The Path to Another World

The alignment of the seven stars lasted for several hours. Then, the eastern sky gradually revealed a sliver of dawn light; a pale white hue had already risen above the horizon, and the village roosters crowed, announcing the arrival of a new day. At this time, the connecting band between the seven linked stars began to dim slowly, the transmitted energy dwindling. The teardrop-shaped gemstone still shimmered with a blue light; the once dull jade had completely transformed into a flawless, pure blue gemstone, so noble and captivating.

Finally, the sun struggled to climb above the horizon the next day, its golden rays bathing the entire village in a golden glow. The alignment of the seven stars finally vanished; one after another, they disappeared in the blinding light, and the energy band dissipated under the sunlight, leaving only the perfect blue gem shining with a dreamlike and noble light in the golden sunlight. The villagers, who had waited all night, showed no signs of fatigue, still watching the gem in the sky with heightened alertness, awaiting their ancestor's next instruction.

As expected, the pendant didn't fall after ceasing to receive energy; instead, it flew directly into the ancestral hall. The crowd quickly followed, surging along the winding mountain path to the hall halfway up the mountain. The pendant circled the tall female statue several times before finally settling on its neck, becoming one with it. The exquisite sapphire-adorned pendant and the roughly handcrafted stone carving seemed so different, yet together they appeared so harmonious, without a trace of awkwardness, as if they were born to be together. The mesmerizing blue gemstone emitted waves of rich blue light, enveloping the entire massive statue like a giant blue cocoon. A rustling sound was heard, and to everyone's astonishment, stones and sand of various sizes fell from the statue. The tall stone sculpture gradually shrank and eventually disappeared. The elders gaped in disbelief and panicked. This was the ancestral hall, the only statue left by their ancestor, which had been receiving offerings from the people for many years. Now it had vanished like this; if their ancestor were to blame them, the consequences would be unbearable. Just as he was about to reach out to pull the pendant back and stop its continued destruction, Ye Fan quickly raised both hands to stop him, explaining, "I couldn't stop it just now, so there's no point in you going. Besides, look." He pointed to where the pendant had been. The once incredibly hard marble, which even an adult man couldn't shatter with a single hammer blow, was now melting away like winter snow meeting boiling oil under this strange blue light, creating a bottomless black hole in the blink of an eye. Ye Fan and Tian Jun exchanged a glance, speechless with astonishment. They hadn't expected that the blue light, which they had always thought was beneficial to mental strength, would have such power. This black hole was clearly the entrance to an underground ancient tomb. They hadn't expected that the problem they had been struggling with would be hidden here.

The culprit, the very pendant that caused all this, stubbornly continued its descent into the bottomless abyss. Tian Jun, standing nearby, panicked. This pendant was no ordinary object; it was incredibly valuable and couldn't be allowed to slip away so easily. Ignoring the danger and the depth of the abyss, he recklessly reached for the plummeting pendant. Seeing this, Ye Fan was terrified and shouted, "Tian Jun, come back! Don't jump!" He channeled his Dao power, transforming into a gust of wind, and rushed towards Tian Jun, desperately grabbing his feet. But he was too late. Ye Fan only managed to grab Tian Jun's shoes; Tian Jun continued to plummet like a stone into the dark abyss. Ye Fan's expression changed instantly. He disregarded his own safety; if he didn't go down, Tian Jun would be in even greater danger. He silently shouted "Thousand-Pound Drop," channeling all his Dao power into his feet, transforming himself into a thousand-pound stone and plummeting downwards faster than Tian Jun. Only after catching up with Tian Jun did he return to normal speed, grabbing his hand. The two followed the chest drop at the same pace, using the faint blue light to propel themselves downwards. The villagers outside were immediately terrified. Although some villagers were agile, they were no match for Ye Fan's speed. By the time they reacted, the two had already plunged into the black hole, disappearing without a trace. Several elders stared at the pitch-black opening, straining to see, but all they saw was inky blackness; there was no sign of the two figures. The elders were saddened. They hadn't expected the two men to have helped the village so much, and before they could even repay their kindness, they were dragged into such danger. After a moment's thought, they instructed, "Gangzi, Tieniu, you two stay here and watch over them. Don't make any rash moves to go down and investigate. Wait here for them to come back up. Now that the ancient tomb has been opened, according to ancestral instructions, we are free. We'll wait here for three months. If they haven't returned, we'll make further plans." Two strong young men stepped forward and obeyed. Only then did the elders lead the remaining people away from the ancestral hall. Now that they were free, there were still many things to prepare if they were to leave this place.

"I'm sorry, Fanzi, it was my fault for acting impulsively. I've dragged you into this." Tian Jun said apologetically to Ye Fan, who had risked his life to save him.

"What are you saying? Don't you consider me your brother anymore? Do you think I'd just watch my brother go to his death? We promised to share both good times and bad. But don't be so impulsive next time. Who knows what dangers lie down there? After all, it's something left behind by an incredibly powerful being from thousands of years ago. A single misstep could wipe us out." Although Ye Fan was angry that Tian Jun had acted on his own initiative and risked his life, the matter was over now, and he saw no need to get angry. Instead, he comforted the apprehensive Tian Jun.

The two focused all their attention on their surroundings, cautiously observing their surroundings, fearing any unexpected events along the way. In this pitch-black environment, who knew what dangers lurked? About fifteen minutes passed, and they were still descending at high speed. They couldn't help but gasp; how deep must this ancient tomb be? Judging from the time they'd been falling, they were probably a thousand or two meters deep, yet there was still no sign of landing. "Fanzi, do you think we'll be smashed to pieces if we keep falling like this?" Tian Jun suddenly asked, sounding somewhat frightened. "Scared now? What were you doing just now? Don't worry! It'll be alright!" Although he was very confident in his grandfather, hearing the whistling wind beside him and Tian Jun's words, even the usually composed Ye Fan couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart.

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