radiothebook Chapter 319 The Beginning is the Shore
Chapter 319 The Beginning is the Shore
The team regrouped and continued their incursion.
After walking about a hundred steps, the passageway suddenly turned, and a stone-paved passageway that clearly sloped downwards appeared before us.
The slope wasn't steep, but it stretched as far as the eye could see, and the chill in the air grew stronger, mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible, smell of decay.
Luo Lei reached the turning point, his flashlight beam cutting into the unknown darkness ahead.
Just then, dozens of copper lamps embedded in the stone wall below lit up one after another without warning!
A cold, bluish-green flame leaped from the wick, radiating a bone-chilling cold. As the flame flickered, it cast flickering light on the patterns on the stone wall.
The bluish-green flames landed on Luo Lei's outstretched face, instantly coating his originally fierce face with a deathly pale white.
Tang Xiaofu's expression remained unchanged. She quickly stepped forward and patted Luo Lei on the shoulder:
"There is no danger. These bronze lamps are guide lights triggered by mechanisms. The flames are phosphorescent mixed with special spices from the ancient tomb. They just look strange, but they won't hurt anyone."
"Keep going, watch your step, and don't touch the bronze lamps on the stone wall."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Luo Lei also came to his senses, nodded, and took the lead in stepping onto the sloping stone steps.
The other three members of the Fang Squad followed closely behind, with Lin Feng and the Seven Beasts keeping up, while Tang Xiaofu remained responsible for bringing up the rear.
Fortunately, the passageway was quite spacious, and the black bear did not encounter the predicament of getting stuck again.
Before long, the group arrived at the end of the passageway, where a huge gate stood in front of them, completely blocking their way.
The door was heavy and its surface gleamed with a subtle, oily sheen under the glow of the phosphorescent light.
The surface of the door is carved with countless human faces, each one distorted and deformed, their eyes and brows filled with extreme pain and despair, making one's scalp tingle.
Whether it was an illusion or not, it seemed as if everyone could really hear countless faint yet mournful groans of pain.
The Siberian tiger pricked up its ears and turned to look at Lin Feng.
After receiving a slight nod from Lin Feng, it lowered its limbs slightly, its muscles tensed like iron, and its tail tip lashed out, gathering all its ferocious aura. A deep, thunderous roar rolled out from its throat.
The tiger's roar echoed through the passageway, and the blue flames in the bronze lamps on both sides were all forced to one side by the wind, like reeds bent by a gale.
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The faint moans abruptly ceased.
Tang Xiaofu cast an admiring glance at Lin Feng, then stepped to the door.
Her gaze swept over the twisted and grotesque faces, finally settling on the left side of the door frame.
There is a line of text engraved there.
It wasn't carved, but rather deep marks dug out with fingernails.
The sea of suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore.
Qin Huo'er frowned: "Is there any deeper meaning in those words?"
Lu Ye pondered for a moment and said, "It wouldn't be... that they want us to turn back, would it?"
Tang Xiaofu's tone was solemn:
"Behind this door lies a realm of spiritual pollution, which will constantly tempt us to turn back."
"Everyone, remember this: if you turn back, you will be turned into a stone statue immediately."
Wang Chui swallowed hard: "So, this 'the sea of suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore' is just a damn hoax?"
Tang Xiaofu nodded: "That's right."
As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Xiaofu raised her hand, grabbed the brass ring on the door, and knocked three times forcefully.
After knocking three times, Tang Xiaofu stood quietly with her hands at her sides.
After about three seconds, the heavy door finally made a sound.
First, it made a series of "creak-creak" sounds, like a giant beast that had been sleeping for thousands of years finally slowly opening its eyes.
Immediately afterwards, the heavy door slowly opened inward, accompanied by creaking and clicking sounds. Stone dust fell from the cracks in the door, filling the air with an ancient, dusty scent.
The moment the door opened, a strange chill surged out from inside, instantly engulfing the entire passageway.
The bluish-green phosphorescent flames flickered violently in the cold air, their light and shadows shifting erratically.
Gradually, a faint, lead-gray light appeared in the pitch-black space inside the door, with a thin mist spreading, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere.
The ground beneath their feet was not a stone slab, but a cold, smooth surface, like a thin layer of ice mirror.
Tang Xiaofu solemnly warned, "Remember, whatever you do, don't look back!"
After saying that, she stepped onto it first.
Her reflection was immediately mirrored on the ice. Tang Xiaofu looked down and saw that her reflection in the mirror was wearing a strange smile.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression unchanged, and continued walking forward.
Lin Feng led the seven ferocious beasts in close pursuit, while the four members of the Fang Squad covered the rear.
The group hadn't walked far when the fog around them grew thicker and thicker, obscuring their vision and making even the figures of those around them blurry.
As he walked, Luo Lei suddenly heard a soft humming behind him. The tune was familiar and warm; it was a lullaby his mother often sang to him when he was a child.
He paused for a moment.
He thought he had long forgotten the melody, forgotten the dry, warm hand that held him.
It wasn't there originally.
The sound was still there, like a pebble that had sunk to the bottom of a deep pool, now being gently stirred up and floating to the surface.
But he did not stop.
The most important thing Luo Lei learned in his life was to keep going even when he most wanted to stop.
Luo Lei's Adam's apple bobbed, pushing the melody out from the depths of his ear canal, like pushing a discarded bullet casing stuck in a gun barrel.
Lu Ye, who was following closely behind Luo Lei, suddenly heard a hurried cry for help coming from behind him:
"Lu Ye! Help me!"
It was Qin Huo'er's voice.
"My feet are caught by the shadow on the ground, it's dragging me down! Lu Ye, save me!"
Lu Ye already harbored feelings for Qin Huo'er, and the smooth, mirror-like ground beneath his feet exuded an eerie aura. The possibility of being dragged into the abyss by the shadow was by no means an exaggeration.
His heart tightened, and almost without hesitation, he began to turn his head.
The cervical spine rotates one degree, five degrees, ten degrees—
"Pia—!"
A solid, heavy blow landed squarely on his left cheek at a tricky angle.
Lu Ye staggered to the right, his ears ringing.
He covered his face and glared at the culprit.
"you--"
Lin Feng's hand was still hanging in mid-air.
His expression remained unchanged, as if he had merely brushed away a fallen leaf that had been clinging to his clothes.
"I'm saving you."
His voice was flat, without any explanation or claiming credit.
Lu Ye's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately called out, "Huo'er?"
Qin Huo'er's calm and normal voice immediately came from beside him: "I'm here."
Lu Ye suddenly came to his senses, a cold sweat breaking out on his back:
"Just now... just now I heard Huo'er calling for help behind me, and I almost fell into the illusion. It's all thanks to Brother Lin's timely intervention."
A few seconds later.
Tang Xiaofu, who was walking at the front, suddenly trembled slightly.
A hand gently touched her waist, and her first thought was—Lin Feng.
His warm palm rested firmly on her waist, as if she were feeling fear and instinctively seeking comfort.
She didn't immediately run away: after all, he was human, he would be afraid, and he would need to confirm that there was a strong person to rely on by his side.
But the next moment, that hand suddenly became audacious, moving down her waist and directly towards her rear curve...
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