Chapter 2272: Chapter 2269: Gate of Hell
When they arrived in front of the valley, the entrance was wider than expected, with the ground covered in gravel. These stones had fallen from the weathered cliff and collected over time to form a desert-like terrain.
However, looking into the valley, they saw plenty of greenery, grass, flowers, and even a stream, which was unexpected for everyone.
"It doesn’t look like Death Valley; it looks more like a paradise in the glacier," Xiao Manxuan remarked curiously.
"Yeah, it seems no worse than the Medicine King Mansion," Ling Shuiyao was also surprised.
"It’s just the characteristics of the valley’s climate, don’t let your guard down," Lin Tian said, frowning slightly.
The valley was lower, and the cold air was blocked by the high mountains on both sides, making the temperature inside the valley higher than outside. Plus, the water from the melted glacier naturally led to lush vegetation.
"Lin Tian, something’s not right here. Look at the compass," Miss suddenly said, placing the compass in front of Lin Tian.
At this moment, the compass needle wasn’t pointing north but was spinning wildly, as if influenced by some force. Everyone took out their compasses, and they were all the same, without exception.
"It should be a magnetic anomaly. The rocks on the mountain walls outside are gray, but those in the valley are brown, with a high metal mineral content seriously affecting this area’s magnetic field. So, once we enter the valley, the compass is basically useless," Lin Tian explained calmly.
This magnetic anomaly was misunderstood by ancient people and often demonized, but as a modern person, Lin Tian naturally understood the reason.
"Useless or not, it’s just a valley. Can it really get us lost?" Situ Yufeng was indifferent.
Feeling embarrassed earlier by the Snow Eagle incident, he now wanted to show off a bit and regain some face.
Lin Tian’s gaze flickered as he scanned the valley entrance with his vision. He observed everything beyond the entrance and then said, "Looking at the mountain range, this valley should be spindle-shaped, narrow at the entrance and gradually widening inside, with the widest part reaching tens of kilometers. Do you still think you won’t get lost?"
"Tens of kilometers are just a walk in the park for an Ancient Martial Artist. If you’re afraid, you can turn back; no one will stop you," Situ Yufeng retorted disdainfully. Having been outshined by Lin Tian before, he was thinking of ways to undermine him, and now he felt the opportunity had come.
But Lin Tian just sneered and couldn’t be bothered to argue with him: "Miss, let’s go."
The others also moved into the valley, leaving Situ Yufeng behind in disarray, feeling like his punches landed on cotton, with no effort. He felt very frustrated.
As they passed the entrance, Ghost suddenly pointed at the right rock wall and said, "Look up."
It was a vertical rock wall, but there were strange lines on it, resembling ancient inscriptions, clearly carved by humans.
"Death Valley, Gate of Hell!" Three people almost simultaneously read it aloud: Lin Tian, Shen Lin, and Yan Lingling.
Shen Lin and Yan Lingling glanced at Lin Tian, and Yan Lingling asked in surprise, "Brother Lin Tian, you understand these ancient characters too?"
"This is bronze script, found on some ancient bells and cauldrons passed down over thousands of years. Judging by the weathering of these characters, they haven’t been here for thousands of years. They must have been carved later to serve as a warning."
"I think the name of the valley comes from these words," Lin Tian explained.
"So, someone ventured inside, experienced the dangers, and then came out to carve these words. This means entering isn’t necessarily a death sentence," Situ Yufeng commented.
"If you had the strength of my Great Grandpa, you could come and go safely too," Yan Lingling innocently said, but for Situ Yufeng, this innocence was quite embarrassing.
The group continued walking inside; after entering, Lin Tian noticed the temperature in the valley rising significantly. If it was below zero outside, it was above zero here.
The ground was no longer covered in gravel but soft grass, with wildflowers dotting areas, and the warm air had a refreshing scent.
In theory, the scenery here wasn’t particularly beautiful, but compared to the desolation outside, it was much more pleasing to the eye.
Upon entering, the group found the valley’s terrain widening as Lin Tian described, resembling a vast prairie.
However, they noticed something unusual; after walking for about ten minutes, despite the lush grassland, not a single wild animal appeared. No rabbits, sheep, or wild horses, not even a bird in sight.
Crack...
No one knew who stepped on something, making a loud sound. Lin Tian turned to look and saw it was Huang Xiaopang. After receiving treatment, he had regained his energy.
Due to his weight, the impressions he left on the ground were deeper than others’. Curious, the fatty squatted down, dug a bit, and pulled out a gray-white piece.
"Bone!" The fatty instinctively shivered and immediately dropped it.
Situ Yufeng stepped forward, channeling his energy to shake the grassland. The turf and soil flipped, revealing a skeleton to everyone.
"It seems to be a horse skeleton," Xiao Manxuan said. Such a skeleton would have scared an ordinary girl to tears, but the little girl remained calm.
After witnessing the horrors of the Netherworld, a few bones were nothing to her.
"How could a horse die here?" Miss asked, meaning the path leading in was desolate, either desert or glacier. Where did the horse come from?
"It’s very likely that Death Valley has more than one entrance, and the horse came from elsewhere but died here. Judging by the twisted skeleton, it would have struggled violently before death. Who knows what danger it faced?" Lin Tian observed and analyzed.
Hearing his analysis, everyone exchanged glances, and then Lin Tian said something even more startling: "Judging by the degree of bone decay, the death occurred less than a month ago. But why did it struggle painfully, and after death, get buried under the grass? Who did it?"
The atmosphere immediately felt a bit tense, as everyone felt a chill down their backs as if something was watching them, making the prairie appear less beautiful and more ominous.
Sometimes death isn’t the scariest thing; what’s scary is the unknown.
"Hey, do you feel that the ground is shaking?" Huang Xiaopang reminded.
"There’s no earthquake, shaking..." Situ Yufeng was about to say something when the grassland started to shake like the surface of water, as if the grass wasn’t growing in soil but in water.
Gurgle gurgle...
An eerie sound came from underground, as if a monster was emerging, and soon everyone knew the origin of the sound. They saw black water bubbling from the spot they had just dug, accompanied by gurgling, and soon the black water submerged the skeleton.
More eerily, the skeleton began to sink as if some force underground was slowly swallowing it.