HLnovel Chapter 460 Undercurrents Emerge
Chapter 460 Undercurrents Emerge
Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye exchanged a glance, understanding the gravity in each other's eyes. They realized that this journey was far more complicated than they had imagined.
"This lousy place smells awful!" Jiang Ye pinched his nose, looking disgusted.
Outside the temple, weeds grew rampant, and a stench of decay filled the air.
Ye Shuli ignored him, her beautiful eyes scanning her surroundings. A faint, almost imperceptible energy fluctuation permeated the air, a feeling that was... like the taste of fate?
"Something's strange here." Ye Shuli frowned slightly. Her senses were incredibly sharp; the golden finger of a transmigrator wasn't given for nothing.
Jiang Ye curled his lips. Although his perception was not as good as Ye Shuli's, he was not entirely useless. He immediately started his吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments) mode: "Hey Miss, can you stop being so mysterious all the time? If there's anything strange, just say it. Is there a man-eating flower hiding in this grass?"
Ye Shuli rolled her eyes at him, too lazy to explain.
She walked to the stone wall of the temple, squatted down, and carefully observed a set of ancient runes carved on the wall.
The style of these runes was very similar to, yet different from, the fate scripts they had seen in the central temple.
A strange sense of familiarity welled up in Ye Shuli's heart, as if these words had been dormant in her mind for a long time and had finally been awakened.
"What kind of talismans are these?" Jiang Ye also came over. Although he couldn't understand these runes, he could feel a mysterious power contained within them.
"Quiet down, let me think." Ye Shuli frowned, trying hard to decipher the meaning of these runes.
These runes are ancient and many are incomplete, but she could still barely make out the general meaning of one of them—the key may be destroyed, but the cycle of reincarnation continues.
"Key? What key?" Jiang Ye scratched his head, looking completely bewildered.
Ye Shuli did not answer him, but fell into deep thought.
Keys, reincarnation... these words all seem to point to an ancient secret.
"It seems we're really going to cause some trouble this time." Ye Shuli slowly stood up, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
As a time traveler, what she loves most is this kind of adventure full of unknowns and challenges.
The two exchanged a glance, and without the slightest hesitation, walked towards the temple gate.
As soon as you push open the door, a long-sealed smell hits you.
The temple's interior was surprisingly well-preserved; the stone pillars, murals, and even the offerings on the altar were intact, as if time had stood still here.
"This place... is a bit eerie." Jiang Ye's voice was very low. He had a feeling that something in the temple was watching them.
"Be careful," Ye Shuli reminded, her mental focus already highly concentrated, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.
Jiang Ye nodded, drew his longsword, and walked ahead to clear the way.
Although he may seem unserious most of the time, he is actually quite reliable when it matters.
"Holy crap! There's a mechanism in this floor!" Jiang Ye suddenly yelled after taking only a few steps, then rolled away to the side.
Suddenly, a large, dark hole appeared where he had just been standing, with a faint blue light shimmering around the edge of the hole.
"Venom?" Jiang Ye swallowed hard, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Don't make a fuss." Ye Shuli rolled her eyes; she had already noticed the trap marks on the floor.
"This is no small matter, Miss, it's a matter of life and death!" Jiang Ye looked aggrieved, feeling like he was just a tool, only responsible for scouting ahead.
The two became even more cautious on the rest of the journey.
Ye Shuli, with her keen senses, predicted the location of all the mechanisms in advance, while Jiang Ye was responsible for using his longsword to destroy them one by one.
The two worked together seamlessly, and after a series of close calls, they finally reached the deepest part of the temple.
Deep within the temple, a broken stone tablet stands silently.
The stone tablet is covered with cracks, but you can still clearly see an image floating on it.
It was a blurry figure, wielding two blades, fighting against fate.
His figure was elusive, as if he might disappear at any moment.
Behind that figure, there seemed to be an even more mysterious figure controlling everything.
The figure was hidden in the darkness, only a blurry outline could be seen, but it gave people an extremely dangerous feeling.
"What...what is this?" Jiang Ye's eyes widened, as if he had seen something he shouldn't have seen.
Ye Shuli stared at the blurry figure, a strange sense of familiarity welling up in her heart.
She felt as if she had seen that figure somewhere before.
"I feel like I've seen this somewhere before..." Ye Shuli murmured to herself.
Just then, an unusual fluctuation of power suddenly filled the air.
This fluctuation of power was somewhat similar to the power of destiny that I had sensed outside the temple, but it was much stronger and more malevolent.
The two men quickly became alert, simultaneously drawing their weapons and cautiously scanning their surroundings.
In a corner of the temple, a dark figure slowly emerged.
It was not a real enemy, but a consciousness formed from the remnants of the power of fate.
It has no fixed shape; it's like a cloud of black smoke, constantly churning in the air.
"Destiny has not ended, the cycle of reincarnation has not ceased..."
The dark figure emitted a low, guttural sound, which sounded like countless people whispering at the same time, sending chills down one's spine.
"Holy crap! What the hell is this thing?" Jiang Ye was so frightened that he took a few steps back. It was the first time he had ever seen such a bizarre thing.
Ye Shuli's expression was also very serious.
“Fate…reincarnation…” Ye Shuli murmured to herself, feeling as if she had touched the edge of some kind of truth.
Just then, the dark shadow suddenly transformed into a beam of light and flew towards the depths of the temple, disappearing instantly.
"Chase!" Ye Shuli said without hesitation, and she and Jiang Ye chased after the direction in which the dark figure disappeared.
They had to figure out what this dark shape was and what it wanted to do.
Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.
They realized that although the Key to Destiny had been destroyed, destiny itself had not ended.
"It seems that fate is like an unkillable cockroach, with a very tenacious vitality!" Jiang Ye calmly analyzed. "Perhaps we have only cut off the main trunk of fate, but it is still growing in the dark, and who knows when it will pop up again to cause trouble."
Ye Shuli nodded, a wisp of hair blowing in the wind, brushing against her delicate profile, making her gaze even more resolute.
"We must find the source and nip it in the bud, otherwise this continent will never have peace." She didn't want to go through all this trouble to end up facing the mess of a world destroyed.
Before leaving, Ye Shuli didn't forget her main task. She channeled spiritual energy into her fingertips and carefully copied down the ancient and mysterious runes in the temple, intending to take them back for further study.
These things might just be the key to solving the mystery.
"Can this thing be eaten?" Jiang Ye asked listlessly, unable to understand the convoluted symbols.
"You can't eat it, it'll kill you." Ye Shuli rolled her eyes at him, put away the imprinted runes, and walked out of the temple first.
The setting sun cast long shadows on the two of them, their shadows intertwining on the ground, as if symbolizing the unbreakable bond between them.
As they reached the temple entrance, Jiang Ye suddenly grabbed Ye Shuli's hand.
"What?" Ye Shuli turned around and looked at him with some confusion.
Jiang Ye's eyes were more serious than ever before, his usual playful smile replaced by a firmness and gentleness.
"Shuli, this time, I won't ask you whether you'll stay, because I already know the answer."
Ye Shuli felt a warmth in her heart, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.
She gripped Jiang Ye's hand tightly in return, feeling the warmth of his palm.
"Silly boy, I've already made up my mind," she said softly, her voice low but full of deep affection.
The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.
Just as the two were about to leave, Ye Shuli suddenly stopped.
She looked up at the sky, feeling that something was amiss.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Ye noticed her unusual behavior and looked up as well, but there was nothing there except a few floating white clouds.
"I have a feeling... something's not right." Ye Shuli frowned slightly, feeling a sense of oppression in the air that made her uneasy.
"Something's not right? You mean... that black mist?" Jiang Ye reacted instantly, gripping his longsword tightly and scanning his surroundings warily.
Ye Shuli shook her head; she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.
“It’s never a bad thing to be careful,” she cautioned, then looked up at the sky again, trying to pinpoint the source of her unease.
Jiang Ye nodded and stood beside her, facing the unknown danger together.
The two were silent for a moment. Just as Ye Shuli was about to give up, she suddenly noticed that the color of the sunset seemed a little off.
"Jiang Ye, look at the sunset!" She pointed to the sky, her tone tinged with surprise.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ye looked up again.
The once golden-red sunset had turned into an eerie dark red, like fresh blood, sending a chill down one's spine.
"Holy crap! This color... it's too weird!" Jiang Ye couldn't help but swear. It was the first time he had ever seen a sunset this color.
“This is probably no ordinary sunset,” Ye Shuli said in a deep voice, her eyes gleaming with wisdom. “It seems we need to speed things up.”
"How can we speed things up?" Jiang Ye asked.
Ye Shuli did not answer, but squatted down, touched the ground with her fingertips, and felt the temperature of the soil.
Suddenly, as if she had noticed something, she abruptly raised her head and looked in the direction of the temple.
"I know!" she said urgently. "The problem lies in that pile of scribbles!"
"You mean, the sunset turning red is related to those runes?" Jiang Ye was shocked; he really couldn't keep up with this train of thought.
Ye Shuli didn't explain, but instead grabbed Jiang Ye's hand and ran down the mountain.
"Let's go back first!" she said as she ran. "We must decipher those runes as soon as possible, otherwise... something terrible might happen!"
Jiang Ye was being pulled along by her. Although he was full of questions, he knew the situation was urgent and could only try his best to keep up with her.
He had a vague premonition that what awaited them was an unprecedented storm.
The two ran all the way and soon returned to their home in the small town.
Ye Shuli couldn't wait to take out the rubbings she had made, spread them on the table, and begin to study them carefully.
Although Jiang Ye couldn't understand the runes, he knew he couldn't be idle, so he took the initiative to take on the task of guarding the door to prevent anyone from disturbing him.
Ye Shuli was the only one left in the room. She stared intently at the runes on the table, trying to find clues.
Time passed by, and the room was quiet except for the soft breathing of Ye Shuli.
Suddenly, Ye Shuli's eyes narrowed, as if she had discovered something important.
"I see..." she murmured to herself, her tone revealing a hint of sudden realization.
She picked up a blank sheet of paper and began to quickly scribble and draw on it, arranging the runes according to a certain pattern.
As time went on, the patterns on the paper became more and more complex and clearer.
Finally, a complete pattern appeared before Ye Shuli's eyes.
It was an ancient and mysterious magic circle, radiating powerful energy fluctuations.
"So... this is the truth?" Ye Shuli stared at the magic circle, her eyes flashing with complex light.
She seemed to understand why the sunset had turned red, and also the true purpose of that black mist.
However, she also realized that she had been drawn into a huge conspiracy that could potentially overturn the fate of the entire continent.
"It seems we're really in deep trouble this time..." Ye Shuli murmured to herself, her voice carrying a hint of helplessness and excitement.
As a time traveler, what she loves most is this kind of adventure full of unknowns and challenges.
She raised her head and looked towards the doorway, her eyes firm and sharp.
"Jiang Ye..." she whispered Jiang Ye's name, her voice soft yet full of strength.
"Prepare for battle, our adventure has only just begun..."