Chapter 1797

Ren Tianqing gave a strange, grating laugh and said: "She's dead, so what? You think I don't need to know the secret of the Skull? I'll give you a suggestion: hand over the key to me, and I can let Qin Yutong live a few more days, to be a doomed pair of lovebirds with you."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Even if I wanted to give it to you, do you dare come in and take it?" While he spoke, he searched for the source of the voice, but Ren Tianqing's voice seemed to come from all directions, making it hard to pinpoint his exact location.

Ren Tianqing said: "Follow the upper right corner of the square cauldron along the diagonal for seven steps, and you'll find a hole; the key is small, just toss it to me from inside the hole."

Hu Xiaotian followed Ren Tianqing's instructions and indeed found the hole he had described, about the size of a cup's mouth, likely for ventilation; escaping through such a tiny hole was utterly impossible. He kept holding Qin Yutong, refusing to let go even for a moment; Qin Yutong weakly curled against his chest and whispered: "Xiaotian… don't listen to him… he's utterly deceitful… completely without integrity."

Meizhuang also came forward and said: "You must absolutely not fall into his trap!" Ren Tianqing could counter anything he wanted; if we let him have everything he desired, we would have even less chance to escape. At this critical moment, Meizhuang instinctively stood beside Hu Xiaotian.

Ren Tianqing coldly said: "Junior sister, you're actually helping outsiders harm me?"

Meizhuang angrily said: "You still have the nerve to say that? When have you ever cared about my life or death?" At this critical moment, the senior and junior disciples completely turned against each other.

Ren Tianqing naturally wouldn't care about her life or death; he said in a gloomy tone: "Qin Yutong's physique is extraordinary; if I don't intervene to save her, she will surely die!" After a pause he added: "Do you want her to stay with you for three more hours, or three more days?" In Ren Tianqing's view, these people must die; the only difference is sooner or later.

Meizhuang suddenly threw a small ball into the hole; the ball rolled down with a gurgling sound, and only after a long while did we hear an explosion.

If this had happened in the past, Hu Xiaotian would surely have laughed out loud at the sight, but because he was worried about Qin Yutong's safety, he now had no mood to laugh, especially since they were still trapped by Ren Tianqing here.

Everything suddenly fell silent; after a while, threads of smoke rose from the hole, and Meizhuang's action indeed provoked Ren Tianqing's retaliation. Meizhuang went to Quan De'an's corpse, pulled off his clothes, and used them to plug the hole to keep smoke from entering the Stone Chamber, but her effort was in vain—smoke seeped in from every crack, and although the smoke spread wasn't fast, it would fill the entire Stone Chamber within an hour.

Hu Xiaotian reminded Qin Yutong to hold her breath; he had already learned the Breath-Holding Technique of the Feigning Death Dog from Xu Lingkong, so holding his breath for an hour would pose no problem, but he also worried that the smoke would corrode their bodies; both he and Meizhuang had protective armor, so the one with the weakest defense was actually Qin Yutong.

While Meizhuang was checking everywhere to block the gaps, Qin Yutong lowered her voice and said: "Don't worry, I'm fine; just rest a bit."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, seeing the smoke slowly entering the Stone Chamber, he couldn't help but feel anxious; he had originally wanted to lure Ren Tianqing into the Stone Chamber, but now it seemed Ren Tianqing had become a startled bird, and having lost an arm, he hated Hu Xiaotian to the bone, wanting nothing more than to put the three of them to death, even if it meant burying the secret of the Skull.

Hu Xiaotian recalled the key Quan De'an had given him before dying; since he had solemnly entrusted it to him, it must be very important, but he had just been busy dealing with various sudden situations and hadn't had time to think about the key; before long, the Stone Chamber would be filled with smoke, and even if they could hold their breath to cope, it wouldn't be a long-term solution.

The place where the Skull was stored, Hu Xiaotian had already checked it before and found no other mechanisms. Although the Stone Chamber had many gaps, at worst we could try the key one by one; Hu Xiaotian first rechecked the Skull storage spot, confirmed there were no mechanisms, and was about to search the surrounding walls when Qin Yutong reminded him: "That square cauldron!"

After her reminder, Hu Xiaotian's mind lit up—indeed, that square cauldron was exactly the place he had overlooked. The square cauldron on the altar itself was a disguise, used to conceal the pit below, so whoever discovered that there were mechanisms and treasures beneath the cauldron would certainly overlook other things.

Qin Yutong's voice also drew Meizhuang over; she helped Hu Xiaotian search inside and outside the square cauldron, and Hu Xiaotian easily found a keyhole beneath it, inserted the key Quan De'an had given him, turned it slightly, and the square cauldron slowly returned to its original position before immediately descending.

All three arrived at the altar; the altar descended about two zhang, revealing a rectangular doorway on the right. Hu Xiaotian, without much thought, carried Qin Yutong inside; Meizhuang, fearing they would be left behind, quickly followed and jumped in. As soon as the three left the altar, it slowly rose back to its original position.

In the darkness a ball of light appeared—it was Meizhuang holding up a Night Pearl to illuminate; her other hand held the Skull, after all this Skull was the bargaining chip in her negotiations with Ren Tianqing. Hearing the closing sound of the altar returning to its original position behind them, Meizhuang couldn't help but glance back and whisper: "We might not be able to go back." Just now Hu Xiaotian had used the key to activate the hidden mechanism in the square cauldron, causing the altar to descend; now they had all entered the doorway beneath the altar, with the square cauldron isolated above, so that's why she said that.

Hu Xiaotian said: "If you want to go back, I have no objection."

Meizhuang certainly wouldn't want to go back; she'd rather starve to death here than return to be choked by poisonous mist. She stepped ahead of Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong, lighting the way forward; the passage was only three zhang long before reaching its end, but at the end there was a square-shaped pit that went straight down, unknown where it led.

Meizhuang came to the edge of the pit and used the light of the Night Pearl to shine downward, but the bottom was unseen; she then took a phosphorus grenade from her satchel and threw it down, and only after a long while did the phosphorus light appear below; roughly estimating, the bottom of the pit was more than ten zhang above their current position.

Meizhuang said: "Go down and have a look!"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "I won't leave Yutong!"

Seeing the two of them, Meizhuang understood it would be hard to separate them, so she said: "I'll go down to scout the path, but you must give me the key." She was worried that after she went down, Hu Xiaotian would use the key to activate other hidden mechanisms and escape.

Hu Xiaotian tossed the key to her without a second thought.

Meizhuang caught the key and felt relieved; in fact she had already surveyed the surroundings—there was no escape route anywhere. The two of them had nowhere else to go but to wait here, and she was just about to go down to scout the path.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Why don't you leave the Skull here?"

Meizhuang glanced at him; she didn't trust Hu Xiaotian, and he likewise didn't trust her. Although the Skull was useless to her, it could still serve as a trump card against Ren Tianqing. Meizhuang secretly thought that if she were the first to find an escape route, she could simply abandon the two of them; perhaps Hu Xiaotian had considered that as well, which is why he refused to let her take the Skull.

Meizhuang nodded, indeed left the Skull behind, and flipped herself down into the pit.

After Meizhuang had descended a certain distance, Qin Yutong then asked: "What do you have in your arms?"

Hu Xiaotian lowered his gaze and noticed a faint Lan-coloured glow emanating from his bosom; upon reflection, he realized it was the painting *Ten Thousand Phenomena of Heaven and Man* that Jian Rongxin had given him. He had brought it to Kangdu hoping that Qiqi could help interpret it, but so far he'd had no chance. He had kept the painting well protected, and it had never emitted light before—so why was it suddenly glowing?

Hu Xiaotian lowered his head and saw, only then, a faint Lan-colored light seeping from his bosom. Thinking it over, what he kept hidden there was the "Heaven and Myriad Phenomena Atlas" that Jian Rongxin had given him. He had brought it to Kangdu this time, hoping Qiqi would help interpret it, but so far he had had no chance. Yet he had kept the atlas well stored, and it had never emitted light before—how could it suddenly glow?

Only then did Hu Xiaotian notice that the Skull's light flickered on and off like a breathing lamp; if it weren't because of Qin Yutong, it must be reacting to the *Ten Thousand Phenomena of Heaven and Man*.

Qin Yutong said: "Never mind that for now; let's talk after we get out of here."

Hu Xiaotian's heart skipped a beat; from Qin Yutong's tone it sounded as if she had already found a way to leave. He looked around—apart from the pit Meizhuang had gone to scout, there was nowhere else to enter. Gazing into the pit, he saw Meizhuang had already descended halfway down, and she seemed extremely cautious.

Qin Yutong said: "This pit is just to draw attention away; look at the relief on the ceiling—the spot where the dragon's claws point is not the pit."

Hu Xiaotian looked up and only then noticed the coiled dragon relief on the ceiling.

Qin Yutong said: "The ground where the dragon's claws point should have five holes; insert your fingers into them and turn counterclockwise."

Hu Xiaotian did as she said and indeed saw the holes on the floor; following her instructions, he inserted his five fingers into the holes and turned them counterclockwise for a full rotation, whereupon a secret door suddenly opened on the wall to his left.

Overjoyed, Hu Xiaotian scooped up Qin Yutong and ran toward the door.

Meizhuang, who had been exploring the pit for a path, also sensed the movement above; she gave up further exploration and rushed upward as fast as she could. When she reached the surface, she saw the wall opening slowly closing, and she let out a furious scream, raised her right hand, and flung a phosphorus grenade at it—but it was too late; the grenade exploded on the wall, and the opening was completely sealed.

Meizhuang, who was searching for a path in the underground cavern, also sensed the movement above; she gave up further exploration and rushed upward as fast as she could. When she reached the surface and saw the cave opening slowly closing, Meizhuang let out a scream of uncontrollable rage, raised her right hand, and shot a phosphorus fireball into it—but alas, she was still a step too late; the phosphorus fireball exploded against the wall, and the cave opening had already shut completely.

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