readytorunbook Chapter 682 When in doubt, seek the Emperor
Chapter 682 When in doubt, seek the Emperor
This so-called extraordinary treasure is simply a joke. What kind of person is the Emperor?
These things on the mountaintop, though considered an extraordinary fortune by ordinary people, are still quite remarkable.
But how could these alone be worthy of the Emperor's title of "extraordinary treasure"?
For some reason, Xu Ning felt that the reason this magnificent treasure chest was here was to tell those who came to search for treasure, "Look! The treasure is right here, grab it quickly and leave!"
"I feel... like I've been underestimated!"
Ningguang, holding Xu Ning's hand, turned to her lover and smiled, "You think you can just get rid of us like this? That's a bit too stingy."
Xu Ning laughed, "Perhaps the guy who put the treasure here has a huge deficiency in his understanding of worldly wealth. I really want to take him to Liyue to take a look at Lord Tianquan's wealth, and then try to set a price."
Hu Tao's excitement had subsided somewhat, and after overhearing the two's conversation, she realized that the treasure chest she had found was not the target at all.
However, before the little girl could even feel disappointed, she was immediately replaced by another surge of energy.
"So, our goal is a treasure even bigger and more precious than this pile of riches? Alright, let's keep going. Where are we going next?"
Hu Tao slung the shovel over his shoulder with a menacing air, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked around down the mountain.
Xu Ning took Ningguang's little hand and walked towards the back of the poplar tree.
"Since the guest elder has said that the treasure is at Cuijue Slope, it must be there."
Bypassing the treasure in front of you and standing on the cliff edge behind the tree, you can immediately take in the panoramic view of Cuijue Slope.
What first caught Xu Ning's eye were nine stone pillars carved with images resembling totems.
This was Xu Ning's first time in this place, so he naturally had no clue about these things.
However, with Lord Tianquan, who possessed detailed information about Liyue, right beside him, Xu Ning asked directly.
What's the significance of these stone pillars?
"In the legends of Liyue, these are not pillars, but stone locks."
Ningguang tells the legend of Liyue in a captivating way.
"Legend has it that these stone locks possess divine power, and are spiritual objects capable of warding off demons and evil spirits. The ancestors built the ruins of an underground palace here, and placed the nine stone locks around the area, saying that they could suppress war..."
"Suppressing war?"
Xu Ning was somewhat surprised to hear this. "Just these few stone locks? If you were to say that these stone locks were arranged in an array to suppress some ancient demon or monster, I could believe it. But to say they could suppress war is a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"
"Even if these stone locks contain the power of our Lord Emperor, I'm afraid it would be difficult to quell the war. Otherwise, our ancestors wouldn't have been forced to abandon Guili Plains and move to Liyue Harbor in the south."
Ningguang chuckled and said, "I already said it's a legend, so there are bound to be some exaggerations and distortions. If you take it seriously, you'll lose. I remember the information says that there's a stone tablet in the center of this ruin. I wonder if we can find any clues from there."
"Let's go take a look first and then talk."
Xu Ning casually waved his hand, and the wind rose again.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't leave me behind this time! What are we going to do with all this treasure?"
Seeing that Xu Ning was clearly trying to leave her there, Hu Tao quickly stepped forward and grabbed Xu Ning's sleeve.
Xu Ning said helplessly, "Let's leave the treasure here. No one will come here easily. As for you, if you're not afraid, we'll take you down with us."
It seems that Hu Tao, this little girl, has never known how to write the word "fear" since she was a child. When she heard Xu Ning's suggestion, she just felt it was fun and interesting.
So Xu Ning and Ning Guang each grabbed one of Hu Tao's hands, and they flew downwards, dangling her like that.
"This is so much fun! Can I get a set of wings when I get back?"
Ningguang readily agreed to Hu Tao's request.
The little girl who landed seemed to really want to try again, but she was more interested in treasure hunting. She took the shovel off her back, picked it up, and rushed out.
It was only after getting down and getting closer that Xu Ning discovered that most of these stone locks were broken and damaged.
Some were even reduced to half.
As they drew closer, Xu Ning realized that the nine stone locks were actually erected around a relic inside a mountain, like nine long nails driven into Cuijue Slope to suppress the entire relic.
The stone gate of the ruins faces a small circular square, and in the center, just as Ningguang had said, there is indeed a similarly broken stone tablet.
The inscription on the stele was blurry, and since it was written in the script of the ancient people, Xu Ning could hardly recognize any of the characters.
Ningguang carefully wiped it clean and read out the two lines of inscription.
"All wars and chaos in the world originate from the nine causes of human nature..."
"Erect nine pillars to bring peace to the world, to quell the chaos of war, and may there be no more bloodshed..."
Xu Ning took out his wine gourd and took a sip, somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect it to really be used to suppress the chaos of war. Such a large-scale operation, yet it didn't suppress any demons, monsters, dragons, or anything like that in these ruins..."
Standing to the side, Hu Tao glanced at Xu Ning with a puzzled look. "I don't know what you're regretting. If such a thing really exists, our treasure hunt plan will be ruined."
Shaking his head, Hu Tao picked up his shovel and headed straight for the stone gate of the ruins, trying to figure out how to pry it open.
Xu Ning wasn't in such a hurry. He leisurely glanced at all the stone locks around him and even tapped them with his wine gourd.
"The power of time is indeed terrifying. These stone locks are so hard that even with the Dust Concealment Gourd, I would have difficulty breaking even a corner of them. I could even feel the immense divine power contained within them. Who would have thought that they would be worn down so badly over the course of time? However, I now know why that person sent us to retrieve the treasure. I'm afraid that after many years, these stone locks will eventually crumble, and the contents inside will likely fall into the hands of those unscrupulous treasure thieves."
As Xu Ning and Ning Guang were marveling at the situation, they heard Hu Tao exclaim, "This door is too hard, we can't open it, I'll go upstairs."
What are we going up there for?
"Just dig a hole and you can easily get down inside!"
Xu Ning asked a question and received a wise reply. He shook his head and said, "Let's go take a look at that door. I'm afraid it will require some special methods, otherwise it would have been visited many times over by now."
The two walked to the stone gate.
There were no mechanisms or devices at the entrance. Xu Ning tried pushing the stone door up, down, left, and right, but it didn't budge even slightly.
"It seems we'll have to resort to some methods."
The rock-elemental patterns on the Dust-Hidden Gourd slowly lit up.
Xu Ning's original intention was to use the energy of manipulating rock elements to dissolve the door into pure rock elements.
But as soon as he made a move, he felt a tremendous force suddenly deflect his power away from the door.
This sudden power seemed to resonate with the power within the nine stone locks. Even Ningguang said that just a moment ago, the stone pillars outside seemed to light up simultaneously.
At that moment, Walnut, who was holding the shovel upside down, jumped down from above.
"It's all hard rock below, we can't dig it open!"
Since we can't force our way in, we have to think of other ways.
"When your guest master told you to go treasure hunting, didn't he say how to open this ruin?"
Despite not having much hope, Xu Ning still casually asked Hu Tao a question.
"Oh, they gave me a stone. I just tried it on the door, but I couldn't open it."
Xu Ning and Ning Guang stared wide-eyed at Hu Tao. "What stone?"
Hu Tao took a golden-yellow stone ball out of her pocket and tossed it to Xu Ning. "Here, this is it. It's too soft. I was afraid it would break if I kept hitting it, so I didn't."
Xu Ning took the stone ball and suddenly turned to look at a pattern on the stone lock.
It was a pattern that resembled the face of a demon, and each stone lock had such a pattern.
More importantly, there was a circular indentation between the eyebrows of that Yaksha demon, just big enough to fit such a stone ball.
Xu Ning, holding the stone ball, turned around and looked at the somewhat eccentric little girl.
"Could you please think carefully and tell me if that guest minister has anything else to say? These are very important."
Hu Tao scratched his head, realizing he had once again misjudged the situation.
"I didn't listen carefully. Whenever he talks about something, he always wants to start from the time of our ancestors, talking about old customs and common sense. Oh right, I do remember one sentence he said: 'If you have any questions, you might as well ask the Emperor. The Emperor will naturally help you.'"