxury and majesty beyond imagination everywhere, which makes people involuntarily feel awe and even a little dazed.

However, the shock of entering this treasure land for the first time only stayed in Xiao Ling's heart for a brief moment.

He is a man with clear goals. The most important thing at the moment is not to appreciate this awe-inspiring underground wonder, but to find the high-level Sky Demon Phoenix Magic Core he needs as soon as possible.

He took a deep breath, and the calmness that always accompanied him quickly returned. He fixed his eyes, sharp as a knife, and began to scan the surroundings.

At the same time, his mind moved slightly, and his perception, like invisible tentacles, spread silently to every corner of Huangling, conducting meticulous perception and detection.

As early as when he was outside the mausoleum gate, he vaguely realized that there seemed to be a mystery hidden inside the Phoenix Mausoleum, and it was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. His intuition told him that there must be many restrictions guarding this underground palace.

Sure enough, after some careful investigation, Xiao Ling's guess was confirmed.

He discovered that inside this seemingly peaceful Phoenix Mausoleum, almost every corner was filled with complex and sophisticated restrictions.

Some restrictions are like invisible walls that prevent outsiders from entering, while others are murderous and once triggered, they will launch a thunderous attack. Others are even more confusing, trying to make people lose their way in the illusion and eventually exhaust their minds.

These restrictions were arranged extremely cleverly and were obviously set up long ago in order to protect the peace of the corpses of the Sky Demon Phoenix in the Phoenix Mausoleum and prevent any outsiders from breaking in.

However, in Xiao Ling's opinion, although these restrictions were exquisite, they did not pose much threat.

Especially with the secret assistance of the spirit of the ancestor in his body, the energy fluctuations, triggering conditions, and even the running trajectories of those restrictions were all as if covered with a layer of white gauze, becoming clearly visible and clear.

It is no exaggeration to say that the spirit of the ancestor has seen all kinds of high-quality formations. With a light touch on the edge of his perception, those restrictions that could have been fatal became like child's tricks. They lost their original power and could not affect Xiao Ling at all.

"According to common sense, the people buried in this outer area should all be ordinary members of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan."

Xiao Ling sneered and whispered to himself,
"If I want to get something of higher quality, I have to go to the deepest part. The treasures in here won't come to me on their own. Time is running out, so let's get going!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he no longer hesitated. His body flashed, and like an arrow shot from a bow, he took a step and quickly rushed towards the deeper part of Huangling, the unknown and certainly more dangerous area.

There was no hesitation or fear in Xiao Ling's eyes about the crisis that might come next. Instead, his eyes were filled with determination.

Thinking of Zi Yan who was still concentrating on absorbing the energy of the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit on Donglong Island, a strong determination arose in Xiao Ling's heart.

He traveled thousands of miles, risking great risks to sneak into the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan and go deep into the Phoenix Mausoleum. Wasn't all this just to obtain the high-level Sky Demon Phoenix Magic Core that could help Zi Yan practice and help her break through the realm?

The destination of this trip is approaching, and Xiao Ling's heart is full of determination. This operation will not allow failure, only success!
……

"Da da da"

A slightly dull sound of footsteps, as if covered in thick dust, echoed in this empty and cold underground space.

The sound came slowly and gradually from far away. It seemed particularly clear and abrupt in this dead silent environment.

After a moment, the footsteps suddenly slowed down, as if they had hit an invisible wall, or as if the owner of the footsteps had noticed something and became cautious, and finally stopped completely.

Xiao Ling stood still and looked ahead. A huge altar suddenly appeared in his sight.

Seeing this, a hint of joy involuntarily appeared in his eyes.

This altar is more like the base of a small palace than an altar.

It presents an ancient and majestic dark gold color, the material is unknown, but it exudes an aura as heavy as a mountain, and it is obviously not an ordinary item.

The altar is not flat, but stacked up layer by layer, as if it was made up of several huge platforms. The edges are carved with intricate and exquisite totems of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan. Even though there is a long period of time between them, the aura of looking down on the world is still overwhelming.

In the center of the altar stands a statue.

It was a scaled-down Sky Demon Phoenix, but it was more than ten feet tall. Its wings were not spread. Just standing there quietly, it had an overwhelming aura of dominating the world, as if it would flap its wings and fly high at any time, stirring up the wind and clouds.

It is covered with a material similar to golden feathers, reflecting a cold and hard luster under the dim light inside the altar. Its eyes are as sharp as an eagle, staring straight into the distance, as if it is watching something.

Below the statue stands a tombstone.

This tombstone looks almost as if it has just been carved. Its surface is as smooth as a mirror, without any signs of wear and tear from the erosion of time, not even a trace of a crack can be found, which shows the quality of the material.

However, when you really get close to it and feel it carefully, you can faintly sense a heavy and ancient atmosphere that has been accumulated over countless years from beneath that flawless surface.

The breath is cold and silent, yet it contains a heart-pounding ancient power, silently telling of its antiquity. It has existed for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, but because of the perfection of its material, it has always maintained its original appearance, as if time has been deliberately frozen here, leaving only the eternal solemnity and mystery.

Around the altar, the air seemed to be stagnant. Only the cold eyes of the statue and the silent ancient atmosphere on the tombstone created a solemn and somewhat weird atmosphere.

Xiao Ling took a deep breath. He knew that this might be one of the targets he wanted to find. Xiao Ling had already walked a long way inside the Phoenix Tomb. Before this, he had indeed seen many tombstones and altars where the bodies of other members of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan were buried.

However, after Xiao Ling's sensing, what was buried in those places were at most the corpses of some eighth-level members of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan.

Although, the magic cores left behind by a strong man of this level are naturally enough for Zi Yan to use in her cultivation.

But in Xiao Ling's opinion, his requirements are higher.

In order to allow Zi Yan to get better help, the trip would be worthwhile only if he could get a Heavenly Demon Phoenix Core of at least the ninth grade quality.

It can even be said that during the journey, Xiao Ling had never had the slightest intention of attacking any of the altars he had seen.

This was not because he was soft-hearted, but out of a very realistic consideration. He was afraid that if he took action, he would trigger the complex restrictions hidden inside the altar, which were specifically used to protect the tomb.

The power of these restrictions is often far beyond imagination. Once triggered, although Xiao Ling may not be in dire straits immediately, he can keenly perceive that these restrictions may also have some kind of early warning function.

They seemed to be able to immediately pass on the news of the destruction of this place, thereby alerting the members of the Sky Demon Phoenix tribe who were still stationed in the tribe.

If that were the case, even if Xiao Ling had already prepared a way to escape, he would still be in a dilemma and have no choice.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, he had to be careful and cautious. The opportunity he had on this trip was hard-won, and every minute and every second was extremely precious.

Therefore, if you really want to forcibly attack an altar, you must choose one of high enough quality, so that the trip is not in vain and this rare opportunity is maximized and not wasted.

As for the altar in front of him, just from the altar in front of him and the aura of the sculpture, it can be seen that the members of the Sky Demon Phoenix clan buried therein must be quite different from those Xiao Ling had seen before.

From the momentum, you can tell that this is definitely much more upscale than the previous one.

Therefore, Xiao Ling deduced that the people buried among them were definitely very powerful, far beyond what those buried previously could compare to.

"I hope you won't let me down." Xiao Ling thought to himself, but no sound came out of his mouth.

He knew very well that the longer he stayed in the Phoenix Mausoleum, the greater the danger of exposing his whereabouts and encountering unexpected events.

"I don't want to spend any more time here."

He whispered to himself, with a hint of urgency in his tone.

As this thought flashed through his mind, Xiao Ling shifted his gaze from the imposing statue of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix to a tombstone next to it.

When his eyes finally fell on the tombstone and he saw clearly what was engraved on it, his originally tense nerves instantly relaxed slightly. A hint of irrepressible joy flashed across his eyes, and he even breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily.

This was because the words on the stele clearly recorded the specific information of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix clan member buried in this altar.

The most important point made Xiao Ling excited. This member of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan had actually reached the ninth level of cultivation before his death! To be more specific, his peak strength was not even inferior to that of a human three-star Dou Sheng!
Thinking of this, Xiao Ling's mouth curled up slightly. The quality of the magic core left by such a powerful person naturally fully met his expectations, which was enough to double the value of this trip and make it worthwhile.

Based on previous observations, Xiao Ling has roughly figured out the internal design of the Phoenix Mausoleum.

The bodies of every member of the Sky Demon Phoenix clan buried here, as long as their strength reached the eighth level during their lifetime, were placed in an independent and exclusive space, so they would not interfere with each other.

Generally speaking, the qualification to enter the Phoenix Tomb belongs only to the elite young disciples who are regarded as the core of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan.

They need to wait until the specified time and must be accompanied by the elders of the tribe before they are allowed to enter.

The young members of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan might be able to obtain permission to enter the spaces where the corpses of their ancestors are stored. If the ancestor left behind a test for inheritance, those who pass it might be possible to inherit some of his power or inheritance.

However, this is obviously not the normal time to open the Phoenix Tomb.

Not to mention an outsider like Xiao Ling who broke in without permission, even if it was a native member of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, if they tried to forcibly enter the space where their ancestors were buried, they would definitely immediately trigger the restrictions that had already been set up there.

It can be imagined that once this kind of restriction is triggered, the news will be transmitted instantly like a maggot on the tarsal bone, and will be immediately noticed by the Sky Demon Phoenix-level members who are responsible for supervising the matter.

By then, there will surely be many powerful men from the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan who will rush to the scene as soon as possible, find out the situation, and impose the most severe punishment on the "uninvited guest" who dared to break in.

Xiao Ling was not clear about the effect of this restriction at first, but after he asked the spirit of the ancestral stone to investigate, he roughly understood its function.

So at this moment, Xiao Ling would naturally not rush in like this without any preparation.

"Yan, it's up to you next." Xiao Ling said silently in his heart.

Almost at the same time, the voice of the Ancestral Stone Spirit rang in his heart: "Don't worry, although we can't completely block the effectiveness of this restriction, we can still delay it for a while. It should be enough for you to get what you need."

Before he finished his words, a white shadow shot out from Xiao Ling's body. It was the spirit of the ancestral stone.

As soon as it left the body, it quickly opened its hands in front of it. Layers of translucent white light shields spread out rapidly under its control, overlapping like water waves, trapping Xiao Ling and the space in front of him tightly.

All this happened in a flash. Then, the spirit of the ancestral stone nodded slightly to Xiao Ling, indicating that it was in place.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling no longer hesitated.

Following his unique sense of the power of space, he took a few steps forward, interlacing his fingers as if to tear apart some invisible existence.

As he gently "torn", a deep, fluctuating space crack quietly emerged in front of him.

Xiao Ling no longer hesitated, and with a flick of his body, he leaped towards the space crack. (End of this chapter)