Chapter 008: The Ancient Path Through the Stars
The group fell onto the five-colored sacrificial altar, knocking over a pile of ancient books carved from jade blocks and stone slabs. With a loud crash, the altar was in disarray.
The ancient bronze giant coffin lay nearby, its surface encrusted with verdigris, yet it failed to obscure the indistinct engravings of what appeared to be ancient deities, each of them, astonishingly, bearing traces of tears.
So close at hand, even a mere reach could touch them, causing everyone to feel a sense of dread and their spines to tingle with cold.
This five-colored sacrificial altar, which had withstood endless eons, was built by ancient ancestors for the purpose of offering sacrifices to the heavens. Could it be that those ancient emperors truly summoned something?
At this moment, everyone suddenly felt a desolate and ancient aura flowing, stirring their emotions.
Now, with the nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin lying ahead, could they have truly been drawn in by the five-colored sacrificial altar?
It is said that long before the Qin and Han emperors, the ancient Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and seventy-two kings had all held grand enthronement ceremonies here. What did they draw in?
The five-colored radiance shone brightly as the jade blocks and stone slabs on the altar suddenly became crystal clear and translucent. The ancient characters engraved on them all began to shine brightly, and the entire oversized sacrificial altar emitted a soft glow.
"Crackle crackle!"
The sound of shattering echoed out, and the stacks of jade blocks and stone slabs abruptly fissured, then burst forth with radiant beams of light. The ancient characters inscribed upon them seemed as if they had been infused with life, all emerging and hovering in the empty expanse.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle!"
More ancient characters shimmered in the air, and then the jade blocks and stone slabs disintegrated into dust in a gentle breeze, all the characters engraved on them breaking free from their constraints.
Above the bronze ancient coffin, around the massive pit, there were thousands of characters shining, as if cast from molten iron, with a metallic luster and texture.
"Crackle crackle!"
The sound of breaking came again, and the smaller five-colored earth altars nearby also had ancient characters shining out and emerging in mid-air.
Around the bronze giant coffin, it was like stars swaying their light, especially mysterious under the blood-colored sunset.
There were other people on the Jade Emperor Peak who had not fled down the mountain during the recent chaos. But now, seeing Ye Fan and the others fall into the pit and witnessing such a strange spectacle, they all panicked and rushed down the mountain in a frenzied manner.
In the chaos, some people fell, and cries of pain and calls for help rang out continuously.
Simultaneously, the ancient characters glowing in the air gathered and gradually formed a gigantic Bagua (Eight Trigrams) diagram, radiating a mysterious and powerful energy.
This was a shocking scene. The ancient characters and symbols possessed incredible power, and when condensed together, they manifested as a huge Bagua diagram, enveloping the bronze ancient coffin and the nine dragon corpses above, with a metallic density and texture, as if forged from refined gold essence.
"I want to leave here!" someone cried from the pit below.
"My body can't move..." Everyone was immobilized, filled with fear, but unable to change anything.
"What is that..."
At this moment, in the center of the Bagua diagram in mid-air, a Tai Chi diagram emerged, with two Yin and Yang fishes embracing each other.
Even in today's technological age, the profound and deep meanings contained in the ancient Tai Chi Bagua diagrams have not been deciphered. Some have used the correspondence between celestial bodies and the positions of the Bagua for astronomical calculations, proving the orbital speeds of celestial bodies. The founder of modern computer binary was also inspired after studying the Tai Chi Bagua diagrams, and succeeded in one fell swoop.
The ancient Tai Chi Bagua diagrams remain an intriguing mystery to modern people. How they were created, their functions, and the purpose behind their creation are still only subjects of legends and uncertain conjectures, with no concrete evidence.
At this moment, Ye Fan and the others witnessed an unknown and significant function of the Tai Chi Bagua diagrams; they were actually related to time and space.
Around the huge Tai Chi Bagua diagram, space twisted, light blurred, and the Bagua symbols corresponding to Qian, Kun, Xun, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, and Kan successively emitted light, like a mysterious and ancient code shining.
The two Yin and Yang fishes in the Tai Chi diagram resembled two strange portals, continuously trembling and slowly opening a crack, as if leading to a distant and unknown region of the stars.
The light continuously shimmered, the eight symbols of the Bagua flickered on and off, and after changing in a complex sequence multiple times, they finally all lit up together, emitting a dazzling brilliance.
"Boom!"
A dull vibration sounded, and the two Yin and Yang fishes in the center of the Tai Chi Bagua diagram slowly opened. During this process, starlight occasionally shone through, and even a path through the ancient stars was visible.
Eventually, the Yin and Yang fishes truly opened like a portal, revealing a mysterious and vast passage, with no one knowing where it led, as it was dark inside.
At the same time, on the summit of Mount Tai, the nine massive dragon corpses trembled, and the bronze coffin emitted a loud "clang" and violently shook.
Ye Fan and the others were close by, next to the bronze coffin. Many people were startled and shouted, and many female classmates cried out.
"What should we do?"
"Help..."
In this situation, everyone felt helpless, and many female classmates cried out loudly.
At the same time, some people with strong wills were uncertain and stared at the huge bronze ancient coffin. The coffin lid was actually shifting during the shaking, revealing a large crack, and an eerie atmosphere seeped out.
"Clang!"
The bronze coffin shook again, and the coffin lid almost fell off. An inexplicable and invisible force pulled at everyone. In the next moment, everyone felt the world spin, and then everything went black as they all entered the bronze coffin.
"Ah..."
"Help!"
Some people were on the verge of collapse, crying out in terror.
"Bang!"
The nine massive dragon corpses hanging on the cliff trembled, and at the same time, the bronze coffin lid made a loud noise and then completely returned to its position and closed.
Immediately after, the nine dragon corpses, like mountain ranges, rose into the air. Although they still showed no signs of life, they pulled the bronze giant coffin slowly into the dark and mysterious passage created by the Tai Chi Bagua diagram.
"Boom!"
The entire Mount Tai shook violently, as if the sky were about to collapse. On the Jade Emperor Peak, the five-colored divine light pierced the heavens and earth.
Then, in the moment when the blood-colored sunset disappeared, the summit of Mount Tai also dimmed in an instant, and the huge Tai Chi Bagua diagram in the sky completely closed and slowly vanished.
The Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin disappeared without a trace!
All the jade blocks and stone slabs on the five-colored sacrificial altar turned to dust, and a gentle breeze blew, scattering the ashes with the wind.
Everything that happened under the blood-colored sunset was destined to cause a great uproar, spreading to every corner of the world. Mount Tai would inevitably become the focus of worldwide attention, but all of this was irrelevant to Ye Fan and the others.
Inside the bronze ancient coffin, it was pitch black, filled with an icy coldness. Some female classmates were on the verge of collapse, their hearts filled with helplessness and fear, but they did not dare to cry out loud. They all suppressed their emotions and voices, whimpering quietly.
"What should we do, who can save us?"
"Are we really inside the bronze coffin now?"
"Why is this happening, is there any way out?"
People kept trying to make calls with their mobile phones, but they couldn't get through, unable to contact the outside world, which increased their fear.
"Everyone, there's no need to panic. Although we can't contact the outside world for now, such a shocking event on Mount Tai will surely spread in the first place. I believe rescuers will arrive soon," Zhou Yi said calmly, and his words somewhat eased the fearful minds of the group.
"You're right, Zhou Yi. Everyone, don't panic. We must stay calm and believe that everything will be fine," Wang Ziwen's voice was also calm, trying to stabilize the emotions of everyone present.
"That's right, everyone, don't panic. It's useless to be afraid since the situation has already happened. What's important is to find a way out," Lin Jia, although a woman, was composed at the moment and did not panic.
Ye Fan did not speak, sitting quietly there. The dark and mysterious passage created by the Tai Chi Bagua diagram kept appearing before his eyes. Was he still on the Jade Emperor Peak at this moment? He had an ominous association in his heart.
By the faint light of mobile phones, one could see the frightened faces of the people around, many with pale complexions, and some even shivering.
Li Xiaoman was not far away, sitting there hugging her knees. Although her face was a bit pale, she looked composed.