Chapter 8: Starry Ancient Road

Everyone fell onto the five-colored altar, knocking over a pile of ancient books made from jade tablets and stone slabs. With a loud crash, the altar became a mess.

The ancient bronze coffin lay beside them, covered in numerous patches of verdigris and rust. Yet, these could not completely obscure the faded bronze engravings, which seemed to depict ancient deities, all of them bearing tearstains.

Being so close, close enough to touch, filled everyone with fear, sending shivers down their spines.

This five-colored altar, built by ancient people countless ages ago for sky worship, made them wonder if those ancient emperors could truly have summoned something.

At that moment, everyone suddenly felt an ancient and desolate aura circulating, stirring their emotions.

With the nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin lying before them, they questioned if the five-colored altar had truly drawn them here.

Legend had it that long before the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor Wu, the ancient Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and Seventy-Two Kings had all performed the Fengshan sacrifices here. What had they, in turn, summoned?

Five-colored light shimmered. The jade tablets and stone slabs on the five-colored altar suddenly became crystalline and translucent. The ancient characters engraved on them all shone brightly, and the entire colossal altar began to emit a soft glow.

A cracking sound echoed. The piles of jade tablets and stone slabs suddenly cracked open, and then streams of light burst forth. The ancient characters engraved on them seemed to come alive, all rushing out and floating in the void.

More ancient characters shimmered, appearing in mid-air. Then, the jade tablets and stone slabs turned to dust in a gentle breeze, their inscribed characters freed from their constraints.

Thousands of ancient characters glowed above the bronze coffin and around the giant pit, appearing as if cast entirely from molten iron, possessing a metallic luster and texture.

Cracking sounds resumed. From the smaller five-colored earth altars nearby, more ancient characters shimmered into existence and floated in the air.

Around the giant bronze coffin, ancient characters swayed like shimmering stars, appearing particularly mysterious under the blood-red sunset.

On Jade Emperor Peak, other people who had not fled during the recent chaos watched Ye Fan and the others fall into the giant pit, then witnessed this strange phenomenon. Filled with terror, they scrambled down the mountain.

In their panic, some stumbled and fell, cries of pain and shouts for help filling the air.

Meanwhile, the glowing ancient characters in mid-air began to converge, gradually forming a colossal Bagua symbol, from which a mysterious power emanated.

It was a breathtaking sight. The ancient characters and symbols, imbued with incredible power, coalesced into a massive Bagua diagram, hovering above the bronze coffin and the nine dragon corpses. It possessed a dense, metallic quality, as if forged from refined gold.

"I want to leave here!" someone in the pit cried out.

"I can't move my body..." Everyone found themselves unable to move, consumed by fear, yet powerless to change their situation.

"What is that...?"

At that very moment, a Tai Chi diagram, with its two intertwined yin-yang fish, emerged in the center of the Bagua symbol in mid-air.

Even in today's technological era, the profound mysteries contained within the ancient Tai Chi and Bagua diagrams remain unsolved. Some have used astronomical parameters to calculate the orbital velocities of celestial bodies, basing their calculations on the correspondence between stars and the positions of the Bagua trigrams. Furthermore, the inventor of modern computer binary code was greatly inspired by studying the Tai Chi and Bagua diagrams, leading to his breakthrough.

The ancient Tai Chi and Bagua diagrams remain a fascinating enigma to modern people: how they were created, what their functions are, and for what purpose they were devised. To this day, only legends and uncertain conjectures exist, with no conclusive evidence.

Now, Ye Fan and the others witnessed a significant, previously unknown function of the Tai Chi and Bagua diagrams: they were connected to space and time.

Around the massive Tai Chi and Bagua diagram, space warped and light became hazy. The eight Bagua symbols corresponding to Qian, Kun, Xun, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, and Kan successively emitted light, like a set of mysterious and ancient codes shimmering.

The two yin-yang fish within the Tai Chi diagram resembled two strange gateways, constantly trembling as they slowly opened a crack, seemingly leading to the distant and unknown starry sky.

The light continued to flicker, and the eight Bagua symbols alternately dimmed and brightened. After numerous complex transformations, they finally all lit up simultaneously, emitting a dazzling radiance.

With a dull rumble, the two yin-yang fish in the center of the Tai Chi and Bagua diagram slowly opened. During this process, starlight occasionally shimmered within, and a faint glimpse of an ancient starry road was even seen.

Finally, the yin-yang fish fully opened like a true gateway, revealing a mysterious and enormous passage that led to an unknown destination, utterly dark inside.

Simultaneously, at the peak of Mount Tai, the nine massive dragon corpses began to tremble. At that moment, the bronze coffin also let out a loud clang and shook violently.

Ye Fan and the others were right beside the coffin, many screaming in fright, and numerous female students crying out.

"What do we do?" "Help!" In this situation, everyone felt helpless, and many female students sobbed loudly.

At the same time, some strong-willed individuals, filled with a mix of surprise and uncertainty, gazed at the enormous bronze coffin. Its lid had shifted during the shaking, revealing a wide crack from which a strange aura emanated.

With another clang, the bronze coffin vibrated again, and its lid nearly fell off. An inexplicable, invisible force pulled at everyone. In the next instant, everyone felt the world spin, then their vision went black as they were all drawn into the bronze coffin.

"Ah..." "Help!" Some were on the verge of breakdown, letting out panicked cries.

With a thud, the nine massive dragon corpses hanging from the cliff vibrated. Simultaneously, the bronze coffin's lid let out a loud bang and then fully sealed shut.

Immediately after, the nine mountain-like dragon corpses rose into the air. Though still lifeless, they slowly pulled the giant bronze coffin into the dark and mysterious passage formed by the Tai Chi and Bagua diagram.

A tremendous roar shook Mount Tai violently, as if the sky itself were collapsing. From Jade Emperor Peak, a towering five-colored divine light pierced through heaven and earth.

Then, as the blood-red sunset vanished, the summit of Mount Tai instantly darkened. The colossal Tai Chi and Bagua diagram in the sky completely closed and slowly disappeared.

The Nine Dragons pulling the Coffin had vanished!

All the jade tablets and stone slabs on the five-colored altar turned to dust. A gentle breeze blew, scattering the ashes to the wind.

Everything that occurred under that blood-red sunset was destined to cause a massive uproar, spreading to every corner of the world. Mount Tai would undoubtedly become the global focus, but none of this mattered to Ye Fan and the others now.

Inside the ancient bronze coffin, it was pitch black, filled with an icy chill. Some female students were on the verge of collapse, overwhelmed by helplessness and fear. Yet, they dared not cry out loudly, suppressing their emotions and voices, whimpering softly instead.

"What do we do? Who can save us?" "Are we really inside the bronze coffin now?" "Why is this happening? Is there any way out?"

People repeatedly tried to dial on their phones, but they couldn't get through, unable to contact the outside world. This only deepened their fear.

"Everyone, there's no need to panic," Zhou Yi said, appearing calm. "Although we can't contact the outside world right now, such an astonishing event at Mount Tai will surely be reported immediately. I'm sure rescue teams will arrive soon." His words offered some relief to their fearful minds.

"Zhou Yi is right. Don't panic, everyone. We must stay calm and believe we'll be safe," Wang Ziwen's voice was also calm, helping to steady the emotions of those present.

"Exactly. Don't worry, everyone. What's done is done, and fear won't help us. The important thing is to find a way out." Lin Jia, though a woman, appeared remarkably composed, showing no sign of panic.

Ye Fan remained silent, sitting quietly. The dark and mysterious passage formed by the Tai Chi and Bagua diagram repeatedly appeared in his mind. Were they still on Jade Emperor Peak at this moment? A disturbing thought crossed his mind.

By the faint light of a cell phone, terrified faces could be seen. Many were pale, and some were even trembling.

Li Xiaoman was nearby, sitting with her knees drawn up. Though her face was somewhat pale, she appeared very calm. Beside her was the American youth named Cade; the two conversed softly in English.

Liu Yunzhi's hands were tightly clenched, his knuckles white. He was clearly very nervous internally but showed no outward signs of panic.

In truth, everyone present felt uneasy, being trapped inside a sealed bronze coffin.

"Did everyone fall into the bronze coffin? Let's confirm the number of people present."

"One, two, three... twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" When the student counting reached the thirtieth person, his voice suddenly trembled. "How can there be... a thirtieth person?!" he exclaimed.

There were a total of thirty-three students in the class. At the initial gathering, three were unable to attend due to studying abroad, and another five couldn't make it for various special reasons.

For this trip to Mount Tai, the three students who had been abroad had returned, but the other five students still hadn't arrived. This meant twenty-eight people had made it to Mount Tai. If Li Xiaoman's American classmate, Cade, was included, there should have been twenty-nine people in total.

So, how could there be thirty people now? In the cold, dark ancient coffin, at that moment, everyone felt a creeping dread, cold shivers running down their spines.