abc-du-gratuit Chapter 367 The Hall of Silent Souls
Chapter 367 The Hall of Silent Souls
As she spoke, Xia Ning's gaze swept lightly over Lin Feng, and the calmness in her eyes paused for a very slight moment.
It was only a mere half-second, so fast that it was almost impossible to catch.
There was no recognition, no gentleness, and not even a trace of a familiar smile.
It was the eerie aura emanating from Lin Feng that had the effect, and of course, it was also because he happened to fit Xia Ning's aesthetic preferences.
Lin Feng slowly exhaled.
It's okay, it's good to fall in love again.
Take it easy.
Beside her, Evelyn froze completely.
She suddenly turned her head, her icy blue eyes widening as she stared intently at Lin Feng.
Don't forget, she was also one of the chosen ones of the Eternal Throat Flight, and she was involved in the whole thing from beginning to end.
She knew better than anyone how this aloof, icy NPC had once been so clingy and shameless with Lin Feng that they had ended up together.
Now, as soon as I enter the instance—
My wife has become an NPC again?!
Evelyn's lips twitched violently, and only one roar remained in her heart:
Good heavens, this isn't about raiding a dungeon, it's more like they've come to relax in their own backyard!
She whispered, barely audible to the two of them, trying to suppress her shock:
"Lin Feng... this... isn't this your man...?"
Lin Feng gave a soft "hmm".
"But her memory has been erased!" he added in a low voice, lest Evelyn get the wrong idea that "having connections makes things easier."
Evelyn froze for a moment, then looked at him in disbelief: "How could this be...?"
Lin Feng gestured ahead and said in a low voice, "We'll talk about it later."
........................
Studio:
"Huh??? Xia Ning's memories have been erased? What about the reunion I've been waiting for all this time???"
"I thought Brother Feng was going to rely on his wife to easily clear the dungeon, but he turned into a nobody right from the start!"
"What's there to be afraid of? If Brother Feng can pursue someone once, he can pursue them a second time. It's just a matter of starting over. It's no big deal."
"Wait a minute, so Xia Ning is an NPC now? Will she follow the script and hunt down her husband...?"
"To be honest, this is fair, otherwise the other chosen ones would just be there to make up the numbers."
"Why do I feel like Brother Feng really hit the jackpot? What's the worst thing about love? Getting tired of it. Now, his wife is totally refreshed, and the feeling of first love is off the charts."
........................
Xia Ning raised her eyes, and her cool voice rang out again:
"From this day forward, you are all 'apprentice cultivators' of the Silent Realm Temple. You have no past identities, no unnecessary ties, and only by focusing on cultivation can you seek a chance at survival."
She paused, then continued:
"This trial will last for a total of seven days."
"If you survive to the end within seven days, you will get a normal clear."
"If you can uncover the long-forgotten secrets of the Silent Temple, you will receive an excellent clear."
"If we can completely eliminate the hidden dangers behind this secret, we will achieve an S-rank clear."
"Rewards for clearing stages will increase progressively based on level."
Lin Feng nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.
"Before we begin our formal training, I will give you a brief tour of the temple so that you can have a basic understanding of this place."
After Xia Ning finished speaking, she turned around and took a step, followed closely by two black-clad stewards with expressionless faces.
The chosen ones quickly followed.
Lin Feng walked in the middle of the group, with Evelyn, who was still in shock, on one side and Vassim, who was vigilantly observing the surroundings, on the other side.
The moment the last chosen one stepped through the stone gate—
A muffled, loud thud suddenly came from behind.
The two giant stone doors that were originally open suddenly closed, their dark gray stone surfaces overlapping each other, forming a tight seal in an instant.
At the end of the line, a young girl in a light-colored coat gasped in surprise and instinctively shrank into the arms of the person next to her.
"The door's closed! We can't get out..."
The people nearby also looked flustered, turning to look at the tightly closed stone door, their eyes filled with unease.
Xia Ning turned her head and glanced at the group indifferently: "Stepping into the Holy Temple is the beginning of cultivation; there's no need to look back."
As soon as she finished speaking, a wisp of scarlet mist suddenly welled up in her eyes, and a chilling aura silently spread.
"If you're scared, that's okay—just raise your hand, and I can give you a good night's sleep right now!"
Everyone understands that this "good sleep" means never waking up.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines instantly, and they fell silent, not daring to utter a single breath.
After following Xia Ning for a while, the scenery before us gradually became clearer—
This is a square courtyard with a smooth, bluish-gray flagstone floor, and sparse dark green moss growing in the gaps between the flagstones.
In the center of the courtyard, there is a square stone pool.
The pool water was dark and murky, and the bottom could not be seen.
Several white lotus flowers floated on the water, their petals pure white yet exuding an inexplicable eeriness—
Even though a breeze was blowing through the courtyard and rustling the hem of her clothes, the lotus flower remained motionless, as if it had been nailed to the surface of the water.
Even more bizarrely, on the stems of some lotus flowers, there were faint dark red lines, as fine as blood vessels, which made people's scalp tingle.
The courtyard is surrounded on three sides by a single-story corridor, with dark wooden pillars supporting the eaves. The pillars are covered with strange runes that are the same as those on both sides of the stone gate.
A row of copper bells hangs under the eaves. The copper has oxidized and turned green. When the wind blows, they make a "ding-a-ling" sound.
The sound was crisp, yet unpleasant to the ear; instead, it carried a sense of loneliness and eeriness, echoing through the silent courtyard and sending chills down one's spine.
"The Hall of Silent Souls is located to the west."
Xia Ning stopped and turned to point to the house on her left.
"Those who once thought they could stand against the Temple are now displayed here."
The crowd followed her into the hall, and a bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped them. It was completely different from the cold of the courtyard. It felt as if countless invisible leeches were crawling into their bodies through their pores.
The hall was so dark it was almost oppressive, with only a few small windows letting in a few pale rays of light, barely enough to make out the surrounding scenery.
Above their heads, countless white strips of cloth covered with runes hung densely, layer upon layer, like countless shrouds hanging down.
Xia Ning glanced up and calmly explained, "What's wrapped inside are all souls."
Everyone instinctively held their breath.
I couldn't see anything, but I gradually heard faint moans—
It came from overhead, from all directions, faint and indistinct, like the wind passing through rotten wood, or like someone calling out again and again from a very far and deep place.
No one dared to look up and examine the scene closely.
My gaze involuntarily drifted to the center of the hall.
There stood a twisted tree, its trunk gnarled and its branches crooked, as if it had been twisted into this shape by pain.
The tree was covered with...heads.
One by one, some male and some female, all with their eyes tightly closed.
But without exception, black liquid was slowly seeping from the corners of their eyes, drop by drop.
"despair--"
"despair--"
The liquid splashed onto the bluestone bricks, and like a living thing, it slowly curled up, condensed into tiny runes, and then disappeared into the cracks between the bricks, as if it were sucked into the ground...