Gravel was still tumbling down, dust and mist filling the air. The massive boulder lay across the middle of the exit like a cold, unyielding verdict.
Chen Wuya stood before the gap, two bloody cuts on his face from the flying shards of stone, burning with pain. He did not raise a hand to wipe them away. He only stared at the stone surface covered in patterns, his gaze inching across those seemingly chaotic cracks.
"Why did this stone... move on its own?" he said softly. His voice was quiet, yet the two behind him both tensed at once.
Bai Zhi braced herself on her sword and steadied her footing. "You're saying it can move?"
"That tremor just now." Chen Wuya raised a finger and pointed at an intersecting pattern near the boulder's base. "What I drove into it was Misaligned Force—extremely weak—but its response was far too smooth. Like it had been waiting for that strike all along."
Mo Feng approached, panting, and reached out to touch the carvings, his fingertips gliding along the grooves. A moment later, his eyes sharpened. "It's a Resonance-Triggering Talisman. Used in ancient mechanisms—it relies on a specific frequency to trigger resonance and pry loose the internal structure. This isn't a roadblock. It's a door bolt."
Bai Zhi frowned. "But where are we supposed to find the strength to shake it? Our true qi is nearly depleted."
"It doesn't take brute force." Chen Wuya shook his head. "These runes recognize frequency, not power. Like striking a bell—tap it lightly, and if you hit the right spot, its sound can still carry a hundred feet."
Gritting his teeth, Mo Feng pulled a half-charred bronze handle from his robes. It was the last remnant of a mechanism he had left. He rubbed its broken edge with