Returning to the Mysterious Era

Chapter 284 - Which Eye Was Shocked?

At 7:55 a.m, Cassius slightly raised his head and glanced at the futuristic mushroom-shaped building across the plaza. The white tiles of the exhibition hall and the large floor-to-ceiling windows shimmered under the sunlight, and the long sign atop the structure gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Men in black suits patrolled the perimeter, their cold, fierce gazes and auras completely unconcealed. People either entered the exhibition hall in pairs or alone, while some journalists stood on tiptoe, jotting down key points in their notebooks from time to time.

"Do you think there might be some Blood Spirit Society or Duststorm members sneaking into the antique exhibition hall?" Saint Feinan, dressed in a white suit that shimmered in the sunlight, walked up to Cassius.

"There definitely are," Feng Liusi joined them. He looked noticeably younger today, yet he still maintained the appearance of a mature man around thirty years old in his well-fitted suit.

"Too bad we can't make a move." Cassius spoke with a hint of regret, his gaze slightly dark. It was frustrating to see prey but be forced not to pounce.

"It doesn't matter. There will definitely be a reckoning by the fourth day. Have some patience. I only need a few more days. I'm close to the fifth stage," Feng Liusi remarked.

The three of them continued their conversation as they walked toward the Tulip Antique Exhibition. Despite wearing suits, they steadily overtook the bustling crowd ahead. The people who were accidentally pushed aside didn't dare say anything, as the trio's natural aura of authority kept them silent.

A minute later, Cassius and the others showed their invitations and were granted entry, walking up the carpet laid out toward the entrance. They crossed the steps and arrived at the platform in front of the exhibition hall doors.

"At least five pugilists in plain sight," Feng Liusi quietly remarked.

Cassius's expression remained unchanged, though his eyelids lowered slightly. There were already five pugilists who had surpassed human limits as security personnel in plain sight. Who knew how many more were hidden in the shadows? This alone showcased the deep reserves of Cloud Dog Fist's middle ranks.

Once they walked through the main doors, they were greeted by a spacious hall. The trio headed toward the right pavilion, turning a corner decorated with white porcelain vases and walked further down the corridor. They pushed open an intricately-patterned red lacquered door that was slightly ajar.

Immediately, the faint sound of melodic instruments poured in like flowing water. Golden sunlight streamed through the angled floor-to-ceiling windows, reflecting off the white marble floors. A variety of people strolled through the exhibition. Some wore suits with slicked-back hair, exuding an air of elite professionals. Others were slightly overweight, bearded, wore glasses, and walked with a partner, dressed as wealthy merchants. Still others wore casual scholarly attire with warm-toned sweaters.

Their arrival didn't attract any attention, and the three of them quickly blended into the crowd as they wandered through the exhibition.

"The antiques related to ancient ruins on the exhibition list seem to be grouped together in Hall 5," Cassius said, pointing ahead.

"Let's go take a look," Feng Liusi said as he took the lead.

They quickly entered Hall 5, which was a semi-open room with one side featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing sunlight to pour in. Around them, fixed pillars were neatly positioned, each holding an antique inside a glass case.

"How many pieces are there today?" Saint Feinan asked.

"Three in total. It should be a mural, a shard of pottery, and some architectural remains..." Cassius spoke slowly as he led the way toward them.

After searching for a moment, they quickly found the first target. The glass case contained a shard of pottery that was faintly marked with patterns. However, severe erosion made it difficult to discern the details even up close. Feng Liusi stepped closer, examining it carefully, his brows furrowed as though he were deep in thought.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and a crackling sound came from his body. It seemed that his shock caused the recently mastered Death's Fang Force to lose control, creating a brief moment of turmoil.

Saint Feinan and Cassius didn't interfere, standing quietly by his side for about three minutes. Finally, Feng Liusi's brows relaxed, and he slowly straightened.

Seeing this, Cassius asked. "So? Did you figure something out?"

"No, it's just an ordinary shard of pottery," Feng Liusi shook his head, his expression returning to one of indifference.

"Then why did you stare at it for so long?" Cassius asked, puzzled.

"I only glanced at it for a moment. The rest of the time, I was controlling the newly broken-through acupoint and suppressing my rampaging Death's Fang Force," Feng Liusi shrugged innocently and explained, "You're still in the second stage, so you wouldn't understand my current situation. The further you get in the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist, the harder it becomes to manage the force.

"Unlike your stage right now, where you can break through an acupoint in just under half an hour, breaking through an acupoint sometimes takes half a day of full effort before I can control it as naturally as before," Feng Liusi added, giving Cassius a final jab.

"Fuck, we thought you'd figured out something significant about the ruins from the first antique," Saint Feinan commented sarcastically as he basked in the sunlight.

"Heh." Feng Liusi chuckled, but just as he was about to speak, another faint crackling sound came from his body. He froze in place as he focused inward again to control the Death's Fang Force flowing through his meridians. He stood there like a puppet.

"Goddamn it, I'm really done with this," Saint Feinan muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Ignore him, let him stand there and adjust himself..." Cassius immediately turned toward the other two ancient relics.

One of them was a mural, its once vibrant colors now faded to gray over time. The details were somewhat blurred, but careful observation revealed a few clues. As Cassius continued to try and extrapolate the specific shapes, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He leaned closer to the glass case, and finally, his pupils shrank in shock, and his face took on an expression of astonishment.

Saint Feinan's untimely voice broke the moment. "Hey, Cassius, don't tell me you're having trouble controlling your breakthrough with Death's Fang Force too. Stop pretending—Feng Liusi's still standing there like an idiot, and he can't see you mocking him anyway..."

Cassius blocked out the comment, focusing even more intently on the mural. He had indeed discovered something unexpected. The blurry outlines in the mural, if Cassius wasn't mistaken, depicted five symbols arranged in an oval shape. The five symbols, starting from the top and moving clockwise, were: a mouth, an eye, a nose, an ear, and a hand.

These represented the five senses that humans use to perceive and understand the world. At the center of these five symbols was a shape that, no matter how Cassius looked at it, resembled a coiled snake—a rough figure-eight, ∞.

In his last time-travel to the Akaba Ruins, he had found the Rune of Wisdom. Several key concepts in his mind immediately connected.

Instinctively, he pressed his chest where the mark of the Rune of Wisdom still remained. Known as the Ouroboros, it originated from the mysterious Aoyin civilization and was said to be one of five ancient keystones that lead to boundless greatness. It could absorb the essence of calamity and create the Blood of the Spirit. Cassius's foundation for combat, the Golem Martial Arts, was built upon layers of this very Blood of the Spirit.

Could this ancient ruin be related to Akaba? Or perhaps, the ancient ruin where Feng Liusi obtained the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance was from the Aoyin civilization era? Cassius quickly turned to glance at Feng Liusi but then he reconsidered.

In his previous time-travel experience, he had ventured into the Akado Ruins with Duomo, the first core disciple of the Three-Eyed Mad Lion Sect. That place had seemed to be the lair of the northern Blood Race, with many ancient monsters in deep slumber. There were swarms of scarabs, high-ranking Blood Race...

Long-buried memories surfaced, and Cassius compared the timelines of the two time-travel experiences. This trip was three years after the previous one, so not much should have changed. That branch of the Blood Race was likely still residing in the ruins.

If the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance was truly there, a major battle would be inevitable. Cassius snapped back to the present and exhaled deeply. He considered himself fortunate to have gleaned some useful information. Though he couldn't be certain, at least he had a concrete direction to follow.

Cassius studied the mural for a while longer, reaffirming his thoughts. Then, he turned his attention to the final antique: a pile of architectural remains whose origin was unclear. It might have been part of a wall, a pillar, or perhaps a statue. Cassius pondered for a moment and noticed that one of the fragments seemed to have the word "Thorn" written on it. His interest piqued, he examined it from various angles, discovering several faint phrases.

Dead people. Butterfly. Ashes of the living.

The most complete phrase was a single sentence.

You are fire, dressed in flames...

Cassius muttered to himself, feeling a vague sense of familiarity, as though he had seen it somewhere before. He stared blankly for about two minutes before snapping back to reality and speaking aloud. "Collapsed upon blue thorns, sipping from the red fever."

"....."

"You are fire, dressed in flames."

"Painful flames, burning the living."

"The ashes of the living, a love poem upon the forehead of death..."

There was a circular corridor in the Black Rain Manor that led to the Baptism Chapel. That corridor had broken statues and pillars with identical poems written on it. Cassius's initially confident expression broke as he frowned in confusion. How could this be related to Black Rain Manor again? Or could the Black Rain Manor have also originated from the Aoyin civilization?

For a moment, he was lost in thought, pondering the unknown. The strange elements all seemed tied to that mysterious ancient era. Perhaps it was even related to the Soma myth and the essence of life originating from the Threefold Gate. The Gate Organization must know something, since they had always collected ancient relics. Various factors swirled in his mind.

However, there was too little information to piece together a complete narrative. Cassius finally stopped trying to force the puzzle together and returned to the present, just in time to hear Saint Feinan's voice.

"Cassius, Cassius, what's wrong? Hey... don't tell me you're having a martial arts accident. Feng Liusi told me to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't overuse your Qi again after the last time." Saint Feinan asked.

Cassius shook his head, looking away from the architectural remains. "I'm fine, just realised some interesting information. I'll share it with you when we return..."

"Oh?" Saint Feinan's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded. "You're much more insightful than that useless old fool Feng Liusi."

"Saint Feinan, who are you calling an old fool? You think I can't hear you? You're not even worth mentioning, old man," Feng Liusi walked over; he had finished suppressing his Death's Fang Force and stood relaxed by their side.

"It's great that you found something. There are only three items today, but there will be more tomorrow and the day after. We can check again then." He said to Cassius.

"Yeah," Cassius nodded.

Suddenly, Cassius felt his heart skip, and his expression shifted. The faint cross-shaped mark on his brow began to glow red and flicker as something in his mind trembled. In an instant, he moved like a ghost, appearing at the entrance of Hall 5 and stopping in his tracks.

A few meters away, a man with black hair also halted. He had a hand to his brow, as he gazed calmly back at Cassius. His deep black pupils were like an abyss, absorbing light.

The two said nothing, simply facing each other in silent confrontation. It was as if an invisible swirl of air rose between them. Suddenly, a dark peacock seemed to spread its tail feathers behind the black-haired man, the metallic plumage exuding an elegant yet sinister aura.

A crimson cloud expanded and tore through the air behind Cassius. The vortex formed a giant, blood-red vulture, its grotesque feathers layering heavily upon each other. It threw back its head and let out a piercing screech.

At the same time, elsewhere in the exhibition, a young man with purple hair and a cold expression walked forward with a girl clinging to his arm.

"Lance, let's go visit Iceblue Lake in Kura City after the antique exhibition, okay? I've wanted to see it for so long, but no one would go with me." The girl's voice was sweet, and her appearance and attire were equally charming.

She had an excellent appearance with delicate features. The black top she wore made her milky-white skin stand out even more. Her hair was tied up, with soft strands falling over her temples, and her eyes held a carefree glint.

"I don't have time." Lance was clearly growing impatient. He had sworn when he came of age that he would devote his entire life to his sword. Romance was nothing but a distraction from that resolve.

The girl before him was Nora, the second core disciple of one of the Eastern Nine Gates, the Singing Water Sect. She was well-regarded both for her talent and her beauty, and was quite popular among the core disciples of the Eastern Nine Gates.

For some reason, ever since she saw Lance fight in the last Eastern Covert Martial Arts Exchange, she had developed a crush on him. At every gathering of disciples their age, she would find ways to approach Lance and strike up a conversation.

This irritated Lance to no end. He tried to avoid her every time, but unfortunately, she had caught him this time. He had no choice but to remain cold and push deeper into the exhibition hall.

"Lance~" Nora called out in a sweet, sugary voice.

Lance's eyelid twitched, and he halted. "Don't talk to me in that tone. I'll agree, but don't bother me anymore."

With that, he shoved forward into the crowd.

"Hey, don't go! Wait for me..."

Lance only quickened his pace when he heard her call out.

Suddenly, his entire body stiffened. He could sense a dangerous aura from a certain direction that made his hair stand on end. It felt as though two savage beasts were locked in a standoff. Lance raised his head stiffly, barely managing to look in the direction of the auras.

On black and one red figure stood several meters apart. The air around them was almost imperceptibly warping. It seemed that the red figure sensed his gaze and turned to casually glance at him.

A terrifying pressure suddenly struck Lance's heart.

Crackle!

It was as if thunder was crashing inside his brain. In his daze, he saw a giant, otherworldly raptor diving rapidly from the sky, its grotesque wings blocking out the sun!