As soon as her voice fell, Jiu Jiu took the lead and walked straight toward the pitch-black stone gate that stood wide open.
Xie Zhaolin's expression stayed calm as she followed close behind, but her guard was raised to the highest point. Her right hand hung loosely at her side, looking casual, but her fingertips had already hooked around the Liuyun Ribbon. Inside her dantian, baleful qi flowed quietly, ready to erupt at any moment if anything inside the hall went wrong.
Because of that, she didn't notice how, beneath Jiu Jiu's curious and carefree expression, her gaze swept over the charred hole in the yin puppet's chest. For just a moment, a flicker of thought flashed deep in her eyes.
One after the other, they stepped across the threshold into the Hall of Silence.
The scene inside was nothing like the eerie corridor outside. The space was vast, the ceiling soared so high it was lost in the darkness. Instead of cold stone walls, the chamber was built from some mirror-smooth material, carved all over with ancient and intricate runes.
The runes weren't dead carvings, either. They pulsed faintly with light, exuding a vague Dao rhythm. Amidst the dense spiritual qi, the air carried a suffocating stench of rot and death. The clash of vitality and decay made the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.
At the center of the hall stood nine massive bronze pillars, arranged in some mysterious formation.
Each pillar was wrapped in thick black chains, each as wide as a child's arm. The ends of those chains looked as if they'd once bound something, but now hung empty. Only deep grooves and blackened stains of dried blood were left behind.
The bronze pillars themselves were scarred with cracks, mottled as though they might crumble at any moment.
At the very heart of the circle, the floor wasn't made of obsidian but a dark red crystal, carved with an enormous and complex formation. Within its patterns, a faint, ominous light pulsed weakly, filling the air with dread.
The entire hall was silent. Even their breathing sounded loud.
"This is the core of the Hall of Silence," Jiu Jiu whispered, her voice unconsciously softer, tinged with awe. "Back then, Youji Shàngrén secluded himself here, trying to comprehend the Dao of Silence. But… it's said something went wrong."
Xie Zhaolin spread her divine sense cautiously through the space.
The spiritual qi here was thick, but it carried a deadly corrosiveness. If not for her firm foundation and unique cultivation method, any ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would've had their qi contaminated just standing here.
The sealing power radiating from those chains and pillars sent shivers deep into her soul. She could tell that most of the restriction power here had already fallen dormant, yet a few nodes still released dangerously sharp fluctuations. Her gaze landed on the empty ends of the chains, and a question rose in her heart. What had been locked here?
Youji Shàngrén himself?
Or something else?
And where was it now?
Her face betrayed none of these thoughts. She simply turned to Jiu Jiu, her voice flat. "You said there were treasures?"
Jiu Jiu blinked and pointed toward the mirror-like walls. "Not all treasures sit in plain sight. Look at those runes. They aren't decorations. They're part of an ancient inheritance seal. If you can understand them, you might gain insights into Youji Shàngrén's cultivation or even discover secret arts."
She then pointed at the bases of the bronze pillars. "And around those, sometimes extremely yin plants grow, like Nether Moss or Soul Eroding Mushrooms. They're highly toxic, but if you handle them right, they're rare ingredients for refining certain pills."
Her tone dripped with temptation, but her eyes never left Xie Zhaolin, gauging her reaction.
Xie Zhaolin swept her gaze over the flickering runes and the bases of the pillars, sneering in her heart. Sure, there might be inheritance, but the risks outweighed the rewards.
Those spirit plants were steeped in poison and resentment. Harvesting them was hard enough, and processing them would be even harder.
This girl clearly wanted to lure her into touching dangerous things.
After all, the ground around those pedestals was littered with bones. It didn't take much to guess how those cultivators died.
"You seem to know a lot about this place," Xie Zhaolin said mildly, her tone unreadable.
Jiu Jiu chuckled. "Hehe, I've read a few records, that's all. Records are just words. People are alive. Where the real treasures lie, that depends on luck and… guts." Her meaning was obvious.
"Which way?" Xie Zhaolin ignored the bait completely.
Opportunities? Only if you lived long enough to take them.
She didn't need these things badly enough to gamble her life. Even if she could command the Shisha Spider Puppet, she wasn't about to show her hand in front of Jiu Jiu.
Jiu Jiu tilted her head, twirling a strand of hair. "Hmm… According to the records, the Hall of Silence is split into the Front Hall, the Meditation Corridor, and the Silence Chamber at the core. This should be the Front Hall. Usually there's nothing worthwhile here, just defenses and warning arrays, but most look broken already."
She gestured at the two corridors leading deeper.
"The left path leads to the Meditation Corridor. He might've kept some trinkets there. The right path… that goes to an abandoned side hall. Nothing in the records about it. Probably more dangerous."
She looked at Xie Zhaolin and blinked playfully. "So, benefactor, which way do you want to try your luck?"
Xie Zhaolin's eyes swept over the two dark passageways as she weighed her options.
The Meditation Corridor might hold real gains, but that also meant it was likely one of the most heavily restricted areas.
The abandoned side hall could be empty, but it might also be less risky. And since the records didn't mention it, there could be unexpected gains hidden there.
"Right," Xie Zhaolin decided.
Better to probe the less critical areas first, learn the patterns of the restrictions here, then decide whether to push deeper.
Jiu Jiu blinked, surprised for a moment, then smiled. "Alright then! Maybe we'll find a nice surprise! Follow me~"
She skipped toward the right corridor as if she were just going on an adventure.
Xie Zhaolin followed silently, her divine sense locked on Jiu Jiu's back and the surroundings.
The right corridor was darker than the main hall. The air reeked of damp and decay, dust thick in every breath. The stone walls were rough, no carvings, no runes, as though they'd been crudely dug out.
After about a hundred meters, a small stone chamber appeared ahead. Its door had long since rotted and collapsed, leaving only a gaping black hole of an entrance.
Jiu Jiu stopped at the threshold, sniffed, and frowned slightly. "Huh? The smell in here… it's a little off?"