[The Depths of the Dust-Float Ruins]
As the aftershocks of the explosion faded, Sang Qi bandaged Lin Lie's wounds. The group ventured deeper into the tunnel. As Lin Lie approached, the Yao-crystal patterns on the stone walls glowed in a faint resonance, responding to his bloodline.
"These look like ancient Gold-Yao mechanical arrays," Lin Lie said, his finger tracing the flowing light on the wall. "My grandfather mentioned that early Gold-Yao artisans left behind forbidden mechanisms that only respond to their kin. This place... might be a lost sanctuary."
"So, only you can enter?" Luo Ye frowned.
"Not necessarily," Lin Lie replied. "But without Gold-Yao energy to sync with, the ruins will treat everyone as intruders. Follow me closely, and do not touch the walls."
They reached a vast, domed chamber. In the center stood a semi-ruined relief of a woman—the Gold Matriarch. An amber gemstone in her forehead emitted a spectral light, projecting an image of the past:
"If our clan faces extinction, let our knowledge be sealed here. Skills can be taught, but will is hard to inherit. May the future bearer use this light to break the old and create the new."
"It's a clan vow," Lin Lie whispered. "My grandfather told me the clan split during the Great War—one side became tools for war, the other chose to seal themselves away, waiting for the next one to awaken."
"And that 'awakened one' is you," Xingyu said, her eyes reflecting a mix of awe and pride.
[The Trial of the Inheritor]
They descended a spiral staircase into the lower trial space. Six metallic automatons stood on a central platform—precise, lifelike, and silent.
A voice resonated through the hall: "Inheritor, to claim the Key of Knowledge, prove you come not to destroy, but to create."
The automatons opened their crystal eyes. They didn't attack; instead, they projected three holographic puzzles: an unfinished mechanism, a chaotic energy circuit, and a fractured structural design.
"Is this... an exam?" Sang Qi muttered.
"A trial," Lin Lie corrected, his eyes sharpening. "I must repair their broken knowledge using my own logic."
Lin Lie stepped onto the platform, and a barrier of light locked him inside. The automatons began to shift, their heads tracking his movements.
"He's trapped!" Xingyu cried.
"Stay back!" Lin Lie shouted, his hands already flying through the holographic diagrams. "I need time to decode these. Watch the perimeter—if I make a mistake, these guardians will turn hostile!"
One automaton began to whirr, its core glowing red.
"Stabilize the energy lines on the walls!" Lin Lie commanded. "Those are the nodes for my output!"
Li Yan unsheathed his blade. "I'll cover the front. You two handle the energy lines!"
Luo Ye used his metal spatula to pry open a wall panel. "I see the junctions—I'll hold them steady!"
Even Sang Qi pitched in, using specialized stabilizing powders from his medical bag.
Amidst the chaos, Lin Lie remained as focused as a statue. Finally, with a sharp clap of his hands, the diagrams aligned. The circuits stabilized. The automatons retreated to their original positions. A glowing Gold Core-Crystal floated into the air.
"The Key of Gold..." Lin Lie breathed, catching the crystal. As it touched his palm, the room erupted with light, revealing archives of ancient technology, history, and secret designs.
[The Ripple of the Past]
Near the edge of the new light, a second relief appeared. Beside the Gold-Yao totem was a familiar ripple pattern—the mark of Water.
"Why is there a Water-Yao symbol in a Gold-Yao shrine?" Sang Qi asked.
Lin Lie frowned. "Unless this ruin wasn't built by the Gold-Yao alone."
The wall behind the relief cracked open, revealing an underground stream flowing with ethereal blue light. Floating above the water was a rotating crystal ring—a portal.
Cang Yuan (formerly Cang Lan) stepped forward, his expression uncharacteristically grave. "That mark... it's not a replica. It's the Vortex Pulse, the oldest crest of the Water-Yao."
"You recognize it?" Xingyu asked softly.
"It only exists in ancient clan records," Cang Yuan whispered, drawn toward the portal. "It's one of the few memory imprints left before my people were wiped out. I can hear it calling me... a memory I've forgotten."
"Do you want to go in?"
"I have to," Cang Yuan said, his eyes sharp. "This place hides more than just Gold's past. It holds the truth I was meant to face."
Xingyu raised her pocket watch. The Water icon on the watch pulsed in perfect sync with the crystal ring. "The door opened for you, Cang Yuan."
"I'm coming with you," Xingyu added firmly. "We started this together."
Cang Yuan smiled, a genuine, steady look in his eyes. "Alright. Let's go together."
Lin Lie nodded. "We'll hold the entrance here. If anything goes wrong, I'll find a way to break the mechanism. Be careful."
The two stepped into the crystal ring. A flash of azure light swallowed them, and the portal closed silently, as if they had never been there at all.