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Mark stood firm by holding the tree trunk, his chest heaving violently. The fight with the black bear just now consumed a lot of his strength. Albert put away the staff, which still had a faint magical light. The two cautiously walked around the huge corpse of the black bear and walked towards the altar in the center of the clearing. The night wind blew, carrying a hint of blood and the unique dampness of the forest. The moonlight shone through the gaps between the branches and leaves, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground, adding a bit of weirdness.

Albert raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, his eyes fixed on the huge black stone in the center of the altar, "This place... makes people uncomfortable." He lowered his voice and said, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the staff, as if seeking some kind of comfort.

Mark took a deep breath, and an unknown energy permeated the air, making his senses more acute. "Be careful, there must be other dangers here." He swept his eyes over the twisted trees around him, always feeling that there were pairs of eyes hidden in the darkness, watching their every move.

The runes on the edge of the clearing emitted a faint light, flickering like breathing. When Mark stepped into the clearing, the light suddenly intensified, forming a beam of light that shot straight into the sky. The surrounding trees seemed to be frightened, and the branches and leaves rustled, as if countless people were whispering.

"This..." Albert's eyes flashed with surprise, and he subconsciously took a half step back. He looked up at the beam of light that shot straight into the sky, and an inexplicable uneasiness rose in his heart, as if something was about to wake up.

Mark looked back at Albert and motioned him to follow.

Albert took a deep breath and followed him into the clearing. As he stepped in, the beam of light stabilized, no longer flickering violently, but emitting a soft light that illuminated the entire clearing. The black stone in the center of the clearing began to vibrate violently, emitting a low humming sound, and the ground trembled slightly.

Mark felt a strong energy fluctuation emanating from the black stone, and he watched the changes in the stone with vigilance. Albert also felt the energy fluctuation. He couldn't help but tighten his staff, and his knuckles turned slightly white.

The surface of the stone cracked and spread like a spider web. A black mist poured out from the crack, rolled in the air, and gradually condensed into a human figure. The air around seemed to solidify, making people feel suffocated.

The black figure slowly opened his eyes, and two red lights shot out of his eyes, like two burning flames. He slowly raised his head, his eyes swept over Mark and Albert, and a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Welcome to my domain." The black figure said in a low voice, his voice was like coming from the depths of hell, full of evil breath.

"Who are you?" Mark asked harshly, with a subtle tremor in his voice.

The black figure did not answer Mark's question, he just slowly raised his hand, and the black mist rolled in his hand, forming a black long sword.

"You came here for the fragments of the holy stone, right?" The black figure's voice was low and hoarse, as if it came from the depths of his throat, which made people shudder. "Unfortunately, this piece is not a fragment of the holy stone."

As soon as the black figure finished speaking, he stabbed the black sword into the ground. A huge crack appeared in the ground in an instant, and hot magma gushed out from the crack, splitting the open space in half. The air was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur, and the heat wave hit them, burning their skin. Mark's pupils shrank suddenly, and he exerted force on his feet and retreated quickly, barely avoiding the magma spray. The trees behind him were swallowed by the magma, making crackling sounds, and turned into ashes in an instant.

Albert's face changed, and his staff slammed heavily on the ground, muttering something. An ice-blue light shot out from the top of the staff, forming a thick wall of light between Mark and the magma, blocking the hot magma out. "Mark, be careful!" Albert warned loudly, with fine beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. The light wall made a sizzling sound and emitted bursts of white smoke. It was obviously difficult to resist the invasion of magma for a long time.

The black figure turned into a ball of black mist and moved behind Mark in an instant. The black long sword pierced Mark's back with a whistling sound. Mark felt the fierce murderous aura coming from behind him, and his body instinctively dodged sideways. The black long sword almost passed by his back, and the sharp sword energy left a deep cut on his clothes on the back. Mark backhanded and shot out the fire sword from his palm, shooting towards the black figure. The fire sword pierced into the black mist, but it was like piercing into the air, without any hindrance.

"Humph, overestimate your ability." The black figure sneered, and the sound was as harsh as metal friction. The black mist condensed again and appeared in front of Albert. He raised the black long sword in his hand high, with the tip of the sword pointing directly at Albert.

Albert waved his staff, and a dazzling lightning shot out from the top of the staff, striking the black figure. The lightning struck the black figure, making a deafening noise, and the dazzling light illuminated the entire open space. However, when the light faded, the black figure was unharmed, but rushed towards Albert at a faster speed. The black sword in his hand, with a sharp sword energy, cut through the air and went straight to Albert's throat. Albert's face changed drastically, and he quickly raised his staff to block.

The black sword collided with the staff, making a crisp metal collision sound. A powerful force came from the sword, which made Albert's tiger mouth numb, and the staff almost slipped out of his hand. He staggered back a few steps, his face pale, and a trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Mark's heart tightened, he knew that Albert was no match for the black figure.

Mark took a deep breath, rushed forward quickly, turned into a cold light, and rushed towards the black figure again.

The black figure sneered, dodged Mark's attack easily.

"You want to hurt me?" The black figure's tone was full of disdain.

Mark ignored the black figure's ridicule, gritted his teeth, and continued to launch a fierce attack.

The black figure was ghostly, and could easily dodge Mark's attack every time, and launched a counterattack from time to time, forcing Mark to retreat again and again.

"Albert, are you ready?" Mark shouted loudly while dodging the black figure's attack.

"Okay!" Albert's voice came from a distance.

Mark was delighted to hear Albert's response. He jumped suddenly, jumped onto a rock, and raised his dagger high, "Albert, now!"

Albert raised his staff, and a dazzling light shot out from the top of the staff and rushed straight into the sky.

"Holy Light is Coming!"

A huge column of light fell from the sky, covering the black figure.

The black figure let out a painful howl, his body trembled violently, and the black sword in his hand fell to the ground.

"Now!" Mark shouted, leaping down from the rock, the fire sword in his hand piercing the heart of the black figure.

"No..." The black figure let out a desperate roar.

The fire sword pierced the heart of the black figure, and black blood gushed out, splashing on Mark's face.

The body of the black figure gradually dissipated, and finally turned into a ball of black mist and disappeared into the air.

"It's over..." Mark looked at the disappearing black figure and breathed a sigh of relief.

Albert walked to Mark's side, his face a little pale, "Are you okay?"

Mark shook his head, "No."

"Let's go." Albert said.

Mark nodded, and the two turned around and left the open space.

"That stone..." Albert suddenly remembered something and looked back at the black boulder in the middle of the open space.

Mark also looked back, "Don't worry about it, let's go."

The two continued to move forward.

"Wait." Mark suddenly stopped, he turned his head, and his eyes fell on the black boulder again. "I always feel like something is wrong."

Albert followed Mark's gaze and saw a black boulder standing quietly in the middle of the open space, looking particularly eerie in the afterglow of the setting sun. "What's wrong?" Albert frowned slightly. He looked around. There was nothing else in the open space except the boulder. There was a faint smell of sulfur in the air, which was the smell of magma residue.

Mark walked to the boulder, squatted down, and carefully observed the surface of the boulder. The surface of the boulder was as smooth as a mirror, without any lines or patterns. He reached out to touch the boulder, and a cold chill instantly spread throughout his body, causing him to retract his hand involuntarily. "This stone..." Mark stood up, frowning, "It's too quiet."

"Quiet?" Albert looked at Mark in confusion, "Is there anything wrong with the stone being quiet?"

"Don't you think it's strange?" Mark pointed at the boulder, "We had such a fierce battle just now, but this stone didn't react at all." He paused and continued, "And don't you think the appearance of this stone is abrupt? It seems to have appeared here out of thin air."

Albert walked to the boulder, reached out and touched it, and felt the biting cold. "It's really a bit strange." Albert withdrew his hand and his expression became serious. He walked around the boulder and carefully observed every detail of the boulder.

A breeze blew, rolling up the fallen leaves on the ground, making a rustling sound. A few crows flew from a distance, landed on the nearby branches, and made a few harsh calls.

Mark's eyes swept back and forth on the boulder, and he always felt that this stone was hiding some secret. He took a deep breath and decided to touch the boulder again, this time he was more careful and more focused. He gently placed his palm on the surface of the boulder, closed his eyes, and tried to feel any movement inside the stone.

Just then, he felt a slight vibration, as if something inside the stone was waking up. He opened his eyes and looked at Albert, and both saw the shock in each other's eyes.

"This stone..." Mark's voice trembled a little, "There is something inside."

Albert nodded, and his eyes flashed with determination. "We must find the secret inside."

The two began to look for possible entrances or mechanisms around the boulder. They checked every inch of the surface of the boulder, and even knocked on the stone, trying to find any possible holes or hidden passages.

Time passed by minute by minute, the sun had completely set, and the sky was dotted with stars. Mark and Albert still didn't find any clues. Just when they were about to give up, Mark suddenly found that there was a stone at the bottom of the boulder that was slightly different in color from the other parts. He squatted down and tapped the stone gently with his fingers, and the sound he made was obviously more hollow.

"Albert, look here!" Mark shouted excitedly.

Albert came over quickly, and the two of them checked the stone together. They found that the stone was actually a rotating mechanism. They turned the stone hard, and heard a slight click. The bottom of the boulder slowly opened, revealing a dark hole.

A cold wind blew out of the hole, carrying a musty and ancient smell. Mark and Albert looked at each other and saw the tension and expectation in each other's eyes.

"We have to go down." Mark's voice was firm and powerful.

The two took a deep breath, entered the cave one after another, and walked down the stone steps.

The air inside the cave was humid and depressing, and the stone steps were covered with moss, making every step particularly slippery. They walked down carefully, and the light of the fire swayed in the dark, casting their long shadows.

As they went deeper into the ground, the temperature around them gradually dropped, and the chill in the air became stronger and stronger. They felt a strong magical fluctuation, which accelerated their heartbeats and caused goose bumps on their skin.

Finally, they came to a huge underground cave. There is a huge pool in the center of the cave. The water in the pool is a strange deep blue, as if it contains some mysterious power. Around the pool, there is a circle of strange rune stones, emitting a faint light.

"This is..." Mark's voice was a little shocked.

Albert's eyes also flashed with shock, "This is an ancient magic circle, and these rune stones are used to guide and concentrate energy."

Mark nodded, and his eyes were attracted by a stone in the center of the pool. There was a strange symbol engraved on the stone, which was very similar to the rune they had seen on the black stone before.

"Look there." Mark pointed to the stone in the center of the pool.

Albert looked in the direction of Mark, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. "That symbol, it represents 'open'."

The two walked towards the pool carefully, their footsteps echoing in the cave, and each step seemed particularly heavy. As they approached the pool, the water in the pool began to fluctuate, as if something was stirring under the water.

Mark and Albert stopped and watched the changes in the pool vigilantly. Suddenly, the water in the pool rolled violently, and a huge bubble rose from the bottom of the water, bursting on the surface of the water, releasing a powerful energy.

"Be careful!" Albert shouted, and he raised his staff, ready to cast a shield.

Just then, a huge black shadow rushed out of the pool, bringing up a huge splash. Mark and Albert quickly stepped back, their eyes fixed on the black shadow.

When the splash dispersed, they saw a huge black creature, its eyes flashing red, its body covered with hard scales, and its long and powerful tail waving in the air.

"What kind of monster is this?" Mark whispered, with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "A dragon?"