Chapter 208: A Short Nap
"Alright then," Yi Chen nodded, and a few moments later, they were all sitting under the shade of a few large trees.
Since they hadn’t had their lunch, Gao Zhen soon took out a few Qi-infused dishes from her storage ring and gave them their share.
Thanks to that, by the time their meals were finished, all their Qi pools were completely filled.
A few moments later, Gao Zhen noticed Yi Chen’s eyelids turning heavy as he was sitting with his legs stretched and his back resting against a tree’s trunk.
Getting up from her spot, she walked towards him.
"Hm?" Yi Chen’s attention was suddenly attracted by her incoming figure, and he looked at her with an inquisitive gaze.
"If you’re tired, you should rest." Gao Zhen suggested with a smile while looking at him.
With his head tilted towards her, he chuckled and said, while downplaying his exhaustion, "It’s only a little exhaustion because of that experience. It will most probably go away in an hour of sitting like this."
"Young Master Chen, I insist. Please rest." Gao Zhen seemed to have realised what he was doing and continued, "I plan to move into the black tower at sunset, so you have more than enough time to catch up on some sleep.
Remember, you play an important role in our mission, so ensuring that you’re in your best condition is also my responsibility."
Her voice turned stern as she finished her words.
"Sunset?" Yi Chen frowned when he heard this and asked, "Won’t it get dark inside if we go after sunset?"
"It doesn’t matter." Gao Zhen shook her head and continued, "It’s always dark inside, no matter the time. Moreover, once we pass through it, we won’t be able to return. So, it’s best to enter when we are fully prepared."
"I see." Yi Chen nodded in understanding, "Then I’ll do as Madam Gao suggests and catch some sleep."
"Good." Gao Zhen nodded when she heard this and said, "The three of us will keep guard so you can relax without any worries."
She smiled faintly in assurance and then left to discuss some matters with Zhou Lan and Xie Rou.
Seeing this, Yi Chen faintly smiled and, after shifting into a more comfortable position, fell asleep.
....
’Hm? Where is this place?’ Yi Chen looked around curiously and found himself in a strange place.
It was an enormous hall supported by huge dragon pillars made of grey stone. Below him was a neatly polished floor made of black jade.
With no torches hung on the walls, the hall should have been pitch dark because of this colour combination. However, it wasn’t.
A greyish-blue fog could be seen suspended over the floor at a distance, and the dim light emitted through it illuminated the dark hall.
’Is there something behind that fog?’ Yi Chen thought curiously and made his way towards it.
As he walked closer, his surroundings turned colder and colder. However, wanting to quench his curiosity, he kept walking forward until he was just a few feet away from the blue fog.
’Strange...I’m this close yet I’m unable to see anything on the other side.’
Wanting to see what the source of this blue light was, he took a few steps and entered the blue fog.
SWISH!
’What’s going on?!’
Yi Chen thought in panic as the blue fog completely engulfed him from all sides, making him lose his sense of direction.
’Where did it go-!!’
Just then, he felt the floor beneath him shake furiously as he widened his stance to stabilise himself, his heart rate increasing with each passing second.
BOOM!
A towering black monolith glowing in scarlet colour burst forth from the floor that very instant.
Seeing the monolith, a deep frown formed on Yi Chen’s face as he couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity rising within him.
The next second, he narrowed his eyes and realised that the red glow was coming only from specific spots on the monolith and was aligned in a neat pattern.
’...Are those words?’
His gaze further narrowed and focused specifically on a small set of characters which seemed to be repeating itself continuously.
Suddenly, a mind-gnawing voice resounded in his head.
"Lagir Dericia Fahir...Lagir Dericia Fahir..."
’UGH!’
Yi Chen tightly clenched his head and shouted from the pain, only to realise that no voice came out of his mouth.
’This!’
’Lagir Dericia Fahir..Lagir Dericia Fahir..Lagir Dericia Fahir..Lagir Dericia Fahir..’
Before he could think further on that issue, the voice in his head intensified as a grating sensation completely overwhelmed his mind, making him fall to his knees.
An urge to bash his head onto the ground until it was a bloody mess rose in his heart, and he was just about to execute it when he seemed to lose control of his arms.
’W-What’s happening?!’ A fearful expression formed on his face the very next instant as he saw his hand moving towards his stomach.
’Lagir Dericia Fahir..Lagir Dericia Fahir..’
’No! Wait! What are you doing...’
Yi Chen’s eyes widened as he saw his fingers forming a claw and tightly grabbing onto his abdomen.
’Stop! I said stop!’
RIP!
A sickening sound similar to that of a wet cloth being torn rang in his ears as, in front of his very eyes, his hands ripped open his abdomen.
’AHHHHHHH’
Yi Chen shouted in pain while writhing on the floor, but no sound escaped his mouth.
"Lagir Dericia Fahir...Lagir Dericia Fahir..."
The next moment, he himself started chanting the words while his entire being was immersed in pain.
’J-Just what is going on with me?!’
He inwardly roared in panic while seething in pain.
As if this were not enough, his entire body stiffened the next instant.
While his mouth chanted the words, his hand reached for the gap in his abdomen, the next instant and shoved itself in before pulling out something.
"Lagir Dericia Fahir...Lagir Dericia Fahir..."
While the words echoed from his mouth, his eyes looked in horror at the bloodied heart in his hand, which still seemed to be beating.
By now, he had lost all control of his bodily movements, and it was only his consciousness which bore the brunt of the inexplicable pain he was going through.
However, not caring in the least about it, his head soon faced the towering monolith the next second.
Stretching his hands, which carried his heart, towards the monolith, he lowered his head in reverence as the rate of his chanting intensified.
"Lagir Dericia Fahir..Lagir Dericia Fahir..Lagir Dericia Fahir"
The heart in his hands began to rise into the air before moving towards the monolith.
Seeing this, a crazy smile formed on Yi Chen’s face as he bashed his forehead on the floor the next instant.
GASP!
Yi Chen’s eyes snapped open the very next instant as a series of heavy gasps escaped his lips.
With each breath, the panic in his heart died down as the realisation that what he had just experienced was just a dream began to set in.
"It’s been a while since I had a nightmare..." Yi Chen muttered to himself while rubbing his aching forehead.
The next moment, he took out a bottle of water and splashed some water onto his face.
He instantly felt a lot better and quenched his thirst the next instant.
With his mind feeling a lot better, he subtly tilted his head up and glanced at the black tower, which somewhat matched the monolith that had appeared in his dream.
’It was most probably because I was subconsciously affected by what had happened earlier...’ he reasoned to calm down his worries.
However, another thought arose in his mind the next second, ’What if it wasn’t a coincidence?’
The latter thought immediately occupied a large portion of his mind, which made him mutter to himself, "If it was not a coincidence...then the dream must be trying to tell me something..."
The next moment, he stood up from his spot and made his way towards the black tower, which was only twenty meters away.
He noticed that Zhou Lan and Xie Rou were asleep while Gao Zhen had gone somewhere.
However, not thinking much about these things, he continued making his way towards the black tower and stopped only when he was a few feet away.
"Just what are you..." He muttered while glancing up at the enormous tower.
’Wait a second...’ his brows immediately furrowed in realisation as a feeling of wanting to slap himself welled up inside him.
"Just how dumb can I be...I can easily find out what it is with my upgraded ability..." he shook his head, still getting used to the changes in his ability, and the very next instant willed for the status panel to appear.
========STATUS========
Name: ???
Remark: An Ancient Mausoleum [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]
=======================
"This..." A frown appeared on Yi Chen’s face when he saw this, and the next instant, he focused his attention on the lines of characters on the structure as another status panel popped open.
=======STATUS========
Name: ???
Remark: Language of a forgotten past [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]
=====================
"It’s the same here..." Yi Chen muttered and glanced at the vague remark written there. Wanting to know more about those ancient words, he decided to regenerate the remark.