160: Chapter 160 Rhomboid Crystals

"Now?" Qin Ce squatted down, looking at Tianlu.

Tianlu nodded vigorously and shook the bell again.

At the mouth of the bell, space began to warp, like a pot of water about to boil.

The energy inside Qin Ce's body switched automatically—Qingluan's wind energy retracted, and Tianlu's energy surged up.

That energy was warm and dense, carrying an indescribable aura of "fortune and prosperity." It flowed from the Soul Talisman to his arm, from his arm to his fingertips, and then poured into the bell on Tianlu's chest.

The space at the mouth of the bell cracked open a slit.

It wasn't a hideous tear like a Space-Time Rift, but a quiet, silver-gray, circular window.

On the other side of the window was not the wilderness to the North, nor the sky above Fengling City, but a constantly shifting, unpredictable play of light and shadow. Sometimes it looked like a starry sky, sometimes like the deep sea, and sometimes like an endless desert.

That was the Alternate Space—the legendary dimension connected to countless opportunities, treasures, and unknowns.

Qin Ce took a deep breath and reached his right hand into the window.

The first thing he touched was something soft and furry. But it quickly slipped away.

So, he changed direction and felt something cold, smooth, and angular.

He gripped it and pulled hard.

A palm-sized Rhombic Crystal appeared in his hand.

The crystal was jade-white and translucent, with a faint silver halo swirling inside.

Its surface was as smooth as water, without a single line, but holding it in his hand, he could feel a strange temperature—neither cold nor hot, like holding a mass of solidified sunlight.

Qin Ce turned it over and looked at it twice, but he couldn't tell what material it was made of.

It wasn't crystal, nor jade, nor any mineral he had ever seen. He was just about to use Nine-Star Insight to check—

The crystal suddenly lit up.

It wasn't a reflection; it was glowing on its own.

Jade-white light seeped out from within, growing brighter and brighter until the entire room was dyed silver-white.

Then, a massive suction force came from the crystal, and the energy inside Qin Ce's body poured into it like water through an open sluice gate.

Tianlu's energy, Qingluan's energy, and even the source power deep within the Soul Talisman were mostly drained at that moment.

Qin Ce's expression changed, and he instinctively tried to shake off the crystal, but it was as if it had grown into his palm, remaining perfectly still.

The speed of the energy influx began to slow.

The light from the crystal changed from dazzling to soft, and from soft to restrained.

Then, a mysterious, one-meter-square magic circle slowly spread out in the air, centered on the crystal.

Those lines weren't drawn; they were traces of light, each stroke carrying the fluctuations of spatial energy.

The moment the magic circle took shape, a three-dimensional, miniature phantom of mountains and rivers appeared above the runes.

Qin Ce's breath hitched for a moment.

That was a real map of the area hundreds of kilometers to the North of Fengling City.

Beimang Mountain, the wilderness, the space rifts, and the Wuji Army's camp.

Everything on the miniature map was lifelike—the ridgeline of Beimang Mountain, the course of the rivers in the wilderness, the gray canopy above the rifts, and even the drab buildings of the Wuji Army camp were clearly visible.

Qin Ce's gaze fell on the location of the Wuji Army camp, just as he was about to compare it with the actual base.

Suddenly!

A straight pillar of light rose from that position, shooting straight into the sky.

The pillar of light was bright, dazzlingly so, and inside it, a rhombic core was slowly rotating—identical to the crystal in Qin Ce's hand.

Qin Ce's eyes narrowed slightly.

Another pillar of light followed immediately.

He moved his gaze toward it; he happened to recognize that place as well—it was the camp where his privileges applied, Zhenhuang Pass.

Its brightness was slightly dimmer than the one at the Wuji Army camp.

Then came the third, fourth, fifth... Qin Ce counted a total of thirteen pillars of light.

They were distributed around Beimang Mountain, some on the ridges, some in the valleys, and some on the edge of the wilderness.

If connected in order, they would form an irregular circle—like a Roaming Dragon surrounding Beimang Mountain in the middle.

A strange feeling welled up in Qin Ce's heart.

A thought surfaced, like a fish popping its head out of deep water, impossible to suppress.

Could this be a sign of... the God-level Ruins?

Had he pulled out a key item for the God-level Ruins?

He remembered the opportunity he had seized from Wang Zhuo three months ago.

"A mythic-grade ruins will appear on the northern border of Fengling City."

Three months, the North, mythic-grade.

The time, location, and event all matched perfectly.

Then, could the crystal in his hand be the key to the ruins?

Did those thirteen pillars of light mean there were thirteen keys?

Just as Qin Ce was speculating.

Boom.

A clap of thunder exploded overhead.

It wasn't thunder, but the sound of energy colliding.

It was so loud that the windows of the entire barracks were vibrating, and dust rustled down from the ceiling.

Qin Ce snapped his head up and looked through the window at the sky.

Directly above the Wuji Army camp, a pillar of light shot into the sky.

It was exactly the same as the one on the miniature map, but countless times larger.

The pillar of light was as thick as a thousand-year-old tree and as bright as a second sun, piercing straight into the clouds. The clouds were torn open, revealing a huge gap that showed the higher and further sky behind.

Qin Ce rushed to the window and looked into the distance.

To the North.

In the direction of Zhenhuang Pass.

Another pillar of light rose.

Then further away, the third, fourth, fifth...

The pillars of light lit up one after another, like someone lighting a row of giant candles on the horizon.

Some were bright, some were dim, some were thick, and some were thin, but they were all there, standing silently and solemnly.

Then, all the pillars of light extinguished simultaneously.

No, not extinguished, but condensed.

The light from the thirteen pillars detached from the pillars themselves, turning into thirteen orbs of light that flew from all directions toward the center.

They flew over Beimang Mountain, over the wilderness, over the rifts, and converged at the very center.

A gate.

It wasn't a torn, hideous opening like a rift, but a real, complete, circular gate.

The gate was stable and solid, its edges silver-gray with a metallic luster.

It hung there quietly, like an eye waiting to be opened.

But it only appeared for a fleeting moment.

Perhaps the energy was insufficient, as the gate did not open. Or perhaps the conditions were not met.

The power of the light orbs was exhausted, and the outline of the gate began to blur, fade, and dissipate.

But before it vanished, an aura squeezed out from the crack in the gate.

That aura was savage and ancient, carrying a high-and-mighty pressure that did not belong to this world.

It was like a giant beast that had been slumbering for ten thousand years turning over, yawning, and then going back to sleep.

But in that single instant, all the ferocious beasts within a hundred-mile radius fell silent.

Qin Ce stood by the window, looking in the direction where the gate had dissipated, the crystal in his palm still slightly hot.

...