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墨書 Inktalez
The giant birds swooping down seemed to possess a fiery attribute, while Luo Dachun's icy inner strength was just the right counter to them. I couldn't help but wonder if Nie Qiuyuan had arranged it this way on purpose. However, when Luo Dachun made his move, he didn't strike these giant birds with lethal force; instead, he controlled his power perfectly, knocking them down and rendering them incapable of fighting without taking their lives.
Perhaps he spared them because they were the guardian birds of Qiu's family?
Yet, when these birds attacked us, they showed no mercy!
I believed both of them were struggling immensely. Nie Qiuyuan's long sword transformed into a Cold Radiance, enveloping the two of them as the sounds of Short Arrows being deflected rang incessantly in the air. Groups of giant birds charged forward, only to emit cries of despair under Luo Dachun's palm strikes.
Gradually, my mind began to lose its ability to wander aimlessly.
The black and white figures pushing forward with all their might became increasingly blurred in my vision, and I felt my limits drawing nearer.
If I couldn't hold on any longer, this massive boulder would roll rapidly toward the stone bridge. Although Qiu had told me that if such a situation arose, I should quickly run to their side before the stone rolled over. I had the ability to protect myself; I understood that well, and he surely knew my capabilities too. But they were already struggling enough as it was. If the boulder rolled past, it would undoubtedly put them in danger, and injuries would be unavoidable.
Thus, from the very beginning, I believed that I could not and would not let such a thing happen.
Limits? I had experienced them many times before. There was nothing to fear. This body of mine could endure various pains and surpass numerous limits; nothing could defeat me!
At this moment, all I could think about was: I absolutely must not let the boulder break through the barrier and roll toward them, disrupting their actions.
Because I believed that they would reach the other side as quickly as possible and successfully dismantle this mechanism. So all I needed to do was wait and hold on.
My strength had already been pushed to its limits. Gradually, I surpassed those limits. I no longer had the energy to focus on either of them. My vision was nearly engulfed in darkness as I numbly exerted all my strength on the lever. I thought that perhaps I would collapse from exhaustion, maybe even hold onto the lever forever.
Suddenly, there was a "clack" from the lever I was gripping. The weight pressing down on me vanished in an instant. With such force applied, losing the counterforce caused me to stumble heavily onto the ground.
I had fallen. Yet I still clung tightly to that lever; however, it seemed unnecessary to exert any effort now as it had already locked into a safe position.
Had we succeeded? Were we safe? Did I manage to do it?
“Zhenzhen! Zhenzhen!” I heard someone anxiously calling my name. I felt a pair of hands supporting my back, lifting my upper body, and I leaned into someone's embrace.
The embrace was warm and slightly damp, clearly the person holding me was drenched in sweat, their clothes soaked through.
After a while, my eyes gradually adjusted, and I could see that the one holding me, looking worried, was none other than Qiu.
“Are you okay?” I managed to force a smile, blurting out a line in English.
Even if my words were jumbled, he probably understood what I meant.
The wet and handsome guy smiled back at me gently. “You really are something.”
“I can't let you all down!” I replied proudly, though breathless.
Luo Dachun stood nearby, smiling at me. He looked quite exhausted too, but unlike us, he had no sweat on him at all, so he didn’t appear as disheveled. It suddenly struck me that this person seemed to never sweat, no matter how hot or tired he was.
Indeed, he was a monster!
Nie Qiuyuan picked me up effortlessly. I wrapped my arms around his neck while behind us, the long vines from the Gate of Courage tightly clung to the large stone just like I clung to him. The rain of arrows from above had ceased falling, and the giant bird that had been circling us had vanished as if it had evaporated into thin air.
With Qiu holding me and Luo Dachun by our side, we carefully navigated around the clusters of Short Arrows that were deeply embedded in the ground beneath us and slowly made our way toward the stone bridge ahead.
The mechanism controlling everything was indeed on the other side of the bridge; as long as we could successfully cross it, all attacks would cease.
Looking up, I could clearly see four large characters above the gate on the opposite side of the stone bridge: “Gate of Faithfulness.”
A thought crossed my mind—were these characters on the gate trying to convey some kind of message to us?
The first gate is the "Gate of Courage." To pass through this gate, one must analyze and judge accurately, fearlessly embracing death and plunging into the volcanic lava. Only with a combination of wisdom and the courage to disregard life and death can one succeed.
The second gate is the "Gate of Faithfulness." To pass through this gate, mutual cooperation is essential, along with complete trust in teammates to flawlessly execute their respective tasks, entrusting each other's backs. Of course, in addition to trust, exceptional martial skills are also indispensable.
Could it be that Qiu's family is undergoing... an entrance exam?
Sweat trickled down my brow again; if this is an exam, then the difficulty is truly overwhelming.
So far, we haven't encountered a single real person; it's just this maze-like area automatically generating test questions. Moreover, I couldn't help but notice that the trial at the "Gate of Faithfulness" seemed to require three people working together to succeed. Was this a coincidence, or could this area even calculate our numbers automatically?
So, what comes next?
Nie Qiuyuan held me close and slowly stepped through the "Gate of Faithfulness," entering another unknown area.
This was an isolated, expansive highland shaped like an oval, surrounded by a sea of molten lava deep in the ground.
At the edge of a cliff stood a massive white jade sculpture.
The statue depicted a woman with long hair cascading down, her head bowed gently, exuding a soft demeanor. The craftsmanship of this jade sculpture was extraordinarily exquisite; every strand of hair and every fold of her clothing seemed alive. The entire figure appeared to be full of vitality.
The woman had her hands placed on her chest, holding a strangely shaped crescent blade. In front of the statue lay three neatly arranged cushions.
Upon seeing this jade sculpture, Luo Dachun beside me let out a soft "Hmm."
Nie Qiuyuan then asked him, "What's wrong?"
"This statue..."
"What is wrong?"
Luo Dachun steadied himself and said, "I don't know why there is such a statue here, because... this is the likeness of our ancestor goddess Chang'e from the Pure Fox Clan. There is a similar statue enshrined in the hall of Snowfall Villa."
Both of us were taken aback.
How could there be a statue of the ancestor of Snowfall Villa in the underground maze of Tengyue Atami? This should be the territory of the Nie Qiuyuan family!
Thinking further, what about Luo Dachun's blood? Why did it summon the Guide? Could it be that Luo Dachun was also recognized as one of their kin? If so, could it be that the Nie Clan, which suffered annihilation years ago, was actually related to Snowfall Villa?
"Sikong, does your family tree have any records about the Nie surname?" Nie Qiuyuan asked with a frown. I figured he was considering the same thing as I was.
Luo Dachun shook his head and said, "No. The Pure Fox Clan has only my Sikong Clan remaining after tracing back five generations. The previous genealogy recorded several surnames, but none for Nie."
What kind of connection could there be in all this?
I thought for a moment and then directly expressed my opinion.
"Look, if there is a Cushion placed in front of the statue, it clearly means we are to bow and pay our respects to the Jade Sculpture. Since this enshrines the mother goddess of the Pure Fox Clan, even without a Cushion, it would still be appropriate for us to pay our respects. So, let us follow the host's arrangement and bow to the mother goddess."
The two nodded in agreement. Each of us knelt on a Cushion, and I bowed my head before Chang'e's Jade Sculpture.
A unique fragrance subtly filled the air, as if the Jade Sculpture before me were alive, as if this ancient goddess still emanated a faint body scent. If what Luo Dachun told me about the origins of the Pure Fox Clan was true, then Chang'e was not merely a figure who selfishly consumed the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West out of greed and betrayal against her husband, tragically flying alone to the moon.
That was humanity's earliest moon landing mission; to this day, all our lunar probes are still named "Chang'e."
Alas, who could know that what this goddess consumed was not some elixir from the Queen Mother of the West but rather the ultimate treasure of the Pure Fox Clan—the Ice Cold Divine Pill—and that she paid with her life for it?
Who would have thought that she was, in fact, a true World Peace Guardian, deserving of the worship and remembrance of all?
I sincerely and respectfully knelt on the Cushion, pressing my forehead to the ground and giving her a proper bow. However, when I stood up, I noticed that Nie Qiuyuan and Luo Dachun were still kneeling upright on the Cushion, not bowing their heads at all.
"What are you two doing..." I began to ask, but I swallowed my words as I sensed something was off with them.
Both of them were staring straight ahead, their eyes vacant, as if they had fallen into some unfathomable world.
I immediately realized that I should not disturb them, as I instinctively felt they might be under some sort of mental control or trapped in an illusion. So right now, they were likely similar to sleepwalkers.
Old folks, never wake a sleepwalker; the consequences could be unimaginable.
It seemed that the key to this trial lay in the Cushion in front of the Jade Sculpture and Jade Sculpture. According to the designer's plan, as soon as we knelt on the Cushion, we would simultaneously fall into some kind of illusion and undergo a test within it. From what I could see, they had successfully connected to this network while I had failed.
Since the late White Tiger Ruo Chanjuan attempted to exert mental control over me, I had realized that as a traveler, I seemed to enjoy certain benefits; because my mind and body were not original, it was difficult for anyone to successfully control me mentally.
And it was precisely because of this benefit that my qualification for the exam was canceled.
So what were they experiencing right now? (To be continued...)
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