Ling Yun walked up the steps to the top of the tomb. As the area of the tomb platform decreased with each layer, the entrance to the top tomb was less than ten meters square. The entrance was not covered, but was just a large circular opening that could probably accommodate several people to enter and exit.
Ling Yun suddenly sensed something and looked up. A star that appeared and disappeared in the night sky was facing the entrance of the tomb. He could vaguely feel the faint energy fluctuations at the entrance of the tomb through his mental energy field.
Wouldn't the rain fill the tomb with water? Ling Yun wondered, peering into the cave. He saw an empty tomb with a huge coffin placed directly opposite the entrance, its lid wide open. Inside, there was no corpse, only an old bronze lotus-shaped lampstand.
Without hesitation, Ling Yun leaped into the tomb, for in that fleeting glance he had seen a pair of feet. A pair of feet wearing modern designer sandals. Only a missing girl would wear sandals.
Ling Yun landed softly on the ground in the tomb. Before he could even glance at the coffin, he immediately noticed five young girls lying near the tomb wall. Li Lingling was on the far right, but all five girls were motionless, as if they were dead.
Ling Yun was shocked and rushed over to help Li Lingling up. The girl's face was ashen, her eyes were closed, and she was unconscious. Ling Yun placed his finger under her nose and felt a sense of relief. There was still a faint breath coming from her nose; she was still alive.
He put Li Lingling down and then went to check on the other girls lying there one by one. He didn't recognize any of them, but they were clearly the missing girls reported in the news. He didn't know what had abducted them to this terrifying tomb.
The girls' vital signs were very weak, but they still had heartbeats and were breathing. It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune, but if they stayed here, they would probably become cold corpses sooner or later.
Ling Yun stood up and carefully searched the tomb, but found nothing. He could only focus his gaze on the huge coffin in the center of the tomb chamber, his brow furrowing. So far, he had not found anything dangerous, nor were there any non-human creatures inside the coffin. But the five girls couldn't have flown in out of thin air; something must be inside the coffin, perhaps its dwelling place. If anything was strange, it was probably on that ancient lampstand.
He approached the coffin and carefully examined the antique lampstand, about half a meter tall, with a bronze base. Connecting the base to a long rod was a lotus-shaped disc, empty except for seven evenly spaced small holes along its edge—a remarkably exquisite and classical design. Aside from that, there was nothing else unusual about it.
Ling Yun tried to move the lampstand using telekinesis, but it didn't budge. To his surprise, he discovered that the bottom of the lampstand was now integrated with the ground. Even the entire coffin was integrated with the ground.
Since he couldn't move the lampstand, Ling Yun lost interest. Now was not the time for exploration; the one who had abducted the girl was clearly not in the tomb for the time being. If he didn't leave now, when would he? In any case, saving the girl was the priority.
He had only taken a few steps when a strange feeling suddenly welled up in Ling Yun's heart, as if some voice was calling to his soul. This feeling was so strong that after hesitating for a moment, Ling Yun turned back and stared intently at the coffin.
The coffin was empty except for the lampstand. But this time, Ling Yun closed his eyes and scanned the coffin carefully with his senses. Suddenly, he reached into the coffin and grabbed at the air. With a soft "whoosh," a thin, yellow book, almost the same color as the coffin, flew out from a corner and landed in his hand. Without even glancing at the book, Ling Yun stuffed it into his pocket and prepared to leap out of the exit with the girls.
An extremely cold and eerie aura instantly enveloped the entire tomb.
A huge and ferocious shadow rushed down from the tomb exit, attacking Ling Yun's head.
Chapter Nine: Shadows of the Ancient Tomb
Ling Yun felt a chill run down his spine. The cold aura was so sharp that even from several meters away, Ling Yun felt as if his blood had stopped flowing.
Startled, Ling Yun didn't bother to jump upwards anymore. He retreated rapidly, his explosive power making him incredibly fast, barely dodging the shadow's attack like a wisp of smoke.
The shadow missed its target, but instead of immediately pursuing Ling Yun, it drifted into the coffin like a cloud. The moment the lower end of the shadow touched the lotus disc of the ancient lampstand, a wondrous change occurred.
Seven evenly spaced holes on the lampstand each emitted an extremely thin and bright beam of light, like tiny lasers, shooting straight into the sky from the tomb's entrance. Upon closer inspection, the seven beams displayed seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The lotus-shaped disc emitted a soft hum and began to slowly rotate. The entire lampstand radiated a dazzling white light, illuminating the hundreds of meters of dark tomb as if it were daytime.
Ling Yun forcibly suppressed his shock and looked up. In the white light, the shadow was as indistinct as a shifting cloud. Within the cloud, a hideous black figure was vaguely visible. Even with Ling Yun's current eyesight, he couldn't make out what the figure was.
Could this be the thing that kidnapped Lingling and the others? What exactly is it? Could it really be a ghost? Ling Yun couldn't help but wonder. Even with his supernatural abilities and increased courage, he couldn't help but turn pale.
The shadow no longer attacked Ling Yun; its amorphous, cloud-like form merely shifted and changed shape at will on the lampstand. The white light grew even brighter, enveloping the shadow. Thin beams of even brighter light converged within the white light, swiftly passing through the dark figure within the shadow like gossamer threads, but without reflecting back. The dark figure, like a black hole, absorbed those thin beams of even brighter light.
Ling Yun suddenly sensed something was wrong. In just a short while, the chill in the tomb intensified, and the temperature dropped by more than ten degrees. Outside the tomb, it was still a sweltering summer, but inside it was like an ice cave. Even with Ling Yun's body, which had become immune to heat and cold after his transformation, he felt a slight chill despite wearing only a thin layer of clothing.
After absorbing the beams of light, the dark figure in the shadows became increasingly solid, even to the naked eye. Ling Yun looked up at the opening above the tomb and keenly sensed a distinct, chilling energy fluctuation emanating from the opening, empowering the lampstand, and then being converted into light and absorbed into the dark figure.
"Oh no! It's absorbing energy." Ling Yun suddenly realized. This shadow was clearly the inhabitant of this mysterious tomb. And that old lampstand was its tool for absorbing the cold, yin energy. He just didn't know why it wasn't chasing the intruders first but instead absorbing energy. He also didn't know what it intended to do with the five girls it had abducted.
If not now, when? Must he wait until this thing has absorbed enough energy before attacking him? Ling Yun reacted swiftly, roaring as he lunged forward, delivering a powerful punch to the elusive shadow.
The shadows neither flinched nor dodged, as if they were completely oblivious, and continued to transform into various shapes.
The fist struck the shadow without resistance, but it was as if it had hit thin air, piercing right through it. Ling Yun inwardly cried out in alarm; this shadow had no substance, and the black shadow within it was just like a real shadow. As the fist passed by, apart from feeling a cold, pricking pain, there was no sensation of hitting anything substantial.
Ling Yun paused for a moment, then rushed forward again, punching and kicking the shadow. But every attack hit empty air; apart from feeling a distinct chill when touching the shadow, he felt nothing else.
Seeing the shadowy figure solidify further, Ling Yun was frantic, but unsure what to do. Physical attacks were clearly ineffective against the shadow. In his desperation, Ling Yun couldn't think of any other solutions.
The shadow did not react to Ling Yun's attack at all, just like a real wisp of mist, without any consciousness.
Suddenly, Ling Yun's eyes lit up. He took a few steps forward and kicked the side of the coffin with all his might. Although the coffin was attached to the ground and could not move, it was made of wood. Although wood is hard, how could it withstand Ling Yun's full-force kick? Not to mention wood, even a coffin made of steel would probably leave a footprint.
With a crisp crack, a huge hole suddenly appeared in the side of the coffin. Ling Yun's kick, its momentum undiminished, pierced through the coffin and slammed solidly into the ancient bronze lampstand inside. The base of the lampstand, still attached to the ground, remained unharmed. However, the slender lamp post snapped in half with a loud crack. The entire lampstand toppled heavily inside the coffin. Without the lampstand, the beams of light emanating from the seven small holes vanished abruptly. The white light within the lotus-shaped disc also slowly dissipated, plunging the tomb back into darkness.
He sensed that the chilling energy at the cave entrance had stopped flowing. Warm, dry air immediately wafted in again. Ling Yun was overjoyed, thinking to himself, "Just as I thought! As long as I destroy the device that the shadow uses to absorb chilling energy, it won't be able to absorb energy anymore."
The shadow was forced to stop absorbing the cold energy, and seemed extremely angry, emitting a terrifying hissing sound. A cloud of mist more than two meters high rushed towards Lingyun.
Ling Yun was startled and was about to dodge when he suddenly remembered that the shadow was immune to physical attacks. Since he couldn't hit it, theoretically it couldn't hit him either. There was no need to dodge. So he simply stood still, but just to be on the safe side, he adopted a defensive stance.
He forgot that if the shadow couldn't use physical attacks, how could it have kidnapped Li Lingling and several other living people?
Fortunately, his final defensive stance saved his life. The shadow, like quicksand, swept across him, and the overwhelming force sent Ling Yun flying. He crashed heavily onto the tomb floor more than ten meters away. His two defensive arms felt as if they were broken, and he felt excruciating pain. But what bothered Ling Yun the most wasn't the pain, but the chilling sensation of the shadow passing through him. It was a piercing, almost freezing feeling, as if thousands of tiny insects were crawling into his skin, trying to burrow into his body through his pores, almost freezing his internal organs.
The chill brought more than just a cold sensation. After the shadow attack, Ling Yun suddenly felt weak. This weakness wasn't physical fatigue, but more like the weakness of an ordinary person after a serious illness. Ling Yun himself possessed supernatural abilities, and his mental field was most sensitive to physical sensations, which made him even more astonished.
The shadowy cloud swirled within the tomb, circled a few times, and then lunged at Ling Yun, who had just gotten up. This time, Ling Yun didn't defend himself. Since the shadow could attack him, it meant that it had materialized at the moment of contact. Simply dodging wasn't an option, and judging from the shadow's trajectory and speed, it was swift and unpredictable. In terms of agility and speed, Ling Yun might not be a match. Even if he ignored Li Lingling and the others and ran out on his own, he might not be able to escape the shadow's pursuit.
In a flash, Ling Yun collided head-on with the shadow. A chilling feeling enveloped his entire body once again, and Ling Yun was sent flying again. This time, however, he did not fall to the ground. He spun around in the air and landed steadily on the ground.
Ling Yun was both shocked and furious. He had clearly felt the shadow's attack, and its force was no different from the first time. Yet, his punches seemed to pass through clouds and land in empty air. Didn't this mean that the opponent could attack him without being affected by his attacks? Moreover, after the shadow pounced, Ling Yun felt weak again, this time much more noticeably than the first time. If he allowed the shadow to attack, wouldn't he die from weakness?
In a fleeting glance, Ling Yun saw five girls lying in the corner and suddenly understood. It seemed that the shadow not only used the lampstand to absorb that strange, chilling energy, but also had some other way to weaken people. Even with his superpowers, he could feel weakened by being pounced on by the shadow; how much more so would these ordinary girls?
The shadow hissed and pounced again, its angle and posture exactly the same. Ling Yun truly didn't know whether this shadow was a conscious living being or just a ghost attacking on instinct.
An invisible mental force field was activated instantly, blocking the shadow. This was Ling Yun's last resort to save his life. If it failed, he would have no choice but to close his eyes and await death.
The shadow seemed frozen in place, stopping a meter in front of Ling Yun. Physical attacks were ineffective against it, but his mental energy field finally managed to block its cloud-like body. Ling Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. If he had known this would happen, he would have used his telekinesis from the beginning. However, he only ever used telekinesis to manipulate objects from a distance; he wasn't quite sure how to control it for actual attacks.
However, Ling Yun immediately tensed up because he discovered that his mental field couldn't hold the shadow in place. Although the shadow was restrained by the invisible force field, it still moved slowly forward. The shadow became increasingly ferocious within the shadow, with two long, tentacle-like tips extending from the shadow to form two terrifying, enormous ghostly claws, reaching towards Ling Yun little by little. This was the first time the shadow had revealed such a ferocious attack form.
Ling Yun's face turned pale, and two thin lines of blood trickled from under his nose. He had used all his strength; such telekinesis was enough to firmly fix a car traveling at eighty kilometers per hour to the ground, but he still couldn't hold onto the shadow. The shadow emitted a chilling, mental force that was able to contend with Ling Yun's telekinesis, and even surpass it by a few points.