"Could it be that the key to opening the main burial chamber is hidden in that secret room?" Lu Chen's thoughts were pulled back by Huo Yao's words. Indeed, the symbol in the secret room had been far too conspicuous; they had merely glanced at it in their haste and failed to investigate further.
"Let's go back and take a look!" Huo Yao's tone carried a hint of excitement, as she had always been full of curiosity about such mysterious events. Lu Chen and Black Wolf exchanged glances and followed her.
Returning to the secret room, Huo Yao carefully observed the symbol on the wall. It was composed of intricate geometric shapes, looking very much like some kind of ancient script.
"Could this be some sort of code?" Alice guessed. As an archaeologist, she had some knowledge of ancient civilization cryptology.
"It's possible," Huo Yao nodded. "If we can crack this code, we might just find a way to open the main burial chamber."
The group chimed in with various opinions and suggestions, but failed to find any coherent approach to cracking the code. Time ticked away second by second, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense and anxious.
"Let me try," said Lu Chen, who had remained silent all this time. He stepped up to the symbol, closed his eyes, and recalled in his mind the family history recounted by Black Wolf and the contents of that lost ancient text.
After who knows how long, Lu Chen suddenly snapped his eyes open, a sharp gleam flashing within them. He reached out a finger and traced it across the symbol in a specific sequence of movements.
A miracle occurred! Following Lu Chen's actions, the symbol on the wall suddenly emitted a dazzling radiance, and the entire secret room began to vibrate violently.
"What's going on?!" The group cried out in alarm, hurriedly taking cover in the corners.
The vibration lasted for about a minute before gradually subsiding. Only when everything returned to calm did the group dare to cautiously stand back up.
At that moment, to their astonishment, a passage leading underground had appeared in the center of the secret room.
"It seems we've found it." Lu Chen took a deep breath and took the lead, stepping into the passage.
The end of the passage opened into a much more spacious subterranean space. Here, they discovered a huge stone platform, upon which rested an ancient book and a metal sphere emitting a faint glow.
"What is this?" Thomas asked with curiosity.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the treasure guarded by Black Wolf's family for generations." Lu Chen picked up the metal sphere and examined it closely.
Meanwhile, Huo Yao picked up the ancient book, opened it, and found that it contained a vast amount of writing detailing this metal sphere.
"So that's how it is..." Huo Yao muttered as she flipped through the book. "This metal sphere turns out to be a pivot connecting two worlds!"
Hearing these words, Lu Chen felt a jolt in his heart. Could this be the key to returning to his original world?
This discovery left the team members feeling both excited and apprehensive. What excited them was that they seemed to have found the legendary pivot connecting two worlds, unraveling the mystery that had plagued Black Wolf's family for centuries; what worried them was that they knew nothing about this metal sphere—they didn't know how to use it properly, nor did they know what kind of consequences it might bring.
"What does it say?" Black Wolf asked anxiously, urgently wanting to know the secret of his family's treasure.
"This book is written in an ancient language," Huo Yao said, her brow furrowing slightly. "I'll need some time to decipher it."
She took a deep breath and activated the system function bound to her. A faint shimmer flashed from her fingertips, projecting onto the ancient book. A moment later, the text on the pages began to twist and distort, finally transforming into a language they could understand.
"So that's it..." Huo Yao muttered to herself as she read through the translated content. "This metal sphere is called the 'Realm Pivot', and it possesses the power to open the passage between two worlds. But..."
"But what?" Lu Chen pressed, sensing the hesitation in Huo Yao's voice.
"But opening the passage requires meeting extremely harsh conditions," Huo Yao raised her head, her expression grave. "Moreover, once the passage is opened, it will cause unpredictable impacts on both worlds, and could even trigger a Time-Space Turbulence, leading to irreversible consequences..."
"It's that dangerous?" Alice exclaimed. Although she was passionate about archaeology, she also understood that some things were simply beyond human control.
"What should we do then?" Thomas was also somewhat flustered. He was merely a treasure hunter and had no desire to get dragged into any doomsday crisis.
"It's hard to say right now," Lu Chen said calmly. "First, we need to figure out what the conditions are for opening the passage, and only then can we decide our next step."
Huo Yao nodded and buried herself back in the book in her hands. However, as the translation deepened, she found that the matter was far more complex than she had imagined. The conditions for opening the passage were obscure and difficult to comprehend, seemingly involving some kind of ancient ritual and special energy.
"Well? Is there a way?" Seeing that Huo Yao's brow remained tightly knitted, Lu Chen couldn't help feeling a surge of anxiety.
"I'm still trying..." Huo Yao bit her lip, striving hard to find the answer from the book.
At that very moment, a low roar suddenly echoed from deep within the ruins, as if some powerful creature had been awakened. The faces of the group shifted, and they all looked simultaneously in the direction the sound came from—which was precisely the passage leading to the main burial chamber!
The roar reverberated through the empty tomb chamber, sounding like a giant beast jolted from its slumber, carrying ancient pressure and fury. The expressions of Lu Chen and the others altered drastically; this sound was definitely not something a human could make. Could it be that some unknown creature was still hidden within these ruins?
"Not good! We might have triggered some restriction!" Thomas cried out in alarm. Having spent years exploring and treasure hunting all over the world, he possessed an instinctive intuition for such dangers.
Alice gripped her entrenching tool tightly and forced herself to remain calm as she said, "Everyone don't panic! Let's observe the situation first!"
Huo Yao also closed the ancient book in her hand, her gaze solemn as she looked toward the source of the sound. She could sense that a powerful energy was surging from the depths of the ruins, as if something was about to break through the ground.
"Lu Chen, we have to go take a look!" Huo Yao said in a deep voice, a trace of unease in her tone.
Lu Chen nodded, tightening his grip on his weapon. He knew that a fierce battle was inevitable.
The group walked cautiously toward the direction of the sound, every step taken with extreme care. The walls on both sides of the passage were carved with ancient murals, looking exceptionally eerie in the dim light.
As they pressed deeper, the roar grew increasingly clear, painful to their eardrums. Lu Chen could even feel the ground trembling slightly, as if some colossal entity was approaching.
"Careful!" Black Wolf, walking at the front, suddenly let out a low shout while raising the gun in his hand and aiming it forward.
The others hurriedly followed his gaze, only to see at the end of the passage a massive shadow slowly moving toward them.
"What on earth is that?" Thomas asked in terror, his voice trembling slightly.
No one could answer his question, for no one knew what kind of terrifying existence was hidden within that shadow.
As the shadow drew closer, the group finally saw its true form—it was a gigantic monster, its entire body covered in pitch-black scales, a pair of blood-red eyes flashing with fierce light, and sharp claws and fangs like steel blades, radiating a bone-chilling coldness.
Its appearance made the entire ruin tremble, as if portending the descent of a catastrophe...