“Why can’t we get close? Is there any danger?”
The young man asked.
“I don’t know the specific danger, but our elders have always warned us not to approach this area, and also to stop those who try to approach it...” The man explained.
It turned out that every Zhang family member stationed here had been warned by the main branch not to approach this area!
However, these Zhang family members from the side branches were not qualified to know about the Zhang family's ancient building and were unclear as to why they could not approach it.
They only knew to follow the precepts left by their ancestors.
Seeing that he couldn’t give a proper explanation, the young man ignored him and walked towards the rock face without hesitation.
The man immediately panicked and rushed to block his path.
“You really can't go near this place, otherwise, I will be punished by my elders...”
The man said in a pleading tone.
The young man stopped and calmly said to him: “Move aside!”
However, unexpectedly, this kid was fearless!
With a look of defiance and readiness to die, he spread his arms and said: “You either step over me, or don’t go near!”
The young man didn’t bother arguing and raised his hand, intending to knock him unconscious.
The kid trembled with fear, but still stood in front of him, showing that he was indeed quite courageous!
At this moment, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind.
“Wait!”
The young man turned around and saw an elderly man in Miao clothing approaching, supported by several Zhang family members.
The young man recognized him as a family elder who had separated from the main branch.
Back then, when Zhang Yun Feng succeeded the family head, this old fellow had been responsible for organizing the ceremony, and his status was extremely high!
He was also the person in charge here, and all the Zhang family members stationed here were under his command, making him like a paternal uncle to the young man!
“Uncle.” The young man saluted him.
The old fellow nodded.
Then he waved his hand at the others, saying in an unquestionable tone: “All of you step aside, I have something to talk to him about!”
Upon hearing his words, the Zhang family members all obediently retreated, leaving only the young man and the old fellow.
The old fellow, trembling slightly, walked towards the young man, and the young man quickly stepped forward to support him.
“Are you really going to enter?” the family elder asked.
It was clear that he knew about the Zhang family's ancient building, and his purpose here was to protect it.
The young man nodded: “My elder brother has been inside for half a year, and he still hasn’t come out. I want to go in and take a look.”
The family elder shook his head and sighed: “The family head is too decisive! He would rather act alone than ask for our help. It seems that he no longer trusts us...”
“The situation inside is too dangerous, and without a map, it’s a near-death experience. Are you sure you want to go in?”
The young man nodded resolutely.
The old fellow sighed again, then beckoned to one of the family members, and one of them carried a bag of strong alkali over.
It was clear that the family elder knew what the young man was going to do before entering the mountains, so he had someone bring strong alkali in advance.
The family elder then took out a bat whistle from his pocket and gave it to the young man: “Take this. If you get trapped, blow on it, and we will come to rescue you.”
The young man silently took the bat whistle and said thank you.
The bat whistle was a tool used for communication within the Zhang family, and when blown, it would produce a sound like a bat.
The sound could travel a long distance and was generally used in ancient tombs or extremely complex environments.
“Take care!”
The family elder patted him on the shoulder and left with the family members.
After they left, the young man found a pair of gloves and put them on.
Then he applied the strong alkali powder to the rock wall.
He knew how to deal with this special type of rock wall.
Because the Zhang family's ancestral hall had a secret room entrance made of this type of rock.
Soon, the special layer of the rock wall was dissolved by the strong alkali powder, revealing a large stone.
That large stone was what Zhang Yun Feng had used to block the entrance.
The following process won't be described in detail.
After braving many dangers along the way, the young man finally reached the Zhang family's ancient building and, following Zhang Yun Feng's footprints, found the stone door that led to the Tian Shou Altar.
From there, the young man could no longer proceed, because that stone door could only be opened with the black gold ancient sword, and there was no other way!
He knew Zhang Yun Feng was nearby.
So he blew on the bat whistle, and the sound, after being transmitted through multiple layers, reached Zhang Yun Feng's ears.
Zhang Yun Feng, who was meditating, suddenly opened his eyes upon hearing the sound of the bat whistle and looked in the direction of the sound.
He found that the sound was coming from that specially made door.
So he got up and walked over, drew his black gold ancient sword, opened the door, and saw the young man standing outside.
Upon seeing the young man again, Zhang Yun Feng was somewhat surprised: “Yun Guan, how did you come here?”
“The Si Gu Liang Shan operation is over.” The young man said.
He examined the young man's physical condition and found that he had many wounds, some inflicted by Mi Luo Tuo and some from the corrosive strong alkali powder dust.
Fortunately, they were all superficial injuries.
“Let's go over there and talk.” Zhang Yun Feng pointed to the altar across the way.
So the two of them walked along the iron chain to the inside of the altar.
Zhang Yun Feng took a bottle of water and a piece of bread from his backpack and gave them to him: “Eat something first.”
The young man looked at the bottled water and bread with some confusion.
As a Zhang family member who was severely disconnected from modern society, the young man had never seen bottled mineral water or bread.
But he trusted Zhang Yun Feng, knowing that he wouldn't harm him.
So he unscrewed the cap without hesitation and gulped down a few sips of water, then devoured the bread.
Zhang Yun Feng, while the young man was eating, helped him simply treat his wounds. The medicine was brought in by the young man himself.
After eating and drinking his fill, the young man curiously looked around.
He had never been to this place before, and everything here was unfamiliar to him.
“How are the people from the Old Nine Gates?” Zhang Yun Feng asked.
The young man recounted the events that happened in the Old Nine Gates without reservation.
He only knew that everyone had escaped, leaving only Zhang Da Fo Ye, Er Yue Hong, and Hei Bei Lao Liu in the end.
He didn't know what happened after that.
Even though he wasn't there, Zhang Yun Feng guessed what happened later, but he was powerless to change it, so he could only let the people from the Old Nine Gates fend for themselves!
“The Zhang family holds too many secrets, and they won't let go of the Zhang family, so you must return to the Zhang family!” Zhang Yun Feng said.
The young man didn’t speak, but just looked at him silently.
At this moment, the energy of the Tian Shou Wheel ran out and was about to stop.
Zhang Yun Feng quickly took out a bottle, poured the blood stored inside onto the wheel, and kept it spinning.
After doing this, he handed his hexagonal bell to the young man and instructed: “Take this, wait for me to come back...”