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"If I had known, we wouldn't have come to this weird place." Ying was holding a bladeless sword, her eyes full of vigilance.
Now Ying suddenly felt that the Qiuqiu people's shouts were not so unpleasant. In the endless silence, it's always good to have some sound.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as she thought. The scale of this secret realm is one of the largest among all the secret realms that Ying has entered.
But except for some Qiuqiu people stationed at the entrance, there are no other creatures in the secret realm.
The huge secret realm is like a forbidden area of life.
The further you go into the secret realm, the more unreasonable places you find.
There is obviously no lighting in the entire secret realm, but the ubiquitous purple light shines from the stone walls of the secret realm. Coupled with the gray color of the stone walls themselves, the entire space is dyed an unsettling lavender color.
From time to time, the road ahead of Ying and Paimon would suddenly break off. Looking down, all I can see is a vast white mist, like the mouth of a giant beast waiting for food.
"Why does it feel like the deeper you go, the weirder it becomes?" Paimon looked at the stone wall and felt that the stone wall would turn into a big mouth and eat her.
Looking at the ground, I thought it would suddenly open up and eat her up.
Unconsciously, Paimon was almost touching Ying. She looked around suspiciously, always feeling like something would jump out and eat her.
"Then be careful and stay behind me." Ying lifted Paimon up and placed him behind her without looking back.
"I will. Leave your back to me!" Paimon leaned on Ying's shoulder and shouted with forced calmness.
But her tone sounded so hollow that it made people wonder whether she would just run away when danger came.
"Da da da."
Only the sound of Ying's footsteps echoed in the secret realm. After crossing several cliffs, a huge upward slope appeared in front of Ying and Paimon.
The slope is very long, and at a glance, there is no end in sight. Moreover, the slope of the slope is also different from other surfaces in the secret realm.
Everywhere on the slope is engraved with some kind of strange pattern. The pattern is complex and mysterious, making the slope look like a heavenly staircase leading to the altar.
"careful!"
Paimon suddenly shouted loudly behind Ying. Ying looked up and saw the slope of the slope beginning to glow with purple light.
Then the purple light turned into reality. They were distorted like ordinary light, but this time they brought the stone slabs on the slope with them.
But these are not what concern Ying the most. Her attention is now entirely on the purple bubbles rolling down the slope.
Ying didn't know the origin of the purple bubbles, which were similar to soap bubbles, and she didn't have the time to study the characteristics of the bubbles.
She only knows one thing, that is, being touched by this thing is definitely not a good thing!
I looked around and saw that the stone walls on both sides were as high as cliffs, and there was no place to hide on them.
Since there is no hiding place, create one! A dark blue wheal appeared on Ying's palm, and then she carried Paimon and walked to the wall.
"Kakaka!"
The sound of breaking rocks sounded intensively, and the wind mass exploded the moment it hit the stone wall. The raging wind blades cut vicious gaps in the stone wall one after another.
Countless gaps add up to a hole in the wall.
Without thinking too much, Ying pulled Paimon and jumped into the newly opened hole in the wall.
"laugh--"
Before the two of them could catch their breath, there was a creaking behind them. Ying and Paimon turned to look, and saw purple bubbles rolling down from above, and hazy gray smoke suddenly rose wherever they passed.
When the gray smoke rose higher, they discovered that the slope had been eroded to a shocking degree.
The once flat and solid stone slope has become rugged and full of cracks and depressions due to recent erosion.
The cracks are crisscrossed like a huge spider web, dividing the entire slope into countless small pieces.
The gaps between the cracks revealed an inexplicable darkness, making Ying feel that the slope would collapse as soon as she stepped on it, leading her into a bottomless abyss.
"What a scary bubble, where did it come from?" Pamon flew out and stepped hard on the rugged slope, nodding to Ying.
After her test, this place can still accommodate people!
"Maybe it's a new mechanism?" Ying breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Paimon's movements, and then walked out.
I have to say that Paimon is still very useful. For example, for some mechanisms or where the tightness is uncertain, Paimon can try it first.
"Okay, then be careful next time." Pamon muttered a few words. Most of the mechanisms she and Ying met before were defensive, used to block the progress of incoming people.
I didn't expect to see an offensive mechanism for the first time today. It was so powerful.
"Click...boom!"
The eroded ground became extremely fragile, and the raised areas turned into gravel and rolled down with just a slight touch.
After a short rest, the two of them continued walking slowly toward higher ground.
After the sudden change, Mr. Ying felt a mysterious aura permeate the surroundings, making the air become solemn.
Unknowingly, Ying and Paimon's breathing gradually became heavier. This was not only because of the hardship of climbing, but also because of the inexplicable sense of depression that lingered in their hearts.
The two of them stared ahead. At the end of the slope, a strange purple glare appeared.
Then, they saw the source of the glare, which was an upside-down statue of the Seven Heavenly Gods.
Chapter 380 The hanging statue
2023-12-28
At the end of this road is a ruined palace. A statue of the Seven Heavenly Gods hangs in the air, in an incredible way - it is upside down.
A distorted deep purple light emitted from behind the statue, making it difficult to see the specific face of the Seven Heavens statue.
Next to the statue, a figure knelt down. He did not move at all. He looked like the most devout believer praying most intently.
But Ying knew that this person was definitely not a believer. Because judging from his clothes, this person is probably the treasure thief group they are looking for.
"This guy... is he the [Big Thief of Treasures] we are looking for?" Paimon followed Ying's footsteps and came to the side of the statue.
"Looks like he's praying?" Ying ignored Paimon, but Paimon didn't care either and kept talking to himself.
"Zi!"
Paimon's words seemed to have touched something, and the statue of the Seven Heavenly Gods hanging upside down above their heads suddenly glowed with even more intense light.
"careful!"
Ying pulled Paimon back, raised the weapon in her hand vigilantly, and stared at the statue of the Seven Heavens in front of her, guarding against possible changes.
In the deep purple glare, Ying finally saw clearly the origin of the seven-day statue. This is the statue of the Seven Heavenly Gods from Mondstadt. The one hanging upside down is Barbatos, the god of wind!
The statue of the god was the same as what Ying had seen in other places. It was covered with robes. But the statue that originally looked gentle and peaceful on the ground revealed an indescribable weirdness here.
The robe was embroidered with ancient runes, which Ying had read in books. They were Mondstadt's unique decorative stripes and were very common on the land of Mondstadt.
But under the reflection of the purple light, the stripes seemed to turn into symbols for the operation of the taboo array. The purple taboos flowed along the stripes and finally merged into the palm of the statue.
The robe on the statue seemed to have turned into an ancient veil, deeply hiding Barbatos' originally peaceful and casual expression.
"Ying..., is that the statue of the Seven Heavens God..."
The silence lasted for a long time, and nothing else changed. Paimon peeked his head out from behind Ying, looking at the strange scene in front of him and asked with some fear.
She vowed that after this time, she would not go to any secret place for three months!
Originally they were just tracking a group of treasure thieves, but who would have thought that the process would turn out to be so weird.
"The statue of the Seven Heavens... belongs to the wind god Barbatos." Ying loosened her grip on the hilt of the sword after hearing Paimon's words.
"Why... why, why is the Seven-Heaven Statue hung upside down? And, I remember, doesn't the Seven-Heaven Statue hold an orb in its palm?"
Paimon looked at the dark purple color gathering in the palm of the Seven Heavenly God Statue, and his voice trembled.
That dark purple mass brought a lot of pressure to Paimon. It absorbs energy from the dark cracks surrounding the idol and emits it through light.
The source of all the weirdness in the secret realm seems to be the deep purple ball of light held in the palm of the statue.
"I don't know, but I only know that all of this must have something to do with the Abyss Cult." Ying shook his head and said solemnly.
Speaking of which, this was her first real contact with the Abyss Order.
It had happened twice before, the first time it was a dragon disaster, but in the end it somehow got better on its own, leaving Ying's only understanding of the Abyss Cult as the organized name.
The second time was the journey with Dyne, but in the end he was busy for a long time, and there was no substantial progress in Dine's understanding of the Abyss Order.
And today, she finally knew why the Abyss Order was called the "enemy of mankind" by Diluc.
No organization in the Seven Kingdoms would dare to secretly dig up the statue of the Seven Heavenly Gods. Because this not only represents a provocation to the authority of the Order of the Seven Gods, but is also an act that actually damages the fundamental interests of the Seven Kingdoms.
The Statue of the Seven Heavenly Gods is not only a statue built to commemorate the seven gods, but also a node that stabilizes the smooth flow of a country's land veins and the harmonious circulation of elements.
The statues of the Seven Heavenly Gods on the mainland are like valves one after another. They contain the power of the Seven Gods and control the circulation of elements and the flow of earth veins across the entire continent.
Not to mention the damage to the authority of the gods caused by uprooting the statue of the Seven Heavens, the harm caused by the disorder of earth veins and elemental power is no less than a war.
Of course, that is in densely populated areas. If it is in the wilderness, it may take several days for people to notice the disorder.
The Seven-Day Statue in front of us was probably dug out from a remote place in Mondstadt.
"The Abyss Order..., what a group of troublesome guys!" Paimeng stamped his feet. Now the Abyss Order's dislike in her heart has skyrocketed, and it is already tied for first place with the Fools!
"Huh..., look at that treasure-stealing group, although I don't think his end will be good..."
Ying took a few deep breaths and then walked forward.
"Hey, are you okay?" Pamon quickly flew behind "The Treasure Thief" and observed it carefully.
No matter how much Paimon shouted, there was no movement from "The Treasure Thief". He was still kneeling quietly in front of the hanging statue as before, without hearing any breathing.
"He...he is dead." Although Paimon's expression was sad, there was no excessive fear.
During his adventures with Ying, Paimon also saw a lot of death. Although I still feel sad, I can no longer talk about fear.
"I feel very bad." Pamon returned to Ying's side and shook his head, as if this could get those bad images out of his mind.
"Unknown cause of death." Ying pursed her lips, and the scene in front of her was beyond her current capabilities.
"Let's go! Find senior!" A figure flashed in her mind, and she turned around and prepared to leave this strange secret realm.
"Huh? I thought you were going to find Dyne." Pamon followed closely, looking surprised.
In this case, shouldn't we contact Daine? He is obviously a professional in the Abyss Order.
"Daine? Do you think he looks easy to find?" Ying rolled his eyes at Paimon.