Free Web NovelChapter 21: Chapter 21: The Ancient Black Stone Altar
The growl from the darkness was low, slow, and heavy.
It did not sound like a Black Stone Hound.
It did not sound like a Black Stone Wolf either.
The entire cave seemed to respond to it. Dust drifted from the ceiling, and the black crystals embedded in the walls pulsed faintly, as if something deeper inside was breathing through them.
Qin Mo took one step back.
"That is not a friendly sound."
Qin Lian crouched near the altar, eyes fixed on the tunnel beyond it.
"Large body. Slow movement. Claws scraping stone."
Qin Yuchen held his sword with both hands.
"Can we retreat?"
Qin Yuheng looked at the altar.
Required amount: ten Black Stone Cores.
They had five.
If they retreated now, they could continue hunting elsewhere, gather more cores, and return later. But the beast deeper in the cave might not remain passive. Once awakened, it could come out, attack them from behind, or occupy the altar area entirely.
More importantly, stronger beasts often meant better drops.
But Qin Yuheng did not rush.
"What is the tunnel width?" he asked.
Qin Lian answered, "Narrow near the altar, wider deeper in."
"Good. We fight at the narrow point. Do not enter the wider chamber."
Qin Mo looked at him. "You say that like fighting is already decided."
"It is coming."
The scraping sound grew closer.
Qin Yuheng drew a D Grade Defensive Talisman and placed it on Qin Mo’s sleeve.
"Stay behind the altar. If the line breaks, activate this and retreat to the entrance."
Qin Mo nodded without joking this time.
Qin Yuheng gave Qin Yuchen and Qin Lian each another talisman.
Then he stepped toward the tunnel.
A pair of dark green eyes appeared in the blackness.
The creature emerged slowly.
It was a massive lizard-like beast with a body covered in black stone plates. Its head was flat and wide, its jaws lined with jagged teeth. A row of crystal spikes grew along its back, each pulsing with black light.
The system panel appeared.
[Black Crystal Stone Lizard]
[Level: 9]
[Type: Defensive elite beast]
[Strength: High]
[Defense: High]
[Speed: Low-Medium]
[Weakness: Mouth interior, underbelly, joints beneath front legs, crystal spine nodes]
Level 9.
Defensive elite.
For a newly entered team, this was extremely dangerous.
Qin Yuheng immediately understood why the hidden altar had not been discovered by ordinary teams. Even if they found the cave, this beast would block them.
The lizard opened its mouth and hissed.
Black mist leaked from between its teeth.
Qin Yuheng moved first.
He did not wait for the beast to charge.
The cave was narrow, and if the lizard occupied the altar space fully, their movement would become limited. He needed to hold it at the tunnel mouth.
His sword struck the beast’s front plate.
Clang!
Sparks flashed.
The blade left a mark, but did not cut deep.
Qin Yuheng frowned slightly.
Its defense was much higher than the wolves.
The lizard snapped its jaws.
Qin Yuheng stepped back, narrowly avoiding the bite.
Qin Yuchen attacked from the side, aiming for the joint beneath the front leg. His sword entered only half an inch before being pushed back by stone muscle.
"Hard defense," Qin Yuchen said.
Qin Lian threw a dagger toward one of the crystal spine nodes.
The dagger struck and bounced off, but the node flickered.
Qin Yuheng noticed.
"The crystals conduct its defense. Break them."
Qin Mo raised his hand from behind the altar.
"I can disrupt one if it stays still."
"It will not."
"Then make it."
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
He circulated thunder into his legs and moved.
His speed suddenly increased.
The lizard swung its tail, smashing into the cave wall. Stones exploded outward. Qin Yuheng ducked beneath the tail and cut toward the nearest spine crystal.
This time, he released a faint violet-gold thunder arc.
Crack!
The crystal node fractured.
The lizard roared.
Its stone plates flickered, and a small section of its shoulder defense weakened.
"Now!"
Qin Yuchen struck immediately.
His sword pierced deeper into the joint.
Qin Lian appeared low and stabbed into the same area.
The lizard thrashed violently.
Qin Yuheng retreated, but one claw scraped his left arm. A Defensive Talisman flashed and absorbed most of the force, but the impact still numbed his shoulder.
Qin Mo activated a formation mark beneath the beast.
A circle of faint black light tightened around its front legs.
Only for one breath.
But enough.
Qin Yuheng stepped in again.
This time, he aimed at the cracked spine node and struck with greater force.
The Black Thunder Pattern Sword hummed.
The crystal shattered.
A pulse of black energy burst from the lizard’s body.
Its defense dropped visibly.
Qin Yuchen’s eyes brightened.
"Again!"
The battle became a pattern.
Qin Yuheng cracked the spine nodes.
Qin Mo restricted movement at critical moments.
Qin Yuchen attacked exposed joints.
Qin Lian targeted weak points and prevented the beast from turning freely.
The Black Crystal Stone Lizard was powerful, but its size became a disadvantage in the narrow tunnel. It could not fully turn, could not charge properly, and could not bring all its strength to bear.
After nearly fifteen minutes, three spine nodes were broken.
The lizard became increasingly wounded.
But elite beasts were most dangerous near death.
Suddenly, it opened its mouth wide and gathered black light in its throat.
Qin Yuheng’s panel flashed.
[Warning: Black Stone Breath attack detected.]
"Scatter!" freēwēbnovel.com
The lizard released a stream of black-gray energy.
It struck the altar area like a wave of crushing dust.
Qin Yuheng dodged sideways.
Qin Yuchen rolled behind a stone.
Qin Lian disappeared into a crack between rocks.
Qin Mo activated the Defensive Talisman on his sleeve.
The shield flashed violently.
The breath struck him through the edge of the barrier and sent him sliding backward.
"Qin Mo!" Qin Yuchen shouted.
"I am alive!" Qin Mo coughed. "Unhappily!"
The lizard lowered its head after releasing the breath, its mouth still open.
Qin Yuheng saw the weakness.
Mouth interior.
He moved.
Thunder surged through his legs.
In a flash, he crossed the distance and thrust his sword directly into the lizard’s open mouth.
The blade pierced upward.
Violet-gold thunder erupted inside the beast’s skull.
The lizard convulsed.
Qin Yuheng twisted the sword and leaped back.
The massive beast collapsed, shaking the cave floor.
A Tower message appeared.
[Black Crystal Stone Lizard killed.] fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
[EXP +80]
[Black Stone Core x3 acquired.]
[Black Crystal Spine Node x2 acquired.]
[E Grade Black Crystal Scale x6 acquired.]
Qin Yuheng’s EXP rose sharply.
[EXP: 162 / 200]
Level 2 progress more than halfway.
The team gathered near the corpse.
Qin Mo sat down immediately.
"I was almost turned into stone powder."
Qin Lian checked his condition. "Bruised ribs. No fracture."
"That is still terrible."
Qin Yuheng gave him a D Grade Recovery Pill. "Use this."
Qin Mo swallowed it obediently.
Qin Yuchen looked at the drops.
"We have eight Black Stone Cores now."
"Two more," Qin Yuheng said.
Qin Lian looked deeper into the tunnel.
"There may be a chamber beyond."
Qin Mo stared at her.
"Why would you say that out loud?"
Qin Yuheng smiled faintly.
"Because she is right."
They proceeded after a short rest.
Beyond the lizard’s tunnel was a small chamber filled with black crystals. There were no more elite beasts, only two Black-Tooth Rats hiding among the stones.
The rats died quickly.
One dropped a Black Stone Core.
The other dropped nothing.
Nine.
They searched the chamber carefully and found the final core embedded inside a cracked crystal cluster.
The moment Qin Yuheng stored it, the side mission updated.
[Side Mission Completed: Collect 10 Black Stone Cores.]
[Reward pending final evaluation.]
Qin Yuheng looked toward the altar.
Now they had a choice.
Submitting the cores to the altar might trigger a hidden mission.
It might improve their reward.
It might also summon danger.
Qin Mo saw his expression and sighed.
"You are going to activate it."
Qin Yuheng nodded.
"Yes."
"At least pretend to hesitate."
"I already did."
"That was not enough."
They returned to the altar.
Qin Yuheng placed ten Black Stone Cores into the shallow depression.
The altar remained silent for three breaths.
Then the cores melted into black light.
Ancient runes ignited across the broken stone platform.
A Tower message appeared.
[Hidden mechanism activated.]
[Ancient Black Stone Altar has awakened.]
[Offering accepted.]
[Hidden Mission triggered: Trial of the Black Stone Guardian.]
[Defeat the altar guardian or survive until the altar closes.]
[Reward will be calculated based on performance.]
Qin Mo slowly covered his face.
"I knew it."
The cave trembled.
Behind the altar, black light gathered into the shape of a wolf.
Its body was larger than any wolf they had faced so far. Black crystal armor covered its back, and its eyes burned with cold blue fire.
The system panel appeared.
[Black Crystal Guardian Wolf]
[Level: 10]
[Hidden Mission Guardian]
[Danger: High]
Qin Yuheng gripped his sword.
Level 10.
A true first-floor hidden guardian.
The path to a higher evaluation had opened.
Now they had to survive it.
