Chapter 167: The Gateway of All Marvels

Although the two stood on opposite sides of righteousness and evil, faced with the sudden opportunity and challenge, their actions were remarkably unanimous: to press forward with indomitable courage!

"Heaven leaves no man without a path! Sikou Xuan's [blank] must be inside. It seems fate still stands on my side!"

Seeing a great opportunity before him, Huang Wuchang's withered ambition was revitalized with a fresh spring, and his peerless, wicked scheme was activated once more. "He Wentian, no matter how meticulously you calculated, you never expected to find a door here! Not to mention you couldn't foresee it, even this old man didn't expect it!"

With a loud laugh, paying no heed to Ye Dong's reaction, he stepped ahead into the "Gate of All Marvels" within the stone coffin.

"There are five golden-light sealing incantations outside. Even if Master were to arrive, it would take him a considerable amount of time, wouldn't it? It seems I cannot wait for them. At a time like this, I cannot afford to care about life or death. Anyone can obtain this fortune, but Huang Wuchang must not! No matter what, I must fight this out!"

Clenching his teeth, Ye Dong quickly followed him inside!

After the two entered the Gate of All Marvels, the stone coffin returned to tranquility. Unlike before, the massive coffin lid actually closed on its own, and the Five-Element Banners and five-colored talisman arrays on both sides of the stone coffin miraculously restored themselves to their original appearance.

Everything remained unchanged, or perhaps, everything had changed.

Meanwhile, after battling the Wolf Demon, Chen Yaochen had injured his primordial spirit and was currently sitting cross-legged in meditation within the Vajra Subduing Circle formed by Wenxing and Hengxing, awaiting the arrival of Daoist Weizi and the others.

With a twitch of his ears and a sudden opening of his eyes, he saw several figures walking briskly around the corner of the Buddha hall—it was precisely Daoist Weizi's second squad, accompanied by Officer Li.

"Yao!" "Brother Chen!" "Master!"

Seeing Chen Yaochen's pale complexion, Daoist Weizi, Officer Li, Zilong, and the others were deeply concerned and stepped forward one after another to inquire.

"Fortunately, I didn't die."

Casting a glare at Daoist Weizi, Chen Yaochen let out a cold laugh. "Junior Uncle, why didn't you wait until I was dead before showing up? You could have burned some joss paper, poured wine onto the ground, and shouted, 'Rest in peace on your journey, Junior Nephew!' Wouldn't that have been much more convenient?"

Hearing Chen Yaochen's reproach, Daoist Weizi plastered a fawning smile across his face. "Ah, Yao, look at what you're saying! Those words send chills down the spine!"

Seeing Chen Yaochen's evident displeasure, Zilong also offered a placating smile. "Master, if we hadn't run into some tricky mechanisms, we wouldn't have been delayed in getting here!"

"Mechanisms?"

Chen Yaochen raised his head to look at Officer Li. Noticing Officer Li's furrowed brow, he heard him say in a low voice, "Yes, we encountered extremely troublesome mechanisms on our way to provide backup. Two team members were injured, which delayed us for a while."

"So it was mechanisms causing trouble along the way. No wonder reinforcements took so long to arrive."

Chen Yaochen gave a bitter smile. "You didn't carry jade talismans with you, and those mechanisms don't recognize people. You can't be blamed."

"Brother Chen, there are some things I find quite strange."

Officer Li wore a puzzled expression. "Although I don't understand these arcane mechanisms very well, based on the ones we just encountered, I can deduce that they were deliberately targeting us to buy time."

"If that's the case, it does seem rather strange."

Hearing Officer Li's concerns, Chen Yaochen furrowed his brows deeply. "You mean there was some force deliberately hindering your reinforcement of me?"

Daoist Weizi let out a soft sigh. "I only hope I'm worrying too much. Wenxing said that you locked horns with the Wolf Demon inside Huang Wuchang's gourd?"

"Yes, that stinking Wolf Demon was vicious indeed. It took a tremendous effort on my part to trap him, but in the end, he still managed to escape."

Seeming somewhat frustrated, Chen Yaochen said with a worried expression, "Ye Dong has been inside with Huang Wuchang for quite some time now, and there's no telling whether he's dead or alive. Brother, could you check if you can detect the distance between Ye Dong and us?"

Officer Li hurriedly took out the detector. It showed that the distance to Ye Dong was not too far, but the signal was extremely weak, as if it were being interfered with by some kind of radio waves or energy. They had no idea what was happening on Ye Dong's end; this interference signal was being emitted by the giant bells of the five golden lights.

"There's no time to lose. Let's hurry and provide backup,"

Chen Yaochen said with a bitter smile, "Although Ye Dong is clever and good at adapting to circumstances, Huang Wuchang's vitality has already been injured by me. I estimate that Guangqi's plan targeting him has already been set in motion."

Talking as they walked, the group finally arrived before the large stone chamber housing Sikou Xuan's stone coffin.

"Master, look, there are three cages over there!" Dachun, possessing spirit-sight, instantly spotted the black cages in the corner!

"Cages? Could those be the catalysts?"

Chen Yaochen said in a low voice, "Zilong, go take a look, and be careful."

"Understood!"

Clutching his dagger tightly, Zilong walked softly toward the black cages and called out in a low voice, "Man or ghost inside, give an answer so we can avoid any unnecessary hostility."

"Wuwu! Wuwuwu!"

To the group's astonishment, human voices came from within, and they belonged to women.

Opening his dharma-sight, Zilong couldn't help shouting out, "Master, the ones inside are all people of extreme Yin essence!"

Chen Yaochen and Daoist Weizi exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of unease and worry in the other's eyes.

"Strange. Logically speaking, Huang Wuchang would have found a way to bring these catalysts into the stone chamber no matter what,"

Officer Li frowned. "Could something unexpected have happened?"

The three women were quickly rescued. After Zilong channeled Yang energy into them and fed them some water, the pale, weak complexions on their faces gradually regained a hint of color.

"We are police officers and Daoist priests, you are safe now. Why are you here? Where are Huang Wuchang and He Wentian?"

Fearing that speaking too loudly might frighten them, Zilong suppressed the urgency in his heart and asked softly, "Please tell us everything you know."

"It's... it's a man named He Wentian, the one called Ye Dong who saved us... he..."

One of the catalysts had red eyes, and tears streamed down uncontrollably. "It turns out he was always a good person. He went undercover beside Huang Wuchang just to sabotage his plans."

"My good apprentice, truly wonderful, truly wonderful..."

Chen Yaochen felt a pang in his heart, his eyes involuntarily turning red. "He promised to rescue you no matter what, and he really did it. He actually did it."

"Brother Dong, where is he now then?"

The more the catalyst spoke, the more heartbroken she became. Looking at the tightly sealed stone door, she sobbed, "After Huang Wuchang forced Guangqi and He Wentian into a duel, he entered that stone chamber. And to save us, Ye Dong was dragged inside by Huang Wuchang as well."

"What? Guangqi!?"

Hearing the name Guangqi, everyone was struck with shock, and they hurriedly questioned further, "You said the person who dueled He Wentian was named Guangqi?"

"Yes, I heard correctly. His name is Guangqi."

Officer Li slowly shook his head and sighed. "Guangqi was indeed confirmed dead on the day of the autopsy. How could such an unfathomable thing have happened?"

At this moment, Xiaobao spotted a corpse beneath a pile of sand—it was precisely the man named Chen Yong.

"Why is this person here?"

Chen Yaochen pondered. "Could this person be the Guangqi the catalyst mentioned?"

With tear-blurred eyes, looking straight at Zilong before her, the catalyst cried out accusingly, "He Wentian also said that he did not bring shame to his master!"

As soon as these words left the catalyst's mouth, everyone knew that Ye Dong had embraced the resolve to fight Huang Wuchang to the death. At this moment, his chances of survival were likely slim.

"Master! Master!"

Hearing of Ye Dong's do-or-die determination, grief overwhelmed Chen Yaochen's heart. He nearly collapsed to the ground, and would have fallen had Wenxing not firmly supported him.

"Dong'er, Dong'er! It was Master who arrived too late."

Clenching his fists tightly, hot tears rolled down Chen Yaochen's cheeks. He closed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Child, can you remember anything else he said?"

"Right, there was one more thing. It was said by Huang Wuchang. He seemed to have gone mad at that moment, screaming frantically!"

The catalyst wiped away her tears and said, "He shouted, 'How can it be gone? Where is Sikou Xuan's body? How can it be gone?! Impossible! Impossible!'"

She paused for a moment. "He laughed so terrifyingly—it was the painful laughter of someone who had lost something immensely precious. And Ye Dong was also laughing wildly, shouting, 'Serves you right for failing to get it! If you got your hands on it, countless people would die, and today, whether I live or die, I'm going to fight you to the end!' After that, the heavy doors closed, and I don't know what happened."

Officer Li mused, "It really is just as Junior Uncle and Brother Chen anticipated. What Huang Wuchang wanted was Sikou Xuan's body. But who took that body, and where was it taken?"

He looked toward the tightly sealed stone door and muttered, "All the secrets lie behind that stone door."

Daoist Weizi nodded, walked swiftly up to the stone door, and attempted to find a way to open it.

Zhizhang also crowded forward to inspect the stone door and couldn't help exclaiming, "This stone door seems quite tricky. It's covered in talismans; looking at it makes my head spin."

"Esteemed Daoist priest, use my blood. Opening the door that way will be much faster." The catalyst extended her scar-covered arm and said tearfully, "Huang Wuchang also used my blood to open the door. It should save a lot of time."

Everyone was startled. Seeing that the catalyst showed no fear and her eyes were filled with genuine concern, they felt a warmth in their hearts.

Seeing that no one responded, the catalyst paused again. "He Wentian is still inside. I want to save him, so please use my blood! Otherwise, if something truly happens to him, I will never find peace for the rest of my life!"

"Child, you are a kind soul,"

Daoist Weizi shook his head with a gentle smile and replied, "I thank you on behalf of He Wentian for your good intentions. However, since this old man walks the righteous path, naturally I have the righteous path's method for opening doors. Huang Wuchang is untalented and specializes in petty schemes that harm others to benefit himself; he is truly the scum of the Daoist sect."

With a low shout, his Silver Dusk Dharma Manifestation was activated, and as he thrust forward a hand seal, the seemingly impassable stone door was finally forced open under the continuous energy assault!

At the instant the heavy doors opened, a blinding golden light instantly illuminated every corner both inside and outside the entrance!

"This barrier..."

Seeing this, Chen Yaochen furrowed his brows deeply. "This is going to be troublesome. It's actually the 'Five-Metal Death Gate Seal'!! Why would this thing appear at a time like this?"

Meanwhile, Ye Dong, having stepped through the mystical gate, also witnessed the wonders of this realm. Between closing and opening his eyes, he discovered that he was standing within a paradise on earth.