Chapter 386: Inspecting the Death Cube
Spacewind crossed the air. Uruselam flew beside him, while the other twenty-two B-Grades followed.
Their speed was tremendous. The jungle blurred below them, and the clouds passed by and disappeared in seconds. There were many occasions when jungle creatures flew up to attack them, but they were all easily obliterated.
These twenty-four people each possessed the power to crack planets. They were not a procession that could be stopped.
Finally, after flying for many hours, Spacewind focused. Were here, he said.
A massive temple rose in the distance. Or, perhaps, it was more accurate to call it a mountain. Its height reached ten miles into the sky, easily piercing all clouds, while its base stretched for dozens of miles all around. It was made of precisely cut stone, so that it really did resemble a temple, except gargantuan.
The more the B-Grades approached, the more apparent the temples size became. It really was a massive mountain that someone had carved into a temple. The effort poured into this was insane.
Then again, since this place used to be someones inner world, many impossible things could happen.
The group stopped before the temple. They were like ants in the face of a massive treecompletely inconsequential. No matter how they looked, they were unable to see the its roof or sides. It simply took up their world.
Of course, as B-Grades, they possessed Dao perceptions that could cover the entire temple. Its shape was clear in their mindsa glided rooftop of valley-sized bricks, surrounded by miles of religious carvings. Some displayed gods, some demons, some mortals; in such lengthy engravings, all sorts of scenes could be found, but the general theme seemed to be about a massive dragon helping the world prosper. This dragon laughed with gods, killed devils, and was worshiped by mortals. Perhaps it was a god itself, but the drawing style indicated that was not the case.
More dragons, Spacewind muttered, closing his eyes to better inspect the temple.
Nature is beautiful, said Uruselam, cupping his hands. We pay our deep respects, Elder Dragon. It is need that led us here, not desire. Please take no offense as we enter your temple to look for our survival. We will try to leave everything intact.
He bowed. Everyone followed, including Spacewind, though he snorted coldly on the inside.
He was familiar with Uruselam. This was a monk-looking individual who possessed no grace at all. No matter what he said now, he would rob this place clean and take away even the floor tiles if they were precious.
But, places like this often contained hints of their creators will. Speaking pretty words couldnt hurt.
The base of the temple was one with the ground, since it was originally a mountain, and its roof was covered in large bricks. Its sides and back were lined with gigantic columns, each multiple miles high and hundreds of feet in diameter. Behind those columns was a wall, indicating that one should not enter from there.
The only place not covered by that wall was the front of the temple, but it did not have a door. Rather, it was a wall of flat stone riddled with holes. In that sense, the entrance of the temple was more like a beehive than an actual entrance.
On closer inspection, there were ninety-nine circular holes, each ranging from a hundred feet to half a mile in diameter. The space inside was pitch-black; and, as the B-Grades tried to scan it with their Dao perception, a mysterious force stopped them.
Its blocked, Uruselam said, furrowing his brows. His voice grew more earnest, dropping the monk facade a bit. We should be careful. This is the inheritance of an A-Gradeany defenses still operating can easily destroy us all.
Are you going to chicken out? Spacewind asked.
Of course not. Since we are here, we may as well experience this seniors methods.
Uruselam cupped his hands again, while Spacewind bravely gazed ahead. As his title indicated, he specialized in space and speed. If anything went wrong, he had the highest chances of surviving.
The B-Grade group approached the temples entrance. They chose a hole that was three hundred feet in diameterneither too large nor too small. They stopped a mile away.
Let me test it, Uruselam said. Muttering some incoherent prayer, the phantasmal image of a golden buddha appeared behind him. This buddha extended its arm, which grew impossibly long, all the way until it reached the entrance of the hole. It tried to enter. A pale green barrier appeared out of thin air, blocking the hands advance.
There is an energy barrier, Uruselam said, but it is not offensive.
The same barrier covers all the holes, Spacewind added. He had been observing the entire temple just now, and he saw the same green light flicker everywhere. There is no other way in. We have to get past this barrier.
With the grace of the Immortals, we will succeed, Uruselam prayed again.
Spacewind gave him an odd look. Since you possess their grace, how about you attack first?
This old monk already scouted out the barrier. My friend Spacewind doesnt need to be modestfell free to participate.
Spacewind cursed inwardly, then turned towards the entrance. They remained a mile away. By now, it had become clear that breaking this barrier was their only way forward, and there was no visible core or weakness to tamper with. They could only resort to brute force.
He drew out a long sword, then casually swiped it out. A wave of black energy was emitted from the blade, shaped as a sword slash, and it impacted against the distant barrier.
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This was in no way Spacewinds all-out attack. It was just a light probing strike, but it still contained the power to slice through a normal mountain range. Yet, as this black slash rushed forth, the barrier only flickered slightly. The blade dissipated like a stone thrown into the sea, and the barrier shone for a brief moment before turning invisible again.
No counterattack, Spacewind observed. Its defensive properties are remarkable, but its regeneration is a bit too slow. If we all combine forces and constantly attack the barrier, we could overwhelm its regeneration and slowly whittle it away. What do you think, Uruselam?
The old monk thought for a second. Brilliant observation, he finally said. With everyone working together, I believe it should only take us a few days. There seems to be no danger, either.
Good. Spacewind nodded.
Twenty-four B-Grades joining forces to slowly break apart a single barrier was not a noble sight. Yet, it was all they could do. This place was meant for A-Grades, or at least peak B-Grades. These twenty-four people were all at the early B-Grade. Just being able to enter was fortunate.
As things had turned out, Spacewind and Uruselam had no illusions of grasping this temples core inheritances. They would be satisfied with any tiny opportunity they could getat the level of this temples creator, even the items they casually left around would be considered massive lucky chances to an early B-Grade.
The twenty-four of them quickly organized into four teams of six. The teams would take turns attacking the barrier with their full power, changing every hour. At their level, nobody needed to sleep or even rest much. By constantly attacking, in just a few days, they would break the barrier and access the temple.
The treasures inside could make even people like them salivate.
***
Deep inside a vibrant jungle, beneath a thousand-foot waterfall, was a tiny cave. It was only recently created; the stone walls were rough and sloppy, while no moss or insects had infiltrated it yet.
This cave was the temporary dwelling of two people; Jack and Brock.
After taking the four fruits of the Tree Dragon, the two of them had adventured for another three days. Nothing important occurred; they ran into a few lucky chances, but none comparable to the dragon fruits.
As for those fruits, Jack and Brock had long consumed them. The energy they contained was pure and massive; it had pushed Jacks third fruit closer to maturity, while Brock had just developed his own third fruit.
Right now, for a short period of time, the two of them were at the same boundary! Jacks happiness was hard to put into words.
But their goal here wasnt just to hunt lucky chances. They would remain in this hidden realm for an unknown amount of timeand Jack, who had recently received Elder Boatmans insights and death cube, had many things to meditate on.
The waterfall crashed down hard, spraying moisture into the air. Inside the cave, Jack and Brock sat cross-legged on opposite ends, each sunk into their own meditation.
Brock was taking inspiration from the dense life energy in the atmosphere to tackle the Dao of Life.
Jack sat cross-legged, a small dark cube held between his hands. His fingers traced its surface, going from side to side, touching the edges. The cube was so black it sucked in the light, making it almost impossible to see clearly. However, Jacks perception could capture extremely shallow lines on its surface.
There were exactly 999 lines. Each formed a complete circuit, with no beginning or end. Some were short, and some were long. Some were straight, while others were curved or even tied into knots. These lines were all intersecting into infinite shapes, forming patterns that were completely random and pointless, or at least seemed so.
Though Jack had had this cube for three days, this was the first time he seriously inspected it. He was puzzled. Just what was this cubes secret?
His perception sank inside, reaching the cubes very core but finding only stone. There was nothing there. Even its surface was nothing but carved stone. Then, where did its aura of death come from?
What a riddle he thought, his excitement rising. Cultivators pursued knowledge; therefore, they yearned for the unknown. Facing this cube that should contain nothing magical yet clearly emitted a powerful death aura, he was nothing but expectant.
Is it the material? he wondered. It did seem suspicious. Jacks perception was extremely sharp by now; he could detect even the tiniest imperfections, the tiniest marks on the stone. Yet, in that sharp perception, this stone seemed completely natural. There was no sign that anyone had cut it into a cube or carved its surface. It was like this perfect cube had sprang into existence in its current state.
But that was impossible.
Or was it?
Even on Earth, all sorts of materials came with angles. Crystals, ore It wouldnt be impossible for one of them to be shaped as a perfect cube, accurate to the atom. Extremely unlikely, sure, but not impossible. Then, if that material remained in a volatile area for a long time, it wouldnt be surprising for random marks to appear on its surface.
Of course, for those marks to be exactly 999 and have no ends, there had to be magic involved. Plus, even if the cube was placed at the bottom of the sea, there would always be one side touching the soil; how could all six of its sides be equally engraved?
On the other hand, if it was artificial, there would certainly be some evidence.
The origin of this cube was too mysterious. Even the material it was made of was a mystery to Jack. It felt like particularly hard stone. As for its color, that was even more of a mystery; even the dark void of space wasnt that black. Back on Earth, hed once visited his universitys chemistry labs and witnessed vantablack, an artificial color that absorbed over ninety-nine percent of light. Even that vantablack seemed like a sun before this thing.
Moreover, light was energy. Something that absorbed all light should be burning hot, but this stone was cool to the touch, even chilly.
Chilly like death.
Jack took a deep breath. He calmed his mind and closed his eyes, entering deeper meditation. His perception focused on the cube, observing every edge, every side, every line. He wanted to map those lines. He could sense that whatever secret this cube contained, the lines were the clue.
Everything else disappeared completely. The lines became his entire world, 999 of them. Each was unique; they curved differently, had different depths and widths at various points, and they intersected with all others in a million ways.
Jack may have had an enhanced mind, but this was just too much.
He focused on one line. He chose it randomly. It started around a corner of the cube, heading towards the center of one side and then dipping back to its origin to form an oval shape. Simple. Easy. A great starting point.
His mind observed this line with the intensity of a C-Grade. Yet, it was a line. There wasnt much to observe.
He persisted. His perception dug deeper. He followed the line in a full cycle, then another. It started off shallow, then deepened gradually. It was narrow then wide, finally reaching its limit. It intersected with another line; this wasnt its first intersection so far, but there was something different about it. It was violent. Hard. Jagged. Like the two lines had clashed against each other. The other line continued, getting slightly deeper, but Jacks line seemed to lose its vigor. It grew shallow. Thin. It stopped advancing and dipped back, running parallel to its previous course to reach what Jack considered its starting point, the thinnest and shallowest it had been.
It made a full circle.
Jack paused. His forehead was wrinkled. There was something there. Did the line represent a life? It had grown stronger until it clashed against another line, lost, then weakened until it died and returned to its starting point?
What exactly was its meaning?
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