usatvline Chapter 676: Hourglass Puzzle
Chapter 676: Hourglass Puzzle
Outside the Wanbao Secret Realm, which is surrounded by clouds and mist, looks like a fairyland but hides mysteries, the geniuses of various sects gathered together, their sleeves fluttering, and their spiritual pressure surged. They either stared at the entrance of the secret realm with fiery eyes, ready to explore the treasures in this dangerous place; or they looked stern, observing the surroundings quietly, secretly guarding against competitors. Yun Yao and Chu Mochen were hidden in the crowd, low-key but unable to hide their unique temperament. Yun Yao was dressed in a moon-white robe, with long black hair like a waterfall, tied up with only a simple jade hairpin, eyebrows like distant black, eyes like stars, seemingly weak, but the occasional brilliance between them revealed courage and intelligence. Chu Mochen was dressed in a black suit, with a tall and straight figure like a pine tree, sword eyebrows and star eyes, exuding a restrained and steady aura, with a sword on his waist, and the gem on the hilt flickered, as if telling of its extraordinaryness.
In order to break through the crucial Dongxu realm, the two of them traveled all the way here. Yun Yao knew the difficulty of this trip to the secret realm, so she deliberately restrained her own breath and tried to act low-key under the eyes of everyone. However, the atmosphere at the auction site was like hot oil, getting hotter and hotter. When the mysterious and precious "time and space hourglass" was put on the auction table, the whole venue was boiling instantly. The hourglass exuded a faint blue light, and the sand was crystal clear, as if flowing with endless time power, attracting everyone in the audience to bid, and the shouting of bids came one after another, shaking the dome of the venue as if it was trembling slightly.
Yun Yao's eyes were fixed on the hourglass, thinking to herself: This item will be of great benefit to my breakthrough, I must not miss it. Without any hesitation, she raised her jade hand lightly, and the crisp sound of bidding instantly penetrated the noise: "I offer 30 million spiritual stones." This sound was like a huge rock thrown into the lake, stirring up thousands of waves. Everyone looked sideways, their eyes full of astonishment and exploration. Several elders of the organizer looked at each other, and a subtle cunning flashed in their eyes. In an instant, the venue was surrounded by flashing lights, and the ban was activated with a bang. Runes intertwined into a net, trapping Yun Yao in it.
"Capture her! The Blood Evil Sect offers a reward of 100 million spirit stones for her blood!" The old man leading the organizer shouted loudly, his voice like a bell, breaking the brief silence. Then, several strong men flashed and rushed towards Yun Yao like ghosts, their spiritual power whistling, bringing gusts of wind, blowing the surrounding tables and chairs to the ground. Yun Yao's eyes were stern, and she snorted coldly: "You dare to be so presumptuous!" After that, she was surrounded by light, and the "Hongmeng Sky Ring" composed of twelve star wheels instantly appeared above her head, dazzling and dazzling, like a scorching sun in the sky. The Hongmeng Sky Ring slowly rotated, emitting a heart-pounding pressure. Yun Yao waved her jade hand, the sky ring trembled, and an invisible ripple of spiritual power spread out. The three powerful men in the Spirit Transformation Realm who were rushing in the front felt that the magic weapons in their hands suddenly stagnated, as if they were stuck in a quagmire. The originally agile light of the magic weapons dimmed instantly. No matter how they urged their spiritual power, the magic weapons would not obey them. They could only watch Yun Yao with fear and unwillingness in their eyes.
While Yun Yao was displaying her prowess, Chu Mochen was not idle either. While everyone's attention was drawn to Yun Yao, he moved like lightning and in a few flashes he rushed to the booth where the map of the secret realm was stored. The guards guarding the booth were horrified and hurriedly drew their swords to stop him, but Chu Mochen would never give them a chance. He shook the sword in his hand, and the sword rang like a dragon's roar. The spiritual power on the sword surged, turning into sharp sword energy, which knocked the guards away like a gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Chu Mochen snatched the map and stuffed it into the storage bag. Then he turned and ran towards Yun Yao, shouting, "Yun Yao, go!"
After the two met up, they followed the map and went deep into the secret realm. As soon as they stepped into this mysterious place, Yun Yao felt an ancient and mysterious breath coming towards her. The space around her seemed to be alive, twisting and changing, faintly echoing with the star map of the Galaxy Wheel around her neck. Yun Yao's heart moved, and she thought to herself: Could this secret space be inextricably linked to the Hongmeng Clan?
While she was thinking, a strange blue light suddenly appeared in front of her. It was the "time field" released by the time and space hourglass. Yun Yao felt a flash in front of her eyes, and a strong pulling force came, instantly dragging her into the illusion. When she came to her senses, she found that she had returned to the moment when she entered the secret realm. Everything around her was the same as when she first entered. Disciples from various sects were bustling around, and the sounds of hawking and talking were endless. Yun Yao was startled and realized that something was wrong: This is an illusion, I am trapped in a time loop!
The first death came unexpectedly. Yun Yao had just taken a few steps when a bottomless trap suddenly appeared out of nowhere under her feet. Before she could react, she fell straight down and the darkness swallowed her in an instant. When she opened her eyes again, she was back to the starting point. Yun Yao took a deep breath, suppressed the panic in her heart, and began to observe everything around her carefully. Once, twice... Each death was different. Sometimes she was hit by a hidden arrow shot suddenly, and sometimes she was attacked by a strong man hidden in the crowd, but every time she could find some subtle clues.
In the twelfth cycle, Yun Yao keenly grasped the key. She found that an NPC merchant who appeared in each cycle was wearing the same clothes as those in her mother's diary. The clothes were embroidered with exquisite star patterns, and the collar and cuffs were outlined with mysterious runes in gold thread, revealing an ancient charm. Yun Yao's heart moved, and she quietly approached the merchant and whispered, "Are you the spirit of this secret realm?" The merchant was slightly stunned, a flash of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he regained his composure and laughed dryly: "Don't laugh, girl, I'm just an ordinary merchant." Yun Yao raised the corners of her mouth and showed a confident smile: "Ordinary merchant? Your clothes are not ordinary. If I'm not mistaken, you must be related to the Hongmeng Clan, and you also know a thing or two about the secret of this secret realm." The merchant's face turned pale in an instant. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed and said, "Forget it, girl, you are very smart. I am indeed the spirit of the secret realm. This hourglass is the key to unlocking the real treasure. You need to collect five 'Hongmeng Star Cores' to unlock the seal."
At the same time, Chu Mochen accidentally fell into "memory reversal" while assisting Yun Yao. His eyes became empty in an instant, as if his soul had been taken away. He stood there blankly, with his spiritual power surging chaotically. Yun Yao noticed something strange and turned her head to see Chu Mochen like this, and her heart tightened. She hurried to Chu Mochen, reached out and held his wrist, trying to comfort him with spiritual power, but found it was useless. At that moment, Yun Yao no longer hesitated and forcibly connected his consciousness with a soul contract. In the spiritual channel constructed by the soul contract, Yun Yao saw the tragic scene of Chu Mochen's mother being killed when he was a child. The raging fire burned the home, and the mother fell in a pool of blood. The young Chu Mochen was full of fear and helplessness, with tears rolling in his eyes, but he stubbornly refused to fall. Yun Yao's eyes were red and she whispered softly: "Don't be afraid, now it's my turn to protect you." She continuously injected her own spiritual power into Chu Mochen's body, and at the same time soothed his broken heart with gentle and firm thoughts.
With Yun Yao's efforts, Chu Mochen's eyes gradually regained clarity. He looked at Yun Yao, who was full of concern, and a warm current surged in his heart. He reached out and gently held her hand, exerting a little force, as if conveying strength and trust: "Thank you, Yun Yao, it's great to have you here." Yun Yao held his hand back and smiled: "We are symbiotic, sharing life and death, no need to thank me."
After a brief moment of warmth, the two quickly adjusted their states and devoted themselves to the difficult journey of finding the Hongmeng star core. The five star cores are hidden in the five elements area of the secret realm, each of which is full of dangers and traps.
In the metallic area, a huge gear array blocked the way. Countless metal gears meshed with each other, spinning rapidly, making a harsh roar, and the cold light flashed between the teeth, like a sharp blade. Yun Yao frowned and pondered for a moment, and suddenly an idea came to her mind, remembering the modern knowledge of mechanics. She took out some spare materials from the storage bag and quickly assembled them into a simple lever device. Then, she used her spiritual power to accurately embed the lever into the key node of the gear array. As she pried the lever violently, the operating rhythm of the gear array was instantly disrupted, and a creaking protest sound was emitted. Taking advantage of this brief chaos, Yun Yao and Chu Mochen flashed through the gear array and successfully found the star core hidden behind the array. The star core was like a golden pearl, emitting a dazzling metallic luster, suspended in the air, trembling slightly, as if waiting for their arrival.
In the wood attribute area, poisonous fog permeated, like a green swamp of death. The pungent smell hit people in the face, making people want to vomit. Seeing this, Yun Yao calmly took out the materials she had prepared from the storage bag. Her hands flew, and her spiritual power surged, quickly configuring the "acid-base neutralization talisman". As the rune was drawn, the talisman paper flashed, and turned into a stream of light and rushed into the poisonous fog. In an instant, the poisonous fog seemed to be torn by an invisible big hand, making a "sizzling" sound and quickly dissipated. The two passed through the poisonous fog and saw a star core emitting a warm wood-colored light, quietly lying under an ancient spiritual tree. The surrounding spiritual energy seemed to be summoned and slowly gathered towards it.
In the most dangerous fire attribute area, the magma is like a raging dragon, flowing wantonly. Wherever it goes, the rocks melt instantly, making a "crackling" sound. The high temperature hit Yun Yao and Chu Mochen's faces, burning them so much that the sweat evaporated as soon as it appeared. Yun Yao's eyes were firm, she took a deep breath, and mobilized the power of Hongmeng in her body. She waved her jade hand, and a force of time and space was released, like an invisible dam, forcibly making the surging magma flow backwards. Below the magma, a corner of the cold pond was exposed. The cold water of the pond formed a sharp contrast with the boiling magma, and water vapor rose. The star core was suspended in the center of the cold pond, emitting a cold blue light, like an elf of ice and fire.
After going through untold hardships, when the five star cores resonated in the hourglass, the entire secret realm trembled violently as if a giant beast had been awakened. In the center of the secret realm, a suspended "Time Altar" slowly rose, and ancient runes flickered mysteriously on the surface of the altar, as if telling the vicissitudes of time. In the center of the altar, there was a pill emitting colorful rays of light - "Hongmeng Breaking Realm Pill", which was the key to helping Yun Yao break through the Cave Void Realm. However, there was a striking warning engraved on the pill bottle: "Those who take it will suffer the pain of reincarnation for a hundred lifetimes."
Yun Yao looked at the pill, and a look of determination flashed in her eyes. She knew the importance of this breakthrough, which was not only related to the improvement of her own strength, but also closely related to the future of the Hongmeng Clan and everything she was protecting. At that moment, she reached out without hesitation to pick up the pill and put it in her mouth. The pill melted in her mouth, and a majestic and overbearing force instantly exploded in her body, like a raging storm, sweeping through her limbs, meridians and spiritual consciousness.
Then, Yun Yao was swept into the torrent of time. Her consciousness was like a leaf in the wind, drifting and drifting, and she experienced hundreds of lives. Sometimes, she transformed into Chu Mochen's sister, playing and laughing in the Chu family's courtyard, enjoying the brief warmth and happiness; sometimes, she became a disciple of a hostile sect, sticking to her original intention in the contradictions and struggles; there was even a life in which she became the Saint of the Blood Demon Sect, living in darkness but always yearning for light. At the last moment, she resolutely chose to stand shoulder to shoulder with Chu Mochen to resist the evil fate.
Every death in her life turned into a raging fire, mercilessly tempering her soul. In the endless pain and suffering, Yun Yao never gave up. She gritted her teeth and struggled in the vortex of reincarnation with her unyielding will.
Outside, Chu Mochen was standing outside the altar of time, anxious. He paced back and forth, clenching his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white as he looked at the altar that was constantly flashing, as if it was connected to endless time and space. Suddenly, he remembered his mother's last words before she died: "If you encounter a life-or-death catastrophe, use the Chu Mo family's 'Life Star Lamp' as a guide." Chu Mochen did not dare to delay for a moment, and quickly took out his life spirit lamp from his storage bag. The spirit lamp was simple and exquisite, and the body of the lamp was engraved with mysterious runes, as if it carried the thousand-year heritage of the Chu Mo family. He carefully placed the spirit lamp on the ground, flicked his fingertips, and injected a stream of spiritual power into the wick. In an instant, the wick ignited a faint flame, like a light of hope in the darkness. As the flames jumped, a strange thing happened. The wick was actually faintly connected to Yun Yao's soul, and a faint spiritual bond emerged in the void.
Chu Mochen was delighted, and following this spiritual bond, he resolutely stepped into the dangerous torrent of time. In that chaotic time and space, the two finally met. Yun Yao's face was exhausted, but her eyes were firm. Chu Mochen felt distressed and held her hand tightly: "Yun Yao, I'm here to accompany you. Let's break this calamity fire together." The two joined hands, spiritual power surged, light bloomed, and launched a fearless charge towards the last calamity fire.
With their joint efforts, the catastrophe fire was shattered and turned into stars in the sky. The aura of the Void Realm burst out from Yun Yao's body, like a new sun, dispelling all the darkness and haze. Under the impact of this powerful force, the Time Altar collapsed, revealing the teleportation array leading to the upper world. The teleportation array shone brightly, like a door to an unknown world, mysterious and attractive.
Yun Yao and Chu Mochen looked at each other, and saw expectation and determination in each other's eyes. They took a deep breath and stepped into the teleportation array hand in hand. With a flash of light, the two figures disappeared from the spot, leaving only the gradually calm secret realm, as if silently telling their thrilling adventure story, waiting for the arrival of the next batch of brave men...