Chapter 352
Inside the Heavenly Tomb, Lucy managed to reach the 700m mark but the pressure became stronger than ever . She would take a step every five to ten seconds and she was already soaking with sweat . Her normally white face was red and exhaustion started wearing her off .
Arthur s.h.i.+fted his attention to his wife but found no trace of her . Actually, she disappeared from his view when she crossed the 500m mark . Normally, with his Dexterity, he could see people several kilometers away from him, like an eagle . However, the Heavenly Tomb blocked his vision thus leaving him a bit worried . Whilst it"s true he has a blind trust and complete confidence in his wife"s abilities, he cannot help but feel anxious about her safety, after all, she"s inside a Heavenly Tomb and not an amus.e.m.e.nt park .
As Lucy crossed the 700 meters mark, the same voice from the beginning was heard again but only those inside were able to hear it .
"One step is a path, a thousand are a journey . No one saves us but ourselves . No one can and no one may . We ourselves must walk the path . "
As she was left pondering about the meaning of those words, a golden light appeared from the ground and entered her body, alleviating some of the physical stress she was feeling and clearing her mind . It was such a strange yet addictive feelings, its effects were only momentary yet despite that fact, it allowed Lucy to fight back the pressure which increased significantly .
With great difficulty, Lucy took fifty more steps before stopping . No matter how much she tried, she couldn"t raise her legs and advance anymore . Her body started bending and she was on the verge of falling down .
It was at this time that the stubborn and resolute side of Lucy surfaced, she gritted her teeth, clenched her fists and shouted loudly as she forcefully controlled her body and made it take the next step .
"Step" "Step" . . . "Step"
The momentum was slow but she never ceased advancing despite the cracking of her bones or the blood leaking out of her lips . She knew that Arthur wouldn"t give up yet so why would she? They are supposed to be together for all eternity so she must be strong as he is so they can protect each other and battle together against all odds .
Just like that, another one hundred meters were crossed and the voice rang inside her ears again, this time more clearly .
"Silence the angry man with love . Silence the ill-natured man with kindness . Silence the miser with generosity . Silence the liar with truth . "
Two hours pa.s.sed after that, the struggle became more intense and Lucy"s body was slowly breaking down yet in the midst of this suffering, her consciousness began reacting on its own, sending an unknown Energy to her body, giving it barely enough power to continue walking .
When the 900m mark was reached, the voice talked again, this time louder than ever and even shaking the whole tomb .
"Irrigators channel waters; fletchers straighten arrows; carpenters bend wood; the wise master themselves . "
This formless and colorless energy that started forming inside her consciousness then automatically sent to all parts of her body, became denser and circulated even faster . Lucy"s fast pace quickened and soon enough, she"ll reach the 1000m mark . From her current location, she can see a gigantic golden coffin inside a golden platform that had tall pillars surrounding it .
Unfortunately, things didn"t go as expected as she abruptly stopped when she was merely ten steps away from the milestone .
Lucy seemed to have realized something when she was advancing and pondering over the lines said by the mysterious voice .
She knew she capable of reaching the 1000 mark but it just didn"t feel right . . . as if it"s a path she can take but shouldn"t . A path not made for her but those wanting to spread their kindness and seek wisdom . As for her, her path isn"t clear yet but it"s full of obstacles . She has no interest in kindness or wisdom, she just wants to live peacefully with her family and if she must do evil things then she wouldn"t hesitate to do so . For her, family comes before anything .
As she was about to give up, the voice resonated across the tomb as if to stop her
"The root of suffering is attachment . "
Lucy remained unfazed and resolutely turned around, still planning to give up and leave the tomb . Neither she nor Arthur are meant to clear this tomb . It requires a person without sins, a person seeking to help others and wear the yellow robe, become a monk .
"See them, floundering in their sense of mine, like fish in the puddles of a dried-up stream — and, seeing this, live with no mine, not forming attachment for states of becoming . "
Despite the persistence of the voice, Lucy started going back to the entrance and very quickly returned to where Arthur was . Just as she was about to leave the place, a golden streak of light came flying from the end of the tomb and floated in front of Lucy . It circled around her then landed on her hand .
This object was a strange golden disc with nothing special about its appearance . The tomb returned to its usual silence once the disc was delivered . The disc wasn"t something to entice her but a reward for managing to reach that far, a rather special reward .
At last, Lucy left the Heavenly Tomb and sat cross-legged, meditating and taking deep breaths as her Vitality stat quicked in and started healing her .
"Are you okay?"
Arthur sat next to her and checked her from head to toe before he handed her a Healing Potion . Lucy smiled softly and rea.s.sured him before taking out the golden disc she got from the Tomb
"We should let it go, it"s not a place for us . "
Hearing this, Arthur glanced at the tomb for a split second before nodding his head in approval . He inspected the disc then used appraisal to see its function and properties
*Buddha"s Disc[Rank: G.o.dly 2nd Grade] : Weakens a target by 5% and cast a pressure that slows down all nearby enemies by 15% .
The pressure damages 1% of the target"s health every 30 seconds .
Cost : 200m Nether Energy/second
or 250 Mana/Second
or 1000 Mental Power/second*
With nothing to do here, the couple left the place and headed home, where they found Astrith, Taliya, Randuin, and Saly .
The girl was happy to see her dad so she immediately jumped in his arms and giggled as she recounted what happened in school .
As usual, they had dinner together but the atmosphere turned a bit tense when Arthur mentioned that he and Lucy must go on a trip and won"t be home for a while .
Saly didn"t want to separate from them and also that they won"t go on a trip for a simple reason so she asked to join them but was flatly rejected by Arthur and especially Lucy .
"Saly, you must understand that this is a very dangerous trip and we won"t be able to keep you out of danger if you come with us . "
The little girl furiously shook her head and retorted
"I have Astrith and Randuin by my side, no one is able to hurt me!"
When Arthur saw Saly"s teary eyes and her red face, his expression softened and he couldn"t say anything back, he just let out a helpless sigh . However, Lucy was very strict and even became angry when she saw Saly acting like this . In the end, the little girl darted out of the dining room with tear-soaked eyes .