The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 348 The Pulse (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Zhao Ti placed his palm on the temple gate, channeled his magic power, and pushed it forward, causing the temple gate to emit a dull creaking sound mixed with sharp noises.

Then a creaking, unpleasant sound rang out, like a crow cawing hoarsely, and the temple door opened halfway.

He stepped aside a moment earlier, and saw a dark, ethereal substance, resembling both vapor and dust, emerge and then disappear after a long while.

“This temple must have been closed for hundreds or even thousands of years,” Zhao Ti said calmly.

"Your Majesty, does that mean the commanders haven't come to worship here at all these years? Something strange must have happened, which is why they haven't dared to come," Lang Tianruo said.

“That should be the case.” Zhao Ti nodded: “It can’t be because of laziness. There must be something ominous about this temple, which is why no one continues to come down to offer sacrifices.”

“Young master, isn’t this the task and responsibility of the Wolf Clan of Wolf Mountain since ancient times? It was personally assigned by Shaman Tian, ​​how can we not obey it?” A’Zhu asked doubtfully from the side.

“The mission and responsibility are true.” Zhao Ti nodded. “But the time period is too long. It was passed down from ancient times, thousands or tens of thousands of years ago. Any responsibility and obligation will fade away in the long river of time. Moreover, being dominated by fear, afraid of losing one’s life in this temple, one might as well never come again.”

"Your Majesty, that must be it. Besides, Shaman Tian hasn't shown any divine power in all these years, so the awe is just..." Wolf Heaven said weakly.

"You dare to say that?" Zhao Ti thought for a moment. The kaleidoscope, a magical artifact wielded by the shaman assassin Xiao Xuan, was a gift from the shaman. It seemed that the Wolf Clan of Wolf Mountain did not know this. He asked, "Did it manifest its power during those other days?"

"Since I have pledged allegiance to Your Majesty, I will only respect Your Majesty and have nothing I dare not say." Wolf Tianruo said respectfully, "As for the other Eternal Heaven, Spirit Sky Heaven, and Peaceful Heaven, only Eternal Heaven manifested its power on the grassland before the Jiazi year. The others have not made any moves."

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment, then took out the magical artifact, the Kaleidoscope, from his person, fiddled with it for a few moments, and said, "Lead the way."

Lang Tianruo responded with a "yes," carefully approached the door, lit a torch, and went inside.

The temple was very dark inside, unlike the outside which was illuminated by light from an unknown source.

Zhou Tong said from behind, "There are lamps in the temple, let's find them and light them."

Lang Tianruo responded, and gradually the temple lights came on. Lang Tianruo's body trembled uncontrollably, clearly showing extreme fear in his heart.

Zhao Ti said, "Let's all go in and take a look."

The group walked in together and saw that the temple was extremely tall, with the ground several feet above the dome above, and the sides were spacious and deep.

And at the very back, there was a huge shrine, but it was not clear what kind of deity was enshrined there. It was shadowy and eerie.

Lang Tianruo trembled as he stepped forward to light the two bronze octagonal lamps beneath the shrine. The lamps contained solidified dark red oil, and dried bones were strung on the corners, making them mottled and eerie. He managed to light them after several attempts. Then, everyone looked up and saw a tall, strange deity standing in the dim yellow light above.

The deity's posture was distorted; it was said to be a statue but could not be seen as human. Countless arms grew from its bloated body, each hand holding a different object: a leather drum, a short staff, a mask, a bone flute, and a bell.

The statue has closed eyes and no face. Its face is flat, and the area where the mouth and nose should be is smooth as a wall. A brownish-yellow color floats in the halo. The body is neither male nor female, and it has no legs. It is embedded in the carved earth, mountains and rivers, with patterns like tree roots.

Countless tiny figures were climbing upwards along the tree roots. Their faces were blank except for their eyes, which were bright red dots, making them look sinister and not benevolent. Their bodies had charred marks, as if they had been burned, and were covered with scales. They had no human characteristics and were very strange.

The wooden puppets hanging in front of the statue were also faceless with their eyes closed, their bodies engraved with crooked, blood-red runes, strange and twisted, exuding a terrifying aura.

This deity had a terrifying and grotesque appearance, with arms resembling countless branches, looking neither human nor demonic.

Zhou Tong exclaimed in surprise, "Young master, isn't this the earth deity from the shamanistic altar?"

Zhao Ti nodded. The deity enshrined in this temple was indeed the earth god he had seen in shamanism. Although the god was called the mother goddess, her actual appearance was terrifying and astonishing, without a trace of benevolence.

"Indeed, it is the Earth Goddess among the Heavenly Gods and Earthly Deities..." Lang Tianruo then said, "The Earth Goddess is a Mother Goddess, how could she be enshrined in this temple?"

Zhao Ti said, "The Six Yin Earth Veins contain the character 'Earth' and also have an eye of the earth veins. It's quite fitting to enshrine this deity here; there's nothing out of place about it."

Huang Tianbiao said, "I think so too. Since the goal is to suppress the earth's veins and prevent them from being lost too much, we must naturally pay homage to the God of the Earth."

"I wonder where the eye of the earth vein is." Zhao Ti looked around but didn't see it.

Kumārajīva said, "This humble monk feels that the spiritual energy here is far superior to that outside, which must be related to this object."

"You two come with me to look for them," Zhou Tong said to Huang Tianbiao and Lang Tianruo.

The two replied that they had searched the area in front of the hall extensively but found nothing unusual, and returned to say, "Young master, we found nothing ahead."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti looked behind the statue, where there was a passage. He pondered and said, "Let's go around and take a look."

The group then walked back and indeed saw a large door, which was not fully closed but slightly ajar.

Lang Tianruo pushed it open with force and found a huge open space with the ground scattered and messy, and it was impossible to tell what kind of things were on it. In the distance was a cliff on the other side.

“Young Master…” Zhou Tong frowned and looked around the place, saying, “It seems there was a fierce battle here.”

"Intense fighting?" Zhao Ti glanced around. Although the ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, there were many sharp protrusions and some neatly broken pieces, indicating that they were not naturally formed.

Zhou Tong walked over and carefully grasped a prop, then pulled hard, pulling out half a skeleton from the ground. It looked inhuman, like the bones of some wild animal.

"This, this is also a wolf bone." Lang Tianruo hurriedly ran forward and took it: "Although it is not the skeleton of the leader, it is not that of an ordinary member of the clan."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong picked up several protrusions from the ground, which were either bones or rusted weapons beyond repair, and said, "They all look like wolf-related creatures."

Wolf Tianruo looked sorrowful: "I don't know what our clan was fighting against here in ancient times. We only see the skeletons of our own people, and not a trace of the enemy."

Huang Tianbiao said, "If it's that kind of ghost soldier, it will turn into mist and dissipate when it's killed. Where would you go to find the corpse?"

Wolf Heaven said, "Even if the Yin soldiers left behind a heart-shaped pebble, they wouldn't be completely empty."

As it spoke, it crouched down and searched the ground, but all it found were remnants of the wolf clan, nothing else.

Zhao Ti looked into the distance, feeling that something was not quite right. Ever since he stepped out of the back door of the temple, he had felt that something was watching him, but he could not find any living creatures here.

At this moment, the group slowly walked forward, looking around as they went. Suddenly, Kumārajīva asked, "Benefactor Zhao, what is that?"

Look to the far left, there is a cylindrical protrusion, about three feet high, that doesn’t look like a stone.

“Let’s go take a look,” Zhao Ti said, raising his eyebrows.

A moment later, the group approached and saw that the object was about the thickness of three people's arms, with slightly angular tops, and seemed to be divided into six sides.

“Young master, it looks like a well,” A’Zhu said, blinking her eyes.

“It does indeed resemble a well,” Zhou Tong said. He then stepped forward and tested it with his single-edged sword. After taking off his outer robe and cleaning it, a large well appeared a dozen breaths later. The well appeared to be made of cast metal, not stone bricks. It was circular, but turned into a hexagonal shape at the top, with some ancient patterns and carvings.

“Young master, this well has a cover,” Huang Tianbiao said.

Zhao Ti nodded and saw that there seemed to be a lid in the center of the well, which was not the same color as the well rim. It was round and about one or two feet wide, pressing firmly against the middle of the well.

"Your Majesty, could this be the location of the Eye of the Earth's Veins?" Lang Tianruo asked, puzzled.

Zhao Ti stroked his chin. If there really was an eye of the earth's veins, it would probably be this well. After all, as the name suggests, an eye of the earth must lead underground, so the shape of the well was just right.

“Young master, there seem to be words on this.” Zhou Tong wiped the well cover and found symbols that looked like words, in addition to some patterns and runes.

Zhao Ti looked closely and saw that they were all in ancient seal script, engraved with the words "Six Yin Mysterious Well".

He said, "This place should be the so-called 'earth eye'."

Upon hearing this, Kumārajīva slightly inhaled and exhaled his breathing exercises, then said, "What Benefactor Zhao said is correct. This is the place with the most abundant spiritual energy since we came down here, and it should be the location of the Earth's Eye."

Huang Tianbiao also said, "Young master, I also feel that the power of the grassland here is much stronger than anywhere else."

Zhao Ti looked at Lang Tianruo, who nodded repeatedly: "Your Majesty, ever since I was born in Wolf Mountain, I have never felt that the power of this grassland is more concentrated."

Zhao Ti said, "Then that must be it; this place must be the eye of the earth."

Kumārajīva said, "It's a pity that this place doesn't look like a good place. Otherwise, practicing here would be far better than outside. This humble monk really wants to go into seclusion here."

Zhao Ti laughed and said, "Great monk, what are you saying? Such spiritual energy is not worth staying here in seclusion. You should at least... lift the lid and feel it first."

"Shall we remove the well cover?" Kumārajīva exclaimed in surprise. "Indeed, it is a vital point. If we remove the shackles, the spiritual energy will likely be even more abundant."

Zhao Ti nodded and added, "I wonder if there will be any problems. Since it's been banned, there must be some explanation for it."

Wolf Tianruo said from the side, "Your Majesty, this little beast doesn't know. There may be some words passed down from ancient times, but the commanders probably didn't know them before, otherwise they would have revealed some to the little beast."

Huang Tianbiao said, "Young Master, since the Six Yin Earth Veins are the source of the power of the grasslands, they are probably sealed off just to prevent excessive leakage, right?"

Zhao Ti pondered, "You seem to have forgotten where those wolf bones came from. Perhaps some ominous change occurred at this earth's eye, or perhaps the wolf clan that came to worship violated some taboo, which led to such a consequence."

"Young master, should we still open this manhole cover?" Zhou Tong asked Zhao Ti.

"Could those ghost soldiers or other monsters come out of this well?" Lang Tianruo gasped.

"So what if we come out? If we can't beat them, we can run away." Huang Tianbiao shook his head. "When we came here, those ghost soldiers were also there, but they didn't go up to the ground. Obviously, they were bound by some rules and probably wouldn't pass through the bronze gate."

"This, Immortal's words are rather hasty..." Wolf Heaven said weakly.

"You old wolf, you say I'm rash?" Huang Tianbiao said angrily, "Wait until we get out of here and fight me one-on-one. Let's see if you're a coward or if I'm rash."

Zhao Ti pondered for a while: "Although it is a bit rash, since we have come all this way, it would be a pity not to open it and take a look."

Huang Tianbiao said, "Young master is wise. I will open the well cover now and see what's inside."

Zhao Ti said, "Be careful. If there are any monsters that are difficult to defeat, leave as soon as possible and do not hesitate to stay."

The group agreed, and Huang Tianbiao leaped onto the edge of the well, then stretched out his two claws and began to pry open the well cover.

There were no handles cast on the lid, indicating that it was not intended to be opened once it was closed, but for some reason it was not completely sealed, but was simply covered with something.

Huang Tianbiao extended his two claws, their nails sharp as swords, and slowly inserted them into the gap. By the time they were fully inserted, he was covered in sweat. He then tried to pull the manhole cover up, but it didn't budge.

He exclaimed, "Strange, strange. Although my magic power is not particularly high, I can still lift a lid."

Zhou Tong said, "I'll help you." He inserted the blade of his steel knife into the crack and then pried hard. Sparks flew everywhere, but the manhole cover remained motionless.

"Namo Vairocana Buddha." Kumārajīva said, "You two should step aside and let this humble monk try out my magic."

Upon hearing this, Huang Tianbiao and Zhou Tong hurriedly stepped aside, only to see Kumārajīva use the same method he had used to deal with the Yin soldiers. His golden feathers attacked like a hail of arrows, all of which shot into the crack above the well.

Then a hissing sound was heard incessantly for a good half quarter of an hour. Kumārajīva's face turned pale and his breath had weakened. Just as he was about to stop, the manhole cover suddenly bounced high into the air with a "bang" and then fell to the ground with a "clang" in the distance.

"It's open!" Huang Tianbiao exclaimed.

"Everyone be careful." Zhou Tong hurriedly stopped it from moving forward, then took two steps back.

Zhao Ti looked at the well and saw a faint, white mist rising from it. At first, it was shallow, but it gradually became stronger.

“Benefactor Zhao, it’s spiritual energy!” Kumārajīva exclaimed. “Such strong spiritual energy! This humble monk will go to the well to take a look. Benefactor Zhao, please protect this humble monk!”

Zhao Ti nodded: "Great monk, please go ahead with peace of mind. The others should not act rashly."

As he spoke, he visualized the Treasure Elephant King, who flew to the edge of the well first, followed by Kumārajīva.

“Benefactor Zhao, this well is extremely deep, and the bottom is not visible. It is all white spiritual energy.” Kumārajīva peered out and said, “It is still gushing up from the bottom.”

"Are there really that many?" Zhao Ti asked in surprise.

"That's all there is. I think we should cultivate here. The spiritual energy here is more than ten or eight times greater than outside. It's hundreds of times greater. One day of cultivation here is more effective than a year of cultivation outside!" Kumārajīva withdrew and said loudly.

Upon hearing this, the group looked at Zhao Ti. Zhao Ti pondered for a moment and said, "Cultivation is also an option, but one person must be left behind to guard the area and take turns on duty so that any disturbance can be alerted in advance."

The group nodded in agreement, and Zhou Tong said, "Young master, I'll be the first to guard the place; you can all start cultivating."

Zhao Ti glanced at the well opening and saw that the white mist was getting thicker and thicker. He said, "Since that's the case, then we shouldn't delay. Let's start cultivating now."

As they spoke, everyone except Zhou Tong sat down on the ground and began to practice breathing exercises. Zhou Tong stood still, his eyes fixed on the well opening and his ears listening to the sounds from all directions.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but about ten hours had gone by. The white steam from the wellhead had thickened to the point that it was dripping water. Zhou Tong remained standing, cautiously sensing the movements around him.

But just then, a thin, dark shadow appeared on the cliff face in the distance behind him, climbing up and down in an eerie, silent manner...

(End of this chapter)