The group had been in this small village for over a day. The villagers had all turned into a horde of zombies when the brown-haired youth mutated, but they had also died completely with the evolution of that same youth. Thus, the village had become a place of deathly silence, and the group were likely the only visitors in days.

To prevent any potential plague or contamination, and because the smell of the decaying corpses was truly unpleasant, Zhan Gang performed a mental scan, while Wang Xia used trace amounts of gunpowder for incineration. Then, the others proceeded ahead toward the ruins, intending to return only after all the corpses had been burned away.

“Actually, they didn’t find the entrance to these ruins at first. They planned to excavate a path in, but as they were digging into the outer wall of the ruin, they discovered that this stone just needed a gentle press like this…” As she spoke, Eve kicked hard at a stone near the edge of the ruin. The stone immediately sank entirely inward, and then several stones beside it shifted away from each other. Once the movement stopped, an entrance gate appeared between the stones.

Zheng Zha and the others exchanged smiles. Ba Wang let out a whistle: “Damn, what is this? Stone Age automation? Hahaha… this looks really cool.”

Chu Xuan stood at the foot of this step pyramid, silently observing the entire structure. “Perhaps we’ve found something good…” Everyone looked at him, but the man simply pushed his glasses up his nose.

He walked alone into the pyramid first, followed quickly by Eve and the others, and then Zheng Zha and his group bringing up the rear.

Eve spoke as she walked: “…It’s a real pity. While I recognize a good deal of Egyptian script, my grasp of ancient Mayan writing isn’t so strong; I can probably only recognize about half of it.

The rest of the script is inferred from context. So even though this pyramid is wonderfully preserved, we can’t fully unlock its secrets. What a shame.”

The interior of this step pyramid was vast.

Furthermore, due to the structural principles of the step pyramid itself, air could circulate inward through the gaps between the stones, so there was no sensation of stuffiness inside at all.

The light wasn't even severely dim, and the entire interior of the pyramid was quite dry, with hardly any small insects visible.

Zheng Zha commented as he walked: “But this pyramid is much cleaner than the ones in Egypt; not like there, crawling with insects everywhere. But speaking of which, Imhotep, do you know the meaning and combination of any ancient symbols or inscriptions? If so, could you tell us? Would you?” The handsome bald man seemed somewhat distracted, gazing blankly around.

It wasn't until Zheng Zha patted his shoulder again that the man slowly turned back. He sighed and said, “Do you believe it? Before the civilization I lived in, there was actually another civilization there. During that civilization’s era, the step pyramid was created, and this step pyramid is the prototype for the pyramid. Later, that civilization gradually declined.

The Pharaoh felt it was too wasteful to use the step pyramid solely for worship, and they envied its grandeur. So, encouraged by a certain High Priest, they modified the step pyramid into the shape we now know as the pyramid. Its function shifted from religious ritual to the tomb of the Pharaoh. The earliest function of the pyramid was merely ritual, just like this Mayan pyramid…” “Although I was the High Priest, the spelling and combination of those symbols and inscriptions have actually been lost. Zheng Zha, your two Bibles only record the methods of use.

But not the meanings and combination methods, because the ancient step pyramids of Egypt were altered, and it’s impossible to recreate the scenes from that time anymore…” Zheng Zha’s heart stirred, and he quickly asked: “You mean that in the ancient step pyramids, we might find the meaning and combination methods of the symbols and inscriptions? But we don’t know the meaning of these texts…” While Zheng Zha was walking and talking, Imhotep stopped before a stone wall. He looked at the hieroglyphs on the wall and began chanting in a language the others couldn't hear. Suddenly, everyone stopped moving, and Chu Xuan immediately rushed to his side, his mind momentarily blank as he entered the state of unlocked genes.

After Imhotep finished reading the hieroglyphs on the stone wall, he pointed towards the passage the group was to follow: “That way is the record room, this way is the demon remains chamber, and behind this stone wall is the observatory. Behind that wall over there are the energy storage room and control room. Going past that section leads to the fabrication room…” Chu Xuan traced the hieroglyphs with his finger, repeating Imhotep’s explanation for every sentence. When Imhotep mentioned the fabrication room, he suddenly turned back and asked: “Does the figure holding a tool represent fabrication? Then what does the person entirely enveloped in a strange thin film behind this hieroglyph mean?” Imhotep explained: “Together, it means fabrication tools—requiring a fabricator and a user. That is its full meaning.”

Chu Xuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned to Zheng Zha: “Zheng Zha, does this figure look like you? I mean the person completely covered in that strange thin film, like when you cover your body surface with your inner energy or vampire energy. If ‘fabricated tools’ refers to weapons that convert energy—that is, legendary magical weapons—doesn't that suggest this might be the place where such weapons are made?” As Chu Xuan spoke, Imhotep walked up to a luminous stone wall nearby, felt around on it for a long time, and finally pushed one section inward. However, when this stone wall was pushed in, nothing happened nearby, as if Imhotep had merely nudged an irrelevant stone block.

The handsome bald man turned back with a puzzled look: “Perhaps the mechanism inside is broken; this stone wall failed to open the door…” Zheng Zha just shrugged his shoulders: “It’s possible the energy is depleted, too. After all, this is a ruin thousands of years old.

And from what you said, there seem to be energy reserve and control rooms. This stone door shouldn't move based purely on mechanics, right? Let’s go see what the energy storage and control rooms are.”

So everyone followed Imhotep towards the energy storage room and control room mentioned on the wall. Along the way, only Chu Xuan and Eve were most excited.

No, Chu Xuan’s expression was closer to fanaticism, while Eve’s was genuine excitement; both kept questioning Imhotep about the texts on the wall.

Imhotep also seemed very patient, answering continuously. Zheng Zha’s ears were starting to get tired of it, so he could only helplessly change the subject: “Speaking of which, Imhotep, how do you know the script of this ancient Mayan civilization? Ancient Egypt and ancient Maya shouldn't have had much contact, right?” Imhotep replied with a hint of pride: “I am the High Priest, after all. High Priests are usually monks raised from childhood by the previous generation of priests, and the most learned and intelligent among them are selected for instruction. Only when this person has completely mastered the knowledge passed down from antiquity can they succeed as High Priest. Even if much of that knowledge has been lost, we High Priests—unlike the Pharaohs—do not pass down the position by bloodline but by scholarship.”

Zheng Zha then understood why the most beautiful woman of Egypt at that time, Anck-su-namun, was fond of Imhotep. Historical rumors painted Imhotep as a valiant warrior, and combined with his profound knowledge and handsome appearance, such a man was quite attractive in that era, and would probably attract a large number of women even today.

Imhotep continued: “In the ancient knowledge passed down to us, there were several hieroglyphic scripts still in use in unknown places.

Oh, yes, there was also the hieroglyphic script of ancient China. I have seen bronze wares in several museums in America that are said to originate from the Shang Dynasty in China; I can roughly recognize the hieroglyphs on them…” Wang Xia and Zheng Zha’s faces immediately changed. Their expressions turned very cold. After a long pause, Zheng Zha said with a wry smile: “Damn, what irony. Our things were seen by you in America… Forget it, let’s keep moving.”

Imhotep was somewhat bewildered, and he asked Chu Xuan: “Did I say something wrong? Those were indeed Chinese hieroglyphs, weren't they?” Chu Xuan shook his head: “No.

You didn't say anything wrong; it’s just that the situation itself is somewhat flawed. Now, let’s bring the topic back. You said your knowledge inheritance included scripts from ancient civilizations across various regions? Can we hypothesize then that the ones who left this knowledge once communicated with each other and mutually agreed to leave keys to their respective civilizations within their ancient ruins, so that when one found the ruins of another civilization in the future, they could use that key to restore the glory of their own civilization?” Chu Xuan murmured to himself, seeming not to expect anyone to answer his hypothesis. The group continued to advance until they reached the end of a passageway. Imhotep studied the nearby walls for a long time before pointing to a smooth wall and saying: “The energy storage and control rooms are behind this, but how do we enter now?” This time, the group's reaction was uniformly the same: everyone stared directly at Zheng Zha. He understood, walking up to the stone wall. He placed both hands on it. Unsure how thick the wall was, or if there were important murals or inscriptions behind it, using the Spear of Judgment forcibly might damage crucial materials. Thus, he could only use the most cumbersome method to break through: forced entry.

He circulated the inner force of the Hunyuan Yiqi Gong through his hands, using his ability to vibrate and shatter the stones piece by piece. Each internal vibration turned a layer of stone into fine sand. Gradually, his hands sank into the stone wall. After about a minute or two, he thrust his hands out suddenly, shattering straight through the stone wall with only his internal energy, revealing a pitch-black void behind it.

This made things much easier. Since he confirmed there was a small empty space behind and the stone wall wasn't as thick or hard as he imagined, Zheng Zha simply channeled his inner force and punched the wall directly, blow after blow. After just a few strikes, he blasted clean through the wall. After all, strength ten times that of an ordinary person was quite formidable.

Once the wall was breached, the others quickly raised their torches to peer inside. In the exact center of the room rested an incredibly smooth stone pillar. Surrounding the pillar were several stone platforms. The platforms looked ordinary, save for a pair of deeply recessed handprints on the surface, with no other ornamentation.

Deep inside the room, however, was a scene of ruin. Several stone pillars there had crumbled to dust, and the back half of the room showed no trace of its original form, perhaps utterly destroyed by an earthquake or some other event. The only things remaining in this room were this single, well-preserved stone pillar and the several stone platforms.

Zheng Zha circled the stone pillar several times. He closely examined the imprints on the platforms. Having the Golden Mask as a reference, he observed the platforms very carefully for symbols or inscriptions. As expected, the stone platforms were also densely covered with many symbols and inscriptions, and the handprints were sized for an average adult hand.

Chu Xuan also observed the pillar and platforms carefully. After a long while, he turned back to Zheng Zha and said: “Well? Want to take a gamble? The odds are fifty-fifty—life or death…” Zheng Zha immediately laughed. This was the same thing he had said when he consulted Chu Xuan the night before they risked their lives. He exhaled deeply and stood directly in front of a stone platform. He then placed both his hands into the handprints. As he circulated his inner force, the area of the platform closest to his hands immediately glowed golden. A light streamed from his palms, running along the symbols and inscriptions toward the stone pillar. Moreover, the inner force, which was originally white upon touching the symbols and inscriptions, transformed into a golden light after passing through countless symbols and inscriptions. This golden light flowed continuously from the platform into the pillar. Finally, something resembling golden liquid flowed onto the pillar, which instantly emitted a soft golden glow. Simultaneously, the entire step pyramid began to tremble slightly. Golden light gradually flickered in the crevices of all the walls inside the structure, and its interior began to illuminate…