Chapter 52 Secret Path
The secret passage twists and turns, extending diagonally downwards, and a bright yellow fire slowly moves towards the depths.
As long as Liu catches up with the gangster, he will be able to kill him, so Gu Xuan does not move quickly, just like strolling in the courtyard.
After tens of feet of the secret passage, Gu Xuan asked softly: "Senior mentioned the secret passage twice, what did you find?"
"The traps in the bamboo forest and the stone wall were set up by the same person. The bandits discovered the traps and hid here."
Wang Mang spoke slowly.
"The two walls of the secret passage are neat, as if they were formed naturally. The steps at the entrance are integrated with the passage. It is obviously not dug by bandits."
Gu Xuan thought thoughtfully: "The secret path is undoubtedly a retreat. Those who lived in seclusion must have enemies."
"This is exactly the reason." Wang Mang further analyzed, "I suspect that the bamboo forest trap is only used to spread suspicion in the old place, while the stone wall is the real place of seclusion."
"This statement makes sense. The bamboo forest is exposed to the outside and the mist is gloomy. There is a mystery at a glance, but this is not the case with the stone wall."
Gu Xuan deeply thought so.
"The stone gate has a strange shape, which matches the texture of the stone wall, and is covered by vines. Unless you are proficient in civil engineering, it would be difficult to discover it."
Wang Mang chuckled: "Civil engineering machinery has always been a secret of the martial arts, and there are not many people who are proficient in it."
Gu Xuan was a little disappointed: "The secret passage is used to escape, how can there be a chance?"
Wang Mang asked back: "You only think about one thing. What if the existence of the secret passage is just a mystery?"
"Huh?" Gu Xuan frowned, "What's the purpose of this move?"
Wang Mang said bluntly: "We don't know yet, let's dig deeper."
After going several hundred feet deep into the secret passage, a fork in the passage appeared. Gu Xuan stopped and observed carefully.
There are no footprints at the entrance of the secret passage on the left, but there are about a dozen white footprints at the entrance of the secret passage on the right, which are shiny.
Although the secret passage is covered with dust, the footprints are difficult to discern with the naked eye. The white footprints are caused by tracing powder.
Most police officers who go out on business carry tracking powder with them.
The main material of this powder is luminous pearl powder, which can be clearly displayed when sprinkled on the footprints.
Gu Xuan had a lot of exchanges with the agent on the way here, and he knew that he was a fan of tracking, so he immediately said: "Attendant Liu, go to the right and pursue. Obviously the secret passage on the right is the way out."
Wang Mang immediately made up his mind: "The way out doesn't make much sense. Let's go into the secret passage on the left and have a look."
Of course Gu Xuan had no objection and immediately walked into the secret passage on the left.
This secret passage is relatively gentle, winding and about a hundred feet long, with a flat side at the end.
stone wall.
"This is a trap stone door. Take a picture of the protruding stone to open the door." Wang Mang warned, "Be careful, there may be a surprise trap inside."
While observing the corridor before, Gu Xuan discovered that the lead wires of the crossbow arrows had knotted marks.
Apparently the gangster had triggered the mechanism, loaded the crossbow arrows into the crossbow, and tied the disconnected leads into knots.
There is an irregular protruding stone on the left wall of the secret passage. Gu Xuan first drew out the Yinliu Sword and then slapped the protruding stone with his palm.
Following a rumble, a stone door slowly sank and stopped a few feet above the ground.
There were sudden clicks and hisses inside, and three crossbow arrows with glimmering light were fired towards them.
Gu Xuan had quick eyes and quick hands. With a few swings of his soft sword, he knocked down three small crossbow arrows.
The small crossbow arrows are the same as the crossbow arrows in the aisle, both are poisonous.
There was no other sound inside, and Gu Xuan slowly walked in with a soft sword in hand.
This is a large cave, and the light of the torch is difficult to illuminate. There is a crossbow installed on the front wall of the cave, and there are mechanisms on both sides of the cave wall.
Half a foot below the crossbow, there is a small hole, and the light from the outside shines in through the small hole.
Gu Xuan observed for a while: "The thickness of the cave wall is less than one foot, and the true energy can be easily shaken open, leading to the outside. If it is not deliberately mysterious, this is also a way out."
Wang Mang pondered for a long time: "If sunlight penetrates and forms a pillar of light, where do you think it will shine?"
There was no sunshine today. Gu Xuan took a look, walked to the opposite stone wall, pointed his finger to the position opposite the small hole, and moved down a little.
Wang Mang said: "Knock and see."
Gu Xuan knocked on the stone wall, and the sound was thick. When he knocked on the stone wall elsewhere, the sound was no different.
Wang Mang suggested: "Boxing."
Gu Xuan quickly circulated his true energy, punched the stone wall, quickly retracted it, and moved aside.
With a bang, the stone wall cracked open without any fist marks being burned into it, and rubble flew in all directions.
Gu Xuan came over and took a look, and couldn't help but look happy. There was a small hole hidden in the stone wall, and there was an iron ring in the hole.
Wang Mang couldn't help but shouted: "Pull the hoop quickly, I want to see what the mystery is!"
Gu Xuan pulled the iron ring, and with a click, a stone strip popped out from the stone wall not far from the iron ring.
The stone strips are like drawers, and the four sides that pop out are all dark red. The outermost stone slab has an irregular shape and overlaps with the texture of the stone wall, making it seamless.
Wang Mang quickly reminded: "Dark red is highly poisonous. Use fire to
burn."
Gu Xuan inserted the torch into the small hole, carefully pulled out the stone strips and placed them on the ground.
He took a torch and burned the stone. There was a crackling sound, and the dark red poison gradually disappeared, emitting a foul smell.
It wasn't until the stone strips returned to their original color that Gu Xuan put the torch back in.
He picked up the stone strip, took a closer look, and found a small hole. He inserted one finger into the hole and pulled out a stone slab.
The stone bar is obviously a stone box, and there is a storage bag lying quietly inside the box.
"Is this an opportunity?"
The stone box was placed on the ground, and Gu Xuan stared at the storage bag with an incomprehensible expression.
"What else?" Wang Mang said angrily, "You kid don't want to open it?"
“It’s so carefully arranged that it’s natural to take a quick look.”
Gu Xuan picked up the storage bag, breathed it into the bag, and with a thought, a bunch of scrolls fell out of it.
Slowly unfold the scroll, with white jade as the shaft and silk fabric as the roll, with dense black characters written on it.
Quickly browse through Gu Xuan, and the entire text records the cultivation of Xu Jin.
The scroll divides the martial arts training system into four levels: Ming Jin, Dark Jin, Hua Jin, and Virtual Jin.
The first three levels correspond to strength, internal strength and true strength respectively.
Xu Jin is the highest level, extremely powerful, can compete with Gang Qi, and can also extend life span.
Virtual energy has no quality or form. When cultivating in the later stages of the true power realm, the true power is first dispersed into the body, and then hatched and transformed.
At the end of the scroll, it is mentioned that virtual strength may not be conducive to advancing to the Gangli realm, so Dao Miao is asked to practice with caution.
Wang Mang said quietly: "There is a legend in the martial arts of Xi Kingdom. At the beginning of the establishment of the Great Xi Dynasty, a warrior created Xu Jin, which was powerful enough to rival the Gangli realm monks. I didn't expect that Xu Jin actually existed."
Gu Xuan rolled up the scroll, took back the storage bag, and put it in his arms: "Senior, what do you think of Xu Jin?"
Wang Mang commented: "Xu Jin returns to his original nature, breaks through tradition, subverts the system, and creates something new. Although the founder is unknown, he is an unparalleled genius."
"It's a pity that the virtual energy affects the Dao Miao's advancement. My spirit is simply inferior and I can't tolerate any mistakes."
Gu Xuan filled the stone box into the stone wall and restored it to its original state. He then picked up the gravel, blocked the small hole, and covered the iron ring.
"Everything cannot be generalized. What exactly is the virtual strength? You will know with a try when you advance to the late stage of the true strength realm."
Gu Xuan thought for a while and put the three crossbow arrows back into the crossbow. After all, it was a masterpiece left by his predecessors.
Chapter completed!