Chen Ping circled around the stone gate, noticing some tiny runes at the seams, similar to the human runes he had seen in the passageway earlier.
“It seems we need to use the method of runes to open it. Is there anything in your ancestor’s legacy about breaking the demon clan’s restrictions?”
Hu Mazi closed his eyes, recalling the information from the stone tablet, and suddenly his eyes lit up. “Got it! Using Yin-Yang runes can break this restriction. The interplay of Yin and Yang can neutralise the sinister energy of the demon clan!”
He took out two pieces of rune paper from his pocket and, following the method in the legacy, used his spiritual energy as a brush to quickly draw two runes.
One rune paper was golden, radiating masculine energy; the other was black, emitting a soft, feminine energy.
“Chen Ping, guard me!”
Hu Mazi placed the two runes on either side of the stone gate, formed hand seals, and began chanting.
The golden and black runes simultaneously burst into light, forming a Taiji pattern that slowly merged into the stone gate.
The demon head pattern let out an angry roar, its red light clashing with the Taiji pattern, causing the stone gate to tremble violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.
At that moment, the demon head pattern on the gate suddenly opened its giant mouth, spewing a cloud of black mist towards Hu Mazi!
Chen Ping’s eyes sharpened, and his Dragon-Slaying Sword was instantly unsheathed. A golden sword aura formed a shield in front of Hu Mazi, slicing the black mist into fragments. “Focus on breaking the restriction, I’ve got this!”
After the black mist was shattered, it transformed into countless small bats, swooping towards the two.
These bats were pitch black, their eyes glowing red, clearly formed from demonic energy.
Chen Ping snorted coldly, circulating his spiritual energy to create a faint golden shield that enveloped them both. The bats collided with the shield, making a sizzling sound, and quickly dissipated into nothing.
Hu Mazi didn’t dare lose focus, his hand seals speeding up, and the light from the Yin-Yang runes growing ever brighter.
The red light of the demon head pattern on the gate gradually dimmed, while the Taiji pattern became clearer. Finally, with a loud boom, the stone gate slowly opened.
Beyond the gate was a vast space, like an underground palace, with a black altar standing at its centre. A long sword was embedded in the altar, its blade black and emanating a cold aura.
The altar was surrounded by bones, both of demons and humans, indicating a brutal battle had once taken place.
“Is that the treasure Youyue wants?”
Hu Mazi pointed at the long sword on the altar. “It looks like a demonic sword.”
Chen Ping shook his head. “It’s not that simple. Look at the runes around the altar; that’s a sealing array. This sword is likely used to suppress something.”
He stepped forward, carefully examining the runes around the altar, which were similar to those he had seen on the stone tablet but far more complex and precise, clearly the final seal set by the Hu ancestors.
“The place sealed beneath the altar is likely where the demon general is.”
Chen Ping pointed to a groove in the centre of the altar. “What Youyue wants is probably not the sword but what’s in the groove.”
In the groove lay a black bead, only the size of a thumb, radiating dense demonic energy, yet suppressed by the surrounding runes, unable to spread.
“What is this thing?” Hu Mazi asked curiously.
Chen Ping looked at it but didn’t recognise the black bead at all.
“That’s a demon core!”
The voice of the Red Cloud Demon Lord rang out. “And it’s the demon core of an ancient demon general! With this core, you can control the sealed demon general!”
“Demon general?” Chen Ping was stunned, asking in confusion, “Senior, is this demon general more powerful than you?”
The Red Cloud Demon Lord sneered. “If he were more powerful than me, he wouldn’t be sealed here. He’s not as powerful as me…”
