Shrouded Sky - Chapter 27 - Forbidden Ancient Realm

The vast universe and boundless starry sky have led many scientists to speculate that Earth might not be the sole cradle of life. Over the past decades, humanity has engaged in endless conjecture and launched numerous space probes in search of extraterrestrial life. Yet, the profound cosmos, with its unfathomable depths, resembles a desolate graveyard—cold, silent, and eternally dark—yielding no detectable signs of life.
The universe is unimaginably vast, seemingly endless. Even with current human technology, space probes that escape the gravitational pull of galaxies and travel ceaselessly for millions or even tens of millions of years may still fail to reach the other side of the starry expanse.
Perhaps today marks a rewriting of humanity’s history of space exploration. Someone has reached the far side of the stars, traversing tens or even hundreds of light-years, undergoing a journey that pushes human limits.
Yet, all this remains unknown to those on Earth. No one would believe it, let alone celebrate it.
Nine colossal dragon corpses pulling a bronze ancient coffin have arrived at the far side of the starry sky, entering the star domain where the Big Dipper resides!
At this moment, Ye Fan awakens, his palm leaving the inner coffin covered in green copper rust. Hundreds of ancient characters are imprinted in his mind—esoteric, profound, and seemingly indelible. Only now does the mysterious divine sound completely fade away.
The Grand Dao is simple, words are precious; all ends, returning to simplicity after the flourish.
Ye Fan, lost in thought, murmurs, “Heavenly Dao diminishes excess to supplement the lacking…”
“Ye Fan, are you okay?” Pang Bo asks with concern.
“I’m fine.”
Throughout this process, the bronze giant coffin continues to tremble violently. Everyone feels the world spinning, realizing that the nine dragons pulling the coffin are finally nearing their destination.
At this moment, the ancient bronze engravings on the coffin walls emit divine radiance, forming a hazy light screen that neutralizes an unimaginable impact force. The giant coffin gradually stabilizes.
With a final thunderous rumble, the lid of the bronze coffin shifts and slides heavily to the side, causing the coffin to topple onto the ground.
“Light!”
“I see light!”
“It’s the familiar world of light!”
Many inside the bronze giant coffin can’t help but shout. Before them is no longer the dimness and bl00d-colored desolation of the ancient planet Mars. Fresh air brushes their faces, even carrying the scent of soil and the fragrance of flowers and plants. The atmosphere is filled with the essence of nature, revealing a world brimming with vitality and light.
Everyone stands up and rushes out of the giant coffin, greeted by a scene of splendor and beauty.
They find themselves atop a moderately elevated mountain, offering a panoramic view of the surroundings.
In the distance, undulating and picturesque mountain peaks stretch out, adorned with lush trees. Nearby, the mountaintop features oddly shaped rocks and ancient, robust trees. Vines as thick as water buckets coil like dragons, accompanied by verdant grass and fragrant wildflowers, exuding life and vigor.
Compared to the dimness and lifelessness of Mars, this place is undoubtedly a peaceful and pure land.
“This is wonderful; we’ve finally escaped the darkness and desolation, arriving at such a beautiful divine realm.”
“We no longer need to live in fear!”
Many cheer, some even moved to tears. After enduring a series of deaths and hardships, they’ve finally reached a world teeming with life and nature.
“Kissing the sunlight, telling myself to live well…” Even the astute and enchanting Lin Jia is moved to such an extent.
Standing atop the mountain, Pang Bo shouts into the distance, “At last, I’ve seen the sun again. Though it’s not the same as before, I still want to proclaim that I’ve been reborn!”
“Clang!”
Suddenly, the bronze giant coffin behind them emits a metallic vibration, instantly capturing everyone’s attention as they turn to look.
The nine massive dragon corpses have most of their bodies hanging off the cliff, with the bronze coffin not far from the precipice. At this moment, the nine dragon corpses, resembling a steel fortress, are slowly sliding down the cliff, dragging the bronze coffin forward.
“Rumble…”
The nine enormous dragon corpses and the bronze ancient coffin produce a rumbling sound as they slide off the mountaintop, eventually accelerating and plummeting down the sheer cliff!
Everyone breaks into a cold sweat, realizing that one side of the mountaintop is a steep cliff. Had they not quickly exited when the coffin lid opened, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
After the nine colossal dragon corpses and the bronze ancient coffin fall off the cliff, there’s no sound of impact for a long time, leaving everyone astonished.
Now, with the bronze giant coffin no longer obstructing their view, they can clearly see the scene beyond the cliff.
“Could we be standing atop a supermassive volcanic crater?” Many show expressions of shock.
Because, below the so-called cliff is an unfathomably deep pit.
“It’s not a volcanic crater; no volcano could be this vast.”
Upon closer inspection, they realize that nine mountains are interconnected, encircling an immense abyss. Logically, this should be an open valley, visible at a glance, as the nine mountain bodies aren’t towering.
However, looking down reveals a pitch-black void with no end in sight, as if it penetrates directly into the underworld, unfathomably deep.
The abyss formed by the nine surrounding mountains seems endless. Even after the nine massive dragon corpses and the bronze ancient coffin fell, no echo is heard, as if they can never reach the bottom.
“Just how deep is it? Truly unimaginable!”
“What is this place? How can there be such a massive abyss…”
Everyone is filled with doubt, vaguely sensing that this world isn’t as peaceful and serene as it appears.
After observing the surroundings, Ye Fan says, “Have you noticed? There’s no five-colored altar here. It’s as if we fell directly from the sky to this place, rather than emerging from the star gate.”
Hearing this, everyone is startled, realizing that indeed, there’s no five-colored altar. Yet, the vast mountaintop hasn’t collapsed under the impact of the bronze coffin; there’s not even a large crater, only a few deep cracks.
If they truly fell from the sky and crashed here, the impact would be unimaginable. However, the mountain shows no signs of severe damage, indicating something unusual.
“Without the five-colored altar, why did we appear here? Could it be the legendary cosmic anchoring, stranded here?” This joke isn’t amusing; no one laughs, instead scanning the surroundings and falling into contemplation.
“There’s half a stone tablet over there…” At this moment, Zhang Ziling suddenly exclaims.
On the mountaintop, amidst a pile of rocks and a few ancient trees entwined with thick vines, lies a broken stone tablet with clear signs of human craftsmanship.
Everyone quickly approaches, removing the withered vines and brushing away the dead leaves on the broken tablet, immediately sensing an ancient aura. Three ancient characters are carved on it, with powerful and steady strokes, exuding the passage of time. It’s unclear how many years it has existed.
“What does it say?” Many can’t recognize the characters.
After a long examination, Ye Fan hesitantly says, “It seems to be Forbidden Ancient.”
“Forbidden Ancient? What does that mean? It doesn’t make sense.” Everyone is puzzled.
“This is a broken stone tablet; there should be more characters below, but the tablet has shattered and can’t be restored.” Pang Bo pulls away the vines and weeds, finding many stone fragments, as if shattered by a thunderous strike.
“Those three ancient characters should be the name of this abyss or mountain.” Zhou Yi, deep in thought, says, “There aren’t many words or phrases that connect with ‘Forbidden.’ The most likely is a ‘Realm’ character afterward.”
“Putting it together, isn’t it Forbidden Ancient Realm?” A classmate reads the characters aloud, instantly turning pale, and others frown.
This name hardly evokes positive associations, causing many to feel uneasy.
“This abyss is likely not a pure land or sacred place…” someone remarks.
Indeed, if the inscription is accurate, this is far from a benevolent place.
“Have you noticed? There seem to be no birds or beasts nearby; it’s too quiet!” Wang Ziwen, observant, senses something amiss.
“Indeed!” Everyone nods in agreement.
Though there are flowers, grass, vines, and trees, giving an appearance of vitality, a closer look reveals anomalies. There are no animals around. In this vast mountain area, there’s no bird song or beast roar, no signs of insect activity—it’s eerily silent!
No cicadas chirp in the ancient trees, no grasshoppers on the grass, no birds in the sky—only silence.
Pang Bo, ever optimistic, says, “Regardless, there’s lush vegetation here, and such an environment is enough for us to survive. Moreover, there’s an inscription here; there must be humans on this planet. I don’t believe such a beautiful world is a desolate wasteland.”
“Who says there are no animals? Who says there are no birds in the sky? Look…” At this moment, Ye Fan makes a new discovery, pointing to the distant horizon.
In the far sky, a golden eagle seems to be circling, exceptionally distinctive due to its golden hue. Even from a distance, its brilliance is evident, as if cast from gold, radiating golden light.
The golden eagle flies closer to this area, becoming clearer, then suddenly dives into a mountainous region. Moments later, it soars into the sky again, its talons clutching prey, flying toward a distant cliff.
“I… did I see that right?!” Witnessing this scene, the usually carefree Pang Bo stammers.
Others are nearly petrified, standing like statues, unable to believe their eyes.
“I feel… that golden eagle’s talons seem to be grasping a giant mammoth?” Li Changqing also stammers, feeling parched.
“Not ‘seem to be,’ it definitely is!” Wang Ziwen continues, “To grasp a giant mammoth, it’s truly unbelievable! One can imagine how enormous that golden eagle must be…” He clicks his tongue in amazement.
Clearly, everyone had misjudged earlier. Due to the vast distance, they underestimated its size. It must be a supermassive, extraordinary raptor.
Ye Fan gazes into the distant sky, saying, “It’s impossible for such a giant eagle to exist. Its entire body is golden, radiating golden light, immensely large—resembling the mythical Golden Roc!”
Hearing this, everyone present is once again petrified.