Walking down the long trail and slowly ascending the steps in front of the temple, the square that had been left behind seemed to grow smaller and smaller as if it had been trampled underfoot. Large, large blocks of stone form a ladder that rises upward, and anyone who walks on it will bend their spine and slowly rise in their hearts an inexplicable sense of awe.

Sovereign looked up at the edge of the stairs that lay overhead, and felt like he had an illusion of transcending time and space. A thousand years ago, when the kings and priests of this declining empire walked up the stairs, what would have been on their minds—the hope of regaining the favor of the Lord God, or the helplessness of the impermanence of fate, or the remembrance of the glory of the past?

The uninhabited Taitinchi would never give an answer again, and the breeze brushed Solweran's cheeks, and the young prince looked back, and in the sunshine he faintly saw the sadness and exhaustion that the Kujitan had left behind. In the distance, the towering city wall stands as lonely as ever, guarding the majesty that has long been washed away by time, as well as the mysteries of this land, which may have long been forgotten.

Civilization is like this, when people praise her antiquity, they forget the tenacity she left behind in the years, and when people lament her annihilation, they forget the sad songs she left behind in the dust. But she is not a woman to be dressed up, even if someone leaves a beautiful stroke on her, or a deliberately demeaning stain, she will wash it away in the watery time, and finally reveal the most brilliant and magnificent greatness.

When Soveland's gaze finally jumped out of the stairs and saw what he saw, there were only two words left in his heart - worship, which was the craziest worship of the Kujitan people to the god of fate, Isseriel.

A tightly interwoven stone brick is paved into a rectangular platform, and beyond that is a huge temple that must be looked up, far larger than the one seen earlier.

Four intricately carved and gigantic stone beasts poked out from under the pillars of the temple and fell low to the ground, their mouths wide open in the direction of the steps, revealing several sharp fangs. The temple does not have a wall in the traditional sense, but is supported by countless tall stone pillars carved with patterns.

Here, the sunlight leaves a beautiful light through the cracks, and imprints layers of shadows behind the stone pillars. At the end of the Forest of Stone Pillars, the main hall in the back half of the temple is even higher than the vestibule, with no beams or columns, and the white boulders that connect the vestibule rise directly to a height of hundreds of feet, forming a magnificent dome.

The Kujitan people's breathtaking aesthetic prowess is on full display here, with cascading reliefs on the dome that seem to depict a world as they perceive it—the outermost layer depicts dense forests and generations of life that have inhabited them, and further in, soft lines depict flowing clouds and the sun and moon on either side.

In the center of the dome, angels with outstretched wings in their arms surround the openwork patio, and the sun sets from the patio, casting a spectacular emblem in the middle of the wide open space that has sunk into the ground—the standard perfect circle is set on a standing, palm-turned humanoid shadow, and a bright flame burns in the shadow's chest, and the center of the flame is the compass-shaped figure.

At the edge of the clearing, a snow-white obelisk stood, and in the deepest part of the temple, a narrative relief carved into the stone wall, and four figures standing next to it.

Everything here is so old that even everything in Soveland's perception has become younger, and if I had to find a similar example, I am afraid that it is only the Cathedral of Guangming Mountain, which symbolizes the main god of order, Sumu.

However, what really caught Soveland's attention were the four statues standing in the depths of the temple, the first time he had seen a statue of a Kujitan without a feathered crown since he came to the Death Mist Swamp. Judging by their appearance, they were supposed to be the jungle warriors of the Takaz Empire.

Beneath the protruding brow bones are a pair of slender eyes, and two round lip rings are embedded in the corners of the slightly pursed mouth. They all had shaved hair, necklaces of animal bones around their necks, exposed upper bodies covered with knotted muscles, and tattoos symbolizing religious totems.

Soviran looked up at the twenty-foot-tall statues, subconsciously touched the spears standing beside them, and was surprised to find that they were not stone ornaments, but real weapons made of brass. At the same time, what made him even more puzzled was that the existence of the "Destiny Shard" did not seem to be found in this temple. "Is there a mistake in the description on the slate? Or did I not find it......"

"What are you whispering? Gadore slapped Sorveran on the shoulder twice with his sword, "If you don't mind, let me hear it too!"

Sovereign glanced back at the sheriff. "It doesn't seem necessary for you to know what I'm saying. ”

"You really don't have the consciousness to be a prisoner...... "Gadore's laughter echoed through the empty temple, "as you can see, we're not here for a picnic. ”

"Yes, you're not wrong at all. Sovereign turned to look at Gadore, "Then why don't you tell me where the Destiny Shard mentioned on the slate is, is it really hidden in this temple?"

Gadore smiled nonchalantly, smiling as he pointed at the surroundings with the tip of his sword. "That's not something I should worry about. He said, "I've got time to spend here with you, but I can't guarantee that those cursed monsters will have the same patience with your companions." The tip of the sheriff's sword moved back to Sovereign, "So, if I were you, you'd better hurry up......"

Soveran gritted his teeth and stared at Gadore, the flames of anger even making his body tremble slightly. But there is one thing that Gadore is indeed not wrong, he must find the Destiny Shard as soon as possible, and if he delays for a second, Tandra and the others outside will be in more danger. Whether or not he will finally be able to escape the threat of the sheriff and leave Taitinci alive is far from something that should be considered now.

Leaving aside Gadore, who was standing aside, Soveran began the most detailed examination along the edge of the main hall, and strictly speaking, there was nothing of particular interest here, except for the snow-white obelisk.

It is a statue made of a single piece of stone, about 15 feet above the ground, without a single crack or splicing gap. Gently touching it, Sovereign could feel the smoothest and most delicate touch, a sensation that made him even suspect that the touch was not a stone at all, but warm grease or something.

Suddenly, a palpable obstruction drew Essaouiran's gaze, and about chest-high on the obelisk, carved a "compass" emblem that reappeared. With a slight touch of his thumb on it, the emblem flashed a layer of flowing golden light, and retracted inside, quickly forming a square hollow.

"This is ......," Sovereign muttered to himself, staring at the small square hole as if he had thought of something.

Gadore, who was next to him, was also attracted to him, and just as he wanted to speak, he saw Sovereign revealing the diamond-shaped gem he was holding in his hand. "You mean, it's the keyhole and the key?......"

"Or do you have any other opinions?" said Sovereign sarcastically, reaching out and handing the gem over. But just when the tip of the gem was just aligned with the square hole, the gem was attracted to the automatic insertion with a "hiss", and finally made a crisp sound, and it stood still, revealing only half of the sharp horns on the obelisk.

The sight in front of him stunned Soveland, and Gadore behind him simply took two steps back, and they all maintained a frozen posture, as if waiting for the change that was coming.

But after that soft sound, the whole temple returned to silence, as if nothing had happened, and Gadore slowly exhaled his taut breath. "Well, I'm afraid I have something else in mind......"

Before he could finish speaking, the gem suddenly seemed to burn, emitting a burst of brilliant purple light, and several white smoke fluttered around Soveland's right hand.

"What the hell is this gem for?!" Gaddore yelled in horror.

Sovereign struggled to break free of the smoke, but the inexplicable force was so great that it dragged Soveland's feet to the ground towards the obelisk.

With a "snap", Soveland's right hand finally pressed firmly on the gem, and the sharp horns pierced directly into his palm, and then, the entire temple trembled slightly, as if some kind of power had been truly awakened.

Gadore's legs trembled, and all the blood on his face faded. "For the sake of the Lord God, can't you say a word?!"

"Damn! it...... It's ......" Soveland's expression was even more solemn, fine sweat running down his cheeks, "it's sucking my blood!"

"What did you say!"

Crimson blood spilled from under Soveland's palm, but instead of flowing to the ground, it spread unnaturally across the obelisk. Soon, wisps of red fissures that seemed to be like blood vessels covered the entire stone tablet, and lines of unrecognizable ancient writing slowly emerged, and the whole temple shook even more, and fine dust and mud and sand continued to fall overhead.

At this moment, on the back of the obelisk, facing the direction of the clearing, a bright red blood stain flowed out from the part where the stone monument was connected to the ground, and flowed onto the emblem projected in the middle of the clearing. Suddenly, the blood stains scattered across the brick cracks that covered the entire clearing, and the red light that rose into the sky seemed to tear the earth apart.

With a loud "boom", large pieces of stone bricks broke away from the surface, collided and gathered in the red light, as if completing a new creation. Eventually, a massive humanoid monster fell from the sky, its thick legs smashing to the ground, splattering a cloud of dust.

On the small head, a pair of red eyes opened, it propped its arms to the ground, and its body leaned forward, towards the depths of the temple, and let out an earth-shattering roar: "Roar, roar, roar, ......."

The loud roar tore at Soveran and Gadore's eardrums, and the sheriff of Kugil was even paralyzed on the ground, everything in front of him was beyond the limits of what mortals could imagine. "This ...... That's what it is...... Our adversary?......" His voice was filled with dying despair.

"I'm afraid...... No......" Soveran whispered as he looked at the monster with his back to them, he was now extremely weak, and the blood that the gem kept pumping out, along with the old wounds on his body, had pushed him to the brink of death. "His opponent...... No, we ......."

As if confirming Soveland's words, a series of unison sounds rang out from the depths of the temple. The figures in front of the four narrative reliefs moved, the spears that had been standing beside them were pushed forward by the outstretched arms, and a bewitching yellow light flowed from the stone pupils. With a loud bang, the "jungle warriors" of Kujitan took a step forward together, pointing the jagged spear tip in the direction of the monster.