227: Chapter 227 Loneliness and Pain

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment. The nine-headed behemoth named "Xiangliu," like an eternal black mountain range, loomed ahead. Its nine pairs of sixteen eyes were all fixed intently on the faint golden scar on Lin Tianyi's left arm.

To everyone else, that scar was so small it was negligible.

But in "Xiangliu's" perception, within that faint light contained an aura... one that it had carved deep into its bloodline and soul, a mix of hatred and awe.

That was... the aura of a natural enemy.

That was... the only power capable of completely killing "Ancient Gods" like them!

"Kylin..."

The exquisitely beautiful woman's head in the very center spoke slowly.

Her voice was no longer an ethereal song, but an ancient, hoarse language, heavy with the vicissitudes of endless time.

Yet, strangely, everyone present, including Professor Li, who was listening through communication equipment at the rear base, actually... understood what she meant!

It was as if her language was a "True Word" that acted directly on the soul level.

"On you... is his 'Mark'..."

"Mortal... who... are you?"

"I am the one here to take him home."

Lin Tianyi suppressed the immense fear stemming from the suppression of life levels, maintaining a facade of calm. He didn't know if this move was correct; it was purely a gamble he made at the critical moment of life and death, based on instinct!

He was gambling that Zhang Qilin's existence held special significance to these "Ancient Gods" behind the door!

He was gambling that this scar left by the Qilin Blood was their only... "Pass"!

"Home?"

Xiangliu's woman head tilted slightly, seemingly trying to understand the meaning of the word, and then it let out a low, mocking laugh.

"Here... is his 'home'."

"He is the great 'Gatekeeper,' the 'Lock' that suppresses the 'Abyss'."

"And we..."

Its other eight hideous heads slowly lowered. The massive heads touched the black rock road beneath their feet gently, with a hint of... reverence.

"We are the 'Jailers'."

"Jailers?!"

This word left everyone feeling incredulous.

Such powerful, god-like monsters actually... called themselves jailers?

"You do not understand..." Xiangliu seemed to see through their confusion, its voice distant and ethereal. "This 'door' does not lead to any world. The 'door' itself is a... 'Seal'."

"At the end of this 'Divine Path,' upon the 'Throne of Guixu,' sits our 'King,' who is also the one you seek... the 'Kylin'."

"He sacrificed his own body and soul, merging with the 'rules' of this place to reignite the 'Fire of the Seal' that was about to extinguish, nailing those... true 'terrors' that were about to break free from the 'Abyss'... back into place."

Xiangliu's words exploded in everyone's minds like claps of thunder!

Professor Li at the rear base was trembling with excitement, frantically recording something in his notebook.

"Myths... the myths are all true! Yu the Great tamed the floods and slew Xiangliu... perhaps what he slew was only a 'clone' or 'projection' of Xiangliu! And its 'true body,' along with other ancient fierce gods, were all... sealed!"

"And the core of the seal... is the Tomb Guardians! It is Zhang Qilin, who possesses the Kylin Bloodline!"

"He wasn't trapped... he... chose to become a part of the seal!"

This truth was far more cruel, and also far more... magnificent, than they had imagined.

Zhang Qilin was not asking for help.

"Seek me."

These two words, perhaps, did not mean "Find me, then save me."

But rather... "Find me, and then... replace me." Or... "Kill me."

Because once this "Lock" of his had a problem, then what was being suppressed... would be the "Abyss" that could destroy both worlds!

"Then... those monsters invading our world..." Lin Tianyi's voice was a bit hoarse.

"That is the whisper of the 'Abyss,' a 'trace' of aura that leaked out when the seal loosened." Xiangliu's tone was full of disdain. "Just a trace of aura is enough to pollute your fragile world. If he hadn't 'returned to his position' in time, your world... would have long since turned into scorched earth."

"Now, do you understand? Mortals."

Xiangliu raised those eight hideous heads again, its golden vertical pupils becoming cold and ruthless once more.

"He cannot leave. Nor can he... die."

"And you, intruders carrying the aura of the 'outside world,' will interfere with the stability of the seal."

"So..."

"Please... stay as well."

"Become... new nourishment on this Divine Path."

The moment the words fell, the killing intent, like a tangible tsunami, erupted!

The head breathing flames suddenly opened its massive mouth, and a dragon's breath, capable of melting steel, poured down upon the four of them like a waterfall!

At the same time, the head wreathed in ice also exhaled a freezing breath, blocking all their paths of retreat!

Fire and ice, one in front and one behind, formed a deadly trap!

"Run!"

Lin Tianyi shouted!

He knew that any resistance was meaningless in the face of absolute power!

But, where to run?

Just at this critical moment, Song Yiqing suddenly gave a muffled grunt of pain. He clutched his head and knelt on one knee, but a hint of ecstasy appeared on his face!

"It's Brother Xiaoge! It's Brother Xiaoge helping us!"

He roared: "Follow my feeling! This way!"

He pointed fiercely to the side of the road, at the... dark gap between the two massive stone pillars!

In his "Qi Sense," just in that instant, a faint yet incredibly familiar and warm golden energy suddenly came from the end of the Divine Path, like a guiding beacon, carving out a... "path" for them in that darkness which seemed empty!

Without any hesitation!

Lin Tianyi grabbed the Fatty, and Wang Xianzhi hoisted the nearly collapsed Song Yiqing. The four of them used all their strength and leaped towards the dark gap!

Just as they leaped into the darkness.

Boom——!!!!

Flames and ice collided violently, erupting with an earth-shattering roar and clouds of steam!

The black rock ground where they had stood was half-burned into crimson glass and half-frozen into powder!

"Hmm?"

Xiangliu's woman head let out a soft sound of surprise.

It could feel that the four mortals were not dead.

They... had vanished.

Vanished into thin air from its perception.

"Is it your power... King..."

Its massive golden vertical pupils gazed towards the end of the Divine Path, into that eternal darkness. In its eyes, a hint of... helplessness and... loneliness was revealed.

"You, after all... still do not trust us..."

...

On the other side.

Lin Tianyi and the other three felt as if they had fallen into a bottomless abyss.

A sense of weightlessness enveloped them.

Around them was absolute darkness and nothingness.

After an unknown amount of time, a solid sensation finally came from beneath their feet.

They fell heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Cough, cough... what the hell kind of place is this?" The Fatty was the first to crawl up and turn on his searchlight.

The light beam shone, illuminating their surroundings.

This was no longer that oppressive black Divine Path.

But a... place similar to an ancient tomb chamber.

The walls of the tomb chamber were covered in murals.

The content of the murals made everyone gasp.

The first mural depicted a massive, planet-like... towering giant tree. The branches of the giant tree connected countless different worlds, among which was their familiar... Earth.

The second mural showed a group of winged, god-like people living on the giant tree. They created technology and also mastered the power of bloodlines.

The third mural depicted a war breaking out among the gods. One half advocated for pure technology and order (Purifiers), while the other half advocated for preserving emotion and bloodline (Tomb Guardians ancestors). The war shattered the foundation of the World Tree.

The fourth mural showed the core of the "Purifiers" created by the technology faction losing control and beginning to backlash against its masters.

The fifth mural showed the ancestors of the bloodline faction sacrificing themselves to exile the out-of-control "Purifiers" core, along with their own surviving bloodline descendants (Tomb Guardians), and those ancient, uncontrollable "Fierce Gods" (Xiangliu, etc.), all together... into a created "box" called "Guixu."

The sixth mural depicted that bronze door. Outside the door was the real world. Inside the door was "Guixu." And Zhang Qilin was sitting upright behind the door, with countless chains connected to his body; those chains pierced deeply into the throne beneath him, and... the entire world behind the door.

He, with his own strength, became a... "Human Gate"!

"This... this is..." Song Yiqing looked at these murals, shocked beyond measure.

This was the... historical truth, even more ancient and complete than what "Zhulong" had spoken of!

Their Tomb Guardians family, as well as those so-called "Ancient Gods," had been a group of... exiled prisoners from the very beginning!

"Look there!" Wang Xianzhi suddenly pointed to the center of the tomb chamber.

In the center of the tomb chamber, there was a small stone platform.

On the stone platform, something lay quietly.

It was a... simple, ancient... ghost-face mask made of bronze.

Beside the mask, a line of text was carved.

The characters were written with iron strokes and silver hooks, piercing deep into the stone wall.

"Wear it."

"You will be able to... see me."

"But the price is... you will... see... all 'truths'."

The signature was a... surname they were all too familiar with.

"Zhang."

This was the... guidance left for them by Zhang Qilin.

He could not leave the throne, could not meet with them.

But he had prepared... a "medium" for them.

A... medium that could communicate with his soul.

Lin Tianyi walked forward slowly.

He knew that this choice had to be made by him.

He reached out and picked up that cold, heavy... bronze ghost-face mask.

What would he see?

The "truth" that drove "Zhulong" mad after seeing it?

Or... the endless loneliness and pain that Zhang Qilin was suffering alone?

He did not know.

But he knew he had to do it.

Under the nervous gaze of his companions, Lin Tianyi slowly...

Put the mask on his own face.