Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The platform was silent.

All eyes were drawn to the bluish-gray stone door covered with star-patterned reliefs, or more precisely, to the recessed palm print in the center of the door.

The palm print has a clear outline, distinct five fingers, and is of moderate size.

It was not carved randomly, but rather it blends perfectly with the surrounding complex and vast star map and energy line reliefs, as if it were a key "node" or "hub" in this starry sky and energy network.

When Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" simultaneously raised their right hands, everyone held their breath.

Wu Xie stared wide-eyed at the palm print, then at Zhang Qiling's long, strong, and well-defined hand.

He had seen similar traps before in places like the Heavenly Palace on Cloud Peak and the Ghost City of the Serpent Swamp, which were often related to the Zhang family's special physique or bloodline. Could it be here too...?

Huo Xiuxiu and Xie Yuchen exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.

The appearance of this palm print means that this door, or what is behind the door, is likely to have a direct and extraordinary connection with the Zhang family.

Wang Cen stared intently at the two's hands, his usual gentle smile almost faltering, replaced by barely suppressed tension and anticipation.

The floating live-streaming ball also adjusted its angle, giving a close-up of the stone gate's palm print and Zhang Qiling's raised hand.

The screen was instantly flooded with question marks:

A handprint?

What does that mean? The key?

The guy's hands are so well matched.

Bloodline connection?

Another one exclusively for the Zhang family?

Zhang Qiling lowered his raised hand, said nothing, and simply stared at the palm print with a deep gaze, as if recalling or sensing something.

Zhang Qiling also put down his hand, walked to the stone tablet, observed the eye symbol, and then looked back at the palm print on the stone gate, his gaze shifting between the two.

"Open the door."

He said this to Zhang Qiling, and it was also a statement of fact.

"Give it a try," Zhang Qiling said succinctly.

He stepped forward and stopped about a meter in front of the stone gate. He did not rashly place his hand on it, but carefully observed the reliefs around the palm print, especially the lines that represented the flow of energy.

These lines may seem chaotic, but if you observe them with the palm print as the center, you can vaguely see a rhythmic convergence towards the center.

Zhang Qiling also walked to the other side, observing as well, and reached out to gently touch the area on the stone door surface that was not marked with a palm print.

It was cool to the touch, hard in texture, neither gold nor stone, carrying a sense of the weight of time. He tapped it with his knuckles; the sound was deep and resonant, indicating the stone door was extremely thick.

"Are you confident?" Xie Yuchen walked over and asked in a low voice.

Although I believe in their abilities, this place is too eerie; who knows what will happen if I press it?

Zhang Qiling didn't answer, but nodded slightly.

He stepped forward, raised his right hand, hovered it about an inch above the palm print, paused for about two seconds, and then pressed it down steadily.

The palm fits the indentation perfectly.

There was no earth-shattering sound, no dazzling light.

Just as Zhang Qiling pressed his palm firmly, a very faint "click" sound seemed to come from inside the stone door, like gears meshing or something being activated.

Immediately afterwards, the complex and vast star map reliefs on the surface of the stone gate, starting from the point of contact of the palm print, seemed to be infused with some kind of energy, and lit up with an extremely faint, pale blue halo that flickered like breathing.

The halo spread slowly and steadily outwards along the lines that represent the flow of energy, as if a star map was gradually lit up.

The entire process was quiet and mysterious, without any aggression, but rather exuded an ancient and solemn sense of ritual.

The halo spread across the entire stone door, and the stars seemed to come alive, shimmering slightly on the relief.

After about ten seconds, the light stabilized, stopped flickering, and continued to emit a soft, pale blue glow.

Then came the heavy, slow grating sound of rocks rubbing together.

The heavy, bluish-gray stone door, illuminated by a pale blue light, slowly opened a crack inward.

No dust rose, only a stale, but unusually dry, cold air seeped out from the cracks.

The stone gate opened.

There were no traps, no hidden weapons, and no monsters that suddenly pounced. It opened quietly like that.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but their hearts immediately tightened again.

What's behind the door?

Zhang Qiling withdrew his hand, but the faint blue light on the stone door did not immediately go out; instead, it remained, seemingly to provide illumination for those who entered.

Zhang Qiling nodded to him, and the two of them stood on either side of the open door, peering inside.

The beams of flashlight and the light from the suspended live-streaming ball were then projected.

Behind the door is a square stone chamber, slightly larger than the outer platform.

The stone chamber was not large, about fifteen meters on each side and five meters high. The floor was made of smooth black stone slabs, polished to a mirror shine, reflecting the scene above.

The ceiling of the stone chamber is not made of rock, but is inlaid with countless transparent crystals of different sizes and irregular shapes. Under the light of the flashlight and the dim light from the stone door, they refract tiny, cold lights like stars, which faintly echo the star map on the stone door.

In the center of the stone chamber, there was no coffin or altar, only a solitary, round jade platform about half a meter high.

The jade platform has a warm, milky white color, and there seems to be a very faint, misty substance flowing slowly inside. On the surface of the jade platform, there are eye symbols made up of countless lines, exactly the same as those on the stone tablet.

On the jade platform, a "person" lay quietly.

Or, to put it another way, a "jade figurine".

It was a body similar in shape to an ordinary person, completely encased and sealed by a translucent substance, like glass or amber.

Through this layer of "amber," one can clearly see a middle-aged man dressed in ancient clothing with a peaceful, sleeping face.

The clothing he wore was very similar in style to the ancient people presiding over the sacrifices in the murals outside, as well as the tattered clothes of the "zongzi" assimilated by the giant cocoon, but it was more exquisite and seemed to indicate a higher status.

He placed his hands together in front of his chest, holding a dark blue jade cong about the size of a fist.

The jade cong has a simple and ancient shape, with a square exterior and a round interior, and its surface is covered with runes that are so fine that they are difficult to decipher.

Under the soft light refracted by the surrounding crystals and the pale blue halo of the stone gate, there seemed to be extremely faint points of light slowly flowing inside the jade cong, as if it were alive.

The entire stone chamber was clean, simple, and cold, with nothing but the jade platform and jade figurines.

The eerie and bloody atmosphere outside the cave, along with the intensity of the previous battles, created a strange contrast.

It felt as if this place was a secluded, pure "quiet room" or "bedroom".

Wu Xie and the others followed into the stone chamber, and were all stunned by the quiet yet eerie scene before them.

The flashlight beam swept across the walls and the crystal ceiling, and there was no sound except for their own footsteps and breathing.

"This...this is the final secret?"

Wang Pangzi lowered his voice, leaned closer to the jade platform, and carefully examined the jade figurine from a distance.

"Wow, it's so well preserved? What's that layer of amber? A crystal coffin?"

"It's neither crystal nor ordinary amber."

Huo Xiuxiu carefully examined the jade platform and the material covering the jade figurine using instruments.

"The composition is very complex, containing organic matter, inorganic minerals, and a faint, peculiar energy field. This layer isolates the body from air and bacteria, which is why the people inside are so well preserved, almost like...living beings."

The words "living the same life" sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Those "zongzi" (sticky rice dumplings) outside before were made by something similar, and this one here...

"Zhang Qiling" approached the jade platform, his gaze falling on the jade cong in the jade figurine's hand. After looking at it for a while, he looked up at the crystals refracting starlight on the top of the stone chamber, and finally his gaze returned to the eye symbols on the stone tablet and the stone door, remaining silent.

Zhang Qiling also came over. He wasn't looking at the jade figurine, but rather at the eye symbol on the surface of the jade platform and the runes on the jade cong in the jade figurine's hand.

He extended his index finger and traced a few lines in the air with the runes on the jade cong, as if comparing them to something in his memory.

Wang Cen was completely captivated by the jade cong in the jade figurine's hand.

He strode to the other side of the jade platform, his eyes almost touching the layer of "amber," staring intently at the jade cong inside, his breathing rapid, his face filled with undisguised fervor.

"It's it...it must be it! The 'key' to coexisting with 'it' and controlling 'it'! The secret to immortality...transformation!"

"Mr. Wang, do you recognize this?"

Xie Yuchen asked calmly, while giving Hei Xiazi a wink.

Hei Xiazi understood and subtly moved a few steps to a position where he could see both Wang Cen and his men.

"No, not entirely..."

Wang Cen barely managed to suppress his excitement, but his voice still trembled slightly.

"But my family's secret texts vaguely record that at the core of certain ancient and unimaginably ancient 'symbiotic' rituals, there exists a 'token,' which is the key to communicating with, controlling, and even mastering that 'being.' The description in the records is very similar to this jade cong! Especially the runes on it, look, here, and here..."

He pointed to several specific patterns on the jade cong.

"I've seen fragments of these symbols in several other potentially related sites!"

Wu Xie also leaned over to take a closer look. Those runes were indeed extremely ancient and complex, unlike any known ancient script. They were more like a symbolic energy spectrum with certain patterns.

"If this truly is a 'key' or a 'token'," Huo Xiuxiu questioned, "why is it sealed here? The murals outside suggest that the ancients were feeding that 'cocoon' with human sacrifices, attempting to gain fusion or power. But here, it's so... quiet? Who is this person? Why is he being preserved in such a special way?"

This is a question everyone has.

Outside, there are bloody and eerie rituals and raging monsters, but inside, there is a tranquil "bedroom" and peaceful "jade figurines"—the contrast is too great.

"Zhang Qiling" suddenly spoke, pointing to the eye symbol on the surface of the jade platform: "This one is on the stone tablet outside, on the door, and here too."

He then pointed to the light refracted by the crystals at the top, creating faint patches of light on the black floor.

"Look at the ground."

Following his pointing finger, everyone looked and, under the combined beams of several flashlights, the tiny specks of light refracted from the crystal at the top vaguely outlined a huge eye pattern made of specks of light on the smooth black stone slab. It was exactly the same as the symbols on the stone tablet and the jade platform, only much larger and more illusory.

"This symbol is key."

Zhang Qiling concluded.

He walked to the wall on one side of the stone chamber and reached out to touch it. The wall was ordinary stone, but it had been polished very smooth, without any carvings or murals on it.

He walked slowly along the wall, as if sensing something.

Zhang Qiling then walked to the other side of the jade platform, opposite Wang Cen, and stretched out his hand, but did not touch the jade platform or the "amber". Instead, he hovered above the jade figurine, closed his eyes, and seemed to be sensing something.

A few seconds later, the two opened their eyes almost simultaneously and looked at each other.

"There is a lingering 'meaning'," said Zhang Qiling.

"Very faint, pointing downwards." Zhang Qiling walked to the center of the stone chamber and looked down at the black floor.

The floor was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the shimmering light from the crystals above and the enormous eye pattern made up of points of light.

"Below?" Wu Xie looked down at the floor, but could see nothing but the reflection.

"There's more down there," Zhang Qiling said confidently.

He lifted his foot and gently stepped on a black stone slab where the pupil of the eye pattern was located.

"Click."

A soft sound, not the sound of a mechanism being triggered, but some kind of... resonance? Or feedback?

Immediately afterwards, everyone was surprised to find that the giant eye pattern made of light spots on the ground seemed to light up slightly before returning to its original state.

Meanwhile, the eye symbol on the jade platform also flashed with a barely perceptible light.

At the same time, the faintly flowing light spots inside the dark blue jade cong held in the jade figurine seemed to increase slightly in speed and brightness.

The change is so subtle that it is almost imperceptible unless you are watching it closely.

But Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" clearly noticed.

The two exchanged a glance.

"Alive." Zhang Qiling looked at the jade cong.

"Waiting." Zhang Qiling's gaze then turned to the area below the stone chamber.

The extremely faint yet continuous "intention" he sensed did not come from the jade figurine, nor from the jade cong, but from the depths beneath this stone chamber.

"Waiting for what?" Wu Xie asked.

Zhang Qiling remained silent for a moment, then slowly uttered two words:

"Open the door."