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

Chen Yuan said, "Then he may have already found a way to the next level."

Tang San said, "He may need to keep the stone slab under the light pattern for a long enough time so that the light pattern can cover the exit."

Ling Feng said, "He should already be planning his next move."

Over the next few days, the boy began to systematically test the relationship between the time the stone slab remained under the light pattern and the range of the light pattern's expansion.

He discovered that the extent of the light pattern's expansion was directly related to its dwell time; the longer the dwell time, the larger the expansion range and the deeper the area covered.

On the fifteenth day, he placed the stone slab under the light pattern and waited for it to stabilize. Then he went down the stairs to the edge of the light pattern's coverage area and confirmed that the light pattern had indeed expanded to a new location.

Right there, he noticed a vertical crack in the side wall of the staircase that he hadn't seen before. The crack was narrow, but it was there.

He didn't rush to pry open the crack. He squatted down to confirm its width and height, then walked back up the stairs to the light pattern, removed the stone piece, and the light pattern returned to its original state. The crack also became difficult to recognize again as the light pattern contracted.

He confirmed the connection between the gap and the light patterns, then walked back down the steps.

After returning to the cabin, he recorded the discovery in his notebook and noted the date and location of the observation.

Jin Chen received the letter seven days later.

He sat on the stone bench: "He said that after the light pattern expanded, a vertical crack appeared on the side wall of the staircase that had not been noticed before. The crack was narrow, but it was there."

He confirmed the connection between the crack and the expansion of the light pattern, then removed the stone fragment. The crack also became difficult to discern as the light pattern contracted.

He hasn't tried to pry open the crack yet; he's planning how to approach it next time.

Ling Feng said, "If the gap and the expansion of the light pattern are related, then the stone slab was indeed used to open that gap."

As long as the light pattern covers that area, the gap will be visible.

Qian Renxue said, "Then he needs to let the stone slab stay under the light pattern for a long enough time so that the light pattern covers the location of the gap before he can approach the gap."

Chen Yuan said, "That gap might be a sign of the next entrance."

Tang San said, "If the gap is indeed related to the expansion of the light pattern, then he should be able to open the gap smoothly when the light pattern covers that position."

Ling Feng said, "He is gradually getting closer to his goal."

Chapter 394 Patterns

Qian Renxue said, "Then when he opens that crack, he might see the deeper structure of this space."

Tang San said, "He will."

On the sixteenth day, the boy once again entered that space with the stone fragment.

He placed the stone slab directly beneath the light pattern, waited for it to stabilize, and then walked down the stairs until he reached the location where the crack appeared.

This time, the gap was clearly visible under the light pattern, with smooth edges and enough width for him to embed the tip of the knife.

He gently traced the edge of the crevice with the tip of the knife to confirm its depth and direction, then carefully inserted the tip of the knife into the bottom of the crevice and slowly applied pressure.

The gap began to slowly widen under his pressure, gradually increasing in width until it was wide enough for him to insert his fingers.

He inserted his fingers into the edge of the gap, gripped the edge, and pulled it to one side.

The stone slab did not completely fall off, but it shifted to one side, revealing a narrow passage behind it, only wide enough for one person to pass sideways.

He squeezed into the passage and took a few steps forward. At the end of the passage was a stone chamber smaller than he had expected.

In the center of the stone chamber's floor sat a flat, dark stone disc. Its surface was unpatterned, but under the light, a very faint, almost invisible outline could be seen, as if a pattern had been repeatedly wiped away, leaving a very faint imprint.

He crouched down, but did not touch the stone disc directly. He observed it for a while and confirmed that there were no obvious grooves or marks on the edge of the stone disc.

He searched the stone chamber, confirmed there were no other exits, then went back the way he came, pulled the stone slab back into place, restored the gap to its original state, and returned to the light pattern to take the stone piece away.

Jin Chen received the letter four days later.

He sat on the stone bench, the afternoon sun casting dappled shadows on the stone table. He placed the letter between the shadows: “He said he opened the crack and entered a smaller stone chamber. In the center of the floor was a flat, dark stone disc with no obvious patterns on its surface, but under the light, you could see a very faint imprint, as if a pattern had been repeatedly wiped away, leaving a very faint outline.”

After confirming the chamber was sealed, he withdrew and restored the stone slab to its original state.

Ling Feng said, "The marks on the surface of that stone disc indicate that it once bore some kind of mark or pattern."

Qian Renxue said, "If the imprint does exist, it might be some kind of map or record, but it has been worn away."

Chen Yuan said, "If he could observe the stone disc under different lighting conditions, he might see more details."

Tang San said, "Different angles of light can indeed make worn marks more visible."

Ling Feng said, "Then next time he can enter that stone chamber at different times and observe the changes on the surface of the stone disc under different lighting conditions."

Jin Chen said, "He hasn't entered that stone chamber again yet and is planning when to approach it next."

Lin Mu arrived the next morning.

He stood under the eaves, raised his hand and stretched out the leaf. After it lit up, he began to make it change its brightness and direction as it moved. The movements were smooth and the control was precise, as if a natural harmony had been formed between the three.

He put the leaves away: "Today I tried changing the brightness and direction at the same time, and it went surprisingly smoothly. It was as if they had formed their own paths and didn't need any extra adjustments from me."

Ling Feng said, "That means you've found a way to coordinate them."

Lin Mu said, "Then I can continue walking forward."

Ling Feng said, "Okay."

On the afternoon of the tenth day, the boy, carrying a lamp, once again entered the stone chamber.

He squatted in front of the stone slab, placed the lamp in different positions, and observed the changes on the surface of the stone slab under different lighting conditions.

When the light shines from the left, a blurry pattern emerges on the surface of the stone slab, like several curved lines converging at one point, with a string of extremely fine marks along the edges of the lines.

He moved the light to the right, and the pattern became clearer, revealing that the lines branched out in several places under the light.

He sketched the outline of the pattern on paper with a charcoal pencil, repeatedly checking the relationship between the angle of light and the emerging pattern until he was sure that all the discernible lines had been completely recorded. Only then did he leave the stone chamber and return to the ground along the same path.

Jin Chen finished reading the letter five days later.

He placed the letter on the table: "There are indeed patterns on the surface of the stone disc, which will emerge under certain angles of light. They are several curved lines that converge in one place, with branches, and the outline is like a schematic diagram of some kind of path."

He drew the outline of the pattern, intending to compare it with the notes in his notebook.

Ling Feng said, "That pattern is likely a schematic diagram of a path, recording the route from this space to other areas."

Qian Renxue said, "If he can confirm that the pattern corresponds to the content in the notes, then he can determine the direction of that path."

Chen Yuan said, "The branches in the pattern may point to different exits."

Tang San said, "Then he needs to confirm the locations of those branches now."

Ling Feng said, "He's already heading in that direction."

The night breeze swept through the courtyard, turning the withered leaf on the stone table over and blowing it to a corner where it stopped.

Ling Feng remained seated on the veranda, with Qian Renxue beside him. The night wind swept around them and continued forward, as if confirming in its own way that the paths indeed led to deeper places.

The lines being recorded are becoming clearer than before, gradually revealing their complete trajectory.

The boy continued to examine the details of the lines under the lamp, just as he had always done.

The letter from Haifeng City arrived seven days later on a windy afternoon.

As Jin Chen opened the letter in the yard, the wind was rustling the leaves of the old locust tree. He held the letter in his hand to prevent it from being blown away by the wind. After reading the whole letter, he looked up and said, "He said he spent several days comparing the pattern on the stone slab with the records in his notes."

The lines in the pattern largely match the description on the page of the notes about the 'alternative path to the outside,' except that the location of the path entrance mentioned in the notes is not quite the same as the location marked on the stone disc.

He found several descriptions related to that path in his notes, and remeasured the interior layout of the space along the directions mentioned in the descriptions, confirming that the location marked on the stone disc was the correct entrance.

He said that according to the description in the notes, the entrance should be located somewhere on the north wall of the first floor, coinciding with the structural layout he knew so far, but he had walked along that wall many times and had not found any obvious gaps or hidden doors.

Ling Feng asked, "Did he find a specific description of how to open that entrance in his notes?"

Jin Chen said, "The notes mention that the entrance requires a 'corresponding symbol' to open, but do not explain the specific form of the symbol."

Symbols in Chapter 395 Notes

Qian Renxue sat at the stone table: "If the notes mention that a symbol is needed to open it, then that entrance may be related to those components that have already been installed."

Chen Yuan stood in the corner of the courtyard: "If that entrance is related to the components, then it may require a specific arrangement to be activated."

Tang San said, "He has already installed four components: stone strips, stone discs, metal plates, and stone slabs."

If these components are part of a symbolic system, they may need to be arranged in a specific order to activate the entry point.

Jin Chen said, "He has not yet found a specific description of the arrangement order in the notes."

Ling Feng said, "Then he needs to determine the order of the components before he can activate the entrance."

Tang San came over in the evening.

He sat down on the stone bench: "If those components need to be arranged in a specific order to activate the entrance, then he may need to confirm the installation order of each component first, rather than the installation position."

Ling Feng said, "The stone strips, stone discs, metal sheets and stone slabs that he has installed so far are located on the first, third and fifth floors respectively."

If their installation order is indeed important, then their order is likely related to the depth of their hierarchy.

Chen Yuan said, "If the order and level depth are related, then it may be necessary to start the installation from the deepest part or from the shallowest part."

Tang San said, "What he needs to confirm now is whether these four components do indeed belong to the same group, or whether they correspond to different entrances."

Jin Chen said, "He is currently organizing the descriptions of these components in his notes, and plans to enter the space for the next step of the operation after he has sorted them out."

Lin Mu arrived the next morning.

He stood on the veranda, raised his hand and held out the leaf. After it lit up, he tried to make it change direction as it moved. The movement was smooth and the control was precise, as if it had its own path.

He gathered the leaves: "Today was even smoother than yesterday. When moving them, I didn't need to adjust the direction; the leaves would follow the path on their own."

Ling Feng said, "Then you have now mastered the method of synchronous control."

Lin Mu said, "Then I can try to make it move simultaneously in terms of brightness and direction."

Ling Feng said, "We can give it a try."

Lin Mu nodded, gathered up the leaves, and turned to walk towards the courtyard gate.

Over the next few days, the boy went through the notebook again, extracting all the paragraphs that mentioned components and arranging them in the order they appeared in the notebook.

He drew a timeline on a blank sheet of paper, marking the order in which each component was mentioned in the notes, and their corresponding installation locations in space.

He noted that the notes tended to describe stability when referring to stone strips, activation when referring to stone discs, connectivity when referring to metal plates, and regulation when referring to stone flakes.

He wrote a note at the bottom of that page: "The four functions may correspond to four different activation methods, arranged in the order of stability, activation, connectivity, and adjustment, which may be consistent with the entry activation process."