Chapter 121: The Key to Activating the Mechanism

"These... these statues, why do they look so sinister?" Zhang Hu couldn't help but shiver, his voice trembling slightly.

He was never one to lack courage, but the scene before him was so bizarre that it made his skin crawl. Although Yang Tianchen remained silent, his expression grew grave. He tightened his grip on the weapon he had seized from the members of the black-clad organization earlier.

Qin Feng ignored their reactions and walked straight toward the altar, his gaze fixed on a stone pedestal in the center. Resting upon the pedestal was a Buddha statue roughly the size of a basketball. Its surface was carved with exquisite detail, appearing both ancient and mysterious.

"Could this be the target those black-clad men were after?" Qin Feng pondered to himself.

His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, scanned every inch of the statue. The craftsmanship was superb, and the expression was one of compassion, yet for some reason, Qin Feng felt an indescribable sense of wrongness.

"Brother Feng, this thing looks really evil. It isn't something unclean, is it?" Zhang Hu cowered, his voice wavering.

Qin Feng didn't respond; instead, he reached out to touch the statue. It felt cold to the touch, yet unexpectedly delicate, as smooth as a baby's skin. As he gently rotated the figure, he suddenly discovered a small, recessed groove at the base.

"Could it be..."

A bold guess surged into Qin Feng’s mind. Could this groove be the key to triggering some hidden mechanism? Thinking of this, he immediately called for Yang Tianchen and Zhang Hu to help.

"Search carefully. See if there’s anything here that fits into this slot."

The three of them split up, turning the area around the altar upside down, but they found nothing.

"Damn it, this is strange. It’s not like this thing could have just appeared out of thin air, could it?" Zhang Hu plopped onto the ground, wiping sweat from his forehead, his face full of frustration. Yang Tianchen didn't speak, but his tightly furrowed brows betrayed his inner anxiety.

Just as Qin Feng was about to give up, he accidentally braced his hand against the altar. Suddenly, his palm felt a sinking sensation, as if he had pressed down on something.

"Click!"

With a soft sound, the entire underground space began to shake violently. Rocks fell from the ceiling like rain, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Not good! Run!"

Qin Feng’s expression shifted drastically as he realized he might have triggered a trap. Without a second thought, he grabbed the Buddha statue from the altar and signaled for Zhang Hu and Yang Tianchen to flee.

The three ran with all their might as debris continued to rain down from above. A deafening roar echoed in their ears, as if the entire underground chamber were collapsing.

"Brother Feng, what is happening? We aren't going to die here, are we?" Zhang Hu shouted desperately while running, his face pale as a sheet.

"Shut up! Just keep running!" Qin Feng roared. He had no time for explanations, focusing only on sprinting forward.

Just then, a massive stone door appeared ahead, slowly creaking open. "Quick! Get inside!" Qin Feng didn't hesitate and dove through the doorway. Zhang Hu and Yang Tianchen followed close behind, scrambling inside. The stone door slammed shut behind them, sealing off everything outside.

Behind the door was not another tomb chamber as they had imagined, but a narrow, long corridor. Damp air rushed to meet them, carrying a nauseating, musty stench of decay.

"Damn, what is that smell? It almost finished me off!" Zhang Hu complained, pinching his nose as his voice echoed through the empty passage.

"Less talk, stay close," Qin Feng commanded in a low voice, his eyes vigilantly scanning his surroundings.

On the walls lining the corridor, dim eternal lamps were lit at intervals, barely illuminating the path ahead. The walls were mottled and decaying, with faint traces of murals, though centuries of erosion had rendered them blurry, revealing only the distorted silhouettes of human figures and monsters.

Yang Tianchen shone his flashlight carefully onto the murals, his brow furrowing slightly. "These murals... they look like scenes from ancient myths..."

"Forget about myths; finding an exit is the real priority," Zhang Hu urged impatiently.

Qin Feng said nothing, only quickening his pace. He felt a persistent sense of unease, as if some dangerous entity were lurking in the shadows, watching them.

After walking along the corridor for over an hour, the path suddenly opened up.

"Holy..." Zhang Hu gasped, nearly falling to the ground.

Before them lay a vast valley. It was filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers, with lush trees providing shade—a veritable paradise hidden away from the world. What shocked them even more was the ancient temple standing in the center of the valley.

Built against the mountainside, the temple was magnificent, with sweeping eaves, arched rafters, and intricately carved beams. Even after weathering the elements for so long, it could not hide its former glory.

"How... how is there a temple here?" Yang Tianchen muttered, stunned.

"I think I’ve seen this temple somewhere before..." Qin Feng frowned, struggling to recall. Suddenly, a spark of realization flashed in his mind.

"I remember! I saw a record of this temple in an ancient text!"

"What kind of record?" Zhang Hu and Yang Tianchen asked in unison.

"This temple is called 'Tianlong Temple.' Legend has it that it was the place of cultivation for an enlightened monk during the Tang Dynasty. After the monk attained Nirvana, the temple became a legend." Qin Feng paused, then continued, "The text also recorded that a peerless martial arts manual, the 'Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Dragon,' is hidden within Tianlong Temple!"

"The Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Dragon?" Zhang Hu’s eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands excitedly. "Brother Feng, let’s go check it out! Maybe we can actually find that manual!"

"Don't be reckless!" Qin Feng glared at him. "The text also stated that Tianlong Temple is rigged with countless traps and fraught with danger; nine out of ten people who enter never come back out!"

"What are you afraid of? We have you, Brother Feng!" Zhang Hu said dismissively.

Qin Feng was about to say more when a melodious bell chime suddenly rang out from the depths of the valley, echoing and lingering in the air.

"Not good!" Qin Feng’s expression changed. "We've been discovered!"

The moment he spoke, dozens of black shadows darted out from the direction of the temple like lightning, surrounding the three of them in the blink of an eye.

"Hahaha, many thanks to you! Otherwise, we never would have found this place!"

The man in the lead wore tight black gear and had a burly build. A gruesome scar marred his face, and his eyes glinted with cruelty as he stared at the trio, as if looking at three lambs ready for the slaughter.

"The Black Snake Organization? You really are like ghosts that won't go away," Qin Feng said, his gaze scanning the surrounding black-clad men with heightened vigilance.