I am the Holy Poisoner, the Empress advised me to calm down

The four-person team passed through the dense forest and finally arrived at a huge, long-abandoned stone gate. The stone gate was covered with ancient carvings, and it looked like no one had set foot here in many years. Lin Xi raised his staff, and a beam of light gathered in the air. The stone gate slowly opened, revealing a dark corridor.

"Before going in, everyone should check their weapons and armor first." Ferrens reminded, and at the same time he began to carefully check his own equipment.

At this time, a farmer couple passed by the path nearby. When they saw the stone gate open, they both stopped and looked at it in shock.

"What kind of miracle is this?" the husband said in surprise.

"What an amazing young man! Are you going treasure hunting?" The wife's eyes were full of envy. "If we could have such an opportunity, we would also..." Before she finished her words, a little monster suddenly jumped out of the grass, making a low roar, interrupting them.

"Be careful!" Cass reacted extremely quickly, and a short arrow shot out from his hand instantly repelled the monster.

"It's... too dangerous! We'd better get out of here as soon as possible." The farmer couple said goodbye and fled. Before leaving, they waved to the four people: "Young people, take care!"

After entering the underground ruins, the group quickly discovered something strange: the surrounding walls glowed with a faint blue light, as if an invisible force was holding the entire space together. The floor was also covered in strange symbols. As they were studying the meaning of these markings, they heard soft footsteps in the distance—the sound of some unknown creature slowly approaching them!

"Get ready for battle." Zhao Yan whispered, and took a step forward to prepare for possible attacks.

Suddenly, two figures emerged from the darkness—they were two heavily armed thieves! One of the thinner men shouted, "Hey, don't even think about getting your hands on the treasure here!"

"Get out of here!" Another, more burly man rushed forward, eyes wide open, brandishing a huge sword. But he was no match for Zhao Yan and the others. After a few clashes, he was easily defeated and fell to the ground, unable to move. Seeing this, his accomplices also fled in panic.

"Tsk... What a hassle." Cass said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He turned to Lin Xi and asked, "What do you think those symbols mean?"

"It should be something that guides some mysterious power." Lin Xi frowned and thought for a moment, "Maybe we need to trigger them in the correct order."

After trying several times, they finally solved the first puzzle - a hidden door was slowly pushed open. Behind the door, the corridor was lined with many closed small rooms, each with a unique sign on it, looking very strange.

Just as everyone was hesitating about which direction to explore further, a lost traveler stumbled upon the area. Seeing the scene and the attire of the four adventurers, the traveler immediately realized that they must be a group of extraordinary people. "Wow, there's such a hidden place here! Are you searching for that legendary, long-lost ancient crown? I hear it possesses incredible powers! How enviable! I wish I could have such an experience..."

Hearing the other party's words, Zhao Yan turned around and smiled: "Haha, actually we didn't expect to encounter so many strange things."

After saying that, he took the lead and walked into one of the passages: "We must find out the secrets here no matter what. Come with me, friends."

Just as they disappeared at the end of the tunnel, the massive black shadow in the distance suddenly shrank rapidly until it completely disappeared. At the same time, a series of rapid, heavy footsteps echoed from somewhere in the dungeon...

What will happen? What will be the fate of these four people? All the answers are waiting to be revealed ahead. As the four people stepped into the deep passage, the sound of footsteps and breathing became particularly clear. Zhao Yan held a long sword and glanced around vigilantly, while Genos followed closely behind, holding a taut longbow in his hand. Ferens silently checked his equipment to make sure that every part was in good condition. The staff in Lin Xi's hand glowed again, illuminating everyone. As Zhao Yan led the team into a narrow corridor that seemed no different from the others, everyone began to feel that the air became colder and more oppressive. The blue light on the wall flickered, adding a bit of tension to everyone's face. At this moment, Ferens whispered, "Do you feel that the atmosphere here is very wrong?"

"Yeah, it does feel a bit weird," Genos agreed, "but now that we're here, we can't back off."

Cass looked around alertly and suddenly stopped: "Wait! Listen! What is that... sound? It seems like something is approaching us!"

Sure enough, the sound of hurried footsteps gradually became clearer from afar. "Get ready!" Zhao Yan whispered, drawing his weapon and motioning for his companions to stay close.

Soon, a group of masked men dressed in black and holding swords appeared around the corner. "Hmph, you dare to interrupt our important event?" The leader sneered, then waved his hand, "Capture them, don't let them escape."

"Where do all these enemies come from?" Lin Xi frowned and muttered to himself.

As soon as he finished speaking, an inevitable fierce battle began. The two sides exchanged blows with ferocity, the intensity of the battle heightened in the confined space. Fortunately, Zhao Yan and his men were well-trained, and even at a disadvantage, they were able to hold out temporarily.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a sudden commotion was heard from the other direction. It turned out to be adventurers who had previously encountered the area but had not yet become enemies. Hearing that there might be treasure hidden here, they rushed to support. "Hey, isn't that Zhao Yan and the others? Let's take down these ignorant guys together!" A middle-aged man said cheerfully, then joined the melee, brandishing a broadsword.

Seeing the situation was not going well, the Black Organization seemed to realize that the situation was not going in their favor and quickly retreated. "We'll let you go this time, but don't think you'll get the treasure so easily!" With that, the group disappeared into the darkness like ghosts, leaving no trace.

After this thrilling little skirmish, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much! If you hadn't showed up in time, we'd all be dead today," Genos said gratefully to the people who had just helped.

"Oh, don't say that. We're all working for the common good." One of the young men smiled and waved his hand. "And seeing how skilled you are, you're probably after the ultimate secret, right? How about we work together?"