novelThe Tower of Babel, The Gate of God
| ← Ch.290 | Ch.292 → |
Two months later, Lin Luoran comes out of the basement, holding a porcelain bottle and feels satisfied.
She thinks it won't hurt to make more preparations since they are going to explore the interstellar transmission circle and find the ancient book of the monsters of wood.
Yang Lisha has been waiting for her for too long. She doesn't yell at her only because she finally finds Lin Luoran ready to go.
Lin Luoran has only planned to take Yuan Ye and Goldie with her, but Mr. Lin volunteers to go together. The cyan little fox grabs Lin Luoran's trouser legs tightly before they leave. Li Xi'er has to stay at home and look after Yang Lisha's precious Acacia tree. As for Zeng Tian, he still needs to practice Spells of the Five Elements. He stays because his abilities are too limited to join the adventure.
Huang Weijian wants to go, but he gives up after Lin Luoran tells him he is going to take the entrance examination for senior middle schools.
Lin Luoran takes Yuan Ye and holds the golden hawk in her left hand while the little fox is in the other. Although it will be a dangerous journey, it still looks like they were going on a travel.
Master Guo is going, as well as Sixie of the Mus. Wen Runlan follows the Master of the Wens. Li Xi'er's teacher Xi Heng and other brave cultivators who answered Lin Luoran's call on the forum also join the team. They have hundreds of people now. All of them come to Rong City spontaneously. Two luxury buses are not enough. Fortunately, they are about to take a plane.
To Lin Luoran's surprise, the interstellar transmission circle Yang Lisha said is not in Huaxia.
It is at a somewhat special place.
......
The team transfers for several flights and finally arrives at Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
The heat in late spring and early summer makes the young cultivators spiritless. Lin Luoran and the team arrive at noon in the middle of May. It's only about twenty degrees in Huaxia at this time of the year, but the temperature reaches 35 degrees at noon here.
While they could have used ice to cool themselves down at home, Baghdad welcomes them with its harsh tropical desert climate which is famous for being extremely dry.
Many cultivators are frightened after Lin Luoran says she heard the highest temperature in summer there can reach 50°C. The temperature of 50°C can even make these low-level cultivators be dehydrated under the sun. They can't imagine how the locals survived under such heat.
Under the boundless desert, there is the most precious natural resource. It is that black liquid that still makes Baghdad suffer from tragedies caused by wars.
Sectarian conflicts, terrorist attacks and militant violence against the U. S. Army are constantly happening. Explosions, attacks, abductions, assassinations are everywhere. Civilians of the country are homeless. Their living environment is deteriorating. Even in the capital, many people wander on the street because of the high unemployment rate. They all stare at Lin Luoran in her fine clothing. If they didn't come in a group of hundreds of people, they would probably get robbed by someone on the street.
The cyan little fox in Lin Luoran's arms has bright one-colored fur. The little golden hawk on her shoulder also makes them look mysterious. Nobody dares to harm them even if they want to.
The heat is not the most unbearable thing. Wind carrying a great amount of sand constantly hits them.
The cultivators even want to wrap their heads with a piece of black cloth like the locals do.
The weather is so dry. It is dry because it seldom rains, and the sunlight is strong. There are no clouds in the sky. Without clouds, the sunlight shines directly on the ground and heats up both the ground and the air. It is also because the ground is dry that it is impossible to cool the weather down through evaporation. Wen Runlan feels like he was in a sauna room. He spits out some sands and pulls the sleeves of Xiao Xiaomu next to him.
"How much water do you bring? I was so naive and didn't believe it when Lin Luoran said the weather was tough here."
Xiao Xiaomu can barely open his eyes because of the wind. He shakes the yellow sand off his eyelashes, "Grandmaster Lin, where are we going now?"
There are bunkers of yellow sandbags every few dozens or hundreds of meters. The group of Asians in bright clothes has been stopped and questioned five times by heavily armed Iraqi soldiers and police. If it is not because they clearly don't carry weapons in their luggage, the ridiculous flag of the tourist group that Lin Luoran holds would not necessarily work.
Master Guo feels a little excited. Being able to return to a place like this makes him a little bit nostalgic.
Lin Luoran hands the flag to Yuan Ye and asks him to lead the team.
"We need to get out of the city."
It's not hard to see that Yang Lisha hates the heat as well. She belongs to the Wood branch and will be upset when she lacks water, let alone being exposed in the desert climate like this. Seeing Lin Luoran turns over before she finishes her sentence, Yang Lisha says in a weak voice, "We need to head south after getting out of the city. There are still a hundred miles to go."
Master Mu doesn't know who Yang Lisha really is. Nevertheless, it is exactly because he can't see through her personal abilities, and Lin Luoran listens to almost all of her opinions along the way that makes Master Mu and others all regard her as a senior cultivator of Lin Luoran's school. They don't mind that Yang Lisha looks very young. Lin Luoran is afraid that these old cultivators know Yang Lisha is a monster. If so, they won't cooperate well in the interstellar transmission circle, so Lin Luoran decides not to introduce her to them and pretends to know nothing about her.
Qu Yi falls behind and murmurs, "South of Baghdad, are we going to the Babel Tower?"
Qu Yi is a cynical young man. He once flinched at a critical moment, so now he seems to be a little isolated. Except for the powerful cultivators of Laying Foundation, no one hears what he muttered to himself.
Lin Luoran narrows her eyes. The place they are going to is the Babel Tower or "the Tower of Heaven" in Ancient Babylon located on the east bank of the Euphrates River, one hundred kilometers away from the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
In Babylonian, the word "Babel" means "the Gate of God".
If Yang Lisha hadn't really been here, Lin Luoran would not believe that the legendary Tower of Heaven is where the interstellar transmission circle is located.
......
"At the place where the sky meets the ground, green light flickers. White pigeons bring back olive branches from here. After the great flood recedes, all creatures revive. The Babel Tower stands on the top of the mountain, overlooking this silent land. The sacred tower points straight into the sky. This is the most fertile land in the Mesopotamian plain. Milk and honey flow in heaven. This is God's promise. On a wonderful moonlit night, priests dance mysteriously. They put olive branches on their chests. Only the tambourine can interpret their call. The Babel Tower stays silent on top of the mountain. In this sacred altar, people open their arms to welcome the god of peace."
It is hot at noon and cold at night. The cultivators sit around the bonfire and open their mouths in amazement after seeing what Xiao Xiaomu shows them.
Xiao Xiaomu takes back his tablet, "Don't look at me. Baidu says it."
Wen Runlan yawns, "I thought you suddenly become poetic tonight."
They buy beef from Iraqi people and grill it with the bonfire. Master Guo loves to eat meat in big pieces while Chen Yun has been in authority for so long and feels a bit aggrieved in the desert.
The team gets out of the city after being examined and goes to Babylon as if they were common tourists. They are at the bank of the Euphrates River now. Chen Yun hates the sandstorm and cannot accept the local people who don't take a shower. Sitting on the sand, keeping himself warm by the bonfire and splitting grilled meat with others all remind him of the days when he was an ordinary agent of the special department and had to go on missions all over the world.
Yang Lisha leaves everyone behind after she gets to the Euphrates River. No one knows where she goes to.
Everyone has secrets. Yang Lisha, the monster vine, is no exception. Since she is not willing to let everyone know how to open the interstellar transmission circle, Lin Luoran does not force her.
"My fellow cultivator Lin, how much longer do we need to wait here?" Chen Yun expresses his dissatisfaction first. Lin Luoran and Master Mu both shake their heads behind his back. Chen Yun is in charge of the special department and shouldn't lack cultivation materials. He comes to his sixties this year, but why he hasn't shown signs of Laying Foundation. His state of mind is really problematic.
The roasted beef is soft and chewy. Yuan Ye is a good cook. Lin Luoran deeply realizes the benefits of having an apprentice to help her.
The cyan little fox lies lazily on the sand, staring at Chen Yun with a boring look. The more humans the little fox knows, the more she feels that the female cultivator who takes care of her is a nice person. At least, the man in front of her is not as good-tempered as Lin Luoran.
Seeing Chen Yun grumbles, Lin Luoran sighs, "Minister Chen, allow me to remind you that you should call me 'master' according to the seniority of the world of cultivation."
In fact, Chen Yun doesn't lay the foundation and should have called Lin Luoran "grandmaster", but she saves face for him considering they still need to work together in the interstellar transmission circle.
Chen Yun's face turns purple. Xi Heng laughs at him silently. He never likes Chen Yun because he patronizes everyone. He is so shameless to call Lin Luoran "my fellow cultivator". He can do so only because Li Xi'er calls Lin Luoran "master". Thanks to her, he becomes a senior. Although Lin Luoran responds politely, Xi Heng feels quite good when he sees Chen Yun feels awkward.
Nobody speaks for Chen Yun. He doesn't know how to get out of the situation, so he snorts and pretends nothing has happened. Young cultivators around are all former, current or future agents of the special department. They feel ashamed for Minister Chen after witnessing what just happened. How can their minister make a fuss with Lin Luoran? No one of them knows what to say. It becomes really embarrassing for a while. Fortunately, they see in the light of the bonfire that a slender woman comes from afar.
Lin Luoran stands up when she realizes that the woman is Yang Lisha.
Goldie and the cyan little fox reach a tacit understanding. One of them jumps into Lin Luoran's arms. The other clutches her shoulders tightly.
Yang Lisha doesn't look at anyone else and only nods to Lin Luoran, "Follow me." She sounds exhausted. Lin Luoran doesn't know what this monster has done to get so tired.
Lin Luoran asks everyone to hurry up. The team quickly extinguishes the bonfire, takes the uneaten barbecue and follows Yang Lisha up the river.
They come to a ruined building on a wasteland.
The stone statue's wings are broken. Its sharp ends become blunt because of weathering. It seems these relics are still telling the exciting stories of the past. Dusty clay tablets are buried deep in the plain. Cuneiform has recorded the glory of this ancient civilization.
Yang Lisha touches some mechworks on the ground. A stone platform emerges from underneath with a transparent crystal ball shining bright on it. They can only see their own reflection on the ball and don't know what is inside.
"Once I say start, everyone please send Reiki into it, regardless of which branch of the five elements are you in. We must spare no effort. If we couldn't open the circle this time, we may have to wait for next year."
Yang Lisha looks at the sky and Lin Luoran follows her sight. The sky looks really strange tonight. The moon seems very close to the earth and looks like a big plate. It seems one can jump up and catch it.
"Ready...... start!"
Hundreds of thick or thin Reiki lines in red, gold, blue, green and brown are connected to the crystal ball on the stone platform, interweaving a gorgeous light wall.
It is dazzling when Reiki of the five elements gathers together. Although Chen Yun doesn't fully agree with the idea, he does everything he can, let alone others.
Lin Luoran thinks that a tunnel or something like a magic circle might show up because they all thought the interstellar transmission circle should be like these. However, a sudden spike of strong light makes her close her eyes. When she carefully opens her eyes again, an extremely tall tower that is floating in the air appears in front of her.
......
At that time, the languages and accents of people all over the world were the same. They said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."
—— Genesis
| ← Ch. 290 | Ch. 292 → |