“Fellow Daoists,” said Han Bei, “th

“Fellow Daoists,” said Han Bei, “there’s no need to be alarmed.” Her clear, bell-like voice echoed out. Although it couldn’t outmatch the sound of the thunder, everyone could hear her clearly. “I don’t know whether or not this place is a tomb, but as you all can see, the person holding those ancient scrolls is my ancestor. The statue has been cracked open by Heavenly Thunder. That was how the first volume of the Classic of Time came out of this place, and was eventually acquired by later generations.” She turned to look at Meng Hao and the others. “In fact, of all the treasures here, only these scriptures can be taken away. All the other statues are perfect and unharmed.

“I’ve attended quite a few secret meetings; the fact that you all saw my message shows that you are destined to be here. You all have your own reasons for coming here, and are surely backed by powerful forces. Naturally, I am aware of that, and really don’t care who you represent.” She continued in a soft voice, “I only hope that for the sake of the Nine Mystical Stars, you will all keep your promises. Right now, we can only look, but when we draw near to the statues, I have a way to acquire the two scriptures. Then we can make copies for everyone.

“Actually, my only real purpose in coming here is to pay my respects in front of the statue of my ancestor.” Her voice seemed to contain some strange power that made everyone calmer. The gray-robed man’s complexion slowly returned to normal. Now that Meng Hao thought about it, he began to wonder if the man had purposefully said such crazy things.

He was also a bit skeptical of Han Bei’s words “for the sake of the Nine Mystical Stars.”

“It’s not far now,” continued Han Bei. “However, next I must ask for help from Fellow Daoists Xu and Sima. There will be more lightning after this point, and the going will be more difficult. Originally, we should never have had the chance we do. But the year that the first volume of the classic flew out, it carved out a path. Inside the path, we will be much safer. More importantly, the power of the lightning will not be as strong.

“Furthermore, it will have intermittent periods of weakness. Those times will be short, only about one hour. However, it should be plenty of time to get through safely. I picked the starting time of our mission to coincide with the lightning’s weak period!” Her gaze swept across them, and then she looked up, as if she were waiting for something.

After about ten breaths, the lightning in the area began to grow dimmer. It was still dense, but the pressure that bore down on them from it was significantly less. It was definitely not as fearsome as before.

“The lightning will be weak for one hour. Fellow Daoist Xu, Fellow Daoist Sima, hurry!” Her eyes shined as she lifted her right hand. A dark piece of ancient jade flew out and floated above them, seeming to point in a certain direction.

Muttering to himself, Xu Youdao flew forward. The gray-robed Cultivator seemed to have completely returned to normal. He accompanied Xu Youdao. The power of late Foundation Establishment roiled out from them. One of them was clearly emanating Wood-type Qi. But then the gray-robed Cultivator began to emit a Dust-type Qi, which completely eclipsed the Wood-type Qi. As they walked forward, a yellowish brown glow rippled out.

Both of them produced magical items, and Han Bei took in a deep breath. She waved her hand, and her ancient Time jade emitted a brilliant glow. Everyone proceeded cautiously.

Because of the temporary reduction in lightning, they were able to fly forward relatively quickly.

However, the closer they got to the statues, the more dense the lightning grew. Rumbling booms filled the sky. Lightning crashed down, some of it slamming into the ground very close to the group of five. Their hearts trembled as they proceeded.