Chapter 678: A Hand

The stone door was pitch black. Luo Qiqi stepped forward and threw out a few luminous pearls, illuminating the interior.

The two walked down the stone steps. The sound of rushing water boomed from above, growing louder and louder. Despite being beneath the river, it was not damp; instead, it was very dry. Moreover, the air became increasingly fresh, giving a sense of abundant spiritual energy.

"The spiritual energy is drawn in from the river above," Luo Qiqi said in a hushed voice after looking around. "I estimate there's a special spirit-gathering formation!"

"Mm-hmm!" Zhang Xuan nodded. It was probably a huge spirit-gathering formation placed in the river, allowing spiritual energy to be drawn from the ground without attracting attention. With this influx of spiritual energy, even underground, it would definitely count as a cultivation sanctuary, preventing any feeling of stuffiness.

A creak! After walking for a short while, they heard a rumbling sound from above. Looking up, they saw that the entrance they had just passed through had closed and disappeared.

"Oh no..." Luo Qiqi's face turned pale. Zhang Xuan's expression darkened. He hurried back to their starting point, only to find that a mechanism had already sealed off the incoming passage.

"It's a Dragon-Breaking Lock, something only a 6-star Master Artificer can forge!" Luo Qiqi exclaimed.

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan said with a grim expression. "It seems what they said about having only one chance to choose was true. Once a Dragon-Breaking Lock is sealed, even a 6-star Master Artificer would struggle to open it. We probably can't get out, and no one else can get in!"

The voice from the stone bridge earlier had stated they could only choose one entry point. Zhang Xuan had thought it was just a casual remark, but now it seemed it was true! He had seen a Dragon-Breaking Lock before, in the Witch Soul Tomb. Once it's locked, it can only be broken with brute force surpassing that of a 6-star Master Artificer; no other method would work. In other words, with this device in place, they would be trapped here, unable to leave by the original path.

"Teacher, what do we do?" Luo Qiqi looked at him. In the academy, among her peers, she was considered a formidable figure. But in front of Teacher Zhang, she always felt as if she knew nothing. A sense of reliance had formed in her heart at some point, believing that his ideas would always be the best. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come with Teacher Zhang, even though she clearly thought Yu Fei-er's words were correct.

"Since we could only choose one path," Zhang Xuan said, knitting his brows, "it means Xing Yuan and his group must also be locked in by Dragon-Breaking Locks on their side. Let's continue forward. Being led down here doesn't necessarily mean it's a dead end..."

"Mm-hmm!" Luo Qiqi also understood and nodded.

The two continued downwards. Not long after, they arrived in a small room. Under the glow of the luminous pearls, there was a stone table and two stone stools, looking very simple. The room had no windows or doors, as if it were a dead end, reaching the very end of the passage.

"So small?" Luo Qiqi frowned. The hall earlier had been hundreds of square meters. She had thought that since this was the true underground palace, it should be at least larger. But unexpectedly, it was only twenty to thirty square meters, with nothing inside. It didn't look like an underground palace, but rather resembled a cage.

"The end? Could it be... we really took the wrong path?" Zhang Xuan's expression also turned grim. Choosing this path wasn't reckless; it had some basis. But... looking at the current situation—a narrow room with no further passage—could they have really chosen wrong? Were they going to be trapped and die here?

"Regardless of whether it's right or wrong," Zhang Xuan said, suppressing the anxiety in his heart as he looked around, "to construct such a deep underground passage and place a Dragon-Breaking Lock, it shouldn't just lead to such a small room. Perhaps, like before, there's a mechanism here!" A Dragon-Breaking Lock is an extremely precious item, even for 6-star Master Artificers. Putting aside the skill of its mechanism, just its defense—which even ordinary Sages find hard to break—couldn't be achieved with ordinary materials. To use such a valuable item to seal the passage, merely to conceal such a small room, made no sense, logically or emotionally.

"I'll search carefully!" Luo Qiqi responded and immediately went to the stone table, reaching out to touch it. Her finger touched and then recoiled, her face showing surprise: "There's no dust!"

Zhang Xuan also came closer and touched it. His expression also tightened. This stone table and stools had been here for who knew how many years, yet there was not a trace of dust. They were clean and tidy, as if someone regularly cleaned them...

"Could it be... someone lives here?" Luo Qiqi's pupils contracted. Just hearing the mechanism's voice was acceptable. But if someone was actually alive here... that was different! The danger would increase significantly! This was the individual or power that could capture Wu Yangzi, a peak 6-star Blacksmith. Their strength was undeniable! If someone were truly alive here, with their current strength, they would certainly find it difficult to escape!

"I personally removed the formation flags outside," Zhang Xuan said with a grim expression. "Based on my observation, these flags had been guarding this place and hadn't been touched by anyone for at least two thousand years... Two thousand years, staying in an underground palace without leaving? No one has such a long lifespan!" For Transcendent Mortals, whose physiques had undergone a qualitative leap even after the baptism of the Lifespan Enhancement realm, their lifespan was only two to three hundred years. It couldn't be longer! Even upon reaching the Saint realm, where life stages changed again, a lifespan of one thousand years was generally the limit. He had never heard of any Saint living for more than two thousand years. Even Master Kong, a Celestial, had disappeared into the river of history and had not lived forever. The formation flags in the underground palace hadn't been moved for over two thousand years, which meant no one had come out. Trapped in a cave for so long and still alive... How was that possible! Even Mo Hunsheng, back then, as the longest-lived Witch Soul Master, wouldn't have lived this long if he hadn't been protected by the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo and constantly suffered the Five Declines of Soul Power.

"Then... since no one is alive, why is there no dust here?" Luo Qiqi also understood this principle, but the table in front of her was clean and tidy, as if it had been regularly wiped. One must remember, this was a cave, with rocks and dirt. Dust accumulation was inevitable. If no one was alive... how could this be explained?

"I... I don't know either," Zhang Xuan interrupted her rambling thoughts. "Let's not dwell on this for now. The priority is to find if there's a mechanism and get out of here first. Otherwise, trapped here, no matter how much food is in our storage rings, it will eventually run out!" The most important thing now wasn't to investigate whether someone had been here. In such a small stone cave, even if someone were here, they'd be visible, so there was no need to dwell on it. What they should be doing now was to quickly find a way out and escape. Otherwise, as time passed, who knew what might happen. He certainly didn't want to die trapped here during a trial.

"Mm-hmm!" Luo Qiqi nodded and quickly ran her hands over the surrounding walls.

Zhang Xuan also touched the wall with his finger, while silently calling out "Flaws!" in his mind. A book appeared in his mind, and he quickly opened it.

"Azure steel rock, hard in texture, grows underground, formed by colliding earth veins..." He glanced at it, speechless. The Library of Heaven's Path only displayed information when something was touched. He was currently touching the wall, not a mechanism, so naturally, it displayed the properties of the stone. He lightly slid his finger along the wall. This place was made of rock; there must be mechanisms somewhere. However, the opponent's methods were too clever; the mechanisms were designed to look exactly like the rock, making them indiscernible.

Click! As he was moving along the wall, he suddenly heard a crisp click of a spring mechanism behind him, followed by Luo Qiqi's excited voice: "I found a mechanism!" He quickly turned his head and saw the rock where Luo Qiqi's palm rested had sunk in by several inches, as if she had forcibly pressed a mechanism.

Creak! Creak! The mechanism emitted a heavy grinding sound, and a small stone door slowly opened in front of Luo Qiqi.

"Teacher, look quickly..." With a cry, her other hand took out a luminous pearl and she was about to throw it into the stone door to see what was inside, when a hand suddenly shot out from within with a whoosh, clamping directly onto her neck and lifting her up. This hand was incredibly large, like a human thigh. Its muscles and joints appeared swollen, and its skin was dark gray, unlike that of a living person.

"Oh no!" The change happened extremely fast, Zhang Xuan hadn't even reacted. His pupils involuntarily contracted, and he activated his Heaven's Path Movement Art, surging forward. While still mid-movement, the Ice Rain Sword appeared in his palm. With a slash in the air, a sword qi shot straight towards the hand.

Seeing the sharp sword qi, the hand released Luo Qiqi and flicked a finger. The dark nail met the sword tip. Zhang Xuan immediately felt a tremendous force assault him; he felt as if he had been struck by a meteor, his chest tightened, and he flew straight backward. His back slammed hard against the wall, creating a human-shaped indentation. His throat tasted sweet, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His strength had recently increased significantly; both his power and techniques had made qualitative leaps, even possessing strength comparable to a Transcendent Mortal 7-dan Unity Realm mid-stage expert. Yet, he couldn't even withstand a single finger from the opponent!

"At least Transcendent Mortal 8-dan, or even... higher!" His face turned ashen, and Zhang Xuan's fingers, clutching the sword hilt, turned white. He had used all his strength and even employed sword art, yet he was sent flying by a flick of the opponent's fingernail, spitting blood. The opponent's strength had likely already surpassed the Unity Realm, reaching Transcendent Mortal 8-dan Void-Treading Realm, or even higher! Only such power could possess strength that made him feel despair.

While he was sent flying and injured, the opponent's massive hand reached for Luo Qiqi again.

"Damn it!" Luo Qiqi also reacted at this moment. In any case, she was an elite student trained by the Master Teacher Academy, a peak Transcendent Mortal 6-dan expert. She had been caught off guard and grabbed by the neck earlier, but now recovered, with a fierce cry, she also thrust out her sword. Her sword qi was like a white rainbow, dazzling and brilliant, full of power. It was clear at a glance that her understanding and cultivation in sword art were no worse than Zhang Xuan's! She had even reached the realm of Minor Sword Heart.

Whoosh! Seeing her resistance, the massive hand suddenly swung. Luo Qiqi's long sword immediately flew from her hand, skewering into the high wall, and continued to sway.

"Quick, retreat!" Knowing that with their current strength, they definitely couldn't resist this huge hand, Zhang Xuan activated his Heaven's Path Movement Art, instantly appearing before Luo Qiqi, enveloped her in true qi and lifted her, then flashed to the corner of the wall.