Chapter 1: The Mysterious Ancient Chain
Inside an old, dilapidated warehouse on the outskirts of a bustling city, Lin Yu, a young graduate student in archaeology, was using the dim light of a lamp to carefully clean a crate of newly unearthed artifacts. These had been excavated from a forgotten ancient ruin and consisted mostly of broken pottery and rusted bronze ware, but at the bottom of the box, a pitch-black chain caught his attention.
The chain looked utterly ordinary, devoid of any ornate decoration, yet its material was neither metal nor stone. It felt ice-cold to the touch and faintly radiated an archaic, mysterious aura. Lin Yu gently picked up the chain. The moment his fingers brushed against it, a faint, current-like sensation coursed through his entire body, and vivid, blurry images suddenly flashed before his eyes: ancient sacrificial rituals, robed sorcerers, and a blood-red moon hanging high above a bizarre architectural structure.
Chapter 33