northernbook Chapter 439 Fetus
Chapter 439 Fetus
The two stepped into the forbidden area, and after taking only two steps forward, the stone door behind them slammed shut, completely cutting off the last ray of light from the outside world.
Lin Feng immediately took out a flashlight from his personal space. A beam of cold white light cut through the thick darkness, illuminating the passage about three meters ahead.
"Watch your step," he whispered, his voice echoing slightly in the narrow space.
Xia Ning nodded, and the two walked forward side by side.
The passageway was more spacious than I had imagined, about two meters high and one and a half meters wide, enough for two people to walk side by side without feeling cramped.
The rock walls on both sides had an unnatural dark gray color, and the air was filled with an indescribable odor—
It has a slightly sweet smell, similar to a mixture of pig iron and some kind of animal offal, which makes one feel nauseous after smelling it for a while.
After walking about forty or fifty steps, the passage began to slope slightly downwards.
Lin Feng noticed some fine, vein-like raised patterns on the ground beneath his feet.
"Honey, look here," Xia Ning whispered.
Lin Feng looked in the direction she was pointing and saw that the wall was covered with a dense network of pipes.
These pipes vary in thickness, some as thin as chopsticks and others as thick as an adult's arm. They intertwine, branch, and converge like blood vessels.
But what truly sent chills down Lin Feng's spine was the color of these pipes.
They are not the gray-black or dark brown that inanimate objects should have, but a deep flesh color with a dark red sheen, covered with a very thin, transparent mucus.
Even more strangely, all the pipes were twitching slightly.
"Alive." Xia Ning stretched out her index finger and gently touched the nearest pipe.
Before Lin Feng could say "be careful," her fingertips had already pressed down on it.
The moment Xia Ning's fingertips touched it, the frequency of the pipe's peristalsis increased noticeably by one beat, as if it had sensed the external stimulus, before slowly returning to its original rhythm.
Xia Ning withdrew her finger, looked at the thin, transparent mucus on her fingertip, brought it to her nose and sniffed it gently, her brows furrowing slightly.
"It smells the same as in the tunnel." She looked into the depths of the tunnel. "These things... might be transporting some kind of substance."
The two continued walking forward, and after about two hundred more steps, the passage finally came to an end.
Suddenly, the space opened up before them, revealing a huge circular space.
Lin Feng raised his flashlight and swept it around. He estimated that the diameter of the space was at least thirty meters and the height was more than ten meters, forming a near-perfect hemispherical dome.
The ground is also covered with a dense network of pipes, converging from all directions toward the center of the space.
Then, Lin Feng saw what was in the center of the space.
A huge oval object, about three meters high and two meters wide, is suspended in the center of the space. It is irregularly shaped like an egg.
About half a meter above the ground, its outer wall is a semi-transparent film with a warm, light jade-colored luster.
The entire object was undulating rhythmically, like some enormous living thing breathing slowly in its sleep.
The rhythm is extremely stable, with a cycle of approximately five seconds.
All the pipes extending from the ground converge at the bottom of this oval object, connecting to its lower end like a dense umbilical cord.
Lin Feng took two steps forward, and the beam of light swept across the surface of the amniotic sac, revealing what was inside.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
Within the translucent egg, a human-shaped outline could be vaguely seen.
The humanoid figure had its head bowed, its hands folded in front of its chest, and its legs slightly bent, looking like a sleeping fetus.
"This is... a fetus?"
Xia Ning's expression turned serious, and she nodded: "The aura of this fetus is completely consistent with that of the Lonely Lord."
Lin Feng frowned: "Is this the child of the Lonely Lord?"
Xia Ning gently shook her head: "The body of the Lonely Lord is already old and decrepit, and in principle, he should no longer have the ability to have offspring."
"Moreover, even if they could truly reproduce, it would be through a bizarre union with a female, and the offspring should be conceived within her body, not appear in this forbidden area."
Lin Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Then... is it possible that this is actually a clone of the Lord of Silence?"
Xia Ning hesitated for a moment: "Well... it's not impossible."
"During previous meetings, the Lord of Silence would occasionally say some strange things." She softened her voice, as if recalling something.
For example, "This body is really useless," or "I wish I could get a new one."
"At the time, I thought it was just an old man's ordinary complaint, but now I realize that every word he said had a literal meaning."
"His body is decaying, or more accurately, it's undergoing some kind of irreversible... decay."
"That's why he's here, cultivating a completely new body."
Lin Feng nodded slowly: "If he is only nourishing this embryo with his own source power, it's not a big deal. The problem is..."
Xia Ning finished his sentence for him: "The fear is that the nutrients he provides to this fetus are not entirely his own."
Xia Ning carefully traced the surface of the pipe beneath her feet with her fingers, her fingertips stopping at a slightly raised node.
"Look here." She stepped aside to make room for Lin Feng to come and look.
Lin Feng leaned closer and looked in the direction she was pointing.
That was a junction where the pipeline forked.
What truly caught his attention was not the pipe itself, but the fine lines etched on its surface—
Layer upon layer, intricate and complex, it's as if a massive magic array has been compressed into a tiny space.
"This is the Soul Network." Xia Ning's fingertip hovered above the rune. "A unique transmission technology of the Temple."
"Its function is not to transport physical matter, but to transmit pure energy forms—emotions, soul power, and life force. These intangible and intangible things can be directed and transformed through the soul network."
"If I'm not mistaken, these pipes connect to the foundation of the temple, and then to the Hall of Tranquil Hearts, the Hall of Tranquil Souls, the Hall of Pure Hearts, the monks' quarters..."
Lin Feng's breath hitched, and he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
They are not practicing spiritual cultivation; they are being kept as livestock.
"That old bastard..." Lin Feng's voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth, "He treated all the believers in the entire temple as his nourishment."
Xia Ning frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "However, this is just my guess, and there is no conclusive evidence yet."
evidence……
These words reminded Lin Feng.
He raised the flashlight again, and the beam slowly swept across the rock wall of the entire circular space.
Then, he saw a small area at the 3 o'clock position to his right front, where a faint golden light was faintly visible.
Understand weaknesses.
"Wife, there seems to be something over there," Lin Feng whispered, already stepping towards the spot.
Xia Ning immediately followed.
Lin Feng reached out and carefully felt along the rock wall, and soon touched an extremely tiny protrusion.
The round button, about the size of a soybean, blends seamlessly with the surrounding stone wall, making it almost indistinguishable to the naked eye.
Lin Feng took a deep breath, pressed down hard on the protrusion with his fingertips...