allonlinenovel Chapter 111 The Puzzle and the Dawn of Hope
Chapter 111 The Puzzle and the Dawn of Hope
The words spoken by the illusory figure weighed heavily on the hearts of the woman in black robes, the man in white, and Ling'er, like a massive boulder. The woman in black robes frowned, her gaze warily scanning the illusory figure and the space filled with ancient artifacts. A soft yet mysterious light emanated from the surroundings, illuminating the various objects, making each one seem to hold a secret. She pondered to herself, having endured countless hardships to reach this point, only to be blocked by this puzzle. But she couldn't give up; the key to the divine artifact held the key to unlocking all the mysteries, and she had to find a way to overcome this obstacle.
The man in white also wore a solemn expression. He narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully observing everything in the space, trying to find clues about the mystery from the ancient artifacts or the changes in light and shadow. He knew this mystery was likely not simple, but now that things had come to this, retreating was pointless. He could only rely on his past knowledge and his intelligence to try his best to solve it. At this moment, he felt both worried about the unknown mystery and a fighting spirit that refused to give up, determined to find a glimmer of hope in this seemingly hopeless situation. Ling'er, on the other hand, stared wide-eyed at her surroundings with curiosity and nervousness, her little hands unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes. She thought to herself, "The scroll records so many strange and wonderful things; perhaps there are clues in it that can solve the mystery before us. I must quickly and carefully flip through it again."
As the illusory figure finished speaking, the light in the space began to flicker, as if urging them to start solving the puzzle as soon as possible. Amidst the flickering light, strange runes appeared in mid-air, shimmering and arranged into intricate patterns that were dazzling to the eye. The woman in black robes looked at the runes and felt a wave of dizziness. Although she was usually skilled in wielding swords and knives, she was truly at a loss when faced with these obscure and difficult runic puzzles.
The man in white leaned closer, carefully examining the runes, muttering to himself as he tried to decipher their meaning. But the runes seemed to be deliberately working against him; the deeper he delved, the more shrouded in mystery they became, leaving him utterly bewildered. His brow furrowed deeper, and he felt a pang of frustration. All the knowledge he had accumulated seemed insufficient at this moment. He silently blamed himself for not studying these mysterious runes more thoroughly.
Ling'er joined in, taking out the ancient scroll from her bosom and flipping through the pages, searching for similar records, comparing them to the runes in mid-air. Fine beads of sweat glistened on her focused face, her eyes showing a hint of stubbornness as she prayed for a discovery. Suddenly, Ling'er pointed to a passage on the scroll and exclaimed excitedly, "Look, this seems to be related to those runes! It says here that these runes might be an ancient language, and their meaning can only be deciphered by arranging them in a specific order!"
Upon hearing this, the woman in black and the man in white hurried over to look, a glimmer of hope igniting in their eyes. Following Ling'er's guidance, the man in white re-examined the runes, trying different arrangements and combinations, muttering incantations as his mind raced. After much contemplation, a look of realization dawned on his face. He said, "I think I'm getting it. These runes, when combined, seem to be saying that we need to find objects in the space corresponding to the five elements, and then arrange them in a generating order. Perhaps that will solve the mystery."
Hearing this, the woman in black was overjoyed and quickly said, "Then let's hurry up and look for it." So, the three of them split up and carefully searched the small space for objects marked with the five elements. The space was so quiet that only their slightly rapid breathing and the occasional sound of objects being moved could be heard. The soft light shone on them, but it did not dispel the tension in their hearts.
Before long, Ling'er was the first to discover a small jade bottle engraved with water patterns, excitedly exclaiming, "I found something with the water element!" The woman in black robes also found a small cauldron with flame patterns, seemingly representing the fire element. The man in white found a jade pendant engraved with tree patterns, corresponding to the wood element.
Next, they found a small sword representing the metal element and an ancient seal representing the earth element. However, when it came to arranging them according to the generating cycle of the five elements, they encountered another problem. Was the correct order to arrange them as metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, and earth generates metal, or was there another hidden meaning?
After a moment's thought, the man in white said, "I think we should try the conventional order of the five elements' mutual generation first. If it doesn't work, we can find another way." The woman in black and Ling'er nodded in agreement, and they carefully placed the items in order on a stone platform in the center of the space.
The instant the objects were placed, the entire space blazed with light, and the runes flickered more rapidly, as if verifying the correctness of their answers. Everyone stared nervously at the stone platform, their hearts in their throats. However, after a brief flash, the light suddenly dimmed, followed by a low laugh. The illusory figure reappeared, speaking with a hint of mockery, "Haha, you think you can easily solve the riddle? Wrong order? I'll give you another chance, but with each mistake, the danger in this space will increase."
The woman in black felt a pang of guilt; she hadn't expected to be wrong. What was she to do now? The man in white also frowned, filled with self-reproach, feeling that his lack of foresight had led to this outcome. Ling'er bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back. She thought to herself that she had to pull herself together and look for more clues.
Just as they were stuck in a rut, unsure of what to do, a strange light suddenly flashed in a corner of the space. Though faint, the light seemed to be drawing their attention. What could it be? A new clue, or yet another trap? They hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to walk towards the light, to explore whether it held hope or a deeper crisis...