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Chapter 97 Unexpected Discovery
With Gildre's death, the shop door also disappeared, turning back into the dilapidated door of an ordinary house.

Although Chen Xuan could use his recall ability to teleport himself into the shop, he didn't choose to go back immediately. Instead, he looked towards the cliff beside him...

According to the marshal, he discovered the cave containing the book on the seaward side of his family's territory when he was a child. The place was west of the chapel, less than five miles from his castle. Standing on this sea cliff, he could indeed see a gray castle standing in the distant forest; in other words, the cave should be located below this cliff.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Xuan decided to go downstairs to search first.

His current abilities remain the standard three-piece combat set: Thousand Thoughts Sword, Divine Eye Technique, and Heavenly Glow Skill. The gap in his Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell ability has been filled by the Heavenly Thunder Token, which enhances his demon-slaying methods. He didn't use the coin toss because the hand that suddenly appeared last time was too terrifying and frightened him. Unless he has no other choice in the future, Chen Xuan doesn't plan to use that evil ability again for the time being.

Of course, if the priority is to play it safe, then returning to the shop first and then exploring with Lin Qing or Liu Shuyue would be better. However, there's a practical problem: Gilles de Rais is currently in his hometown on the Brittany peninsula, at the westernmost tip of France, a geographically remote location. Furthermore, with Marshal Gilles de Rais dead, he can't reconnect the shop to this area. If he were to connect with Joan of Arc, the connection would likely be near the coastline north of Paris, close to England, and traveling back to the peninsula by carriage would take several days.

Since we're already here, we might as well take a look.

Otherwise, the matter of this book would always be on his mind—why could a tattered book found in a cave have such a great impact on Gildre? If, as he said, killing and tyranny have always plagued him since he learned dark magic, would trading this ability cause the same problem?
After all, the current possessor of dark magic is Liu Shuyue.

Without hesitation, Chen Xuan braved the drizzle to approach the houses and explained his purpose to the local herders, who quickly pointed out a path leading to the bottom of the cliff.

Half an hour later, he arrived at the beach safely.

Looking up from here, the towering cliff resembles a burly giant, while the small, pointed chapel appears to be the giant's head.

The sound of waves crashing against the pebbles on the shore mingled with the sound of rain, creating the only melody here.

Chen Xuan searched along the coast and soon found a nearly rotten wooden sign in a thicket. The sign had the three characters "GDR" carved on it with a knife.

This is simply the abbreviation of Gilles de Rais's name.

He was only ten years old when he put up this sign.

For a ten-year-old child to dare to come to a place like this, his courage and resourcefulness are truly remarkable. He really does have that kind of squeamish vibe that people find repulsive.

Following the directions indicated by the wooden sign, after traversing a maze of broken rocks and trees, he finally discovered the cave the other party had mentioned beneath a rock wall.

The opening was indeed small; even an adult would have to bend over and crawl in.

There were still two damp torches on the ground.

However, Chen Xuan didn't need a torch; his Divine Eye Technique allowed him to see in low light, and the Heavenly Glow ability could perform some of his exploration functions. Most importantly, according to Gildre's description, the cave wasn't deep at all.

Sure enough, after crawling in for only a few steps, the cave came to an end.

To Chen Xuan's surprise, there was a wooden door at the very back, with iron chains nailed to the four corners of the door frame.

The door panel, exposed to moisture, was dilapidated and looked as if it might fall off the frame at any moment. The handle, though made of cast iron, had long since rusted into a thin, elongated iron bar.

What kind of person would come here with a door?

Given the size of the opening, a complete wooden door couldn't be brought in unless the materials were brought in for on-site assembly. To prevent it from being dragged away or moved, the installers even chained the door frame.

Guildre made no mention of the door's existence.

He said he found the book on the ground inside the cave.

Was it because he didn't see it, or because the door didn't exist at the time?
Chen Xuan stepped forward, grabbed the doorknob, and carefully pulled it toward himself.

The door creaked open.

Behind the door appeared a phenomenon he was very familiar with—erosion. But the erosion didn't even cover half of the door frame, only about half a meter away, and the distorted space around it clearly outlined the contours of the erosion.

Lin Qing had said that when an ability user or a wanderer crosses an intrusion point, it causes the intrusion point to expand, and vice versa. This also means that the intrusion point has probably not been touched for a long time.

Chen Xuan had never actually entered an intrusion point before, and he had only watched from the sidelines during the last exposure plan at the botanical garden, so he was quite curious at this moment... Where could such a small eroded space lead? He took a deep breath, squatted down, and stretched out a hand towards it.

The finger immediately disappeared into it, as if it had been swallowed up.

There was no discomfort reported from the other side.

Chen Xuan performed a forward roll and nimbly passed through the intrusion point.

"Ouch."

He steadied himself and gasped. The space here was vastly different; the dark cave had instantly transformed into a factory-like building. Under his feet were dusty, non-slip steel plates, and the surrounding walls were also made of iron plates. The ceiling was completely obscured; numerous pipes were visible along the walls, their purpose unclear. The only common thread was their rustiness, indicating they had been abandoned long ago.

However, it wasn't completely dark outside the window; light was filtering in, and although it was quite dim, it was enough for Chen Xuan to see the surrounding furnishings.

There was an altar set up about ten steps away from him.

It consists of two candlesticks, a basin of offerings, and a flat iron stand, the size of which seems to be just big enough to hold an open book.

Chen Xuan's assessment that it was an altar was not wrong, because there were many scattered bone fragments and bloodstains under the basin, a combination that looked very eerie.

Although the combination of a steel factory and an altar is quite sinister in itself.

He scanned the area again with his mental cultivation technique and discovered that there was a spiritual energy reaction coming from above.

Under the perception of the Heavenly Cloud Technique, he seemed to see seven or eight clusters of light, hidden in the darkness above his head, coiled in a winding and meandering shape.

What is this? A bunch of cultivators hiding on the roof? And how high is the factory? Why do I feel like I'm looking at the dark sky from the bottom of a well?
Chen Xuan remained silent and confronted the light spot for several minutes, but there was still no reaction from above.

It seems that whether it's a human or a demon dwelling up there, they haven't noticed my arrival.

He looked behind him again, and the point of entry also overlapped with the door—but the door in the cave was wooden, while this one was an iron door with an airtight lock.

There was no point in just squatting on the ground, so Chen Xuan slowly stood up and walked towards the altar with the lightest steps.

The steel floor is clearly very old, proving that no one has been here for a long time, so why hasn't the blood completely weathered away?
Was the ancient book that Gildre discovered taken from this shelf?
After circling the area around the altar without making any new discoveries, Chen Xuan turned his gaze to another door located by the window. It shouldn't be nighttime, as light was still coming through the window, but the glass had probably not been cleaned for over a decade; it was so fogged up that the outside world was completely obscured.

If you want to peek outside, opening that door is the easiest way.

Chen Xuan tiptoed to the door, grasped the airtight valve with both hands, and turned it forcefully—surprisingly, it wasn't completely rusted shut; with a creak, it was turned all the way to the bottom. Chen Xuan also glanced at the ceiling and found that the light spot remained in its original position, without any change.

He then pushed the iron gate open with force.

The door panel alone is probably ten centimeters thick.

The room was finally connected to the outside world.

After confirming that there was no pressure difference between the inside and outside, Chen Xuan stepped over the high threshold and walked outside. Under his feet was an open walkway, and the railings to prevent people from falling were dilapidated.

Looking up, a sinister yet magnificent steel city suddenly came into view!
It's magnificent because the view is filled with buildings of all sizes and heights, all constructed of steel, as evidenced by the red rust belt that runs throughout the city! The houses stretch into the distance until they blend completely into the skyline.

It was eerie because it didn't resemble a city at all; it was as silent as if it were dead. Every building was no different from the factory it was in: dilapidated railings, rusty walls, and gray, gloomy windows.

He could not see any signs of human activity.

The most eerie sight, of course, was the sky—dark clouds hung heavy over the city, tinged with an eerie yellowish-green hue. Lightning occasionally flashed through the clouds, yet not a sound of thunder could be heard. Meanwhile, snowflakes continued to fall, gently blanketing the lifeless city.

(End of this chapter)