As the group flew to the stone door, the yellow-robed cultivator's token dispersed into light and the passage vanished without a trace.
"Stay close," he said coldly after glancing at them.
Then, his fingers danced incessantly, forming complex hand seals. Suddenly, he turned around and raised both hands.
Two crimson and yellow rays shot out, directly hitting the sealed stone door. Instantly, the originally tightly closed green door lit up with flashing runes. Amidst a low buzzing sound, the door slowly opened, revealing a long rectangular passage inside.
Without a word, the yellow-robed cultivator strode in.
After exchanging glances, the others followed closely behind.
Han Li walked among the disciples, his gaze fixed straight ahead, but in reality, his spiritual sense scanned everything nearby.
The square passage seemed to have been directly excavated inside the mountain with magical treasures. Not only were the walls unusually smooth, but every few steps, there were some obscure and incomprehensible runes carved on the walls.
Although he couldn't study them in detail for the moment, he knew these things were definitely not just decorations.
The passage wasn't long. After walking for about a hundred feet, everyone's vision brightened, and they appeared in a neat stone hall.
The hall was about fifty to sixty yards wide and about seven to eight yards high, quite spacious.
In the middle of the stone hall, there was a large green stone platform several feet in size, with ten vertical and horizontal grooves crisscrossing each other, forming a massive chessboard. Black and white chess pieces were scattered all over the board, seemingly at a critical juncture.
On both sides of the chessboard, an old and a young person sat holding black and white chess pieces. The old man wore a brocade robe and had a long face, looking to be in his fifties. The young one was only about seven or eight years old, with rosy lips and white teeth, resembling a reincarnated jade child.
"Senior Uncle Lan! How come you're here?" The white-robed cultivator, upon seeing the child, exclaimed in surprise, then hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.
"Senior Uncle Lan?"
The gray-robed old man and the middle-aged cultivator from the Hundred Craftsmanship Academy were initially startled to see a stranger child here, but when they heard the white-robed cultivator's address, their expressions changed drastically. Upon seeing the child's appearance with his red braid and bare feet, wearing gold rings, the image of a legendary figure from the past emerged in their minds.
"Younger generation Du Hui and Yu Shan'an pay respects to Senior Uncle Lan!" The two were shocked and hurriedly bowed without thinking.
"Get up. Haven't you seen me and Junior Uncle Hu are in the middle of something crucial? Don't make a sound. We'll talk about it after I finish this game of chess." The child, with a tender and childish face but a voice full of oldness, said arrogantly.
"Yes, sir!" The three Nascent Soul cultivators, including the white-robed cultivator, answered immediately without hesitation, then stood nearby with their hands down, not daring to show any dissatisfaction.
The old man playing chess with the child showed a wry smile to the three, but said nothing.
As for the yellow-robed cultivator, since entering the stone hall, he had stood obediently behind the child, behaving like a disciple.
The young cultivators who followed along were in a stir when they heard these three seniors calling the child of seven or eight years old "Senior Uncle."
