Chapter 17: Life and Death
“Did you see what it was?” Pang Bo asked, wanting to get to the root of the danger. He was usually loud and carefree, but he was always steady in critical moments.
“I didn’t see anything. I only felt a terrifying aura envelop my entire body, and then this bronze bell suddenly started vibrating.” At this moment, Prince Wen was bathed in a golden radiance, but he was still shaken.
Upon hearing these words, everyone who had obtained something from the Great Thunderclap Monastery clutched their broken Buddhist artifacts tightly. These items had now been proven to be extraordinary; they must have been objects held by deities!
The broken bronze bell stopped vibrating, and the melodious chime gradually faded. The burning golden divine flame on Prince Wen disappeared, and the radiance, like a golden battle suit, returned to the bronze bell.
“Let’s go. We need to leave these ruins immediately!” Ye Fan held the ancient bronze lamp, which scattered specks of divine light, and led the charge toward the Five-Colored Altar.
The others followed closely behind. There was definitely something terrifying within this vast heavenly palace ruin. Every second they stayed increased the danger.
“Ah…” Another scream rang out. Near the edge of the ruins, a male classmate fell backward to the ground. In the very center of his forehead was a finger-thick bloody hole, with blood gushing out—the same method of death! His eyes were wide open in death, the terrified expression frozen on his face, refusing to close.
At that moment, many were filled with immense fear. Another classmate had died suddenly. They watched it happen but were powerless to stop it, not even knowing what had taken his life.
Parting in life and death was easy to talk about, but experiencing it firsthand filled everyone with indescribable bitterness. A close classmate hadn’t even been able to leave a final word before dying so inexplicably. It was hard to accept. Many female classmates were on the verge of collapse, sobbing quietly. They had never witnessed such a scene before.
“Go!”
No one stopped, nor could they stop. They quickly rushed toward the Five-Colored Altar. They finally escaped the ruins, but two lives were left there forever, never to be seen again.
After running a great distance, they looked back. The broken walls and collapsed buildings were like ferocious demons, their shadows flickering in the night sky, sending chills down their spines.
But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, three consecutive screams rang out almost simultaneously. Two male classmates and one female classmate fell heavily to the ground. The wound was still on the forehead—three identical bloody holes, so shocking to the eye!
Blood stained the ground. Three former classmates and friends had died so tragically. Their eyes bulged, their faces frozen in terror.
In just a short time, five people had lost their lives. This filled everyone with grief while also making them feel cold all over, their scalps tingling. Perhaps they would be next. No one could be certain when their life would end.
“Wuwu…” A female classmate was on the verge of collapse, crying loudly. “The ones who died didn’t find any artifacts in the temples. That unknown demon is nearby. If you don’t hold a sacred object left by the deities, you’ll die sooner or later…”
This was a fact. The five who died had found nothing in the temples. Prince Wen, who had also been attacked, was unharmed precisely because of that broken bronze bell.
“Help us…” Those who hadn’t found artifacts in the temples were terrified. They approached those who had obtained something, pleading almost desperately for rescue. But at this critical moment of life and death, who would give up their only life-saving Buddhist artifact?
Some didn’t stop, didn’t even look back, and rushed straight for the Five-Colored Altar. Classmate bonds were precious, but when faced with a life-or-death choice, many chose cold indifference to save themselves.
The relationships between people, the contradictions of human nature, were facing their first difficult test.
“Please, save me…” The nearly collapsed female classmate ran while crying, her face streaked with tears like pear blossoms in the rain. She was panicked and pitiful, having lost both shoes without even noticing. Fear had completely consumed her heart.
Ye Fan shouted loudly, “We can share the artifacts found in the temples with others.”
Pang Bo always stood with Ye Fan. Hearing this, he stood by his side and also shouted, “That’s right! Two or three of us can share one artifact found in the ancient temples.”
Many looked over, but with hesitation. Someone spoke up, “What if these broken artifacts aren’t powerful enough? If they can only protect one person, wouldn’t that put the original owner in mortal danger too…”
These words immediately made people waver again. Some even sped up, charging forward without looking back.
“Thank you, Ye Fan…” The female classmate who had lost her shoes, her face covered in tears and pitiful, stumbled over to Ye Fan. Her expression was one of immense gratitude, mixed with rolling tears, evoking sympathy.
She tremblingly extended her right hand, but when it was still a foot away from the ancient lamp, her expression suddenly froze. Then her eyes went lifeless, and she fell heavily to the ground.
The change was so sudden. Ye Fan watched her eyes lose their light, her beautiful, pitiful face still bearing tear stains. That faint smile of gratitude that had just appeared was forever frozen there, making his heart ache.
Ye Fan wanted to help her up, but in the end, he only reached out a hand before pulling it back. The back of this poor female classmate’s head had been pierced. This time, it wasn’t the forehead. Blood flowed from her jet-black hair. She had been only one step away, but she had died right before Ye Fan’s eyes.
That frozen smile stung Ye Fan’s eyes. He slowly stepped back, away from the gradually cooling corpse.
“What exactly is that thing?” This was everyone’s question.
Death was so close. Everyone grew even more terrified. Soon, three or four people gathered around Ye Fan and Pang Bo, eagerly reaching for the ancient lamp and bronze plaque. Their posture was almost grabbing, as if they wanted to take them for themselves.
“What are you doing?” Pang Bo immediately glared, shouting, “We’re trying to save you, to share these things with you—not give you the bronze plaque and ancient lamp and sacrifice our own lives!”
He was burly and big, and when he glared and got angry, he naturally had a fearsome presence. Those few immediately stopped, awkwardly stepping forward to place their hands on the bronze plaque and ancient lamp.
There was no time to waste or linger. Everyone ran quickly, but a restless mood began to spread. Some had burning eyes, wanting to snatch the Buddhist artifacts. Those who possessed broken artifacts became wary, regretting sharing them.
“We come from the same place. We’ve been classmates for four years. Don’t let the rest of your life be filled with shame and regret for the choices you make today!” Ye Fan shouted loudly, even more commanding than Pang Bo, which quickly calmed many down.
“Boom”
At that moment, Liu Yunzhi, who was up ahead, suddenly erupted with hundreds of lightning bolts. Electric arcs danced around him as if he were a thunder god descending!
Lightning densely covered his body, illuminating the area brightly. The vajra pestle in his hand shone brilliantly—everything originated from that half-broken treasure pestle.
Liu Yunzhi seemed to have put on a battle suit woven from lightning. His entire being exuded a sharp, unmatched aura. Electric arcs coiled around him, making him look like a lightning war god.
“I was just attacked by that unknown thing.” That was all he said before falling silent. His sharp gaze inadvertently swept over Ye Fan, but when he saw the ancient bronze lamp, the fierce light quickly faded.
It wasn’t until a quarter of an hour later that the electric arcs on Liu Yunzhi gradually faded, and the vajra treasure pestle in his hand became dim again.
A staff held by a deity!
Everyone had witnessed the power of this treasure pestle, and their hearts trembled.
The entire journey was silent. Finally, they arrived before the Five-Colored Altar. Thankfully, no more deaths occurred, allowing everyone to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
On the Five-Colored Altar, the nine massive dragon corpses and the giant bronze coffin lay quietly, still as shocking as ever.
“That is…”
When they reached the altar, everyone was shocked. The Five-Colored Altar was hazy with light, and faint radiance was gathering from all directions, sinking into the base of the stone platform.
The light shield covering the sky was gradually dissolving and disappearing. It was because of the Five-Colored Altar, which seemed to be accumulating some mysterious energy.
Everyone was first surprised, then showed joy. The Five-Colored Altar was shining, just like on Mount Tai, likely a sign that the stellar ancient path was opening. But this time, the energy source wasn’t the “Stone Book and Jade Records” but a hazy, massive light shield.
“Rumble”
The hazy light shield in the sky was dissolving. The thunderous storm outside rumbled, making the entire ground seem to shake.
The light shield was dimming. Everyone climbed onto the Five-Colored Altar, watching everything nervously.
The unknown, terrifying existence lurking in the shadows hung over everyone’s hearts like a specter. Though it had temporarily stopped appearing, as long as they didn’t leave this place, it remained a threat. Everyone desperately wanted to escape Mars.
It lasted for a full half hour. The dim light shield continuously compressed until it barely covered the Five-Colored Altar, its diameter shrinking from over a thousand meters to less than two hundred meters, almost pressing down to the ground. All the mysterious energy was absorbed by the Five-Colored Altar.
Pang Bo lowered his voice and whispered in Ye Fan’s ear, “Liu Yunzhi’s gaze has swept over us a few times inadvertently. That guy is very scheming. Be careful.” He was rough but meticulous, keenly noticing this.
“Don’t worry, I know.” Ye Fan turned to look at Liu Yunzhi and gave a gentle smile.
Liu Yunzhi was very composed and nodded back amiably, showing no abnormality. Beside him were two people, one of whom was the male classmate who had just taken refuge under Ye Fan’s ancient bronze lamp to safely reach this place.
This made Pang Bo very dissatisfied. He muttered, “That ungrateful bastard. Back in school, he was always hanging around Liu Yunzhi. We just saved his life, and now he’s gone back to Liu Yunzhi.”
Half an hour later, the hazy light shield outside was gradually shrinking, about to press down on the Five-Colored Altar. The terrifying storm outside could be clearly sensed.
“Wuwu” The wind howled like ghosts crying and wolves wailing. Sand and stones hit the light shield with thunderous sounds, and some dust even blew inside. It was clear the light shield was very fragile and could disappear at any moment.
Everyone’s hearts raced as they retreated. If they fell off the altar, they would likely be swept into the sky by the storm.
At that moment, the male classmate whom Pang Bo had called ungrateful slowly moved over from Liu Yunzhi’s side. Suddenly, he grabbed for the ancient bronze lamp in Ye Fan’s hand while pushing hard with his other hand, trying to snatch the lamp and push Ye Fan off the Five-Colored Altar at the same time.