Chapter 10: The Vast Earth
The interior of the pitch-black bronze coffin gradually fell silent. No one spoke anymore. Everyone was filled with fear as they stared at the bronze coffin ahead that contained the corpse. Heavy breathing could be heard, and every heart was tense.
The bronze coffin was mottled with green rust. What kind of figure lay enshrined within?
"All of this should be related to the Five-Colored Altar on Mount Tai."
After a long while, the crowd began to murmur in low voices, trying to understand why all this had happened.
"That must be it. It has to do with the Five-Colored Ancient Altar. It was what drew the nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin here."
Everything they had witnessed was too incredible, severely shaking the cognitive foundations of everyone present. The Five-Colored Altar was built by ancient ancestors, and Ye Fan thought of many things. How many unknown secrets were hidden in the annals of lost history?
Since no dangerous incidents occurred, the crowd's emotions gradually calmed, and they began to seriously speculate about what was before them.
"Perhaps the Nine Dragons Coffin was summoned by the ancient ancestors." As soon as this was said, someone immediately retorted, "The ancient people have been dead for who knows how many years."
"What I mean is, the Nine Dragons Coffin was late. It only appeared now as a response to that ancient call."
When a female classmate proposed this idea, everyone was taken aback. A call from ancient ancestors, a belated response spanning thousands of years from the Nine Dragons and the ancient coffin—this was somewhat unbelievable!
"What is the truth? We have no way of knowing. Everything is just speculation. There are many possibilities."
"Yes, perhaps the Nine Dragons Coffin has nothing to do with the ancient ancestors at all. Maybe it returned on its own."
"Did you see those bronze carvings? There are ancient ancestors and primeval deities. Many of the carved figures have tear stains, evoking a sense of desolation and sorrow, as if telling an ancient story."
"Maybe it's true. The Nine Dragons Coffin, breaking through heavenly dangers, returning to its homeland! A bloody tale of the past..."
Could it be that the ancient ancestors truly had unknown means, exploring some unknown and distant place? The Nine Dragons Coffin, returning home—setting out alive, returning with withered bones, wrapping the dead for burial.
As they talked, the crowd's fear gradually diminished, and they speculated on various possibilities. Still, they remained in awe of the bronze coffin at the center. No one touched it, let alone attempted to open it.
"I think the rescue team should have reached Mount Tai by now. Maybe they're already nearby."
"I hope nothing unexpected happens and they get us out soon."
No one had a way to escape the ancient coffin. The bronze coffin was a full eight or nine meters high and sealed shut with its lid. There was simply no way to flee.
Just as everyone was hoping for a quick rescue, the bronze coffin suddenly shook violently. Everyone staggered, unable to keep their footing, and many fell directly to the ground.
"What's happening? What's going on?" The crowd was uncertain and alarmed. Some female classmates even started to cry, tightly clutching the people beside them.
"Has the rescue team arrived? Are they trying to free us?"
Amid worry and fear, the coffin's shaking grew even more intense. No one could stay standing; almost everyone collapsed to the ground, in close contact with the cold bronze coffin.
"Bang!"
Another violent tremor, like an airplane piercing through freezing clouds at high altitude, covered in thick ice armor, shaking continuously.
"Boom!"
A final violent tremor, like a thunderclap, as if it would shatter all tangible matter. It was clearly felt that the giant bronze coffin had suffered a massive collision.
But at that moment, inside the pitch-black coffin, the bronze carvings emitted faint glimmers of light, instantly neutralizing an unimaginable impact force.
The crowd was uncertain. They had clearly felt as if the world was about to turn upside down, but in an instant, everything was calm again, giving rise to a strange illusion.
"No, there was definitely a terrifying impact force just now. Why did it suddenly stop?"
"It's not an illusion. The coffin did undergo a fierce collision and flipped several times, but we weren't affected."
Just then, everyone was shocked to discover that the small bronze burial coffin was now hanging on the side wall of the main coffin, firmly fixed there without falling.
"The main bronze coffin must have tipped over. The small coffin holding the corpse is surely firmly attached to the bottom, unable to move even a fraction. So when the main coffin tilted, at first glance it looks like it's hanging on the side wall."
One could imagine how enormous the terrifying impact force must have been, yet it was neutralized by the faint light emitted by the bronze carvings—truly incredible.
"Light! Light coming in from outside!" Li Xiaoman exclaimed.
Everyone turned their heads to look in the direction Li Xiaoman was pointing. Ahead, faint, dim light was indeed filtering in.
"The giant bronze coffin has tipped over. The lid is tilted, leaving a gap. We're finally safe!"
The bronze coffin lid had shifted from its original position, creating a gap wide enough for two people to walk out side by side. However, the outside was very dim, so the light entering the coffin was not very noticeable.
The crowd erupted in cheers, scrambling to rush forward, eager to escape this dark and terrifying space, unwilling to stay even a second longer.
But when they rushed out of the bronze coffin, they all stood frozen like clay statues.
The ground seemed to have been stained by blood, a reddish-brown color, cold, hard, and desolate. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but barrenness and emptiness. Scattered across the ground were some huge rocks, standing like tombstones.
The sky was dim, the light faint, like a lifeless dusk shrouded in thin black mist.
The crowd stood dumbfounded. This could absolutely not be the summit of Mount Tai!
An endless expanse of reddish-brown earth, remote and deathly still, showed no signs of life. It was not any place they knew.
They had never seen it, never heard of it. It was a completely strange and mysterious realm!
"This is... where? Have we... left Mount Tai?" The speaker's voice trembled.
"Has the rescue team isolated us in some uninhabited area, worried about the danger from the nine dragon corpses?" Even the classmate who said this couldn't convince himself.
Everyone felt a bad premonition, as if something extremely unfortunate had happened to them. At that moment, many people tried to dial out on their phones, but it was impossible to get through. There was no signal at all.
"This isn't Mount Tai. Where are we?" Many showed panic. There was no joy at being freed, only fear.
From being trapped in the coffin to stepping out, only about fifteen minutes had passed, but the scene before them had completely changed. The majestic, towering Mount Tai, which could overlook all other mountains, was gone. Ahead was a boundless desert of gently undulating terrain covered in gravel.
Ye Fan quietly observed all of this. His ominous premonition had indeed come true. When he saw the Taiji Bagua diagram condense on Mount Tai, forming a dark and enormous passage, he had already had a bad association. Although he hadn't seen the Nine Dragons Coffin enter that passage leading to an unknown realm at the time, he didn't need to think further now. What he saw before him was enough to explain everything. They were not on Mount Tai, and they were likely no longer on Earth.