I walk sideways in the game world

Chapter 276: Breaking through the Stone Gate and Encountering Mysterious Obstacles

Master Li's expression was focused, as if the outside world had nothing to do with him. Sometimes he would be lost in thought, his fingers gently stroking the stone door, sensing the flow of energy hidden beneath the runes; sometimes his brows would furrow, and he would mutter to himself, as if deducing the changes in some complex formation.

Ren Xiaoyao and others held their breath and did not dare to make any sound, for fear of disturbing Master Li's cracking process.

Time ticked by, the runes on the stone door flickering under Master Li's control. Everyone was filled with anticipation, yet also with a hint of unease. This stone door had been sealed for countless ages, and no one knew what the consequences would be if it were opened.

Suddenly, the runes on the stone gate shone brightly, blinding everyone. Then, a powerful force erupted from the stone gate, sending Master Li flying far away.

"Master Li!" Ren Xiaoyao exclaimed, and with a flash of his body, he caught Master Li who was flying backwards.

Master Li fell heavily to the ground, uttering a muffled groan, his face as pale as paper.

"Master Li, are you okay?" Xia Lin asked anxiously.

Master Li struggled to sit up, shook his head, and said weakly, "I'm fine. I was just attacked by this power. I just need to rest for a while."

Ren Xiaoyao and the others quickly helped Master Li up and let him rest against the stone wall. Pharmacist Chen pulled out a few pills from his pocket and gave them to Master Li to help him regulate his breathing.

"Master Li, what is going on with this stone gate? Why does it have such powerful power?" Ren Xiaoyao asked.

Master Li took a deep breath and said slowly, "The runes on this stone door are not ordinary formations, but an extremely ancient sealing technique. This sealing technique contains powerful power. Once triggered, it will trigger a backlash."

"Have you found a solution?" Xia Lin asked.

Master Li shook his head and said with a wry smile, "This sealing technique is too profound. I am not very knowledgeable and cannot break it for the time being."

When everyone heard this, their hearts sank.

Ren Xiaoyao stared at the towering stone gate before him, his gaze gradually growing firmer. He turned to look at Master Li and said in a deep voice, "Master Li, you've done your best. Now, leave it to me."

Master Li was momentarily stunned, then he understood what Ren Xiaoyao meant. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately sighed. He knew that with his own abilities, he could no longer crack the stone door. Perhaps Ren Xiaoyao was their last hope.

Ren Xiaoyao walked to the stone gate, his eyes fixed on the runes, as if he wanted to engrave them in his mind. He reached out and gently touched the ancient symbols, feeling the vicissitudes and mystery contained within them...

"These runes..." Ren Xiaoyao muttered to himself, frowning slightly, "They seem... a little different from what I've seen before..."

Ren Xiaoyao withdrew his hand, frowning, lost in thought. He paced back and forth, his eyes constantly scanning the runes on the stone door, his mind constantly recalling the scene when Master Li had cracked it.

"No, this isn't right!" Ren Xiaoyao suddenly stopped and pointed at a rune on the stone gate. "Master Li previously interpreted this rune as 'seal,' but from my observation, although this rune is written similarly to 'seal,' it's missing a stroke, so its meaning must be completely different."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this and quickly gathered around to take a closer look.

"Brother Xiaoyao, you're right!" Xia Lin nodded after carefully examining it. "This rune is indeed missing a stroke, and the direction of the stroke is also slightly different."

Master Li also struggled to the stone gate. After a careful inspection, a trace of shame appeared on his face. "Alas, my eyes are really blurry. I didn't even notice such an obvious mistake."

"Master Li, you don't have to blame yourself. The runes on this stone gate are so ancient. It's already remarkable that you've been able to decipher it this far." Ren Xiaoyao consoled him. "Now that I've discovered the error, perhaps I can find a way to crack it."

When everyone heard this, a look of hope appeared on their faces, and they stared at Ren Xiaoyao intently, expecting a miracle to happen.

However, at this moment, the temperature around them suddenly dropped, and a bone-chilling chill instantly swept over them. Everyone was caught off guard and shuddered.

"What's going on? Why is it suddenly so cold?" Pharmacist Chen said shivering, hugging his arms.

"Oh no, there's something strange here!" Master Li's face changed and he said in a deep voice.

Ren Xiaoyao also sensed something was wrong, and he quickly circulated his Qi to resist the sudden chill. However, this chill was extremely overbearing, and even with his powerful cultivation, he felt waves of piercing cold.

"Ah..." Xia Lin exclaimed, her face pale and her lips turned purple from the cold.

Seeing this, Ren Xiaoyao quickly transferred his own true energy into Xia Lin's body to help her resist the cold.

"Xiaoyao, I... I'm so cold..." Xia Lin said weakly, snuggling in Ren Xiaoyao's arms.

Ren Xiaoyao hugged Xia Lin tightly, looking around vigilantly, trying to find the source of the cold.

I saw a thin layer of frost beginning to condense on the surrounding stone walls, and the frost spread faster and faster, covering the entire stone chamber in a blink of an eye.

"Everyone be careful, this chill is unusual!" Ren Xiaoyao warned in a deep voice.

At that moment, the silent white fox suddenly stirred. She seemed unaffected by the low temperature and continued to move freely. She glided lightly to the corner of the stone chamber, her charming eyes scanning the surroundings warily, her nose twitching slightly, as if sniffing something.

"Be careful!" The white fox suddenly let out a low cry, turned around abruptly, unsheathed the long sword in his hand, and pointed it at the corner of the stone chamber, "There's something there!"

Everyone hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound. They saw several blurry figures slowly emerging from the previously empty corner where the white fox's sword pointed... As soon as the white fox finished speaking, the blurry figures gradually became clearer. They were tall, their bodies composed entirely of glittering, clear ice crystals, emitting a chilling aura. A faint blue light flickered in their hollow eye sockets, a chilling effect.

"Ice Crystal Puppets!" Master Li exclaimed, his expression becoming even more serious. "It's rumored that these puppets are spirits born from millennia of frozen ice. They possess the power to control ice and snow, and are extremely formidable!"

Before he finished speaking, several ice crystal puppets swung their sharp icy claws and pounced on the group. Their speed was so fast that they brought with them gusts of biting cold wind, and wherever they passed, a thick layer of frost quickly condensed on the ground.

"Everyone be careful!" Ren Xiaoyao shouted, protecting Xia Lin behind him, while waving the sword in his hand to fight against the ice crystal puppet rushing in the front.

The others also drew their weapons and engaged in fierce battle with the ice crystal puppets. For a moment, the stone chamber was filled with flashing swords, a chilling chill, and deafening shouts of killing.

Although Pharmacist Chen wasn't good at fighting, he played an important role at the critical moment. He pulled out a few exquisite porcelain bottles from his pocket and uncorked them. Suddenly, a strange fragrance filled the air, dispelling some of the chill.

"These are the 'Warm Sun Pills' and 'Ice Heart Pills' that I refined. They can help you resist the cold and restore your strength." Pharmacist Chen said as he distributed the pills to everyone.

After taking the elixir, everyone felt a sudden surge of warmth, their frozen bodies gradually regaining consciousness. Their spirits lifted, and they fought the ice crystal puppets even more fiercely.

However, the strength of these ice crystal puppets is extraordinary. Not only do they have strong attack power, but also amazing defense power. Ordinary attacks cannot cause any substantial damage to them.

Ren Xiaoyao was engaged in a fierce battle with an ice crystal puppet. Relying on his superb swordsmanship and powerful Qi, he was barely able to contend with it. However, he could not calm down, as he knew that these ice crystal puppets were only obstacles in front of him. The real challenge was how to decipher the mechanism on the stone gate.

"Brother Xiaoyao, be careful!" Xia Lin's anxious voice brought Ren Xiaoyao's thoughts back to reality.

Another ice crystal puppet took advantage of Ren Xiaoyao's distraction and went around behind him, waving its sharp ice claws and grabbing his back fiercely.

"Not good!" Ren Xiaoyao was shocked and wanted to dodge but it was too late.

At the critical moment, the figure of the white fox suddenly appeared behind Ren Xiaoyao. The long sword in her hand turned into a silver light and pierced the chest of the ice crystal puppet like lightning.

"Ding!" With a crisp sound, the white fox's sword accurately pierced the chest of the ice crystal puppet, but it only left a shallow white mark on its hard ice crystal shell.

"What a strong defense!" Baihu sighed in her heart. Just as she was about to withdraw, she suddenly felt her wrist go numb. A powerful force came from the sword, which pushed her back several steps.

"Miss White Fox, are you okay?" Seeing this, Ren Xiaoyao hurried forward and asked.

The white fox shook his head, his face pale. "I'm fine. It's just that the defense of these ice crystal puppets is too strong. My attacks have no effect on them at all."

Ren Xiaoyao frowned, feeling extremely anxious. He knew that if they couldn't find a way to break the spell quickly, they would sooner or later be exhausted by these ice crystal puppets and end up in a desperate situation.

"Is there really no way out?" Ren Xiaoyao thought to himself, his eyes falling on the mysterious runes on the stone gate again.

While dealing with the ice crystal puppet, he carefully observed the runes, trying to find a way to crack them.

"Brother Xiaoyao, what are you doing?" Xia Lin noticed Ren Xiaoyao's actions and asked in confusion.

"Shh!" Ren Xiaoyao made a silencing gesture, staring intently at the runes on the stone door, and whispered, "I'm trying to figure out how to crack the mechanism on the stone door. Help me hold them back!"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, their faces showing expressions of both worry and anticipation... Ren Xiaoyao's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had discovered something, and a confident smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "I see..."

Ren Xiaoyao stared at the runes on the stone gate, his eyes gleaming with wisdom. These runes were not ordinary words, but ancient pictographic symbols, each of which represented a certain element or power between heaven and earth.

While dodging the attacks of the ice crystal puppet, he quickly deduced the arrangements and combinations of these symbols in his mind, trying to decipher the secrets hidden in them.

Xia Lin looked at Ren Xiaoyao anxiously. She didn't understand why Ren Xiaoyao could remain so calm in such a critical moment, as if the battle before him had nothing to do with him. But she believed in Ren Xiaoyao and believed that he must have his own plan.

Master Li and White Fox also noticed Ren Xiaoyao's abnormality. Although they were puzzled, they also knew that now was not the time to ask questions. They could only do their best to hold back the Ice Crystal Puppet and buy time for Ren Xiaoyao.

"Roar!" The ice crystal puppets roared angrily. They seemed to sense Ren Xiaoyao's intention and their attacks became more fierce.

"Brother Xiaoyao, be careful!" Xia Lin screamed in surprise when she saw an ice crystal puppet waving its sharp ice claws and grabbing towards Ren Xiaoyao's back.

As if he had eyes on his back, Ren Xiaoyao tilted his body slightly, narrowly avoiding the attack. Without turning back, he continued to study the runes on the stone door, muttering to himself, "Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, the five elements interact and restrain each other... Ice and snow belong to water, so..."

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and a confident smile appeared on his face. He turned around abruptly and shouted to everyone, "I know how to crack it!"

When everyone heard this, they were all stunned, with expressions of surprise and joy on their faces.

"Brother Xiaoyao, have you really found a way to crack it?" Master Li asked excitedly.

"That's right!" Ren Xiaoyao nodded, pointing to the runes on the stone door and explaining, "These runes aren't completely random. They're actually arranged according to the principle of the Five Elements. And these ice crystal puppets are spirits born from millennia of ice. Their power comes from ice and snow, which means they belong to the water element!"

"Water element?" Everyone was confused when they heard this and didn't understand what Ren Xiaoyao meant.

"That's right, it belongs to water!" Ren Xiaoyao said with certainty, "Among the five elements, earth controls water! As long as we can find a way to control the water element, we can break these ice crystal puppets and open the stone door!"

"Restrain the water element?" Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment.

"I'll do it!" Xia Lin suddenly stood up, and with a wave of the staff in her hand, a khaki light instantly enveloped the entire stone chamber.

"Earth magic?" Ren Xiaoyao's eyes lit up and he looked at Xia Lin in surprise.

"Brother Xiaoyao, let's go together!" Xia Lin said, looking at Ren Xiaoyao with a firm gaze.

Ren Xiaoyao nodded, and a powerful aura burst out from him.

"Everyone, attack together, centering around me and Charlene!"