Beside the light curtain stood a tall skeleton.

It stood nearly two and a half meters tall, clad in tattered iron armor and an iron helmet. A longsword hung at its waist, and it held a shield in its hand.

The soulfire in its eye sockets was deep blue, many times more intense than the ghostly green of the low-level skeletons seen before.

On the ground behind it lay the remains of several Skeleton Soldiers, likely monsters that had tried to enter the second floor and were cleared out by this Skeleton Five Hundred Lord.

Skeleton Five Hundred Lord, Level 15.

Feng Qingyan raised her staff, and a ball of fire was already flying out.

The Flame Burst slammed into the Skeleton Five Hundred Lord's chest, exploding in a burst of firelight.

The Skeleton Five Hundred Lord staggered back. Before it could raise its shield, a second Flame Burst followed.

It tried to draw the longsword at its waist, but Feng Qingyan's third Flame Burst smashed directly onto its helmet.

The Skeleton Five Hundred Lord collapsed with a crash, bones scattering across the ground as its soulfire dissipated into the air, vanishing as specks of blue light.

Feng Qingyan stowed her staff, clapped her hands, and turned to toss her chin at Tie Dun. "Three shots, done."

Tie Dun opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he looked at the pile of broken bones on the ground.

He looked at the staff in Feng Qingyan's hand again and ultimately kept his mouth shut, silently giving her a thumbs-up.

Lin Feng walked up to the light curtain and reached out to touch it.

The light curtain rippled like water. A warm sensation met his fingertips, offering no resistance.

He looked back at everyone. "Everyone's here. Let's go down."

Lin Feng took the first ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ step, entering the light curtain.

He stood on a descending stone staircase. The stairs were wide, enough for four or five people to walk side-by-side.

The sides of the stairs were rough rock walls—no moss, no bioluminescence, only a faint blue-white light filtering down from above.

"Let's go," Lin Feng said, stepping down the stairs.

Behind him, eleven pairs of boots stepped onto the stone stairs. The footsteps were dull and rhythmic, echoing through the narrow passage.

...

The group descended the stone stairs for about two minutes when the stone path beneath their feet suddenly vanished, replaced by a patch of soft humus soil. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Stepping on it felt like treading on a thick sponge; their footsteps were silently swallowed up.

The air became damp and cold, carrying a cloyingly sweet scent like rotting flowers mixed with honey, making one feel quite uncomfortable.

As Lin Feng stepped off the last stair, a light curtain popped up before his eyes.

【System Notification: Dungeon Floor 1 has been cleared.】

【Restriction Lifted: Entry restrictions for Adventurers to the first floor have been removed.】

【Currently accessible: Dungeon Floor 1.】

Lin Feng's eyes lit up. The restriction was lifted, which meant he could send people in to gather resources.

Liu Ming could organize a team to collect amber moon-tears on the first floor. That mutated moss could be sold at the Adventurers Guild for fifty Contribution Points per small cluster; gathering a lot would be a significant income.

Moreover, the first floor was so large there were bound to be other specialties. He'd have Su Yurou refine the map later and arrange for specialists to come in and prospect.

"Lord Lin, what are you thinking about?" Jiang Zhaoyue's voice came from beside him.

Lin Feng snapped back to reality and shook his head. "Nothing. Let's take a look at the second floor first."

He looked up and began to survey the surroundings.

Ahead, a dark forest spread out across his field of vision. The ceiling was hundreds of feet high, draped with glowing mycelium.

Cold white light fell like moonlight, yet it couldn't penetrate the heavy shadows beneath the canopy.

The trees were bizarrely shaped; some trunks were spirally twisted like wrung-out towels.

Others had dense aerial roots hanging from their branches, plunging into the soil to grow new trunks.

Some canopies were so entangled that it was impossible to tell which branch belonged to which tree.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves. The rotting foliage was layered deep, feeling soft underfoot. Occasionally, a few glowing mushrooms could be seen peeking out from the leaves.

Tie Dun peeked out, then pulled back, patting his shield. "I don't like this place."

Jiang Zhaoyue closed her eyes, and the silver moon emblem on her forehead lit up, its glow particularly striking in the dim forest.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, her brow slightly furrowed. "The danger level is low, but there are some snake-like monsters on the trees that are good at camouflaging. Everyone should be careful."

Shi Pojun asked in a deep voice, "Is there a way through?"

"The forest is very large. We can only try."

Jiang Zhaoyue pointed toward the front right. "Let's go this way first."

Lin Feng stepped forward. "Let's go."

The group entered in single file. Their footsteps were swallowed by the thick leaves, and the surroundings were as quiet as another world.

Occasionally, water droplets fell from the mycelium, hitting the leaves with a faint 'patter' before being quickly swallowed by the silence again.

The team traveled through the forest for about twenty minutes.

Jiang Zhaoyue walked in the middle of the group, scanning every so often to ensure the path ahead was not a dead end or a trap.

Tie Dun carried his shield in front, looking around and muttering incessantly, "This woods is real quiet, not even a bird."

Just as he finished speaking, a vine dropped from overhead and silently wrapped around his neck.

"Mmph!" Tie Dun's face instantly turned red, his mouth wide open but unable to make a sound.

He grabbed at the thing around his neck with both hands, but it felt slimy and cold, impossible to grip.

Everyone looked up. An emerald-green snake, as thick as an arm, hung down from the canopy. Its body was covered in vine-like protrusions; when coiled on a branch, it was completely indistinguishable from an ordinary vine.

After wrapping around Tie Dun's neck, it began to tighten, its scales glinting coldly under the bioluminescence of the moss.

【Vine Snake · LV10】

"It's a snake!" Arrow Eye immediately notched an arrow, but Tie Dun was thrashing around, making it impossible to aim.

Tie Dun panicked, trying to pull the snake's body away, but the snake's skin was slippery. The more he pulled, the tighter it coiled.

He blundered around and slammed headfirst into a nearby tree. *Thud!*

The dull impact echoed through the forest, shaking loose a few strands of mycelium from the canopy.

The snake was jolted loose and slid off Tie Dun's neck, falling to the ground and crawling around in a daze.

Feng Qingyan waved her staff, and a Flame Burst accurately slammed into the snake, burning it into a pile of ash.

A small section of tendon with a faint green glow was left on the ground.

【Vine Snake Tendon (Green Material)】

Arrow Eye crouched down to pick up the tendon, weighed it in his hand, and tucked it into his pack. "This can be used to make ropes and bowstrings."

Tie Dun crouched on the ground clutching his neck, gasping for air. There was a red welt around his neck, and his face was still flushed, though whether from suffocation or embarrassment was unclear.

"I... I hate snakes..." His voice was raspy, trembling with the shock of his narrow escape.

Jiang Zhaoyue scanned the surroundings, her brow furrowing even deeper. "There's more than one. There are several more on the branches overhead, and they're all moving down."

The group looked up. Sure enough, over a dozen Vine Snakes were slowly lowering themselves from the canopy like living ropes, their tongues flicking in the dark with faint hissing sounds.

"Spread out!" Lin Feng barked.