Chapter 601: Traps
The arrival of the Happy Group instantly made the atmosphere in the front hall tense. Although the relationship between the leaders of both sides was relatively harmonious, Xiao Bei, Wu Kuo, and the others were quite cunning. Especially after learning that many gangs were also eyeing the Heavenly Demon Secret Cavern due to the Mu Family’s actions and even planning to claim a share of it, Xiao Bei had no intention of being friendly toward the Xifeng Tower. Standing aside surrounded by dark mist, he scanned the six members of the Shadow Team with cold eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
Although the Xifeng Tower group had spoken casually earlier, they still felt a bit nervous when facing the six top experts from the Mu Family. Not to mention Happy, who had officially won first place in the martial arts tournament, even just Silver Fox and Wind Bell—two formidable foes—were enough to easily defeat them all. Moreover, there was also the unfriendly-looking Marquis of Thousand Poisons and Marquis of Wind Travel by their side…
“Thank you for your concern, Happy. The Shadow Team is fine. It’s just that the Heroic Villa has always remembered the grace and dignity of the world’s number one expert. It’s very gratifying to have the chance to see them again now.”
“Hehe.”
Happy carefully observed the graceful “Shadow” before him—the “Queen of Shadows” whose reputation in her past life was on par with Meng Yun’s. With a loud smile, he replied politely, not daring to show any neglect: “I also greatly admire the elegance of the leader of the Shadow Team…”
“By the way,” Happy said, changing his tone, “the leader of the Shadow Team, you came to the Heavenly Demon Sect this time also for the Heavenly Demon Secret Cavern, right?”
“Please forgive my ignorance. I heard rumors that the Heavenly Demon Sect hides a great secret. Out of curiosity, I brought a few friends to investigate. But after searching for a long time, we still haven’t found a way to activate the Heavenly Demon Secret Cavern… I heard from friends outside that you’ve arrived, so I planned to join you in your efforts.” After a pause, she asked anxiously, “Will our joining cause any trouble to the Mu Family?”
Happy smiled.
Of course, he wouldn’t think that a simple mechanism at the entrance to the Heavenly Demon Secret Cavern could stump the cleverly renowned “Queen of Shadows.” Smiling, he said, “Once the Heavenly Demon Secret Cavern is opened, there will likely be many unpredictable situations. All we can do is protect ourselves. If the Master of the Shadow Building insists on exploring further, we have no objections. But at that time, we probably won’t be able to pay attention to anything else, as we estimate that the worst outcome could be encountering a being at the Mythical realm level, resulting in casualties…” Seeing the grim expressions on Wu Kuo and the others, Kai Xin paused briefly before continuing in his usual tone, “Additionally, my main reason for coming to the Heavenly Demon Secret Cavern this time is to rescue Hero Song Yuanqiao from Wudang. This might differ from the Master of the Shadow Building’s original intention for entering the cavern.”
“…”
Hearing Kai Xin’s words, which amounted to a refusal to accompany them, the Master of the Shadow Building’s expression changed slightly before returning to normal:
“I see. But it doesn’t matter. As long as we follow the experts from the Mu family, we should be safe. As for the Heavenly Demon Tokens needed for the entrance, we can contribute two.” She hadn’t expected that Kai Xin’s visit would be related to a rescue mission, nor had she expected him to be so open about its details.
“Since that’s the case, we’ll follow the Master of the Shadow Building’s lead.”
Kai Xin stopped trying to persuade them and gave orders in his usual tone, “Brother Yaoshi, you know quite a lot about mechanisms. Please help us quickly find the mechanism to activate the entrance…”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yaoshi Wanneng, who hadn’t paid any attention to the six people from the Shadow Building, had already scanned the hall. In a lazy tone, he said, “The entrance mechanism should be on the two dragon-carved stone pillars near the altar.”
With that single sentence, both parties’ attention shifted from the altar to the stone pillars.
“Stone pillars?”
Wu Kuo was stunned.
He couldn’t believe Yaoshi Wanneng had identified the mechanism right away, but he knew the man wouldn’t make random guesses. His gaze quickly swept over the ordinary-looking stone pillars.
Yaoshi Wanneng continued, “Out of the twelve dragon-carved stone pillars, only these two near the altar have flames in the fire pits that are relatively weak, making the light on the altar dim. Also, Heavenly Demon disciples often carry items like flint. So I guess throwing flint into the fire pits should activate the mechanism—or rather, help us find another real mechanism.”
A glint appeared in the Master of the Shadow Building’s eyes as she glanced at the disheveled middle-aged man before fixing her gaze on Kai Xin, whose expression remained calm.
Frowning slightly…
“You go take a look.”
The two men beside Wu Kuo searched for the trap for a long time. After Yao Shi Wanneng took a look around, he confidently revealed the secret of the trap. Unconvinced, the two of them leaped up like moles, stepping steadily on the dragon-carved stone pillars and reaching a height of over twenty meters in no time. Each of them threw a flint obtained from a disciple of the Demon Sect into the brazier.
Whoosh!!! The flames instantly soared several feet high! The altar became much brighter, and everyone present showed expressions of surprise. Soon, they noticed subtle changes in the four dharma figures on the altar…
Under the illumination of the flames, a small depression appeared at the waistband of each dharma figure’s main body. It seemed large enough to fit a Heavenly Demon Token inside.
“It’s out!” Wu Kuo from Xifeng Tower exclaimed in shock. He glanced at Yao Shi Wanneng in disbelief, a hint of admiration in his eyes. “Brother Yao Shi is truly remarkable. He truly deserves to be called a master of Miaoshou Gate.”
“Too kind,” Yao Shi Wanneng replied with a smile and a shrug. Then he leaped onto the altar, scanning the four dharma figures. His brows immediately furrowed as he stopped Wu Kuo from placing the Heavenly Demon Token on the dharma figures. “Wait!”
“What is it?” The serious expression on Yao Shi Wanneng’s face surprised the people from Xifeng Tower slightly.
Ignoring the reactions of Mei Ying and the others, he touched the dharma figures with his hand, his eyes flickering as if listening to something. Then his gaze shifted to the black iron gate dozens of meters away and the entrance… His expression was solemn and grave.
“What’s wrong?” Yin Hu, Xiao Bei, and the others also quickly noticed Yao Shi Wanneng’s abnormality and asked, “Is something wrong?”
Mei Ying also stared at Yao Shi Wanneng, knowing he must have noticed something.
Yet none of the people present noticed the pleased and surprised expression that appeared on his face as he grew increasingly serious.
After listening for a while, Yao Shi Wanneng suddenly spoke in a grave tone, “Four keys.”
“…”
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
They knew Yao Shi Wanneng must be referring to the four Heavenly Demon Tokens. But his next words made everyone’s expressions even more solemn.
He continued, “Four keys, each corresponding to an independent trap, yet they must all be triggered simultaneously to activate it. What a strange trap… If multiple keys are needed to open the Heavenly Demon Cave, why are they separate? It doesn’t seem like trap keys at all… It’s more like a trap in itself.”