Chapter 193: Primitive Altar (15)

That crisp sound made Shi Diwen's heart leap violently.

Thump-thump!

What was that sound?

Was the thing he had taken out of that temple actually an egg?

But if it was something enshrined in the temple… what kind of egg could it be?

The embryo of a god?

Or an angel's egg?

In the past, he had heard many, many stories about the Misty Mountains.

And among all the legends, there was one most ancient legend that once said:

Buried within the Misty Mountains was an ancient deity, who would one day return to the mortal world.

But because this legend was far too ancient, very few people had heard of it anymore; he too had only come across fragments of it in Ceng Zufu's study.

At this moment, he felt as though he were cradling a boulder heavier than a thousand catties in his arms.

"..."

Shi Diwen's body trembled slightly, but he neither dared to drop the bundle in his arms nor dared to make any rash move.

He stood silently before the wooden stake like that for a long while; the bundle did not make another sound, and only then did he feel a little more at ease.

Only at this point did he have the spare attention to observe his surroundings; he examined the wooden stake before him.

The wooden stake bore very obvious signs of having been worked on by human hands, and the time that had passed should not have been long.

Was there someone living nearby?

This discovery steadied Shi Diwen's heart somewhat, because if there were people, then there was still hope of survival!

But he did not dare to draw such a conclusion outright.

Because of their previous ordeal, their group had only felt as though they had spent two days in the Misty Mountains, but in reality a full week had already passed.

Within the mist, time is chaotic.

He could not be certain whether someone had truly worked on it just days ago, or whether it had already looked like this from many long years past.

But regardless, this discovery still gave him some measure of hope in his heart.

He observed the patterns on the wooden stake and saw a bird-shaped motif with wings spread in flight.

He could not tell what kind of bird it was, but its wings had been soaked through by fresh blood flowing down from above, and the crimson wings looked both ferocious and sacred.

"Could this be some deity's altar?"

Shi Diwen observed the surroundings, and a thought arose in his mind.

Perhaps this was a primitive altar dedicated to some deity or spirit?

Although he was a ranger, he had actually also learned some druidic techniques in his younger days.

He had once traveled for a while with a druid of a primitive sect who was fond of intimate relations with bear creatures, and had picked up quite a bit of esoteric knowledge during that time.

In some ancient regions that had not yet been touched and tainted by the gods, there generally existed an ancient shamanic faith, or a worship of spirits and strange beings.

Those primitive tribes would craft such simple altars and offer sacrifices at special times.

And those beings worshipped would generally accept, or even demand, blood sacrifice.

Blood sacrifice — an ancient, barbarous custom rejected by most of today's gods.

The sacrifices for blood rites were mostly the carcasses of prey, letting their fresh blood soak the altar, thereby pleasing the deity.

They could also be the corpses of enemy tribes, using their deaths to satisfy the deity.

In recent years, even some Miss Xie Shen had begun to no longer demand blood sacrifice; only the most frenzied, most primitive beings would still accept it.

Such beings are extremely dangerous!

If one were to lightly make contact with them, the probability of death would be incomparably high.

And should he try now?

Shi Diwen hesitated for a moment, but in the end still did not make any rash move.

Although the being worshipped here seemed to be a bird-like spirit or deity, the fresh blood soaking its wings gave him an ominous premonition.

Although he was now at his wits' end, until he truly reached an absolute dead end, he was still unwilling to have any direct contact with such a being.

As a descendant of adventurers, he had read far too many stories and cases in his childhood about people who recklessly made contact with unknown beings and then dropped dead.

He did not want to become such a pitiful tragedy… although at this moment he was already not far from being one himself.

"Let me think of another way… if there really is no other choice later, then I'll try making contact with it."

And just as he was thinking these thoughts, Shi Diwen suddenly felt a fierce wave of sleepiness surge over him.

Before he could resist at all, he fainted on the spot and fell heavily onto the scorched earth.

Thud.

The Misty Mountains beneath the blood moon were not quiet.

When evil power surged high, the various beings in the darkness also began to stir, emerging from the shadows where they had been hiding.

They roamed through the mountains, fought, wandered… seeking prey, or becoming another's prey.

But in one corner of the mist, a quiet sanctuary appeared.

Beneath the faint glow emanating from the wooden stake, no creature dared approach this place, and the entire sanctuary appeared incomparably still.

The wounded middle-aged adventurer lay on the ground, sound asleep, arousing no curiosity from any being.

And after Shi Diwen lost consciousness, the bundle clutched tightly in his arms trembled slightly, and the crisp sound that had vanished sounded once again.

Crack… crack!

Shi Diwen had an exceedingly long dream.

In the dream, after waking he kept searching for a way to escape the Misty Mountains.

After the mist dispersed, he began searching for a way to escape.

The first time, he set out eastward along the altar and eventually reached the sea, where he found enough food to fill his belly.

But whenever Shi Diwen went in any other direction, he would lose his way and die inexplicably, only to wake once more in the Pure Land.

He had entered an endless loop, endlessly cycling between death and waking.

Finally, after an unknown number of attempts, he at last mustered his courage and shaved a little wood shavings from the wooden stake.

He bound the shavings together with the branches he had gathered and lit them, then walked into the mist holding the torch.

That time, he still lost his way, but he did not die inexplicably within the mist.

He did not know how long he had walked, until finally, after the torch went out, he collapsed on the ground and woke once more in the Pure Land.

After that, Shi Diwen tried countless more times, walking into the mist with a torch.

Until one time... at the very moment the torch went out, he heard the sound of flapping wings coming from within the mist.

In his final glance toward the direction the sound came from, he saw a pair of... crimson wings, dazzlingly bright even within the mist!

And after dying this time, he did not continue into the loop.

Shi Diwen had truly woken up.

……

"What was that dream, exactly?"

After waking, Shi Diwen was dazed for a long while before finally managing to regain his composure.

Was that really just a dream?

After a moment of silence, he decided to verify it.

But just as he rose and prepared to head east toward the seaside, his whole person froze once again.

The bundle in his arms... was gone.

Thanks to Lake Singer for the tip



(End of this chapter)