156: Chapter 156 The Stone Building Opens

There were over a dozen at Qi Refining Stage 6 or 7.

There were only a few at Qi Refining Stage 8 or 9, and they each occupied their own area, with the surrounding Loose Cultivators subconsciously keeping their distance.

However, there were also several groups dressed in uniform attire. Those from Bibo City wore black martial outfits with water patterns embroidered on the cuffs and tokens hanging from their waists.

Those from Qingmu City wore cyan Daoist robes with wooden badges pinned to their collars.

There was also a lone Cultivator in a dark red robe, with flame patterns embroidered on the cuffs, squatting on a remnant of a stone pillar at the very edge of the plaza. He sat with his eyes closed in meditation, and no one dared to approach within three zhang of him.

The most eye-catching group was a team of three Bibo City Cultivators, all wearing uniform black martial outfits.

The leader was a middle-aged man at the Early Stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage. He had a gaunt face, high cheekbones, and deep-set eyes. He sat cross-legged in a position slightly toward the front of the plaza center, with a Flying Sword lying across his knees.

The scabbard was cyan-black, carved with dense formation patterns. The patterns were very faint, and a layer of shimmering light could only be seen flowing across them when viewed from the right angle.

The middle-aged man had his eyes closed, his breathing extremely light and steady, with his chest barely showing any rise and fall.

He was the only one at the Foundation Establishment Stage in the plaza.

Behind the middle-aged man stood two young Cultivators at Qi Refining Stage 9, one male and one female.

The man was tall, with two short swords hanging from his waist. He stood straight with his feet shoulder-width apart, his weight on the balls of his feet, a stance ready to explode into action at any moment.

The woman was slender, with a long sword strapped to her back, the hilt protruding above her shoulder. Her fingers were constantly twitching inside her cuffs, as if she were forming hand seals.

Lin Xuan withdrew his gaze.

Early Stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage. This should be the highest cultivation level among the Cultivators in the plaza currently.

Last time at the edge of the vortex, that Golden Core elder from Bibo City and three Foundation Establishment Cultivators were also present, but they were scattered after being teleported in—if those people were here too, the situation in the plaza would be completely different.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly caught a voice in his ears.

"Fellow Daoist, do you need any Talismans? Golden Light Talismans, God-Speed Talismans, and warding Talismans, all top-quality goods. One Mid-Grade Spirit Stone each, honest prices for all."

The speaker was a thin, small old man squatting in an open space not far from him.

His graying beard was braided into a small pigtail hanging in front of his chest, with a red string tied at the tip.

He had an animal hide spread out in front of him, with the edges rolled up and the four corners weighed down by stones.

Dozens of Talismans were arranged neatly by type on the hide—Golden Light Talismans on the left, God-Speed Talismans in the middle, and warding Talismans on the right, with a half-finger width of space left between each Talisman.

The quality of the Talisman paper was good. The paper was thick and uniform, with no air bubbles or Impurities.

The Talisman patterns were clear and smooth, with no signs of hesitation in the brushstrokes. The spiritual energy flowed stably through the patterns, without any unstable flickering. The drawing technique was very mature.

Lin Xuan glanced at the start and end of the Talisman patterns—there was a slight upward flick at the start, and at the end, the brush paused before being lifted cleanly and decisively.

He had seen this habit before at the Talisman shop in the Chenjiao Island market, where the owner was an old Talisman Master at Qi Refining Stage 7, known as Old Xu.

When Old Xu drew Talismans, he would start with an upward flick and end with a pause and lift; he had even chatted with Old Xu back then, who said this habit was taught by his Master when he was an apprentice in his youth and could not be changed.

This old man's Talisman paper must have been bought from Old Xu.

"Fellow Daoist, would you like to take a look?" Seeing Lin Xuan glance a few extra times, the thin old man immediately moved his stall half a foot toward him and pointed a trembling finger at a Golden Light Talisman. "This Golden Light Talisman is Old Xu's handiwork. Look at the Talisman pattern yourself—high-grade purple-patterned paper, the lines are crystal clear, with no broken strokes or ink blots."

"One Mid-Grade Spirit Stone each. If you bought them at an outside market, they'd cost at least one and a half."

Lin Xuan shook his head. The old man didn't pester him, instead turning to another passing Loose Cultivator nearby and repeating what he had just said.

Lin Xuan averted his gaze and continued to observe the plaza.

The main gate of the stone tower was tightly closed, but the thunder patterns on the door were slowly flowing.

Those thunder patterns were not static carvings, but alive—the spiritual energy inside the thunder patterns was flowing, spreading from the center to the surroundings, and then retracting back to the center from the surroundings, breathing in and out like a heartbeat.

Every so often, the thunder patterns would flash once. When they flashed, a low humming sound would emit from the door panel. The frequency was very low, and one could feel the slight vibration of the stone slabs through the soles of their feet.

From the time Lin Xuan sat down until now, about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the interval between flashes had shortened from ten breaths to eight breaths.

He counted silently—the last interval was eight breaths, the one before that was nine breaths, and the one before that was ten breaths.

The stone tower was about to open.

A Loose Cultivator couldn't wait any longer; he stood up and walked to a spot ten zhang in front of the stone gate, crouched into a horse stance, formed hand seals with both hands, and blasted a fireball at the stone gate.

The moment the fireball hit the stone gate, the thunder patterns on the door flashed violently, and purple electric arcs shot out from the patterns, blasting the fireball and the Loose Cultivator away together.

The Loose Cultivator flew five or six zhang before crashing to the ground. The front of his robe was charred black, his hair stood straight up, and his hands were twitching uncontrollably from the electric shock.

His companion quickly ran over to drag him away, cursing as they went.

Someone nearby chuckled: "Fool. Is the door of Venerable Bai Yu something you can just force open?"

No one responded to him.

Lin Xuan withdrew his gaze. His right eyelid twitched, and his finger pressed against the Vajra Talisman inside his Storage Pouch.

He continued to count.

Seven breaths.

Six breaths.

Five breaths.

A commotion suddenly erupted in the plaza. It wasn't just one or two people standing up; everyone looked toward the stone gate at the same time—the copper rings held in the mouths of the two stone statues simultaneously lit up with purple light.

The verdigris on the surface of the copper rings peeled away bit by bit under the erosion of the purple light, revealing the shiny golden body underneath.

Runes emerged from the surface of the copper rings, spreading along the arms of the stone statues to the stone gate, and then diffusing along the thunder patterns on the stone gate to the entire door panel.

The flow of the runes was not fast, but it was steady, spreading inch by inch from the edge of the door toward the center, as if irrigating a formation pattern that had been dried up for a long time.

A dull, rumbling sound came from deep within the stone gate.

It wasn't just one sound, but a series—rumble, rumble, rumble, as if some ancient mechanism was awakening; gears engaging, chains turning, stones grinding, each sound trailing off with a long echo.

The stone plaza was trembling. Tiny gravel jumped up from the stone slabs and fell back down, clattering against his shoes. Dust from the tops of the stone pillars was shaken loose, falling down in rustles and forming small patches of gray mist.

The stone gate did not open, but all the thunder patterns on the door panel lit up.

Those thunder patterns turned from a dull gray to a blinding purple. Every single line looked like a red-hot branding iron, and the light was so strong that it cast clear shadows on the stone slabs.

Lin Xuan did not move. He remained sitting behind the stone pillar, his back against the cold stone wall, his palm pressing against the Vajra Talisman inside his Storage Pouch.

"The gate is opening!" someone shouted loudly in the crowd. The voice was sharp and thin, filled with uncontrollable excitement and tension.

The crowd moved. Those meditating stood up, those chatting stopped talking, those repairing Magical Artifacts put away their tools, and even the old man with the stall began packing up his wares in a fluster.

Footsteps became chaotic, thumping loudly on the stone slabs, mixed with human voices as everyone shouted.

Some were calling for their companions, some were urging those in front to move, and some were cursing those blocking the way.

Lin Xuan stood up.

He saw that the middle-aged man from Bibo City at the Foundation Establishment Stage in the center of the plaza had also opened his eyes and was slowly standing up with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The two young Cultivators at Qi Refining Stage 9 immediately spread out half a zhang to the sides, following behind him.

He saw the team from Qingmu City moving from the left side of the plaza toward the stone gate; the leader walked very quickly, with his companions behind him jogging to keep up.

He saw the lone Cultivator in the dark red robe still squatting on the remnant of the stone pillar, having opened one eye.

The thunder patterns on the stone gate flashed for the third time. This time, the light lasted longer than the previous two times, and the thunder patterns on the door expanded and contracted for a full three breaths before dimming. Then—

Silence.

All sound vanished in an instant. The commotion stopped, the footsteps stopped, and the shouting stopped.

Everyone stood where they were, staring at that gate. Breathing became exceptionally clear in this moment—some were holding their breath, some were panting, and some were swallowing hard.

On the stone gate, all the thunder patterns flashed simultaneously.

Then, a sliver of purple light shone through the crack in the middle of the gate.