Chapter 133: The Hidden Door (Part 3)

Once again crashing heavily against the wall, it felt as though he had been unconscious for a long time. However, Wu Qingsong was acutely aware that while he could fall asleep, he would never faint from injuries. It was all an illusion.

After hitting the ground, he immediately picked up Ling and took refuge with her in the rest area they had been in before.

“Ling, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine…” Ling was somewhat dazed by the fall but, thankfully, uninjured.

Wu Qingsong promptly activated her ability. 

“Good! Let’s go save Nina.”

The sand continued to fall, albeit not as wildly as before. The air was choked with dust, and with the torch extinguished, visibility was zero.

Wu Qingsong ignited a torch and called out for Nina loudly, but the first ones he found were Sacker and Xeila. They had been closer to the impact and bore the brunt of the force. However, their bodies had instinctively adopted positions that minimized harm, resulting in less severe injuries.

“Tagraedi,” Sacker crawled toward Wu Qingsong as another massive stone from the dome plummeted, striking the columns with a heavy thud and heightening their anxiety.

“Quick, help me!” Wu Qingsong shouted.

Ling’s ability was invaluable at this moment. Guided by his memories, Wu Qingsong searched for Nina’s likely location while Ling rapidly cleared the sand to one side.

“This place is about to collapse!” Sacker yelled.

“I won’t leave until we find her!” Wu Qingsong shouted with determination.

Sacker hesitated, but Xeila had already rushed over to help, leaving him no choice but to join in the effort.

At last, Wu Qingsong spotted a hand beneath the sand. Dropping the torch, he dug frantically, pulling her from the sandy grave.

They hastily retreated to the resting room, where Wu Qingsong gently laid Nina on the floor. Her face and body were caked with sand, showing no signs of breathing.

“Death has claimed her,” Sacker lamented.

“Who says?” Wu Qingsong countered loudly.

He reached to touch Nina’s chest. There was no heartbeat. Drawing his dagger, he cut away the chest armor and set it aside, then started CPR in desperation.

Ling had witnessed him revive Liuli using this method, but Sacker and Xeila were puzzled by his actions. They watched him blow air into Nina’s mouth and compress her chest, wondering if this could truly resurrect the dead.

But despite their hopes, Nina showed no signs of change after a lengthy wait.

“She’s already gone, Tagraedi,” Sacker said again, unable to contain his grief.

The sand outside had nearly engulfed the temple, with grains even seeping into their room. Without a plan to move further back, they would all be at risk of suffocation. Yet Wu Qingsong paid him no heed, persisting in his relentless but seemingly futile efforts.

“Tagraedi!” Sacker reached out to pull Wu Qingsong away.

Only to ignite his fury, “Move! Don’t interrupt me!”

“Are you out of your mind? She’s dead!”

“No, she’s not! I can bring her back!” Wu Qingsong declared vehemently.

When Sacker attempted to forcibly remove him, Wu Qingsong cried out, “Ling!”

Instantly, dozens of needles halted in front of Sacker’s face, stopping him in his tracks.

“We’re all going to die here,” he murmured despairingly.

“If it weren’t for them, we’d already be dead,” Xeila remarked.

Then, the miracle they had all been hoping for happened. As Wu Qingsong breathed into Nina’s mouth once again, she suddenly coughed up a great amount of sand, struggling to turn on her side to expel more of the sand that had filled her lungs.

“Nina!” Wu Qingsong wept with relief and joy. He had been attempting resuscitation for what felt like an eternity. The onlookers, and even he, had begun to despair, fearing the worst. But now, his relentless efforts were rewarded. Overwhelmed, he embraced her tightly.

Nina was initially unaware of what had transpired, only faintly remembering the sensation of being smothered by sand and her breath growing shallow.

Instinctively, she thought to push Wu Qingsong away, but his raw emotion and the expressions of those around her hinted at the gravity of what had just happened. Her heart softened involuntarily. Despite the discomfort and the unsettling feeling of being held so closely by Wu Qingsong, she allowed him to keep her in his embrace, feeling an unspoken warmth spreading through her heart.

However, she was utterly unsure of where to place her hands, her body as rigid as a post.

“We should get moving,” Sacker implored, unable to contain his urgency any longer.

Wu Qingsong snapped out of his euphoria.

“I’m sorry, I… got too carried away,” he admitted to Nina, who responded with a dismissive shake of her head.

“I’ll lead the way,” Ling declared, a peculiar bitterness swelling in her heart as she stepped forward for the first time.

Now was the moment for her ability to shine.

They quickly made a path through the soft sand, the group trailing behind her toward the depths of the underground palace.

“What’s that over there?” Xeila asked suddenly.

Wu Qingsong couldn’t see that far, but the others noticed a two-meter square opening where the God of Death statue had been. It was a bit away from the collapsed dome section and wasn’t fully buried, although some sand had started to seep in.

“Let’s check it out,” Wu Qingsong suggested.

This could be their only shot if it was the secret chamber they were searching for.

The team hastened towards it, with Sacker leading the charge to the entrance.

“There are steps,” he announced loudly before leaping down.

Following suit, Wu Qingsong jumped down into what was a roughly twenty-square-meter chamber below, featuring a platform at its center. Atop the platform sat a very large and thick book, flanked by shelves laden with numerous scrolls and artifacts.

“Quick!” Wu Qingsong urged.

Both he and Sacker reached for the book, engaging in a brief, silent tussle before Sacker relinquished his grip and dashed toward the shelves, frantically seizing whatever he could. In that moment, he cursed having only two hands and being clad in nothing more than a short vest and shorts, severely limiting how much he could carry in such a rush.

“Xeila!” he yelled, his voice thick with urgency. “Come down and help, quick!”

“Get out now! The entire ceiling is about to come down!” Nina’s voice boomed in alarm.

Clutching the book, Wu Qingsong made a dash for the exit, but Sacker was unwilling to leave behind such a trove of treasures. Anything hidden away here was bound to be of the highest quality, at the very least the finest magical artifacts. Taking out just one more could signify a sliver of hope for success.

At last, he spotted a chest in a corner and bolted madly towards it. However, at that moment, the temple’s dome finally gave way, collapsing entirely. Wu Qingsong had barely managed to escape the hole and, together with Nina and the others, had just started to sprint forward when a tremendous shockwave surged from behind, pushing them forcefully ahead.