Chapter 1457: Thirty-Six Gates

Chapter 1457: Chapter 1457: Thirty-Six Gates

"So, this really is a pair of 3D glasses?" Lin Tian asked curiously, genuinely intrigued. After all, 3D glasses are a modern invention; could these red and blue blocks on the ground really be so advanced?

"Indeed, but there’s an additional UV film attached to the glasses, making things appear clearer," Xv Jiazhi replied. "This time, let me take the lead."

Lin Tian didn’t let him, nor did he speak, but took large strides and took the lead again.

Following the red blocks, the three quickly reached halfway down the corridor. Suddenly, Lin Tian stopped; the red blocks had been walked across.

He drew the Black Dragon Dagger from his waist, inserted it into the wall by the corridor, and pried off a small piece of stone. With a fling of his arm, he threw it out.

The stone flew far and landed with a sound. It didn’t touch anything along the way, indicating that the venomous spider silk had vanished.

The journey ahead in the corridor became much safer, and before long they reached the end.

As seen previously, the end of the corridor was a right-angle turn. What Lin Tian didn’t expect was that there were two paths ahead, both square-shaped corridors, looking almost identical under the headlamp’s glow.

Lin Tian halted, certain that one of these paths was a dead end, impassable and deadly. Unable to tell the difference, he had to rely on Xv Jiazhi; this was part of the reason he was brought along.

Xv Jiazhi stood at the crossroads, looked for a few moments, and finally pointed to the corridor on the left, saying, "This way."

"Why?"

Xv Jiazhi pointed to the corner of the left corridor’s wall and said, "The corner shows slight erosion marks. The traces aren’t heavy, but with careful observation, you can still see them. This is the mark left by someone."

Lin Tian believed Xv Jiazhi without much thought. After exchanging a glance with Chen Moxiang, he walked over.

The light along the way relied solely on the headlamps on their heads. Not one of the overhead bulbs was lit.

They didn’t walk much further down the left corridor before a stone wall blocked their path. On either side of the wall stood two qilin statues, muscular limbs, feet stepping on clouds, wings growing from their backs, heads held high with slightly open mouths, flames-like fur and tails, looking very majestic.

They watched as Xv Jiazhi walked to the qilin statue on the left, supported its chin, and used Inner Strength to heavily lift it upwards.

The qilin’s mouth slowly closed with a ’click’ sound, and the thick stone door began to open to the sides.

Lin Tian looked at Xv Jiazhi and the statue, touching his nose. This mechanism was designed both exquisitely and cleverly.

In Lin Tian’s understanding, the activation of ordinary mechanisms typically doesn’t require much force, and it turned out that the qilin’s chin required Inner Strength, and if the Inner Strength wasn’t powerful enough, it would be futile.

Anyone not aware of this key would indeed be unable to open this stone door. Who would casually apply so much force to bend a statue’s chin? If it wasn’t an actual mechanism and the chin broke, wouldn’t it be pointless?

With the stone door wide open, Chen Moxiang walked to the side and, looking at the door, asked in astonishment, "This stone door is fifteen centimeters thick and weighs several tons; how was it opened?"

Xv Jiazhi replied, "Hehe, the Wang Family ancestors also studied Mechanical Skill. Gears, chains, quicksand, and water are used in tandem, making these tons-heavy stone doors easy to open."

Chen Moxiang still felt amazed and couldn’t help but click her tongue in admiration, "The forebears truly had wisdom."

"Now’s not the time for admiration; take a look at what’s ahead," Lin Tian said heavily.

Ahead was another room, roughly the size of a basketball court, also containing qilin statues, four placed in the corners of the room. At the very center of the room stood a 1.2-meter-high offering table, upon which were not only offerings but the memorial tablets of the Wang Family ancestors. Even without counting, there were hundreds.

Beside the offering table, next to the qilin statues, were two candle stand racks. Three rows of red candles were placed on top, around sixty in total, though all had burned out.

In front of the offering table was a fire pit used for burning paper money.

"What’s so interesting about this?" Chen Moxiang said before suddenly widening her eyes and staring at the offering table, "You’re saying someone has been here?!"

"Today is Wang Sijing’s wedding day; it’s perfectly normal to come and pay respects to the ancestors."

After speaking, Lin Tian walked to the side of the candle stand, broke off a burnt candle stub, and rubbed it with his fingers, saying, "A candle lasts almost two hours, and these were all burned today. But I’m not certain if anyone else is still in this underground palace."

"Why do you say that?"

"My hearing is much better than yours. Earlier, I heard some sounds, undoubtedly coming from within this underground palace," Lin Tian explained.

Chen Moxiang looked around once more before finally fixing her gaze on the memorial tablets on the offering table. With no emotional reaction in her heart, she was an atheist and naturally didn’t believe this place was haunted.

She listened intently, but heard nothing, only the sound of her own heartbeat, and said, "You couldn’t possibly be mistaken, could you?"

"Absolutely not."

"Alright, even if someone is here, so what? Do you think they’d be a match for us?" Chen Moxiang said with a slightly arrogant expression.

That was true, even if Mr. Wang, the elder, was here, Lin Tian could lead the two of them safely out.

Glancing around and finding nothing else in the vast stone chamber, he said, "Building this underground palace was such an effort; it couldn’t possibly have just this memorial area, could it?"

Xv Jiazhi chuckled and said, "Of course not. We’ve just officially entered the underground palace. Look behind the offering table."

Following Xv Jiazhi’s instructions, Lin Tian walked behind the offering table and discovered, to his surprise, there was indeed a stone door. With a gentle push, the door opened. This was where his confidence lay, unafraid of any traps.

He peered through the stone door and, with the headlamp’s light, saw the scene before him and his mouth fell open.

At this moment, Xv Jiazhi and Chen Moxiang also caught up and, seeing the sight, were left speechless.

This was another corridor, differing from before in that it was more than twice as wide, with stone doors lining both sides. Lin Tian meticulously counted them—thirty-six doors!

"Check to see if there are any signs of erosion," Lin Tian said. This was the only clue available.

Chen Moxiang felt overwhelmed, "I think it’s not very effective. Behind these thirty-six doors, besides the burial sites of the Wang Family ancestors, there are traps; who knows what we’ll encounter after opening them. Even if we find a marked door, somebody has already been inside, and whatever was there might have been taken. Moreover, the item we’re searching for is so unique."