Ye Tiancheng's reasoning held some truth, putting both Nuwa Stone and the Great Green Snake at ease. It seemed this was Ye Tiancheng's only trip. Once the Fuxi Qin fragments were taken, no one else would likely venture here.
"Alright, let's move forward quickly. This place is not meant for lingering."
The moment Ye Tiancheng stepped through the large door, he triggered some mechanism. His feet felt a slight tremor, and then green gas visibly drifted from all directions. Ye Tiancheng knew with his toes that the green gas was definitely not good stuff; it was most likely poison gas.
"Ye Tiancheng, hold your breath quickly! Poison gas is coming!"
The Great Green Snake and Nuwa Stone, in rare agreement, spoke in unison, fearing Ye Tiancheng would be directly poisoned.
"You two are talking without any pain! Hurry up and block it for me. I'm just a mortal body; I can't breathe this stuff."
Nuwa Stone then realized she had this ability. She had been too anxious, forgetting to use it.
"Oh, right, I can make you immune to all poisons. I was too anxious just now, my consciousness was chaotic and carried away by the Great Green Snake, shouting along with him."
"Hurry up! Ye Tiancheng will inhale the poison gas any second now, and you still have time to blame me, you stinking rock."
Before Nuwa Stone could act, she exchanged a few more words with the Great Green Snake. These two bickered incessantly on their journey, and Ye Tiancheng was accustomed to it, letting them argue as long as he didn't inhale the poison gas.
Nuwa Stone successfully shielded him from the poison gas, and Ye Tiancheng continued forward. There were more skeletons underfoot. This time, the skeletons were much less corroded than before. It seemed the trickling stream water flowing underfoot earlier did have a corrosive effect, while the corpses in this mechanism chamber were likely all poisoned to death. Without encountering the corrosive stream water, the corrosion speed was much slower.
"Today is truly unlucky. The number of skeletons I've seen today is more than I've seen in the entire year. All sorts of skeletons. I don't know where these people got their courage. If their abilities aren't good enough, they should just stay home. Instead, they come out to embarrass themselves, not getting any treasures and losing their lives. How pitiful."
Regarding this, Nuwa Stone had something to say: "Ye Tiancheng, you don't need to pity them. These people are blinded by greed and have a poor understanding of their own abilities. They even wanted to seize the Nuwa Stone. The outcome is entirely their own doing; they have no one to blame."
"You have a point. Truly, people die for wealth, and birds die for food. It's quite lamentable to see."
They were all once vibrant lives, yet they met their end here. For their families, it was also a considerable blow.
However, each of them wanted to obtain the Fuxi Qin fragments. Who could have stopped them? At that time, everyone thought they would be a peerless hero, never imagining they would be buried here. Their self-awareness was too lacking. Looking back, they probably deserved it.
With no time to dwell on them, Ye Tiancheng stepped over the skeletons and continued forward. He soon passed through the poison gas again and finally reached the side of a small door.
"It seems this is the final door. All the switches for the next secret chambers we encountered along the way were large iron doors. Only this one is so small, clearly indicating it's the final door."
Ye Tiancheng understood very well that when something is unusual, there's a demon. This meant he would soon reach the destination.
"Yes, so this door might not be opened with true qi. It probably requires some special mechanism."
The Great Green Snake's suggestion held no reference value for Ye Tiancheng. In his eyes, it just needed to be forcefully opened. Any door, no matter what mechanism it had, was man-made. Anything made could be broken.
"Ye Tiancheng, what are you doing? Still planning to use true qi?"
"Yes, I plan to use true qi. Just you wait and see, Great Green Snake. I can't be bothered to waste more effort on them; I'll just open it directly."
Ye Tiancheng could no longer restrain himself. He sat cross-legged on the ground and channeled his true qi, intending to open the final small door. However, this time, the Great Green Snake's prediction came true. Not only could Ye Tiancheng not open the small door directly, but he was also sent flying by a shockwave, almost falling to the ground.
At the critical moment, the Great Green Snake blocked the shockwave for Ye Tiancheng, keeping him safe for the time being.
"Great Green Snake, are you alright? Are you injured?"
He had not heeded the Great Green Snake's advice and instead caused the Great Green Snake to bear the shockwave. Ye Tiancheng naturally felt guilty and asked about the Great Green Snake's condition with great concern. The Great Green Snake looked calm.
"It's nothing. This shockwave is not a big deal for me. It's just that you need to be more steady in the future. These mechanisms are designed to deal with impatient people. You cannot fall into their trap."
It seemed he was still very immature. After this incident, Ye Tiancheng felt extremely embarrassed.
He had not listened to the Great Green Snake's advice and made a mistake. It seemed he should be more steady in the future and not do such embarrassing things.
"Okay, I'll listen to you. Then how do we unlock this door's mechanism? It feels like this door's mechanism isn't that easy to solve."
"Don't rush. Although this door likely took decades to build, incorporating various intricate instruments, it can even be considered a cultivator specifically designed to deal with cultivators. Using true qi might result in a backlash, which is the brilliance of this mechanism's design. Therefore, we must find a way to break it."
Ye Tiancheng approached and observed carefully. In front of the iron door, there was a small tray with a red dot in the center. Ye Tiancheng couldn't understand what this red dot meant.
"Stinking rock, Great Green Snake, it's up to you. My personal ability is limited; I really can't figure it out. Hurry up and help me think."
At this critical moment, Ye Tiancheng could only seek help from these two divine beings. His ability to reach this point was thanks to them. Ye Tiancheng still couldn't adapt to walking independently; having someone help was naturally better than not.
"Ye Tiancheng, you remember me at this moment, but I don't know what's going on either."
Nuwa Stone's tone was quite breathless, but after speaking, it was still useless, making Ye Tiancheng extremely angry. "Stinking rock, shut up. It seems I can only ask the Great Green Snake. You unreliable fellow, you have no idea how to help me solve this crisis."
Nuwa Stone obediently shut up. The Great Green Snake pondered for a long time before speaking, "I vaguely remember that there was a mechanism designed like this before. Blood needs to be dripped onto that red dot."
Hearing the Great Green Snake say this, Ye Tiancheng suddenly felt that it made sense. The ancestral hall was not safe at all now. Perhaps sensing the intrusion of outsiders, it had been shaking with a slight tremor.
The tremor was too small, only a slight swaying. It didn't affect standing on it, so it wasn't that terrifying. However, Ye Tiancheng had a feeling that the ancestral hall was about to collapse.
The more this was the case, the more anxious Ye Tiancheng became. He shouldn't delay. So, he quickly bit his index finger, dripped a drop of blood onto the red dot. However, contrary to Ye Tiancheng's expectation that the door would open, there was no reaction at all.
"Ye Tiancheng, I suspect your blood isn't right. It should be the blood of the Hou family."
If it were the Hou family, then it would be normal, as this was the Hou family's ancestral hall. It was very likely that this precious Fuxi Qin fragment was obtained by the Hou family. They certainly didn't want outsiders to snatch it. If it had to be snatched, it might as well be by their own descendants.
"Then I understand. It seems I need to bring Hou Mingzhu over."
"But this place is very dangerous. You can protect yourself, but you might not be able to protect someone else. I'm afraid Miss Hou will be in danger."
The Great Green Snake had always been relatively kind, unlike Nuwa Stone's slight wickedness. At this moment, its warning to Ye Tiancheng sounded as if Miss Hou was the Great Green Snake's fiancée, not Ye Tiancheng's.
"You stinking snake, why are you protecting that woman so much?"
Nuwa Stone seized the opportunity to attack the Great Green Snake and immediately questioned it.
"Alright, stop talking nonsense. I think this matter needs to be planned carefully. Ye Tiancheng should at least discuss it with Hou Mingzhu, inform her of the risks, and not take someone else's life to risk for his own matters. That's not right."
In fact, Ye Tiancheng also agreed with the Great Green Snake. It seemed impossible to break through now. True qi was definitely unusable. Neither Nuwa Stone nor the Great Green Snake had any way to break through this door. So, they had to go back and seek help from Hou Mingzhu.
Ye Tiancheng quickly returned. When he reached the outside of the ancestral hall, it was still dark. Although he had traveled a long distance, not much time had passed, only about an hour.
"Mingzhu, are you there? I also have something to ask for your help."
After hearing the Great Green Snake's words, Ye Tiancheng decided to be honest. Since he wanted Hou Mingzhu to venture with him, he should explain the actual situation clearly and not let Hou Mingzhu venture in a muddled state.
"Mingzhu, are you there?"
They had originally agreed to sleep in separate rooms, and Hou Mingzhu had her own room. However, when Ye Tiancheng went to call her, he couldn't find Hou Mingzhu in her room. This made Ye Tiancheng extremely anxious.
"Mingzhu, where are you?"
Ye Tiancheng called out several times without a response from Hou Mingzhu. In his anxiety, Ye Tiancheng almost forgot that he had the artifact for finding people, which he had obtained from Hou Mingzhu herself. Now, it was perfect for use.
Ye Tiancheng activated the artifact for finding people and quickly located Hou Mingzhu's position. Hou Mingzhu was not in her room at all but was wandering outside. Ye Tiancheng was extremely anxious and quickly found Hou Mingzhu.
"Hou Mingzhu, what are you doing? Wandering around in the middle of the night without sleeping? Do you know how dangerous this is?"
Ye Tiancheng was genuinely worried, so his tone sounded a bit harsh. It wasn't directed at Hou Mingzhu, but rather he was concerned that Hou Mingzhu might get into trouble.
"I'm sorry, Brother Ye. I couldn't find you. You were gone for so long, and I was worried something happened to you, so I came out to look for you. I shouldn't have acted on my own and made you worry."
Actually, Ye Tiancheng didn't need Hou Mingzhu's real apology. Seeing that Hou Mingzhu was fine, he felt relieved. Unknowingly, Hou Mingzhu had occupied a very important position in his heart. Ye Tiancheng didn't need to pretend this nervousness for others; these were his genuine thoughts. Perhaps Hou Mingzhu was no longer the same Hou Mingzhu, and Ye Tiancheng had also greatly changed his view of her.
"It's not a big deal that I was worried, but you must ensure your own safety. There are very few people in this old house, unlike at home where you have so many bodyguards protecting you. So, you must act cautiously. If you encounter any danger here, no one will protect you."