As Mo Han finished speaking, he softly uttered an incantation, and a gentle radiance ascended from his hands, slowly enveloping the two injured Super Squids. It was the advanced light-elemental healing magic—Holy Light Radiance.

Where the white light passed, the wounds on the Super Squids gradually ceased bleeding. Soon enough, the injuries were largely closed, and the blood flow stopped entirely. Because the wounds were so severe, they couldn't be healed instantly, but after Mo Han's treatment, the remaining two Super Squids were out of mortal danger. With a few days of recovery, coupled with their inherent super-healing abilities, their injuries would fully mend.

Seeing that Mo Han was treating them despite their previous antagonism, both squids displayed expressions of gratitude in their eyes, letting out low calls toward Mo Han, seemingly to convey their thanks.

Noticing this, Mo Han leaned close to the large heads of the squids, gently patting them. He smiled and said, "There, we were enemies, and you injured me, but I injured you too.

Now that I've saved you, we're even. Rest well; you should be fine in a few days. I need to go find my friends."

Having said that, Mo Han was about to turn and leave when one of the squids raised one of its remaining tentacles to block his path. It began calling out again, and Xiao Long and Xiao Han, witnessing this movement, immediately grew alert. Fearing the squid had turned treacherous and meant Mo Han harm, they let out hostile cries toward it, as if the slightest hint of aggression from the squid would prompt them to attack and strike it down without hesitation.

The squid, seeing the reaction from Xiao Long and Xiao Han, let out a distressed, mournful cry and quickly retracted its tentacle, as if attempting to explain itself.

Mo Han quickly intervened, stopping Xiao Long and Xiao Han, for he could tell the squid bore no malice. Furthermore, given its current condition, it was no match for them, and it wouldn't be foolish enough to seek certain defeat. It appeared the squid was trying to communicate something to him.

Thinking this, Mo Han tentatively addressed the creature, "Are you trying to tell me something?" Hearing Mo Han’s response, the squid immediately cried out again, then raised one tentacle to point behind it.

It then pointed toward its own back, its eyes conveying an urgent look.

Observing the squid's behavior, Mo Han guessed, "You want to lead me to that place? If so, just cry out twice, please. If you keep making those noises, I won't understand what you mean."

Upon hearing Mo Han's words, the Super Squid actually let out two mournful cries and then fell silent. Mo Han was greatly astonished. He paused for a moment, yet his curiosity ultimately won out. His original plan had been to use these massive squids to scout that restricted area they had just seen.

The preceding commotion had made him forget this intention, but now, prompted by the squid, Mo Han resolved to follow it into the forbidden zone. After all, with such tight security, the place couldn't possibly hold no secrets.

Moreover, Mo Han trusted that even if danger arose, he should have the means to escape. Besides, judging by the giant squid’s demeanor, it held no ill will and likely wouldn't betray him.

With this in mind, Mo Han retrieved the paper and pen that Daili had prepared for him from his spatial ring. He wrote down his plan for Daili and the others, instructing them to wait for him at the entrance to the valley. If he didn't return by sundown, they were to wait for him outside the Demonic Fantasy Forest, and he would rendezvous with them once he had investigated the situation inside.

After finishing the note, Mo Han placed the slip on Xiao Han, asking Xiao Han to deliver it to Daili. Mo Han then recalled Xiao Long into his spatial ring and leaped onto the squid’s back.

Once Mo Han was aboard, the squid rotated its massive body and began moving rapidly toward the forbidden area. However, after traveling for a long time, they still hadn't reached a destination. The surrounding scenery remained unchanged, showing no variation. If Mo Han hadn't been convinced of the squid's good intentions, he would have suspected it was merely leading him in circles.

After running for the better part of a day, just as Mo Han was growing impatient, a colossal structure suddenly appeared before him. Yet, calling it a structure felt less accurate than calling it a mountain. Before him rose a massive mountain that completely blocked their path.

The structure Mo Han had spotted was a palace built directly into the mountainside. The main gate was located at the foot of the mountain, revealing only a small portion of the architecture. Mo Han was certain the rest of the complex was constructed inside the mountain, hidden from view by the sheer bulk of the rock.

As he gazed upon this edifice, Mo Han was struck by its magnificent grandeur.

From its appearance, it seemed as if a significant portion of the mountain had been forcibly carved out to construct this palace. This scale was almost beyond human capability, for even if the realm's strongest experts could bore through the mountain, constructing anything within that hollowed space would be impossible. The exposed area of the palace alone suggested this.

Just looking at the exterior, the palace seemed to span the entire width of the mountain. Mo Han believed its sheer size must rival that of the Dragon Empire's Imperial Palace. If that were true, it would mean the mountain had practically been hollowed out. Yet, the mountain before him remained perfectly intact, showing no sign of collapse.

This implied that the palace itself must be supporting the mountain, preventing it from caving in. Alternatively, someone must have employed powerful magic to sustain the palace against the crushing weight of the mountain above. Mo Han found this astonishing, believing that perhaps even a God of Magic couldn't achieve what he was seeing—and since no God of Magic had ever appeared among humans, it was clearly beyond their known capabilities.

Could this not be the product of this continent’s human civilization? This realization sparked an intense curiosity within Mo Han regarding the structure, akin to discovering evidence of extraterrestrials while on Earth—it filled him with indescribable excitement.

Mo Han had been a fanatic about aliens back on Earth, intensely curious about anything that exceeded human comprehension. Now, witnessing this firsthand, even if it weren't alien life, it certainly surpassed his current understanding, steeling his resolve to explore the palace's interior.

The squid stopped advancing some distance from the palace gates and began calling out to Mo Han again, seemingly fearful of the structure before them.

Seeing this, Mo Han didn't press the issue. He figured he was now well outside the restricted zone and unlikely to face immediate danger. He dismounted the giant squid, gesturing for it to leave.

However, despite its fear of the edifice, the giant squid was unwilling to depart. It settled onto the ground, seemingly intending to wait for Mo Han.

Mo Han didn't insist further. He smiled at the ancient magical beast, patted its great head, and proceeded alone toward the palace gates.

As he neared the entrance, Mo Han noticed something he had missed earlier due to the distance and his lack of attention: two rows of stone statues stood as guards on either side of the palace gates. These figures held long spears, their eyes glaring fixedly ahead, having stood sentinel at the entrance for countless ages.

In front of these guards rested a stone tablet inscribed in the Common Continent Script. Clearly written in stark red characters that sent a chill down the spine were the words: Demonic Fantasy Temple. Trespassers Die.

Yet, these warnings did nothing to dampen Mo Han's curiosity about the temple. He merely smiled at the characters, completely unconcerned. After all, having come this far, retreating over a few ominous words would mean he had no business continuing.

What truly puzzled Mo Han was the complete absence of weathering on these stone statues. Despite centuries of exposure to the elements, they looked as if they had been placed there only recently, which was inexplicable given that Mo Han estimated the palace to be at least a millennium old.

No matter how he scrutinized them, the apparent newness of the statues clashed jarringly with the apparent age of the palace. Despite this strangeness, Mo Han felt only mild confusion, not intending to investigate further. For him, the contents within the palace were the true object of his fascination; these statues, while peculiar, did not hold his immediate interest.

As he drew closer to the statues, Mo Han suddenly experienced a strange sensation, as if the figures possessed a latent life. Despite being stone, he could sense a faint, almost imperceptible killing aura emanating from the guards, making him uneasy.

Mo Han scrutinized the statues repeatedly but found nothing overtly amiss. They stood rigidly still, showing no reaction. When he tentatively reached out to touch one, it felt like cold stone, offering no clue as to why he felt uneasy. Concluding it must have been his imagination, Mo Han dismissed the nagging thought and slowly walked toward the distant palace gates.

Midway to the gates, one of the stone guard statues suddenly opened its eyes, which glowed with a strange, malevolent light, fixing intensely upon Mo Han's retreating back. Simultaneously, Mo Han was struck by the sharp return of the killing aura he had sensed moments before. He spun around instantly, looking toward the direction where the danger originated.

But when Mo Han turned, he saw nothing but the rows of standing statues. Yet, he was certain that the killing intent he sensed was no illusion. As an expert who had reached the Sword Saint realm, his sensitivity to the approach of danger and killing intent was exceptionally acute and never mistaken.

While Mo Han was still bewildered, he suddenly heard a sharp, whistling sound indicating a weapon slicing through the air directly behind him. He hastily raised the long sword in his hand to block, hearing a sharp clang as he met the weapon—it was one of the long spears held by the statues.

The statue wielding the weapon was no longer the lifeless stone figure he had observed moments ago; it was now a living person whose eyes shone with an eerie light that sent a shiver down his spine. In that single exchange, Mo Han realized the guard’s strength was at least at the level of a Great Swordsman—an unbelievable turn of events.

Just as Mo Han parried the initial assault, several more weapon whooshes sounded behind him, rapidly closing in on his body. Mo Han knew instantly that the surrounding statues had launched their attack. Though he couldn't comprehend how the stone figures had suddenly animated, he had no time to ponder it now.

Leaping high...