Crossing the river, he arrived at the other side.
The towering trees made it incredibly easy to get lost here, invisible to the naked eye, but a terrifying oppressive feeling washed over him.
Ancient, eerie, dead silent.
Despite thousands of martial artists pouring in, it was as if they had all been swallowed by this place, not a single sound to be heard.
Chen Jiuyang turned his head, his expression grave.
The sky had darkened!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Chen Jiuyang's heart suddenly began to pound violently, a sense of life-or-death crisis surging into his mind, and the dragon scale phantom in his sea of consciousness also began to resonate.
In Chen Jiuyang's vision, the previously clear sky instantly turned gray, the setting sun like blood, filled with ferocity and terror.
The world was filled with a deathly silence, not a single sound, and the darkness that devoured all things was slowly engulfing them from across the river.
Only now did Chen Jiuyang see signs of other people.
"Your Highness Prince Qian, save me..."
A martial artist was fleeing in panic, shouting for help towards Chen Jiuyang.
The encroaching darkness was incredibly fast, swallowing the martial artist, instantly silencing him. The darkness devoured everything in its path.
Chen Jiuyang's expression immediately tensed, his heart sinking. He pushed off with his legs and galloped forward.
The Nine Forbidden Lands had been lost to the annals of time for too long, with no one knowing any information about them.
As Chen Jiuyang ran, he noticed ancient stone statues scattered everywhere, some complete, some broken.
These ancient statues looked sacred yet sinister, sending shivers down his spine.
Chen Jiuyang looked back and saw an endless darkness behind him. What was that darkness that devoured everything?
Suddenly...
Chen Jiuyang noticed that specks of starlight were appearing in the darkness.
Chen Jiuyang's heart trembled, "What is that?"
If he remembered correctly, those specks of starlight were the ancient stone statues he had glimpsed earlier.
Could it be.
These ancient stone statues offered protection?
Perhaps he could try?
In such a terrifying place, how could one survive without some special means?
The young monk's information stated that Monk Puhui, Chen Biandao, and Elder Han were trapped here, which meant they had survived and were unharmed.
Chen Jiuyang's thoughts raced. After a moment, he rushed to a half-human-tall stone statue of a Buddha and embraced it.
He looked at the terrifying, boundless darkness and took a deep breath.
The despairing darkness that filled his vision rushed towards him. In an instant, it engulfed Chen Jiuyang. A terrifying, suffocating sensation surged into his heart, stripping away his senses.
It felt like death, unable to perceive anything.
The next moment, the stone statue of the Buddha he was holding emitted a faint glow.
All his senses returned.
Chen Jiuyang felt as if a drowning person could breathe again, a sense of surviving a disaster filling his heart.
"Hoo, hoo..."
Chen Jiuyang let out a light breath.
His gamble had paid off.
The Nine Forbidden Lands lived up to their name. Merely stepping into this place, before encountering anything, he faced a terrifying life-or-death crisis.
What were these sacred yet sinister stone carvings? Who had sculpted them to be able to resist this boundless, terrifying darkness?
Chen Jiuyang could not be sure if there were other terrifying things within this boundless darkness.
He wanted to pick up the stone statue and move forward, but found that this half-human-tall stone carving was as heavy as a mountain. Even with all his strength, Chen Jiuyang could only move it a fraction.
To move forward while carrying the stone statue was something even he found difficult.
Chen Jiuyang's heart sank.
Many questions flooded his mind.
How long would this boundless darkness last? Were there other terrifying things within it? If it continued indefinitely, how could he leave this forbidden land?
Forbidden land, forbidden land.
Truly a place forbidden to pass.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!!!"
Suddenly, strange calls erupted in Chen Jiuyang's ears.
Within the darkness, something strange was making calls, enough to make one's scalp tingle.
That strange thing seemed to be very wary of the stone statue, not daring to approach Chen Jiuyang, yet not moving away either.
Chen Jiuyang's heart sank. With one hand on the stone statue, he slowly drew out his Yan Sheng blade and slashed towards the source of the sound.
It was useless!!!
It was directly swallowed by the darkness.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!!!"
The strange thing let out a sound like mockery, incredibly piercing.
"This cursed place."
Chen Jiuyang's expression grew grim. This was truly difficult now. Without the stone statue, his life was in danger, but the stone statue could not be moved.
Could he only wait for the darkness to recede?
Who knew when this darkness would leave.
He was truly trapped here, and it was quite troublesome.
Just as Chen Jiuyang was contemplating a solution.
"Buzz!"
The Yan Sheng blade suddenly let out a hum.
Chen Jiuyang looked up and saw a light, as bright as a lantern, approaching from a distance.
As it got a little closer, Chen Jiuyang's expression turned to horror.
He saw that the massive ancient stone statue he couldn't move was being carried on the head of a middle-aged man missing both arms, walking freely in the darkness without any effort.
What kind of cultivation was required to achieve this?
The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse, and he spoke in an ancient tongue, "You shouldn't have come here."
Chen Jiuyang understood the words, his heart filled with shock and confusion. What era was this middle-aged man from?
He suppressed his doubts, took a deep breath, and said, "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
Seeing Chen Jiuyang looking at him vigilantly, the middle-aged man's expression was natural, and he said calmly, "This is no place to talk. Follow me."
Then, the middle-aged man approached Chen Jiuyang and covered him with the stone statue on his head, which was emitting light.
Chen Jiuyang's nerves were taut as he followed the middle-aged man walking in the darkness.
In the boundless, terrifying darkness, Chen Jiuyang saw a colossal, mountain-like, luminous, and sinister Buddha statue. Beneath that Buddha statue, many martial artists huddled together, their expressions numb and terrified, trembling.
It was as if they had crossed mountains, traversed forests, and crossed a stone bridge. The darkness before them dispersed, and the view opened up.
Four massive stone statues formed a formation, enveloping a village and its homesteads of an ancient, unrecorded era. The boundless darkness could not encroach upon this place.
Upon entering, the armless middle-aged man lowered his head slightly and set down the stone statue.
Chen Jiuyang took a look. There were a few living people here, all with physical impairments, which made his scalp tingle.
Broken Old Village, Broken Old Village.
Were these people the terrifying existences within the forbidden land?
Chen Jiuyang was unsure.
Apart from the armless middle-aged man, the other few people were sitting at a table eating.
"Please sit."
The armless middle-aged man said, then sat down on the stone statue himself.
Chen Jiuyang's nerves and mind were stretched to the limit. He asked in a deep voice, "Who exactly are you people?"
"We are merely a group of cripples, pitiful souls clinging to existence here."
Chen Jiuyang frowned and asked again:
"Why did you say I shouldn't have come here?"
The armless middle-aged man said, "Your strength is too weak, and coming here has exposed your identity. They will target you."