A glimpse of the great upheaval, a gateway for the return of a protagonist between heaven and earth?
Shi Hao was utterly astonished, his heart trembling. What kind of eerie place was this? How could a massive tomb transform into a path, becoming a gateway?
“Stop spouting nonsense!” he rebuked, for this old man had been spewing exaggerated tales not long ago, his words far from credible.
Now, he was somewhat skeptical. Could this tomb truly be so sinister and terrifying?
“Every word I speak is true. If I lie, may my form and spirit be utterly annihilated!” the old man swore.
In truth, Shi Hao was half-convinced. Though the old man had been unreliable earlier, some of his claims hadn’t been complete fabrications.
The darkest upheaval, the blood-soaked era, the cruel apocalypse—they would inevitably arrive one day.
When that time came, there would be a great reckoning. It was hard to imagine what terrifying beings might emerge.
Shi Hao never expected that this place might be a fragment of that great chaos, a site where an ancient path connected to the eternal unknown.
In time, beings would emerge from here and enter the world!
“Lead the way. Let me see for myself!” Shi Hao commanded.
The rotting flesh and bones on the ground glowed once more, reforming into the old man. However, Shi Hao had already bound him with divine runes to prevent any mischief.
The old man cooperated, leading the way.
Throughout the ages, who would dare enter such a tomb, let alone venture deeper so boldly?
Aside from the rulers of the forbidden zones, perhaps only Shi Hao could do so. An ordinary person would turn to withered bones outside the tomb, eroded beyond recognition, with no place to rest in death.
And if one entered the tomb, even the sturdiest bones would crumble into dust!
Shi Hao resisted the corruption, his body radiating light as 108 divine halos enveloped him, making him appear as if he stood at the center of the universe, overlooking all life.
“Can you recall anything of your past existence?” Shi Hao asked.
“No memories,” the old man shook his head.
This old man was merely a fragment of a finger bone from some ancient being, lost here, its essence long rotted away. Yet, it had gained sentience, becoming a fearsome entity.
The being it once belonged to must have been terrifying!
The tomb was vast, seemingly endless, its interior boundless like a great world.
The yellow earth faded, replaced by a stretch of bluestone pavement, clearly man-made. A path stretched through the tomb, leading to a glowing horizon.
Inside the tomb, it felt like an expansive plain.
The bluestone path covered the plain, guiding them to their destination.
“We’re almost there!” the old man said.
Both were formidable experts, capable of traversing great distances in a single step, and they swiftly approached their goal.
As they neared, the land transformed. It was no longer open or radiant, returning to its primal state.
It became a burial passage once more, a graveyard.
Within the yellow-earth tomb, a single path led to a bronze gate.
It was tightly shut, covered in verdigris, ancient and weathered, as if it hadn’t been opened for countless epochs.
This was the final destination!
The gate was sealed, impossible to open.
When Shi Hao ordered the old man to push it, the old man paled, trembling slightly, too terrified to approach.
“This gate cannot be touched. The living will turn to dust upon contact!” the old man explained.
He had no choice but to speak the truth, lest Shi Hao force him forward to open the gate.
Moreover, the river also flowed here!
Outside the tomb, a brilliant river surged through the void. Some said it was formed from remnants of immortal lightning, others claimed it was the blood of a being.
In the end, it vanished into the tomb, its terminus right here.
Beneath the bronze gate was a tiny crack, through which the shimmering silver river flowed, disappearing into the gate.
“This river flows into the gate. What’s the significance?” Shi Hao pondered.
At the same time, he sensed an overwhelming aura of terror. His body felt as if it would explode, torn apart by the horrifying curse of this place.
He realized that had he not walked the path of self-cultivation, he would have been reduced to withered bones, his very skeleton turned to dust.
The curse was too severe!
It emanated from beyond the gate.
“Not all I said earlier was false,” the old man spoke, offering an explanation.
Shi Hao’s Great Luo Sword was pressed against the old man’s forehead. Any deception would result in instant death.
“This river is called the River of Guidance. It can summon the returning being from the distant, mysterious void, guiding it back,” the old man said.
This was astonishing—a river connecting to an unknown world, solely to guide a single being? Shi Hao was deeply moved.
“Perhaps not just one being, but an entire race,” the old man added, intimidated by the young man before him, forced to reveal what he knew.
Of course, he had learned this from the rulers of the forbidden zones. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known.
Some of his earlier claims were true. For instance, this river was formed from scattered drops of blood that fell into this world, mingled with time and curses.
Those drops belonged to the being beyond the bronze gate, the one destined to return.
Thus, the river could guide it, providing the most precise coordinates!
Understanding the nature of this place, Shi Hao’s expression grew solemn. He stood there for a long time. This was a gate of calamity, a path for some being or race to return.
“You’re extraordinary. The curse here is so potent, yet you remain unharmed, able to live here for years,” Shi Hao remarked, eyeing the old man.
The old man smiled bitterly, tempted to retort, “Aren’t you holding up just fine?”
With a sigh, he said, “I’ve lost my essence, leaving only rotting flesh, which has merged with the curse.”
In a way, had his essence remained, his awakened form would have been far stronger.
Shi Hao pressed him for details about what lay beyond the bronze gate, the nature of that ancient path. But in the end, the old man had no further valuable information.
“I want to know—what happened to the two outside?” Shi Hao demanded sternly.
He forced the old man to leave the tomb with him. Even Shi Hao, as extraordinary as he was, couldn’t endure the corroding power of the ancient bronze gate for long.
“This old fellow, for some reason, resonates with the remnants of the Demon Lord’s blood. He can gather the scattered traces nearby,” the old man said.
“Watch your words!” Shi Hao glared. “He’s my grandfather.”
The old man quickly corrected himself. “Ah, this venerable elder is unique. If he can fuse with the Demon Lord’s blood, he may gain great fortune—assuming all goes well.”
“Enough flattery. He’s far younger than you,” Shi Hao retorted, exasperated by the old man’s lack of spine.
The Great Demon God, Shi Hao’s grandfather, appeared youthful, with cascading black hair, looking no older than thirty—a man in his prime.
“When will he awaken?” Shi Hao asked.
“At least eight to ten thousand years,” the old man replied.
“So long?!” Shi Hao was incredulous.
“The Demon Lord was no ordinary being. He once tread the path to immortality. Were it not for the thunder and sinister black clouds, he would have become a true immortal. His remnants are precious. Attempting fusion is suicide. For some reason, your grandfather can absorb it bit by bit, but the gap between their realms is vast. Time is the only solution,” the old man explained.
Shi Hao frowned, sighing softly before nodding.
“What about A’Man?” Shi Hao pointed to the girl atop the tomb.
“Her? I don’t know. She’s… mysterious, and eerie,” the old man said, eyeing her with suspicion and wariness.
His reaction surprised Shi Hao.
“Why?”
“She was cursed earlier, but unlike others who turned to withered bones, crimson patterns enveloped her, like an array or a manifestation of the Great Dao. Then, she summoned the jade coffin from before the bronze gate to her side,” the old man explained.
Shi Hao was stunned. What had happened to A’Man?
The old man suspected she might have obtained some ancient artifact tied to this place, linked to the mysterious path beyond the bronze gate, thus drawing the jade coffin.
“Was the jade coffin originally placed before the bronze gate?” Shi Hao asked.
“Yes!”
The old man feared the coffin deeply. Over the ages, he had never dared touch it—the one time he did, he nearly perished.
Yet now, the coffin had flown out on its own, appearing beside the girl outside the tomb.
This was why, upon awakening, he hadn’t dared act rashly upon seeing the two outsiders.
“What’s your theory?” Shi Hao pressed, knowing the old man’s long residence here granted him deeper insight.
“I suspect the jade coffin is meant for the being beyond the gate upon its return. This girl may play a pivotal role in the future.”
“Elaborate,” Shi Hao said, his expression darkening.
“Either she’s a successor or a servant, destined to guard this gate and open the ancient path with her own hands!” the old man declared.
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