Chapter 131: The Hidden Door

“If you were to build such a temple, where would you hide a secret chamber?” Wu Qingsong asked Nina.

“Wu,” Nina sighed softly. “The elves who conquered this place had ample time, more manpower, and the aid of magic. Do you really think they would have overlooked any area?”

“There has to be a secret chamber here. And once the elves opened it, there would be no reason for them to seal it again,” Wu Qingsong argued persistently. “If we haven’t found it, that means the elves didn’t find it either. Remember what led us here. If the elves didn’t discover that secret chamber, it means they too could have missed something.”

Sacker was of the same opinion, even more so than Wu Qingsong. They both spent considerable time attempting to shift sculptures and decorative objects, searching for potential mechanisms and hidden doors, but to no avail.

Sacker even contemplated searching higher up for hidden entrances, but this time Wu Qingsong did not join him. 

“A secret chamber would be constructed in an easily accessible location. Placing it high up would require them to use a long ladder every time someone wanted to enter. Isn’t that practically asking to be discovered?”

“Your reasoning is sound. Following that logic, if there is a secret chamber, then its entrance is unlikely to be in a hall or corridors, but rather inside one of the smaller rooms,” Nina suggested.

They then began to search the side chapels, methodically inspecting each prayer room, lounge, and unoccupied tomb. They discovered numerous artifacts made of gold and silver, as well as exquisite artworks and ornaments–enough to fill the packs of over forty camels. Yet, the very thing they were truly searching for remained elusive.

With daytime temperatures rising, and despite an oasis being just a two-day journey away to provide water and food, the camels gradually started to fall ill. The desert’s brutal summer season had arrived.

“We must leave immediately,” Nina urged Wu Qingsong and Sacker. “We’ve already gained enough. If what you’re seeking truly exists, it has been here for centuries and won’t just disappear in a few days. If we can’t find it, it’s unlikely anyone else will. We can wait until the next exploration season, prepare more thoroughly, and return then.”

The treasures from the temple had been divided into three shares. Nina’s share alone would ensure the Silver Moon Wolf Clan wouldn’t have to worry about finances for several years, even allowing them to buy vast quantities of grain to help their villagers through hard times.

More people could afford to leave their daily tasks to train, more children could get enough nutrition, and within a few years, the Silver Moon Wolf Clan’s strength was sure to see a significant boost. While Wu Qingsong and Sacker might still feel reluctant, for her, the gains from this expedition were more than enough.

Wu Qingsong and Sacker both gritted their teeth, yet they had to admit that staying in this place any longer was becoming more harmful than beneficial, having been away from their respective territories for too long.

“One last time,” Sacker said. “Let’s search one more time. If there’s still no result, we’ll head back tomorrow.”

Nina glanced at Wu Qingsong and then nodded, “One last day.”

Although the temple was expansive, for them, who had spent nearly ten days here, it had become familiar territory. Sacker could even visualize the entire layout of the temple in his mind. There had to be subsidiary structures around, but uncovering them from the vast desert sands would require a massive workforce.

“The secret chamber shouldn’t be hidden in a place too secluded,” Wu Qingsong said. 

He had repeated this many times over the days, yet the lack of success made him involuntarily question his own judgment.

What if the Batiz people deliberately avoided conventional practices, opting to place the secret chamber in the most unlikely of locations? In video games, weren’t powerful mages known for situating their towers in remote, hard-to-reach areas?

Magic?

A thought suddenly flickered through his mind. He felt he was on to something but couldn’t pinpoint the essence of it.

“Wu?” Ling asked, standing by his side.

“Wait a second!” Wu Qingsong called out, then quickly dashed out of the room, torch in hand.

This was a world with magic. The Batitz people were proficient in the use of magic. This was their temple. If they were to create a secret chamber, its mechanism for opening would surely involve magic.

He hurried towards the stone door that led to the underground palace. They had passed this spot countless times over these days and had thoroughly examined the vicinity. However, because the incident that clouded their minds hadn’t happened again, they hadn’t looked into it any further.

The secret was hidden right here.

The entrance to the secret chamber might not be at this exact location, but this spot would definitely reveal how they merged magic with architecture.

“Wu?” 

The people watched in astonishment as he meticulously inspected every carving around the shattered stone door with his torch. Then, he exclaimed excitedly, “I’ve found it!”

“Found what?” Sacker immediately asked.

“A magic formation,” Wu Qingsong announced.

On the dome behind the stone door were similarly intricate designs, yet they were distinct from those in other parts of the temple. The designs on the domes in other rooms were either decorations related to the God of Death or depicted a story. Here, however, the patterns were repeated with mathematical symmetry, devoid of any religious significance.

“Do you see those markings?” Wu Qingsong pointed out.

“Obsidian?”

“Exactly. And look, one of the three obsidian stones is shattered,” Wu Qingsong pointed out. “It must have been destroyed by Nina’s power, otherwise, every time we entered this area, we would have experienced the curse that disrupts the mind.”

“So?”

“So, if we find another location with the same pattern, we’re likely to find the mechanism that opens the way to the secret chamber.”

“I know where there’s a pattern like that,” Sacker, already very familiar with the temple, declared. “It’s in the resting room beside the sanctuary.”

The group quickly made their way to that room. Indeed, on one of its walls was a pattern that, while distinctly different from the first, followed the same underlying principle.

The issue, however, was that the spots meant for gems were empty, as though someone had removed them.

“Take those two intact obsidian stones from over there,” Wu Qingsong instructed.

“But we need one more,” Sacker observed.

Wu Qingsong removed his ring, “This should work.”