Early next morning, they reentered the mine.
This time, they prepared more thoroughly. Gu Xiuyuan's pack was full of modified explosives – each mixed with crushed crystal powder, multiple layers of oil-soaked rags. Old Stone brought healing pills, and specially acquired a slightly better sword from market, though ordinary, better than his broken one. Before leaving, Old Stone stuffed more dried food for Gu Xiuyuan, saying mining consumed energy, must eat enough.
Entering the mine, they didn't stop at first level, directly passing through that huge natural cave to the second level passage.
The passage was narrower than first, only person-wide. Walls covered with claw marks, dried blood, some blackened. Air thick with foul stench, identical to that leader's, thick enough to nauseate.
Gu Xiuyuan lit an oil lamp, entering first.
Old Stone followed, gripping his sword, palms sweating.
The passage sloped downward, increasingly steep. Some sections almost vertical, needing hands and feet to descend. Gu Xiuyuan climbed while carefully using elemental vision – each time only one or two seconds, observing ahead. Purple Flame Heart energy must be conserved, but couldn't risk blindly.
After about two incense sticks' time, the passage suddenly widened.
Gu Xiuyuan stopped, signaling Old Stone to be quiet.
Ahead was a modest cave, about thirty feet in diameter. Two star beasts slept inside – smaller than the leader, but calf-sized, covered in dark brown scales. Their breathing was deep, chests rising and falling, occasionally emitting low rumbles.
Gu Xiuyuan quickly scanned with elemental vision – both Foundation Establishment, no cores, but energy fluctuation not weak.
He retreated, whispering to Old Stone: "Two Foundation Establishment stage, sleeping."
Old Stone nervously asked: "What to do? Go around?"
Gu Xiuyuan shook his head: "Only this passage, can't bypass. Must fight."
He pulled two incendiary bombs from his pack, handed one to Old Stone: "I'll throw first, blast them awake, then in the chaos throw second. Remember, light and count three seconds before throwing, let fuse burn."
Old Stone nodded, palms soaked.
Gu Xiuyuan took a deep breath, lit first bomb, counted three, hurled into the cave.
"Boom!"
Flames erupted, the two beasts startled awake, roaring angrily. Before they could react, Gu Xiuyuan's second bomb arrived.
"Boom!"
This explosion was more powerful – crystal powder-enhanced explosives in confined space, shockwave amplified by walls, both beasts screamed, collapsing.
Gu Xiuyuan charged in before they could rise, relentlessly attacking. His mediocre sword was still effective piercing eyes. Old Stone followed, thrusting into the other beast's throat.
Moments later, both beasts were still.
Gu Xiuyuan leaned against the wall, gasping. Purple Flame Heart consumed some, but still within limits.
Old Stone examined the corpses, exclaimed joyfully: "Master, crystal cores! Both have them!"
He cut open their heads, took out two small cores, thumb-sized, dark golden.
Gu Xiuyuan took them, tucked away.
"Continue," he said.
---
Past that cave, the passage continued downward.
Climbing for about another incense stick's time, light finally appeared ahead.
Not firelight or sunlight, but a blue glow, like some ore's inherent fluorescence.
Gu Xiuyuan quickened his pace, crawled out of the passage, then froze.
Before him was a vast underground space, three times larger than the first level's cave. The ceiling was dozens of feet high, hanging with countless huge stalactites, each emitting faint blue light. The ground was flat rock, exposed with large patches of ore, purple-black, metallic under the blue glow.
But most striking were the patterns on the walls.
Those patterns covered all walls, dense and intricate – identical to the Earth air-raid shelter's teleportation array, but far more complex. Lines thick and thin, straight and curved, winding across walls, finally converging at the ceiling's center. There, a huge crystal core was embedded, basin-sized, emitting blue light illuminating the entire cave.
"This, this is..." Old Stone crawled out, also stunned.
Gu Xiuyuan didn't speak, just approached the wall, carefully examining those patterns.
He activated elemental vision – longer this time, needing to see the entire structure. Purple Flame Heart consumed, but he didn't care.
The lines held faint energy flow, as if the entire formation was dormant. The line directions, intersection points, node distributions – all matched previously analyzed formations, but complexity incomparable.
One hundred eight nodes, corresponding to one hundred eight crystals. Each crystal embedded in specific positions, emitting different attribute energy – fire attribute scorching, ice attribute cold, metal attribute sharp, and some never-before-seen attributes, glowing with strange light.
"This is a huge teleportation array," Gu Xiuyuan murmured.
Old Stone came close, asked: "Can it be activated?"
Gu Xiuyuan didn't answer, continuing to observe. His gaze fell on a corner.
There was a line carved into the rock.
Handwriting scrawled, but legible:
"Later comer reaching here shows some skill. This array leads to an interesting place. This old man didn't enter back then, leaving it for the destined one."
Unsigned.
Gu Xiuyuan stared at that line, his heartbeat skipping.
This tone, this handwriting – identical to the jade slip's last line. Casual yet expectant, scrawled yet serious.
"It's him..." he murmured.
Old Stone came close: "Who?"
Gu Xiuyuan didn't answer, just looked at that line for a long time.
Then he pushed at his nose bridge – empty, but the gesture remained.
"Interesting," he said.
---
Old Stone didn't understand what was "interesting"; he just found this cave deeply unsettling. Those glowing patterns, that huge crystal, that inexplicable line – all made his hair stand on end.
"Master," he whispered, "let's just collect ore quickly and leave."
Gu Xiuyuan shook his head: "No rush. I want to study this array."
Old Stone panicked: "Master, this place is too weird, what if there's danger..."
"Look at those patterns," Gu Xiuyuan pointed at the walls. "They're not natural, carved by hand. The one who left them must have extremely high cultivation. If such a person wanted to harm others, they wouldn't need all this trouble."
Old Stone opened his mouth, couldn't argue.
Gu Xiuyuan approached the wall, reached out to touch those patterns. Cold to the touch, lines deep, some could insert half a finger. He traced a main line downwards, feeling its direction and variation.
"This array should be usable," he said.
Old Stone's eyes widened: "Master, you're not thinking of activating it?"
Gu Xiuyuan didn't answer, continuing to observe.
He walked around the cave, memorizing every pattern and node. One hundred eight nodes, each crystal's position, attribute, energy intensity – he scanned all with elemental vision. Purple Flame Heart energy rapidly consumed, but he didn't care.
Half an hour later, he stopped, closed his eyes, mentally organized all information.
From an energy flow perspective, this array was indeed complete. If activated in correct sequence, it should start.
But the question was – where did it lead?
What was that "interesting place"?
He opened his eyes, looked at Old Stone.
"I'm going to activate it," he said.
Old Stone froze.
"Master, what are you saying?"
"I'm going to activate this teleportation array," Gu Xiuyuan repeated. "Go to that 'interesting place.'"
Old Stone's face changed drastically, rushing to grab his arm: "Master, you're crazy! This array has been unused for who knows how long, if something goes wrong, spatial turbulence will tear you apart! And what's on the other side, whether there's danger – completely unknown!"
Gu Xiuyuan didn't pull away, just looked at him.
"I know," he said.
Old Stone froze.
"You know and still want to go?"
Gu Xiuyuan nodded.
"Back on Earth, when I did experiments, I often didn't know the results beforehand," he said. "But if you never do them, you never get results."
He paused, continued: "Where I come from, there's a saying: 'Boldly hypothesize, carefully verify.' This array is my only clue. The one who left it is looking for someone who can understand the world in another way. I don't know what that 'another way' is, but I want to find out."
Old Stone was silent for a long time.
"Master isn't afraid of danger?"
"Afraid," Gu Xiuyuan said. "But more afraid of being stuck in place forever."
He looked at Old Stone, his eyes holding something Old Stone had never seen – not youthful impulsiveness, not ignorant recklessness, but a clear, determined light. The look of someone who had experienced despair yet still chose to move forward.
"Are you willing to come with me?" he asked.
Old Stone froze.
He looked into Gu Xiuyuan's eyes, silent for a long time. Then he lowered his head, sighed.
"Master, this old man has been cowardly his whole life," his voice was hoarse. "In youth, also thought of venturing out, but every time before a teleportation array, legs went weak. Centuries passed, became like this."
He raised his head, managed a smile: "Master is destined for great things. Following you, this old man would only hold you back."
Gu Xiuyuan didn't speak.
Old Stone continued: "Master rest assured, this old man has lived centuries on Ganyan Star, knows it well. After you leave, this old man will continue mining, continue trading spirit stones, maybe someday save enough travel expenses to Fengyuan Star. Then, we might meet again."
Gu Xiuyuan looked into his eyes, those cloudy old eyes held reluctance, regret, and also relief.
"Good," Gu Xiuyuan said. "Then... until we meet again."
He took half the crystal cores and spirit stones from his pocket, pressed them into Old Stone's hands.
Old Stone refused, Gu Xiuyuan held his hand: "Between friends, don't be polite."
Old Stone paused, then smiled, wrinkles bunching: "Good, good, friends."
---
Gu Xiuyuan walked to the array's center, standing in that huge depression.
He looked up at the huge crystal on the ceiling, blue light falling upon him.
One hundred eight nodes, needed activating in correct sequence. He'd already analyzed with elemental vision – lowest energy nodes first, highest last, like multi-step chemical reactions – order wrong, product different.
He began activating.
First node, an ice attribute crystal, embedded lowest on wall. He reached out, pressed on it, input a thread of Purple Flame Heart energy.
The crystal lit up, a thin line extending from the node along the pattern.
Second node, fire attribute crystal. Energy input, pattern continued spreading.
Third, fourth, fifth...
With each node activated, more patterns lit up. The entire cave gradually flooded with blue light, bright as day.
Old Stone stood in the distance, watching all this, his heart indescribable.
When the hundred eighth node was activated, all patterns lit simultaneously, light too dazzling to look at.
Violent tremors underfoot, rocks falling from ceiling. Low rumbling in the ears, as if from deep underground.
Then, huge suction from below.
Gu Xiuyuan took one last look back at Old Stone.
Old Stone stood in the distance, waving at him.
Gu Xiuyuan nodded.
Then he fell into the light vortex.