206: The key to symbol decryption lies in this kind of operation!

“Oh no, the music is fading,” Yang Mi said anxiously.

Ye Bai quickly ran back to the Stone Platform and noticed that the strings of the Ancient Zither were no longer playing automatically, only emitting occasional faint tremors. He carefully inspected the Ancient Zither and found a small, oddly shaped groove on one side of its body.

“Look at this groove. Do you think we need to put something in it for the music to continue and for us to get clues?” Ye Bai asked.

Zhang Dada fumbled around on his person and pulled out a jade pendant. “God Ye, do you think this will work? I picked it up in a previous Tomb Chamber because I thought it looked nice, so I kept it.”

Ye Bai took the jade pendant, examined it closely, and then tried placing it into the groove. As soon as the jade pendant was inserted, the Ancient Zither suddenly shone brightly, the strings began vibrating violently again, and the music became louder than before. A flood of images instantly rushed into Ye Bai's mind.

“I know which way we should go!” Ye Bai exclaimed excitedly. He led Yang Mi and Zhang Dada toward the left intersection.

After walking along the Passage for a while, they found a massive Stone Door ahead. The Stone Door was covered in various mysterious symbols and patterns. Ye Bai walked up and carefully studied the symbols.

“These symbols seem somewhat related to the ones we saw before, but there are also some new variations,” Ye Bai said.

Zhang Dada leaned close to the Stone Door and touched the symbols with his hand. “God Ye, can you decipher these symbols and open the Stone Door? I feel like we're getting closer and closer to the treasure or the exit.”

Ye Bai didn't answer, concentrating fully on the meaning of the symbols. Yang Mi watched him quietly from the side, her eyes full of trust.

After a while, Ye Bai seemed to have figured something out. He pressed several symbols in different locations on the Stone Door. The Stone Door suddenly let out a muffled sound and slowly opened. A stale odor rushed out, and the space behind the door was piled high with Gold and Silver Jewels.

“Wow, we found the treasure!” Zhang Dada shouted excitedly.

Yang Mi was also stunned by the sight before them. But Ye Bai did not rush in immediately; he had a feeling that things weren't that simple. Just then, the surrounding Gold and Silver Jewels suddenly began flashing with an eerie light.

“Be careful, there might be something wrong with these jewels,” Ye Bai shouted.

Zhang Dada was about to reach out for the jewels but quickly retracted his hand after hearing Ye Bai's warning. “God Ye, what's going on now?”

Ye Bai carefully observed the glittering jewels and noticed tiny characters emerging within the light. “These characters might be the key to unlocking the secret of this place,” Ye Bai said.

He began deciphering the characters, and as the interpretation deepened, Ye Bai's expression grew increasingly solemn. It turned out that these treasures were cursed; former Tomb Robbers had killed each other fighting over them, and the resentment of those who died was attached to the treasures.

“We cannot take these treasures,” Ye Bai stated.

Zhang Dada said somewhat reluctantly, “Why not? God Ye, we finally found them after all this effort.”

Yang Mi also said, “Ye Bai, we could just take a little and leave. Nothing should happen, right?”

Ye Bai shook his head and said seriously, “These curses are very dangerous. If we take the treasures, we might never be able to leave.”

Just as they were discussing this, the surrounding light grew stronger and stronger. The resentments seemed to sense their intentions and began gathering toward them.

“This is bad, the resentments are going to attack us!” Ye Bai shouted.

He quickly took some cinnabar from his backpack and drew a simple Formation on the ground.

“Quickly, get inside the Formation!” Ye Bai shouted.

Yang Mi and Zhang Dada quickly ran into the Formation. The resentments circled outside the Formation, letting out sharp cries.

“God Ye, what do we do now?” Zhang Dada asked anxiously.

Ye Bai looked at the resentments, quickly thinking of a solution. He suddenly thought that the Ancient Zither's music might be able to dispel them. “I'll go get the Ancient Zither,” Ye Bai said.

Ye Bai cautiously stepped out of the Formation. The resentments seemed to sense his movement and rushed toward him. A sharp whistling echoed in his ears, making Ye Bai's scalp tingle, but he forced himself to remain calm and kept moving.

“Ye Bai, be careful!” Yang Mi cried out anxiously from inside the Formation.

Ye Bai didn't respond, his eyes fixed on the Ancient Zither ahead. Just as he was about to touch it, a wisp of resentment suddenly transformed into a black tentacle and whipped straight toward him.

He shifted sideways, dodging the tentacle, which grazed his clothes and raised a blast of cold wind.

He grabbed the Ancient Zither, turned, and ran back. Once back inside the Formation, Ye Bai placed the Ancient Zither on the ground, took a deep breath, and gently plucked the strings. At first, the sound produced was somewhat chaotic, but Ye Bai quickly adjusted the rhythm, and melodious Zither Music gradually began to play.

Under the shroud of the Zither Music, the resentments began to tremble violently. However, after only a moment, the music's effect on them seemed to weaken. The resentments regrouped and became even more turbulent than before.

“How could this happen?” Zhang Dada widened his eyes in horror.

Ye Bai frowned deeply, pondering a countermeasure. Suddenly, he remembered that the characters he had previously seen seemed to mention an ancient Musical Composition. Perhaps he could try that.

He closed his eyes, recalling the melody described by the characters, and began playing the strings again. This time, the Zither Music was deeper and more mysterious, as if carrying an ancient magical power. As the music spread, the resentments retreated one after another, as if they had encountered their nemesis.

Yang Mi said in surprise, “Ye Bai, it seems to be working!”

Ye Bai did not relax and continued playing. Gradually, the resentments began to dissipate, and the surrounding light also dimmed.

After the resentments completely vanished, all three sighed in relief. Zhang Dada plopped down onto the ground, wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and said, “God Ye, that was truly dangerous this time.”

Ye Bai stood up, looked at the pile of treasures, and said, “Although we can't take these treasures, we still need to find the exit and leave this place.”

They continued searching for clues in this treasure-filled space. Yang Mi suddenly noticed a Mirror behind the pile of treasures, the frame of which was carved with strange patterns.

“Look at that Mirror,” Yang Mi called out.

Ye Bai and Zhang Dada walked over. Ye Bai carefully observed the patterns on the Mirror and found similarities between them and the symbols on the Stone Door.

“This Mirror might be the key,” Ye Bai said.

Zhang Dada reached out to touch the Mirror, but Ye Bai immediately stopped him, saying, “Don't touch it carelessly yet, there might be a mechanism.”

Ye Bai circled the Mirror and found a small hole at the bottom. He thought for a moment, took a silver needle from his backpack, and carefully inserted it into the hole. Suddenly, the Mirror emitted a bright light, and some images appeared on its surface.