Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

Wu Chang swaggered through the corridor and then crouched behind the stone door of the corridor. Two minutes later, the stone door at the end of the corridor opened, and a patrol of guards emerged. Wu Chang seized the opportunity to slip through the stone door, entering the formal area of the second underground level.

As he entered the second underground level, his perception of the items stored in the secret chamber became increasingly clear. Following the familiar sensation, he quickly found his way to a ritual hall.

In the center of the ritual hall, there was a massive altar. On the altar was a fire basin with a diameter of over ten meters, filled with life-like deep red flames flickering as if they were alive.

Having witnessed the Exorcism Ceremonial in the "Year of Peace" instance, Wu Chang was not unfamiliar with the scene before him.

The flames flickering in the fire basin were the Age Fire!

The formation on the altar was almost identical to the Exorcism Grand Array set up in Huai Valley Village.

In Huai Valley Village, maintaining the Age Fire bonfire required the Four-sided Age Fire Lamp. Likewise, maintaining the fire basin of the Age Fire on this altar surely required corresponding items.

And that item should be in the secret chamber deep within the ritual hall.

The ritual hall was very spacious, with only two priests sitting at the door to guard the fire basin. Their task was simple, merely requiring them to occasionally glance over to ensure the flame didn't extinguish.

It was currently around two or three in the early morning, the time when people are the drowsiest. Both priests were nodding off, completely unaware of what was happening inside the ritual hall.

But to be safe, Wu Chang delivered a chop to the neck of each, putting them into a deep sleep.

He crossed the hall and came to a stone door that blocked the detection by his spirit body.

On the stone door was installed a rotary mechanical combination lock, which required turning the dials to align the correct patterns to open.

There were five disks in total, with twenty different symbols on each.

There was no keyhole on the door, nor were there any magical or electronic components inside. This purest form of mechanical lock would leave any master locksmith scratching their head.

The combination was likely only known by the Fire Master of the Soul Light Cathedral.

Wu Chang released a spirit body, rising along the elevator shaft, quickly discovering that the Fire Master was upstairs in the cathedral, leading a group of nobles in prayer.

This indicated that there should be no one else in the chamber before him, making it the perfect time to enter.

It wasn't feasible to guess the combination correctly, but just because it couldn't be guessed, didn't mean it couldn't be gambled.

He took out an item from his portable space that he hadn't used in a while, the "Favor of the Goddess of Fortune."

He activated an item skill usable once per plane, the Lead-Filled Dice.

He threw the three dice, simultaneously landing on a 1, activating another skill of the item, Strong Luck.

"Item Skill: Strong Luck."

"By rolling three dice, if the result is all 1s, you gain a Strong Luck status, enhancing the success rate of the next luck-related decision, with the effect dependent on the Inspiration Value."

He pressed all five of his fingers on the five wheels, and simultaneously pushed down.

The five wheels spun concurrently, then stopped simultaneously. At the instant they halted, accompanied by a slight click, the chamber door opened.

No matter how good the combination lock, it can't withstand someone guessing correctly.

Just as Wu Chang had anticipated, a small altar was constructed within the secret chamber with a peculiar red-gold flame floating above it.

The feeling was akin to the Age Fire but more intense than a regular Age Fire.

Influenced by the flame, the Four-sided Age Fire Lamp in Wu Chang's portable space became restless. When he took out the lamp, a prompt appeared before him.

"The wick of the Four-sided Age Fire Lamp has been discovered. The lamp and the wick are mutually attracting each other. Choosing to retrieve the wick will allow them to merge back into one."

"Note: This wick is in a bound state. Upon initiating retrieval, a contest for control rights with the original owner will commence. Ownership of the complete Four-sided Age Fire Lamp will be determined by comparing the Will and Inspiration values of both. The sum of the attributes, higher value prevails, will erase the opposing soul imprint on the item."

"Would you like to retrieve the wick of the Four-sided Age Fire Lamp?"

No need to hesitate? When it comes to other attributes, Wu Chang might be hesitant, but regarding Will and Inspiration, he's not afraid in the Desolate Realm.

"Retrieve the wick!"

With the retrieval command issued, the Four-sided Age Fire Lamp rose into the air, its body suspended above the wick, rotating slowly.

The red-gold flame leaped joyfully, like a wanderer returning home, quickly merging into the lamp body.

At the same time, the Fire Master, who was leading the nobles in prayer, suddenly stopped. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the prompt in front of him.

"Notice, your Age Fire wick is merging with the Four-sided Age Fire Lamp. Due to the binding rights conflict, the control rights contest will automatically begin in ten seconds. The control rights contest will be decided by comparing the sum of both parties' Will and Inspiration. If the contest fails, you will lose ownership of the Age Fire wick."

Several nobles, seeing the Fire Master suddenly frozen in place, were momentarily unsure of what was wrong. One noble stepped forward to inquire, "Fire Master Pope, you…"

"Shut up!" The Fire Master, at the moment, couldn't be bothered dealing with these natives. He turned half his face sideways, sharply silencing the noble with a cold shout.

The system only gave him ten seconds to prepare. He couldn't bother to avoid their gaze and took out seven or eight consumables from his portable space.

Among them were Brave Potions and Iron Heart Solvents to increase Will, as well as items like Wireless Puppet Blood and Owl Heart, which boost Inspiration upon use.