Chapter 58: Chapter 55 Will Power Pattern_1
Both of them were silent, hurrying on their way, but they didn’t split up. In this situation, they had to work together if they wanted a chance to escape.
They crossed several mountain peaks in succession.
Coo coo...
Chirp chirp...
Ahead, they heard the chirping of birds.
How could there be birds singing in this pouring rain?
Lu Yan’s face turned serious. "It’s the call signal from the Liu Family and Wu Family. They’re closing in from the deep part of the forbidden area."
The Liu Family and Wu Family had sealed off the forbidden area, not just from one side but from all sides.
That is to say, there were high-level fighters from both feudal lords stationed in the depths of the forbidden area.
No matter which direction they went, there were people.
"Looks like we’ll have to break through."
The pot-carrying girl held up her pot in one hand and a shovel in the other.
"Not necessarily," Lu Yan shook his head.
"Oh, you have a plan?"
The pot-carrying girl looked curiously at Lu Yan.
"Follow me."
Lu Yan continued onward.
Soon, they arrived at the base of a massive mountain. The mountain’s surroundings were all steep cliffs.
Lu Yan had originally planned to enter deeper into the forbidden area because the Dao Book reacted to it.
The destination of this reaction was this mountain.
But this mountain has not collapsed and is majestic. Where could the Dao Food be?
Lu Yan carefully sensed around the cliffs and finally confirmed that the Dao Food was inside the mountain.
It was similar to the collapsed mountains which had ancient buildings inside that were previously unknown until they were exposed after an earthquake.
"Is this the way out you were talking about?"
The pot-carrying girl looked at Lu Yan as though he was an idiot.
"Haven’t you seen the collapsed mountains? The insides are hollow with ancient buildings, and the interior of this mountain is the same."
"The ancient people who constructed buildings inside the mountain must have left a door. If we find the door and go in, we can avoid being surrounded by the feudal lords, then find an opportunity to escape," Lu Yan explained.
"How do you know there are buildings inside this mountain?"
The pot-carrying girl asked curiously.
"The mountain has spirits, and the spirits of the mountain told me."
Lu Yan bluffed.
The pot-carrying girl rolled her eyes.
"Let’s start looking. We need to find the gateway quickly. We don’t have much time," Lu Yan said.
While communicating with the Dao Book, he began to observe the cliff carefully. Usually, if there’s a doorway, there would be a distinct trigger.
The pot-carrying girl also began to search carefully.
Although she didn’t believe Lu Yan’s blatant lie, she did believe his claim about the building inside the mountain.
No one would joke about their own life.
But the ages had long passed, and all traces had been worn away. After a while, the two of them found no switch for the door.
They started to get a bit anxious.
If they waited any longer, the high-level fighters from the two feudal lords would start searching. Once they were discovered and surrounded by the martial army, they would be sitting ducks.
The two remained calm and continued their search.
"Huh!"
Suddenly, Lu Yan noticed something strange within a bunch of grass.
In the bunch of grass was a slightly protruding rock with faint patterns on it, but after centuries of weathering, it had become very blurred. If one did not observe carefully, it was hardly recognizable.
Lu Yan grabbed the rock and pressed it down firmly. The rock sank downward.
Then, there was a click, and a slight trembling noise came from the cliff. A stone wall moved aside, revealing a dark opening before their eyes.
They did it!
Both of them had a look of joy on their faces. As expected, it was a different world inside the mountain.
Inside the cave was a dark and sinister-looking path.
Neither of them dared to enter the cave at first.
Wang Shun’s words echoed in their ears.
Those ancient ruins were full of traps, and the feudal lords would often use their people’s lives to scout the way.
Lu Yan had an additional worry; this cave hadn’t been opened for an unknown number of years. To rush in carelessly could mean suffocating due to lack of oxygen.
"I’ll bring a rabbit to test the road."
With that, Lu Yan darted into the woods nearby.
With his hunting experience, he returned shortly with a big gray rabbit weighing five or six pounds.
He drove the rabbit into the cave.
The rabbit went inside the cave and nothing unexpected happened.
There’s no danger.
"After entering, we don’t know if it will close on its own or not. We should leave one person outside while the other goes in to explore. If the person inside can’t find the ’key’ to open the door, the person outside can let him out," the pot-carrying girl suggested.
Lu Yan stood still, not saying a word.
"You don’t trust me, do you?"
The scapegoat girl’s lips slightly protruded, radiant as a stunning rose.
"I indeed can’t trust you."
Lu Yan thought, but he knew well that one of them needed to explore, they couldn’t delay any longer.
He observed the entrance to the cave and then stepped inside.
Upon his entry, the girl pressed another switch, causing the stone door to close.
Lu Yan noticed a switch at the back of the door quite easily. It was a stone platform. With a forceful twist, the stone door reopened.
With no obstructions, the girl quickly entered the cave and closed the stone door.
Both sighed in relief. Finding a place to hide relieved some of the threats from the two feudal lords.
But only for the moment.
They couldn’t hide forever, sooner or later they’d need to venture out. If they didn’t starve to death first.
Next, the two looked deeper into the cave.
The large grey rabbit had hopped and skipped tens of meters out with nothing happening.
"Let’s check it out."
The girl heaved her iron pot in hand, following the rabbit.
Lu Yan was speechless, thinking to himself, is this iron pot for cooking food or using as a shield?
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Yan followed, as upon entering the cave, his Dao Book induced a stronger sensation of hunger.
Soon, they reached the end of the passage, a gigantic cave coming into view.
Seemingly hollowing out the entire mountain, some peculiar stones embedded in the side walls emitted a soft glow, the cave was dim, but objects were still visible.
There were numerous statues located on each side of the cave, each unique and unfamiliar to Lu Yan.
In the middle, several altars stood.
Phut!
At that moment, the large grey rabbit ran beneath an altar. Suddenly, the altar emitted a flash of light, and the rabbit exploded into a mess of blood and flesh.
Lu Yan and the scapegoat girl were both taken aback.
As expected, danger was present.
"What kind of pattern was that?"
When the altar flashed, numerous overlapping patterns appeared surrounding it, intertwined like countless small snakes. At a single glance, it would make one’s scalp numb.
"This... could it be the will power pattern?"
The scapegoat girl skittly queried.
Lu Yan, with his sharp hearing caught her whisper, asked, "You recognize it? What is a will power pattern?"
"Before the Dagu Dynasty, there was a bizarre power called Will Power. Prayers and offerings of the living birthed such power. Some powerful beings could use this power to create special patterns displaying astonishing destructive power. That’s what a will power pattern is."
The girl explained.
"You seem to know a lot about the era before the Dagu Dynasty."
Lu Yan commented. To be honest, he was also very interested in that mysterious age.
"Just read some more books and you’ll be knowledgeable too, a lump like you looks like you don’t enjoy reading."
The girl smirks, "Even though the early Dagu Dynasty burned all books related to the era before it, some still remained. Additionally, many ruins from that age still exist...they could not destroy everything. Clues could still be found in these ruins."
"How is the will power pattern broken?"
Lu Yan asked.
His attention was drawn to a statue.
Because this statue held a square block of bronze very similar to his, but a bit larger.
"Unless you master inner strength and forcefully break it, otherwise we’ll have to let time erode it away. As for you and I...don’t even think about trying to destroy it."
The scapegoat girl shook her head.
Lu Yan was somewhat disappointed.
He finally found a piece of Dao Food, would he miss it just like that?
Not saying anything more, the girl squatted down and began to scrutinize it.
Meanwhile, Lu Yan knocked a few small stones off the cave wall and tossed them toward the statues and the surroundings of the altar. When the stones fell, there was no response.
"It’s no use, the activation of the will power pattern requires living creatures. Non-living ones won’t do."
The girl reminded him.
"So what do we do? Do we just wait here? I believe there should be another exit."
Lu Yan said.
The air inside the cave was not stale at all, there was certainly a ventilation hole.
If they could find this ventilation hole, they might be able to get out. Just waiting here, who knew how long it would take.
Moreover, he was on duty. If he disappeared for too long, it might raise suspicion.
"So, we’ll have to use your fresh blood."
The scapegoat girl said.
Lu Yan’s eyebrows furrowed. His qi-blood started to surge, heightening his alertness.
"No need to be so tense. I’m not going to kill you. As humans stand at the top of all life, human blood can activate the will power pattern. Just cut your finger, squeeze out a drop of fresh blood and throw it out. Listen to my command, throw it where I tell you to throw. How about it? You’re not going to let me, a fragile girl, do this, right?"
The girl pouted, seemingly laughing at Lu Yan’s lack of courage.
"Hand me the knife."
Lu Yan stretched his hand.
The girl passed him a small knife.
Lu Yan used it to pierce the tip of his finger, squeezing out a drop of fresh blood.
"Drop it there."
The girl pointed to a spot.
With a slight shake of his arm, Lu Yan flicked a drop of blood, and it landed on the ground.
Suddenly, the ground bloomed with light. The eerie patterns appeared once more. A ray of light swept over the drop of blood, causing it to evaporate instantly.
