Chapter 7 – Solution to the Legacy’s Secret
writer:
bing update:2022-07-12 16:21
- TL: AmeryEdge-
ED: LtBeefy, Istaripanda
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The closer Shu Jing got to the mural, the more aggressive the Spirit Engulfing Flood Dragons became. Lin Yingmei followed closely behind and protected him with all her might. She was extremely puzzled about why Shu Jing was just standing in front of the painting, stubbornly observing it and refusing to move on.
Shu Jing leaned closer to the mural. The more he inspected it the more vivid and lifelike it became. The figure of the Green Dragon looked like it was about to burst out at a moment’s notice. Inside the dragon’s mouth was a jewel with seven small blinking stars carved upon it. Shu Jing’s eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, his hand shot towards the stars and pressed down on one of them gently. The moment his finger made contact, a dim ray of light appeared from within the star.
When Shu Jing saw this, he immediately pressed down on all seven stars simultaneously, his heart full of expectation for a special event to happen. However, the seven stars only briefly flickered to life before slowly turning back into a normal carving.
“Master, more Spirit Engulfing Flood Dragons are coming out from inside the Astral Gemstone faster and faster, we must leave this place at once!” Lin Yingmei revealed a rarely seen panicked expression. She really didn’t want to end up as a meal for these flood dragons. That kind of death would not be satisfying at all.
Shu Jing turned around and stared unblinkingly at the 7 pillars inside the throne room, and then looked at the 7 stars on the jewel. The way they were arranged was very similar to each other.
“Hold on for just a little longer!” Shu Jing’s mind was spinning at lightning speed. He quickly pressed down on all the 7 stars again.
The seven stars on the pearl once again blinked to life, and a deep muffled sound rang out. The Green Dragon’s jaw lowers, with sounds of stones moving piercing to the ear. By the time the sound stopped, there was now a compartment revealed where the jewel previously was. Lin Yingmei was startled by this development.
Shu Jing didn’t waste anytime scrutinizing the secret compartment. He immediately grabbed everything inside it and shouted: “Let’s go!” Lin Yingmei gathered her strength, swept the Flood Dragons aside with her Arctic Star Serpent Spear, and followed Shu Jing into the right hallway.
After they made their way inside the hall, they realised they were surrounded by complete darkness. The light from the outside simply could not enter this place. Luckily, this was also the Spirit Engulfing Flood Dragon’s weakness, because without light they could not find their targets at all.
After lighting up a small torch, the illuminated Ling Ying Mei turned and asked , “What did Master do just then?”
Shu Jing didn’t immediately answer, but instead he took out some items from inside his pouch. There were a small jade crystal and a jadeite stone in his hand. “I suddenly remembered the secret you mentioned, so I tried something. It seems my thoughts were correct.” [1]
“This is…?” Lin Chong concentrated her Divine Intent on the items in his hand. Suddenly her face showed a surprised expression, “The Profound Astral Gem!!”
“No way, this is the Profound Astral Gem?” Shu Jing was taken aback, and he carefully re-evaluated the palm-sized piece of crystal jade in his hand. There were countless stars forming in the shape of a eclipsed new moon in his hand. Shu Jing could not detect any power coming from the surface of the jade stone. However, if Lin Yingmei said that it was the Profound Astral Gem, then it must be true.
Shu Jing then shifted his attention to the jade marble. Aside from a dark shadow residing within it, it seemed like just an ordinary rock.
“What great luck, we’ve already managed to get our hands on an Astral Artifact.” Shu Jing grinned.
Lin Yingmei stared at Shu Jing suspiciously. She completely did not believe in the “luck” that Shu Jing spoke about. Thinking about the previous actions of Shu Jing, he definitely knew the solution to the secret of this Relic Blade Legacy. “Master, how did you figure it out?” Lin Yingmei wasn’t able to comprehend his previous actions.
Shu Jing spoke about his discovery of the similarity between the pillars and the stars. In the beginning, he didn’t think much of it, but when Lin Yingmei was hurrying him, a new possibility suddenly emerged in his mind. Shu Jing felt that even though the throne hall contained Astral Gemstone columns, there was no reason for the Legacy’s creator to raise a bunch of Flood Dragons there to guard it, he couldn’t have been so idle that he wasted effort to create such a simple trap. He must have had a deeper motive.
Because while on the outside, the Spirit Engulfing Flood Dragons may seem intimidating, they really aren’t that much of a threat until after a certain period of time has passed, and a sufficient amount of them have gathered. Shu Jing then thought of the possibility that this legacy’s creator had kept the Flood Dragons here not to deal with the people who had invaded the Legacy, but to only scare them into quickly leaving the hall. If this was the reason, then there was only one possible answer: The secret of the Relic Blade Legacy was contained within the main hall itself.
Hearing Shu Jing’s deduction, Lin Yingmei felt faint. “Master, even if you were right, how did the hidden passage open up in the end? No matter what, many people have already gone through this legacy previously.”
“I think the appearance of the Flood Dragons caused them to be too distracted to notice the password”.
“Password?” Lin Yingmei frowned. She had never heard of this term.
“The password is the key to opening this hidden passage. Do you remember the 7 columns? I pressed the stars based on the order those pillars initially lit up. But to be honest I really didn’t think it would reveal this passageway.” Shu Jing said and then laughed: “The architect seemed to have put a lot of thought into this.”
Lin Yingmei could only sigh, a feeling of admiration rising in her heart. If before she still looked down on Shu Jing a bit, after going through this trial she was now completely convinced of his ability. “Master has such deep knowledge, in the blink of an eye you were able to think of so many things! I believe throughout history there has been many Star Masters and Star Knights who have made it to this Legacy, but they were all distracted by the Spirit Engulfing Flood Dragons and never discovered the hidden compartment.”
Shu Jing laughed lightly. On his way to becoming the number one pilot, his intuition, calmness and quick-thinking speed had always been his trump card. The design of these puzzles, while mysterious in their own way, were far outstripped by the puzzles he had encountered in his training.
Shu Jing remembered the time he even challenged the “Tomb of the Ancient Dragon.” The traps inside there could cause even grown men to shiver in fear.
“Why was there such a puzzle in this Legacy? Perhaps the creator had too much time on their hands?” Shu Jing laughed.
“Master isn’t aware of this, but these Legacies like the Relic Blade Legacy are used to assess cultivators!”
Shu Jing asked with a quizzical expression, “Why is there a need to test cultivators?”
“Every time the great Star Duel event begins, many forbidden zone will simultaneously appear all over the land. Inside these forbidden grounds, there are many treasures both cultivators and Star Knights can only dream of attaining. Due to the upcoming Liangshan Maiden Star Duels, everybody is scrambling to enhance their strength, and the treasures attained from these ancient grounds are their number one choices.”
“What are these forbidden zones like?” Shu Jing curiously asked.
“Based on ancient records, there have been cases of Star Knights discovering these forbidden zones and receiving a drastic increase in power, but there are also cases of people not being able to find anything within them. More importantly, many cultivators and Star Knights have lost their lives at these forbidden grounds over the years, losing even the chance to meet the Liangshan Goddess.” Lin Yingmei slowly explained. “I have heard of forbidden grounds that were so complex in design, even a large amount of cultivators were not able to break through and enter them, resulting in them leaving empty-handed.”
“They sound quite interesting.” Shu Jing’s interest was piqued.
“Unfortunately, most of these forbidden grounds are very dangerous. With your current strength, this Lin Chong will be honest: now isn’t the time.” Lin Yingmei didn’t want Shu Jing to be blinded by greed and run towards his own death.
Shu Jing was likewise not reckless. “If these forbidden sanctuaries have such benefits for Star Knights and Star Masters, sooner or later we will find our way to one. But there seems to be something strange about them, these sanctuaries seemed to be tailored made to attract cultivators connected to the Star Duel Covenant, as if they were put there on purpose.”
“Your servant also thinks this, but in order to know for sure, I’m afraid there is only one way –” Lin Yingmei calmly said.
“Become the final victor of the Liangshan Star Duel!”
[1] Jade crystals(Nephrite) and Jadeites are two different kind of stones.