amaotonovel Chapter 421 Entering the Stone Temple
Chapter 421 Entering the Stone Temple
The icicle brushed past the dragon's tail and slammed into the ground, and the splashed ice left a bloody mark on Xiao Zi's hind leg.
The rat man clung to the dragon scales tightly, his tail stiff with fear: "I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die..."
Gu Yang's fighting style was much more brutal. His fists were wrapped with dazzling spiritual power. Instead of retreating, he advanced and soared into the sky towards the falling icicles.
"Smash them all for me!" He punched the nearest ice pillar, and the ice body as thick as a palace pillar instantly exploded into ice crystals all over the sky.
The force of his punch continued unabated, shattering three icicles in succession and clearing a safe area in the icy rain.
Hu Qing, however, was suspended in place without moving. His robes fluttered, and his right hand pointed like a sword. Every icicle that attacked him was crushed into powder by the invisible sword energy three feet away.
His gaze penetrated the chaotic icy fog and locked onto the depths of the clouds—where a huge, blurry black shadow was wriggling.
"It's not a natural disaster..." A cold light flashed in Hu Qing's eyes.
The outline of the dark shadow was clearly some kind of creature, and it was carrying out this icicle attack in a regular manner.
What's even more suspicious is that the other party's appearance was too coincidental, as if...
"Just waiting for us to let our guard down!"
"Then why are you taking action now? What do you want us to do?"
"boom--!"
Another giant icicle hit everyone's feet, and the flying ice fragments cut through Xiao Zi's scales like a blade, leaving a string of blood beads.
The rat man hugged Xiao Zi's neck tightly, and the hair on his tail exploded.
"Ao...Woo" Xiao Zi roared. The dragon's wings were covered with frost, and every flap of the wings became extremely difficult.
Hu Qing swung his sword to smash the oncoming icicles, and suddenly caught a glimpse of something strange out of the corner of his eye—
The stone temple door, which had always been tightly closed, suddenly opened a crack silently.
The dark temple seemed like a huge mouth waiting for its prey to fall into its trap, exuding an indescribable weirdness.
But there is no other choice now.
"Open the temple gates, everyone enter!" Hu Qing acted decisively and grabbed Xiao Zi's front paws. "Don't worry about the wind and snow!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yang immediately grabbed the rat man by the scruff of the neck and rushed towards the stone temple like lightning.
The four of them almost stumbled into the temple. Hu Qing, who was at the back, swung his hand and a stream of sword energy split the pursuing ice pillar in half.
"boom!"
The stone temple gate suddenly closed with a dull thud after everyone entered.
In an instant, the sound of the raging wind and snow outside and the roar of icicles falling to the ground all disappeared without a trace.
The temple fell into deathly silence, with only the rapid breathing of a few people echoing in the empty darkness.
"This...it stops now?" The rat man's voice trembled. He carefully broke free from Gu Yang's hand and turned back into human form.
Xiao Zi collapsed to the ground, his dragon wings spread out weakly, and a mixture of ice and water continued to drip from between his scales.
Inside the stone temple, dust that had been silent for many years floated slowly in the dim light, as if countless tiny ghosts were wandering in the air.
The sound of people's footsteps broke the long silence. Every step stirred up a gray mist, choking people and making them cough.
The breathing sounds particularly heavy in the enclosed space, as if even the air has become sticky.
Suddenly, a ray of soft light dispelled the darkness and illuminated the surroundings.
Gu Yang took out a spirit stone lamp from his bosom, and the bright blue light reflected on everyone's faces——
Hu Qing looked calm, his eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly;
The little purple dragon coiled around Hu Qing's shoulder. Although there were a few shallow scars on its scales, its purple eyes were still bright and lively, and it looked around curiously.
The rat man shrank his neck, his pointed nose twitching slightly, obviously full of resistance to this place.
Hu Qing reached out and gently stroked the little purple dragon's back, a faint green halo appearing on his fingertips as he checked its injuries.
The little purple dragon squinted its eyes comfortably, rubbed his palm, then raised its head and looked excitedly into the depths of the stone temple, its tail tip wagging gently, obviously unable to wait to explore.
The rat man rubbed his paws nervously and whispered, "My lords, do we really need to go in?
There's no aura of treasure here, instead there's a... weird feeling."
His shrill voice echoed in the empty stone temple, sounding particularly eerie.
Gu Yang glanced at him and snorted coldly: "If you are afraid of death, don't follow me in."
With that, he strode towards the gate of the stone temple, placed his hands on the heavy stone slabs, and pushed and pulled hard.
However, the gate did not move at all, but faint blue runes gradually appeared on the surrounding walls.
As Gu Yang exerted more strength, the runes glowed brighter and brighter, as if resisting his power.
As soon as he let go, the blue light quickly faded away, as if it had never appeared.
Hu Qing approached the wall, his fingertips gently stroking the ancient runes, his brows slightly furrowed.
"This is troublesome. These runes seem to connect the door to the entire stone temple. Breaking it down by force probably won't work."
He turned to look at Gu Yang, "It seems that we can only go inside."
Gu Yang dusted off his hands, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes:
"That's perfect! I want to see what secrets this dilapidated temple hides."
The little purple dragon could no longer contain himself. He jumped lightly from Hu Qing's shoulder, landed on all four paws, and trotted happily into the depths.
He turned back and winked at the two of them, motioning them to follow.
The rat man had a bitter face, but seeing that the two had made up their minds, he could only bite the bullet and follow, muttering to himself:
"I hope I don't run into anything weird..."
Deep in the stone temple, darkness surged like a tide, and the light from the spirit stone lamp could only illuminate a few steps ahead.
Unknown dangers may be lurking in the shadows, waiting for their arrival.
Everyone walked slowly down the stone steps. When the soles of Gu Yang's boots just touched the ice, a slight "click" sound was heard in the silence, as if some mechanism had been triggered.
Immediately afterwards, the lamps embedded in the walls on both sides lit up one after another. The dim white flames swayed silently in the ice-crystal lamp holders, illuminating the entire corridor like a fantasy.
The sudden light made Hu Qing squint slightly.
After the vision adjusted, the scene before me was fully revealed -
This is a straight passage. The ground is made of hard ice, as smooth as a mirror, and can almost reflect people's reflections.
However, beneath the ice is a bottomless darkness, as if one would fall into the abyss if one took a wrong step.
Hu Qing took a cautious step forward, and the soles of his boots rubbed against the ice, making a slight squeaking sound.
He stared down, trying to see through the darkness beneath the ice, but the thick black seemed to swallow up all light and he could not see anything clearly.
"This place... is a bit weird." The rat man shrank his neck, his claws nervously grabbing the corner of his clothes, and his shrill voice was particularly clear in the empty corridor.
Hu Qing did not respond, but closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to release his spiritual sense to explore the surroundings.
However, as soon as his spiritual consciousness extended out, it was like a drop in the ocean, and was instantly absorbed by the wall.
He opened his eyes and frowned slightly: "There is a formation on the wall, and spiritual consciousness cannot penetrate it."
Gu Yang snorted coldly, squatted down with the spirit stone lamp in hand, and brought the light close to the ice surface.
The faint light shines through the crystal ice, but it still cannot illuminate the darkness below, as if it is another world, and once the light enters, it will be completely swallowed up.
"What on earth is down there..."
The little purple dragon came over curiously, placed its front paws lightly on the ice, and tilted its head to look down.
Its breath sprayed on the ice, condensing into a small piece of white frost, but it quickly disappeared without a trace.
"Don't touch it! Be careful of the trap!"
Hu Qing reminded in a low voice and reached out to gently press Xiao Zilong's head.
The little purple dragon blinked and retracted its claws obediently, but couldn't help but glance under the ice.
Gu Yang stood up and looked towards the end of the passage.
The lights there were not lit, and the place was still shrouded in thick darkness, like a silent mouth waiting to devour intruders.
"It seems that we can only move forward." He gripped the spirit stone lamp tightly, his tone filled with a hint of excitement as if he was eager to try.
Hu Qing nodded, his eyes calm: "Be careful, there are strange things everywhere here."
The little purple dragon was the first to step onto the ice. He jumped twice tentatively, and his claws touched the ice, making a crisp "tapping" sound.
Seeing that the ice was solid, it turned its head and winked at Hu Qing and the others, gently wagging its tail to indicate that it was safe.
The rat man stretched out his claws tremblingly and tapped the ice several times before he dared to step firmly on it.