56: Ancient Temple Key

The scorching heat of the desert seemed to have been dispelled somewhat by the earth-shattering battle that just occurred; the air still carried the void-like sensation after a Soul's annihilation and the heart-palpitating Saber Intent of destruction.

Above the yellow sand, where Protector Wu fell, only a particularly desolate area remained, where even the sand grains seemed to have lost their vitality.

Li Ao withdrew the finger he had placed on Medusa's forehead, and sensing her internal Qi gradually stabilizing, he said no more.

His gaze turned towards the depths of the ancient ruins, half-buried behind yellow sand and crumbling walls.

There, lay something the Hall of Souls coveted enough to dispatch a Protector for—a part of the so-called “key.”

Medusa struggled to get up; although her injuries were still severe, the life-infused energy Li Ao had transfused temporarily suppressed her wounds, restoring some mobility.

She watched Li Ao's retreating figure as he walked towards the ruins, a flicker of light in her seven-colored eyes, and instructed Elder Yin Shi and the others, “You all heal your injuries and stand guard here.”

Immediately, she forced a breath and followed Li Ao's steps.

Elder Yin Shi and the others respectfully obeyed, their gazes towards Li Ao filled with awe and gratitude.

They knew that if this mysterious Senior had not arrived in time today, the Snake-People Clan would likely have been doomed.

The interior of the ruins was even more magnificent and dilapidated than it appeared from the outside.

Giant stone pillars lay toppled, the ancient snake-shaped totems carved upon them mostly smoothed by wind and sand, yet a desolate and ancient aura could still be felt.

Passing through a collapsed palace, the two arrived before a tightly sealed giant door made of some dark, heavy metal.

The giant door was ten zhang tall, cold to the touch, and carved with a complex mural: a massive seven-colored python coiled in the clouds, its snake eyes overlooking the earth with an imposing majesty befitting a ruler.

At the center of the coiled python was a peculiar, irregularly shaped groove, seemingly requiring a specific item to open.

“This is one of our Snake-People Clan's lost ancestral lands, and the altar behind this door enshrines a sacred relic left by our ancestors,” Medusa said, walking to the door, her voice carrying a hint of weakness, yet maintaining her queenly demeanor.

“According to the ancient texts remaining within the clan, that sacred relic seems to be related to an ancient secret.

The ‘key’ the Hall of Souls spoke of is probably it.”

Li Ao surveyed the metal giant door and the groove on it, his Soul Power extending out, sensing the faint fluctuations emanating from behind the door.

It was an extremely subtle energy, yet it carried a certain spatial rhythm.

“How is it opened?” he asked.

Medusa's face showed a hint of difficulty: “The method of opening has long been lost.

Successive queens have tried various methods, including Bloodline Power, all without success.

This door seems to require a specific ‘token,’ rather than mere power or Bloodline.”

Li Ao approached the giant door and reached out to touch the cold metal.

The touch was not purely hard; instead, it had a peculiar resilience.

He tried to push it, but the giant door remained motionless, as if integrated with the entire mountain.

His gaze fell on the groove on the door, and his heart stirred.

The Hall of Souls going to such great lengths must have a reason.

Perhaps they knew the opening method, or... possessed the so-called “token”?

He recalled the information obtained from Soul-searching in the Soul Burial Ravine, and Protector Wu's dying words.

The Hall of Souls was searching for three parts of a “key” to open a certain “door” and summon the so-called “Sub-Hall Venerables.”

The one here with the Snake-People Clan was one part of it.

“Token...” Li Ao pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of something.

With a thought, he retrieved an item from his storage ring.

It was an inconspicuous black bone fragment, scoured from the three Hall of Souls envoys in the Soul Burial Ravine.

The bone fragment was only palm-sized, neither metal nor jade in texture, with irregular serrated edges, and its surface was engraved with twisted, eerie runes consistent with the Hall of Souls' style.

At the time, he hadn't paid much attention, simply assuming it was an identity token for Hall of Souls members or some kind of consumable.

Now, he took out this black bone fragment and compared it to the groove on the giant door.

The shape... seemed... faintly to fit?

Medusa also noticed the bone fragment in his hand, a hint of surprise flashing in her seven-colored eyes.

Li Ao injected Soul Power into the black bone fragment; the eerie runes on the fragment lit up slightly, emitting weak spatial fluctuations.

He tried to bring the bone fragment closer to the groove on the door.

Just as the bone fragment was about to touch the groove—

“Buzz!”

The black bone fragment and the metal giant door vibrated simultaneously!

The runes on the bone fragment shone brightly, and the groove on the giant door also generated a powerful suction force!

“Click.”

With a soft sound, the black bone fragment perfectly embedded itself into the groove!

As if it had always been a part of this giant door!

Immediately following, the entire metal giant door began to emit a hazy, faint glow, and the totem of the seven-colored python on the door seemed to come alive, with two points of crimson light illuminating its snake eyes!

An ancient and vast pressure slowly permeated from the door!

“It succeeded?!” Medusa's beautiful eyes could not hide her shock.

The ancestral land door that had troubled the Snake-People Clan for countless years was actually opened by Li Ao using a bone fragment obtained from a Hall of Souls member?!

Li Ao's expression was solemn; he pulled Medusa back a little.

He felt that the subtle spatial fluctuations behind the door were rapidly intensifying!

“Rumble...”

A heavy grinding sound echoed as the metal giant door, sealed for untold years, slowly opened inwards, revealing a deep, dark passage behind it.

A purer, more ancient and desolate aura, accompanied by a rich energy mist, surged forth from behind the door!

The door opened!

Li Ao and Medusa exchanged glances, both seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes.

Behind the door lay the ancestral altar of the Snake-People Clan, and the “key” component coveted by the Hall of Souls!

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Ao stepped forward first, entering the deep passage.

Medusa followed closely behind.

The passage was not long; its end led to a spacious underground area.

At the center of the space was a circular altar made of white jade.

Above the altar, a crystal about the size of a fist, entirely displaying a deep, seven-colored flowing light, floated!

Inside the crystal, countless tiny spaces seemed to be constantly forming and perishing, emitting strong and stable spatial fluctuations!

It was this seven-colored crystal whose emitted energy subtly echoed the chaotic spatial node that was attempting to be stabilized in the Soul Burial Ravine!

“This is... our clan's lost sacred relic, the ‘void-luminous seven-colored crystal’!” Medusa looked at the crystal, her voice tinged with excitement and sudden realization.

“So, it is a part of the ‘key’!”

Li Ao's gaze, however, fell below the altar.

There, lay several desiccated skeletons, weathered by untold years; from their bone structure, they appeared to be ancestors of the Snake-People Clan.

And beside these skeletons, there was a relatively “fresher” skeleton, clad in black robes!

Its bones presented a grayish, withered color, clearly indicating death by some corrosive force, with the time of death not exceeding a hundred years.

“It seems the Hall of Souls sent people here long ago, attempting to seize this ‘void-luminous seven-colored crystal,’ but they failed,” Li Ao said coldly, looking at the black-robed skeleton.

This might also explain why Protector Wu had the “token” bone fragment to open the door.

His attention quickly returned to the “void-luminous seven-colored crystal.”

The spatial power contained within this crystal was extremely pure and vast; if he could refine and absorb it, it might bring immeasurable benefits to his comprehension of space and even the next stage of his Black Iron Hegemon Body Cultivation.

Moreover, this was crucial to thwarting the Hall of Souls' plan!

Just as he was about to step forward to take the crystal—

“Buzz!”

The floating “void-luminous seven-colored crystal” seemed to sense the approach of a stranger, suddenly erupting with intense seven-colored light!

A defiant will, mixed with vast spatial power, surged towards Li Ao like a tide!

At the same time, ancient runes also lit up on the jade stones around the altar, forming a protective light barrier!

This sacred relic possessed its own sentience, repelling outsiders!

Seeing this, Medusa stepped forward, attempting to communicate with her aura as the Snake-People Clan's queen.

The resistance of the seven-colored light seemed to weaken slightly, but it remained strong.

Li Ao's eyes turned cold.

He had no time to slowly dawdle here.

“A mere inanimate object, daring to obstruct me?”

He joined his fingers like a saber, dark golden fingertips encircled by silvery-gray Qi of destruction, and lightly slashed at the protective light barrier.

“Ch—!”

The protective light barrier, like butter cut by a hot knife, emitted a soft sound, and an opening instantly appeared!

The surging spatial power, upon contact with the Qi of destruction, also melted like ice and snow, unable to approach Li Ao in the slightest!

He took a step, passed through the opening in the light barrier, and his palm directly grasped the “void-luminous seven-colored crystal,” which was violently trembling and emitting dazzling light!

Just as his palm touched the crystal, another anomaly occurred!

The crystal suddenly trembled, and a massive stream of information, mixed with fragmented images, forcibly flooded into Li Ao's mind!

It was a boundless void space... three gigantic, heaven-and-earth-spanning phantom “doors”...

The outline of one of the “doors” subtly overlapped with the chaotic spatial node in the Soul Burial Ravine...

The other two, one seemed to be located in a more distant and unknown region, and the last one... actually vaguely pointed towards the Jia Ma Empire, even bearing a somewhat blurry resemblance to the outline of Yun Lan Mountain?!

At the same time, an ancient, majestic will, imbued with endless sorrow and warning, exploded in the depths of his Soul:

“Gather the three keys, and the Heaven's Gate will open... Fortune or calamity?! Guardian... or destruction... Future one... be cautious!!!”

The information flow abruptly ceased.

Li Ao held the “void-luminous seven-colored crystal,” which had now become docile and its light contained, standing still with a furrowed brow.

Three keys, three doors?

One of them might be in the Cloud Mist Sect?!

Was the Hall of Souls' so-called summoning of “Sub-Hall Venerables” meant to open the “door” near the Cloud Mist Sect?

This sudden information cast a more enigmatic and dangerous shadow over the entire event.

He put away the “void-luminous seven-colored crystal” and turned to look at Medusa.

“We should leave.”

The turmoil in the desert temporarily subsided, but the true core of the storm seemed to be quietly gathering in Jia Ma Holy City, on Yun Lan Mountain, which pierced the clouds.

And tomorrow would be the day Xiao Yan ascended the Cloud Mist Sect to fulfill the Three-Year Agreement!

Li Ao looked up, his gaze seeming to penetrate the thick rock layers, looking towards the Jia Ma Empire.

Perhaps, it was time to return, to meet that “old acquaintance” Yun Shan, and... to see with his own eyes what that so-called “door” truly was!

The threads of fate, between the desert and the Holy City, once again intertwined tightly.