355: Stone Gate

Su Han and Bi Yao stood before the massive door carved from a single piece of obsidian, the air around them seemingly frozen.

Under the illumination of the eerie green flames, the spiral relief carvings on the stone door's surface seemed to flow slowly, emanating a mysterious and ancient aura.

Su Han reached out and gently touched the carvings; his fingertips felt cold and rough. He observed them carefully, trying to find a clue to open the stone door.

Bi Yao followed closely behind Su Han, her gaze also fixed on the stone door, her eyes filled with tension and curiosity.

"Su Han, this door looks so heavy, how are we going to open it?"

Her voice trembled slightly, exceptionally clear in the silent space.

Su Han didn't answer immediately. He walked around the stone door and found a bronze statue taller than a person on each side of it.

The statues had bizarre shapes, distorted faces, and their bodies were in a peculiar twisted posture, with their hands extended forward, palms facing each other, as if holding something up.

Su Han approached the statues and found a circular indentation in the palm of each. The inside of the indentations was filled with tiny and complex patterns, like some kind of mysterious code.

"Bi Yao, look at these two statues."

Su Han pointed at the statues and said to Bi Yao, "The indentations and patterns in these palms might be related to opening the stone door.

Although the runes we saw in the hall exploded, their lingering influence might be connected to this stone door."

Bi Yao also walked over, carefully examining the statues, and suddenly said, "Su Han, I feel like these two statues are responding to something, as if some invisible force is pulling them."

Su Han's heart stirred. He remembered the tremor from the stone wall when he touched the metal object earlier, and the voice that echoed in his mind.

Perhaps this stone door also requires a specific trigger method, just like interacting with the star map using the stone.

He took out the stone he had found earlier from his pocket. The patterns on the stone's surface were still clear, corresponding with the patterns on the star map.

Su Han held the stone above the indentation in the palm of one of the statues. As the stone approached the indentation, the patterns inside the indentation suddenly lit up with a faint blue light. Immediately after, the stone door emitted a muffled roar, seemingly starting to move slowly.

Su Han and Bi Yao exchanged a surprised glance, and then Su Han slowly placed the stone into the indentation.

Instantly, the entire stone door was enveloped in a faint blue light. The spiral relief carvings on the door began to rotate rapidly, emitting a sharp grinding sound.

However, the stone door only vibrated a few times before stopping again.

Su Han frowned, realizing that another similar "key" might be needed.

Bi Yao searched carefully around the area. Suddenly, she noticed a slightly raised stone slab at the bottom of the stone door, with some blurred patterns carved on it.

She squatted down and pushed the stone slab forcefully. The slab moved slowly, revealing a hidden compartment underneath.

In the hidden compartment lay a faintly glowing crystal. The crystal was similar in shape to the stone, and its surface also bore strange patterns.

Bi Yao picked up the crystal and handed it to Su Han. Su Han placed the crystal into the indentation in the palm of the other statue.

In an instant, a brilliant blue light erupted from around both statues. The lights intertwined, forming a bridge of light connecting them.

The stone door roared again. This time, it slowly rose, and an old and mysterious aura rushed out.

Behind the door was a long passage. The walls of the passage were inlaid with glowing gems, illuminating the passage brightly.

There was a statue every so often on both sides of the passage. The statues had peculiar shapes; some were humanoid but had animal heads;

others were combinations of various strange creatures. Each statue was lifelike, as if narrating ancient stories.

Su Han and Bi Yao cautiously walked into the passage. Their footsteps echoed in the passage, making it feel especially empty.

Bi Yao's gaze was drawn to a statue. It was a female statue with a gentle face but a pair of massive wings. The feathers on the wings were carved extremely delicately, as if they would fall off with a light touch.

"Su Han, look at this statue, she is so beautiful."

Bi Yao said softly, her eyes filled with awe.