187: Chapter 187 The Hidden Gate's Mystery, The First Appearance of the Star Path

Ling Ye stood up and walked toward the wall.

The seam between the hidden door and the wall was extremely fine; had it not been for the guidance of the xuanyuan ring's throbbing, and his perception having become sharp due to the balance of the dual rings, it would have been impossible to discover.

He felt along the wall and, in an inconspicuous depression on the edge of the hidden door, sensed a tiny metal button with strange patterns.

The patterns... seemed similar to some of the runes on the Ancient Ring and the xuanyuan ring.

He tried pressing the button.

There was no reaction.

Could it require some kind of authentication? For example... the power of the dual rings?

He took a deep breath and sank his consciousness simultaneously into the Ancient Ring mark on his left hand and the xuanyuan ring on his right.

The mark flickered with a faint light, and the ring shimmered with a dim glow.

He attempted to guide that trace of the extremely fragile "dual rings balance rhythm" he had just established toward his fingertips, injecting it into the rune-marked button.

"Hum..."

The runes on the button suddenly lit up with an extremely faint, interwoven gold and silver light!

Immediately after, the metal hidden door in front of him made a "click" sound, then silently slid inward, revealing a pitch-black, downward-sloping stone passage behind it that exuded an even more ancient and stale atmosphere!

There was no artificial lighting in the passage, only ancient moss scattered on the rock walls emitting a faint glow.

The air circulated, carrying a dry, dusty smell and a faint, strange odor similar to ozone, which was completely different from the sweet, decaying scent of the abyssal eye inside the B7 Sample Repository.

This place seemed to be an independent, ancient space that had not been polluted (or was only very lightly polluted) by the abyssal eye!

Ling Ye felt a surge of joy and, without further hesitation, slipped into the passage.

He felt around inside the door, found a similar closing mechanism, and shut the hidden door again.

The hidden door closed, fitting perfectly; from the outside, it remained just an ordinary wall.

The passage was silent, filled only by the sound of his own breathing and heartbeat.

He took out his PIT, but it still wouldn't turn on, so he had to rely on his Spiritual Sense and the faint glow of the moss on the rock walls to navigate.

The passage sloped downward, its incline gentle, with ancient and rough excavation marks that were clearly not the work of modern machinery.

After walking for about ten minutes, a fork appeared ahead.

One path continued downward, while the other extended horizontally, leading toward a direction from which a more stable light source faintly emanated.

The throbbing of the xuanyuan ring pointed toward the path that extended horizontally.

Ling Ye followed the guidance and entered the horizontal passage.

The end of the passage connected to a naturally formed underground cavern about the size of a basketball court.

The sight in the cavern made him instantly hold his breath and widen his eyes!

In the center of the cavern, there were no derivatives of the abyssal eye, nor were there any cold instruments.

Instead, there was a complex three-dimensional rune array, composed of countless points of light, emitting a soft, milky-white glow and slowly rotating like a miniature nebula!

This rune array floated about one meter above the ground and was about five meters in diameter.

Its structure was exquisitely intricate, filled with an indescribable mathematical and geometric beauty, and it emitted an ancient, vast, and incredibly stable energy fluctuation.

Under the illumination of its light, one could see that the rock walls of the cavern were carved with a large number of murals and inscriptions that were homologous to the runes on the Ancient Ring and the xuanyuan ring, but were more complex and complete!

The murals depicted scenes of the starry sky, portals, ring-bearers, and... battles against deep blue shadows similar to the abyssal eye!

The inscriptions were a type of ancient text that Ling Ye could not understand at all, yet they caused the Ancient Ring mark deep in his Soul and the xuanyuan ring in his hand to resonate strongly at the same time!

This... was an ancient Gatekeeper ruin!

Or rather, an outpost or recording point related to the Star Gate!

The guidance of the xuanyuan ring had indeed brought him to a place directly related to the Star Gate and the Gatekeeper!

Ling Ye's heart beat like a drum as he slowly approached the floating rune array.

The milky-white light emitted by the array was warm and pure; as it shone on him, it surprisingly alleviated and soothed the fatigue and pain he had felt for days, as well as the cold, oppressive feeling deep in his Soul caused by contact with the abyssal eye.

The last traces of the abyssal eye's erosion on his left arm melted away rapidly under this light, like snow under the sun.

He reached out his hand, wanting to touch the light, but stopped.

The array was clearly still in operation and contained powerful energy; touching it rashly might be a blessing or a curse, he couldn't be sure.

He turned his gaze to the murals and inscriptions on the rock walls.

Although the murals were ancient, they were relatively well-preserved, seemingly protected by some kind of power.

The first mural: Against the backdrop of an infinite starry sky stood a huge portal of light inscribed with countless runes.

On either side of the portal stood a tall, faceless phantom; the phantom on the left held the Ancient Ring (Stellar Life and Death), and the phantom on the right held the bone ring (Abyssal Reflection).

The light of the dual rings intertwined, stabilizing the portal.

The second mural: A crack appeared on the portal, and deep blue darkness like viscous liquid (abyssal eye?) seeped out from the crack.

The light of the ring-bearing phantoms flared, attempting to repair the crack, but the crack continued to expand.

The third mural: The portal shook violently, and the ring-bearing phantoms seemed exhausted, their light dimming.

A massive amount of deep blue darkness surged out, and within it, a cold, giant eye emerged.

Around the portal, stars began to dim and fall.

The fourth mural: The ring-bearing phantoms made a certain decision.

They seemed to combine the power of the Ancient Ring and the bone ring—the dual rings—with some essence of their own to form a powerful Seal, temporarily plugging the crack, and banished or isolated the portal and its surrounding area (the scene was depicted as the portal and a portion of the starry sky being wrapped in a bubble-like membrane of light, detaching from the main scene).

As for the ring-bearing phantoms themselves, their light dissipated, turning into specks of light that merged into the portal or drifted into the starry sky.

The fifth mural: In the isolated area (inside the bubble), the portal still existed, and the crack was temporarily plugged by the Seal, but the deep blue darkness (the giant eye) was still stirring behind the Seal.

The bubble floated in a void of darkness, having lost contact with the main starry sky.

The subsequent murals were more blurred, seemingly depicting the subsequent evolution of the isolated area (inside the bubble): new life and civilizations were born on the world within the bubble (similar to the Azure Planet?), and the power of the abyssal eye (the deep blue darkness) occasionally leaked through the imperfect Seal, forming "pollution."

Meanwhile, the Gatekeeper's Legacy (the marks or knowledge of the dual rings) seemed to have been passed down sporadically, but it was already incomplete...

Ling Ye was shocked!

These murals seemed to be telling a grand epic spanning countless millennia about the origins of the Star Gate, the abyssal eye, the Gatekeeper, and this world (the Azure Planet?)!

The Ancient Ring and the bone ring—the dual rings—were the supreme sacred artifacts used by the Gatekeeper to stabilize and guard the Star Gate!

The abyssal eye was a condensed body of corrosive "abyssal dark" energy from another dimension or world behind the broken Star Gate!

This world (the bubble) was very likely a "prison" or "buffer zone" that the ancient Gatekeeper had sacrificed themselves to create, isolating and banishing it along with the broken Star Gate to prevent the abyssal eye from completely invading the main starry sky!

And the exploration by Deep Space Frontier Capital had, by coincidence (or intent?), touched a weak point in the Seal, leading to the leakage of the abyssal eye and triggering the Oak Street disaster!

Everything was connected!

Ling Ye felt a wave of dizziness; the amount of information was too great, impacting his cognition.

He forced himself to calm down and looked at the inscriptions.

He could not understand the inscriptions, but as his gaze swept over them, the Ancient Ring mark deep in his Soul and the xuanyuan ring in his hand simultaneously grew slightly warm, transmitting some vague, conceptual information into his consciousness:

"...This is the 'Banishment Realm' outpost... recording the Star Gate coordinates, Seal status, and the essentials of the Gatekeeper Legacy..."

"...When the dual rings are returned to their place, they can sense the portal's position, reinforce the Seal, or... before it goes completely out of control, initiate the final banishment procedure..."

"...Future Gatekeeper candidates, if you find your way here, use the power of the dual rings to resonate with this array to obtain star map guidance, inherited knowledge, and the method to leave this realm..."

The method to leave this realm?! A way to leave this "banished" world?!

Ling Ye's heart began to pound wildly!

Could this ancient rune array not only be a recording point, but also a teleportation point or communication device?

Could it connect to other parts of the Gatekeeper Legacy, or even... provide a way to leave this world threatened by the abyssal eye?

He looked at the suspended rune array.

In the center of the array, those slowly rotating points of light seemed to form a three-dimensional, constantly changing star map. The positions and trajectories of several of these light points felt strangely familiar—they were similar to the star map on the "Ancient Ring" and the "star map sequence" mentioned in Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe's notes!

Could it be that resonating with this array would activate it, allowing him to obtain the complete star map, the Legacy, and even... clues about "Departure from the Realm"?

He took a deep breath, calming his excitement.

He knew that rashly attempting to resonate with this ancient and powerful device carried risks no less than balancing the "dual rings" just moments ago.

But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the key to revealing the truth of everything and finding a way to survive.

He had to try.

He sat cross-legged in front of the rune array and closed his eyes.

His hands rested naturally on his knees; the mark of the "Ancient Ring" on his left hand shimmered with faint light, while the "bone ring" on his right hand glowed with a deep, dark luster.

He attempted to combine the trace of the "dual rings" balance rhythm he had grasped at the coolant hub with the vague intentions transmitted by the "Ancient Ring" and the "bone ring" while observing the mural inscriptions, and then, slowly and extremely cautiously, "extended" them toward the rune array in front of him.

It was not a forceful impact, but a "knocking" and "connecting" using "rhythm" and "intention."

"Hum..."

The rune array seemed to sense this homologous yet special "rhythm." Its rotation speed increased slightly, and the milky white light it emitted became softer and more focused, as if it were "watching" Ling Ye.

Ling Ye felt his consciousness being gently enveloped and guided by a warm and vast power.

He "saw" the three-dimensional star map rapidly enlarge and become clear before his "eyes." The coordinates and trajectories of countless stars, and even their relative positions to the "doorway," flooded into his consciousness like a tide!

At the same time, some more systematic and complete information regarding the duties of the "Gatekeeper," the use of the "dual rings," methods to counter the erosion of the "abyssal eye," and... assessments of the current status of the "Star Gate" Seal, were transmitted intermittently.

The Seal... was continuously weakening.

The penetration of the "abyssal eye" power through the cracks was accelerating.

The stability of this "Exiled Realm" was decreasing.

If the Seal was not reinforced or other measures were not taken, it was estimated that within 100-300 standard planetary orbital cycles, the Seal might collapse completely, and the "abyssal eye" would fully descend upon this realm.

100-300 years? For the history of a planet, it was very short, but for the human civilization living on it, it was an imminent crisis!

To reinforce the Seal, the "dual rings" needed to be fully returned to their positions and operated by a true "Gatekeeper" at specific nodes.

Or... initiate the "Final Exile Procedure" to push this realm, along with the "abyssal eye," into a deeper void. But that would require unimaginable energy, the success rate was unknown, and all living beings in this realm would be annihilated along with it.

As for the "method to leave the realm"... the information transmitted by the array indicated that at the edge of the "Exiled Realm," there were several unstable, temporary spatial folds or dimensional rifts connecting to the main starry sky or other "bubble worlds."

However, they were extremely dangerous and required specific "coordinates" and "stabilizers" to attempt a crossing.

The array itself did not have teleportation capabilities, but it could provide a rough directional coordinate, as well as a theoretical method to use the power of the "dual rings" to temporarily stabilize a crossing passage.

The coordinates... pointed to the northwest direction of the continent where Dawn City was located, at the far end of what was known as the "Frozen Wasteland."

There, it seemed to be a continuously unstable spatial zone caused by a large-scale energy impact in ancient times (the aftermath of the Star Gate exile?).

The method to stabilize the crossing passage required the "Ancient Ring" and the "bone ring" to produce an extremely strong and highly harmonious resonance at the moment of crossing, forming a temporary "Order Force Field" to protect the traveler and stabilize the passage.

This required an extremely high level of control and resonance depth over the "dual rings," which, at Ling Ye's current level, was almost impossible to achieve.

The flow of information gradually weakened and stopped.

The light of the rune array returned to its original state, and its rotation speed slowed down.

Ling Ye slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with shock, understanding, and an even heavier sense of responsibility.

He had obtained part of the truth, obtained the star map coordinates, obtained some of the "Gatekeeper" Legacy knowledge, and also obtained a slim possibility of "leaving the realm."

But the cost was that he now knew about the countdown crisis facing this world, and the burden on his shoulders that might be unbearable.

He stood up and bowed deeply to the ancient rune array.

Regardless of the purpose for which those ancient "Gatekeepers" had exiled this world, they had ultimately made sacrifices, delayed the disaster of the "abyssal eye," and left behind a Legacy and hope.

Now, this Legacy and hope rested on his shoulders.

He had to leave this place, return to the surface, deal with the immediate crisis caused by the "abyssal eye" leak ("Purification Net," "Meltdown"), and find ways to improve his control over the "dual rings" and cope with the greater crises of the future.

He looked around the cave again.

Besides the rune array and the mural inscriptions, there seemed to be a stone, dust-covered altar in the corner, on which rested a sealed metal cylinder.

He walked over and picked up the metal cylinder.

The body of the cylinder was engraved with Guardian runes similar to those on the "Ancient Ring."

He tried to touch it with the faint light of the "Ancient Ring" mark, and the lid popped open automatically.

Inside was a scroll of an even older star map, tanned from an unknown animal hide, as well as several crystal-like stones emitting weak energy fluctuations.

The markings on the star map Incomplete Manual seemed to be more detailed paths and precautions for traveling to the spatial unstable zone in the "Frozen Wasteland."

As for those crystals, the information indicated they were "Spatial Waypoint Stones," which could resonate when approaching the unstable zone, helping to locate the specific entrance.

This was a precious Legacy left behind by a Senior "Gatekeeper" or explorer!

Ling Ye solemnly put them away.

Now, he had a clear long-term goal ("Frozen Wasteland"), as well as some knowledge to deal with the current "abyssal eye" leak and the assistance of the "dual rings."

He took one last look at the suspended rune array and turned toward the passage he had come from.

He had to return to the vicinity of B7 to find another way out of the underground (the secret door side seemed to be one-way, and it might have been set by Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe to only be opened from the B7 side).

He now had the "bone ring" in hand, the "dual rings" were initially balanced, his resistance to the power of the "abyssal eye" had greatly increased, and his concealment ability had also been enhanced; as long as he carefully avoided the "White Coat" and the core area, he should have a chance to find a way out.

However, just as he had stepped out of the cave and entered the horizontal stone path—

The entire underground ruin, no, the entire deep region where the B7 Sample Repository was located, suddenly trembled with an unprecedented, earth-shattering vibration and roar!

"Rumble—!!!"

The rock walls cracked, and gravel fell with a rustling sound!

The passage shook violently, as if it were about to collapse at any moment!

At the same time, a vast, violent, and destructive will of the "abyssal eye," filled with madness and far exceeding anything before, erupted violently from above (the direction of the B7 core) like a tsunami and swept toward him!

His "Spiritual Sense" sent out a heartbreaking warning!

The "Ancient Ring" and the "bone ring" vibrated violently at the same time, emitting intense intentions of vigilance and resistance!

What had happened?!

Could it be that the "Meltdown" protocol had finally been activated?

Had the neutron generator exploded, causing a geological upheaval and completely infuriating the "abyssal eye"?

Or... had the main body of the "abyssal eye," for some reason (such as Ling Ye taking the "bone ring" and breaking some subtle balance), started a more intense action to try and break through the Seal?

Whichever it was, it meant a catastrophic disaster!

He had to leave immediately!

Right now!

Ling Ye no longer hesitated.

Braving the violent vibrations and falling rubble, he sprinted toward the secret door he had come through!

And behind him, the ancient rune array cave, amidst the tremors, saw its milky white light flicker violently, as if it, too, were resisting this destructive shockwave...

A race against time, playing out once again!

And this time, it was the collapse and destruction of... the entire underground world!