Chapter Fifty-Eight

Chapter Fifty-Eight

The cobra's muscles tensed, its tail propelled it forward, and with its mouth agape, it shot towards them at a startling speed, its sharp fangs aiming for their target in a flash.

Shen Xiuzhe and Lin An dodged the attack, but the cobra quickly redirected itself, its long body allowing for swift repositioning.

The pyramid was the serpent's territory, leaving them little room to maneuver, especially given the cobra's immense size, making even evasion a challenge.

During the second assault, Shen Xiuzhe used his knife to parry the cobra's strike.

The brown scales were as hard as metal, and the azure blade could only leave a faint white mark against them, failing to penetrate.

The moment the knife met the serpent's head, Shen Xiuzhe's hands went numb from the vibration; the snake's strength was too immense for even him to withstand for long.

The snake's hide was like an impregnable wall of copper and iron, impervious to the knife's edge.

Faced with the serpent's gaping maw, Shen Xiuzhe threw in a ball of superheated flame and then rapidly retreated.

The cobra, scalded by the flame, thrashed its head in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Xiuzhe sheathed his knife and signaled to Lin An.

Lin An was resolved to investigate the inside of the pyramid; having come this far, he wouldn't be content until he saw what was within.

Given the circumstances, instead of confronting the serpent directly, it seemed wiser to seize the opportunity to enter the pyramid first; besides, the serpent appeared intelligent, only attacking those who invaded its territory, and Lin An had no intention to kill it unless absolutely necessary.

Shen Xiuzhe removed his backpack, handed it to Lin An, and then turned his back to him, saying, "Climb on!"

Knowing his own physical limitations would slow the ascent, Lin An did not hesitate to climb onto Shen Xiuzhe's back when offered.

One backpack was held in hand, the other strapped to his back.

Despite the weight of both packs, Shen Xiuzhe’s pace remained unfaltering.

Now was not the time for pretenses; they needed to make haste to enter the pyramid.

As Shen Xiuzhe rapidly scaled the pyramid with Lin An on his back, the cobra finally extinguished the flame in its mouth, the pain in its jaws making its red pupils seem all the more dangerous as it searched for them.

Sensing the presence of the two, the cobra immediately gave chase.

Perched on Shen Xiuzhe’s back, Lin An looked back anxiously at the approaching cobra, knowing they couldn't outrun it, so he had to buy Shen Xiuzhe some time.

A colossal waterspout materialized in front of the cobra, which skillfully dodged to the side at the last moment, avoiding the area affected by the waterspout.

Lin An directed the waterspout in pursuit, but the massive serpent dispersed it with a flick of its tail.

The power of the waterspout was not diminished compared to before; in fact, it was stronger due to Lin An’s increased abilities, yet it was merely a gentle splash against the serpent’s massive form, easily broken with a casual swipe.

As the cobra caught up again, Lin An pelted its head with orbs of water, an attack that proved futile against the beast's thick hide, doing nothing to lessen its speed.

It should be about time.

Lin An turned his head back, his gaze locked onto the serpent’s head.

Water droplets on the brown scales of the serpent’s head began to coalesce into ice, growing larger and eventually encasing the entire head in frost.

At last, the cobra’s speed waned as its head, heavy with ice, crashed onto the pyramid’s stone steps.

It worked!

Lin An felt a surge of elation; this was the first successful application of his ability to freeze water, a skill he'd been practicing since discovering he could heat it.

Transforming water into ice was a slow process, and Lin An had been working to speed up the freezing. After much practice, he had become more proficient, and although he’d never had the chance to use it in a critical situation, the urgency of the moment had spurred a first-time success.

Shen Xiuzhe was nearing the summit, and the ice encasing the cobra’s head was beginning to fracture.

As only the surface had frozen, the cobra remained alert throughout, initially unaccustomed to the sudden weight but soon adeptly smashing the ice using nearby stones.

At that moment, Shen Xiuzhe finally reached the pyramid's apex.

The summit was a flat expanse, where the serpent usually coiled itself, giving the structure the appearance of a four-sided pyramid from below.

A cursory glance across the surface revealed a meticulously assembled stone floor, save for a missing piece at the very center.

"It's coming up!" Lin An cried out anxiously, as the cobra had shattered all the ice from its head and was once again in pursuit.

Especially upon seeing them at the top, its flanks heaving and emitting a threatening hiss, the serpent swiftly slithered towards them.

Shen Xiuzhe didn’t look back, charging straight for the center.

Without time to survey the interior, Shen Xiuzhe, carrying Lin An, leaped down just as the cobra was about to seize them.

The light from above was obscured as the cobra did not follow them inside, its immense size preventing it from entering; its crimson pupils coldly watched the two descend into the opening, then after a moment, it coiled its massive body over the gap, settling back atop the pyramid.

Upon entry, Shen Xiuzhe found the shaft plunged straight downward, the walls a smooth, golden hue offering no footholds.

However, sensing the walls were metallic, Shen Xiuzhe activated his power mid-fall, transforming the surrounding metal walls into a series of steps.

Landing on a step, Shen Xiuzhe braced against the wall with one hand to steady himself.

Lin An remained motionless on his back until Shen Xiuzhe was firmly planted on a step, then he peeked out and asked, "Are you alright?"

Falling from a height with someone on his back, even as Shen Xiuzhe smoothly landed with his powers, the impact was significant.

"I’m fine, I could carry another one of you with ease." After gently setting Lin An down, Shen Xiuzhe grabbed the backpack from his hand and slung it over his shoulder.

Lin An looked at him intently, "I will, I’ll train harder."

"Next time, you’ll carry me?"

Lin An was taken aback, then nodded firmly, "Yes."

Shen Xiuzhe chuckled, he was half a head taller than Lin An; the thought of Lin An carrying him, with his feet likely dragging on the ground, seemed comical.

They then turned to examine their surroundings, the smooth walls gleamed with a golden sheen, unmarred by any sign of tarnish, as if made of solid gold.

The confined space made Lin An feel as though he would topple backwards with his large backpack, so after dismounting from Shen Xiuzhe's back, he steadied himself against the wall with one hand, finding the cold surface smooth and delicate, yet...

His face contorted instantly upon seeing his fingertips stained with gold dust, "Why is the wall shedding color? Could the golden sheen be merely painted on?"

Despite a film of water coating his fingers, the gold dust mixed within and clung directly to the adjacent skin.

The fingers that had brushed against the wall were most heavily smeared, with traces spreading to other areas.

Rubbing his fingers together only spread the gold dust more evenly, which refused to wash off with water from his skin.

In the past, such irremovable gold dust would have driven the fastidious Lin An to distraction, but now, he let his hand fall and strove to ignore the conspicuous presence of the gold on his fingers.

Shen Xiuzhe glanced at his own hands, which, sure enough, had also picked up the golden powder when he had touched the wall.

"Could this not be real gold?" Lin An asked, hands behind his back.

"Although there's a layer of powder, the metal was highly malleable and soft when I activated my ability just now, easily taking on various shapes, so I believe it is gold," Shen Xiuzhe explained, his metal manipulation ability varying with the metal's hardness and ductility, and this metal was indeed very easy to handle.

There really was a treasure here; if the pyramid's internal structure was made of gold, given its scale, it indeed constituted a vast fortune.

But now, they had no interest in such things, pausing only briefly before Lin An hurried them along.

The entrance was narrow, the steps too constricted to be broadened, each stride on the steep, cramped staircase perilous.

Thus, he could only descend by holding the wall with one hand and carefully stepping down.

The steps jutted out one by one from the golden walls, spiraling downwards to form a helical staircase.

Walking until they were dizzy, they finally reached the bottom.

Lin An felt he was turning into a small golden statue.

Having held the wall continuously, his palms were completely gold, and his body was coated with gold dust due to the water film that enveloped him.

Although he kept renewing the water film, the gold dust, once it stained the body, couldn't be removed; Lin An even suspected it might be toxic, but he had never read about such a substance, nor had Shen Xiuzhe heard of it. It seemed more like a camouflage, meant to mislead intruders into thinking it was just a layer of gold paint.

At the very bottom was a corridor emitting a faint green glow, with the ground on both sides shining with a ghostly green light, much like will-o'-the-wisps, which Lin An noticed were actually lantern plants.

Perhaps it was psychological, but the lantern plants seen in the Zombie Tree were dreamily beautiful, while those here appeared ghastly, like eerie flames.

It's hard to say whether it was a trick of the mind, the lantern plants that seemed enchantingly beautiful amid the Zombie Tree now evoked a sense of spectral foreboding here.

Perhaps it was the deeper hue of the lantern plants here that made the dimly lit green passage appear especially eerie.

Lin An felt uncomfortable all over, wishing he could find a place to bathe and scrub off the pervasive gold dust.

Yet, it was the overriding desire to find his parents that quelled his urge for cleanliness, compelling him to endure and press on.

As they delved deeper, the gloomy green corridor seemed to lead to the underworld, an illusion hard to shake.

Lin An wasn't frightened by these sights, but why did the passage seem to have no end?

It felt as though they had been walking for hours.

Even the patient Lin An began to grow restless, turning as if to speak, but the empty corridor held only him, and the myriad lantern plants casting their ghostly glow on the walls.

He halted, a nagging sensation that he had forgotten something; he turned, gazing back through the corridor that stretched and vanished into the gloom.

No matter, he was here to find his parents; having come this far, there was no choice but to continue forward.

Alone, Lin An turned and resumed his journey deeper into the passageway.

After a considerable time, a different hue finally broke the monotony of the green corridor.

A smudge of orange oval warmth on the golden wall interrupted the corridor's chilly gloom.

To the left, a circular opening appeared, with the warm light filtering through it.

As Lin An drew nearer to the luminous aperture, he could even hear voices from within.

The intermittent sounds were faint but carried a strangely familiar cadence.

His pace quickened, heart pounding, fists clenched with nervous anticipation as he stepped into the area bathed in warm light.

The side opening revealed a modestly sized golden chamber, its sparse furnishings clear at a glance: only a bed and a table.

Lin An stood there, transfixed, observing the couple seated at the table.

A young man and woman were engrossed in writing, occasionally pausing to discuss and laugh lightly over some shared jest.

As if sensing his presence, the young couple turned their gaze towards the cave entrance.

Upon seeing the figure standing dumbfounded at the entrance, both of them stood up excitedly, too agitated to even care about the fallen stool.

"An'an, is that you, An'an?"