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

Chen Yuan said, "He is getting closer and closer to the core."

Tang San said, "He is indeed getting closer and closer to the core."

Ling Feng said, "Let him continue at his own pace."

Qian Renxue said, "He will."

Three days later, the boy went down to the fifth floor again.

He walked to the pedestal, stretched out his hand, and this time he placed his palm directly on the surface of the sphere. He could feel that the vibration inside the sphere had become smoother than before, and the brightness remained stable without any obvious change due to his touch.

He maintained this posture for about ten breaths, and then a layer of slowly flowing light patterns began to appear on the surface of the sphere. The light patterns spread to both sides along the surface of the sphere, as if confirming his existence in its own way.

He withdrew his hand, took a step back, and observed that the light patterns lingered on the surface of the sphere for a while before slowly converging towards the bottom of the sphere, extending downwards along the edge of the pedestal, all the way into the crack in the ground.

Then the light patterns disappeared, and no new openings appeared on the ground, but a very faint sound came from under the pedestal, as if something was being repositioned deep inside.

He stood there for a while, making sure there were no new changes to the ground, and then retreated down the steps.

Jin Chen finished reading the letter five days later.

He sat on the stone bench and put the letter back on the table: "Light patterns appeared on the surface of the sphere, extending down the edge of the pedestal and disappearing after reaching the crack in the ground."

A very faint sound came from beneath the pedestal, as if something was being repositioned deep within.

Ling Feng said, "That might mean some kind of institution is being activated."

Qian Renxue said, "Those light patterns might be indicators that the mechanism is in operation."

Chen Yuan said, "If the light patterns extend downwards along the pedestal, then there may indeed be a passage beneath the ground."

Tang San said, "If he can observe the ground when the light patterns appear next time, he might see a new entrance open."

For the next week, the boy would go down to the fifth floor every day and stretch out his palm to touch the surface of the sphere.

The light patterns appear each time, extending downwards along the same path before disappearing at the bottom of the pedestal.

The soft sound from beneath the pedestal would also occur each time.

He didn't see any new openings appear in the ground, but he could feel the barrier getting thinner and thinner.

On the seventh day, he stretched out his palm and placed it on the surface of the sphere as usual, and light patterns appeared, extending downwards along the pedestal.

This time, he looked down at the bottom of the pedestal and saw a crack slowly opening in the center of the ground, with neat edges and gradually widening in width. Then the crack opened completely, revealing a staircase entrance extending downwards, with light continuously flowing along the edge of the entrance.

He withdrew his hand, took a step back, observed the width and angle of the staircase entrance to confirm its stability, then stood at the edge of the entrance for a while to make sure the staircase wouldn't close again because of his departure, before walking up the steps.

A few days later, Jin Chen finished reading the letter one morning, put the letter back on the table, as if waiting for that sentence to be completed: "The staircase appeared, and light was continuously flowing at the edge of the entrance. The staircase extended downwards, with no end in sight."

Ling Feng said, "That should be the real core entrance."

Qian Renxue said, "He will probably check the direction of the stairs first before deciding whether to go down."

Chen Yuan stood in the corner of the courtyard: "The place that staircase leads to is probably the real purpose for which this space was built."

Tang San said, "Then he is getting closer and closer to that goal."

Ling Feng said, "He is gradually moving towards the true core of that space."

Once he climbs the last set of steps, he should be able to see the whole thing.

The boy did not stand at the entrance of the stairs for long.

He glanced at the outline of the stairs again in the light of the oil lamp, confirming that it would not close again after he left, then turned and walked back up the steps to the upper floor.

He walked through the passages he had traversed many times before, through the layers of space, through the back of the stone wall on the third level, through the second level, the first level, and finally down to the ground.

After returning to the cabin, he sat under the lamp for a while without rushing to write anything down.

He wondered where the staircase led, and what lay at the end of it.

Chapter 389 Complete Stone Material

The light from the oil lamp cast a small, warm yellow patch on the table. He sat beside that patch of light until the night grew deeper, then picked up his pen, wrote a few words on a piece of paper, folded the paper, and put it in an envelope.

He delivered the letter to the post station early the next morning, then walked along the coastline for a while, stood for a while where the seawater was up to his ankles, and then walked back and closed the door.

Jin Chen received the letter four days later in the afternoon.

That day, the sunlight in the courtyard made the leaves of the old locust tree reflect the light in the wind. He sat down on the stone bench, opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, read it once, and then looked up: "He said he had been observing that staircase for several days."

It did indeed rise from below the ground after the light patterns appeared, and it didn't shut down again after the core contact ended; it remained open indefinitely.

Ling Feng walked out from under the corridor: "That means the staircase is a permanent structure, not a temporary passage."

Qian Renxue also came over: "The light is constantly flowing at the edge of the staircase entrance, which means it is always in motion and not in a static state."

Jin Chen nodded: "He said he can now see the stairs reliably, and he can see the entrance without touching the sphere."

Chen Yuan stood in the corner of the courtyard, the mist in his hand already gone: "That staircase is fixed and won't disappear; he can go in at any time."

Tang San sat on the stone bench: "So when does he plan to go down?"

Jin Chen said, "He said he planned to go down in two days. In those two days, he wanted to check the stability of the stairs again to make sure that it wouldn't change after he went down."

Ling Feng said, "That's right."

Lin Mu arrived the next morning.

When he walked into the yard, he wasn't carrying the branch in his hand, as if he no longer needed to carry it with him.

After he stopped, he raised his hand and reached out. The bluish-gray leaf appeared in his hand, lit up, and then began to move slowly, with smooth movements and a clear direction.

He let it stay in one position for a while, then moved it to another position, and the brightness remained stable throughout.

He put the leaves away: "Today I can control its position more precisely."

"It stays where it is; no further adjustments are needed."

Ling Feng said, "Now you can start practicing keeping it moving, instead of making it stop."

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

Tang San's blacksmith shop had a window open in the afternoon sunlight.

He sat by the anvil, sharpening a new dagger, while Ah Yin organized accounts behind the counter. The two were each doing their own thing, and the fire in the corner made a continuous, soft crackling sound.

When Chen Yuan entered the blacksmith shop, Tang San put down the whetstone in his hand: "Has the weather vane been having any problems lately?"

Chen Yuan said, "No."

It's very stable, and the sensitivity hasn't decreased.

Tang San picked up the whetstone and tossed it in his hand: "If there are any problems, come over and adjust it anytime."

Two days later, the boy pushed open the door he had checked many times before and stepped back into the space.

He walked down the steps, his steps more steady than before, passing through the passages he had checked many times before, until he reached the fifth floor.

The sphere remained suspended above the pedestal, its brightness slightly increased compared to when he first saw it. The light patterns along its edges were slowly flowing, extending downwards along the pedestal all the way to the edge of the staircase entrance on the ground.

The staircase remained open, and the glowing patterns along the edge of the entrance were more consistent than before.

He stopped at the edge of the entrance, glanced down at the darkness below the stairs. The light from the oil lamp could only illuminate a short distance downwards before disappearing completely.

He grasped the handle of the oil lamp, adjusted the wick to make it brighter, and then took his first step.

The steps are narrower than the upper level, and the height of each step is also different from the upper level, but the surface of the steps is very smooth, and the luminous patterns on the edges provide him with enough light.

He walked down step by step, for a very long time.

The surrounding air temperature is gradually decreasing, turning from warm to slightly cool, and the color of the light is also undergoing subtle changes, shifting from warm yellow to cool white.

He didn't stop to measure the changes, but continued walking down until the top of the steps opened up.

He stood at the end of the steps and found himself in a much more spacious area.

The dome of the space was higher than he had expected, and light fell evenly down from above, as if the entire ceiling was glowing.

He looked down at the ground beneath his feet. The ground was a single piece of dark stone, smooth and without any gaps.

There were no pedestals, no grooves, and no obvious markings in the space. There was only a low stone platform in the very center. The surface of the stone platform was flat, as if it had been carefully polished. There were no patterns or symbols on the edges.

He walked to the stone platform, looked down at it for a while to confirm its size and material, and then retreated back to the entrance, where he stood for a while to observe the layout of the entire space.

After confirming that there was no obvious exit or passage, he went back up the stairs he had come from.

Jin Chen received the letter six days later.

When he opened the letter, a light rain was falling in the courtyard. The fine raindrops pattered softly on the leaves of the old locust tree.

He held the letter up to avoid the raindrops, read the whole thing, then put it down and turned to the porch: "He said he'd gone down to the bottom of the stairs."

At the end of the stairs was a spacious stone chamber with no obvious exit. In the center was a low, flat stone platform, devoid of any markings.

Ling Feng asked, "Did he check the edges of the stone platform?"

Jin Chen said, "He said he checked it and there were no gaps or grooves on the edges; it was a complete piece of stone."

Qian Renxue said, "That stone platform might not be for placing things, but for reading."

Chen Yuan stood under the eaves, sheltered from the rain: "If the surface of the stone platform is intact, then there may have been something on it before, but it has been removed."

Tang San said, "Then he should be searching that stone chamber carefully now, looking for any details that have been overlooked."

Ling Feng said, "He will."

After the rain stopped, Jin Chen read the letter again and then put it back in the envelope: "The next time he goes in, he should stay in that stone chamber longer and carefully check every wall."

That night, the boy sat under the lamp, with the notebook open in front of him.

He turned to the page about the core structure in his notes and reread the description.

The notes made no mention of the stone chamber or the low stone platform, as if the stone chamber itself was not part of the original structure of this space, but was sealed off later.

He closed his notebook and stood by the window for a while. In the distance, the sea was a dark, slowly moving plane in the night, and the wind blew from the sea through the cracks in the window.

He walked to the table, put the notebook back in the drawer, and then turned off the light.

Chapter 390: Continuing the Exploration

The next morning, he entered the space again, went down the steps, passed through the passages he had walked through many times, reached the fifth floor, and went down the stairs until he reached the entrance to the stone chamber at the end of the stairs.

He entered the stone chamber. This time, he did not linger in front of the stone platform for long. Instead, he walked around the walls of the chamber, pressing his palms against the walls, from one end to the other, to confirm that every inch of the wall surface was flat, without gaps, hidden compartments, or concealed entrances.