Iris held her sword and walked forward, feeling her way slowly.

As she walked, Iris saw a stone door ahead. The door looked ancient, as if it had been there for countless years.

Carefully, Iris pushed open the stone door, which made a creaking sound as it slowly moved aside.

Iris cautiously walked inside with catlike steps.

The space within the stone door was not very large. The lighting was dim, and there were stone pillars placed inside.

The height of the stone pillars was about five or six meters, and each one was intricately carved with vivid mythical creatures.

In the center, there was a set of skeletal remains, sitting on the ground, with a stone table placed in front. On the table were ink, pens, and a cup.

However, they had all dried up, and there were some cracks on the cup. It seemed that this skeleton had been dead for a long time, who knew how many years.

Iris looked at the skeleton with doubt in her heart. Who exactly was this skeleton? How could it be sitting here? Could it be the owner of this place?

Unintentionally, Iris noticed that the skeleton was tightly holding a book. The book looked extremely ancient, with its pages covered in the dust of time.

Iris hurriedly snatched the book from the skeleton's hand, but the skeleton held onto it tightly. In order to prevent the book from being damaged, Iris directly crushed the skeleton's fingers.

Looking at the scattered finger bones on the ground, Iris couldn't help but comment, "Even in death, still holding on so tightly."

The book fell to the ground, its pages contaminated with dust. Iris picked it up and started to read.

On the first page of the book, it said, "One day, I was being pursued by a former enemy. Luckily, I escaped and fell into a cliff. Instead of dying, I fell into a lake below. The water in the lake was extremely cold, causing my body to feel an intense pain as I soaked in it. Nevertheless, I endured it with gritted teeth.

Suddenly, the water in the lake became turbid. I exerted my last bit of strength and desperately swam towards the shore. Finally, I surfaced and took in a breath of fresh air.

A poisonous snake in the lake bit my throat, causing a sharp pain. It felt as if a needle had pierced inside. As a result, my voice became hoarse, and the snake became my meal."

"On the second day, I found that the monsters here were very peculiar. They were either ones I had never seen before or ones that had been extinct on the mainland... Meanwhile, I began to stutter, and my tongue became clumsy when speaking..."

"On the third day, I saw a white python swimming in the lake. It emitted a thick white fog, making it impossible for anyone to approach it. I could only observe it from afar.

It was about three to four zhang long, with sharp scales, and its body had a unique pattern that somewhat resembled a dragon but also seemed different. I felt puzzled.

It fought with a crocodile-like monster in the lake, and I watched from the shore. The crocodile-like monster was fierce, but no matter what it did, it couldn't harm the white python. The python's body was covered in scales and had astonishing defense. After attacking for a long time, the crocodile-like monster still couldn't harm the python, and instead, it was bitten by the python. It was a gruesome sight."

"Finally, the crocodile-like monster was killed by the white python. It ate the heart of the crocodile-like monster, and then limbs began to grow out. After completing its transformation, it dived into the depths of the lake."

...

As Iris flipped through the book in the skeleton's hands, she complained, "Just a diary, and yet held on so tightly? I thought it was something precious."

Iris continued to read the diary, hoping to find some useful information.

"On the fourth day, I continued to observe the lake, but there was no movement..."

"On the fifth day, my voice became increasingly hoarse..."

"On the sixth day, the snake venom began to spread into my throat... In order to survive, I dug out my own throat. As a result, I lost the ability to speak..."

"On the seventh day, due to losing the ability to speak, I gradually became irritable..."

...

"On the fourteenth day, after a week, I gradually adapted to the state of not being able to speak."

"On the fifteenth day, I killed a demon wolf and roasted and ate it."

"On the sixteenth day, I found that my body was becoming plump, especially my chest. I also grew slightly taller, but unfortunately, no one could share my joy."

"After thirty days, I am still unable to find a way out..."

"On the thirty-seventh day, by a stroke of luck, I arrived here. There was a vibrant blue sword outside, and I tried to tame it. But I soon realized that I couldn't control the sword, no matter what I did. It seemed to have a mind of its own. So instead, I relied on the elemental energy emitted by the sword to cultivate my skills."

...

"One year has passed, and I still haven't found a way out. I survive each day by hunting and killing the monsters, hoping to find a way to leave this forsaken place."

"On the first day of the thirteenth month, while hunting monsters, I discovered a hidden passage. It was so well-concealed that if I wasn't paying attention, I would have never noticed it. I entered the passage, and it gradually widened. However, after taking a few steps, I encountered a swarm of spiders. I caught one of the spiders and was shocked to see that it had a human face on its abdomen, grinning wickedly. Luckily, I specialized in the wind element, or else I would have been engulfed by the swarm."

"On the second day of the thirteenth month, I purposely lured the monsters to chase me, hoping to lead them into the passage and have them eliminate the spider swarm. However, as soon as they saw me enter the passage, they stopped their pursuit."

"On the twenty-fourth month, I've been here for a full two years. During this time, I constantly fought stronger monsters. Whenever the blue sword emitted elemental energy, I would immediately cultivate my skills. In this way, I endured eleven grueling months of practice."

"On the first day of the twenty-fourth month, as I ventured into the passage, the number of spiders increased. Yet, relying on my combat experience and keen senses, I managed to evade them. When I reached a staircase nearly three meters high, the spider swarm spotted me, but they didn't pursue. Step by step, I descended the stairs, feeling that they were unusually long. It took several hundred steps before I reached the end...

There was a tiger-like monster, with two one-meter-long fangs protruding from its mouth and eyes that glowed like copper bells. It had a pair of black, pitch-dark horns on its head and black wings on its body. It looked extremely ferocious.

Upon seeing me, it let out a roar and sprung into the air. I saw its body grow even larger with thick, iron-like fur all over, resembling a whip.

I dare not delay, so I quickly activated my wind magic and fled...

During my escape, I was struck on the back by the tiger-like monster. A bloody wound appeared on my spine.

Relying on the speed and agility of wind magic, I managed to escape. The tiger-shaped monster's speed was not inferior to mine, but it stopped chasing halfway through the staircase. At that moment, I finally understood what it means to be a tiger with wings. The strength of this tiger-like monster was far beyond what I could contend with."

"In the thirtieth month, I once again challenged the tiger-like monster in the passage. I almost got eaten by it. The gap between us is insurmountable."

"In the thirty-first month, I started eating the hearts of the monsters, attempting to undergo a transformation myself. However, the magic energy in the Consciousness Space began to drain."

"In the fiftieth month, my magic energy was about to completely drain. To avoid dying at the hands of the monsters, I chose self-immolation.

Unable to exact revenge, my body turned to ashes. I died with unfinished business. I cannot rest in peace."

After reading the diary, Iris's face became incredibly grave. "Monsters can only consume their flesh, not their hearts. Otherwise, magic energy will drain. Luckily, I never ate them."

"Wait, does it really matter whether I ate them or not? I couldn't use magic, to begin with. Could the passage mentioned in the diary be the way out? Why do monsters undergo a transformation when they eat hearts, but not humans?"

Iris pondered, pinching her nose, and muttered to herself, "Monsters undergo transformation when they eat hearts, while magic energy drains when humans consume them. Monsters cannot use magic to begin with. Is it possible that the author was trying to transform into a monster but couldn't endure?"

...