Chapter Sixteen: As if the Gods had Descended upon the Dust

  Apart from the pestle, several people also found a damaged incense burner, a ruler, a copper bell and a fish drum.

  Among them, the female classmate who was sympathized by Ye Fan and looked haggard at the class reunion found a special object. It was a complete rosary with only six beads, crystal clear, pale gold in color, like crystal, each one as big as a longan fruit.

  "Could this be made of sarira?" someone next to him said in surprise and doubt.

  These six beads are all pale gold crystals, very much like exquisite gems, easily making people think of the relics left behind by ancient Buddhas after their nirvana, after all, this is an object that exists in the Daluo Temple, and its material will not be simple.

  This string of beads is not ordinary, it was discovered by that female classmate unintentionally from the top of a stone Buddha. Six beads are strung together with a transparent thread, each with a blurry human figure pattern on it, in different postures.

  This is the third complete and intact artifact after Ye Fan's bronze lamp and Zhou Yi's bowl, of course, the bronze lamp is still the most eye-catching, after all, this is the only ancient lamp that has not been stained with dust, shining brightly and steadily, anyone can see that it is extraordinary.

  In the ancient temple, there were several scorching rays of light that occasionally glanced at the copper lamp. Ye Fan sensed it, but didn't show any signs of it. He faced everything very calmly.

  The Buddha Hall of Dalai Temple has been searched thoroughly and nothing else was found. Everyone retreated from there.

  Pang Bo was the most depressed, with more than a dozen people finding ancient artifacts one after another. He was the first person to enter the temple, but until now, he had not gained anything and had found nothing.

  Standing in front of the temple, Pang Bo re-examined the ancient temple, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He took a few big steps back, moved several large stones to prop up the base, and then removed the copper plaque with "Daleiyin Temple" engraved on it, leaving many people present stunned.

  Then everyone suddenly realized that this bronze plaque was extraordinary, having been washed by the wind and frost, and having gone through the test of time, not a speck of dust had been left on it, and its surface was extremely clean. It is worth noting that among all the objects in the ancient temple, only that ancient bronze lamp was free from dust, and this bronze plaque was also like that, obviously extraordinary.

  "It's really heavy..." Pang Bo dragged the bronze bell back, he had just left the temple, and the entire ancient temple began to shake. The stone Buddha inside suddenly cracked, making a "creaking" sound.

  "Om mani padme hum..."

  The majestic Buddha's voice resounded throughout the universe, shaking the heavens, and all six directions of the world were trembling!

  The compassionate, majestic, wonderful and mysterious Zen sound is unparalleled in its grandeur, washing away all impurities, cleansing all worldly dust, and bathing the ancient temple surroundings in a holy and peaceful glow.

  This time it was absolutely not an illusion. Not only did Ye Fan and Pang Bo hear it, but all the others were also shocked into silence, like wooden carvings or clay figurines.

  At the same time, all objects found in the Buddha hall by everyone, whether intact or damaged, emitted a soft glow, shining brightly and astonishing every single person.

  But in the end, with a loud "boom", the stone Buddha inside the ancient temple was crushed into powder and turned to dust. The Dajue Temple also disintegrated into dust in a gentle breeze.

  "Hmm"

  At the same time, the ancient Bodhi tree standing beside it also shattered into pieces. There were no wood chips or withered branches, only a vast expanse of flying ash drifting gently downwards.

  Next, the Buddhist instruments in everyone's hands retracted their brilliance and all became dull again, returning to normal.

  Everyone was stunned and didn't know why such a thing happened. Was it because the Buddhist instruments were taken away from the temple, or was it because the copper signboard was removed?

  The ancient temple was left with only a pile of ashes, nothing was left. Ye Fan gazed for a moment and said: "Take away the various Buddhist instruments, take down the plaque of the ancient temple, let the already abandoned Daliyin Temple lose its meaning to exist, perhaps this is the reason why it scattered in the wind."

  Zhou Yiping was normally gentle and elegant, but at this moment he was extremely excited, his eyes gleaming with an unusual light. "I am now even more determined," he said. "There really are gods in this world, and perhaps we can follow the tracks they have left behind to move forward. The various things that happened to us today may be a great opportunity for us."

  Gods, Buddhas, immortals... These absurd legends are now being brought up, and no one will think it's too ridiculous. The facts in front of us imply that many common sense can be overturned, and gods do not absolutely exist.

  "Advancing along the footprints left by the gods... it's easy to say, but I don't see any hope." Pang Bo glanced at Zhou Yi and said, "For now, finding a way to survive is the most important thing. In this desolate desert, there are no villages ahead or shops behind, no water source, no food, and in another seven or eight hours, the situation will likely become extremely dire."

  "Various signs indicate that this planet is likely to be Mars, and we all know that there can't be a living environment on Mars." Li Xiaoman's voice was clear and moving. After some events, she became more calm and continued: "If there really are gods, then maybe it can explain everything, here is just a small pure land on Mars."

  As soon as she finished speaking, the reddish-brown earth suddenly began to rumble with loud thunder, and the vast expanse of land shook violently, as if thousands of horses were galloping by, or a raging sea was surging forward.

  "Sandstorm... a super-large storm on Mars!" Li Xiaoman's companion, Kade, changed his expression and shouted in unfluent Chinese.

  Mars is shrouded in massive dust storms for about a quarter of the year, while Earth's largest typhoons reach speeds of over 60 meters per second, Martian storms can reach speeds of up to 180 meters per second, and superstorms can engulf the entire planet.

  Even if it's a human being, even a heavy tank will be swept up into the sky!

  In an instant, the stars and moon in the sky all disappeared, endless red-brown sand and dust completely covered the sky, a storm that swept across the entire planet of Mars began.

  "No, there's no storm here..."

  Just now many people were terrified, thinking that a disaster had struck, but at this moment everyone found that the storm was raging in the distance, but it was calm and peaceful up close.

  With the Five-Colored Festival Altar and the Great Thunder Sound Temple as the axis, a hazy circular canopy with a diameter of over 1,000 meters was formed, covering the sky above this region, isolating it from the outside world.

  What Li Xiaoman said has come true, this is indeed a small pure land, with supernatural forces blocking the storm, indirectly proving that gods may exist, and this may be a place protected by the gods.

  "No, that faint light is fading into darkness and is about to disappear!" A female classmate who was gazing up at the sky turned pale.

  The dim light curtain in the sky is gradually disappearing, and it will probably be completely gone soon. After seeing this scene, everyone's face changed color, death was so close, no one could remain calm.

  "What should we do? Are we really going to die here?" Some people's voices were trembling.

  "I don't want to die..." Some of my female classmates cried out loud.

  "If the dome disappears, we'll be crushed by the super storm!" Even the male classmates felt a sense of horror, this only pure land on Mars would cease to exist, and there would no longer be any space for survival.

  Rumble...

  The storm was rumbling like thunder, the entire earth seemed to be shaking with it, the sky and the ground were hazy, everywhere was filled with crazy sand, fear was spreading among people.

  Ye Fan's eyes were still clear and bright as he gazed out at the sandstorm that covered the sky, his voice calm as he said, "Perhaps now there is only one way to survive."

  "Can we escape? Quick, what's the way?"

  "This pure land will no longer exist, where else can we survive?!"

  At the critical moment of life and death, everyone was extremely anxious, and many people lost their composure.

  "Let's move forward along the path that the gods have trodden, and leave this environment where we can't survive." Ye Fan said.

  At this moment, some people understood Ye Fan's idea, but there were still many people who didn't understand.

  "Not bad, this might be the only way out." Zhou Yi nodded in agreement.

  According to Ye Fan's speculation, in that distant past, the gods opened up the ancient starry sky road, which can lead from Earth to Mars, but this may not be the ultimate destination.

  There is also a five-colored altar on Mars, which may be connected to the more distant starry sky. This is the road that the gods have walked before, and now they will be forced into a desperate situation. Only by continuing along this ancient path can they leave Mars and have hope for survival.

  At this time, everyone understood and rushed quickly towards the Five-Colored Altar.

  Although it was only a kilometer away, the crowd felt as if they were separated by an ocean, this distance concerned their lives and deaths. If the light shield in the sky broke before reaching the Five Color Altar, everyone would undoubtedly die.

  The vast ruins of the Heavenly Palace, littered with rubble everywhere. This is a difficult journey, and because they are moving too quickly, some people sprain their feet here, but they dare not stop for even a moment, gritting their teeth in pain and pressing on hastily, unwilling to fall behind.

  Even if they arrive safely at the Five-Colored Altar, whether or not they can open up the Ancient Road of the Starry Sky is still an unknown quantity. This is a huge shadow that looms over everyone's hearts. To know that everything was passive when they were on Mount Tai. However, there is no choice now, and that place is their only lifeline. For now, they can only rush there first and think of a solution later.

  "Ah......" A female classmate suddenly let out a scream while running in the ruins, and with a "thud", she fell to the ground motionless.

  Her face was filled with a terrified expression, and on her forehead there was a thumb-sized blood hole, with fresh blood flowing out profusely, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying before she died.

  "What's going on?!" The crowd felt a chill run down their spines, filled with fear in their hearts. A lively life had suddenly come to an end, just a moment ago still among everyone, but now forever gone, so sudden and unexpected.

  "Don't go near her!" Ye Fan stopped two male classmates who wanted to approach the body. He remembered the snow-white skull he saw on his way here, also with a hole in the center of the forehead about the size of a finger, and the same cause of death. A bad premonition arose in his heart.

  "We desecrated the Great Thunder Sound Temple, it can't be... is God punishing us?" A female classmate's voice trembled, her heart filled with terror.

  "Even if there is a god, the Buddha is also merciful." Zhou Yi interrupted her words to prevent fear from spreading, saying: "We can't take her away for now, we can only let her rest here. Now we must hurry back to the Five Color Altar."

  No one hesitated; at this moment of life and death, they couldn't care about the corpse of that female classmate.

  "Suddenly, the bell tolled, its sound sonorous and solemn, as if the great bells of China were vibrating."

  Extremely dazzling golden light burst forth from Wang Ziteng, his entire body enveloped in a resplendent golden glow, as if he had donned a thick layer of golden armor, extremely eye-catching, like a golden divine flame burning.

  In Wang Ziwen's hand, the broken copper bell was shaking gently, and the majestic sound was emitted from it. The dazzling golden light also came from it.

  "What happened?" Liu Yunzhi asked him closely, extremely tense.

  "Just now something attacked me..." Wang Ziwu was usually gentle and refined, but at this moment he was enveloped in golden flames, as if wearing a suit of golden armor, with an air of majesty, just like a god descending to the mortal world.