Chapter 182: The Scarlet Gate's Pattern Begins to Open
Lu Ying walked to the door and touched the door knocker nailed on the door. He felt that the door knocker seemed to be quite old. The gold paint on it had peeled off and was covered with dust. It must have been a long time since anyone had been here. However, this place looked very gloomy, and the lush trees all around blocked out the sun. He thought it was someone's secret room or something.
"What is this place..." He wiped the dust from his fingers, feeling very curious. Although secret rooms are not often visited by people, there shouldn't be so much dust. It was obvious that no one had been here for many years.
Everyone was curious and looked towards Lingxiang, the one casting the spell. However, Lingxiang had no idea where this place was. She had stumbled upon the talisman while searching for something in the scroll storage room of Wuji Palace. The runes on it were six in Sanskrit characters, and the annotation said it was a divine travel talisman, capable of transporting a person a thousand miles, but it didn't specify where it would take them.
Besides, this kind of talisman is usually used by one person. This time she asked everyone to touch the talisman. In fact, she was not sure about it. It was just that the situation was urgent and she only copied one, so she tried it with a lucky mentality, but she didn't expect it to be useful.
However, she would not speak of such things. After all, as an elder of a sect, she still had to maintain some dignity. Even when Banxia, the talisman fanatic, asked her about the talisman, she only told her the insignificant details and did not say anything more.
Damn her vanity!
"It looks like no one has been here for a long time." At this time, Xinyi walked to Lu Ying and said as she watched him pinching the dust between his fingers.
After hearing this, Lingxiang looked at the door carefully. The door was bright red, and the door nails were dark gold. There was also a lot of dust on it. Among the door nails, there were two dragon patterns engraved, and it seemed as if they were swimming between the door nails.
She reached out and brushed off the dust on the door. It was at the dragon's head that she saw the dark-patterned dragon was truly lifelike, its eyes half-open, as if it were real. But...
But why does this pattern look so familiar? I feel like I've seen it somewhere...
Just as he was about to pinch his chin and frown, he heard Long Qi's muffled voice say, "This dragon pattern is the pattern of the Long family."
Upon hearing this, Lingxiang remembered that the dragon pattern on the door was exactly the same as the one engraved on the Panlong Jade that Long Qi gave her, except that the dragon pattern on this door was much larger and was not coiled. Instead, the two dragons on the two doors had their heads and tails facing opposite directions.
Could this be the Long family's secret room? That would be a piece of cake!
…
Seeing Long Qi taking Xin Yi out, Ling Xiang poured a glass of water for Long Sheng and handed it to him. She smiled and said, "Senior, I have one more thing to ask you. I hope you can tell me the truth..."
Long Sheng was struggling with the relationship between Lingxiang and Long Qi. He was a little surprised to learn about Maidong's identity. In addition, Long Qi was present, so he was afraid that asking would embarrass both of them. Now that there was only one left, he was not afraid of the others.
This Miss Lingxiang seemed to be straightforward and probably wasn't afraid of his questions.
"Miss Lingxiang, please feel free to speak. It just so happens that I have something unclear about, and I want to discuss it with you."
"In that case, I won't be polite," Lingxiang said, recounting what she had heard about the Penglai Branch in Kunwu Sect. She then took out the Panlong Jade and asked Long Sheng, "Master Xuanhuai hinted earlier that the Pure Spirit Water was related to this Panlong Jade. Could it be that it's hidden in the Long family?"
Upon hearing this, Long Sheng frowned and immediately fell into deep thought. His own patriarch was a generous man. When he was alive, he had befriended the heads of many Taoist temples. Although he always stayed by his side, it had been so long since he had known Xuan Huai Zhenren, and he couldn't quite remember who he was. However...
"I think they should be related. I remember that some weak Taoist temples that focused on subduing demons would seek help from the Long family's patriarch, and even entrust something to him. But I really can't remember what the relationship was..."
Lingxiang couldn't help but feel disappointed when she heard this, but she heard Long Sheng say again:
"But if something was entrusted, I think it must have been placed by the patriarch in the Long family's secret room, Longxuwu. There are many dangerous things or Long family treasures in that place. However, only the patriarch of the Long family knows the whereabouts of that secret room, and it is said that it is full of traps and magic arrays, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to enter."
Upon hearing this, Lingxiang's eyes lit up. The danger of the trap wasn't a big deal. Although she wasn't familiar with it, she probably couldn't figure out the Yin-Yang Bagua. Besides, she had Banxia by her side, and her Bagua plate was a powerful magical tool! However, the location of the Long family's secret room would require a thorough search.
Lingxiang was just thinking about the secret room when Long Sheng suddenly asked, "Miss Lingxiang, there's something I'm unclear on. I heard you're Elder Fu Cang, and my seventh brother's master is Elder Fu Cang. Could it be that your names are the same?"
"Uh..." Lingxiang was suddenly at a loss for words when she heard Long Sheng ask her this. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "There is only one Elder Fu Cang. I am Long Qi's master, the head elder of Qingwei Peak of the Yuanqing Sect, and my Taoist name is Fu Cang."
Upon hearing this, Long Sheng was stunned. The two of them had just been acting so intimately that it didn't seem like a relationship between a master and a disciple. They were clearly a couple in love. This...
this……
This is a bit against etiquette!
Seeing the look on Long Sheng's face, Ling Xiang smiled sheepishly and said, "I am only Long Qi's master in name only. Although I taught him some Daoist techniques, he never performed the ceremony of becoming his disciple. I only said this to make it easier for me to deal with my fellow apprentices."
Lingxiang then told Long Sheng the whole story of how she and Long Qi met. After hearing this, Long Sheng was even more dumbfounded.
He never imagined that the person in front of him was the daughter of Fairy Tumi, and that his seventh brother was such a scoundrel that he could have the nerve to live in someone else's girl's house!
this……
It's really too shocking!
He remembered that Seventh Brother was a very quiet child when he was young! Why did his behavior now seem a bit like that of the head of the family...
…
After hearing what Long Qi said, Lingxiang carefully observed the dragon pattern on the door. It was indeed very similar to the jade. It seemed that this was really the secret room of the Long family.
Long Qi was also puzzled. He had only heard about this secret room from Brother Wu and his father since he was a child, but because he was too young and his father never revealed more, he did not know the specific location. Who would have thought that he would encounter it in such a situation.
It is not uncommon for some big families, especially those with a history of exorcising demons, to have a secret room. However, although it is now an entrance, it is blocked by vines on all sides. There is no other way out. The only way out is the door in front of you.
Liu Xia tried to push the nailed door, but it wouldn't budge, impossible to open. Banxia rolled her eyes. Since this was a secret room in a wealthy family, it must have some mechanism. How could it be opened so easily? It was hard to say whether he was simple-minded or honest.
Looking at the tall gate before her, Banxia pulled out the Bagua plate from her waist, but there was no indication on the plate; it lay quietly in her hand. She couldn't help but feel annoyed. She had led everyone into danger before, but now, at this critical moment, it was completely useless. Could the spirit in this Bagua plate be a spy of the demon clan?
Seeing Banxia shaking the Bagua plate in his hand, Lingxiang knew that he could not rely on it, so he stood up and observed the surroundings.
Apart from the dragon pattern on it, there is nothing special about this door. There are no mechanical handles or other objects around it, let alone keyholes.
Does this door need to be opened by reciting a spell?
Just as Lingxiang was thinking this, she saw something unusual.
Although the two door knockers on the door were covered in dust, the gold paint on one of the knockers had obviously fallen off, which showed that someone had touched it frequently before.
Lingxiang leaned over to the door knocker and looked at it carefully. She saw that the two door knockers were each embedded in a dragon head carving. The dragon head carving on the door knocker whose gold paint had not fallen off had a round inlaid hole inside, which was extremely hidden. The dragon head carving on the other door knocker whose gold paint had fallen off was also empty, with nothing in it.
Upon seeing this, Lingxiang immediately took out the dragon-patterned jade that Long Qi had given her. She looked at Long Qi and said, "I remember you once said that the dragon-patterned jade would only be given to the mistress of the Long family for safekeeping. Is that true?"
Hearing this, Long Qi looked a little embarrassed. Why was Ling Xiang bringing this up now? Besides, he hadn't said that at the time. He had only said that he would give the dragon-patterned jade to whoever he liked.
How could he speak in front of so many people?
Even the other people present felt somewhat embarrassed when they heard Lingxiang ask this. No one had expected that Lingxiang would say such a thing so directly.
But Lingxiang didn't seem embarrassed at all. She waited for Long Qi for a long time, and seeing that he was just so embarrassed, she turned around and looked at the dragon head carving on the door.
Seeing this, Long Qi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the girl didn't ask any more questions, otherwise, he would have lost face. But just as he let out a sigh of relief, the other side immediately raised it again.
Lingxiang was seen extending the Panlong Jade into the dragon head carving on the left door. From the sound, it seemed as if the jade was scraping against something, and a very loud noise was emitted.
That is the precious jade heirloom of his Long family. Even if he is a spendthrift, he can't waste it like this, right?
Just as Long Qi was about to step forward to stop them, he heard a "click" sound from the dragon head sculpture on the door. Just as Lingxiang took her hand out, the dragon head sculpture, which had its mouth open, suddenly closed its mouth.
Just as the dragon head sculpture on the left closed its mouth, a rolling sound was heard from the dragon head sculpture on the right door, and soon it spit out the Panlong jade that had been stuffed with the spiritual incense.
Lingxiang quickly reached out to catch it, and at the same time, a heavy "creaking" sound came from the right ridge of the door, but it did not open. However, the dragon pattern on the door seemed to come alive, opened its eyes, and kept moving among the door nails.
Everyone then realized that the spiritual incense had triggered some mechanism, but why did they only hear the sound of the mechanism running but not see the door open?
At this moment, Lingxiang pulled the door knocker on the right, and the dragon head carving fell off along with the door knocker, followed by two golden chains.
Just as Lingxiang pulled the door knocker, the half of the nailed door on the right slowly opened.
Lu Ying and others were extremely surprised. On the one hand, they marveled at the ingenuity of the mechanism, and on the other hand, they admired Lingxiang's meticulous observation. If it were them, they would not think that the door knocker was a mechanism.
As the door opened, a chilly air, carrying dust, rushed out from inside. Everyone quickly covered their faces to avoid it, and Long Qi even pulled Lingxiang into his arms, turning around and pressing his back against her.
This was seen clearly by Banxia who was standing by, and envy appeared in her eyes. Her gaze was also seen clearly by Liu Xia who was standing opposite. He couldn't help but feel extremely surprised - could it be that Banxia liked Long Qi?
But after a while, the dust settled. Everyone looked inside the door, but it was pitch black. They couldn't see what was inside at all. However, there was a trace of spiritual energy coming out of it, which was vague and extremely difficult to detect.
Everyone quickly twisted their fingers to activate their spiritual vision and hearing, only to discover that behind the door was a tunnel with a staircase winding down.
Just when everyone was wondering whether to enter, Lingxiang took out a fire stick and blew it up, then raised his foot to step in.
Seeing this, Long Qi quickly pulled her back and said, "It's pitch black in here, how could you just walk in like this?"
Lingxiang was puzzled when she heard this: "Isn't this the secret room of your Long family? Are you still afraid?"
Long Qi blushed, but he refused to admit it. He stiffened his neck and said, "Who said I was scared? It's just a secret room after all, and I've never been here before. Who knows what traps might be inside?"
Lingxiang glanced at him, her expression full of disdain. "You've probably read too many books. How could a tunnel built into the mountain have so many traps? Even working on the door is already incredibly difficult. Besides, even if you don't go in, do you have anywhere else to go?"
As the two were talking, they saw Banxia also blowing up a fire stick and swaggering into the tunnel, and the others followed in. When Xinyi passed by Long Qi, she patted his shoulder, and the meaning in her eyes was self-evident.
Long Qi's face turned even redder, and he hurriedly chased after him, still trying to defend himself: "I'm not scared. It's not what you think. I'm just being cautious..."
Looking at Long Qi chasing after her, Lingxiang smiled softly and suddenly felt that he was quite cute.
She blew on the fire starter in her hand, and just as she lifted her foot, she felt a burst of burning heat coming from her bosom. Lingxiang quickly reached into her bosom and took out an object. It was the Fire Spirit Pearl!
However, the Fire Spirit Pearl now had lost its usual gentleness. It was extremely hot when held in the hand, and its spiritual energy was chaotic, as if it was about to explode.
Lingxiang was extremely surprised. Could it be that there was something in the cave that it could sense, so it became like this?
Master Xuan Huai once hinted that the pure spiritual water was in the Long family. Could it be that the Fire Spirit Pearl was afraid of it, so the spiritual energy became like this?
Pure Spirit…Pure Spirit…
Lingxiang kept muttering in her heart...
Pure Spirit…Pure Spirit…
Looking at the Fire Spirit Pearl in her hand, she suddenly thought, the so-called pure spirit is the purest spiritual energy, just like this Fire Spirit Pearl, which is pure spiritual fire.
So, pure spiritual water...
It’s the Water Spirit Pearl!
The Fire Spirit Pearl was not afraid of anything, but it sensed the spiritual energy of the Water Spirit Pearl, so it resonated with it.
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