I Got Rich in Period Fiction-Chapter 568 - 562: Watching Them Like Fools

Since Qiao Qingyu agreed, He Xiuyu took her hand, led by Wu Hong with narrow steps that were just wide enough for two.

Zhang Xuanzi, however, followed leisurely with his hands behind his back.

This formation seemed like being sandwiched from front and back, but it must also be said, it was the most reasonable way to walk.

Of course, that’s somewhat redundant to mention.

After all, they were headed to an underground chamber—a place wholly unfamiliar to He Xiuyu and Qiao Qingyu.

But it seemed unlikely that Zhang Xuanzi would pull any tricks here; first, it was dangerous, and second, it was unnecessary.

The staircase didn’t lead straight down but turned four corners.

Then they stood on a patch of ground swallowed by darkness.

It was hard to see around, but there were specks that seemed like starlight drifting about, resembling fireflies or maybe stars.

Just as they tried to look closer, lights on the walls were turned on and the underground chamber was lit up bright as daylight, revealing its large size with several large pillars supporting it.

The chamber was quite tall, about three meters. These pillars weren’t made of cement but wood.

The wood was thick, seemingly about a hundred years old.

Zhang Xuanzi didn’t linger and led everyone forward, and then Qiao Qingyu saw in the center of the chamber something resembling a flowerbed.

Up close, it was surrounded by rocks, forming a small mountain built of stones, with something in the middle of the stones that couldn’t be seen from their distance.

Qiao Qingyu and He Xiuyu exchanged a glance, subtly.

The two then casually fixed their gaze on the pile of rocks.

Their expressions were calm, but their hearts were not.

He Xiuyu softly grasped Qiao Qingyu’s hand.

The stones were too familiar, almost identical to the energy stones outside Qiao Qingyu’s Space Device.

Qiao Qingyu sensed around, detecting nothing unusual.

That is, the energy stones in another dimensional space couldn’t resonate or communicate with this pile of stones.

Standing before the stones, Zhang Xuanzi spoke, "Frankly, it took our Zhang Family a long time to find this place, and surprisingly it turned out to be in Lianjiang Village."

He Xiuyu stepped forward, picked up a stone, and turned to ask Zhang Xuanzi, "Elder Zhang, did you transport these stones from somewhere else or are they local?"

"They are local."

He Xiuyu pondered for a moment, "As far as I know, there are no mines nearby, and the pebbles from the river do not match these."

"Indeed, we found an unusual magnetic field here, and then I leased this land and built a house. In the place where the energy was most active, the Zhang Family began to dig the underground chamber."

Zhang Xuanzi pointed at the stones in front of them and then around, "Back then, this place resembled a grave, and the pit was filled with such stones."

He Xiuyu smiled, "Elder Zhang, in your Taoist beliefs, do these stones aid in cultivation?"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xuanzi shook his head, "Logically, such stones should have been called Divine Stones in ancient times. They indeed contain energy, but they are of no use to us."

"So why build this underground chamber?"

Zhang Xuanzi smiled, "Ah Yu, with so many stones gathering together, there’s substantial energy. Do you think all this energy could open another space?"

Then he added, "Not from the perspective of our Taoist teachings or the Xuan Sect, but analyze it from your scientific standpoint."

He Xiuyu looked intensely at the pile of stones, surprised within himself. To his knowledge, this kind of stone did not exist in this land.

And each time for his research, he extracted from outside his Space Device.

There was also a laboratory built there.

He did not dare to bring these stones outside.

But the stone on Yuan Hengzhi made him realize, perhaps the world wasn’t as he had imagined. So after Yuan Hengzhi’s stone was destroyed by an unknown force, he found a substitute.

He didn’t know what relation that stone had with Yuan Hengzhi, but as if fate linked them, it still remained on Yuan Hengzhi’s body.

And Yuan Hengzhi knew, hence had never taken it off.

Yet now, he was in an underground chamber beneath the land of a small mountain village in northern China, discovering so many stones.

This land had been meticulously explored by surveyors.

Decades had passed, and if there had been a mine with such energy stones, it would have been discovered—thus, these stones must have been transported from some unknown place.

He Xiuyu did not make light of it but earnestly said, "Elder Zhang, haven’t you turned these stones over?"

Elder Zhang smiled as he replied, "How could we have not? It’s just that there has been no resolution till now."

He Xiuyu paused, as he didn’t know about this, but it was normal given the myriad scientific research institutes in the country.

Each had their own research projects and personnel. Even he, reliant on the miraculous space of the Space Device, had only researched the bare essentials of the energy stones, extracting trace elements for use in urgently needed military hardware parts.

But he knew that the true purpose of these energy stones was to release energy and maintain the operation of the Space Device.

Yuan Hengzhi’s stone discharged a faint energy that allowed Yuan Hengzhi to survive, but what was the released energy from this pile of stones supposed to do?

Wu Hong, who stood by, said, "We’ve analyzed it as well, and this place existed many years ago. Not to hide it from you, Ah Yu, there’s most certainly a space-time portal here, though no one has ever managed to open it."

He Xiuyu raised an eyebrow, surprised by this revelation.

"Elder Zhang, have you used the power of the Xuan Sect?"

"The power of the Xuan Sect is too weak. Even if all members of the Zhang Family came together, we couldn’t open the space-time portal."

Zhang Xuanzi’s voice held regret and helplessness; after all, the Xuan Sect had declined generation by generation and was deteriorating further. If it had been their prime, with the force of the Xuan Sect coupled with so many Spirit Stones, ascending to Heaven would have been possible.

But now, it was too elusive.

He had tried with his family, even invited several old members of the Xuan Sect, and included Han Lishi, but the area showed no change, making them look like fools engaging in foolish acts.

And those secretly monitoring them probably saw him the same way.

Dreaming a fool’s dream.