The crowd fell onto the Five-Colored Altar, knocking over a pile of ancient books carved from jade blocks and stone slabs. The sound of crashing echoed, and the altar was left in disarray.
The ancient bronze coffin lay beside it, covered in copper-green rust, yet the faint etchings of ancient deities were still visible, each with what seemed to be tear stains.
It was so close, one could almost reach out and touch it, causing everyone to feel an unease that sent chills down their spines.
The Five-Colored Altar, built by the ancient ancestors for celestial sacrifices, had endured endless years. Could it be that the ancient emperors really summoned something here?
At that moment, a vast, ancient aura began to flow around, stirring the hearts of those present.
The nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin lay before them. Could it be that they had been summoned by the Five-Colored Altar?
Legend has it that long before Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu, the Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and Seventy-Two Kings of ancient times once performed the grand sacrificial ceremony here. What had they summoned in their time?
Five-colored light shone brightly as the jade blocks and stone slabs on the altar began to glow, the ancient characters carved upon them shining with light. The entire altar emitted a soft, shimmering glow.
"Crack, crack!"
The sound of cracking echoed, and the piles of jade blocks and stone slabs suddenly shattered, releasing beams of light. The ancient characters, as if alive, shot out and hovered in the air.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"
More ancient characters sparkled, floating in mid-air. The jade blocks and stone slabs turned to dust in a gust of wind, and all the ancient inscriptions were freed from their bindings.
Above the bronze coffin and around the giant pit, thousands of ancient characters flickered, gleaming as if forged from molten metal, with a metallic luster and texture.
"Crack, crack!"
The sound of breaking once again echoed as smaller Five-Colored Earth Altars began to emit glowing characters that floated into the air.
Around the bronze coffin, it appeared as though stars were flickering with radiant light, creating an even more mysterious atmosphere under the blood-red sunset.
On the peak of the Jade Emperor's summit, others who had not escaped during the recent chaos saw Ye Fan and the others fall into the giant pit. At the same time, they witnessed this strange phenomenon and became terrified, rushing towards the foot of the mountain.
In the panic, some fell down, cries for help echoing around.
At that moment, the glowing ancient characters in the air began to converge, slowly forming a massive bagua. A mysterious power radiated outward.
It was a stunning sight. These ancient characters and symbols combined their forces, and upon coming together, they transformed into a huge bagua, covering the bronze coffin and the nine dragon corpses. It radiated a metallic weight and texture, as though it had been forged from the finest materials.
"I want to leave here!" someone from the bottom of the pit cried.
"My body... I can't move..." The crowd was frozen in fear, unable to act.
"That is..."
At that moment, a Tai Chi diagram appeared in the center of the giant bagua. The two Yin-Yang fishes were intertwined.
Even in today's technological age, the profound meaning behind the ancient Tai Chi and bagua symbols has yet to be fully deciphered. Some have tried to calculate the orbital speed of celestial bodies based on the relationship between the stars and the positions of the bagua, while the inventor of modern binary computing was inspired by studying the Tai Chi and bagua.
The ancient Tai Chi bagua remains an intriguing mystery. How was it created? What purpose did it serve? So far, only legends and vague guesses exist, with no definitive proof.
At this moment, Ye Fan and the others witnessed a monumental aspect of the Tai Chi bagua that had remained hidden from the world: it was connected to space-time.
Around the vast Tai Chi bagua, the space twisted, light grew dim, and the eight trigrams—Qian, Kun, Xun, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, Kan—flashed with light, as if a set of mysterious and ancient codes were sparkling.
The two Yin-Yang fishes in the Tai Chi diagram resembled two strange portals, gently vibrating as they slowly opened a gap, seemingly leading to the distant and unknown starry sky.
The light continued to shine, and the eight symbols of the bagua flickered in a complex sequence. After multiple changes, they all finally lit up simultaneously, emitting a dazzling glow.
"Boom!"
A deep, resonant sound echoed as the two Yin-Yang fishes in the center of the Tai Chi bagua gradually opened. Star-like light flashed within, revealing a celestial road.
Eventually, the Yin-Yang fishes opened completely like portals, revealing a mysterious, immense passageway, shrouded in darkness.
At the same time, on the peak of Mount Tai, the nine massive dragon corpses trembled. The bronze coffin emitted a loud "clank" as it violently shook.
Ye Fan and the others, who were so close, witnessed the situation in horror as the coffin lid began to shift, exposing a wide gap, and a strange, eerie aura began to spread.
"Clank!"
The bronze coffin trembled once more, its lid nearly falling off. An invisible force pulled at everyone, and in the next instant, the world spun around them, and everything went black. They were all pulled into the coffin.
"Ah..."
"Help!"
Some were on the verge of breaking down, screaming in terror.
"Boom!"
The nine colossal dragon corpses, hanging from the cliff, began to move, and at the same time, the lid of the bronze coffin let out a resounding crash as it snapped shut.
In the next moment, the nine dragon corpses, like mountain ranges, lifted into the air. Though still lifeless, they carried the massive bronze coffin with them, slowly disappearing into the dark and mysterious passageway created by the Tai Chi bagua.
"Boom!"
The entire Mount Tai shook violently, as if the heavens themselves were about to collapse. The Jade Emperor's summit erupted with five-colored divine light that pierced through the heavens.
Then, in the blink of an eye, as the blood-red sunset disappeared, the summit of Mount Tai darkened, and the massive Tai Chi bagua above vanished.
The nine dragons pulling the coffin disappeared without a trace!
All the jade blocks and stone slabs on the Five-Colored Altar turned to dust, scattering in the wind.
What happened in the blood-red sunset was destined to stir up a storm, making Mount Tai the center of global attention. But all of this had nothing to do with Ye Fan and the others anymore.
Inside the bronze coffin, it was pitch black and filled with an eerie coldness. Some female students were on the brink of collapse, filled with helplessness and fear, but they dared not scream, suppressing their emotions and softly sobbing.
"What are we going to do? Who can save us?"
"Are we really inside the bronze coffin?"
"Why did this happen? Is there any way out?"
Many tried to call for help on their phones, but the calls wouldn't go through, and the inability to contact the outside world only made the fear more intense.
"Everyone, don't panic. Although we can't contact the outside world for now, what just happened on Mount Tai will undoubtedly be known by the outside world in no time. I'm sure rescue teams will arrive soon." Zhou Yi spoke calmly, and his words helped to calm the anxious crowd.
"Zhou Yi is right. Don't panic, we must stay calm. Everything has happened, and being fearful won't help. What's important is to find a way to escape." Wang Ziwen's voice was also steady, offering reassurance to those around.
"Yes, don't panic. What's done is done. We just need to stay calm and think of a way out." Lin Jia, although a woman, remained composed, not panicking in the slightest.
Ye Fan remained silent, sitting still. The dark and mysterious passageway formed by the Tai Chi bagua kept appearing before his eyes. He felt an ominous sense rising in his heart.
Using the faint light from their phones, they could see the fearful faces of their classmates, some of whom were pale and even trembling.
Li Xiaoman sat nearby, hugging her knees. Her face was slightly pale, but she appeared calm. Next to her was Kaide, an American student, and they whispered softly in English.
Liu Yunji gripped his hands tightly, his knuckles turning white, clearly nervous, but he didn't show signs of panic.
In reality, everyone was anxious, as they were trapped inside the sealed bronze coffin.
"Has everyone fallen into the coffin? Let's count the number of people here."
"One, two, three... twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" When the count reached thirty, the student responsible for the headcount trembled and said, "Why... Why is there a thirty-first person?!"
There were thirty-three classmates in total. Three couldn't attend due to studying abroad, and five didn't make it for special reasons.
When they arrived at Mount Tai, three of the exchange students had returned, but five were still missing. That meant there should be only twenty-nine people.
At this moment, why was there a thirtieth person? Inside the cold and dark coffin, everyone felt a shiver run down their spine, a sense of dread taking over.