Players are coming, fortunately I have a time travel simulator

Compared with the murals in the tomb, the murals here are broken and mottled, and most of them cannot be distinguished what is painted, but the brushstrokes are obviously more delicate and exquisite, and the colors are more gloomy. With Zhou Ning's current archaeological level, he has no way to determine the timeline of these murals.

But the few well-preserved murals inside have already given people a basic understanding of the content depicted.

The main subject of the mural is undoubtedly the Elf King Alfred, who has become huge and his appearance has become young again. He is either standing on a high platform or sitting on the throne, shrouded in light, looking majestic and solemn. The background is a gorgeous elven city-state and thousands of elven people.

In the elven city-state, seven buildings that are slowly being built are deliberately emphasized, surrounding the elven palace in the middle from all directions. The architectural style looks plain and unpretentious, nothing special, but there is a dazzling crystal on each dome.

When the building was completed, Alfred stood atop a tall tower within the Elven Palace, a silver alchemical array carved beside him. What terrified Zhou Ning the most was the final mural. In it, black smoke suddenly rose above the heads of countless elves, absorbed by the seven buildings and converging at the top of the palace, forming a downward-pointing black beam of light. These elves instantly transformed into the same black evil spirits composed of pure shadows that Zhou Ning had seen before, the same ones now scattered throughout the mirrors, the tombs, and the ruins outside. The entire scene looked sinister and insane... Zhou Ning's gaze darted across the wall, his heartbeat quickening, and goosebumps rose up his spine.

Jasmine was also observing the seemingly dilapidated murals. She was silent for a long time before she spoke, "Seven altars for absorbing life energy. This looks very similar to the Ascendant Ritual. I've read about it in the Sun Temple's great library. Through certain mysterious rituals, a large number of lives are sacrificed simultaneously to achieve the ascension of one's own status. The effectiveness depends on the quantity and quality of the sacrifices. This is also one of the most reliable ways for a demigod to ascend to godhood. It seems that Alfred must have failed, or only succeeded halfway. Otherwise, even with the intervention of the gods, the once-prosperous ancient elven kingdom would not have collapsed so instantly."

Ritual of the Ascendant...

Zhou Ning nodded silently, his body trembling uncontrollably. What Jasmine said made sense, and it also explained why there were so many black evil spirits.

But the scene in the mural seems familiar. I seem to have seen these buildings somewhere before, right here in Docklands!

Could it be that the Life Alchemy Association and the Curse Cult are collaborating to replicate this scenario in Darkland?!

Zhou Ning couldn't help but shudder, and for a moment he was unwilling to believe the thoughts in his mind.

As the capital of the Apocalypse World, Darkland is a metropolis with a population of over ten million! It's also a gathering place for extraordinary people. If anything goes wrong, there will definitely be a lot of casualties.

Of course, the mere similarity of the scenes doesn't mean anything. This could also be my own one-sided idea. I can only wait until I return to Dockland and look for it carefully.

Unconsciously, he had begun to grasp the subtle threads of the Curse Cult and the Life Alchemy Association's conspiracy, and the enemy might be even stronger than he imagined, most likely including two, or even three powerful ancient elves.

Zhou Ning took a deep breath and exhaled, and it took him a long time to control his emotions. He forced himself to stop looking at the murals and continue observing the surroundings. This place was a bit like the interior of a ruined temple, with a window on each side. When he looked outside, it was foggy, as if he was in the clouds.

This exit looks quite interesting.

Zhou Ning's eyes were fixed on a door not far away that was almost rotten. He walked over and gently pushed it open.

There was still a foggy world outside the door.

It felt as if he were in a sea of ​​clouds. A spiral staircase spiraled downwards, winding its way down. Using his observation Haki, he could vaguely make out the dilapidated elven buildings below. Nearby, a stone bridge stretched high in the clouds, leading to other parts of the temple.

He subconsciously looked up at the sky. He was very close to the dome. There was no sun in the sky, only sparse and dazzling light that seemed to be pouring down from the clouds.

Everything in front of him shocked Zhou Ning. Seeing the scene in front of him, he easily thought of the scene that Damian had seen in the ordinary mirror: at the end of the field of vision, a staircase spiraled up to a high place, leading directly to the deep sea of ​​clouds. Only a complex and huge building complex could be vaguely seen above.

It was obvious that these two places were the same. He was in the world inside the mirror, deep in the sea of ​​clouds, in that building complex.

So what I have to do now is very simple. I just walk down the stairs, find Damian's ordinary mirror and I can get out from here.

Zhou Ning walked down the spiral staircase without hesitation. In addition to the stairs, next to him was an extremely huge ruin. Layers of broken building towers and mottled walls stood beside Zhou Ning, giving people a dazzling feeling, but he didn't know where to enter.

Zhou Ning continued to descend. With his current agility, his walking speed was more than just fast, but after nearly six hours, he still couldn't see the bottom. Occasionally, he could see wandering black evil spirits on the stairs. They were generally not very powerful, but they were very aggressive, pouncing on anyone they saw. Zhou Ning adhered to the principle of dodging those he could avoid and decisively killing those he couldn't. He accumulated nearly 20 experience points along the way.

After walking for nearly ten hours, Zhou Ning could finally see the scene on the ground clearly. Not far from here, there was still a large area of ​​elves' building ruins on the ground. There were countless black shadows wandering among the ruins, and they seemed to be guarding these ruins.

Wait, what is this?

Zhou Ning frowned and looked into the depths of the ruins. In the distance, he saw some intact buildings, which seemed to be a small town. The most conspicuous building inside was an elf-style tower made of white marble. A statue of an elf goddess could be vaguely seen standing in the middle.

[System: You discovered the hidden map: The Lost Ancient Elves' Ancestral Land, and gained 20000 experience points.]

[You have reached the hidden conditions for activating the unknown artifact: Damian's ordinary mirror.]

[Explore the hidden map: Tomb of the Ancient Elf King: 1/1]

[Explore the hidden map: Lost Ancient Elf Ancestral Land: 1/1]

[Damian's ordinary mirror activated a new ability: Mirror Jump. ]

At this moment, Zhou Ning discovered that his connection with Damian's ordinary mirror seemed to be deeper. He could vaguely sense its specific location, which seemed to be near the white tower.

……

At this time, in the ruins of the ancient city, the Northern pirate Rich Burke and his sailors set up a tent there and were waiting anxiously.

It has been more than two days since that damn guy entered the mirror, and he hasn't come back yet. It's so shameless.

"Boss, how about we go first? We've been delayed here for so long, Aaron Ingsoll will probably be here soon. Don't forget that his ship, the Myrni Rooster, can float in the air and is much faster than us." The fire mage on the side whispered.

"No, let's wait a little longer. It's better to be careful. Don't forget that guy said that if we run away, he will turn us into bounties. Even if he can't get out now, can you guarantee that you won't meet him in the future? You must remember that the reason we can survive until now is not because of our strength, but because of being careful, careful and cautious." Richie Burkle said a little dejectedly.

What he said was actually what was in his heart. He had also seen Wayne Sternwell's fighting ability and magical qualities. There was no benefit in going against such a person, so it was better to accept his fate for the time being.

What's more, his group of followers seemed to have something special. Regardless of how awe-inspiring their perverted behavior of even scrambling to wear the Pygmy's underwear was, in the battle a few days ago, he clearly saw two followers die in the Pygmy's attack, but a few minutes later they came back alive and kicking, laughing. God knows how terrifying an adventurer who can't die is.

"Boss Richie, do you have any new missions?" Just as I was daydreaming, the player named XB came over with a playful smile.

Missions, another mission! Which asshole has the time to find you a mission to do? Rich Burke couldn't help but roar inwardly. In just two days, he was annoyed to death by these players, who came to him every few minutes asking for missions.