6kv Chapter 20 Chase After All
Chapter 20 Chase After All
Yang Jingting took the first step forward, gripping the Soul-Suppressing Bell tightly in his hand. With a flash, he passed through the dark light gate.
Fortunately, no one was outside.
This is a dark stone chamber, with all four walls made of rough bluestone.
The positive image hangs on the stone wall directly opposite, echoing the negative image in the treasury of stolen goods.
The group emerged from the painting one after another, looking around and discovering that the surroundings resembled an underground palace. Outside the stone chamber, there was only one deep corridor leading into the unknown depths of darkness.
Without saying a word, Yang Jingting and Han Shichong darted to the front of the group, while Han Shichong steadily covered the rear, protecting Gu Qingxuan, Shen Xiaoxiao, and the Jinwu guards in the middle.
Han Shichong casually took the painting off the wall, carefully rolled it up, and put it in his pocket.
In case of an accident, everyone can use the passage in the painting to return directly to the West Garden.
The group walked slowly along the corridor, the stone bricks underfoot slippery, water droplets seeping from the stone walls on both sides, and occasionally water droplets falling from the top, creating hollow echoes in the deathly silence.
As they were walking, Gu Qingxuan suddenly called out in a low voice, "Wait!"
Everyone stopped abruptly, holding their breath.
Gu Qingxuan quickly stepped forward and squatted down three feet in front of the crowd.
He spread his palms out, extending them to knee height. Using the skin of his palms as a background, everyone could then see that a thin silver thread, as fine as a hair, was stretched across his knees, with a small copper bell tied to one end. The slightest touch would surely set off the alarm.
Gu Qingxuan glanced back and lowered his voice, saying, "These people are cunning; they even set up tripwires. Looking from here, there are at least eight such places along the entire corridor. We'll have to walk slowly."
Everyone nodded, remaining cautious but secretly admiring him.
The guards exchanged a glance; they had walked in front without a single one noticing the deadly thing hanging from their ankles.
Yang Jingting's expression stiffened slightly, and he inwardly blamed himself for being careless.
But then again, it's really not his fault.
The cord, as thin as a spider's thread, almost blended into the darkness of the dim corridor. His art of observing qi ultimately required the presence of "qi" to be observed—the more magnificent the object, the brighter its brilliance; conversely, the more subtle the object, the fainter its aura.
This is a common problem among those who observe qi, not because their cultivation is lacking.
He was secretly amazed by Gu Qingxuan's keen insight, but then he thought it was alright.
As a disciple of the Immortal Elder of Kunlun Ruins, his expertise was not limited to mere aura observation.
The fact that someone is better at this field doesn't prove anything.
The group carefully navigated around the various tripods and finally reached the end of the corridor.
A heavy stone door blocked the way.
When they saw what was embedded in the stone door, everyone fell silent.
It was a bronze lock plate, embedded in the center of the stone gate. It was shaped like a compass, with inner and outer circles, and was densely engraved with runes of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and the Nine Palaces and Stars.
The outer ring consists of sixty interlocking cycles, while the inner ring consists of twelve earthly branches and twenty-eight constellations interwoven. Each marking corresponds to a cryptic node that needs to be calculated.
Everyone present had heard of this thing; it was the Upper Realm Secret Lock, the "Six Harmonies Jiazi Lock".
Legend has it that this is a secret lock forged based on Qimen Dunjia and incorporating astrological calculation techniques. The sixty Jiazi (sexagenary cycle) are matched with the twelve Chen (earthly branches) and there are a total of 720 variations. Every time the outer ring is rotated, the arrangement of stars in the inner ring will shift accordingly. The rings are interlocked, and pulling one part affects the whole.
Gu Qingxuan glanced at it and already had an answer in mind. Just as he was about to start, Yang Jingting suddenly spoke up: "[Six Harmonies Jiazi Lock], let me do it."
He had been walking in front but hadn't noticed the tripod bell. Now that he'd met someone skilled in it, he was willing to help.
Gu Qingxuan withdrew his hand, thinking to himself that there was a very subtle mother-child engraving between the outer and inner rings of this lock, which was clearly a double nested structure. It was not a standard Liuhe Jiazi lock, but someone had added a variant code to the original lock.
But then he thought that since Yang Jingting had taken the initiative, he should keep quiet, or it would seem like he was looking down on him. So he stopped talking and began to observe his surroundings.
A thin layer of moss clung to the stone wall, its texture moist and sticky.
He looked up along the stone wall and found obvious signs of water seepage at the joints of the stone slabs at the top. Several fine lines of water meandered down the stone joints and converged into a small, shallow puddle at the foot of the wall.
There was also a very faint fishy smell in the air, the unique smell of the riverbed silt.
"Underwater..."
Gu Qingxuan muttered to himself, already having made a judgment in his mind.
This underground palace was most likely built beneath the riverbed, or even directly beneath a section of the Luo River.
Shen Xiaoxiao also noticed something was wrong and leaned closer to whisper, "Look at these watermarks, it looks like they seeped down from above."
Gu Qingxuan nodded and was about to speak when a rapid spinning sound suddenly came from behind him.
Yang Jingting's slender fingers moved rapidly across the lock plate, but fine beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.
This lock was far more complex than he had imagined. The calculation of the sixty-year cycle in the outer circle was not difficult, but every time the arrangement of the nine palaces in the inner circle moved by one space, the star nodes would change accordingly, and the entire logic would be turned upside down in an instant.
With his intelligence, he could probably solve it if he spent more time, but time is exactly what he lacks right now.
He couldn't bring himself to admit he couldn't solve it;
But the faster and faster my fingers spun, the more I couldn't find the right spot.
Han Shichong and Shen Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance, neither daring to urge them on, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Just then, a low shout came from outside: "What's that sound?"
Everyone froze instantly.
Immediately afterward, another voice suddenly rose in pitch, filled with panic: "Something's wrong! Someone's unlocking it inside; something's probably happened! Quick, go get help!"
Everyone was shocked.
Han Shichong's expression changed drastically, and Gu Qingxuan and Shen Xiaoxiao turned to look at the stone gate at the same time.
Yang Jingting was anxious. He raised his hand and slammed his palm on the stone door. His true energy surged, and the mountain wall shook with a muffled sound like thunder. However, the Dragon-Slaying Stone was extremely thick and indestructible. With one palm strike, not even a crack was left.
The chaotic footsteps and shouts outside grew louder and louder, and people were already running around relaying messages.
Han Shichong also became anxious, gathered his energy, and unleashed a powerful palm strike.
The stone gate shook violently, but remained completely still, only a few wisps of dust falling down.
"They're leaving!" Shen Xiaoxiao said urgently.
Gu Qingxuan moved swiftly, already standing before the lock plate.
He grabbed the Six Harmonies and Sixty Years Lock, and with both hands, he turned the outer ring three times and the inner ring twice. His fingers flew so fast that they were like afterimages. Then, a few crisp "crack" sounds rang out, the two rings returned to their positions, the mechanism loosened, and he kicked open the stone door. His figure had already turned into a blur and darted out.
At the end of the corridor, the remaining two men in black were about to run away when they saw someone rushing out and turned back in terror.
Gu Qingxuan didn't stop, channeling the power of the dragon and elephant into his arms. He unleashed two powerful punches, striking the two men squarely in the back. Before they could even scream, they were sent flying backward, crashing into the stone wall and sliding down, barely breathing.
However, more chaotic footsteps and shouts could be heard in the distance.
The alarm has been raised, and some people have begun to evacuate.
"not good!"
Han Shichong exclaimed in alarm, "Quickly, after them!"