Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The stone chamber was silent.

Only the central, suspended, pale blue sphere of light rotated silently, its interior filled with flowing starlight and runes, casting a soft and pure light throughout the entire space.

The energy fluctuations emanating from the sphere of light were vast and ancient, yet strangely devoid of any aggression or corrosiveness. Instead, they were like warm spring water, gently washing away the chill and restlessness that had settled in the hearts of the group as they descended. This contrasted sharply with the violent pulse of the "core" deep within the shaft.

"Is this... the other side of the 'core'?" Wu Xie murmured, staring at the sphere of light. "A pure energy source? Or... a purified and separated portion?"

"It's more like a... 'record point,' or rather, an 'observation station.'" Xie Yuchen's gaze shifted from the sphere of light to the jade altar below, and the ancient scroll on the altar that was neither silk nor leather. "Judging by the material, it's similar to the leather scroll that previously stored the 'Qi' character jade tablet, but it's better preserved. And these..."

He pointed to the various colored, mirror-like crystal flakes embedded in the surrounding walls. Within each crystal, images flowed rapidly, as if countless fragments of time and space had been frozen. There were grand scenes of stars collapsing and continents rising and falling, as well as bizarre and indescribable creatures swimming in the void, and countless pairs of eyes, separated by crystals, coldly watching the people in the stone chamber.

Those eyes—some like burning stars, some as deep as ancient wells, some wildly chaotic, some filled with sorrow and desolation. Being stared at by them, even knowing it might be some kind of recorded footage, still sends chills down your spine.

"Don't stare at those eyes for too long," Huo Xiuxiu looked away and rubbed her temples. "It feels very uncomfortable; it'll drain your energy."

"Record..." Zhang Qiling walked to a crystal, where a scene flashed: a blurry, faintly glowing human figure stood before an energy body resembling the floating sphere of light before him, its hands pressed down as if guiding or peeling away something. The outline of the human figure vaguely resembled the original Zhang family ancestor depicted in the mural.

"Is he trying to... separate the energy of the 'core'? Or is he creating this 'safe point'?" Hei Xiazi guessed, stroking his chin.

Zhang Qiling remained silent. He walked straight to the jade altar, his gaze falling on the unfolded scroll. The characters on the scroll were not Chinese characters, nor any known ancient script; the strokes were twisted like insects and snakes, possessing a strange beauty. But he could understand them. Not because he recognized every single character, but because the "intention" conveyed by those characters directly entered his mind.

Zhang Qiling also walked over and looked at the scroll. After a moment, the two looked at each other and saw seriousness in each other's eyes.

"What did it say?" Wu Xie couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Qiling paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before finally stating succinctly: "Origin. Cost. Prophecy."

Zhang Qiling added two more concise words: "cycle".

"Be more specific, gentlemen!" Fatty Wang scratched his head.

Xie Yuchen carefully examined the material of the scroll and the patterns on the jade altar next to it, and then looked at the crystals around him, pondering: "The images in these crystals are probably the 'illustrations' of the scroll text."

They don't record events from our dimension or era. Those starry skies, monsters, eyes... might be scenes from the other side of the 'door,' or the true origin of the 'core.' The Zhang family's ancestors accidentally came into contact with, and even partially acquired, the power of the 'core,' while also bearing the burden of 'contamination' and 'gaze.'

"The price is alienation and madness," Huo Xiuxiu interjected, looking at the sphere of light. "So, before he, or they, were completely consumed by the pollution, they used all their strength to separate out this relatively pure 'origin,' hiding it here as a record, and also as... a signpost for those who come after, or a warning?"

The levitating livestream sphere slowly floated above the altar, the camera focusing on the ancient scroll, then panning across the eerie crystal images surrounding it. After a brief moment of shock, the livestream chat exploded with comments:

Prophet: Those eyes! They gave me goosebumps!

To silence the so-called experts: What material is this scroll made of? It doesn't seem to be paper or leather.

Xiao Ge's fan club: Xiao Ge and Qi Ling Xiao Ge can understand it! Family inherited memories?

Blackie, please translate: Blackie, please translate!

Tianzhen, quickly write this down: Wu Xie, it's up to you, history major!

Fatty, be quiet: Fatty, calm down and let the big shots explain!

"It's not just road signs," Zhang Qiling suddenly spoke, pointing to a more chaotic area of ​​text at the end of the scroll, as if stained with dirt, "there's also... a method. Enter the depths of the 'core,' touch the true 'source,' and try... a method of 'shutting down' or 'purifying.' But it's vague, it's contaminated."

"That failed 'Zhang Qiling' might have seen this," Zhang Qiling pointed to a relatively clear section of the scroll's text and images in the middle. It depicted a person holding a jade eye and something resembling a jade pendant, attempting to approach a massive shadow bound by countless chains and talismans. "He went down with the 'key' and the 'catalyst.' But the contaminated part of the scroll shows... he triggered uncontrollable changes. The 'nuclear' contamination leaked out, accelerating the instability of the 'door.'"

Wu Xie gasped: "So, his failure not only didn't eliminate the root cause, but might actually... make things worse? Then what do we do now..."

"We are different," Zhang Qiling shook his head, taking out a bronze compass from his robes. The compass needle trembled slightly, pointing at the suspended sphere of light, occasionally veering downwards. "We have a more complete 'key' (the unified jade eye), a pure 'guide' (the Qi character jade tablet), and a compass for guidance. Moreover, the pure section at the beginning of the scroll mentions 'bloodline resonance' and 'dual-star positioning.' Perhaps... it requires two people with pure Qilin bloodlines to guide us simultaneously in order to safely reach the core and attempt the vaguely recorded 'closing' method."

He looked at Zhang Qiling. Zhang Qiling was also looking at him.

Dual-star positioning. Two "Zhang Qilings".

"This sphere of light," Black Bear observed the suspended, eerie blue energy object with interest, "is it the key to getting down? We can't just touch it and it'll teleport us to the 'core,' can we?"

"It might be a 'purification channel' or a 'stabilizing anchor point'," Jiang Xun Gu carefully probed the energy field around the light sphere with his instruments. "Its energy frequency is fundamentally different from the violent 'core' below; it's more gentle and orderly. If we 'transfer' or 'borrow' it, we might be able to temporarily shield ourselves from most of the pollution and reach the target area directly. But how do we activate it?"

Aning examined the altar and the surrounding ground: "There should be a mechanism, or it should require specific conditions to trigger. The scroll might have a clue."

Zhang Qiling turned his gaze back to the scroll, his fingers slowly tracing the clear images and text, finally stopping at a depiction of two figures, each holding a luminous object, standing on either side of a pattern resembling a sphere of light. Below the pattern were two indentations, their shape…

He took out the jade eye of the Unity. "Zhang Qiling" understood and also placed the jade pendant with the character "Qi" in his hand.

The two walked to either side of the floating sphere of light, corresponding to the positions of the two figures holding objects on the scroll pattern.

The instant they stood still, the jade eye and jade tablet in their hands simultaneously glowed faintly. The suspended, eerie blue sphere seemed to sense something, its rotation suddenly accelerating, and the starlight and runes flowing within it shone brightly!

At the same time, the ancient scroll on the jade altar rose slowly without wind, hovering in front of the sphere of light. The clear images and text on the scroll seemed to come alive, detaching from the scroll and transforming into flowing beams of light that flowed into the sphere of light! Meanwhile, the contaminated parts of the scroll, with their chaotic stains, twisted violently, seemingly trying to resist, but were forcibly suppressed and covered by the pure light.

The light from the sphere grew brighter and brighter, and gradually, a soft band of light extended from each side of the sphere, like a bridge, connecting the jade eye in Zhang Qiling's hand and the jade tablet in "Zhang Qiling's" hand, respectively.

A gentle yet irresistible suction force emanated from the band of light.

"It's about to begin." Zhang Qiling clenched his jade eyes and looked at "Zhang Qiling" opposite him.

Zhang Qiling nodded and gripped the jade pendant tightly.

"Wait! What about us?" Wu Xie asked hurriedly.

The sphere of light seemed to sense their thoughts. The light shifted slightly, and behind Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling", several much thinner threads of light split off, gently wrapping around the wrists of Wu Xie, Xie Yuchen, Huo Xiuxiu, Wang Pangzi, Hei Xiazi, A Ning, and Jiang Xun Gu.

"Follow me." Zhang Qiling only said two words before he stopped resisting the suction force and let the light band pull him slowly toward the light sphere.

The same applies to "Zhang Qiling".

Seeing this, the others also relaxed. The threads of light wrapped around their wrists, radiating a warm and reassuring feeling, as if providing protection.

The moment their bodies touched the sphere of light, there was no collision. Instead, they seemed to merge into water, slowly disappearing into the azure halo. The threads of light wrapped around their wrists then gently lifted Wu Xie and the others, pulling them towards the sphere of light.

My vision was filled with pure, soft blue light. There was no feeling of falling, no feeling of weightlessness, only a strange sensation, as if I were gliding in gentle water.

The constant, violent buzzing and whispering from below the shaft vanished instantly, replaced by a deep-sea-like silence, and... an ethereal, intermittent ancient song that seemed to come from a very distant place.

I don't know how much time passed; it could have been a moment, or it could have been a very long time.

The light gradually faded.

The feeling of being grounded came over me.

They appeared in a place that is... indescribable.