The Path to Another World

"Where did you sense this aura?" The elders asked Xiao Yezi anxiously. Xiao Yezi tilted her head and thought for a moment before answering, "It seems to be in the ancestral hall!"

"What?!" The elders were stunned. The jade had only returned to the village in the last two days, and Xiao Yezi had felt that it carried the aura of their ancestors several years ago. Could it be...? The elders turned around and stared intently at the ancestral hall and the ancient tomb below it.

Suddenly, a somber sigh echoed from nowhere. Ye Fan was startled; he had heard the sound, yet couldn't pinpoint its source—it was so ethereal and elusive. Just as he was about to use his spiritual power to locate it, an overwhelming aura of sorrow abruptly halted everyone's thoughts. This sudden surge of emotion transported them into their sensory world: a desolate battlefield, a biting north wind, broken weapons, corpses pooling in blood, and swarms of crows feeding on carrion—all testifying to the horrific battle that had taken place here… Several minutes later, everyone regained their senses, a wave of fear washing over them. This spiritual power was terrifying. If the voice had been malicious, a single thought could have turned these thousands of people into idiots.

The pendant finally stopped shining its blue light and hovered quietly in mid-air. The crowd also snapped out of their earlier desolation, feeling that their lingering ailments and injuries had healed by about 70-80%, and they seemed to possess inexhaustible energy. The changes were even more pronounced among the elderly with white hair and beards; their age spots had vanished, and even the roots of their snow-white hair had turned black. It was truly a miracle! Overjoyed, the elders knelt and bowed before the pendant in mid-air, saying, "Thank you for your blessing, Ancestor!" The others quickly followed suit, bowing in gratitude. Having heard from Xiao Yezi that they had sensed the aura of their ancestor in the ancestral hall, the elders were now completely certain that this miracle was created by their ancestor.

Just then, a beam of light pierced through the vast expanse of space, enveloping the pendant suspended in mid-air. The pendant refracted a golden light, appearing incredibly sacred. Ye Fan was astonished to discover that after the beam touched the gem, it didn't shine down further; the bright moonlight seemed to have been absorbed by this mysterious gem. Following the beam's trajectory, Ye Fan stared in disbelief at the dazzling starlight, rubbing his eyes to confirm. Venus, Jupiter, Mercury... Uranus, Pluto... the seven brightest planets had somehow formed a straight line, a faint band of energy connecting them, finally cascading down from the moon in a cone shape. Was it absorbing the energy of the seven planets? Ye Fan wondered. The combined energy of the seven planets was immense, enough to wipe Earth from the universe! Could this tiny gem withstand such immense energy? Ye Fan was very suspicious. This was no joke; it concerned the fate of this planet and the lives of hundreds of billions of people! Ye Fan nervously stared at the small gem, silently praying that nothing would go wrong. Usually so daring, he was now on tenterhooks, his palms and back covered in cold sweat.

The kneeling crowd also noticed the strange phenomenon in the sky. They were worried that although the ancestral artifact had returned, they didn't know when the seven stars would align. It might take thousands of years. But it happened so quickly. The ancestral artifact was identified in the morning, and the seven stars aligned in the evening. It seemed that this was truly the will of Heaven. Thinking of the wonderful world outside, the crowd couldn't help but kowtow repeatedly. Some even sat there and wailed. Even the elders couldn't control their emotions and had tears in their eyes.

The seven-star alignment continued its steady transmission of energy without any unexpected incidents, allowing the two to finally breathe a sigh of relief. Ye Fan didn't want to die before even starting his mission, but looking at the seven-star alignment and the pendant he had unexpectedly acquired, he was even more confused. It seemed that everything was under someone else's control. Everything appeared normal, yet it was all so coincidental, each step seamlessly connected, without a single flaw, as if it had been rehearsed thousands of years ago. Thinking about all of this, Ye Fan couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. Humans are always afraid of the unknown, especially when it involves them. Glancing at Tian Jun, who was still dumbfounded, taking pictures of this once-in-a-millennium miracle from various angles with his phone, Ye Fan was speechless. What a slowpoke! He hadn't even realized he'd fallen into someone else's trap.

Ye Fan walked over to Tian Jun, who was busy filming, and with a mix of amusement and exasperation, lightly kicked him in the shin, saying in a clear voice, "Stop filming!"

"What's wrong, Junzi? This is a rare opportunity. If these photos were taken out and entered into a competition, they would definitely be number one." A somewhat confused Tian Jun asked Ye Fan, who had a serious expression.

"What are you doing here this time? You still have the mood to film this? Don't you feel like we've been manipulated from beginning to end, as if every step we take is according to someone else's plan? Who knows what will happen next?" Ye Fan rolled his eyes at Tian Jun and prompted him, feeling somewhat speechless.

Hearing Ye Fan's words, Tian Jun's playful expression vanished, replaced by a serious one. He tilted his head, thought for a moment, and nodded in agreement: "Now that you mention it, it does make sense. But I really don't want to leave this ancient tomb. Although it's not open yet, I'll find a way to open it sooner or later, and that's what makes it interesting. Besides, can you handle the array surrounding this village? That Nine-Bend Yellow River Array is no ordinary array!"

Upon hearing Tian Jun's words, Ye Fan was stunned: "Are we just going to sit here and wait to die, quietly watching ourselves being controlled by others like puppets?"

Tian Jun, who was busy taking photos, turned around and laughed, "Relax, have you forgotten? Your grandfather once divined that although there would be great misfortune this time, we could turn bad luck into good. Do you still doubt your grandfather's abilities?"

Ye Fan slapped his forehead. He was too anxious and confused. How could he have forgotten about this? Only then did he completely put his mind at ease and look at this natural wonder with an appreciative attitude. He would let things take their course and figure out a solution in due time.

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