Zane had pieced together enough to know that the woman next to him had to be related in some way to Rhian. While Hua Huiliang had soft brown hair the color of brick and golden eyes, the woman next to him had quite the opposite features.
She was fair with black hair pulled back into a tight bun, with a single misplaced fringe falling onto her forehead. Her eyes too, they were the same shade of hazel-grey that Rhian possessed. Which would make sense if this woman was either his mother or his sister. He glanced at her from the side again.
She didn't seem to have any wrinkles that gave away her age, but she walked far too regally. But once again, so did Hua Anhe and Hua Yi.
"I am too old for you," the woman said.
Zane bristled.
[
[
"That's not what I was doing," Zane said weakly, but what effect would those words have? So he bit his tongue. "You look really familiar to someone I know."
"I am his mother, I reckon he should look like me," she said with a huff.
Zane blinked, smiling awkwardly. Okay, that made sense. But it wasn't worth the messages he was getting about the
"It is to keep curses and treasures where it's sanctioned," she replied.
Zane let out a frosty breath. "So it's not exactly a temple?"
"No, it's not. It's meant to be a sanctuary for the townspeople in case there are any calamities; the palaces are made with the help of the Sect Leader's mana. The entire imperial palace is made similarly, it was made by all five sect leaders."
"I see," Zane said. Then he brought his hand to his chin. It seemed to serve similar purposes as the 'Courts' in Selvaris. Zane belonged to one of those, while he was part of the dukedom that ruled over the south of Selvaris, his family was responsible for managing the Amber Court.
These courts held ancient artillery and hidden architecture under guise in case of any emergencies. For example, the Amber Court was being used as a sanction at the moment. While the land would be filled with chaos, the designated courts would shield civilians from harm that the System may cause.
The two of them paused at a staircase. Zane looked up to see her watching him carefully. "I'm Esmeray Amren."
'She didn't take the Sect Leader's last name?' Zane wondered, but then again, those of Vaelrun did have a strong sense of cultural depth.
She took the first step and Zane followed her, staying a single step behind her.
"What's your name?" she asked him.
"Zane Mor," he replied.
"Your real name?"
Zane paused, he looked away at that. There was a reason he didn't go by Zephyr, or maybe he did like the name, but he'd been called Zane his entire life.
"Forgive me, but it was a guess. I seem to be correct." Esmeray smiled. She then sighed, "I suppose you children have lost their respect for themselves, likewise my son."
"I'm not very keen on using that name," Zane replied.
She nodded and suddenly stopped. She looked over the railing of the staircase at the ground. "They're watching us."
Zane followed her gaze to the floor. Sure enough, there were prominent shadows underneath the emerald-like coating. "They're giving off…"
"Ma'am," Zane began awkwardly, not knowing what to call her. "We had theorized that the amulet must be left behind here."
"Perhaps half of it," she muttered as she began climbing. "The Sect Leader mentioned sensing some of it on Shu Meiying."
Zane followed her to the staircase on the second floor. "What was he like?"
"Shu Meiying?" she paused.
"Yes," Zane replied. "I wanted to ask because it seemed unlikely that he, despite being one of the founders, turned on his principles so easily."
"He had always been a loose screw from what I recall from sitting in meetings. According to Huiliang, the only person who kept his sanity was his son. When the son was diagnosed with Dungeon Lung, Meiying grew unpredictable."
"What is Dungeon Lung?"
"It's a persistent dry cough, which causes black phlegm, shortness of breath, chest pain that worsens near high mana concentrations, and eventual lung tissue turning black and crystalline. His son wasn't a player because Shu Meiying desired to shield him from that life. Thus, when he was diagnosed, the nation did try to help, but there was hardly anything we could do."
That sounded a lot like 'crystal breath' which was what his brother had called it when one of the priests had fallen down and coughed up black phlegm.
"So, of course, Shu Meiying went mad searching for answers. And when his eyes fell on the Fei Resurrection, his son was in critical condition. He begged the other sects to allow him to use it, and while they were relatively complacent, Huiliang had outright rejected it."
'Of course he had,' Zane thought. 'If he did care about 'saving', then he would've saved his own disciple before Rhian killed him. In fact, Hua Huiliang went a lot based on 'natural' order, alternatively, 'you'd survive if you had the guts to.'
"So, Shu Meiying stole the artifact not knowing it was impossible to use given that—I believe you've heard of this, as the artifact was missing a piece," she said, glancing at him. "So, despite his attempts to revive his son, it turned out that the artifact was missing a part of its 'good' half. Hence, his son became the first revenant."
Zane wasn't sure what to say as the information was laid bare in front of him. He was inclined to ask, 'What happened to the revenant?'
But it seemed like Esmerary knew he'd ask that. "The poor boy couldn't handle so much evil energy flowing through him. He lived for a few days, but those days went in agony as the Shu Clan was ostracized for their actions. He eventually killed himself."
[A few
"We're on the third floor," she added as they stepped into the clearing of stairs.
'Shit. It's colder here.'
However, the moment they stepped onto the third floor's base, the ground beneath Zane's feet rumbled yet again, and a message popped up.
[The 'insides' of the 49th temple are rearranging themselves!]
"Make sure to use your mana to warm yourself!" Esmeray called out as massive Jade walls began separating them. The ground moved yet again and before Zane knew it, he was thrown to the side.
When he pushed himself to sit upright, he found himself in a dark corridor with a red rug that led to an old-looking door. He pushed himself up to stand and swore he could hear shouting and the clanging of swords in the distance.
He walked over to the door and glanced at his surroundings. There were numerous artifacts placed on the way leading to it, all glowing a sheen of green that made Zane feel almost nauseous. When he reached the door, it opened on its own, beckoning him into a pitch-black room.
Zane let mana accumulate on his palm and stepped inside, using it to light it. The doors shut behind it and a single message popped up.
[You have entered the Temple's fourth dungeon!]
Within seconds, green flames were lighting up every corner of the room, including the chandelier at the very top. 'It looks like the warrior's memorial,' Zane thought as his eyes fell around.
There were two statues, one with a sea creature's tail and the other with dragon's scales. Zane retracted his mana outpour from his palm and paused, taking in each statue. 'Surely this wasn't based on 'that' story… right?'
Zane tried recalling and vaguely remembered his younger self in Reverie Pavilion, reading through the high stack of myths. But the statues seemed to reflect on that knowledge.
[Some
[
[The Temple Lord, He Who Drinks the Blood of Ten Thousand Defeats wishes for you to make a choice]
A screen opened in front of Zane.
[1 or 2?]
Zane stared at it, then at the statues… surely, the case wasn't like that, was it? Did they want him to go against the spirits of God?
[The Temple Lord, He Who Drinks the Blood of Ten Thousand Defeats is giving you a time limit]
[Countdown: 2:00]
Zane moved towards the statues and walked around them, eyeing their existence. They were carved out of marble and jade, with their expressions of hate forever locked.
There was no giving as to who was 1 and who was 2, as there was no correlation at all. Zane could suspect it was their age, but he didn't know the tale that well. Aside from that, one thing was apparent, it was their identity and the element they represented.
Zane moved away from the statue and bit his lower lip as he inwardly prayed for him to not get Zhurong, as fighting fire with fire was a horrible idea.
He let his finger hover over the message. Then he closed his eyes and let himself tap the screen
[You have chosen '2']
[The spirit of the water cultivator, Gong Gong, is being revived!]
[Adequate strength is being fed to keep the grade of the trial appropriate!]
[The Temple Lord, He Who Drinks the Blood of Ten Thousand Defeats is sitting back in their throne]
[
Zane clicked his tongue, he wasn't getting a good feeling about it. The statue of the man with a serpent-like tail began glowing ominously.
It took a few moments before the statue finally broke, giving way to someone who looked starkly human-esque except for the divine glow that seemed to permeate him.
Zane plucked out a scab from his closing wounds, causing it to bleed again.
[You've invested 4000 species in strength]
[Strength lvl 5 > strength lvl 10]
[You've invested 2000 species in Wisteria's first attitude, Defender!]
[Defender lvl 3 > Defender lvl 8]
[You've spent 4000 species!]
A crazed laugh tore through the man's lungs from across from Zane. He laughed for another moment before he suddenly stopped, then his eyes fell onto Zane.
[The Temple Lord, He Who Drinks the Blood of Ten Thousand Defeats has offered Spirit Gong Gong a contract regarding his freedom]
Zane cursed under his breath. That wasn't good. It implied a temple 'break', meaning Zane was to die for the man to be able to leave this room. 'As if that'd happen,' Zane grunted to himself as he procured Ember from the great chest. Fire on water, it should be much more compatible than Zhurong.
The tale was rather simple.
〈In the age before the heavens were sealed, there was a god of water named Gonggong.
He was born of chaos and flood, his body coiling like rivers, his breath the mist that rises before storms. The other gods feared him, for wherever he walked the earth grew soft and drowned. They called him a destroyer, a rebel, a calamity.
But the people who lived along the banks remembered differently.
When the sun burned too fiercely and cracked the soil, Gonggong sent his waters to cool the land. When drought gnawed at the roots of rice and millet, his rains answered. He never asked for temples or incense. He simply flowed.
Yet the gods of fire and sky grew jealous. They said his waters stole their light, drowned their flames. Zhurong, lord of fire, challenged him to a contest of supremacy. The winner would hold dominion over the turning of seasons. They fought atop Mount Buzhou, one of the four pillars that held the vault of heaven aloft.
Gonggong struck with flood and torrent. Zhurong answered with flame and ash. The mountain trembled. The sky groaned.
In the end, Gonggong was cast down. His head struck the pillar with such force that it cracked and fell. The heavens tilted. Rivers reversed. The world poured toward the southeast, and the sun no longer rose in perfect balance. The people suffered. Floods swallowed villages. The gods blamed Gonggong and named him villain.〉
[The Second God of the semi-genesis tale is looking at you!]
Zane felt himself tremble at the gaze, it looked so cold, and yet he wasn't sure if it was meant to intimidate him or acknowledge him. He stared back, unable to look away.
[The Temple Lord, He Who Drinks the Blood of Ten Thousand Defeats has put constraints on the current trial due to popular votes from the
[Time Limit: 30 minutes]
[
More of the physical constraints broke away from Gong Gong's statue, and Zane took a stance as the man's tale broke out of the final constraint.
[Ember's 1st attribute is in use!]
[Thank you dear player, for making my life so easy] Gong Gong said, and suddenly a guandao was procured in his hand. Zane barely had a chance to breathe before the man was rushing towards him.
[The Second God of the semi-genesis tale has used Whirlpool Paralysis lvl??]
Blue, translucent, water-like tendrils surrounded Zane's legs before they were moving up his body. He gasped as he felt as though he was drowning. He tried to move, but it was as if his legs were submerged under water, heavy. His sword collided with Gong Gong's guandao.
[An exclusive skill has been triggered given the circumstances!]
[Exclusive skill, '␣␣' lvl?? Has been triggered!]
[Exclusive skill, '␣␣' lvl?? Has stopped the mental damage by Whirlpool Paralysis!]
[Warning!]
[Your body is experiencing symptoms like drowning!]