Seeing all this, Xu Ze couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. These scenes reminded him of a rather old movie he’d watched before, Tomb Raider. One particular scene looked remarkably similar to what he was seeing now—in that film, there was a temple setting with many strange statues just like the ones in this temple.
But that movie had a heavy dose of fantasy. All those statues on both sides came to life later on, using their weapons to chase down and kill the humans who had entered the temple…
“Could it be that the director of that movie had actually been here before?” The thought made Xu Ze chuckle wryly to himself. How could that be possible? Jida had said that the guardian tribe here would never allow outsiders into the sacred mountain. Apart from a reckless guy like him, who dared to barge in here relying on sheer numbers, who else would risk coming this far?
He steadied himself for a moment, then cautiously continued forward. In the air and the environment around him, he didn’t sense anything too unusual—just the ancient, desolate, and distant atmosphere that hung in the air. But you didn’t have to pay too much attention to feel it…
The statues and carvings lining the hallway on both sides weren’t his main focus. What he was really looking for was the main deity statue deeper inside. If there was anything unusual about this temple, then starting the search from the main statue or some object near it might be the simplest approach…
After advancing another ten or so meters, Xu Ze quickly caught sight of the temple’s main deity statue. Seeing it, he let out a small sigh of relief—because this statue didn’t look like the one from that movie at all. Though this statue also stood over ten meters tall and held two oddly shaped swords in its hands, it didn’t have three heads and six arms. It was just a rather fierce-looking seated figure.
Xu Ze walked up slowly, studied the towering statue, then closed his eyes and focused, trying to sense the energy around him. But once again, he was disappointed. He didn’t detect any energy fluctuations at all—even the energy particles in the air were extremely faint.
Still, Xu Ze wasn’t ready to give up. This temple was his last hope. He pulled out a high-powered flashlight and began carefully examining every inch around the statue, hoping to find something out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, outside the temple, the escorting troops had already begun a standoff with the nearly one hundred warriors from the guardian tribe who had been arriving in waves. The four guides were nervously shouting explanations at the warriors, who had already taken down their bows and were glaring fiercely at the soldiers.
Three chieftains, wearing colorful feathered headdresses and necklaces strung with all kinds of animal teeth, were brandishing their spears and angrily interrogating the four guides.
It was plain to see that the three tribal chieftains were furious and deeply displeased. The only reasons they hadn’t attacked immediately were the sixty or seventy elite soldiers armed with all kinds of advanced weapons guarding the temple entrance, and the four armed helicopters circling overhead that filled them with dread.
Jida had already received reports from the military outside, and he anxiously urged Xu Ze: “Xu… those tribal warriors are here, and more keep arriving. If we don’t leave soon, we might be in real danger…”
“Just a bit longer… just a bit longer…” Xu Ze was frantically examining the main statue and everything around it, growing more anxious by the second. This was probably his one and only chance to enter this temple. If he missed this opportunity, he’d never have the nerve to ask General Zuma to let him come back again.
After all, Xu Ze knew very well what this sacred mountain and temple meant to most of the tribes. Even General Zuma wouldn’t want to shed blood in this holy place and earn the hatred of so many clans.
“If only I had X-ray vision or some kind of detection ability right now… then I wouldn’t have to blindly search for possible clues like this…” Xu Ze muttered to himself as he continued his frantic search.
Outside, the situation was growing more dire by the minute. More and more guardian tribe warriors kept arriving, and the square in front of the temple now held two to three hundred people. Many of the warriors, their eyes blazing with fury, had taken up strategic positions all around, and some had even climbed up into the trees, bows drawn and arrows nocked, surrounding the elite soldiers from all sides.
The four guides were still shouting themselves hoarse, trying to explain things to the three chieftains. The officer leading the troops was growing visibly more anxious—the tribal warriors were now too numerous, and they’d already seized control of most of the high ground. If a fight broke out like this, the casualties would be devastating…
So he kept pressing the walkie-talkie, urging Jida to bring those foreigners out right away. If they waited until the tribal prophets showed up, those old fools might lose their minds at seeing the sacred temple desecrated, disregard the survival of their own tribes, and order a full-scale assault. And even though his side had firepower superiority, in terrain like this, they’d still take a serious beating.
Hearing the urgent calls from outside, Jida grew more panicked and kept pushing Xu Ze: “Xu… you have to leave now, or we won’t be able to get out at all…”
But Xu Ze was climbing up the statue right then, trying to get a closer look at that glittering, crystalline thing embedded in the statue’s forehead—wondering if it might be some kind of mechanism. Naturally, he wasn’t about to give up now.
For Xiaodao’s sake, he was giving it everything he had. Those energy fluctuations had nearly caused Xiaodao to collapse entirely, but they might not have the same effect on humans. He was clinging to a sliver of hope, determined to find the root cause… and maybe even discover a way to restore Xiaodao.
“Jida… give me five more minutes… just five minutes… then we’ll go right away…” Xu Ze panted as he climbed.
“This stone statue is really tall, and its surface is so smooth—how on earth did those ancient primitive people carve this thing…” Xu Ze grumbled, breathing heavily.
Jida watched Xu Ze, stubborn as ever, and stamped his feet in frustration. Meanwhile, Bai Qi and the others had already raised their assault rifles and were taking cover behind the nearby stone monster statues, setting up a defensive perimeter. Since Xu Ze refused to leave, they had no choice but to prepare for the worst—if fighting broke out outside, they’d have to protect Xu Ze’s safety at all costs.
After a grueling climb—and despite his formidable physical fitness—Xu Ze was drenched in sweat by the time he reached the statue’s smooth shoulder.
Bracing himself against the statue’s massive ear, he reached out with effort, trying to touch that jewel-like thing embedded in the statue’s forehead.
Outside the temple, three tribal prophets adorned with colorful feathered headdresses were finally carried up the mountain by their people. Seeing the temple entrance occupied, the three old black men widened their yellowed eyes, burning with rage. Before they’d even gotten down from their woven vine palanquins, they were already waving their staffs and shouting curses at the top of their lungs.
The four guides, who had been desperately arguing with the three chieftains to buy time, were dumbstruck when they saw these three old men arrive.
The three elders hobbled over, chattering and cursing at the guides, who were berated so fiercely they didn’t dare talk back.
Seeing the soldiers blocking the entrance, the old men’s fury only grew. They hobbled forward on trembling legs, raised their staffs, and brought them down hard on the four guides, beating them until they were sprawled on the ground, wailing and crying for mercy—but still, they didn’t dare fight back.
After a few swings, the three old men were winded and panting. They pointed at the soldiers blocking the way and began shouting angrily, roughly demanding that these reckless brats who dared to offend the gods get out of the way.
But these soldiers were elite troops under General Zuma’s command—almost every one of them had killed without batting an eye. They weren’t like the four guides, who came from the areas near these sacred mountains. Naturally, they had no fear of the three tribal prophets.
When the old men started yelling, the soldiers at the front brandished their weapons and threatened the old men, telling them to back off.
Seeing their prophets being threatened like that, the tribal warriors surged forward furiously, weapons raised, and quickly shielded the three elders as they retreated.
The prophets realized that although the other side was outnumbered, their weapons were terrifyingly powerful. If it really came to a fight, their tribes would suffer heavy losses.
So the three old men huddled together for a discussion. Then, suddenly, they turned around, dropped their staffs, straightened their feathered headdresses and the jumble of animal-tooth necklaces they wore, and prostrated themselves facing the temple. Raising their hands high, they began praying and worshipping loudly.
The tribal warriors nearby, seeing their prophets begin their prostrations and prayers, suddenly brightened. One by one, they put down their weapons, knelt where they stood, and joined the three prophets in their prayers and worship.
Watching this scene, the soldiers guarding the temple entrance breathed a sigh of relief, but they were also puzzled. Had these three old men gone senile? Why were they suddenly praying to the gods at a time like this?
Inside the temple, Xu Ze had just managed to touch that jewel-like object on the statue’s forehead. But after examining it for a while, he didn’t sense anything unusual at all. Helpless, he withdrew his hand and carefully jumped down from the statue.
By then, the sounds of the hundreds of tribal warriors outside praying loudly along with their prophets drifted into the temple.
Jida was overjoyed to see Xu Ze come down and was about to speak. But when he heard the prayers, he froze for a moment, then urgently said: “Xu… you’ve finished your inspection now—let’s go, quickly!”
Xu Ze was about to respond in resignation, when suddenly his expression changed. His eyes narrowed slightly…
