novelraw Chapter 477 - 474: The Mystery of the Blood Moon
Chapter 477 - 474: The Mystery of the Blood Moon
"Ask the guide then."
Tom set down Guide Tano, patting his face: "Hey, wake up!"
Under the weak stimulation of fighting qi, Tano gradually awoke.
As soon as he saw the three forks ahead, along with the three large doors, his face turned pale instantly.
"It’s over, it’s over... I actually entered the ancestral tomb during the Blood Moon period..."
Bai Pu said calmly: "Tano, right from the start, I heard you mention the Blood Moon... What is it exactly? When outside, I looked at the moon, and there was no blood color."
"You don’t understand; how would an outsider understand?"
Tano scratched his head, "It’s the experience passed down in our tribe... There are twelve months a year, thirty days each month, and the moon phases go through a complete cycle of waxing and waning.
"In each cycle, the moon phases from half-moon to full moon and back to half-moon take fifteen days, during which it is safe to explore the tomb.
"But when the moon phases from half-moon to waning crescent and back, it also takes fifteen days. That is the Blood Moon period! Anyone who entered the ancestral tomb during this time has never returned!"
What Tano said was a bit complicated, but Bai Pu understood.
The lunar phases of the Demon Fighting Continent are almost no different from those on Earth, but the desert people of the Red Sand Tribe on the continent calculate the lunar calendar differently from Earth’s ancient Huaxia.
In ancient Huaxia, the new moon (completely dark) was the first day, the full moon the fifteenth day, undergoing new moon, first quarter (half-moon), full, third quarter (half-moon) phases, and then back to the new moon of the next month, marking a complete cycle.
The desert people of the Red Sand Tribe start their month with the first quarter, experiencing phases from first quarter, full, third quarter, to new moon.
From first quarter to third quarter (first to fifteenth day), during the bright phases, it’s the safe exploration period of the Naxitas Ancient Ruins, with fewer dangers.
And from third quarter to the next first quarter (sixteenth to end of the month), during the dark phases, it’s an absolutely dangerous period, locally known as the "Blood Moon" period, as the absence of any survivor has proven.
Bai Pu looked at Tano and slowly asked: "Can you turn back now?"
Tano shook his head in despair: "No going back; during the Blood Moon, you can only enter, not exit."
Oshana was slightly surprised and, upon looking back, saw that atop the spiral passage exit, a wisp of ethereal red mist had appeared without knowing when. Through the red mist, the crescent moon in the starry sky indeed gained a layer of blood hue.
Hence the name Blood Moon.
"I have a question..." Tom said, "Blood Moon is dangerous, but Tano, you also said that there’s only one to two days left before it passes. If we survive here for one to two days, won’t the Blood Moon end? Then we can leave!"
Tano shook his head: "No, as long as there is living being in the tomb, the Blood Moon won’t end, not even after ten, twenty days, or a month."
Bai Pu pointed overhead: "Tano must mean the red mist above us... This red mist, it seems, won’t dissipate easily."
Oshana attempted to walk back, her form drawing closer to the red mist, but she felt increasing resistance, like diving into a cotton pile, and after a few steps, she couldn’t move forward any further.
"Looks like we’ll have to venture into the ruins. Tano, you’re the guide here, tell us, where do these three paths lead, which door should we take?" Tom didn’t seem too afraid.
"I’ve only been here during the safe exploration period. During that time, these three doors were open and not closed." Tano felt somewhat hopeless.
"Look at the top of the doors, at that inverted stone tablet. There seems to be text on it." Bai Pu raised his hand to point.
As everything here is inverted, the originally upright stone tablet should have been standing by the door for outsiders to examine.
Tano rubbed his eyes: "Strange, there were no stone tablets during the safe period."
Tano, himself an agile advanced elite profession, although such a template is at the bottom of the advanced Spirit Realm, he still can climb to the top without others’ help.
Tano tilted his head, deciphering the stone tablet’s words character by character.
"The inscription says, to test the outsider’s courage, strength, or wisdom, at least one of the three is needed to be allowed entry into the tomb. On the door I’m looking at, the stone tablet reads ’Gate of Courage.’
"What’s the specific meaning?" Tom asked.
"The Gate of Courage requires the courage to face life and death." Tano said, "The inscription only mentions this sentence. However, the courage test mechanism is right here, do you want to try it?"
Tom, Oshana, and Bai Pu exchanged glances.
"Don’t rush... I prepared some probe bugs to test it."
Oshana took out a transparent jar, where tiny dots of light flickered beautifully.
Bai Pu looked closely, realizing these probe bugs resembled miniature fireflies, each as small as dust, yet able to glow, likely a unique life form from the Demon Fighting Continent.
They let Tano come back first, Oshana opened the jar, releasing the probe bugs, flying towards the Gate of Courage.
Tom used his fighting qi to micro-control, remotely activating the courage test mechanism.
Suddenly, from the top of the Gate of Courage’s stone tablet, a carving of an inverted beast, its eyes opened wide! Two beams of blood-red light shone forth.
Hissing...
A scorched smell wafted through the air; as the blood-red light passed, half of the glowing probe bugs were killed, turning into charred insect remains, drifting down.
"So this is... the courage test? A random 50% death rate?"
The four looked at each other, feeling a chill in their hearts.
No one, not even Tano, was willing to gamble on that 50% good fortune.
"Let’s try the Gate of Power or Wisdom; I think the other two challenges might be more suitable." Tom suggested, already somewhat regretting coming to the Naxitas Ancient Ruins.
The test of wisdom, the beast carving will pose a question to the intruder. If answered, entry is allowed; failing or answering incorrectly leads only to death.
"Answering questions... seems more reliable than a 50% random chance," Tom said.
"What if it asks how many stars are in the sky?" Bai Pu countered.
Tom was speechless.
Indeed, with no limit on the difficulty of the questions, the wisdom test became another kind of gamble of life.
Eventually, the group arrived at the third door, the Gate of Power.
The inscription for the power test was quite clear.
"Defeat the Stone Golem guarding the gate, and you can embark on the path of power." Tano deciphered from the inscription.
"Let’s choose this one. Compared to gambling on luck, I trust my strength more." Tom grasped the war stick in his hand tightly.