Chapter 574: The Core Suppressing Chamber
When his eyes flickered open again, Gabriel found himself standing somewhere else.
The surroundings looked ancient and damaged, but the aura alone made him recognize the location immediately. This was deeper inside the tomb.
The air itself felt suffocating enough to crush the lungs of ordinary players.
Several figures moved through the corridor ahead. Their robes carried the Tianlan symbol, marking them as Cultivators.
He silently observed them. Most already looked injured, and the tension on their faces revealed just how dangerous this place had been even back then.
One old man stood near the center of the group. His robes remained cleaner than the others despite the battle damage surrounding them, and several people unconsciously stayed half a step behind him as if respecting his status instinctively.
An alchemist.
Gabriel recognized him instantly.
It was the same man from the recording chamber, only younger.
The group continued deeper into the corridor.
Bodies littered the floor around them. Some belonged to monsters while others clearly belonged to cultivators who failed to survive the tomb itself.
One younger disciple swallowed nervously. "Master... are we really continuing deeper?"
Without slowing his steps, the alchemist answered calmly.
"The spike is ahead. If we retreat now, everything before this point becomes meaningless."
Another cultivator frowned uneasily. "The spiritual pressure keeps increasing."
Gabriel followed quietly behind the memory.
The farther they advanced, the more unstable the surroundings became. Black qi spread across the walls, and even the stone itself looked corroded by the terrifying force leaking from deeper within the tomb.
Eventually, the group entered a massive chamber.
His gaze sharpened instantly.
At the center stood the Core Suppressing Spike.
Even within the memory, the object radiated overwhelming suppression. Thick black chains wrapped around it from every direction while strange symbols glowed faintly across its surface.
Several cultivators instinctively lowered their heads after entering.
The younger disciple’s breathing turned uneven. "What exactly is this thing suppressing...?"
The alchemist glanced toward the spike.
Before he could answer—
Something moved.
FWOOOSH!!!
A figure suddenly appeared near the base of the spike.
The same knight.
Ancient armor covered its body completely while a faint crimson glow flickered beneath the helmet. The halberd rested beside the figure in complete silence, yet the aura leaking from it instantly changed the atmosphere inside the chamber.
Several cultivators stumbled backward. One even drew his weapon halfway without realizing it.
The knight slowly raised its head.
"You should not have come here."
Its voice echoed heavily throughout the chamber.
Despite the suffocating aura, the alchemist stepped forward carefully. "We came seeking knowledge regarding the suppression spike."
Silence followed briefly.
Then the red glow inside the helmet flickered once more.
"Leave."
Tension instantly filled the chamber.
One cultivator near the back clenched his teeth. "We lost half our people reaching this place—"
The knight vanished before he could finish.
BOOOOM!!!
The halberd crashed into the floor.
Violent force exploded outward, shattering stone across nearly half the chamber while the shockwave sent several cultivators flying backward. One disciple coughed blood from the impact alone.
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly. Even inside the memory, the strength behind that single strike was absurd.
The knight made no move to continue attacking. It simply rested the halberd against the ground once more.
"This is your final warning."
The alchemist slowly raised one hand toward his people, stopping them from reacting recklessly. Sweat already covered several faces despite no real battle occurring yet.
He continued studying the knight silently.
Compared to when he fought it personally, this version looked far stronger.
The armor carried less damage, the aura felt more complete, and the knight’s movements lacked the stiffness he remembered from their battle.
This one was much closer to its prime.
Eventually, the alchemist released a soft sigh. "We are leaving."
"Master?"
"But the spike—"
"We are leaving," the alchemist repeated firmly.
The knight did not interfere afterward.
Silently, he followed the memory as the group retreated from the chamber. Nobody spoke for a while because the oppressive aura from the encounter still lingered in the air.
Eventually, the younger disciple lowered his voice.
"That guardian... what level was it?"
The alchemist remained quiet for a moment before answering.
"Higher than me."
Several people froze.
To them, the alchemist was already a godlike existence, so hearing him admit inferiority naturally left them shaken.
Gabriel, however, remained calm. If he remembered correctly, the alchemist had been around level 200.
That meant even a future Paragon admitted the knight guarding the spike was stronger.
The retreat became increasingly chaotic the farther they moved away from the spike chamber. Monsters emerged from side corridors while several cultivators suffered injuries during the escape.
Eventually, the group reached a damaged section of the tomb.
For the first time, the alchemist staggered slightly.
Blood leaked from beneath his sleeve.
The earlier exchange must have injured him despite neither side openly engaging in battle.
One cultivator quickly supported the old man. "Master!"
"I am fine," the alchemist muttered.
Gabriel could already tell the injury was serious.
The old man’s qi circulation had become unstable, and even his breathing sounded noticeably heavier. The retreat continued until the group finally returned to the same alchemy chamber he had discovered earlier.
At that moment, the memory suddenly distorted again.
The world around him blurred like shattered glass, and the next scene made his breathing pause briefly.
He was no longer inside the alchemy chamber.
Instead, he was back at the same chamber he had just left.
The giginatic core suppressing spike still stood at the middle.
But unlike before Gabriel stood very Close to it.
In such close proximity, he could feel his mana circulation slowing heavily and drying up. The Core Suppressing Spike was like an anti-mage energy, which meant that mages suffered the most the closer they got to it. Their spells became weaker, their mana recovery nearly stopped, and even maintaining simple skills became difficult. If an ordinary mage stood here for too long, they would eventually become little different from a normal person.
