97: Chapter 97 The Fall of the Gods 97: Chapter 97 The Fall of the Gods A night passed without incident, and soon it was the following morning.
At dawn, as the faint light began to glow, everyone had already awoken from their slumbers.
After a quick bite to eat, they once again embarked on their journey to find the relic.
This leg of the trip proved to be slightly more difficult than before.
The terrain gradually changed from flat plains to rugged mountains, and the expedition team even scaled a small hill before completing the remaining distance.
Thankfully, the two off-road vehicles were up to the task.
Though they encountered a few troubles, they didnât delay too long.
By the time Zhang Xiaoman saw that the green dot representing their location on the map overlapped with their destination, it was just reaching the afternoon.
âWeâre close, letâs keep looking,â
Zhang Xiaoman said from the back seat, glancing at the surrounding environment now and then, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary.
Several members of the expedition team craned their necks, looking around as well.
Though they werenât entirely convinced about Zhang Xiaomanâs claims of a relic, they were there and decided to search with the hope that there might be some truth to it.
âHm?
Whatâs that ahead?â
After the vehicles moved forward a short distance, Ji Xiaoqi suddenly pointed at the scene in front of them and said:
âThere seems to be a lake over there!
Could the relic be there!?â
Upon hearing this, everyone looked in that direction, their eyes brightening as they agreed with her suggestion to go and check it out.
Moments later, by the lakeside.
The team had now circled the vast lake for a while, but the lake was so large, and with a thick fog at its center, it was impossible to see inside.
What excited everyone was the faint appearance of an island in the midst of it all, with what seemed like the shadows of buildings on it!
âThe thing is, how do we get across such a large lake?
Are we supposed to swim?
There arenât sharks in the water, are there?â
Xun You questioned.
The others stopped the vehicles and gathered at the edge of the lake.
Lord Bear crouched down, dipped his hand into the lake water, brought it to his nose to sniff, and then spoke:
âThis is seawater; it looks quite dense.
However, I wouldnât advise swimming across rashly, we canât be sure whatâs insideâŠâ
The group, of course, was not willing to give up and turn back just yet, so they looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.
In his hand, Zhang Xiaoman held a scrap of paper, his brow furrowed as he read the content, eyes filled with confusion.
âWhen the gods fall, the maiden is praying, the gate to the Original Realm shall open, courage and wisdom become the bridge, the Engraving in the hands of the chosen leads to the unlocking of the Final GateâŠâ
He mumbled softly, reading from the paper, which he had copied from the map.
In addition to the real-time location updates, there was this passage on the map provided by the System.
Initially, Zhang Xiaoman hadnât paid much attention to it, simply assuming it was a bit of grandiosity added by the System to make the Ultimate Item seem more impressive.
But now that they had arrived at their destination and still couldnât find the activation point, he suddenly remembered the existence of this message.
âEh?
Brother Man, what did you just say?â
Yang Yangyang, curious, asked from the side.
Zhang Xiaoman passed the note to him and replied,
âThis information comes from the intelligence I obtained, and it should be related to the relic.â
Yang Yangyang took it and looked at it, his face showing confusion:
âThis seems like a riddle, perhaps if we solve it, we can find the way to the relic.â
Upon hearing their conversation, the three others nearby also gathered around to look at the scrap of paper and then lapsed into thought.
âWhat does âwhen the gods fallâ refer to, and what does it mean for the girl to be prayingâŠâ
Xun You furrowed his brow, pondering the content of the words, and then turned his gaze towards the only female in the team, Ji Xiaoqi, and said:
âCould it be that the girl refers to you?
Why donât you give praying a try, Sister Xiaoqi?â
Upon hearing this, Ji Xiaoqiâs face froze, and she was about to say something when Yang Yangyang suddenly spoke up:
âItâs definitely not her.
Do you mean to say that a woman is needed to solve the riddle?
Besides, given her age, sheâs hardly a girl anymore, more like aâŠ
woman.â
Before he could finish his sentence, he was smacked hard on the back by Ji Xiaoqi with a Reincarnation Divine Palm, and immediately he let out a âouchâ and started running away like mad.
âSweater!
Are you looking for death?
Stop right there!â
Behind him, Ji Xiaoqiâs angry roar could be heard.
After they chased and messed around for a while, they finally calmed down, and everyone fell back into pondering over the riddle.
Time quietly slipped away in this peaceful atmosphere, and a few hours went by in the blink of an eye, yet they were still without a clue.
âWhen the gods fallâŠ
when the gods fallâŠ
what does it mean?
Could it be referring to Ragnarok when all the gods have died, and only then can we find a way in?â
Xun You said, scratching his head:
âBut we canât wait for that, can we?
Who knows if there are gods in the world, and when those gods will die?â
Yang Yangyang, hearing what he just said, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said:
âDog friend!
Wait a second!
What did you just say?â
Xun You looked at him bewilderedly, âWhat did I say?
Oh, when will those gods dieâŠ
this sentence?â
Yang Yangyang shook his head, âNo, no, before that, before that!â
Xun You continued, âThenâŠ
âWe canât wait, who knows if there are gods in the worldââŠâ
âNot that, go further back!â
âUmâŠ
âDuring Ragnarok, when all godsâŠâ â
âStop!â Yang Yangyang suddenly interrupted, âThatâs it!â
Xun You looked at him blankly.
âWhat about it?
Is there a problem?â
Yang Yangyang clapped his hands.
ââWhen the gods fallâ canât possibly be some nonsense about waiting for all the gods to die.
âWhen the gods fallâ must refer to Ragnarok!
The time is right there, isnât it!!â
The other three showed expressions of contemplation, then seemed to understand something.
Only Xun You still hadnât caught on, still looking confused, and asked:
âRagnarok?
What time?
How did âtimeâ come out of it?â
Yang Yangyang rolled his eyes and said:
âAre you dumb?
Still proud to be dog friends!
The time obviously refers to âduskâ!â
âDusk!?â
Upon hearing this, Xun You also had a moment of realization.
âDo you mean to say that the time mentioned in the riddle is at dusk every day!?â
Yang Yangyang nodded with a proud expression.
âOf course!
What better explanation could you have?
Trust me!
When it comes to solving riddles, Iâm a professional!â
After saying this, he also looked at the sky, his expression changing as he said:
âWe need to hurry up!
Itâs going to get dark soon!â