Chapter 24
Wang Shitian and his companions had already been waiting for a few minutes for the moon. As it hit the ground and the intensity of the moonlight gradually increased, they realized they heard a cracking sound as though rocks were breaking off and falling. The falling rocks into the lake caught their attention, drawing their gazes to the cliff on the other side of the lake. As the rocks broke off from the wall and gradually fell down, a pattern that shone with light was slowly revealed. It had the shape of a door and was soon very eye-catching.
The group did not delay and dashed forward, running on the lake surface as if on land. They reached the cliff in no time. As they stood on the small footstand before the door, they saw an inscription diagram on the wall that reflected light. There seemed to be a space in the form of a rectangle, just the size of a paper, that appeared empty. It seemed as though something was lacking in that space. Two of the three spaces were filled as they no longer reflected white but black.
After careful examination, the group of three took out the map that they judged to have the same size and shape as the rectangular pattern. They placed it there, and a black light shone from it. It fit perfectly, as if it had been there since time immemorial. It gave off a feeling of returning home. Just as they were observing the changes, they heard the sound of a giant rock scraping against the ground. Suddenly, at the center of the door pattern, it split, revealing a heavy stone door that gradually shifted.
The door shifted to just the right size for one person to walk in before stopping. They did not delay and signaled for Li Tianxi to go in first. They could not let her miss her opportunity if the inheritance ground accepted only one person per map. When she entered and nothing happened, the other two entered one after another in quick succession. After they entered, they saw Li Tianxi waiting for them. A few minutes later, they heard the door behind them slam shut.
The place was dark, but they could tell that in front of them lay a long corridor. Knowing that at this moment, they could no longer go back, only forward, they wasted no time and started moving. As they slowly made their way through the corridor, at some point, light shone from above. They recognized the source of the light as an Essence Light Stone, a very common item in the cultivation world. It was used by cultivators all over the world to light up their cave abodes. Wang Shitian himself had a few in his cave abode.
After the stone shone, they could clearly see a few tens of meters ahead, and as they moved forward, they realized that every 30 meters or so, a new light stone would illuminate. It was as though it sensed their presence. They also noticed that despite moving forward, the inclination of the floor revealed that they seemed to be moving downward. This did not come as a shock to them, as it made sense for Serenecloud to place his inheritance where it would be difficult for others to reach.
As they moved, they started seeing rooms to the side, but to their surprise, they were empty. This struck them as odd. Why put a room there if it was going to be left empty?
They moved for more than an hour when they suddenly came to an open cave. This cave was like a great hall, with a very high ceiling and a large area that extended into the distance. They saw three paths before them, and shockingly, two of them were locked, as though they were already occupied.
"Do you guys think there have been people here before us?" Li Tianxi asked.
"It's very possible, but from the looks of it, one map can only open one path, which leaves us wondering if there really have been others before us," Wang Shitian replied, carefully examining the environment for any clues on the subject.
"So what do we do?" Li Tianxi asked again.
"We move forward, of course," Xue Wuya replied, his gaze trailing the paths that lay before them. "First, it would be foolish of us to assume that we are the only ones who can find this place. The maps are widely distributed, and the entrance has no difficult steps as long as you have the map. Secondly, it is strange that all the rooms we saw earlier were empty. Why would he make rooms if he was going to leave them empty? So we have to assume that someone plundered them. Thirdly, we also have to assume that the two locked paths before us are already occupied by someone; otherwise, why show us the three paths if there was going to be no choice? From this moment, we must proceed with caution, and if there are others before us, we must be very vigilant."
Xue Wuya analyzed the situation in a long string of words that impressed Wang Shitian and Li Tianxi. He had already thought thoroughly about the situation in such ashort period of time. Knowing they had no choice, they were forced to walk into the path that lay before them.
Just as they entered, they found themselves on an open stage. Atop it was a puppet, and a string of words appeared on the wall behind it, giving a basic introduction to the puppet. The puppet had the strength of a peak Qi gathering realm practitioner, and each time they defeated one, they would be rewarded accordingly. It also stated that they would face a total of three challenges, with the strength of the puppet increasing by one level after every challenge.
Wang Shitian stepped on the stage first, and immediately, the puppet's eyes lit up as it moved. It held a sword in its hands and swung it with great force. Wang Shitian didn't dodge and simply extended his hand forward. A golden sheen covered his hand as he sent it forth towards the sword.
Clang!
The sword was stopped in its tracks. Wang Shitian then moved faster than the reaction of the puppet, appearing behind it. He thrust his hand forward, piercing into the chest of the puppet and retrieving its energy core. The puppet immediately powered down and fell to the side.