As Fang Senyan was lost in thought, he reached the end of the path ahead, confronted by a vast, glittering lake. The water shimmered, cleverly forming a crescent shape that encircled the land before him, creating a peninsula. About twenty meters ahead stood an enormous sculpture carved from blue crystal, perfectly blocking the passage leading onto the peninsula. As one approached within twenty meters of the statue, an invisible pressure repelled them, preventing further advance—it was clearly some kind of magical array.
The blue crystal sculpture depicted a goblin with a stern expression, magnified perhaps a hundred times. It was carved with meticulous detail; even the wrinkles on its face and the texture of its skin were clearly visible. Its left hand gripped a greatsword, and its right held a shield, projecting an immense, palpable sense of oppressive force. After reaching this point, Fang Senyan felt an intense wave of threat emanating from the surroundings, indicating extremely potent traps were set, capable of utterly annihilating him if triggered.
Beside this goblin statue stood a large memorial stele, sculpted in the shape of an upright gold coin.
The stele appeared heavily weathered by time, leaning precariously. The discernible script on it was the royal language of the ancient Goblins:
“Even the Gods were helpless against that Demon…”
“We could only deceive it, blind it, and appease it with innocent and fragile gold coins and treasures…” “Finally, the dawn arrived…”
“For reasons unknown, this Demon suddenly decided upon a long slumber and commanded us to construct this massive sepulchre.”
“We endured with gritted teeth, finally completing this enormous undertaking just as the Empire was on the brink of collapse.”
“After the Demon entered its slumber, we followed the instructions of the Gods and employed the legendary Severing Array. While this method could not extinguish its soul, it managed to cleave it into ten pieces, according to the ancient Eastern civilization—stripping away its three hun and seven po!”
“The Severing Array cost the lives of the thirteen greatest Sages of the Goblin race, and the other races seized the opportunity to launch ferocious wars.”
“Following the Gods’ directives, we sealed one fragment of this Demon’s soul upon the altar, and exiled the remaining nine fragments to other planes!”
“Though our Empire is now destined to perish, though our civilization will consequently fall into ruin…”
“Yet, we Goblins have no regrets!”
“Because those who plunder us most ruthlessly only covet our money, while the other races are content with merely taking our lives!”
For some inexplicable reason, Fang Senyan could comprehend the text through the Nightmare Mark. He found the logic and reasoning of the ancient Goblins to be baffling and difficult to grasp. {Hand-typing/Bar First Release} His confusion deepened, and his curiosity about this "Demon" mentioned by the Goblins grew even stronger.
He slowly extended his hand. The half-severed finger key held in his palm pulsed with intense heat, and it began to drift slowly forward before stopping directly in front of the goblin statue.
Although in Fang Senyan’s eyes, all goblins generally looked alike, he could vaguely discern that certain facial features on the statue bore a striking resemblance to the meticulous Mr. Infinite. He surmised there must be some distant blood relation.
The goblin statue suddenly opened its mouth and swallowed the severed finger key whole. Red light flashed rapidly in its eyes, and Fang Senyan immediately felt the surrounding chill intensify dramatically; it was clear that the hidden mechanisms all around were primed and ready.
Fortunately, the statue soon opened its mouth and regurgitated the finger key. After a moment of stiffness, the red glow in its eyes vanished, and the statue immediately crumbled. The crystal composing it dissolved into sand-like fine dust upon entering the air, scattering with the wind and clearing the passage it had blocked.
Drenched and dusty, Fang Senyan brushed the crystal powder from his body, casually retrieved the finger key, and couldn't help but mutter a few curses directed at Mr. Infinite’s ancestor.
Upon entering the newly opened passage, he found himself in a space piled high with vast quantities of gold coins that dazzled the eyes. Regrettably, the moment Fang Senyan attempted to pick any up, the Nightmare Mark instantly issued an unforgiving prompt:
“Picking up ancient gold coins of this type will incur a curse from the Ancient Goblin Empire. Proceed? Yes/No?”
Fang Senyan was no stranger to curses—the ghost in the Caribbean world had fled in disarray after being beaten. Confidently, Fang Senyan initially believed his 31 Stamina points meant he had nothing to fear, but the addition of the words ‘Ancient Goblin’ made him reconsider seriously. When the words ‘Ancient Goblin Empire’ followed, he immediately selected 'No' with an air of impassioned, almost suicidal righteousness.
For Fang Senyan, this situation—being able to look but not touch—was torture, yet it felt inevitable.
Under normal circumstances, a Contractor reaching this point would require a coordinated team of at least a hundred people! Each team member would need their specialized base attribute scores to reach the extreme value of 50 points! Only then could they painstakingly fight their way through to this location. For such a team, even a curse from the Ancient Goblin Empire would surely have a countermeasure.
But Fang Senyan had reached this place smoothly and effortlessly thanks to Mr. Infinite’s half-severed finger key—a key that Infinite himself had cut off due to his own nightly nightmares. Since Fang Senyan had expended almost no effort to reach this point, it was only natural that he couldn't claim the reward. Understanding this, Fang Senyan didn't feel overly frustrated; instead, he moved forward with renewed anticipation.
Passing the obstruction of the statue, Fang Senyan was met by a magnificent elevated platform, divided into three tiers. The staircase leading up to it seemed to radiate astonishing luxury; the steps were made of the finest marble, and the balustrades were decorated with sculpted flowers and fruits.
Once he ascended to the first tier, he saw thickets made of silver and apple trees crafted from emeralds bearing golden apples, an overwhelming display of extravagance and opulence. The higher he walked, the more astounded he became, feeling as if he had stepped into the legendary Golden Eden. Though the sheer display bordered on gaudy after a while, he was deeply shaken by the magnificent and magical scenery.
After navigating this first layer of breathtaking spectacle, Fang Senyan continued upward. On the second tier, he discovered two ferocious dragons standing guard, one on the left and one on the right! He instantly recoiled in surprise, adopting a defensive stance—though he knew this posture was likely useless against legendary creatures of at least Tier Seven.
The dragon on the left, according to the nomenclature of the Harry Potter world, should be a Romanian Longhorn. It possessed black-green scales and wickedly gleaming golden horns. It was one of the few creatures that, like humans, preferred cooked meat, usually goring its prey to death before roasting it with dragonfire. The dragon on the right, a striking silver-blue fire dragon, appeared to be a Swedish Short-Snout, known for spewing dazzling blue flames of extremely high temperature from its nostrils.
Perhaps Fang Senyan’s arrival broke some kind of barrier, because just as he rushed forward, ecstatic about the prospect of massive plunder upon realizing the two dragons were already dead, both creatures instantly collapsed, turning to dust before vanishing without a trace, leaving the expectant Fang Senyan feeling utterly deflated. He coughed heavily and spat a glob of phlegm onto the ashes of the two dragons as a small vent for his frustration.
Finally, Fang Senyan reached the end of the platform, where he was met by an accumulation of jewels and rare treasures piled up like trash. The combined radiance of these treasures mixed and rose in a swirling, misty haze that blurred the vision—this must be the origin of what people call ‘glittering splendor.’ Of course, the curses affixed to these treasures were even more potent: Ancient Royal Curses, resentments lingering for a hundred million years, and so on. With his current strength, daring to touch them would likely result in a puff of smoke, vanishing with a hiss without leaving even an ash behind.
Wading through the piles of treasure for over ten meters, Fang Senyan finally spotted a highly peculiar platinum throne at the very center and highest point of the platform! He could vaguely make out what seemed to be a figure seated upon it. His heart thrilled, and he hurried forward to see the figure’s face clearly, only to be astonished to find that the throne was still facing away from him!
Fang Senyan, refusing to believe it, took several steps laterally, only to realize that as he moved, the platinum throne was also rotating unnervingly on its own axis. He was now hemmed in by the mound of treasure and unable to advance further. Even trying to maneuver around the pile proved useless; he could only tread water in place. Fang Senyan looked closely and discovered a translucent, pale blue goblin grinning maliciously beside the chair, physically pushing it. Its appearance was nearly identical to the specters he had encountered in the Caribbean. Clearly, this was the entity causing the mischief in the darkness.
Fang Senyan immediately activated his Insight ability. This time, without issue, the entity's data was cleanly relayed:
Tireless Goblin Artisan Wraith Race: Specter/Ghost Traits: Cannot ever be attacked, but also incapable of attacking others. Description: This is a peculiar ghost formed from the accumulated resentment of all the Goblins who died constructing this sepulchre. Even in death, it dares not directly profane the Demon King, only venting its resentment indirectly upon the Demon King’s platinum throne. If this entity cannot be dealt with, the final truth will remain forever inaccessible.