Covering the sky

"Where exactly have we come to? I want to go home..." Some female students couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Another five-colored altar..." Pang Bo and Ye Fan stood together, exchanging a glance before shaking their heads. They had been the best of friends since university and continued to meet regularly after graduation. They knew each other well, and now both sensed that something was terribly wrong. The situation was grim, and everyone was in danger. At this moment, everything was filled with uncertainty and change.

Meanwhile, the others had withdrawn their gazes from the vast, empty desert and were anxiously scanning their surroundings.

A massive bronze coffin lay overturned behind them, and beneath the coffin was a grand five-colored stone altar, remarkably similar to the giant altar they had seen on Mount Tai, constructed from five different colored stones.

The five-colored altar covered a vast area, and one could imagine that it must have been a monumental project when it was originally built. However, after years of being battered by the wind and sand, the once towering altar had nearly been buried underground. Now, it was almost level with the reddish-brown gravel-covered earth.

When the Nine-Dragon Coffin arrived today, it collided heavily with the ground, shaking the surrounding sand away and revealing a rough outline of the altar. Not only was the massive bronze coffin lying atop the altar, but nine enormous dragon corpses were also piled on it, showing just how grand the five-colored altar was.

"We... we're lost. We can't find the way back," a fragile female student cried out, her body shaking. Had she not been supported by someone, she would have collapsed to the ground by now.

Many people turned pale. In this moment, they all thought of various possibilities. The scene before them felt like a strange world. No one wanted to accept this fact, but Mount Tai was gone, and the vast desert was before them, forcing them into silence.

"Don't panic, don't be afraid. There will be a way to solve this," Ye Fan shouted loudly.

"How can we solve it? How can we go back? How do we... get out of this strange world?" Even some of the male students' voices trembled with intense fear and unease.

The unknown can fill some with awe and fear, while it sparks the desire to explore in others.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo avoided the nine massive dragon corpses and walked forward to inspect the situation nearby.

Li Xiaoman was not far off, seemingly cold, hugging her arms. Her beautiful face was slightly pale, but she still appeared calm, like a delicate lotus blooming in the dim light. When Ye Fan passed by, he took off his jacket and handed it to her, but she only thanked him with a soft "thank you" and shook her head to refuse.

Ye Fan said nothing further. He wasn't trying to win her favor. He put the jacket back on and continued walking with Pang Bo. They bypassed the large dragon corpses and the bronze coffin, and saw Li Xiaoman's American classmate, Cade, also inspecting the situation nearby. He was muttering "god" in awe.

Not far from the five-colored altar, there was a massive rock lying there. It was at least twenty meters high, but the slope wasn't too steep, making it easy to climb.

Ye Fan was about 1.79 meters tall, and although he looked quiet, he was in great physical condition. He had been a main player on the school's football team and was often called "the beast" on the field.

Pang Bo, as his name suggested, had an imposing physique—not fat, but truly muscular. His arms were nearly as thick as a regular person's legs.

Both of them were in excellent physical condition. They quickly ran toward the rock and, without bothering to climb carefully, simply charged up it. Standing on top of the rock and looking into the distance, they saw faint light flickering through the darkness, which greatly surprised them.

"We probably can't go back," Ye Fan directly stated his prediction and judgment to his best friend. "This is definitely not the time and space we came from."

"This is indeed not the time and space we came from," Pang Bo said seriously, his usual casual attitude replaced with a solemn tone. He observed the distant light and frowned. "Do you think there's really such a thing as gods in this world?"

Ye Fan also gazed at the faint light in the distance. "We've already seen dragon corpses. Even if a living god appeared before us, I wouldn't be surprised."

"A living god... What would that be like?" Pang Bo murmured.

A sound came from behind them. Cade, who was about 1.9 meters tall, had also climbed the rock. When he saw the distant light, he immediately let out a startled cry.

"Praise... merciful God, I... see the light!" he said in broken Chinese, then turned and waved energetically toward the crowd, shouting at Li Xiaoman, "I see... the light!" He then climbed down from the rock and ran toward Li Xiaoman.

Cade's shout caused some chaos in the crowd, and many people began running toward him.

Pang Bo glanced at Li Xiaoman and Cade, who were standing together, then looked at Ye Fan. "Is that foreign guy Li Xiaoman's boyfriend?"

"How would I know?"

"Are you really just giving up like that?" Pang Bo glanced at Ye Fan.

"There are some things that, even if you could start over, you can't return to the way they were. Even if you walk the same road twice, it will never feel the same as it did before. Those things are in the past. People need to move forward," Ye Fan said, shaking his head. Then, as if remembering something, he smiled and added, "You're the one who's carefree. You must have quite the nightlife."

"I despise you. You don't have a life full of excitement like mine," Pang Bo replied, glancing at Ye Fan and then at Li Xiaoman. "I have a feeling something will happen between you two."

"Stop tarnishing my reputation," Ye Fan laughed. "Do you have some sixth sense like women do?"

At this moment, it was probably only the two of them who could still smile. Neither was a pessimist, and they found it hard to frown no matter the situation.

Before long, many people had climbed the massive rock to gaze into the distance. The faint light seemed like fireflies flickering in the dark, penetrating the gloom and giving everyone hope. Several female students even cheered.

There was a faint light ahead. Although still filled with uncertainty, everyone was eager to move forward. Perhaps it was human nature—to fear the dark and long for the light.

"Please don't let us down."

"Hope there will be a miracle."

The group began to descend the rock and gather in front of the five-colored altar to discuss their next move.

"Everything here is unfamiliar to us. Even though there's light ahead, we should be cautious," Wang Ziwen, the most cautious of the group, suggested.

Zhou Yi, always calm and collected, nodded in agreement. "You're right. Let's send a few people to scout ahead. That light doesn't seem too far away, so we should be careful just in case."

Everyone agreed. The unknown path ahead was unpredictable, so they decided to proceed cautiously.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a loud rumble came. The bronze coffin on the five-colored altar emitted a metallic reverberation.

"What happened?"

"It sounded like it came from inside the coffin," said a female student closest to the coffin, her face turning pale.

At the sound of her words, everyone's face changed. After all, there was a small bronze coffin inside the giant coffin, one that contained the remains of the deceased.