Chapter 138 Egress (2/2)
The company broke up into and scattered around the hall, examining every nook and cranny for any concealed entryways. Moments later, everyone heard Xu Gu's calls. He had found a stone door a little more than three meters wide. The stone door, being almost identical to the walls of the cavern, would have not been discovered, if the battles earlier did not cause the dust and soot to fall off the thin grooves.
Xiao Chen walked to the door. He projected his Divine Sense and found that not only the stone door was extraordinarily thick, a passage, pitched dark and empty, laid just behind the door. The mechanisms of operating the stone door were all on the other side, hence throwing a wrench into any way of opening the door.
The frown he wore on his face was enough to convey his beliefs that opening the door would be no simple feat. Ye Wuhen sneered from behind. ”It's just a stone door. Do you even lack the strength to break it down?” He strode forward with his palm raised, about to strike on the stone entrance.
Xiao Chen's arm rose quickly to stop him. ”There's no need for hastiness,” he said to Ye Wuhen.
”What's this? You're giving me orders now?” Ye Wuhen growled in return. Embittered by his loss to Xiao Chen before, Ye Wuhen had nothing but deepest hatred and contempt for him.
But Xiao Chen made no attempt to exchange barbed words with him. He turned to the rest of the company. ”A long and dark passage lies just at the other side of the door. But I'm afraid that breaking this door down by force might trigger any traps or contrivances that may breed new trouble, such as the collapse of the roof of the tunnel we came in earlier.”
The mention of the tunnel caving in earlier sent a disquieting queasiness across the company, rousing old fears and insecurities as some began nodding their heads. ”How can you tell that a long and dark passage lies just at the other side of the door,” Ye Wuhen scoffed, ”You've been here before?”
Xiao Chen ignored him again. The Core Forming Realm cultivators of the present age, unlike thousands of years ago, did not have the ability to project their Divine Senses. Knowing that explaining himself would only be a waste of time and effort, he continued speaking to the rest of the company. ”Is there anyone among us who is exceptional in fire-based magic spell?”
”My skills maybe trivial, but I might know a thing or two about fire-based magic spell,” Qin Xinyan responded, stepping out of the crowd. It was common knowledge that students of the School of the Savage Flames were particularly learned in fire-based magic. Still, no one could see what Xiao Chen was planning to do.
”Very well,” Xiao Chen nodded to Qin Xinyan and said, ”If you would please, Brother Yan, I'll need you to burn the stone door with as much True Energy as possible. The rest of the company and I will help to channel our True Energies to you.”
”So be it!” Qin Xinyan remarked. He had been observing Xiao Chen throughout the journey and had found himself fascinated by his charismatic and enigmatic behavior that he wished to make his acquaintance, and this was his opportunity to be on Xiao Chen's good side. He stepped closer to the stone door, and channeled his powers to unleash the Flames of the Southern Vermilion Bird upon the stone slab.
Fiery silhouettes of two miniature dragons formed and looped along his two arms, coiling towards his hands before they turned into jets of flames that roasted the stone door. Despite not being a flammable object, the stone door remained shrouded by ravenous flames so strong that everyone could feel the simmering heat. Xiao Chen stepped towards Qin Xinyan, placing a hand on his back and funneled his True Energy to the latter. A few others followed suit and transmitted part of their True Energies to him as well.
With the boost given by the members of the company, the flames grew stronger and wilder. Before long, the stone door began to turn red, glowing with heat and energy. The blistering swelter made everyone sweat profusely. Only Ye Wuhen remained at a side, watching with glee, anticipating Xiao Chen's failure. Was he trying to melt the stone, he mused. What foolishness, he cursed again.
Qin Xinyan continued incinerating the stone door for a quarter of an hour until Xiao Chen was satisfied that the door was now sizzling hot. Sweat drenched everyone's faces that were red as raw meat from the torridness. Still, the door yielded no signs of melting.
”That is enough,” Xiao Chen muttered, dislodging his hand from Qin Xinyan's back and everyone else did the same, backing away for a few paces to get as far as possible from the swelter.
Xiao Chen looked at Xiaoyue. ”This is where you come in, Lady Xiaoyue,” he said to her.
Xiaoyue made no reply, as if she had long anticipated Xiao Chen's plan. With her horse-tail whisk, she drew a few circles in the air and conjured columns of water that spurted on the stone door that was glowing red-hot like burning embers.
Streams of water splashed on the stone door, sending white plumes of steam hissing angrily and floated into the air. A few other cultivators skilled in water-based magic spell too began to douse the door. Before long, the entire underground palace was filled with translucent mists of steam that swirled around the company and the stone door began to cool.
”Thank you so much, Lady Xiaoyue,” Xiao Chen quipped with a smile. He walked to the door and gave a little push, and the massive stone door began to crack and splinter all around.
Gasps of amazement rose from the company. The massive and invulnerable stone door had been broken into pieces just by burning and rapidly drenching it with water as if a bolt of lightning from Heaven had smitten upon it.
It was a plan he had concocted during his childhood when he was still unable to practice wushu at his home. Being unable to pummel stones and rocks into pieces and fragments like the rest of the other children in the family, he would first heat up stone slabs before pouring water upon them. He himself had almost lost count of the times he had cheated everyone in the family with this trick.
This earned Xiao Chen several praises for his creativeness; most people had been so engrossed in training and meditation to enhance their own powers that they had completely overlooked simpler ways to leverage things to their advantage. Xiao Chen's witty plan had not only prevented the whole subterranean palace from caving in, it had also easily opened the path for the company to continue their journey. But only one person alone scoffed with disdain, ”Just luck and simple wittiness.”
With the stone door now out of the way, it was as what Xiao Chen had revealed: the stone door was the entrance to another long and dark tunnel. ”It seems that this is the way out,” Xu Gu said, ”We must be extremely careful.”
With him and Xiao Chen leading at the front, the rest behind conjured a faint radiant light that illuminated the way. Through the darkness, the path wound and curved incessantly as if they were walking inside the bowels of a giant serpent. For a little more than an hour's walk, what appeared to be a long and endless journey had finally come to an end: there was a faint glimmer of light at their front at last! A glimmer of hope!
The Cold-billow Labyrinth had delayed their journey for so long that it almost felt like an eternity inside. The company picked up their pace and hurried towards the faint flickering light, only to find that it was the light that came from beneath another stone door. With a quick inspection, Xiao Chen concluded that it was merely an ordinary stone door. With a powerful slap, he destroyed the door, and sunlight flooded into the tunnel, temporarily blinding the whole company.
”Here they are! Hold them!”