Walking Toward the Light

When Pang Bo gave his name, all the classmates inside the Bronze Coffin were startled, and deeply suspicious.

Pang Bo had not attended the earlier class reunion, so how had another Pang Bo ended up inside this coffin?

Could this Pang Bo be a ghost?

Pang Bo offered his explanation. He had indeed missed the reunion because of some personal matters, but after learning that everyone was meeting at Mount Tai, he had rushed over directly. Then he encountered the Bronze Coffin and was swept into it as well.

Pang Bo's words finally dispelled everyone's doubts, but they still felt terrified by their current situation.

They were inside a bronze coffin. Coffins had always been symbols of ill omen, and in countless novels and films, all sorts of strange and eerie events took place within them. Now that they were inside one, if they stayed too long, their skin would inevitably start crawling.

"Everyone, don't panic. Stay together and don't split up. Look around at our surroundings and see if there are any clues."

Fang Qing spoke again.

His voice remained steady, bringing a sense of calm to many of the students.

In such an environment, having someone take the lead truly made everyone feel more at ease. Sticking together for warmth was a good choice.

Everyone quieted down and turned their attention to the carvings inside the Bronze Coffin.

The carvings showed a fierce Nine-headed Divine Bird spreading its wings in flight, a massive ferocious beast covered in spiny fur roaring toward the heavens, and several legendary ancient ferocious beasts, such as Taotie, Qiongqi, and Taowu.

Besides those, there were also ancient people and primordial Deities, seemingly recounting some history from the past.

There were also strange patterns etched into the bronze, densely packed and dotted with starlight, as though they formed a map of the Starry Sky.

What frightened everyone somewhat was that there was another bronze coffin inside the Bronze Coffin. It was less than four meters long and less than two meters wide, covered in bronze and engraved with the marks of time. It sent chills through their hearts, as though a corpse might suddenly leap out and doom them all.

No one dared open the smaller coffin for a look, and Fang Qing had no intention of opening it either.

This smaller coffin was not suited to being opened at a time like this. Ordinary people probably could not open it anyway.

Fang Qing and the others made a round of the Bronze Coffin. Other than the pressure brought by that smaller coffin, nothing dangerous happened. Everyone finally calmed down and began speculating about what lay before them.

"Fang Qing, you've read many ancient books. Do any of them record something like what happened today?" Wang Ziwen asked.

As soon as he spoke, many of the other students looked toward Fang Qing as well, hoping for some encouraging answer.

"Creatures like dragons belong to myth and legend. We all know the story of the great battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou. The fighting was extremely fierce, and both sides invited many divine beings to aid them. Later, the Yellow Emperor's side invited Yinglong to help. Yinglong assisted the Yellow Emperor in crushing Chiyou, allowing Yan-Huang to become the mainstream of the era. Chiyou was killed, and the Nine Li Tribe was defeated."

Fang Qing spoke, recounting a legendary tale from ancient times before continuing, "In legends of the Ancient Era, the existence of the dragon race was perfectly normal. It is only in our present age that the appearance of dragon corpses seems shocking beyond belief, but it may not necessarily be a bad thing."

"Not a bad thing? What do you mean?" Zhou Yi asked as well.

"China has many legends and many Old Ancestors, but over the years, the closer those times came to us, the fewer such legends there were. It was as though they had all left Earth and gone to other worlds. Now that Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin has arrived, I have a guess."

"You mean Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin is taking us to another world, one where we can cultivate immortality?" Ye Fan asked, following Fang Qing's line of thought.

"That should be it. Beings from legend have appeared in our era. Perhaps they are here to lead us onto the path of legend. This is a good thing. Maybe we really can cultivate immortality. Of course, that path also carries enormous risks. We should all understand that."

"I don't want to cultivate immortality. I just want to go home!"

"My wife and children are still on Earth. I'm not interested in cultivating immortality at all."

"I hope Fang Qing is right, but I also hope he's wrong. Cultivating immortality... if you're not careful, you'll become a soul in someone else's Ten Thousand Soul Banner. I'd be happy just living to a hundred."

"Can we really cultivate immortality?"

Ye Fan fell into thought.

"Why worry so much? The current situation isn't something we can decide anyway. I hope we can cultivate immortality. That's every man's dream!"

Pang Bo spoke carelessly, even sounding somewhat expectant.

"Let's wait and see what happens."

Zhou Yi and Wang Ziwen also fell into thought after listening to Fang Qing. If Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin truly intended to lead them onto the path of cultivating immortality, then there were simply too many uncertainties. None of it was under their control.

Silence fell over the group.

As time passed, there was suddenly a bang, like an airplane passing through frigid clouds, and the coffin began to shake.

Boom.

A violent tremor rang out like thunder. They could clearly feel the Giant Bronze Coffin suffering a massive collision.

Although those inside the coffin had no way of knowing exactly what had happened, they could roughly guess. Had the Bronze Coffin landed?

Light streamed in from outside, immediately drawing cries of surprise from everyone.

The crowd erupted into cheers and rushed forward, scrambling to escape that dark and terrifying space. They did not want to remain there for another second.

Yet after they rushed out of the Bronze Coffin, they were all stunned.

The place before them was no longer Mount Tai. As far as the eye could see lay red-brown earth, cold, hard, silent, and utterly desolate. Scattered rocks dotted the ground like gravestones.

The light between heaven and earth was dim, and Death Qi hung heavy in the air, making the place even more terrifying.

"Damn, we really aren't on Mount Tai anymore. Have we truly set foot on the path of the ancient sages?"

"But this damned place doesn't look like somewhere one can cultivate immortality. To cultivate immortality, shouldn't there be spiritual energy, birdsong, and fragrant flowers?"

"This place is far too barren. Could we have arrived in some forbidden land or desert region of an immortal cultivation world?"

The classmates all looked uneasy as they stared at the desolate land before them.

"Let's explore first. Perhaps we'll discover something new."

Fang Qing spoke as he looked ahead. There stood a massive boulder more than twenty meters tall, but its slope was not too steep, and it could be climbed.

With a few strides, Fang Qing reached the top of the boulder. Gazing into the distance, he could see faint points of white light far away.

"Let's go. Walk toward the light."