Ian quickly took the diamond-shaped crystal from Alexander's hand and nervously placed it into the shape-fitting groove on the stone door.
Instantly, the originally sturdy stone door suddenly erupted with a dazzling blue light, followed by a violent vibration, the huge stone door slowly opened, revealing a wide passageway leading to the outside world.
"It's successful, hurry up!" Ian immediately shouted.
The crowd quickly rushed into the passageway, behind them, the violent energy fluctuations of the sealing chains and the vibrations within the ruins were still constant, but they didn't stop and ran outward at a brisk pace. Ian walked at the end, he glanced back at the mysterious creature that was suppressed by the chains with a deep meaning in his eyes, and then entered the passageway.
Finally, the crowd rushed out of the relics and teleported to the place where the entrance of the relics was, and the moment they breathed in the fresh air, all of them felt a sense of euphoria after the robbery.
Right at this moment, Ian suddenly realized that the entrance of the relic gradually became dimmer and eventually disappeared completely, restoring the original calm.
"Wait, the entrance seems to be closed!" Adrian shouted in surprise.
Ian was a bit puzzled as he took the crystal and moved closer to the entrance's location, and all of a sudden the originally disappeared entrance reappeared, emitting a faint glow.
Ian quickly realized what was going on, ''I see, this crystal itself is the key to the relic. When the crystal is inside the relic, the entrance to the relic will remain open, but once the crystal leaves the relic, the entrance will be opened or closed by its control."
Ian was about to return the crystal to Alexander when the system's voice rang out, [The host has obtained the key item of the relic, and it is recommended that the host keep it.]
Ian turned back to look at Alexander, and after a little thought, he still returned the diamond-shaped crystal in his hand to him, "This crystal is really extraordinary, keep it well, it might have other uses."
Alexander didn't react for a moment and asked in confusion, "For me? You're giving me such a precious item? "
Ian smiled, "Of course, this was originally found by you, we agreed before we entered the relics that the relics' harvest would be shared equally, Adrian got a large amount of resources and weaponry, and William's strength got a huge boost, so this item deserves to be yours. "
At this moment Adrian interjected, "If neither of you want it, give it to me. " William rolled his eyes on the side, "You've already taken so much wealth, you're too greedy. "
Alexander solemnly took the crystal, "I understand, thank you for your trust, I will take good care of it. "
"System, do you support me in this? " Ian asked the system in his mind, [The host is a person who keeps his promises, this is a good character, I believe that the host must have his own reasons for doing this].
Ian did have his own considerations for what he did, when he first started proposing the alliance, Alexandria was the first power to support him, at the same time, due to that mysterious old man's badge, Alexandria was also the staunchest supporter of the alliance of the three major powers, and it was impossible for Ian himself to stay in the City of Ashes all the time, and if he left with the crystals, the relics would be closed forever.
The scope of this exploration is only the tip of the iceberg of the relics, Ian also preferred that the three major forces could utilize the relics as a valuable resource to enhance their overall strength even more, so that they could better ensure the safety of the City of Ashes.
Since then, the thrilling and rewarding trip to the ruins ended, the crowd departed to return to the City of Ashes, on the way Ian had time to carefully study the system's prompt message: [Congratulations to the host for completing the task: Escape the ruins]
[Mission Reward: Special Props X2]
[Obtained Item: One Strike Kill Card X2 (One-time consumable props, after using it, you can send out a super strong attack that ignores the target's level and kills with one strike!
"So strong! " Ian exclaimed in his heart, this is definitely Ian's strongest card so far, no matter how high the opponent's level is, even if it is the strongest person in this world, if Ian uses the props it can be easily killed, the only regret is that there are only two props and the system informs that the special props can only be randomly obtained by completing a high level mission.
....
As night fell, the crowd had returned to the City of Ashes, and after a short restoration, Ian and the three major power leaders gathered in a hidden conference room.
William spoke first, "Each of us has gained quite a bit from this relic expedition. Adrian, you obtained precious equipment and resources; Alexander, you obtained the key to open the relics; and I, I unexpectedly improved my own strength. This is all thanks to Ian, without Ian uniting us, we wouldn't have had the chance to enter the relics."
Adrian said with rare sincerity, "William is right, and if we didn't rely on Ian, even if we entered the relics, I'm afraid that we would kill each other, and I'm afraid that it would be difficult for all of us to get out of the relics alive. Ian, this time you're the biggest contributor."
Ian smiled and shook his head, "The reason why we succeeded is all because of our mutual cooperation and trust. But now there is a more important question, what are you going to do with this relic? The space in the relic is vast, and there are still many unknown areas waiting to be explored."
The crowd fell into silence, all of them were clear that there were many relics in the world, but all the known relics were firmly held by a few major powers in the upper world, if this relic was known to them, it would definitely be snatched away as well, thinking of the large amount of resources that still existed in the relics, none of them were reluctant to hand over the relics to other powers.
However, if they didn't take the initiative to hand it over, all of them wouldn't have a good ending in case they were discovered by the great powers one day. Among the big powers in the upper world, Astral-class adepts were not rare, and even higher level adepts existed, such strength was something that the City of Ashes could not fight against at all.
Alexander looked at Ian: "Tell me what you think, it's because of your efforts that our three major powers are temporarily united together, and that's why we have the gains we have now, I'll support whatever ideas you have!" William and Adrian also looked at Ian, sort of agreeing with Alexander's statement.
"Good, then I'll talk about my idea, my idea is that the relic key will still be kept by Alexander, the relics will be explored by the three powers together, the exploration will all be carried out by the most core members, guaranteeing that the secrets will be kept completely secret, and that the fastest possible speed will be used to enhance the overall strength of the City of Ashes, strength is the root of survival!"
"I agree, I've been gambling since I met you kid, but I haven't lost until now, I'll accompany you to gamble once more!" Adrian was the first to agree, so far this was the only way to keep his maximum interest.
William still had some hesitation, "We might also be able to get the resources provided by the big powers if we turn it in, it's less risky."
Ian replied seriously, "No William, it can be seen from the fact that they set the rules of selection, in the eyes of those great powers you are just tools that can be utilized, and the siege of the City of Ashes this time can also show that they don't care about the deaths and lives of the people of the lower worlds, after all, if it wasn't for you guys joining together, I'm afraid that the City of Ashes would be a bloodbath by now. "
After hearing Ian's words, William no longer hesitated, "Good! I also agree! Let's explore the ruins together and keep this secret together!"
Ian smiled with satisfaction, "Then, from today, our alliance of the three major forces of the City of Ashes is hereby officially established. We will face the future challenges together, share the wealth and resources in the relics, and no one is allowed to reveal them to the outside."
"Good! Let's raise our glasses together to celebrate the official establishment of the alliance!" Alexander took the lead and raised his glass.
With the official establishment of the alliance, unlike the temporary alliance when it was besieged by the beasts, this moment was a much more solid alliance, and the ashes would usher in a very long period of peace, and it also represented the fact that Ian had successfully taken his first step to change the world.