Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1008 1 o'clock

The gravel crunched under the lead man's feet as he rolled down. He was broad-shouldered and thick-backed, his bare arms tattooed with black totems. In his left hand, he held a stone axe inlaid with animal tusks, the blade still stained with a dried, dark red—clearly fresh from battle. "This is our leader, Blackstone," Ella introduced, leaning over, her voice tinged with subtle awe. The man's gaze swept over the vine wings behind Elena, his Adam's apple rolling as he let out a low, gurgling sound, as if assessing the strength of the "witch" before him. Elena noticed the bone token hanging from his waist. The giant wolf engraved on it bore a striking resemblance to the Morningstar Clan crest Leo had described. She flicked her fingertips, and the vines formed a small rose in her palm, which she gently flicked toward Blackstone. "Three hundred years ago, the Ancient Barbarians and the Morningstar Clan swore a blood oath at the Blackwater River, jointly protecting the power of Chaos from abuse." The moment Blackstone caught the rose, the bone token suddenly heated. He stared in shock at the fading black petals in his palm, then at the rose mark on Elena's collarbone. Suddenly, he knelt on one knee, his stone axe clanging against the sand. "Greetings, Rose Messenger!" The other barbarian warriors followed suit, drawing and sheathing ten scimitars simultaneously with a cacophony of crispness that startled the vultures circling overhead. Leo, stunned, tugged at Elena's sleeve and whispered, "Why are they suddenly so respectful of my sister?" "The totem is burning," Elena's fingertips traced the light-eating stone at her neck, her voice filled with uncontrollable excitement. "This is a sign of the ancestor's presence! Legend has it that only the heir of the Morning Star family can resonate with the Blackstone Tribe's totem." As Elena lifted the Blackstone, her fingertips touched the calloused flesh on his palm—the crisscrossing lines were inlaid with the scales of desert lizardmen. She recalled the battle reports in her father's study, chronicling the brutal defensive battle fought twenty years earlier: "The Blackrock Tribe, with a force of over a hundred men, held back the migrating Lizardmen for three days, buying the city-state time to deploy its defenses." "The Inquisition has built twenty altars along the Blackwater River." Blackrock's voice was like polished sandstone as he traced the course of the river in the sand with a stone axe. "The three on the westernmost side are closest to the Holy Mountain and are guarded by the Paladins. The sacrifices there are all made by warriors from our tribe." The river in the sand painting meandered like a snake, and the location of each altar was marked with stones. Elena noticed an unusually dense cluster of markings midstream. The stones there were piled exceptionally high, and even a broken eagle feather was inserted—clearly where the fighting was most intense. "That's Moonlight Canyon." Ayla pointed at the pile of stones, her brown eyes blazing with anger. "The Inquisition has tied our shaman to the main altar, burning his totemic tattoo with holy fire, and demanding the whereabouts of the Light Devouring Stone." Elena's vine wings suddenly tensed, and fine blood vessels emerged from the periosteum-like membrane. She could imagine the scene—just like when her mother was burned at the stake, the saints singing hymns as the flames devoured her skirt. The crystal in her palm radiated a searing heat, resonating with the rose mark on her collarbone. "I'm going to Moonlight Canyon." Elena's voice was as cold as ice. "You take Leo to the Holy Mountain and be sure to activate the totem pole before the full moon." She took out a silver hairpin from her hair. It was a relic left to him by her mother. The rose carved on the hairpin could change color with magic. "When you see the hairpin turn red, use the light-eating stone to absorb the energy of the altar." Blackstone took out a piece of dried meat from his arms and stuffed it into Elena's hand: "This is pickled with desert cactus and can resist hunger." His rough palm rubbed against Elena's fingers, with the temperature of gravel. "We have buried flares in the canyon. If you encounter danger, just ignite them and the soldiers will support you immediately." Leo suddenly hugged Elena's waist, buried his little face in her back, and said in a crying voice: "Sister must come back." The jade pendant on his neck was pressed against Elena's crystal stone. The two gems emitted a faint blue light at the same time, casting intertwined rose shadows on the sand. "When I come back, I'll take you to find the Forgotten Land." Elena pried open her brother's fingers and lightly touched his forehead with her fingertips, leaving a light blue mark. "This is a protective spell that will keep monsters away." When she turned around, she deliberately didn't look back - she was afraid that seeing Leo's tears would shake her determination to leave. The vine wings stretched out in the sunlight, and the air currents brought up swept up the eagle feather that Ella had inserted in her hair. Elena watched the feather fall into Leo's hands. The boy held the feather tightly, as if holding the last straw. The barbarian warriors had prepared the camel, and Blackstone was carrying Leo onto the hump. The boy's amber eyes were always looking in the direction she left. On the way to Moonlight Canyon, Elena encountered three waves of patrols from the Tribunal. She entangled the first wave's warhorses with vines, sending the knights tumbling to the sand, howling. She was already out of range. The second wave attempted holy arrows, but the black energy of her wings deflected them, snapping them in two mid-air. The knight leader of the third wave, recognizing her wings, turned his horse and fled, muttering, "The devil has appeared." "They're just bullies who only care about the weak," Elena sneered, her wings suddenly swooping down. From the dunes below, the sound of dragging chains and faint prayers echoed, like some kind of ritual. She folded her wings and landed behind a boulder. Vines spread along the cracks, creating a black rose in the sand as a warning. Peering through the cracks, she saw a massive cross at the entrance to Moonlight Canyon. Tied to it was an old man in animal skins, his graying hair matted to his face by blood, but he held his head high. Twenty white-robed monks stood around, chanting from their sacred scriptures. Flames danced beneath the cross, scorching the old man's ankles. "Tell me! Where is the light-devouring stone?" The leading monk prodded the old man's wound with his staff, the blood-stained hem of his gold-embroidered robe glaring. The old man coughed up blood, which splattered on the monks' white robes. "Even if you burn me to death, you won't gain the approval of the forces of Chaos." Elana recognized the animal bone necklace around the old man's waist—a symbol of the barbarian shamans, its twelve tusks representing the twelve months of the year. She noticed red powder embedded in the old man's fingernails. It was cinnabar, a substance unique to the Holy Mountain, evidently from its origins. "Looks like I don't need to do anything." The vines from Elana's fingertips quietly extended, wrapping around the nearby cacti. Nourished by her magic, these desert plants grew wildly, their spikes sharp as daggers, slanting towards the monks. When the monk raised the scepter again, the old man suddenly bit his tongue and sprayed blood on the totem on his chest.