I walk sideways in the game world

Chapter 176: Exploring the Secrets of the Mechanism and Finding a Way Out of Despair

The light surrounding the treasure grew brighter, and the runes flashed faster and faster, as if foreshadowing something. Everyone was drawn to this bizarre sight and approached the treasure. Greed and curiosity overcame fear, and they saw what seemed to be untold wealth and power.

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin also blended into the crowd, slowly approaching the secret treasure. Although Ren Xiaoyao appeared calm on the surface, he was filled with vigilance in his heart. He knew that the more times like this, the more he couldn't let his guard down.

"Be careful, Brother Xiaoyao." Xia Lin reminded softly. She held Ren Xiaoyao's hand, and her palms were slightly sweaty.

Ren Xiaoyao nodded, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He noticed that about ten feet away from the secret treasure, there was a circle of stone pillars engraved with runes. These stone pillars varied in height and seemed to be arranged in a random pattern, but Ren Xiaoyao had a feeling that the arrangement of these stone pillars seemed to hide some secret.

"That's... an ancient formation!" Someone in the crowd recognized the origin of the stone pillar and exclaimed in surprise.

Upon hearing this, everyone stopped in their tracks, not daring to move forward. The ancient formation was said to be capable of destroying the heavens and the earth. If one was not careful, they would be doomed.

However, there are always some who are too skilled and daring, or perhaps too greedy, to give up. Taoist Priest Xuanfeng, whisk in hand, approached the stone pillars step by step. He was extremely cautious with each step, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding stone pillars, as if searching for something.

"Master, be careful!" the disciple behind him reminded worriedly.

Taoist Master Xuanfeng ignored his disciples' reminder. He walked to a stone pillar, carefully observed the runes on it, and muttered to himself, as if he was deducing something.

Suddenly, a sudden change occurred!

The ground beneath Taoist Xuanfeng's feet suddenly collapsed, and he was caught off guard and fell into a deep pit. At the same time, the surrounding stone pillars began to vibrate violently, and the runes flashed faster and faster, the dazzling light blinding people.

"Oh no! The formation has been triggered!" Someone in the crowd shouted, and suddenly the crowd fell into chaos.

Ren Xiaoyao was quick to grab Xia Lin and shield her behind him, while simultaneously channeling his Qi to resist the violent energy impact. When the light faded, everyone looked closely and saw that Taoist Xuanfeng had already climbed out of the deep pit. His face was pale, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, clearly a minor injury.

"Master, are you okay?" Several disciples quickly surrounded him and asked with concern.

Taoist Xuanfeng waved his hand, indicating that he was fine, but his eyes became more serious. He looked up at the stone pillar in front of him, his eyes filled with fear.

Ren Xiaoyao ignored the reactions of the crowd. He walked to the stone pillar, carefully observing the runes on it and the changes in the surrounding ground, frowning slightly.

"Brother Xiaoyao, did you see anything?" Xia Lin asked.

Ren Xiaoyao didn't answer. Instead, he extended his finger and gently touched the rune on the stone pillar... As soon as his fingertips touched the rune, a strange energy wave spread rapidly along his fingers. He quickly withdrew his hand, his brow furrowed, and a look of solemnity flashed in his eyes. "Sure enough, there's a hidden secret," he muttered to himself.

Xia Lin asked nervously, "Brother Xiaoyao, how is it?"

Ren Xiaoyao didn't answer, but instead paced slowly around the stone pillar, his gaze sharp as a torch, carefully examining every detail. The runes on the stone pillar were ancient and obscure, emitting a faint green light, seemingly imbued with some mysterious power. The patterns on the ground were not random, but cleverly connected to the stone pillar, forming a complex and sophisticated formation.

"This formation isn't meant to harm, but to protect." Ren Xiaoyao pondered for a moment, then pointed at the patterns on the ground and said, "Look at these patterns. They aren't the fierce, powerful patterns you'd see in a killing formation. Instead, they're primarily designed for protection, supplemented by attack. As long as we find the center of the formation, we can break it."

After saying this, Ren Xiaoyao began to carefully observe the patterns on the ground, trying to find the center of the formation. Xia Lin stood by to protect him, watching the surroundings with vigilance.

Some in the crowd, unable to contain their greed, tried to take advantage of the situation and sneak closer to the treasure. However, as soon as they took a step, they triggered the surrounding mechanisms. Several flashes of cold light appeared, and screams suddenly resounded throughout the cave.

"Stop! Anyone who dares to act rashly will be treated rudely!" Taoist Xuanfeng shouted sternly. Intimidated by his might, the crowd remained silent for the time being, their eyes fixed on the secret treasure, filled with greed and desire.

At this moment, the Poison King, who had been lurking in the shadows, suddenly made his move! He flashed and appeared behind Ren Xiaoyao like a ghost, shooting a silver needle in his hand silently, pointing it directly at Ren Xiaoyao's back.

"Brother Xiaoyao, be careful!" Xia Lin exclaimed with quick eyes and hands, and at the same time, she flashed and blocked behind Ren Xiaoyao. The silver needle pierced her shoulder, and Xia Lin groaned, her face instantly turning extremely pale.

"Lin'er!" Ren Xiaoyao was horrified and hurriedly supported Xia Lin. He saw that her clothes on her shoulders were stained with blood, and she was obviously poisoned.

"Don't worry about me, hurry...crack the mechanism..." Xia Lin endured the severe pain, took out a porcelain bottle from her arms, poured out a pill and swallowed it, speaking intermittently.

Ren Xiaoyao took the medicine bottle and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted into his nose. He knew that this was the holy detoxification medicine that Xia Lin carried with her. It was extremely precious and Xia Lin would never use it easily unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Damned Poison King, I won't let you go!" A fierce murderous intent flashed in Ren Xiaoyao's eyes, but he knew that now was not the time for revenge. The most urgent task was to crack the mechanism and obtain the secret treasure, otherwise Xia Lin's sacrifice would be in vain.

He gently placed Xia Lin on the ground, then resolutely turned around, staring at the Poison King with cold eyes, and said in a grim tone: "You are looking for death!"

The Poison King showed no fear at all. Instead, he smiled sinisterly and said, "Boy, you'd better take care of yourself first! This girl has been poisoned by my Seven-Step Heartbreaking Powder. Without my antidote, she will definitely die within half an hour! Hahahaha..."

Ren Xiaoyao turned a deaf ear to the call. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and then focused his attention on the mechanism in front of him again. He knew that he couldn't hesitate or be distracted at all now, otherwise he would not only fail to save Xia Lin, but also lose his own life.

He closed his eyes, carefully recalling every detail he had observed, his mind constantly deducing various possibilities. As time passed, Xia Lin's face grew paler and paler, her breathing weaker and weaker, but Ren Xiaoyao never gave up, because he knew this was his only hope, and Xia Lin's only hope...

Suddenly, he flung his eyes open, a gleam of light flashing in his eyes, and a confident smile appeared on his lips. He had found it! He had finally found the key to cracking the mechanism!

Without time to think, he quickly reached out and pressed down on a seemingly ordinary stone slab on the ground... Ren Xiaoyao's hand pressed firmly on the seemingly ordinary stone slab. In an instant, the stone slab sank slightly, and a powerful energy wave, centered on the stone slab, rapidly spread outward. The intricate and delicate patterns on the previously calm ground seemed to suddenly come to life, emitting a dazzling green light, and the entire cave trembled violently!

Seeing this, the Poison King's face suddenly changed and he exclaimed, "Oh no! He's about to break the formation! Stop him!"

The other masters also reacted, each unleashing their unique skills to attack Ren Xiaoyao. For a moment, the whole cave seemed to have transformed into a hell of hell with the flashing of swords and the surging of energy!

Ren Xiaoyao, however, ignored the attacks from all around him, concentrating all his attention on the mechanism before him. He knew that this was the most critical moment, and if he wasn't careful, his plan would fail, or even be doomed!

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and trickled down his cheeks, but he didn't even have time to wipe them away. He could clearly feel the power of the mechanism growing stronger and stronger, as if a sleeping giant beast was gradually awakening, poised to unleash its devastating power at any moment!

"Break it for me!" Ren Xiaoyao roared angrily and injected all the true energy in his body into the stone slab without reservation.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the stone slabs shattered, and a dazzling green light shot up into the sky and hit the top of the cave!

At the same time, the surrounding mechanisms also stopped functioning, and the originally deadly attack instantly disappeared. Ren Xiaoyao succeeded! At the critical moment, he successfully cracked the mechanism!

However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a stronger sense of crisis surged into his heart. He looked up suddenly and saw that the masters who had originally attacked him had suddenly stopped their attacks and stared at the direction behind him with scorching eyes filled with greed and desire.

"Not good!" Ren Xiaoyao said inwardly and turned around quickly. He saw that behind him, where the secret treasure was originally placed, a deep passage had appeared!

At the entrance of the passage, green light was flowing, and one could vaguely see the golden and magnificent scenery inside, with an overwhelming spiritual energy. It was obvious that the secret treasure was inside!

"Hahaha, God helps me! This is the real treasure!" The leader of Qingcheng laughed wildly and rushed to the passage first.

"Don't even think about succeeding!" Taoist Xuanfeng and Master Emei followed closely behind, and other masters also followed, fearing that they would fall behind.

Ren Xiaoyao was extremely anxious when he saw this, but he knew that in his current state, he couldn't stop these people at all. He glanced at the pale Xia Lin beside him, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, and he picked her up and whispered, "Hold on to me!"

Xia Lin nodded weakly and hugged Ren Xiaoyao's neck tightly.

Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath, suppressing the surging blood and energy in his body, and jumped into the deep passage...

"Let's go! Let's go in too!" The Poison King's cold voice echoed at the cave entrance, then vanished into the passage, leaving only a faint echo lingering in the cavern... The deep passage resembled the gullet of a giant beast. Everyone filed in, driven by greed and desire, their fears forgotten. Ren Xiaoyao, holding Xia Lin, walked at the end of the group, observing their surroundings warily. Ancient runes were carved into the walls on both sides of the passage, emitting a faint glow that illuminated the path ahead.

"Wait!" The leader of the Qingcheng Sect, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and stared ahead with a gloomy expression. Everyone was startled and stopped, following the leader's gaze. They saw that the end of the passage was not the treasure house they had imagined, but a stone gate engraved with intricate patterns.

The stone door slowly opened, revealing a dark hole behind it. A cold breath rushed towards them, making them shiver uncontrollably.

"What the hell is this place?" Nun Emei's voice trembled, and a trace of fear flashed in her eyes.

"Hmph, what are you afraid of? It's just some trickery!" The Poison King snorted coldly, pulled out a night-shining pearl from his arms, and threw it forcefully towards the cave entrance. The night-shining pearl emitted a bright green light, illuminating part of the space inside the cave.

The cave was filled with fog, and an ancient stone bridge could be vaguely seen spanning the abyss. Opposite the stone bridge was an even more magnificent palace, resplendent and magnificent, with an aura that filled it. Obviously, that was where the real treasure lay!

"Hahaha, I told you, how could we succeed so easily!" The leader of Qingcheng was overjoyed upon seeing this and took the lead to walk towards the stone bridge.

"Wait!" Taoist Xuanfeng grabbed him and said in a deep voice, "This place is strange, don't be reckless!"

The head of the Qingcheng Sect impatiently shook off his hand and sneered, "What's the matter, Taoist Xuanfeng is scared? Want to back out?"

"Master Qingcheng, I advise you to be careful about this stone bridge..." Taoist Xuanfeng wanted to give more advice but was interrupted by Master Emei.

"Alright, alright, it's already this late, and you're still fussing!" Nun Emei said impatiently, "If you want to go, go ahead. I have to go first!"

After she finished speaking, she jumped onto the stone bridge. Seeing this, the others did not hesitate and followed.

"Xiaoyao..." Xia Lin weakly pulled Ren Xiaoyao's sleeve, her eyes full of worry.

Ren Xiaoyao patted her hand, signaling her not to worry, but his eyes were fixed on the stone bridge, with a gleam of light in his eyes.

"Let's go too," he whispered, a hint of determination in his tone.

"But..." Xia Lin wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Ren Xiaoyao.

"Believe me."

He held Xia Lin's hand tightly and walked towards the unknown stone bridge step by step...