CHAPTER 277: CHAPTER 242 GIANT? GOD? (ANOTHER 4,000 CHARACTERS!)_2

At this moment, the Silver King suddenly exploded with energy, leaping tens of meters, landing directly in front of Xu Xin.

Xu Xin’s eyes lit up, and he immediately lunged onto the Silver King, grabbing its wolf fur tightly.

Seeing Xu Xin already on its back, the Silver King once again burst forth, charging towards the exit!

Just as the cave entrance was about to close, the Silver King sped through a narrow gap, darting out of the mine and immediately leaping tens of meters!

At the same time, there came the sound of stones colliding and squeezing behind them.

Xu Xin turned and saw the entrance to the salt mine cave had completely disappeared, replaced by a normal mountainside!

"...Silver King, you truly saved my life this time." Xu Xin’s heart was pounding.

"Awoo!" The Silver King responded, lying down. It had exhausted itself by suddenly erupting with such speed.

The Silver King’s burst speed was faster now, though still not up to par with Mimi’s extreme speed, but comparable to some large felines.

However, what exactly was going on?

Why did the salt mine cave close?

"Xu Xin, are you alright?!"

"Ying! Ying ying!"

Li Wenxi and Keke hurried to Xu Xin’s side, Keke circling him, while Li Wenxi grabbed his arm.

"Don’t worry, I’m fine." Xu Xin lifted Keke, who had stood at his feet looking up at him, and hugged her tightly, letting out a long breath.

That was truly a close call.

"Ying!" Keke, who was suddenly squeezed, knew Xu Xin was okay, wriggling free and climbed onto his shoulder to lie down.

At this time, Ji Chaoyang and Qi Xuefei also approached.

"We almost got trapped inside. Did you see anything in there? Why were you zoned out at the end?" Ji Chaoyang asked.

"Yeah, what happened to you at the end? The entrance was obviously closing, but you just stood there; I was worried sick!" Li Wenxi said, still shaken.

Xu Xin glanced at the closed cave entrance.

Taking a deep breath, he recounted everything he saw inside.

Not coming out immediately was because a possibility suddenly emerged in his mind.

A crack in the cave wall gradually widened; after the salt mine entrance closed, would the crack fully open, allowing him to explore its secrets?

This thought lingered in his mind, making him hesitate for a second.

But prudence eventually prevailed.

He didn’t know what would happen if he stayed, nor whether the crevice held treasure or danger, unwilling to put himself in peril.

Ultimately, he thought, if he could dash out, he would; if not, he’d rethink!

Fortunately, the Silver King burst forth, rescuing and bringing him out.

"As you scratched the ground twice, the entire mine started shaking and the stone wall cracked, then our entrance began to close," Ji Chaoyang summarized his experience.

Xu Xin nodded, recounting his cave experiences to the others.

"This cave could self-repair before, as if healing," Xu Xin summarized at last.

The group instinctively glanced at the hill, its giant head-like structure prompting many thoughts.

"A hill... healing itself?" Qi Xuefei looked at the hill, instinctively stepping back a bit.

"...Feels so incredible, a hill that self-repairs, shaped like a human head, the ’mouth’ can even close," Li Wenxi muttered to herself, "Could it really be a giant’s head?"

"...Xu Xin, perhaps it is really a giant head. But maybe, it’s only a head," Ji Chaoyang suddenly spoke, bewildering everyone.

What does it mean to be a head but only a head?

Seeing their confused expressions, Ji Chaoyang slowly explained, "Because I know a place almost identical to here."

"What do you mean?" Xu Xin felt a jolt.

A place almost identical, does he also have...

Ji Chaoyang’s next words quickly confirmed his thoughts.

"My place also has a hill that auto-restores after my mining, which I wanted to show you," Ji Chaoyang pointed westward, towards his treehouse.

"Huh? Is there a hill there?" Li Wenxi looked over with some doubt.

"Yes, though calling it a hill, it’s only ten or so meters tall, with the highest point about twenty meters, and its location is four or five kilometers further west of my treehouse, nearly invisible from here."

"Ten or so meters? Seems short, not even as tall as the treehouse," Li Wenxi looked up at the salt mine hill, "It’s intimidating here, probably sixty or seventy meters?"

"The highest point?" Xu Xin grasped the information, "Is the hill elongated?"

"Yes, the hill is slender, though only ten or twenty meters high, it’s nearly two hundred meters long, like a small mountain range. The hill bent in the middle forming a right angle, and most importantly... at the end of the hill is a hand-shaped peak."

Ji Chaoyang raised his arm in front of his chest, mimicking a folding arm.

"...Are you saying that long, slender hill acts like an arm?" Xu Xin understood Ji Chaoyang’s meaning, shocked.

Li Wenxi and Qi Xuefei both covered their mouths.

"Exactly, that’s what I mean. Before visiting here, I thought it was a mere illusion and the hill simply coincidentally looked like an arm, with its hand-shaped hill just nature’s craftsmanship."

Looking at the hill before him, "But now, perhaps I can confirm, indeed, it’s an arm, a giant’s arm. The hand’s five fingers... dug deeply into the ground as if... clinging desperately at a cliff edge," Ji Chaoyang reminisced on the hill’s form.

After he finished speaking, the four remained silent for a while, including Ji Chaoyang, all digesting the recent revelations.

Xu Xin’s protected area had a sixty or seventy-meter-high hill resembling a giant’s head, with a mouth seemingly speaking or shouting silently.

And in Ji Chaoyang’s protected area appeared a nearly two hundred-meter-long hill resembling an arm!

What does this imply?

The giant’s body is segmented?

"Wait, you mentioned showing me a special place by the altar?" Xu Xin suddenly asked.

"...Yes, that altar is on the other side of the hill; crossing over reveals the altar nearby," Ji Chaoyang slowly nodded.

The thought struck them simultaneously.

Something related to the altar...

Giants...

Xu Xin’s expression suddenly changed.

He realized the salt mine’s changes might link to altar sacrifices.

This place was originally a mere mundane mine. Discovering the salt mine and mining it prompted no dangers, and Keke gave no danger warnings.

Later, strange transformations occurred: self-repairing walls, vines ignoring protection zones, and ground holes...

Upon reflection, these arose after altar sacrifices!

The largest upheaval, the Red Mist event, followed the Chang Yin Family’s altar offerings!

After the Chang Yin Family sacrificed at the altar, a ground hole emerged, releasing red mist, encircling the entire hill!

Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang glanced at each other.

Both saw hints of shock and unease in the other’s eyes.

Divine entities?!

"Ying!" Keke, who was perched on Xu Xin’s shoulder, suddenly called.

She nudged Xu Xin’s face with her paw, pointing towards the salt mine.

"Hey, look!" Li Wenxi exclaimed, "The mine, the ’mouth,’ is opening again!"

Xu Xin quickly focused on the salt mine, watching the closed cave entrance gradually open a gap, slowly expanding.

A wisp of Red Mist silently seeped out.