TGA Chapter 114

Liu Jun watched Chu Qianli being carried and then turned to Xu Zaiyuan, considerately saying, “Zaiyuan, if you need…”

“I only have a headache, not a leg injury,” Xu Zaiyuan replied. He couldn’t help but feel that this scene was just like parents taking their children on a trip at Mount Qianshan.

A thirty-minute walk wasn’t long. Chu Qianli lay on Tan Muxing’s back, counting her own heartbeat, feeling safe and at ease.

After getting past the initial overwhelming burst of information, Chu Qianli slowly began to adapt — especially now that she didn’t have to walk — and entered an indescribable state, as if immersed in thought yet thinking of nothing at all.

The murals on the walls initially made her feel dizzy, followed by the disappearance of touch, then a transcendent sense of meditation. Each breath in and out felt effortless and natural, and as she gazed up mentally at the vastness of the universe, her heart filled with serenity, fulfillment, and contentment.

She seemed to see the boundless sea of stars — and also seemed to become a tiny star herself.
She lived within the great cosmos, while possessing a small universe of her own.

Heaven and Earth operate in communication, and all things unite as one.

After halting unnecessary thoughts, the murals would no longer cause pain.

The group walked through the corridor and arrived at the Gate of Truth. The space suddenly widened, and they all involuntarily breathed long sighs of relief, as if expelling all past grievances and anger, leaving behind only clarity and fullness of thought.

After taking a deep breath, Ebner looked up at the words on the hall walls and sighed, “Every time I walk this path, I have new insights.”

Joe exclaimed, “I feel like my entire body has been purified, even the fatigue from traveling has disappeared.”

“I can’t even remember how I got through,” Mei Rujing paused, then added, “It reminds me of when I was little, and my grandma would teach me to weave hand straps and tie little bells onto them.”

Xu Zaiyuan said, “This corridor has the same effect as meditation.”

“We actually suspect the corridor helps people quickly enter a meditative state,” Ebner said nostalgically, “I still remember my first time walking through here. Before that, I was always rushing around, always busy. I felt like I had endless tasks, but when I looked back, I realized I had no idea what I was busy with, only that I was constantly under pressure…”

“But after walking through this path and experiencing another world, I suddenly had an awakening.”

Tan Muxing asked curiously, “You experienced another world?”

“Yes, it was the angels of a higher-dimensional world,” Ebner nodded with a smile. “My stress and suffering all originated from myself, actually having nothing to do with the outside world. Later, when I looked back at the world, all the conflicts seemed meaningless — discarding differences like class, race, and nationality — humanity is originally one, only blinded by illusions.”

Chu Qianli, who had been carefully set down by Tan Muxing, stepped onto solid ground and suddenly realized, “So this is a socialist path — after walking it, you understand the concept of a shared future for mankind!”

Tan Muxing: “?”

Above the hall was a dome resembling the sky, filled with complex characters and paintings. In the very center stood an ancient stone gate carved with intricate patterns. Red crystals were mixed within the rock at the base, clearly indicating the presence of Infant Stones.

In front of the stone gate was a half-human-height stone pillar, like a pedestal for a treasure, carved with abstract patterns similar to ancient records of the Kabbalah.

“Based on our investigations, behind the Gate of Truth lies the main mineral vein. But if we rashly dismantle the gate, it could trigger a chain reaction in the ruins — like a delicate mechanical treasure box. Forced disassembly could activate a self-destruct mechanism, even affecting the nearby magma activity.”

Joe asked, “But the ruins next to the magma haven’t been destroyed by it?”

“Not just that,” Ebner shrugged, “There have been several major earthquakes in H country’s history, and none of them affected this place.”

Chu Qianli said, “That just proves how skilled the builders were. Whether it’s feng shui geomancy or divination predictions, they must have had extremely high mastery to choose this spot.”

“And they even used special murals to disrupt us,” Xu Zaiyuan put down the fingers he had been using for divination, showing a helpless expression as he added, “It’s hard to do readings here — the images interfere.”

Xu Zaiyuan instinctively tried to divine again, but as soon as he moved the thought, his head ached, and streams of information surged in, making it difficult to calm down.

The ruins themselves were located on a feng shui treasure land, making it easy for intrusive practitioners to get overwhelmed. Combined with the omnipresent information on the walls, it drastically weakened the abilities of those trained in metaphysical arts — using their own strengths against them.

Perhaps not divining here would be easier.

Ebner looked toward Liu Jun and suggested, “Alright, next step is to place the crystal ball onto the pedestal. After that, everything I know ends, and it’s up to you to explore further.”

Liu Jun provided a small black box. Ebner gave the password. The box opened to reveal the crystal ball.

The crystal ball was placed on the stone pillar, fitting perfectly into the base with a crisp “click.”

The next second, the ruins began to tremble slightly, and strange sounds emanated from within the walls.

Joe panicked, “Is this an earthquake? Is the volcano erupting?”

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the outcome, when suddenly a mechanism on the stone gate activated, revealing a circular dial!

Around the dial were seven small beads, and in the center, there was a groove for aligning the seven beads — currently all the beads were separated and the central slots empty.

Ebner explained, “This is as far as we’ve gotten. The other keys should have their placement points too, but we couldn’t find them in this hall.”

“That’s because they’re not in the hall,” Xu Zaiyuan said, staring at the dial before looking up at the gate, asserting, “This is a map, showing the other locations.”

Chu Qianli whispered, “I feel like it’s a star map…”

Mei Rujing turned to Chu Qianli, “If it’s a map, you’re the only one who can understand it.”

Pan Yicheng had gone to escort Huang Jue to the hospital, so only Chu Qianli understood feng shui among those remaining.

Chu Qianli initially wanted to study the gate more, but under everyone’s eager gaze, she immediately abandoned the idea and confidently clapped her hands, rallying, “Alright then, since comrades have come from afar, let’s work hard together for a common ideal!”

If she could crack the ruins and obtain the ancestors’ records, she might find a way to solve the fate issue.

Liu Jun, hearing her motivational speech, said blankly, “I feel like that was way too much like something Professor Pan would say.”

Tan Muxing said, “You’re not wrong.” After all, back when she fooled Lin and the others, it was all thanks to imitating Professor Pan.

Chu Qianli started calculating the locations based on the stone gate’s patterns and the dial. After a short while, she shook her head, trying to avoid being disturbed by surrounding information, focusing her attention like a constantly shaking little bobblehead.

Liu Jun said, “This is so unfair — those skilled in metaphysics are suppressed, and those who aren’t skilled can’t solve the puzzles.”

“This might be the ruins’ self-protection mechanism,” Ebner smiled. “We are challenging the geniuses who once visited this place.”

Even though they could never meet those predecessors, they could spiritually connect through the ruins. In any given era, true prodigies were rare — but this place gathered the genius of countless eras.
Geniuses know best how to deal with geniuses.

“Something like that,” Chu Qianli said while massaging her aching temples, trying to drive away the post-thinking pain. She handed the paper to Tan Muxing, asking him to standardize the diagrams and data, and said, “There are six locations, corresponding exactly to the remaining six keys, and none of them are too far from here.”

Joe stared at the seven-star groove, surprised, “Six? But there seem to be seven slots?”

Xu Zaiyuan, standing by the crystal ball pillar and pressing his forehead to suppress the headache from divination, said, “There’s a time limit here. If we don’t finish within seven days, the ruins will close for a period.”

Ebner froze, “Indeed, every time after we placed the crystal ball, the dial would disappear for a while. We used to think it had something to do with celestial phenomena…”

Mei Rujing said decisively, “Six places in seven days — if we don’t split up, there’s not enough time.”

“Let’s divide by the attributes of the keys — it’ll be quicker that way.”

The crystal ball was embedded in the hall’s stone pillar. The other keys had different placement spots.

Chu Qianli took the compass and Tarot cards. Mei Rujing took the Sanqing Bell. Xu Zaiyuan took the peachwood sword. Ebner took the pendulum. The Rune Stone was assigned to Joe.

The locations of the keys were cleverly designed. The compass, bell, and sword were close to each other; the Tarot cards, pendulum, and Rune Stone clustered together — the hall with the Gate of Truth separating the two groups.

Though not very far apart, the terrain was mountainous and likely rugged.

Ebner worried that Chu Qianli, having two keys, might be overloaded and said, “Why don’t you give one key to another team?”

Chu Qianli waved it off, “It’s fine. No need.”

“But what if something unexpected happens and you’re too slow?”

“There’s a kind of speed called ‘Chinese speed.’”

“?”

Hearing her confident declaration, Ebner was impressed, “I still don’t understand how you managed to fool Lin. Considering your usual way of speaking, the fact he mistook you for his type is a miracle.”

Ebner remembered that even saying “the ruins belong to all humanity” would infuriate Lin — he had no idea why Lin was convinced Chu Qianli was a greedy opportunist who could be bought, especially since she was even more direct than Ebner.

Chu Qianli said calmly, “There’s a kind of miracle called ‘the Chinese miracle.’”

“…”

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T/N: Hello readers, I have started translating my 2nd novel – “Marrying a Cook in the 1960s”
Please show you support. Link- https://knoxt.space/marrying-a-cook-in-the-1960s/

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