On the outskirts of the mine, there is a mountain col a few miles away.
The man in gray robe lay on the ground and put his ear on a copper Sound-Listening Tube.
A low-level Soul Tool that can amplify distant vibrations and sounds.
He had been lying down for nearly an hour, motionless, like a stone growing in the soil.
When Dugu Bo's Soul Power erupted in the underground hall, a dull roar came from Sound-Listening Tube.
The man in gray robe's hand shook, but he did not stand up immediately, but continued to listen for a while.
After confirming that there was no more noise, he slowly put away Soul Tool, turned around and went into the woods.
He ran very fast, but not in a hurry.
He has walked this route countless times, and knows every turn and root by heart.
There is a hidden cave five miles away. The entrance is completely covered by vines and cannot be seen unless you get closer.
He ducked in.
"My lord."
The black shadow stood deep in the cave, with its back to him.
An oil lamp was lit on the wall of the cave, and the flame flickered, stretching the shadows into long shadows.
"Dugu Bo took that boy in." The man in gray robe knelt on one knee.
"My subordinates don't dare to get close. They only dare to use Sound-Listening Tube from the outside."
The black shadow did not turn around. "Say."
"There was movement inside, Dugu Bo took action, Soul Power exploded violently, but Stone Gate did not open.
Later... there was light coming out from the ground, it was not green,
It's platinum gold, very bright, and it goes out after a few breaths."
"Platinum..." Black Shadow repeated in a low voice, as if chewing on these words.
"Dugu Bo didn't look good when he came out. The boy's face turned pale.
There was blood at the corner of his mouth, as if he had been injured.
Dugu Bo took him and flew away, heading in the direction of Heaven Dou City."
The shadow was silent for a long time.
The oil lamp on the cave wall jumped, and ashes fell from the wick.
"The white-gold light is consistent with the color of the runes on Stone Gate."
The shadow finally spoke, his voice lower than usual,
"It is recorded in ancient books that that kind of light belongs to Temple of Light."
The man in gray robe raised his head. "Temple of Light? Wasn't that already..."
"Disappeared." The black shadow interrupted him,
"But disappearing doesn't mean it doesn't exist. That Stone Gate is the evidence.
That boy's light energy resonates with Stone Gate, which means that the Martial Soul in him is of the same origin.
It's not Dugu Bo, it's him and only him."
The shadow turned around, its gray-green eyes shining in the darkness.
"Key confirmed."
The man in gray robe lowered his head. "Sir, let us now..."
"No hurry." The shadow raised his hand and interrupted him.
"He was injured and won't be back in the short term.
And Dugu Bo will keep an eye on him even tighter, we are no match for him, and a head-on confrontation will lead to death."
"Then how long do we have to wait?"
"Wait until he comes by himself." The corners of the black shadow's mouth were slightly raised, revealing a cold arc.
"That Stone Gate is waiting for him, and he will go back sooner or later.
By then, it will naturally be stronger than it is now, we just need to wait."
He turned around and walked deeper into the cave.
"Keep staring. Don't get close, don't be alarmed, Dugu Bo is not blind.
Keep the outer sentry at a distance and don't let him catch you by the tail.
When the time comes, that adult will come in person."
The man in gray robe lowered his head. "Yes."
He got up and exited the cave.
The oil lamp went out and darkness swallowed everything up again.
Star Dou Great Forest, somewhere.
It was late at night, the moonlight was completely blocked by the tree crowns, and the forest was pitch black.
Tang San sat cross-legged by the fire, closing his eyes and meditating.
They had been walking for several days, heading south.
Tang Hao said that Blue Silver Ancestral Land is deep in Star Dou Great Forest and is the settlement of the Blue Silver Emperor lineage.
Only there can the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline in his body be awakened.
Tang San I don't know how long we have to go, I just know that the further south we go,
The denser the vegetation, the richer the breath of life in the air.
Following the method taught by his father, he sank his consciousness deep into his blood and tried to sense the call of Blue Silver Emperor.
But in the past few days, in addition to the increasingly strong resonance of life,
He never found the "source".
Suddenly, his back stiffened suddenly.
Eight Spider Lances opened slightly uncontrollably, and a very light, almost invisible orangutan mist appeared on the blue-purple Spider Spear.
It's not pain, but an instinctive disgust that comes from the bones, like innate rejection.
Tang San opened his eyes and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Tang Hao's voice came from the other side.
"Nothing." Tang San forced Eight Spider Lances back into his body, clenched his fists,
"... just a little uncomfortable."
He couldn't tell what it was.
Tang Hao glanced at him and did not ask any further questions.
"Rest. Continue on your way at dawn."
He didn't know that thousands of miles away, East Foothills of Tiantou City, an ancient Stone Gate had just been touched by his peers.
The runes on Stone Gate have nothing to do with Blue Silver Emperor or his bloodline.
But there was some subtle resonance with the seed planted by Asura God between his eyebrows.
Divine Realm, Asura God Temple.
The man in the blood-colored robe was leaning on the throne, his gaze penetrated the clouds and landed on the lower realm.
He saw the Stone Gate, and saw the white gold shimmer remaining on the Stone Gate,
I saw the young man with the mark between his eyebrows.
"The embers of Temple of Light..." he whispered, with a sneer on the corner of his mouth,
"It's not burned out yet."
He raised his hand, and a very thin streak of blood-colored divine power penetrated the barrier between the Divine Realm and the lower world.
It landed silently on the center of Tang San's eyebrows.
It's not intervention, it's amplification.
Amplify his instinctive resistance to light, amplify his heart's desire for power, and make the string tighter.
"Pick up the hammer." The voice sounded in Tang San's heart, as light as his own thoughts.
"The blood in your bones should be used to hold a hammer. Grass will only make you weak."
Heaven Dou City, Huangdou Academy.
Chen Jieqi It was already afternoon when we returned to the dormitory.
He closed the door, sat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoned his collar and looked at his chest.
A faint burn mark extends from the collarbone to the heart,
Not deep, but slightly hot.
He closed his eyes, and the mark between his eyebrows was still slightly warm.
The heartbeat after Stone Gate, that voice, "You're here",
Still echoing in his mind.
It's not a hallucination, not an illusion, but something is really waiting for him.
He opened his eyes and took out a piece of paper from Soul Tool,
I picked up a pen and wrote a few lines, folded it, sealed it, and immediately sent someone to deliver this to Crown Prince's Residence.
Chen Jieqi lay down again and looked at the ceiling.
Dugu Bo is right, at least until Soul King,
He closed his eyes, this time, he was really tired.
Crown Prince's Residence, evening.
Xue Qinghe opened the envelope, there were only a few lines of words,
"Stone Gate really resonates with me.
Not strong enough, injured, at least Soul King is needed.
It will take two years to arrive. I will visit you in a few days."
She took the letter and read it for a long time.
Outside the window, the sunset was sinking into the sky, and a dark red cloud was burning on the horizon.
She remembered what he said before leaving, "Be careful."
I remembered the look in his eyes as he stood at the entrance of the college and watched her leave.
She folded the letter and put it in the drawer.
It's not the drawer for the intelligence network, it's the other one, which is locked.
There was only a piece of paper inside, and she kept the words he wrote to her for the first time.
"The road is dead, but the people are alive.
As you walk, you may find your own way."
She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes.
Then, she opened her eyes and spread out a new piece of paper, wrote a few words with a pen, folded it, and sealed it.
"Here comes someone."
The attendant outside the door came in in response.
"Tomorrow morning, send Huangdou Academy to Chen Jieqi."
The attendant took it and left.
There is only one line of words on that piece of paper,
"I know, take good care of yourself and I'll see you in a few days."
Dugu Manor, late at night.
Dugu Bo was sitting in the yard. He thought of the runes on Stone Gate and the power that bounced him away.
Not attack, not defense, but "rejection".
Like a door saying to a stranger "You don't deserve to come in."
After decades of living, this was the first time he saw that kind of thing.
"Two years..." he said to himself, "Is it enough?"
No one answered. The moonlight filled the courtyard and it was very quiet.
East Foothills of Tiantou City, underground in the mine, the hall is empty.
The runes on Stone Gate are as dim as death, but the deepest line,
There is still a very faint white gold shimmer left.
Not burning, not beating, but like a heart,
Beating extremely slowly and almost imperceptibly.