Covering the sky

"This is..." Despite being mentally prepared, the faces of the group were still filled with disappointment.

Influenced by their reaction, the others looked up at the sky and quickly noticed the two moons hanging in the sky.

"How could this happen?" Many couldn't help but shout, their last hope of returning home shattered. They would never see their families again. Several female students broke down in tears, and everyone understood that they were now far from Earth and could never return.

"Mars... has two moons, similar to Earth's... the moons we see..." Cade muttered in broken Chinese, then switched to rapid English, speaking to Li Xiaoman.

For decades, several space probes had sent valuable data back to Earth regarding Mars. The two moons orbiting Mars are very small celestial bodies. Due to the altitude and other factors, from Mars, Phobos appears to be about half the size of the Moon seen from Earth, while Deimos is even smaller but much brighter, resembling a miniature moon.

When people familiar with Mars shared this information, the group fell into deep disappointment. It seemed there was no way back home. The current priority was to find a way to survive.

Having moved 600 meters away from the Five-Color Altar, they were now much closer to the faint light source, which seemed to be only 500 meters away. They continued to advance without hesitation.

Under the night sky, a gentle breeze brought a coolness.

After walking another hundred meters, the group drew closer to the light. Just then, someone let out a startled cry, discovering the ruins of a collapsed building—what seemed to be an ancient pavilion, fallen victim to the erosion of time.

"This is an artificial pavilion! There must have been humans here! We will definitely find a way to survive!"

"Is this really Mars? Why would there be human buildings? The air, temperature, and gravity... it's not much different from Earth, just like a desert," someone questioned.

Despite the overwhelming disappointment, no one had given up. There were still many questions left unanswered.

"We've already seen the dragon corpses, so what's so surprising about this? Maybe this is just a special region on Mars."

"Perhaps. This place has a grand Five-Color Altar, where the nine dragon corpses and bronze coffins were placed. It could indeed be seen as a place of divine sealing."

"If what we think is true, and this is just a special area on Mars, then our living space here may be quite limited."

These words fell on the group, leaving them silent.

"If this is just a small sacred land on Mars, then what other escape do we have?!"

Their hearts were turbulent; their lives and futures were at stake. No one could remain calm.

"Ah..." A female student suddenly screamed, her voice echoing far in the night sky.

"What happened?" The others turned pale and quickly asked.

"A skull... a human skull!" The girl was trembling, her face pale with fear as she staggered backward.

Not far from the collapsed pavilion, a half-exposed white skull poked out from the sand. The girl had nearly stepped on it, which explained her terrified reaction.

The boys quickly gathered around, and Pang Bo used his foot to kick the skull out of the sand. It was clearly an adult's skull, aged and nearly weathered away, its bone surface rough, with numerous cracks.

What surprised them was a perfectly round hole in the frontal bone, about the width of a finger, as if pierced by a sharp object. The edges of the hole were neat and smooth.

"It seems this place is full of unknowns and dangers. Although this is just a skeleton left from many years ago, it's better to be cautious," someone said, feeling a chill in the air from the unfamiliar surroundings and uncertain factors.

"What's that ahead?" someone asked.

Under the dim light of the stars and moons, the features ahead were not very clear, but they could vaguely make out a series of irregular rock formations, like a jagged field of rubble.

When they got closer, they froze. It was a vast ruin, with a small portion blocking their way, while the more expansive ruins stretched far into the distance.

Broken walls, debris scattered all around, seemed to tell a tale of an unknown history. In the moonlight, this place looked particularly eerie, a once grand palace now in utter desolation.

This was an enormous ruin, spanning a vast area. The solid foundation was built with large stones, enough to imagine the grandeur of the palace complex that once stood here.

The light source was at the far end of the ruin, behind a broken wall.

"Are we really on Mars? Could this have been a magnificent palace complex?" someone murmured.

"How many people would it take to complete such a colossal project?" another person wondered.

"What happened to make this grand structure turn into a ruin? Why have all these towering buildings collapsed?"

They had almost forgotten their fear in the face of the awe-inspiring ruins, and if they were truly on Mars, everything seemed too incredible.

Ye Fan spoke calmly, "Actually, it's not that surprising. We've already experienced so much that defies logic. If someone told me that this massive ruin in front of us was the remains of a celestial palace, I wouldn't be shocked."

Pang Bo sighed, "A celestial palace... it really could be. After all, we've seen dragon corpses."

At these words, everyone was taken aback. A celestial palace? Perhaps it wasn't such an absurd idea after all.

The light source was just ahead, a faint glow spilling out from behind the ruined wall, casting an ethereal and sacred aura.

"What is that exactly?"

The light source shimmered at the end of the ancient ruins, making the broken walls appear even more desolate and mysterious.

"Creak, creak..."

Their footsteps crunched over the rubble, the sound echoing through the vast emptiness, as they passed one collapsed palace after another, finally making their way through the massive ruins. Ahead, the broken wall, though partially destroyed, still stood about four or five meters tall, leaving them to wonder how grand it must have once been.

"Let's see what that light source really is!"

The group cautiously bypassed the massive broken wall, reaching the end of the ruins. Suddenly, they were met with a refreshing, calming aura that seemed to emanate from a divine light.

They had fully emerged from the ruins, standing behind the broken wall, and could now clearly see the source of the light.

About fifty meters ahead, an ancient temple stood quietly, with a faint light glowing from an oil lamp inside.

In front of the temple, an ancient Bodhi tree stood like a twisted dragon, its trunk gnarled and dry, but two meters above the ground, a few green leaves dotted the tree, their translucent green color shimmering like jade.