Starry Sky Railway: Twin Origins

Chapter 239 Entering the Janus Trail

With Xia Die's help, Lin Qiong and the others, along with Bai E, were able to pass through the Marble Market without any obstacles and head to Nicardoli's location—the Marble Palace.

Along the way, soldiers of the Heavenly Punishment Legion continued to emerge from various corners, attempting to block Lin Qiong and his group from advancing.

However, as soon as they step into a ten-meter radius around the butterfly, they will be infected by the aura of death, their movements will gradually become sluggish, and they will eventually lose their ability to move.

And so, the group continued on their way through the market, and soon arrived at the end of the road.

Looking up, atop a mountain shrouded in mist in the distance stood a magnificent palace, the destination of Lin Qiong and his group.

"Strange, it seems like there's no way forward."

Xing frowned and looked around. There was no path leading to the Cloud Stone Palace ahead; all that remained was a bottomless cliff beneath her feet.

"It seems there really is no road left."

Lin Qiong arrived at the edge of the cliff, cautiously leaned half his body out, and looked down.

As far as the eye could see, there were only vast expanses of gray-white clouds and a magnificent rainbow spanning the cliff like a bridge.

"We can't exactly jump onto that rainbow and walk across it, can we?" Lin Qiong shrank back and pointed to the rainbow below as he asked.

“The possibility is extremely slim.” Dan Heng crossed his arms and analyzed seriously, “Leaving aside whether the rainbow has a physical form, judging from the distance between us, we simply cannot jump over it with our own strength.”

"That's not right, Danheng." Xing suddenly spoke up as if she had remembered something, "Aren't they all written about in the storybooks of your Immortal Ship?"

"Things like, 'If you cultivate yourself to attain enlightenment, you can ride on auspicious seven-colored clouds and roam freely between heaven and earth.'"

She gestured with her hands, becoming more and more excited as she spoke, her eyes filled with longing.

Seeing this, Dan Heng sighed helplessly and rubbed his temples: "Sigh, those are just stories people make up, we can't take them seriously."

Just as the three of them were seriously discussing how to get to the Cloud Stone Palace, Bai E and Xia Die, who were standing next to them, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Since you three are new to Ohm, you must not have heard of the secret path of 'Janus' yet?"

Xia Die covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her laughter as crisp as silver bells, instantly drawing the three people's attention back to the present.

"Janus's Secret Path?" Lin Qiong repeated the question in confusion.

“Yes, Janus is the Titan who controls all paths.” Xia Die nodded and explained to everyone, “And His miracles are opening doors that connect worlds and creating paths that did not exist before.”

She pointed to the device placed in front of everyone, "This device is one of the 'roads' that Janus laid out for the world."

Lin Qiong looked in the direction Xia Die pointed, and a uniquely shaped device immediately came into view.

In terms of appearance, it looks like a pair of wings of a bird standing tall, and in the center of the wings is a sphere that emits golden light.

"So this is it?" A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Qiong's eyes.

He had noticed this strangely shaped device as soon as he arrived.

At first, Lin Qiong thought it was just an ordinary decoration, after all, this was the edge of a cliff, and the surroundings were empty with no conspicuous signs.

Who would have thought that this thing, which looks like a roadside decoration, is actually a travel device left behind by the Titans?

"It seems I don't understand the Titans' aesthetic sense."

Lin Qiong shook his head, then turned to look at Xia Die, opened his mouth, and intended to ask her how to use the device.

Sudden.

A series of loud footsteps came from the direction of the Marble Market, interrupting the words he was about to say.

The group quickly looked in the direction from which the sound came, and saw billowing smoke and dust, as if countless wild beasts were rushing towards them.

"Oh no, it's the Divine Punishment Legion!"

As the figures drew closer, everyone finally saw their full appearance.

Seeing this, Lin Qiong and the others immediately took out their weapons and prepared to fight.

"What a bunch of persistent ghosts."

Bai E drew his sword and took the first step forward, but was stopped by Xia Die beside him.

"Lord Bai'e, leave this matter to me. Please take your three guests to the Cloud Stone Palace to subdue the 'Conflict'."

"How can this be...?"

Bai E frowned, but before he could finish uttering his refusal, he was interrupted by Xia Die.

"Lord Bai'er, Lady Aglaia said that you bear the heavy responsibility of 'saving the world,' and should not waste your time on this meaningless conflict."

After speaking, Xia Die stretched out her right hand, and a huge scythe, surrounded by a cold aura and emitting bursts of purple light, appeared in her hand.

"So... please leave this to me."

“...I understand, Miss Xia Die.” Bai E hesitated for a moment, then sheathed the sword in his hand. “Please be careful.”

"Um...aren't we really going to send one of us to help her?"

Lin Qiong watched the slender figure walking towards the countless Heavenly Punishment soldiers and couldn't help but ask a question.

“Leave it to Miss Xia Die. She’s not as gentle as she seems when it comes to enemies,” Bai E replied.

......

Then, Lin Qiong and the other two followed Bai E and stepped into Janus's shuttle device, arriving in front of the Marble Palace in the blink of an eye.

After regaining their senses, the four of them hurried along, passing through a waterfall-like curtain of water, and arrived directly inside the enormous palace.

As soon as he stepped inside and looked at the area that resembled a bathtub, Lin Qiong felt his head buzz.

Immediately afterwards, a series of incoherent babbling, accompanied by cries that were indistinguishable between children and adults, suddenly exploded in his mind.

However, this eerie sound only lasted for half a second in Lin Qiong's mind before disappearing without a trace, as if wiped away by an invisible hand.

The speed was so fast that he didn't even have time to react.

"What's going on here?"

Lin Qiong looked at Dan Heng and Xing, who were covering their heads and had a ferocious expression, and was filled with doubt.

He quickly walked over to the two of them, helped them up, and found that their bodies were trembling uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Lin Qiong became extremely anxious and quickly approached to ask:

"Hey, what's wrong with you two? Don't scare me!"

"My head... my head hurts so much, it feels like someone is crying inside my head!" Xing said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.

"...The crying seemed to be mixed with a language I'd never heard before," Danheng added, trying to remain calm.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong frowned, a sense of doubt rising in his heart.

Just now, he had also experienced the situation the two described, as if a strange voice had been forcibly shoved into his head.

But the sound only appeared for a moment, and then disappeared as quickly as the tide receded.

"Hiss...then why wasn't I affected?"

Lin Qiong looked at the two people with pained expressions, his mind racing, trying to find the answer to the question.

But before he could figure out what was going on, Bai E's anxious voice rang in his ears:

"You two! Hold on! Remember your faith, everything you cherish—if you can't, try to imagine death!"

However, no sooner had Bai Er finished speaking than...

A huge figure suddenly leaped down from the top of the bathhouse, crashing heavily onto the floor in front of Lin Qiong and the others, kicking up a cloud of dust.