Chapter 016: As if a Deity Had Descended to the Mortal World

In addition to the vajra, several others found damaged incense burners, discipline rulers, copper bells, fish drums, and more.

Among them, the female classmate whom Ye Fan had pitied for her haggard appearance at the reunion found a particularly special object. It was a complete set of prayer beads, with only six beads, crystal clear and almost dripping, in a light golden color, as transparent as crystal, each as big as a dragon's eye.

"Could these be made from relics?" someone nearby speculated with a mix of surprise and doubt.

These six beads, all in a light golden crystal, resembled magnificent gems and were easy to associate with the relics left behind after the passing of an ancient Buddha. After all, artifacts found in the Great Thunder Sound Temple would not be simple in nature.

This set of prayer beads was quite extraordinary, discovered inadvertently by the female classmate on the top of the stone Buddha's head. The six beads were strung together on a transparent, thin thread, each with a vague human figure in a different posture.

This was the third intact object found after Ye Fan's bronze lamp and Zhou Yi's bowl, but of course, the bronze lamp was the most eye-catching. It was the only ancient lamp not tainted with dust, ever-burning, and anyone could see its extraordinary nature.

Several intense gazes occasionally swept towards the bronze lamp within the ancient temple. Although Ye Fan sensed them, he did not react, calmly facing everything.

The Buddhist hall of the Great Thunder Sound Temple had been thoroughly searched, and no more artifacts were found. The group then exited.

Pang Bo was the most frustrated. While more than a dozen people had found ancient objects, he, who had been the first to enter the temple, had still found nothing.

Standing in front of the temple and looking at it again, Pang Bo's eyes suddenly brightened. He strode back, brought several large stones to stand on, and removed the bronze plaque inscribed with "Great Thunder Sound Temple," leaving many onlookers stunned.

Then the crowd realized that this bronze plaque must be extraordinary. Despite enduring wind and rain and the test of time, it remained spotless, just like the bronze ancient lamp that was dust-free. The plaque's cleanliness indicated its exceptional nature.

"Really heavy..." Pang Bo dragged the bronze plaque back, and as soon as he left the temple, the entire ancient structure began to shake, and the stone Buddha inside suddenly cracked, making a "crackle" sound.

Then, the six-word Buddhist mantra resounded: "Om, Ma, Ni, Pad, Me, Hum..."

The grand Buddhist sounds filled the sky, shaking the heavens and earth, and everything within the six realms trembled!

The compassionate, solemn, profound, and mysterious Zen sounds were immense, cleansing all filth and washing away mundane dust. The area around the ancient temple was bathed in a sacred and peaceful light.

This time, it was not an illusion. Not only did Ye Fan and Pang Bo hear it, but everyone present was struck dumb with shock.

At the same time, all the Buddhist artifacts found in the temple, whether intact or damaged, emitted a soft glow, their brilliant light dazzling everyone present.

However, in the end, with a "boom" loud noise, the stone Buddha inside the temple crumbled into dust, and then the Great Thunder Sound Temple also turned to dust in a gentle breeze.

"Puff!"

At the same time, the Bodhi tree beside it also collapsed, leaving no wood chips or withered branches, only dust that filled the sky and fell down in droves.

Next, the Buddhist artifacts in everyone's hands dimmed their luster, all becoming ordinary once again.

Everyone was stunned, unsure why this had happened. Was it because the Buddhist artifacts were taken away from the temple, and the bronze plaque was removed?

The ancient temple left only dust behind, with nothing left. After gazing at it for a moment, Ye Fan said, "Removing various Buddhist artifacts and taking away the temple's plaque may have caused the already abandoned Great Thunder Sound Temple to lose its purpose for existence, perhaps that's why it dispersed with the wind."

Zhou Yi, usually gentle and refined, was now very excited, his eyes revealing a strange light as he said, "I am now more convinced than ever that there are gods in this world. Perhaps we can follow the footsteps they left behind. Today's encounters may be a great opportunity for us."

Deities, Buddhas, immortals... these absurd legends, now mentioned, did not seem too absurd to anyone. The facts before them indicated that many commonalities could be overturned, and gods were not absolutely nonexistent.

"But following the path left by the deities... it's easier said than done, but I don't see any hope," Pang Bo glanced at Zhou Yi and said, "Right now, the most important thing is to find a way to survive. In this desert, there are no villages or shops behind us, no water, no food. In another seven or eight hours, the situation may become extremely dire."

"All signs indicate that this planet is likely Mars, and as we all know, Mars does not have an environment suitable for life," Li Xiaoman, beautiful and composed, became increasingly calm after a series of events and continued, "If there really are gods, then perhaps they can explain all of this. This is just a narrow piece of pure land on Mars."

Her words had just fallen when rumbling sounds suddenly came from the red-brown earth, and the open ground shook as if thousands of troops were galloping or angry waves were surging.

"Dust storm... a super storm on Mars!" Kade, beside Li Xiaoman, changed color and shouted in halting Chinese.

Mars is covered in a sky full of sand for a quarter of the year. While Earth's typhoons reach sixty meters per second, Mars' storms can reach one hundred and eighty meters per second, and superstorms can sweep across the entire planet.

Not to mention humans, even heavy tanks would be swept into the sky!

In an instant, the stars and the moon disappeared from the sky, and endless red-brown sand completely covered the sky, and a great storm that swept across the entire planet of Mars began.

"But that's not right, we don't have a storm here..."

Just a moment ago, many people were terrified, thinking that disaster was upon them, but now everyone found that although the distant storms were raging, it was calm nearby.

With the five-colored altar and the Great Thunder Sound Temple as the axis, a hazy dome with a diameter of over a thousand meters formed, covering the sky above this area, isolating it from the outside world.

Li Xiaoman's words turned out to be true; this was indeed a narrow piece of pure land, with supernatural forces blocking the storm, indirectly proving that gods might exist, and this place might be under their protection.

"No, the hazy dome is fading, it's about to disappear!" A female student looking up at the sky turned pale.

The dim dome in the sky was gradually melting, and it would likely disappear completely in a short time. Seeing this, everyone's faces changed, and death seemed so close that no one could remain calm.

"What should we do? Are we... really going to die here?" Some people's voices trembled.

"I don't want to die..." Some female classmates cried out.

"If the dome disappears, we will be crushed by the super storm!" Even male classmates felt terrified. The only pure land on Mars would no longer exist, and there would be no space for survival.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The storm rumbled like distant thunder, and the entire earth seemed to shake for it, the world was hazy, and sand was everywhere. Fear spread among the people.

Ye Fan's eyes were still clear, looking at the overwhelming dust storm, and he calmly said, "Now there may only be one way to survive."

"We can escape? Hurry, tell us how!"

"The pure land will no longer exist, where can we survive?!"

At this critical moment of life and death, everyone was extremely anxious, and many were losing their composure.

"Follow the path walked by the deities and leave this uninhabitable environment," Ye Fan said.

Some people immediately understood Ye Fan's idea, but many were still confused.

"That's right, this may be the only way," Zhou Yi nodded in agreement.

According to Ye Fan's speculation, in the distant past, deities had opened up an ancient road through the stars, from Earth to Mars, but this may not be the final destination.

There is also a five-colored altar on Mars, which likely connects to even more distant stars. This is the path once walked by deities. Now, they are being forced into a desperate situation, and only by continuing along this ancient road, leaving Mars, can they have hope of survival.

At this moment, everyone understood and quickly rushed towards the five-colored altar.

Although it was just a distance of one kilometer, everyone felt as if it were as distant as an ocean. This short distance concerned their lives and deaths. If the dome in the sky shattered before they reached the five-colored altar, everyone would surely die.

The vast ruins of the heavenly palace, with debris everywhere, was a difficult journey. Due to walking too quickly, some people twisted their ankles here, but they did not dare to stop, gritting their teeth against the pain and moving forward, unwilling to fall