Lin Yue shivered and instinctively leaned closer to Shen Jingqi. Shen Jingqi looked around warily, tightened his grip on the weapon in his hand, and said in a low voice, "Be careful, this wind is rather odd."

Just then, they heard a faint rustling sound, as if something was crawling in the underbrush. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue immediately stopped in their tracks, stood back to back, and stared fixedly in the direction from which the sound was coming. The rustling grew closer, as if something terrifying would appear before them at any moment.

"Jingqi, what's that sound? Could it be the companion of that monster from earlier?" Lin Yue's voice trembled slightly, her heart suddenly raced, and she nervously gripped the soft whip in her hand.

Shen Jingqi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and said, "Whatever it is, we need to be ready for a fight." Determination flashed in his eyes as he gazed intently at the source of the sound.

Finally, a shadow darted out from the bushes. It was a small, spiky monster, its eyes glowed with an eerie red light, and it let out a sharp screech as it lunged at them.

Shen Jingqi shouted, "Yue'Er, watch out!" He swiftly swung his sword at the monster. The blade clashed with the monster's spikes, making a crisp sound. The monster nimbly dodged the attack and maneuvered behind Lin Yue to strike again.

Lin Yue reacted quickly, spinning around and lashing out with her soft whip at the monster. The whip struck the monster's body accurately, but it only let out a wretched cry without sustaining much damage. It became even more frantic, darting back and forth between the two, seeking an opportunity to attack.

"Jingqi, this monster is so tough, what should we do?" Lin Yue shouted as she fended off the monster's attacks, sweat beading up on her forehead, her strength slowly waning.

Shen Jingqi maneuvered with the monster while pondering a solution. Seizing the right moment, he lunged forward, his sword flashing like lightning towards the monster.

The monster seemed to sense danger and tried to dodge, but it was too late. The sword pierced it deeply, and the monster let out a harrowing screech, its body shook a few times, then it fell heavily to the ground.

Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the fallen monster with vigilance still in their hearts.

They continued onward, the mist gradually clearing, revealing an ancient building ahead. The structure looked dilapidated, its walls overgrown with moss, the roof half-collapsed, yet it exuded a mysterious aura.

"Jingqi, look, there's a building. Could it be related to the secret of the Divine Artifact?" Lin Yue pointed to the building, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Shen Jingqi nodded, saying, "It's very possible. Let's go take a look, but we must be careful." They cautiously approached the building, every step taken with extra caution.

As they neared the building, they found the door tightly closed, inscribed with strange symbols. Shen Jingqi carefully studied these symbols, trying to find a way to open the door. He furrowed his brow, his mind racing to decipher the meaning of the symbols.

"Jingqi, what do these symbols mean? How do we get in?" Lin Yue asked anxiously.

Shen Jingqi shook his head, saying, "I'm not sure either, but these symbols must be related to opening the door. Let me take another look." He crouched down and gently touched the symbols, feeling their texture and form.

Suddenly, he noticed that one of the symbols was very similar to a mark on the Divine Artifact. His heart leaped, he grabbed the Divine Artifact and aligned the mark with the symbol on the door. At the moment of contact, the door let out a low rumble and slowly opened.

A stale odor wafted forth; Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue covered their mouths and noses and cautiously entered the building. Inside, a decaying smell lingered, the lighting was dim, and they could barely make out their surroundings.

"Jingqi, it's so eerie in here. Could we encounter any dangers?" Lin Yue clung tightly to Shen Jingqi's sleeve, a hint of fear in her voice.

Shen Jingqi patted her hand to reassure her, saying, "Let's be careful, there shouldn't be any major problems." They walked forward slowly, the sound of wooden boards cracking beneath their feet.

In the center of the building was a huge stone platform, atop which sat a box emitting a mysterious glow. The glow was soft yet enigmatic, as if beckoning to them.

"Look at that box, could it be the key to unlocking the secret of the Divine Artifact?" Lin Yue said excitedly, her eyes gleaming.

Shen Jingqi nodded, saying, "It very well could be. But we shouldn't take it rashly; there might be traps." They began looking for clues to any mechanisms around, their eyes probing the dim light carefully.

Suddenly, Lin Yue noticed a stone sticking out from the wall. She pointed at the stone and said, "Jingqi, look at that stone, could it be a mechanism?"

Shen Jingqi went over, examined the stone, and gently pressed it. With a "click" sound, the stone platform slowly descended, revealing a passage leading underground. A nauseating odor wafted from the passage.

"Should we go down? It looks so dangerous down there." Lin Yue said hesitantly.

Shen Jingqi looked at the passage, filled with inner conflict. He knew the truth to unlocking the secret of the Divine Artifact might lie below but also knew it promised unknown dangers. Ultimately, he gritted his teeth and said, "We must go down. For the sake of unveiling the truth, we can't back down."

They gingerly made their way down the passage, which was so narrow it could only accommodate one person at a time. Flickering torchlight along the walls cast their elongated shadows.

"This passage is so long, when will it end?" Lin Yue whispered, her voice echoing in the passage, sounding particularly ethereal.

Shen Jingqi reassured, "Almost there, hang in there a little longer." Suddenly, they heard a dripping sound, like water droplets hitting the ground.

They followed the sound and found a large pool ahead. The water in the pool was as black as ink and emitted a pungent odor. In the center of the pool was a small island, and on it was a box similar to the one on the stone platform.

"That box must be the key. But how do we get over there?" Lin Yue said, puzzled by the pool.

Shen Jingqi observed the surroundings, noticing some stone pillars by the pool. He said, "Yue'Er, we can step on the stone pillars to get across." With that, he leapt onto the first stone pillar.