Douluo Continent: The Twin Holy Dragons of Light and Darkness, the Dragon Emperor Breaks Through the

Ling Feng remained seated on the veranda, not in a hurry to stand up.

He knew the letter was already on its way.

It will arrive tomorrow morning, at which point he will know the direction of the map.

Qian Renxue sat beside him, and neither of them spoke. The night wind passed through the courtyard, turning the withered leaf on the stone table over again. The moonlight shone on the branches and leaves of the old locust tree, casting a dappled shadow on the ground.

The purpose of the map of Sea Breeze City was not fully confirmed until the seventh day after the boy found it.

During those seven days, he would enter that space every day, go down the steps to the new space below the third floor, stand in front of that stone wall, and repeatedly examine every line and every symbol on the map.

He brought the rubbing of the map back to the cabin, laid it on the table, and repeatedly compared it under the lamp, adding new annotations in the blank spaces.

On the evening of the seventh day, he sat back down at the table, looked at the map rubbing again, added the last stroke to the blank corner, and then put it in the envelope.

He wrote the address of Wuhun City on the front of the envelope and sent it to the post station early the next morning.

The day Jin Chen received the letter, it had just rained lightly in the courtyard, and there were still wet marks on the stone tabletop.

Jin Chen sat down on the stone bench, opened the envelope, took out a neatly folded piece of paper, unfolded it, looked at it for a while, and then looked up: "He said he confirmed the purpose of the map."

Ling Feng asked, "Where does the map point to?"

Jin Chen said, "The map does not mark the internal structure of those layers of space, but rather the paths leading to the external areas."

The map marked a route that started from the entrance to that space, went through a hidden door, and led to a place he had never been before.

He said the hidden door was behind that stone wall on the third floor.

Qian Renxue sat at the stone table, holding a cup of tea in her hand: "That stone wall is a door."

Jin Chen nodded: "He said there is a thin crack at the bottom of that wall, which is almost invisible unless you look closely, but the width of the crack is just enough for an adult to pass through sideways."

After squeezing through sideways, he discovered a passage behind the wall, its path matching the route marked on the map.

Ling Feng sat on the veranda: "Did he walk along the passageway?"

Jin Chen said, "He walked along the passage for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. At the end of the passage was a stone door. There was no handle or obvious switch on the door, but there was a groove above the door frame that perfectly matched the outline of the stone he found on the second floor."

The stone gate was likely used to seal off the exit of this passage.

Ling Feng said, "That means the map does indeed point outwards."

Chen Yuan stood in the corner of the courtyard, holding a weather vane in his hand: "If the stone gate at the end of the passage is closed from the outside, it means that this passage may lead to a specific area."

Tang San sat on the stone bench: "That passage is part of the exit from this space."

If he could open that stone door, he could walk directly to the edge of that space.

Qian Renxue asked, "Did he try to open the stone door with the second key?"

Jin Chen said, "He tried it."

After he placed the stone into the groove, a continuous vibration came from inside the stone door. Then, the door slowly slid open to one side, revealing a wider passage behind it. Light shone in from the end of the passage—not the uniform light of a space, but natural light.

Ling Feng asked, "Did he go out?"

Jin Chen said, "He said he stopped at the exit of the passage and saw a rocky coastline outside, which was different from the landscape he had seen on the beach in Sea Breeze City."

He didn't go out. After checking the external environment at the exit, he retreated back inside the stone door, removed the stone block, and allowed the stone door to close again.

Ling Feng said, "He was right not to rush out."

Assessing the external environment before taking action can avoid many unnecessary risks.

Ning Rongrong walked out of the offering hall and sat down at the stone table: "So he has found the exit now, but he hasn't officially left yet."

He might need to first confirm whether he can return via the same route after going out.

Jin Chen said, "He should also be considering this issue."

Ling Feng said, "He will go out once he is sure he can return safely."

Tang San came over in the evening.

He sat on the stone bench for a while: "The natural light that the stone door leads to the outside world shows that this passage is indeed connected to the outside world."

If we can pinpoint the exact location of the exit, we can determine the true location of this space.

Ling Feng said, "He will probably take some time to confirm the location of the exit and make sure he can return safely before he officially goes out."

Tang San nodded.

Over the next three days, the boy repeatedly went in and out of the stone gate.

He would always make sure he could get back inside from the outside before returning to the cabin.

On the evening of the third day, he entered the stone gate, walked along the passage to the exit, stood at the exit, and then stepped out.

He stood on a rocky shore, the wind blowing, carrying the salty smell of the sea and the calls of seabirds in the distance.

He glanced back at the stone door hidden behind him, confirming its appearance when closed, perfectly blending into the surrounding rocks.

He walked along the rocky coast for a while, found a landmark that allowed him to determine his direction, and then returned to the inside of the stone gate along the route he had come from. He placed the stone into the groove, allowing the stone gate to slowly close, and then walked back into the space along the passage.

He stood for a while in front of the stone pillar on the third floor, took the stone out of the groove, put it away, and then walked back up the steps, through the passage, out of the entire space, and back to his hut.

Jin Chen received the letter a few days later. He sat on the stone bench, opened the envelope, took out the paper inside, read it once, and then looked up: "He has officially come out of the woods."

Outside the passage was a rocky coastline. After confirming that he could find a way back, he returned to the stone gate and retrieved the key.

He added that the view he saw on that rocky coast was unlike any other coastline near Sea Breeze City.

Ling Feng said, "That means the exit of this space is not near Sea Breeze City, but probably elsewhere."

Qian Renxue said, "If the exit is far from Haifeng City, then the actual size of this space is larger than we expected."

Chen Yuan stood in the corner of the courtyard and pulled the weather vane out of the soil: "If the exit is not located near Haifeng City, then this space may have multiple entrances and exits. The boy has only discovered one so far."

Ling Feng said, "If there are indeed multiple entrances and exits, he may discover other exits later."

Tang San arrived in the evening.

After listening to Jin Chen's account, he said, "The terrain of that rocky coast is different from that near Sea Breeze City, which means that the geographical location of this space may be more remote than we imagined."

Ling Feng said, "Once he confirms the coordinates of the exit location again, he will be able to determine its approximate location."

Chapter 383 Testing

Tang San said, "Then he should be confirming the exact location of the exit right now."

Ling Feng said, "He will."

Lin Mu arrived the next morning.

He stopped under the eaves, raised his hand and reached out the branch. The bluish-gray leaf lit up faster than before, and its brightness was more stable than yesterday.

He held it up for a long time before taking it back: "The brightness of the leaves is more stable today than yesterday; it can maintain the same brightness even on a cloudy day as on a sunny day."

Ling Feng said, "Now that you can control the leaves stably in all kinds of weather, you can try moving them after they light up."

Lin Mu nodded: "Then I'll go back and give it a try."

That night, the boy organized his notes from this period under the lamp.

He spread out the map rubbing and notebook on the table, and drew a simple location map on a blank page of the notebook, marking the exit locations he had currently confirmed and the landmarks along the way.

He put down his pen, sat for a while, and then closed his notebook.

A breeze seeped in through the crack in the window, ruffling the edge of the map on the table. He reached out and pressed it flat, making sure it wouldn't be blown away by the wind again, then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The letter from Haifeng City arrived at the Hall of Worship five days later on a drizzly morning.

Jin Chen walked through the courtyard holding an umbrella, a dark water stain appearing around the hem of his clothes.

He stopped in the corridor, leaned his umbrella against the wall, wiped his hands on his robe, and then opened the envelope.

The raindrops pattered on the leaves of the old locust tree, making a soft, rustling sound.

"He said he walked even further along that rocky coast."

Jin Chen's voice was particularly clear amidst the rain, "He confirmed the location of the exit; the coastline matched his previous estimate."

He also said that he found an abandoned building site about a mile from the exit, which looked like someone had lived there for a long time. There were some fragments of stone that had been mostly weathered around the site, with regular shapes and cut marks on the edges.

He crouched down and looked at it for a while, confirming that the cutting marks were indeed left by people. Then he walked around the outline of the site and found a sunken area in the northeast corner of the site, which looked like an entrance that was half buried.

He crouched down and cleared away the surface rubble and dirt, revealing a downward staircase, its width similar to the steps in the space.

Ling Feng walked out from under the corridor and sat down at the stone table: "A set of stairs leading down?"

Jin Chen said, "He said the steps went down about ten feet to the bottom, where there was a partially buried stone chamber. The chamber was empty and had no obvious furnishings, but there was an area on the east wall that was different from the other walls. It was a slightly darker color, as if something had been attached to it before."

Qian Renxue came out of the room carrying a teapot: "Is that area with a different color the same material as the other walls?"

Jin Chen glanced down at the letter: "He said the texture was the same as the surrounding walls, and the hardness was the same, but the color was indeed darker, as if it had been covered for a long time."

He stood in front of that wall for a while, running his fingertip along the edges of the different colored areas. He couldn't find any gaps, but he could feel subtle temperature differences at the edges.

Chen Yuan stood in the corner of the yard. Raindrops fell on the top blades of the weather vane, slid down the iron rod, and seeped into the soil, creating a small patch of dark color: "The temperature difference indicates that there may be space behind that wall."

The darker color could be due to the wall being thinner than the surrounding wall, or it could be due to different materials.

Tang San's voice came from the courtyard gate: "If that wall is indeed thinner than the surrounding walls, the sound when you tap it should be different from the surrounding walls."

He folded his umbrella, walked into the courtyard, and stood under the eaves. "If he brings a tool that can be used to knock next time, he can knock on that area and determine if it is hollow."

The rain stopped before noon.

Jin Chen read the letter again, then folded it and put it back in the envelope: "He said he plans to bring a short hammer next time to tap the darker area to confirm whether it is hollow."

If it is indeed hollow, he might try to open it.

Ling Feng said, "Once he confirms that the area is hollow, he may discover another passage."

Lin Mu arrived in the afternoon.

When he entered the courtyard, there were still puddles on the ground. He walked around the puddles, stood under the eaves, and reached out to touch the branch. The bluish-gray leaf lit up, maintaining a steady brightness in the wet light after the rain.

He maintained it for a while before letting it gradually darken: "Today the leaves can still maintain their brightness in the post-rain light."

Ling Feng said, "Your control is stable enough now. You can try moving the light up instead of keeping it fixed in the same direction."

Lin Mu thought for a moment and said, "I'll go back and give it a try."

In the evening, Tang San came over again.