51: Chapter 51 Running Away Requires Efficiency

The stone door let out a dull, low sound, like a behemoth that had been sleeping for years finally being awakened by someone, slowly sliding inward.

A scent of decay gushed out from the gap in the door, mixed with a musty odor and some indescribable, fishy sweetness, as if something had been rotting inside for a long time.

Shen Xiao did not hesitate; he squeezed through the gap in the door sideways and pulled Xia Lengbai in with him.

The space inside the door was larger than he had expected.

It was not a spacious and bright hall, but a set of stone steps extending downwards. Embedded in the walls on both sides were a few night-luminescent pearls that had dimmed to the point of almost extinguishing, emitting a faint, yellowish light that could barely illuminate a range of three to five steps at their feet.

The surface of the stone steps was covered with a thick layer of dust, and beneath the dust were faint patterns, resembling some kind of ancient Formation array.

Shen Xiao crouched down and used his finger to gently scrape away a patch of dust, revealing the patterns underneath.

Those patterns were very fine, with smooth lines, and every stroke looked as if it had been carved under the guidance of some specific spiritual power, carrying a subtle sense of rhythm.

He looked at them for a few seconds, his brows slightly furrowed.

This was not an ordinary defensive rune.

This was a "Bloodline Lock," an extremely ancient Restriction technique that would identify the Bloodline aura of whoever entered. If one was not the holder of the specific Bloodline, forcing one's way in would instantly activate it, triggering a preset curse.

But the problem was, this Bloodline Lock had already failed.

It wasn't broken by force, but rather, because too much time had passed, the spiritual power core that maintained the Formation's operation had dried up, causing the entire Restriction System to collapse on its own, leaving only an empty shell.

In other words, the space behind this door once belonged to some extremely powerful entity, but that entity had at least left, or died, over a thousand years ago.

"Where is this?"

Xia Lengbai's voice came from behind him, carrying a trace of weakness and vigilance.

"I don't know."

Shen Xiao stood up and brushed the dust off his hands, "But at least it's safer than outside."

He looked back in the direction of the stone door.

The door did not close automatically; instead, it seemed to be stuck, stopping halfway open, revealing a pitch-black gap.

Through the gap, one could hear the faint sounds of collapse and some kind of sharp screeching coming from afar; those were the movements of the Yao Race patrol team clearing the ruins and searching for survivors.

They were pursuing quickly.

Shen Xiao withdrew his gaze and turned to walk down the stone steps.

Xia Lengbai followed behind him, her steps somewhat unsteady.

Her spiritual power was indeed exhausted; now, even maintaining her body temperature had become difficult. The cold air from the stone steps surged up through the soles of her shoes, making her knees start to tremble.

But she did not call for a stop.

Because she knew Shen Xiao would not stop to wait for her.

They walked along the stone steps for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and the steps finally reached their end, with the view suddenly opening up before them.

It was a massive underground space, at least a hundred zhang in circumference, with the ceiling about three zhang high from the ground. The entire space was circular, and the floor was paved with neat bluestone slabs.

Every stone slab was engraved with dense, packed runes, and the runes were connected by silver lines, forming a huge network.

In the center of the space stood a pitch-black stone pillar, about as thick as two people could embrace.

The surface of the stone pillar had no runes and no decorative objects; it was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting a faint light.

Shen Xiao walked to the stone pillar and reached out to touch its surface.

The touch was ice-cold, not like stone, but more like some kind of metal.

His fingertips tapped lightly on the surface of the stone pillar, emitting a dull "thump-thump" sound, as if it were hollow inside.

"There is something here."

Xia Lengbai stood a few steps away, wrapping her torn outer robe tightly around herself, looking at that stone pillar with a complex expression in her eyes.

"What exactly do you intend to do?"

"First, dodge the pursuit, then figure out a way to get out."

Shen Xiao turned around, leaning against the stone pillar, his gaze landing on Xia Lengbai, "But before that, I must ensure you won't stab me in the back."

Hearing this, Xia Lengbai twitched the corner of her mouth.

"I don't even have any spiritual power left now, what would I use to stab you?"

"Spiritual power might be gone, but your brain is still there. Your brain is much more dangerous than spiritual power."

Shen Xiao's tone was very flat, as if he were stating a fact, "However, rest assured, I don't intend to do anything to you. I said it before, you are a hostage. A hostage only has value if they are alive."

He fished out a Medicinal Pill the size of a soybean from his bosom and held it between his fingertips.

"Open your mouth."

Xia Lengbai's pupils constricted, "What are you going to make me eat?"

"A medicine to lock onto your spiritual power fluctuations."

Shen Xiao had no intention of hiding anything, his tone so candid it didn't sound like he was poisoning her, "Within three days, any spiritual power you recover will be tracked by me. As long as you don't act recklessly, the effect of the medicine will naturally disappear after three days; you take your high road, and I'll take my low road."

Xia Lengbai stared at that Medicinal Pill for three seconds.

She had no choice.

Xia Lengbai opened her mouth slightly.

Shen Xiao flicked the Medicinal Pill into her mouth, pressed lightly on her throat with his fingertip, and helped her swallow it.

The whole process was clean and neat, without any unnecessary contact.

The moment the Medicinal Pill entered her mouth, Xia Lengbai felt a stream of warm Qi slide down her throat into her Dantian, then rapidly condense at her Dantian into a tiny, ice-cold sphere, like a stone sinking to the bottom of a lake.

She could feel that sphere slowly rotating; with every revolution, it would release a trace of faint aura that merged into her spiritual power circulation.

A tracking mark.

Shen Xiao was telling the truth.

Xia Lengbai took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in her heart, and looked up at Shen Xiao.

"What do you plan to do next?"

"Wait."

Shen Xiao sat down against the stone pillar and closed his eyes, "Wait for the people outside to think we've run away, wait for their focus of the search to shift elsewhere, wait for them to let down their guard."

"Then what if they search their way here?"

"Then we fight."

Shen Xiao opened one eye and glanced at her, "Anyway, since you are in my hands, Lin Yun won't dare to act rashly."

Hearing this, Xia Lengbai was silent for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.

"You are really confident."

"It's not confidence."

Shen Xiao closed his eyes again, "It's calculation. Lin Yun is an extremely arrogant person; he cannot accept that the woman he has his eyes on is snatched away by someone else. As long as you are in my hands, he will be afraid to act against me."

Xia Lengbai did not refute this.

Because she knew Shen Xiao was right.

Lin Yun was indeed that kind of person.

She leaned against another stone pillar, curled up her legs, hugged her knees, and let her gaze fall upon the dense, packed runes on the ground, saying nothing more.

The cave fell into silence.

Only the occasional sound of collapse from afar proved that the outside world was still crumbling.

About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense later, Shen Xiao suddenly opened his eyes.

He stood up, walked to the other side of the stone pillar, crouched down, and pressed his palm against the ground.

The touch of that bluestone slab was different from the other slabs.

Although it looked completely identical on the surface, when his palm pressed against it, he could feel an extremely faint vibration—as if something was flowing beneath the stone slab.

"What's wrong?"

Xia Lengbai raised her head alertly.

"There is something underneath."

As Shen Xiao said this, he drew the short sword from his waist, inserted the tip of the sword into the gap at the edge of the stone slab, and pried it with force.

The stone slab did not budge.

He tried again, but there was still no reaction.

Watching him busy himself, Xia Lengbai couldn't help but speak, "Do you think that every time a strange place appears, there must be some treasure buried underneath?"

"It's not what I think."

Shen Xiao didn't look back, "It's because your Child of Destiny has read too many novels; every ruin has hidden treasures, that's the basic setting."

Xia Lengbai was stunned for two seconds, "...Did you just say 'your Child of Destiny has read too many novels'?"

"I misspoke."

Shen Xiao brushed it off with a casual remark, continuing to tinker with the short sword in his hands. Finally, he found a loose gap at the edge of the stone slab, pried it with force, and a corner of the slab was lifted.

He reached out to hook that corner and flipped it up with a sudden force.

The stone slab was flipped over completely.

Revealing a half-foot deep groove underneath, inside which lay a white jade box the size of a palm.

The surface of the box was as smooth as jade, without any patterns or any locking mechanisms. It looked like a complete, solid piece of white jade, seamless and tight, and one couldn't even find a gap to open it.

Shen Xiao picked up the box and looked at it over and over again.

He couldn't find a keyhole, couldn't find a rune lock, and there wasn't even a gap.

It was as if a whole piece of white jade had been carved into the shape of a box, but no opening had been left at all.

"It won't open."

He said truthfully.

Xia Lengbai leaned over to take a look and reached out a finger to point at an extremely tiny mark on the bottom of the box.

That mark was only the size of a grain of rice, impossible to discover without careful observation; it was a curved line, like a flattened snake.

Xia Lengbai's expression changed.

"This is the private seal of the Yao Emperor."

Shen Xiao looked up at her.

"Are you sure?"

"I have seen this mark before in an ancient book of the Yao Race."

Xia Lengbai's voice became somewhat grave, "This is the mark of the direct personal guards of the Yao Emperor; every item bearing this mark belongs to the Yao Emperor personally."

Shen Xiao looked at the white jade box in his hand and was silent for two seconds.

Then he laughed.

"This just got more interesting."

He stuffed the white jade box into his bosom, covered the stone slab back to its original position, stood up, and clapped his hands.

"Let's go, we've rested enough."

"Where to?"

"Find the exit."

Shen Xiao said as he walked toward the other side of the underground space, "By the way, let's scavenge for some more leftovers in the Yao Emperor's treasure vault."

He hadn't walked many steps before a sharp, long howl suddenly came from the stone step passage behind him.

That sound pierced through the thick rock layers and clearly reached their ears.

The Yao Race patrol team had searched their way here.

Shen Xiao's footsteps paused; he looked back at the direction of the passage, then looked at another stone door vaguely visible in the darkness ahead.

He grabbed Xia Lengbai's wrist, "Run."

The two of them rushed toward that stone door.