Dragon's Origin

These words caused Flying Fox and the others to blush with a mix of anger and embarrassment. They couldn't refute Wang Sheng's statement because it was true; their hesitation had indeed caused the delay.

"Open the gate!" Flying Fox waved his hand, issuing the order.

Four experts at the sixth level of cultivation quickly positioned themselves between the two doors. Each of them firmly gripped the massive stone door rings that were already in place. With a unified shout, they exerted their strength, pulling upwards with all their might.

Amidst everyone's expectant gazes, with everyone clenching their fists in the hope of witnessing the true face of the underground palace, and with everyone silently cheering on the four experts, anticipating their success in opening the stone gate… nothing happened.

The four sixth-level experts responsible for pulling the stone gate were red in the face from the strain, but the massive stone doors didn't budge an inch. Each pair was responsible for one door, yet they couldn't lift them.

The scene was so awkward that everyone's anticipation suddenly turned into disappointment, like stumbling on an empty step while walking, causing a jarring stumble. Several impatient individuals, knowing their cultivation was inferior to the four, and realizing they wouldn't be able to lift the doors either, probably would have rushed forward to help if they could.

A rare blush crept onto Flying Fox's face. His subordinates' embarrassment reflected poorly on him, the leader. However, there was nothing else he could do at the moment except wave his hand and signal for more people to assist.

This time, everyone learned from their mistake. With twice as many people, they finally managed to lift the stone doors slightly. Seeing the thickness of the sides revealed as the stone doors were raised, the people exerting force tacitly lowered the doors together. Then, all eight of them focused on one door, grabbing the door rings on both sides and pulling again.

With the combined effort of eight people, one stone door was finally raised. At this point, the onlookers finally saw the full view of the stone door. It was five meters long, over two meters wide, and half a meter thick. The total weight was probably tens of thousands of pounds. No wonder two sixth-level individuals couldn't lift one. Frankly, if they hadn't brought enough experts, they might have had to retreat empty-handed.

After opening one door, everyone exerted a great deal of effort to open the other. Facing the now-open underground palace, everyone wished they could jump in immediately, searching first and finding the best treasures first. But no matter how anxious, they had to stay outside obediently, waiting for the air to circulate.

Who would dare jump into the underground palace immediately after opening the gate, after it had been sealed for five hundred years? That would be courting death.

If they waited for natural ventilation, with such a small entrance and the vast underground palace below, it would probably take ten days to half a month. Fortunately, the people from Baoqing Counting House had anticipated this and made preparations in advance.

Several formation masters each exchanged a formation stone, still distributed around the stone gate, and activated the formation stones. A powerful hurricane was generated from the center of the four people, then frantically poured into the palace below.

Wang Sheng nodded slightly, thinking this was more like it. He hadn't expected the formations in this world to have such effects. The airflow was so strong, it was more powerful than some of the ultra-high-powered blowers Wang Sheng had seen on Earth. At this rate, the air below would probably be completely exchanged in a few hours.

Wang Sheng also found it amazing that this ancient sect could think of using the earth fire vein to refine pills, and he was astonished by the bold idea. That was an active volcano crater! A careless eruption could submerge not only the underground palace, but also the parts above ground in lava!

It would be strange if they didn't keep the source of water for refining pills far away from the sulfur dioxide-filled volcano crater. If they really used local materials, it would be equivalent to drinking sulfurous acid. If their pills dared to be made with locally sourced water, they would definitely be a batch of poison pills every time, without fail.

With the entrance to the underground palace now open, those with ulterior motives were secretly preparing. Many people understood that when they entered and found what they wanted, it would be the moment of reckoning.

Watching the four formation masters control the wind-blowing formation, constantly ventilating the underground palace, everyone waited silently. Wang Sheng and the female owner seemed the most carefree, sitting a little further away, enjoying wine and food while waiting, which made the surrounding people frown.

For safety's sake, everyone stayed there for a whole night. The formation didn't stop all night, constantly ventilating. People nearby could smell the initially pungent odor coming from the entrance, but the smell gradually faded until the next morning, when it was barely noticeable.

Flying Fox had someone grab a small beast, tie it with a rope, and throw it down. After waiting for a while, they pulled it up, and after confirming the small beast was fine, he waved his hand, signaling everyone to walk down the dark, sloping staircase at the entrance.

The dark entrance was like a ferocious beast in the darkness, opening its mouth and swallowing everyone inside.

Wang Sheng and the female owner walked in the middle, with people in front and behind. Surprisingly, Flying Fox wasn't at the front, but stayed at the back.

When everyone in the team had entered the underground palace, Flying Fox and the few people guarding the rear strenuously closed the two huge, heavy stone doors one by one. When the heavy sound of the stone doors closing echoed, there was no light left in the underground palace, only darkness.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat at the heavy closing sound. Everyone understood that with the weight of those two stone doors, they couldn't be opened unless everyone inside worked together. Anyone who wanted to play tricks inside would probably end up harming themselves and others, trapped and suffocated in the underground palace.

In other words, at this point, everyone had to unconditionally obey the words of the most powerful expert who spoke most authoritatively. Otherwise, he wouldn't even need to act; he could simply unite everyone and leave the disobedient person behind, which would be enough to deter everyone.

The prepared torches were lit one by one, and the flickering flames illuminated everyone's faces. Everyone could only follow the stone steps under their feet, moving forward, and soon disappeared into the dark underground palace.

The heavy stone doors had been closed for four or five hours. Suddenly, three figures flashed out of the surrounding dense forest. Looking at the cleared entrance to the underground palace and the tightly closed stone doors, smiles appeared on their faces.

It's rare to see turtles closing themselves in a jar!