Stone Chamber, Murals of High Antiquity
The dizziness lasted for quite some time before gradually subsiding.
The moment Li Yunjing landed, he immediately steadied himself, shielding Yuanchu Chu behind him while warily scanning his surroundings.
The first thing you see is a closed stone chamber.
The stone chamber was not large, only a few dozen feet square, and its four walls were made of dark, Xuantie rock, which was extremely hard.
Several luminous pearls were embedded in the ceiling, emitting a soft white light that illuminated the room clearly.
The ground was flat and engraved with intricate totem patterns, which shared the same origin as the magic array in the square, but had now faded.
"Is everyone alright?" Li Yunjing asked.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little dizzy." Han Cang shook his head, got up from the ground, and still held the giant axe firmly in his hand.
Fang Hexuan flicked his whisk to steady himself, his brows furrowed. "It's a spatial teleportation array. We've been teleported to a secret chamber deep within the Burial Ground."
The crowd gradually came to their senses and began to count the number of people.
Li Yunjing, Zhenyangzi, Yuanchu... five Dao Union experts, more than ten rogue Rogue Cultivator, plus Zhi Qianshu and twenty Biyuan warriors, all of them were summoned in.
However, this secret room was surrounded by walls on all four sides, and there wasn't even a door in sight.
"Where's the exit?" He Qingsong strode to the stone wall, knocked on it, and a dull echo returned. "Solid? Are we locked up here?"
Ouyang Se moved swiftly, circling the stone wall before returning and shaking his head, saying, "There are no gaps, no mechanisms; the entire stone chamber is a single, seamless unit, it doesn't look like it has a door."
Zhi Qianshu grew anxious and pounded on the stone wall, shouting, "Ancestor, please protect us! What kind of place is this? Why are we all locked up?"
Zhenyangzi walked to the center of the stone chamber, squatted down, and carefully observed the array patterns on the ground. He pondered, "This is High Antiquity totem teleportation array. It should be one of the restrictions that guarded the Burial Ground back then. Once there is a fierce battle between external enemies in the square, and the energy fluctuation reaches the threshold, it will be automatically triggered, teleporting people to this secret chamber and trapping them."
"Trapped?" Liao Xingjian frowned. "How do we get out? We can't stay trapped here forever, can we?"
"Don't worry, since it's a restriction, there must be a way to break it," Fang Hexuan said. "Everyone, search around and see if there are any mechanisms, hidden compartments, or inscriptions. High Antiquity secret chambers usually have a way to open them."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately dispersed and began searching along the stone wall.
The sounds of knocking and the fluctuations of probing spiritual energy rose and fell.
Li Yunjing did not move immediately.
He stood still, spreading his divine senses to carefully perceive the entire stone chamber.
When the divine sense touched the stone wall, it was bounced back by a strange force.
This Xuantie rock can actually block divine sense; no wonder Ouyang Se couldn't find any clues.
He then looked at the array patterns on the ground.
The array patterns had long since ceased functioning, leaving only faint traces.
The patterns and patterns were peculiar, unlike any array he had ever seen. They carried a strong totem style, yet also subtly contained a trace of primordial Daoist charm.
"Strange," Li Yunjing muttered to himself, "These patterns seem somewhat similar to the Origin Array of the Taiyi Immortal Sect."
He stepped forward, gathered a wisp of Spiritual Qi from the Supreme Unity Pure Subtlety Scripture at his fingertips, and gently touched it onto the array patterns.
A soft buzzing sound.
The array pattern glowed with a faint blue light, but instead of restarting, it seemed as if some kind of mark had been activated.
Immediately afterwards, there was a soft click.
Suddenly, faint lights appeared on the stone wall facing Li Yunjing.
"Hmm? There's a response!"
The crowd immediately gathered around.
The faint light spread along the stone wall, outlining one pattern after another.
It's a mural.
The originally dark stone wall, stimulated by Spiritual Qi, revealed murals buried deep within the rock.
With its antique colors and vigorous lines, each painting is lifelike, as if telling an ancient story.
"High Antiquity murals!" Zhenyangzi's eyes flashed, and he quickly stepped forward. "These murals probably record the secrets of this secret chamber, and may even record the life of the First Ancestor, Biyuan."
Zhi Qianshu trembled with excitement. "It's the First Ancestor! It must have been left behind by the First Ancestor!"
Everyone held their Spirit Concentration and looked intently at the first mural.
The first painting depicts a great battle.
The sky shattered, the earth collapsed, and countless cultivators fought each other in the air.
On one side were righteous cultivators dressed in various colored robes, their swords flashing, firelight, and lightning intertwining.
On the other side were demonic Devil Cultivator with overwhelming demonic energy, their ferocious Devil Cultivation Method and endless corpse energy covering the sky.
The earth was littered with corpses, and rivers of blood flowed.
Countless powerful figures perished, their bodies and souls slowly dissipating, turning into specks of light that drifted towards a seven-colored ball of light in the center of the battlefield.
The ball of light hovered above the battlefield, like a supreme observer, silently absorbing the essence of the fallen warriors.
"This is... a battle between good and evil?" Li Yunjing whispered. "Could that ball of light in the middle be the Primordial Dao Fruit?"
"It's very similar." Fang Hexuan said solemnly, "Look, it has absorbed the essence of those who died in battle."
A chill ran through everyone.
Does the Dao Fruit absorb the essence of powerful warriors who died in battle?
This is quite different from their understanding of the Dao Fruit descending to earth and bestowing fortune.
Li Yunjing continued looking at the second picture.
In the second mural, the battle has ended.
A man in white stood beneath the Dao Fruit, his face blurred, but his upright posture and natural Dao aura were evident.
He reached out his hand, seemingly to guide the attainment of Dao Fruit.
And the Dao Fruit was slowly approaching him.
Behind the man stood countless righteous cultivators, all with faces full of ecstasy, bowing their heads in worship, as if welcoming victory.
"This person..." Yuanchu suddenly spoke, his voice very soft, "Is me."
Everyone was startled and turned to look at Yuanchu.
"Yuanchu Master Yuanchu, are you saying that the person in this painting is you?" Zhi Qianshu's eyes widened.
"Hmm." Yuanchu nodded, a hint of confusion flashing in his clear eyes. "It was me from 100,000 years ago. Back then, they all called me Yuanchuzi."
Yuanchu frowned slightly, rubbing his forehead. "My memories are fragmented. I only remember that great battle, that many people died, and that I can't recall anything else."
"Don't rush, take your time." Li Yunjing patted his shoulder. "There should be more later."
The group then turned their attention to the third mural.
The third painting features a completely different style.
A man in white, holding Dao Fruit in his hand, stood atop the mountain.
But his body was gradually becoming transparent.
His skin, flesh, and meridians were slowly turning into points of light, merging into the Dao Fruit.
His expression was calm and compassionate, as if he had already known this ending.
The cultivators below were still cheering and celebrating, unaware that their hero was being slowly assimilated by the Dao Fruit.
"What... what does this mean?" Han Cang scratched his head, looking completely bewildered. "Why did he put on makeup?"
No one answered.
Everyone's expression turned serious.
A sense of unease spread through everyone's hearts.
Li Yunjing's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
He seemed to have guessed something, yet he couldn't believe it.
He strode to the fourth mural.
The fourth picture is a text accompanied by a simple illustration.
The script is ancient Dao Realm script from High Antiquity era, and it is obscure and difficult to understand.
Most people present couldn't understand it.
"Senior Zhenyangzi, do you recognize these characters?" Li Yunjing asked.
Zhenyangzi stepped forward, examined it carefully for a moment, and slowly nodded. "I recognize it. This is High Antiquity script, recorded in the scriptures of the Taiyi Immortal Sect."