Chapter 188: Altar
Eric led Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu to his Library Pavilion.
"Please help me find the prophecy about the City of Time."
"Look, this book." Shen Jingqi suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Li Baiyu gently brushed away the dust on the cover.
As they opened the pages, lines of ancient text met their eyes. Their eyes moved quickly across the pages, trying to understand the information conveyed by the words.
"Prophecy..." Shen Jingqi murmured, looking up at Li Baiyu, "This book contains a prophecy about the future of the City of Time."
The prophecy said that when the chains of time are broken, a new era will begin. This era will be filled with infinite possibilities and hope, and people will possess unprecedented power and wisdom. However, at the same time, an ancient evil force will awaken, threatening the peace of the entire world. This evil force will bring disaster and suffering, plunging the whole world into chaos and despair.
"We must not be bound by the prophecy."
Shen Jingqi said softly.
They decided to tell Eric about the prophecy, to let him also understand the fate of the City of Time. As they walked out of the Library Pavilion, the afterglow of the sunset enveloped them, as if draping them in a layer of golden armor.
After hearing their account, Eric's expression turned grave. He took a deep breath, then slowly spoke, "I've also heard this prophecy before. But I never wanted to believe it. Because I believe we can use our own strength to change destiny."
Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu were taken aback; they hadn't expected Eric to know about the prophecy too. But Eric's attitude only strengthened their conviction.
In the days that followed, Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu devoted themselves even more diligently to learning the art of time manipulation. They needed to master not only the flow and stillness of time but also how to use time to combat that evil force.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, they had mastered advanced time manipulation. They began to draft a detailed plan to prepare for the upcoming new era and challenges.
However, just as they were readying to take action, an unexpected discovery brought them to a halt. In the hidden depths of the Library Pavilion, they found an ancient room.
Shen Jingqi's heart pounded in his chest like a drumbeat as he stared intently at the stone door in front of him, covered in ancient runes and moss.
"What lies behind this door?" Shen Jingqi asked softly to Li Baiyu beside him.
Li Baiyu's gaze was equally serious. He gently stroked the runes on the stone door, feeling the marks left by the ages. "Whatever it is, we must face it."
Together, they pushed open the stone door. A heavy sound echoed in the empty room, as if waking secrets that had been sleeping for millennia. Inside the room, dim light barely illuminated the surroundings. Ancient murals and sculptures spoke of past glory and disaster. The air was filled with an oppressive and mysterious atmosphere, causing a sense of trepidation.
Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu cautiously stepped into the room, their eyes lingering on every detail, trying to catch any clues that might relate to the prophecy. On the walls, murals depicting ancient wars captured their attention. The warriors in those images, armed with weapons that glowed with a strange light, were engaged in a life-and-death struggle with an indescribable evil force.
"Look at these murals, they seem to tell a story about a seal," Shen Jingqi pointed to a detail in one of the murals where a massive seal rune shone brightly, suppressing a surge of Dark Power.
Li Baiyu nodded in agreement, her eyes darting between the murals, trying to piece together the complete story. "These warriors, did they seal this evil force here to protect the world?"
Shen Jingqi was silent for a moment, feeling a heavy sense of responsibility pressing on his heart.
"Perhaps we have come for this very mission."
They continued to explore deeper, finally discovering an ancient scroll in a hidden corner. The text on the scroll was already blurred, but with Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu's combined efforts, they gradually deciphered its contents.
"So, this truly is a Sealed Land," Shen Jingqi's voice was low and powerful as he tightly held the scroll in his hand, as if grasping the key to destiny. "This seal restrains the ancient evil force mentioned in the prophecy."
Li Baiyu's heart tightened, feeling a chill racing from her feet to her head. "Then... what do we do now?"
Shen Jingqi took a deep breath. He knew they must act quickly to strengthen the seal to prevent the awakening of the evil force. "We must find a way to strengthen the seal; otherwise, if the seal breaks, the entire world will fall into disaster."
"Look, what's this?" Shen Jingqi suddenly pointed to an ancient altar at the center of the room. The altar was covered in intricate runes and patterns, seemingly recording some mysterious power.
Li Baiyu approached the altar curiously, carefully studying the runes and patterns. Suddenly, her gaze fixed on a particular symbol. That symbol was exactly like the prophetic symbol she had seen in ancient texts.
"This is... the symbol from the prophecy!" Li Baiyu's voice held a hint of shock as she looked up at Shen Jingqi.
So, this was indeed a relic of an ancient civilization.
This massive altar stood in the midst of ruins, with numerous runes and patterns related to the seal carved upon it.
"Look at these runes… they are so similar to the ones at the Sealed Land!" Shen Jingqi excitedly pointed to the runes on the altar, hope gleaming in his eyes.
Li Baiyu nodded, carefully studying the runes, trying to find clues to strengthen the seal.
"These runes seem to tell the secret of an ancient ritual."
After arduous efforts, they finally deciphered the full content of the ritual. To strengthen the seal, they needed to gather five rare materials and perform the ritual at a specific time.
"Five materials... it sounds like a daunting task," Shen Jingqi furrowed his brow, fully aware of the rarity and preciousness of these materials.
Eric, however, smiled with determination. "No matter how hard it is, we must find them. For the sake of this world, for our future."
Eric began dispatching people to search for those five rare materials.
"Fruits, gems, are these things really in the real world?"
Shen Jingqi muttered the items they needed to find, feeling a bit strange each time.
"Don't forget, this is the projection world, so there must be a reason for their existence. Also, time is pressing, so let's get moving!"