226: Chapter 226 is about Zhang Qilin!

The moment they stepped through the bronze door, it was as if they had fallen from a noisy world into the deep sea of an absolute vacuum.

The clamor and light of the military base behind them were instantly cut off, replaced by a darkness and deathly silence capable of swallowing everything. The ethereal and eerie singing also vanished, as if it had merely been a collective hallucination before entering this place.

The high-intensity searchlights built into the four-person team's tactical helmets flared to life. Four beams of bright white light pierced the darkness, yet it was as if they had been absorbed by thick, black ink; their range was compressed to less than ten meters.

"Report status." Lin Tianyi's voice rang out through the team's communication channel, as steady as ever.

"Gravity... slightly higher than normal, about 1.2 G." Wang Xianzhi moved her body, feeling the extra load from her equipment. "Air composition... unknown. The filtration system is analyzing it, but the oxygen content is extremely low. We absolutely cannot take off our helmets."

"The magnetic field... is chaotic! My compass and all electronic positioning equipment have failed!" Lord Pang looked at the needle spinning crazily on his wrist and cursed, "Damn it, this place is even more sinister than Guixu. We've become blind men."

"No, not blind." Song Yiqing's voice carried a hint of suppressed surprise. "My 'Qi Sense'... has been amplified several times over here! I can 'see'... many things."

In his perception, the surrounding darkness was not empty. This was a space so vast it was unimaginable.

They were standing on a wide "road" paved with some unknown black rock. On both sides of the road stood rows of colossal stone pillars that reached the heavens. The pillars were carved with intricate and eerie reliefs depicting giant beasts with wings, multi-armed deities, and... scenes of countless tiny humans kneeling in worship.

At the end of this road, at the furthest point his perception could reach, there was... a faint, yet tenacious life aura, like a candle in the wind. That aura, they were incomparably familiar with. It was Zhang Qilin!

"Brother Zhang is at the end of this road!" Song Yiqing immediately shared his perception with his teammates. "The distance... is very far. My perception can only vaguely touch upon a silhouette; he seems... to be bound by something."

"That makes it easier!" Lord Pang perked up. "As long as the direction is right, we'll just follow this 'Road to the Underworld' and fight our way through!"

"Don't be careless." Lin Tianyi interrupted his optimism. "It's too quiet here, quiet to the point of... being abnormal."

No sooner had he finished speaking, as if to verify his warning, click... click... A series of teeth-aching sounds, like bones grinding against each other, slowly drifted from the darkness on both sides of the road.

The four searchlight beams swept over vigilantly. Where the beams landed, they illuminated the bases of those massive stone pillars.

There, in the shadows of the pillars, one by one, the stone statue guards—originally motionless like sculptures and made of black rock—were making cracking sounds as their bodies stiffly, inch by inch... turned their heads!

In their eye sockets were two empty holes. But at this moment, deep within those hollows, two points... of ghostly blue soul fire ignited! They... had come to life!

"Holy shit! It's stone men!" Lord Pang let out a strange cry and raised the "Engineering Shovel Pro Max" in his hand.

[Warning! High-density energy aggregate detected!] [Threat Level: Gamma!] Red alarms instantly popped up in the tactical visors of their helmets.

Each of these stone statue guards emitted energy fluctuations comparable to the elite-level mechanical soldiers in "Guixu"! And looking around, the stone pillars on both sides of the road were in the hundreds and thousands, endless!

"Don't get bogged down in a fight! There are too many of them!" Lin Tianyi decisively ordered. "Our goal is to save him! Wang Xianzhi, you lead the way! Lord Pang, suppression fire! Song Yiqing, keep sensing the surroundings to prevent sneak attacks! We're... charging through!"

"Understood!" Wang Xianzhi gave a sharp cry, her figure moving like lightning as she was the first to charge out!

Her sword was no longer just for simple hacking and slashing. During special training at the base, she had learned to attach her "Qi" to the blade, forming a thin, sharp energy edge!

Swish! A stone statue guard that had just awakened and was still slow in its movements was slashed across the waist by her sword! The blade rubbed against the rock, erupting in dazzling sparks! The incredibly hard black rock was actually forcibly cut open with a gash half a foot deep! Although she failed to sever it in one strike, she successfully hindered its movement!

"Eat a blast from Lord Pang!" Lord Pang followed close behind. The muzzle of the "Engineering Shovel Pro Max" on his shoulder flashed with red light, and a high-explosive shell whistled out, accurately slamming into the chest of a stone statue guard!

Boom! The light of the explosion instantly illuminated the surrounding darkness! A huge hole was blown into the chest of the stone statue guard, with rock fragments flying everywhere! It staggered two steps, the soul fire in its eyes flickered twice, and finally... extinguished.

"It's effective!" Lord Pang was overjoyed. However, their attack was like poking a hornet's nest!

A series of heavy, drum-like footsteps rang out from all directions! More stone statue guards walked out of the darkness! Wielding giant claws and war hammers made of rock, they surged toward the four of them like a tide, surrounding them!

"Move! Don't stop!" Lin Tianyi commanded loudly while using the pulse rifle in his hand to perform precise shots, directing the team's formation.

The four people formed a sharp arrowhead, forcibly pushing forward along the black road toward the depths! Wang Xianzhi's sword light tore open gaps at the very front. Lord Pang's artillery fire was responsible for clearing out the massive guards that posed the greatest threat to the team. Lin Tianyi and Song Yiqing guarded the flanks, precisely shooting every enemy that attempted to get close, while Song Yiqing also had to divide his attention to sense the energy dynamics in the surroundings.

"Left rear! Three o'clock direction! There's a big one!" At his reminder, Lord Pang immediately turned the muzzle, firing a grenade that blew a stone statue guard—which was attempting a sneak attack from the shadows while wielding a giant axe—to the ground.

The battle entered a white-hot state from the very beginning! This seemingly calm black road was effectively a corridor of death! Every step forward required a huge expenditure of physical strength and ammunition! Running, shooting, dodging, explosions...

They didn't know how much time had passed. When Lord Pang emptied his last magazine and shouted breathlessly: "Captain Lin! Out of ammo! Only one grenade left!" They had only advanced... less than one kilometer.

And ahead, the stone statue guards pouring out from the darkness remained endless, as if they could never be killed off.

"This can't go on..." Lin Tianyi's brows were tightly locked. The barrel of his pulse rifle had become scalding hot from excessive firing. "We will be worn out and killed here."

"Brother Zhang's aura... is just ahead! Very close!" Song Yiqing's voice carried anxiety. "But... in front of that aura, there is... a more powerful, more terrifying energy source! Just like a... black hole!"

Just as they were trapped in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat, a new turn of events occurred.

That ethereal and eerie singing which had disappeared, without any warning, rang out once again! This time, the singing did not come from a distant place, but... right beside their ears! It was as if an invisible choir was surrounding them, chanting an ancient requiem.

As the singing began, the stone statue guards that had been attacking them crazily... all suddenly froze in unison! The ghostly blue soul fire in their eyes flickered violently, as if filled with... fear!

Then, they made a move that caught everyone off guard. They actually stopped attacking and slowly, like a receding tide... retreated, blending back into the darkness and shadows on both sides of the road.

"What's going on? They... are afraid of this singing?" Lord Pang was completely bewildered.

"No..." Song Yiqing's face turned paler than ever before, his voice carrying an uncontrollable tremor. "They aren't afraid... they are... welcoming." "Welcoming... some kind of... higher-level existence."

Before he could finish his sentence, in the darkness ahead, two huge... golden vertical pupils, like searchlights, slowly lit up! That was a pair of... eyes that did not belong to any known creature, filled with coldness and majesty!

Just by being stared at by those eyes, the four of them felt as if their souls were about to freeze! Immediately after, a colossal, indescribable silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.

It was a... monster with nine heads, resembling a giant serpent! Each of its heads had a different form; some spewed flames, some were surrounded by ice, and some had ferocious fangs... Yet the head in the very center was a... stunningly beautiful face resembling a human woman! It was this face that was chanting that... ethereal requiem!

Its body was covered in black scales like an abyss, so massive it was enough to obscure the entire road! From it, they felt an aura... originating from the mythic age, wild and ancient!

[Detected... super-specification energy reaction!] [Threat level... judgment failed!] [...Escape... suggest immediate escape!] In the tactical visors, the alarm system had gone completely crazy, emitting ear-piercing shrieks!

"The nine-headed snake... Xiangliu recorded in the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas'?" Professor Li, who was accompanying the team, saw this scene through the real-time footage transmitted back to the rear base and gasped in shock. The teacup in his hand dropped to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Legend has it that when Great Yu was controlling the floods, he slew the nine-headed evil god Xiangliu; wherever its blood flowed, not a blade of grass would grow, turning the land into a marsh. This monster that only existed in myths and legends had actually... come to life and appeared before them!

"Gulp..." Lord Pang swallowed with difficulty. He felt his legs going weak. "Lin... Captain Lin... our... our last grenade... doesn't seem... like it would be enough to... get stuck in its teeth..."

This was not a battle. This was... mortals, facing... a deity!

Just when everyone was falling into despair, Lin Tianyi, who had been silent and was locked firmly in the gaze of those golden vertical pupils, suddenly made a move that everyone found unexpected. He slowly raised his left hand. Then, he rolled up the sleeve of his combat suit.

On his left forearm, there was a... long-healed, strangely shaped... scar. It was the scar from being burned by Qilin Blood while saving Zhang Qilin in "Guixu"!

After being transported back to the real world, this scar had always existed, painless and itchless, as if it were just a memento. But at this moment, behind this door, under the gaze of this nine-headed monster, this scar was actually... beginning to emit a faint, almost invisible... golden glimmer!

Lin Tianyi aimed this glowing scar at the behemoth ahead. His voice, transmitted through the loudspeaker, spread throughout the entire space; it was not loud, but exceptionally clear. "Can... you feel it?" "This scent..." "It is his blood."

The stunningly beautiful woman's head that was chanting the requiem... stopped abruptly. Those eight ferocious, destruction-filled heads also ceased their roaring. Those huge, cold golden vertical pupils suddenly shrank! It stared fixedly at the insignificant scar on Lin Tianyi's arm. In its huge pupils, for the first time, a kind of... extremely complex emotion, mixed with dread, confusion, and even... a trace of... nostalgia, was revealed. The entire space fell into an eerie, suffocating... silence.