From cute to empress

Chapter 353 Lost on the Mysterious Planet

Those creatures had dark skin, hideous faces, fierce eyes, and beast-like roars as they wielded crude weapons and pounced on us.

"Protect His Majesty!" Youcai shouted, leading the charge. His sword, like a silver dragon, slashed through the air with dazzling arcs of light, forcing the monsters back. The monk chanted something, and golden Buddha light formed a barrier around him, repelling the monsters' attacks.

Although I was a little scared, I still gripped my sword tightly and joined the battle. I am not a weak woman who can't even tie a chicken. Over the years, I have fought side by side with Youcai and have already honed my skills.

"What kind of monsters are these?" The weather officer brandished a dagger, struggling to fend off the monsters' attacks. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. "Why do they feel even more formidable than those dark creatures?"

"They are the native inhabitants of this planet," I explained as I swung my sword. "I've heard you say before that this planet wasn't originally a barren land, but rather a place of civilization."

"But why did they attack us?" the meteorologist was puzzled.

"They might think we've awakened the dark forces," Youcai said in a deep voice, "We must leave here as soon as possible!"

We fought and retreated, moving towards the entrance of the altar. However, those monsters rushed towards us like crazy, and every step forward was a huge price to pay.

"We can't go on like this, we'll be exhausted to death!" I said anxiously, "We have to find a way to get rid of them!"

"Follow me!" Youcai suddenly said, pulling me toward the side of the altar, followed closely by the monk and the meteorologist. We passed through a narrow passage, and suddenly, we saw a dense forest.

"Where...is this place?" the meteorologist asked breathlessly.

Before we could figure out what was going on, we heard the roars of the monsters behind us. They were catching up with us!

"Hurry up!" The monk said solemnly. Suddenly, he put his hands together and muttered something. Golden Buddha light spread out from under his feet, forming a golden road. "Follow this road!"

We didn't dare hesitate and immediately rushed forward along the golden road. However, I could clearly feel the monk's breath growing weaker and weaker, and his face turned pale...

"Master..." I looked at him worriedly.

"Don't worry..." The monk forced a smile, "My strength... can still hold on for a while..."

"boom--"

Before he could finish his words, a loud noise suddenly came from the forest ahead, and a huge tree collapsed, blocking our way.

"It's a trap!" I exclaimed, "They have set an ambush here a long time ago!" "Master!" I exclaimed and rushed forward, but was pushed away by him.

"Go! Leave me alone!" the monk shouted, forming seals with his hands. Golden Buddha light gathered in front of him to form a huge shield of light. "Amitabha, I will sacrifice my life today to save these lost souls!"

"Master!" Tears welled up in my eyes, but I knew this was no time to hesitate. Youcai grabbed me and rushed past the fallen tree. The meteorologist followed closely behind, a strange staff in his hand. He muttered something, and suddenly dark clouds filled the sky. A strong wind blew, and huge raindrops mixed with hail pelted down on the pursuing indigenous people.

"Let's go!" the meteorologist shouted, pulled Youcai and me, and ran towards the depths of the forest.

I don’t know how long we ran until we could no longer hear the roars of the natives. We finally stopped and leaned against the tree trunks, gasping for breath.

"Master, he..." I looked in the direction I came from, feeling extremely sad.

"The master is compassionate. He certainly doesn't want us to be sad for him." Youcai gently put his arm around my shoulders and comforted me softly.

"But... what should we do now?" The meteorologist slumped to the ground, his face frighteningly pale. It was obvious that the spell he had just cast had consumed too much of his energy. "Those natives hate us to the core. We can't communicate with them at all."

"No, we must find a way." I shook my head and said firmly, "I believe they are not born bloodthirsty. They are just blinded by hatred."

"But what are we supposed to do?" the weather officer asked feebly. "We don't even understand their language."

I looked at Youcai, who was also lost in thought. After a moment, he raised his head and said with a firm gaze, "We must find evidence to prove that we didn't awaken the dark forces. Only then can we eliminate the hatred in their hearts."

"But where can we find the evidence?" the meteorologist asked blankly.

Youcai and I looked at each other, and a place appeared in our minds at the same time - the altar!

"Follow me!" I pulled the meteorologist and ran in the direction we came from.

Along the way, we avoided the patrols of the indigenous people and finally returned to the desolate plain. The altar still stood there quietly, as if silently telling the ancient secrets.

"Right here!" I pointed to the bottomless cave in the center of the altar. "I feel like the answer is down there!"

We walked into the cave cautiously, and a cold air hit us. The depths of the cave were pitch black, and we couldn't see our hands in front of us.

"There seems to be something here..." The meteorologist's voice trembled slightly. He raised his staff and released a faint light.

In the dim light, we saw that the walls on both sides of the cave were engraved with strange symbols, which looked like some kind of writing, but did not resemble any language we knew.

"These symbols... I seem to have seen them somewhere..." I carefully identified them, and suddenly a flash of inspiration came to my mind. "I remember! These symbols... I saw them in an ancient book. It's said to be the writing of a long-lost ancient civilization!"

"Ancient civilization?" Youcai and the meteorologist looked at me in surprise.

"That's right!" I nodded affirmatively. "If I remember correctly, that ancient civilization... seems to be called..."

Before I could finish my words, a sudden, grinding sound of metal echoed from the darkness ahead. The three of us instantly became alert, gripping our weapons tightly as we slowly approached the sound. The grinding sound grew closer, and I held my breath, my palms wet with sweat. In the darkness, two green pinpricks of light slowly approached us, like the eyes of a wild animal.

"What is that?!" the meteorologist exclaimed, and the light on the top of the staff suddenly became brighter, illuminating a small area in front.

In the dim light, we could see the true appearance of the "beasts"—two gigantic metal puppets! They were massive, holding sharp blades, and their gleaming metal bodies were engraved with ancient runes, exactly the same as those on the cave walls.

"Be careful!" Youcai shouted, drew the long sword from his waist, and rushed forward first. He was nimble and his sword flashed like lightning as he fought with the metal puppet.

"These puppets... seem to be powered by some lost magic!" The weather officer shouted as he attacked the puppets with spells. "They are very powerful. We must eliminate them quickly!"

I drew the whip from my waist and joined the fray. Under my control, the whip coiled around the puppets' joints like a snake, hindering their movement.

After a fierce battle, we finally managed to dismantle the two metal puppets. However, before we could breathe a sigh of relief, a huge metal door suddenly appeared in front of us. The door was also engraved with ancient runes and emitted a faint light.

"Behind this door...something seems to be calling me..." I covered my chest and felt a strange energy fluctuation.

"Be careful, Mengmeng!" Youcai grabbed my hand worriedly, "There might be danger behind this door!"

"No, I have to go in and take a look!" I shook my head, staring firmly at the metal door. "I feel that the truth we want to know is hidden here!"

The weather officer stepped forward to inspect it and said solemnly, "This door is protected by a powerful magic circle. With our current strength, I'm afraid we can't force it open."

"There must be a way..." I carefully observed the runes on the metal door, and suddenly, I found that these runes were exactly the same as the ones I saw in that ancient book!

"I know what to do!" I said excitedly, "The runes on this door are an ancient seal. I can try to break it!"

I closed my eyes, concentrated, and recalled the method for breaking the seal recorded in the ancient text. My fingers danced rapidly in the air, and golden light shot out from my fingertips and landed on the runes on the metal door.

As the last rune was unlocked, the metal door slowly opened, revealing a deep passage. The three of us exchanged glances, gripping our weapons tightly, and cautiously entered the passage.

At the end of the passageway lay a vast underground space. In the center, a massive crystal ball radiated a dazzling light, illuminating the entire space. Beneath the crystal ball lay a complex array of instruments and equipment, while the walls were covered with blueprints and documents.

"This place... looks like a laboratory!" the meteorologist exclaimed. "And judging by the age of these instruments, they must be at least several thousand years old!"

I walked to the wall and carefully examined the drawings and documents. I didn't recognize the words on them, but from the pictures, I could vaguely tell that this laboratory seemed to be conducting some kind of research related to dark forces!

"It seems we've found the right place!" I turned to look at Youcai, a glimmer of hope in my eyes. "As long as we can find the research records here, we can prove that the dark power wasn't awakened by us!"

However, at this moment, the crystal ball in the center of the laboratory suddenly flickered violently, and a powerful energy wave emanated from the crystal ball, forcing us back several steps.

"Oh no! The magic circle has been activated!" the meteorologist exclaimed, "We're trapped!"

Magic circles appeared out of thin air around the laboratory, sealing the entire laboratory tightly.

"What should we do? What should we do now?" the meteorologist asked panicked.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. Now is not the time to panic, we have to find a way to get out of here!

"Youcai, let's try together and see if we can break this magic circle together!" I turned to look at Youcai and said with a firm look.

"Okay!" Youcai nodded, drew his sword, and fought alongside me.

However, none of us noticed that, deep in the lab, a dark figure was silently watching all this... Youcai and I stood side by side, swinging our swords at the magic circles that appeared out of thin air. Golden sword energy and fiery spiritual power intertwined, exploding in the air like fireworks, but it couldn't shake the magic circles in the slightest.

"No! These magic circles are too powerful. We can't break them!" The weather officer was sweating profusely, and the light of the staff in his hand was getting dimmer. "Besides, I feel that the magic circle is still draining our strength!"

I gritted my teeth, my heart filled with anxiety. If this continues, sooner or later we'll be exhausted and become victims of the magic circle!

"We can't just sit there and wait for death!" I looked at Youcai with a firm gaze, "We must take a risk!"

Youcai immediately understood what I meant. He shook my hand and said in a deep voice, "You want to enter the laboratory and find a solution?"

I nodded and pointed to the crystal ball in the center of the lab. "I sense a special connection between this lab and the forces of darkness. If we can find the research records here, perhaps we can find evidence to prove our innocence and a way to resolve this crisis!"

"But..." The meteorologist looked troubled. "The magic circle is too powerful. We can't even get close to the laboratory, let alone enter it."

"There's always a way!" I took a deep breath, a determined light flashing in my eyes, "Believe me, I have talent!"

Youcai didn't say anything, but just held my hand tightly, his eyes full of trust and support.

"Alright! Let's go for it!" The meteorologist was also moved by our determination. He gritted his teeth and raised his staff. "I'll do my best to buy you some time. You must be careful!"

Youcai and I exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously. The next second, Youcai shoved me toward the lab, swinging his sword at the weak point of the magic circle.

With a loud bang, a small crack appeared in the magic circle. I seized the opportunity, used my Qinggong skills, and leaped into the crack.

"Meng Meng!" I heard Youcai and the weather officer's anxious cries behind me, but it was too late to turn back. I had to find a solution as soon as possible to save them, to save the world!

I stumbled into the laboratory, not bothering to observe the surrounding environment, and went straight to the crystal ball that was emitting dazzling light.

However, just as I was about to touch the crystal ball, a powerful suction suddenly sucked me in. I felt as if my body was about to be torn apart, and my consciousness gradually became blurred...

"You finally came……"

In a daze, I heard a low and hoarse voice, as if it came from the depths of distant time and space.

"Who are you?" I tried to open my eyes, but I could only see a dazzling white light.

"I am... the will of this world..." the voice said intermittently, "You... awakened me... and also awakened... it..."

"It? Who is it?" I struggled to stand up, but found that I couldn't move at all.

"It... is... darkness..." The voice grew fainter and fainter. "Be careful... it... will... destroy..."

The crystal ball suddenly burst into a dazzling light, and my vision went black, and I completely lost consciousness...

"Quick! Stop her!"

"Don't let her get near the crystal ball!"

Faintly, I heard a noisy sound, as if someone was fighting fiercely.

"Mengmeng! Mengmeng! Wake up!"

who is it? Who is calling me?

I tried hard to open my eyes, but I felt my eyelids were as heavy as if they were being pressed down by a huge rock...