Wandering Swordsman |

The two continued on their way and soon arrived at the circular plaza. A faint stench of decay still lingered, and the sight of the white bones filled the air with an unsettling atmosphere.

However, Su Ming was not afraid. Instead, he focused on observing the symbols on the stone slab, his fingers gently tracing the ancient inscriptions, his eyes focused and serious.

Shen Mo stood beside Su Ming and asked with concern, "Su Ming, how is it? Can you decipher all the information on it?"

After a moment of contemplation, Su Ming said, "Brother Shen, these symbols are indeed very complex, but they are not entirely undecipherable."

......

Half an hour later, Su Ming suddenly stopped deciphering the contents of the stone slab and said to Shen Mo, "Brother Shen, the information on the stone slab indicates that there is a space beneath this circular plaza, and the object guarded by the Demon Refining Beast King is located below."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo was filled with doubt: "There's actually space beneath this circular plaza? But how do we get down there? There aren't any obvious passages here."

Su Ming explained, "According to these symbols, one of the stone slabs in this circular plaza is the key to opening the passage to the space below. However, since it's not recorded which slab it is, we have to search for it one by one."

Shen Mo nodded: "Then let's begin. We can't overlook any details."

So, Su Ming began experimenting on each stone slab. He crouched down and gently tapped different spots on the slab with his dagger, trying to find patterns. His fingers moved across the slab, his eyes focused and serious, as if every subtle change was not going to escape his notice.

Time ticked by, and Shen Mo watched quietly from the side, his heart filled with both anticipation and anxiety. He glanced around every now and then, wary of any potential dangers.

"Brother Shen, look at this stone slab." Su Ming's voice broke the silence. He pointed to a stone slab in the center of the circular plaza. "The color and texture of this stone slab are slightly different from the others. Perhaps this is the one we are looking for."

Shen Mo stepped forward and carefully examined the stone slab. Sure enough, this slab was slightly darker in color and had smoother edges, as if it had been meticulously polished. Without close inspection, the difference between this slab and the others would be imperceptible. "Give it a try," he said, "perhaps this slab holds the key to opening the passage."

Su Ming nodded and carefully tapped different spots on the stone slab with his dagger. With each tap, the slab emitted a soft echo, as if responding to their exploration. Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly, and Su Ming's eyes lit up instantly: "Brother Shen, look! There seems to be a mechanism under this stone slab!"

Shen Mo quickly approached and crouched down to examine it closely. He noticed a small crack beneath the stone slab, which gradually widened with the vibrations. He pressed down hard on a protruding part at the corner of the stone slab, slowly moving it aside to reveal a cylindrical stone pillar, slightly smaller than the slab, plunging into the ground.

"This is it!" Shen Mo exclaimed excitedly, his eyes gleaming with excitement. However, when he examined the stone pillar more closely, he discovered several special symbols engraved on its surface.

Su Ming also came over, carefully examining the symbols. Fortunately, the symbols were relatively simple and few in number, so Su Ming immediately began to translate: "A thousand jin of strength!"

Upon hearing Su Ming's translation of those three words, Shen Mo seemed to immediately understand their meaning. Shen Mo turned to Su Ming and said, "Stay away; it might be dangerous here later."

Despite his doubts, Su Ming still followed Shen Mo's instructions and took a dozen steps back.

Shen Mo took a deep breath and concentrated. He used his inner strength to leap into the air, jumping very high, and then gathered all his power in his feet, kicking directly at the stone pillar exposed after the stone slab was lifted.

Shen Mo's already formidable internal energy, combined with the force of gravity as he fell, resulted in a deafening boom that seemed to shake the entire plaza. The immense impact caused the ground to tremble violently once more, followed by the sound of mechanisms clicking. The ground on one side of the plaza slowly cracked open, gradually revealing a passage leading underground.

The passage was dimly lit, with faint glowing stones embedded in the walls barely illuminating the path below. An ancient, musty smell permeated the air, as if the passage had slumbered for countless years.

"Brother Shen, this..." Su Ming looked at the changes in front of him in surprise, his eyes filled with amazement.

Shen Mo dusted himself off and smiled, "Now we can move on."

The two cautiously descended the newly opened passage, the surroundings becoming increasingly eerie the deeper they went. It was as if countless unknown secrets lay hidden at the end of the passage, waiting for them to uncover them.

As they continued deeper into the passage, Su Ming couldn't help but ask, "Brother Shen, how did you know that the 'thousand-pound force' written on the pillar meant striking it with a force of a thousand pounds?"

Shen Mo nodded and explained, "I was just guessing, so I tried it with all my might. I thought it would trigger other dangerous mechanisms, but it turned out to be the switch for the secret passage."

Su Ming suddenly realized: "I see, no wonder you wanted me to stay away."

The two continued forward, and the passage gradually widened. The luminescent stones on the walls emitted a faint blue light, illuminating their figures. All around was silent, save for the echoing of their footsteps in the empty passage, as if each step was a dialogue with history.

Finally, they arrived at a stone chamber. The chamber was quite spacious, but it was filled with an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a stone ox, on whose back sat an old man, his posture lifelike, as if he were merely asleep. The presence of the stone ox and the old man made the entire stone chamber seem exceptionally mysterious, startling the two men and causing their hearts to race.

Shen Mo was the first to regain his composure and said in a low voice, "Don't panic, let's take a closer look."

Su Ming nodded, and the two slowly approached the stone ox and the old man. After some confirmation, they found that although the old man's form was intact, he had no breath whatsoever, clearly just a corpse. Nevertheless, the old man's body had not decayed despite the passage of time, a phenomenon that greatly surprised them.

"What exactly is going on?" Su Ming asked in a low voice, his eyes filled with doubt. "Could it be that the Demon-Refining Beast King is only guarding a stone bull and a corpse?"

Shen Mo shook his head, his brows furrowed: "No! It's definitely not that simple! Look, this old man's corpse has endured countless years, yet it hasn't turned into bones. It's as if it's alive, so lifelike. There must be a great secret behind this!"