Chapter 445: How beautiful!

"This… this… this…" Xiao Ningyuan looked at the scene before him, only feeling his scalp go numb and his tongue tied up, "This is clearly a Lost Soul Formation!"

"They deliberately made so many doors, obviously to hide the real one!"

A young guard swallowed and said, "Or… we could chip them open one by one and try the key?"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi shook their heads at the same time.

Xiao Er said, "Just now, the two of us working together chipped open that small piece of ice, and it took that much effort."

"To chip all these hundreds of doors out of the ice? We'd probably be chipping until next spring and still not find the real one."

"What do we do?" the guards looked at each other.

"Find it!" Xiao Ningyuan took a deep breath, "The real cannot be faked, the fake cannot be real! The treasure's door must be in there!"

"Everyone, widen your eyes and look carefully! Which door is different from the others? Find the flaw, then chip it!"

Everyone immediately sprang into action, holding torches, walking back and forth in front of the ice wall.

Each stretched their necks, squinting, wishing they could press their faces against the ice.

"This one! This one has a scratch on it!"

The crowd swarmed over, took a close look, and that "scratch" was merely a natural ice crack inside the ice layer extending, coincidentally intersecting the door-shaped shadow.

"That one! There's a notch on the handle!"

Everyone gathered again to look closely, but there was no notch—just a dark impurity in the ice that happened to lie on the handle.

"Here! There's a black dot on the door frame! Very conspicuous!"

Xiao Ningyuan's spirits lifted, he hurried over, leaned in and stared for a while, then slapped his own forehead in frustration—just a dust particle that had been frozen who knows how many years.

The guards felt a bit embarrassed, dared not make random guesses any longer, and continued to examine more carefully.

The torchlight flickered, shadows swayed, and the door silhouettes deep in the ice layer swayed along with them.

Everyone walked around, only Tuan Tuan, being too small, couldn't reach the doors even on tiptoe, so she simply stood still in place.

She watched the adults walk back and forth before her eyes, making her head spin,

She simply squatted on the ground, propping her chin, and watched everyone.

As she watched, her face showed puzzlement; she stretched out her little finger and pointed at one of the doors: "This door is really weird!"

"What's wrong, Tuan Tuan?" Xiao Ningyuan immediately turned his head.

Tuan Tuan tilted her little head: "When you walk back and forth, those doors sway with the torchlight, flickering. But this one just stays still!"

Everyone was first stunned, then quickly rushed to the door Tuan Tuan pointed at.

Xiao Er held up his torch, pressed it close to the ice, and moved it slowly.

Sure enough! The other doors, as the torchlight moved, had their outlines distorted and shifted, like reflections in water being slightly stirred.

Only the door Tuan Tuan pointed to, no matter how the torchlight moved, its edges remained clear and steady!

"This door is real!" Lu Qi shouted low, his eyes flashing, "The others must be multiple illusions produced by light passing through the ice!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ningyuan instantly understood: "Ah, that's it—chip it open!"

Everyone took turns wielding ice picks and waist swords; after two or three incense sticks' worth of time, a large chunk of ice broke off from the ice wall.

A heavy, dark-colored door of unknown material suddenly appeared in the ice wall.

Tuan Tuan happily clapped her little hands: "Found it! Found it!"

Xiao Er took a deep breath, produced the bronze key he had gone to great lengths to obtain, and inserted it into the keyhole.

The key's teeth fit the lock perfectly; a light push and it slid all the way in.

It could be inserted!

Everyone couldn't help but hold their breath.

Xiao Er exerted force with his wrist, trying to turn it to the right, but it didn't budge; he tried the opposite direction, still no movement.

He applied a bit more force, yet the key remained stuck in the lock, refusing to turn even a fraction.

"Let me try!" Lu Qi stepped forward, focused his energy, tried again, but it was the same.

The guards took turns stepping up, but the key was as if welded into the lock.

No one dared to use brute force, fearing the sole key might break inside.

Xiao Ningyuan looked at this door, tantalizingly close yet out of reach, glanced at his sister's little face, and felt a stir in his heart.

He squatted down, picked up Tuan Tuan, walked to the door, and said, "Be good, you try."

"Okay!"

Xiao Ningyuan spoke gently, "Just like they did, give it a gentle twist."

Tuan Tuan reached out her little hand, gripped it, gave a casual twist, and a faint light flashed quickly across the key's handle as it slipped into her hand.

"Click."

A clear, pleasant mechanical click rang out, audible to everyone.

Then, the door that had left the masters helpless, slid inward slowly, opening a gap.

"Sss—"

A more humid breath surged out from that gap, releasing a wisp of white mist.

Several people quickly stepped back a few paces to avoid the mist.

Tuan Tuan flung her arms around her brother's neck and shouted, "It's open! Big brother, I opened it!"

Xiao Ningyuan kissed her: "Tuan Tuan, you're the best!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi stepped forward, together pushed the door fully open, and led the way inside.

Everyone filed in, and the sight inside left them all stunned.

Tuan Tuan was overjoyed: "Wow! It's warmer in here! How beautiful!"

Behind the door was a cavern; in the center, a pool of clear water bubbled gently, giving off fine bubbles, steaming up silky white mist, and warm water vapor washed over their faces.

The people who had just walked in from the icy cold, for a moment, all didn't know where they were.

Even more astonishing, on the moist land beside the pond, patches of tender green grass actually grew!

Besides the pond, there was also a wide, level long stone platform; on it, neatly stacked were over ten boxes.

Xiao Er quickly stepped forward, opened one, reached in and took out a piece of clothing that shone with a silvery-gray luster.

Xiao Ningyuan exclaimed in surprise, 'Clothing? What kind of treasure is this?'

Lu Qi lifted each box lid in turn: 'They're all the same! All of this stuff!'

When he opened the last box, he took out a sheet of paper, unfolded it, and read it aloud:

"Mysterious Ice Black Silk, spit of a rare silkworm species, combined with the essence of Northern Sea sunk iron, forged through a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements."

"As thin as light silk, tougher than profound iron, impervious to water and fire, blades and spears cannot penetrate."

"There are three thousand pieces in total; wearing them makes one the vanguard of ten thousand troops, able to repel a thousand troops."

Xiao Ningyuan's heart jolted; he set his sister down, rushed over, picked up one, and felt it extremely light in hand, with a slightly cool, smooth feel.

He pulled hard on it several times; it was extraordinarily tough, not a thread moved.

A guard's voice trembled: 'Armor! It's treasure armor!'

Xiao Ningyuan murmured: 'Blades and spears cannot penetrate… vanguard of ten thousand troops.'

This is no ordinary treasure; it is a weapon capable of changing the tide of battle!

Tuan Tuan ran over, touched the item in big brother's hand, and said: 'Big brother, is this clothing really that powerful?'

Xiao Ningyuan nodded: 'Yes! Very powerful!'

Tuan Tuan looked up at him with her little face: 'Since it's that powerful, wearing it means you won't get hurt—big brother, you should put it on now, okay?'

'Uncle Er, Uncle Qi, you should wear them too! There are so many here—everyone put one on!'

Xiao Ningxun nodded: 'Tuan Tuan is right! Come on! One each! Everyone put them on!'

The guards, hearing this, were both startled and delighted:

"We, we can also wear this treasure armor?"

"Blades and spears cannot penetrate!"

"This armor, how many brothers' lives could it save!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi exchanged a glance: 'Miss, how wonderful you are!'

Everyone took off their outer garments and put on the precious black silk soft armor.

"The princess truly is our lucky star!"

"Yes! Without the princess, how could we have found such a treasure!"

"Exactly! This is all thanks to the princess!"

Everyone chattered excitedly, praising Tuan Tuan from the heart.

Tuan Tuan, feeling a bit embarrassed from everyone's praise, ran off to the side to look at the small grass.

Xiao Ningyuan made a quick decision: 'Forget the boxes! These black silk soft armors are thin and soft—roll them all up! Take everything with us! Then find a way out!'

"Yes!"