Chapter 32: The Nether Road

　　The translation app worked remarkably well. In a short time, it had rendered the Tibetan script carved into the channel into Chinese. Aside from some characters too eroded by time to decipher, we managed to interpret the information, roughly divided into ten segments, as follows:　　Segment 1: "Our king met misfortune, struck by a treacherous arrow from the cunning Gesar. He fell from the celestial ladder into raging flames."　　Hmm, this aligns with the Epic of King Gesar, though the wording clearly shows the author was a loyal follower of King Drashin.　　Segment 2: "Yet our king, on the verge of mastering great magic, transformed within the flames into his true Dharmakaya form, sprouting three eyes and giant claws. He led seven armies in a bloody battle against the foe."　　Hiss… What's this? This part isn't in the Epic of King Gesar!　　Segment 3: "However, the enemy force was formidable. Our armies ultimately could not hold. Our king, cloaked in flame, broke through the siege alone and took refuge in an ancient secret path at the foot of the sacred mountain."　　The "sacred mountain" here must refer to Namcha Barwa. But a "secret path"? Could it be the tunnel we just came through?　　Segment 4: "The master once said the secret path harbors profound mysteries of this world, but… (illegible characters)… When our king's magic is fully mastered, he may personally explore its depths."　　Master? Could it be the one-legged demonic master of Men? I remember that name vividly. He was especially skilled in divination. Before the war between Men and Ling, the king and ministers of Men sought his prophecy on the kingdom's fate. The omens were said to be mixed, leaning towards the unfavorable for Men. Judging by the outcome, his divination was accurate.　　Segment 5: "The cunning Gesar pursued all the way but, awed by our king's might, dared not enter the secret path rashly. The master personally took the blood of us, the Keys, and risked his life to enter the path to offer aid."　　The blood of the Keys? Keys have blood? This sentence completely lost me.　　Segment 6: "Before half a day had passed, heaven and earth grew gloomy. Only we, the Keys, witnessed the ripples in time. Gesar cleaved the air with a single sword stroke, sending an intangible sword energy chasing after the ripples."　　King Gesar truly is divine, even his sword strokes release energy! But what are these "ripples in time"? And why can "Keys" see them?　　Segment 7: "In an instant, wind and clouds shifted dramatically. Our king's aura stirred ripples once more. Who could have foreseen that the earlier sword energy would split mountains and sunder stone, severing the secret path and causing our king's fall!"　　Fall?! Didn't it just say the sword energy chased the ripples? How did it suddenly cut the path and King Drashin down?　　Segment 8: "The horde of Ling soldiers laughed shamelessly. Gesar himself raised our king's severed head high, flaunting his military might before us, the people of Men! This wrong must be avenged! This wrong must be avenged! This wrong must be avenged!"　　Heh, literally saying important things three times.I thought to myself, if you had any real capability for revenge, you wouldn't resort to cheap tricks like a double-faced statue.　　Segment 9: "We hate the Ling people even more for building a temple and erecting a statue to seal the secret path, cutting off our king's chance for rebirth! Fortunately, the master reorganized the soldiers and people. He led us to secretly construct this altar here. A hundred generations hence, our king shall surely see the light of day again!"　　They want to resurrect King Drashin! Wait, what? The Ling people built a temple to seal the path? My heart jumped. I immediately looked around, a suspicion forming.　　Segment 10: "… (illegible characters)… Sacrifice the blood of the Keys. Tread the Nether Road."　　Staring at the translation on Feng's phone screen, I frowned. The text made it clear the author was an eyewitness to the Battle of Menling. But the story of King Drashin transforming into a "true Dharmakaya form" and leading a resistance is nowhere recorded in the Epic of King Gesar. Whether this fantastical event truly happened or is purely the delusion of the defeated is currently impossible to verify.　　But what if we connect this text with our own recent experiences? I clutched my head, sinking deep into thought...　　Part 2: Blood Sacrifice　　"We still have to find a way out!" Mr. Egg’s worried voice, accompanied by the sound of him knocking on the stone wall, interrupted my train of thought.　　Lo