Eric continued to delve deeper along the passage, and the atmosphere around became increasingly solemn. On both sides of the passage, some huge stone statues began to appear. These statues were of various forms, some were mighty warriors, and some were mysterious mages. They stood there quietly, as if guarding something.
Eric could sense that these stone statues seemed to hide some kind of power, which just hadn't been triggered yet. He passed carefully through the stone statues, his eyes constantly on the alert for any movement around. Suddenly, a low growl came from the end of the passage. The sound echoed in the narrow passage, making Eric's eardrums ache.
As the growl got closer, a huge figure slowly emerged into Eric's sight. It was a giant scorpion - like beast as large as a small mountain. Its entire body was covered with hard black carapace. Its huge pincers glistened with cold light, and its tail was raised high. The stinger at the tip of the tail seemed to be able to penetrate any defense easily.
When the scorpion - like beast saw Eric, it let out a roar and charged at him, waving its pincers. Eric quickly cast wind - type magic, making his body fly lightly into the air and dodging the beast's attack. At the same time, he released a sword qi from the sword, shooting towards the scorpion - like beast. The sword qi hit the carapace of the scorpion - like beast, sparking a shower of sparks, but only leaving a shallow mark on the carapace.
The scorpion - like beast seemed to be enraged. Its tail swung forcefully, and several venomous needles shot out from the stinger, raining down on Eric. Eric nimbly changed his position in the air and cast defensive magic at the same time, forming a light screen to block the venomous needles. However, several venomous needles still broke through the light screen and grazed his arm, leaving a few tiny wounds.
Eric could feel a numbing sensation spreading from the wounds on his arm. He knew that he had to find the weakness of the scorpion - like beast as soon as possible and end the battle quickly. He carefully observed the movements of the scorpion - like beast and noticed that every time it was about to attack, the stinger on its tail would tremble slightly. Eric had an idea. He concentrated all his magic power, combined the light magic with the power of the sword, and launched a full - force attack towards the tail of the scorpion - like beast.
A strong flash of light passed, and the sword qi from the sword precisely hit the tail of the scorpion - like beast. The scorpion - like beast let out a painful howl, and its tail drooped powerlessly. Without its deadly weapon, the attacking power of the scorpion - like beast was greatly reduced. Eric took the opportunity to launch another attack. Streams of sword qi continuously slashed at the scorpion - like beast. Finally, the scorpion - like beast crashed to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
Eric let out a sigh of relief and continued to move forward along the passage. Before long, he came to a huge circular hall. In the center of the hall, there was a large magic array, and on the magic array, a book emitting golden light was suspended. Eric approached the magic array and tried to pick up the book. However, when his hand touched the book, a powerful force pushed him back.
Just then, some words appeared on the walls of the hall: "Only those who truly understand the way of balance can obtain this book. This book contains the method to leave the desert and clues to the divine artifact." Eric fell into deep thought. He recalled all the experiences he had during his adventure, the confrontation and integration with various elemental powers. He understood that to pick up this book, he had to find the balance among all kinds of powers.
Eric calmed down and began to try to mobilize various powers in his body - wind, fire, water, earth, light, and the mysterious power obtained from the "Fruit of Destiny", making them flow slowly in his body and blend with each other. After some effort, he finally found a delicate balance, and all kinds of powers converged harmoniously.
When Eric reached out to take the book again, the resistance disappeared, and he successfully picked up the book. He couldn't wait to open the pages, hoping to find the method to leave the desert and the clues to the divine artifact from it. But what kind of secrets were recorded in the book, and where would it lead him?