On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Deep in the West Mountain, there is the secret camp of the "Fenlei Division".

The cold wind blew across the rugged rocks, making a low whimpering sound.

The camp was brightly lit, yet shrouded in a strange solemnity and tension.

The patrol density of the elite Jinwu Guards has doubled compared to usual days, with secret sentries hiding in every shadow, scanning any movement with cold eyes.

There was an invisible pressure in the air, as if even breathing had become cautious.

Chu Xiling stood outside the huge bluestone laboratory in the center of the camp, her indigo work clothes fluttering slightly in the night breeze.

She was not wearing a mask, and her pretty face looked a little pale under the flickering torchlight, but her cold eyes were unusually bright, like stars in a cold night, staring intently at the rugged mountain road leading to the Valley of Broken Souls.

His fingertips unconsciously stroked a cold fragment with a strange metallic luster, and his mind was filled with the hideous flaming demon head and the faint red glow of the "Red Flame Demon Eyes" on the stone door relief.

Why did the sacred object of Zoroastrianism appear in the depths of a cold pond in the heart of Northern Yan?

What is hidden behind that heavy stone door?

Is it the true core of Burning Sky Thunder?

Or... a more terrifying secret?

A mixture of curiosity and strong uneasiness intertwined in her heart.

The sound of horse hooves came from far away, breaking the silence of the forest.

Lin Zhen's figure appeared at the end of the mountain road.

He was not wearing armor, but a black robe with a coiled dragon pattern on it, and a thin cloak of the same color on the outside. His figure was as tall and straight as a solitary peak.

The black horse was spewing out white steam, and its hooves made a dull sound as they stepped on the frozen ground.

Behind him, there were only a dozen Jinwu Guards, and Chengxuan followed closely behind them in a tight suit, his eyes as sharp as an eagle.

"Your Highness!" Chu Xiling walked up quickly and bowed.

"What's the situation?" Lin Zhen dismounted and spoke in a steady voice. His sharp eyes swept across the heavily guarded camp and finally landed on Chu Xiling's face.

"The stone gate has been discovered. It is located in the Cold Pond Cave deep in the Broken Soul Valley. General Mao has personally led people to guard it, and no one dares to move lightly." Chu Xiling spoke clearly.

"The stone gate is made of a unique material, not ordinary bluestone. It's suspected to be mixed with some kind of metal, making it incredibly strong. There are Zoroastrian rune reliefs on the door, with a 'Red Flame Demon Eye' inlaid in the center, emitting an extremely cold aura. Zoroastrian corpses and traces of sacrificial offerings were found in the cave, suggesting it was a secret base."

"Red Flame Demon Pupil..." Lin Zhen's eyes narrowed slightly. "The sacred object of the Zoroastrianism... It seems that Gu Beichen is aiming for something big. Lead the way."

The group quickly passed through the camp and, led by Chu Xiling and several elite members of the Fenlei Division, headed towards the depths of the Broken Soul Valley along a newly opened secret path covered with gravel and icicles.

The cold wind was like a knife, blowing up the snow foam on the ground and whipping my face painfully.

A faint smell of burning and sulfur still lingered in the air, reminding people of the earth-shattering explosion half a month ago.

The scene in the valley was even more dilapidated. The huge ruins of the Burning Heaven Furnace looked like the gnawed skeleton of a giant beast, casting a hideous shadow in the bleak moonlight.

The rolling boulders, the cracked ground, the traces of solidified lava...all tell of the horror of the disaster.

The entrance to the cave has been cleared and is surrounded by Jinwu Guard sentries.

Mao Mengji's figure stood at the entrance of the cave like a stone sculpture, and the scar on his face looked even more sinister in the light of the torch.

Seeing Lin Zhen, a fierce light flashed in his eyes, and then he bowed: "Your Highness!"

"Yeah." Lin Zhen nodded slightly, his eyes looking towards the dark cave entrance, a chill blowing in his face.

"What's the situation inside?" Lin Zhen asked.

"The cold is biting, and the passage is narrow, leading directly to the Cold Pond Cave. The stone door is intact, with strange runes and bewildering demonic pupils. My subordinates sent people to explore it, but they found that the stone door is too thick and difficult to open by human power, and no obvious mechanism was found." Mao Mengji's voice was hoarse.

"Let's go in and take a look." Lin Zhen stepped into the cave.

The cold inside the passage was even worse, like being in an ice cellar. Thick white frost condensed on the stone walls, and the gravel underfoot made a crisp "crunching" sound.

The light of the torches danced in the narrow space, illuminating the blurry and strange runes carved on the stone walls, adding a touch of eeriness.

After walking down for dozens of feet, the view suddenly opened up.

A huge natural cave appears before your eyes.

Stalactites of various shapes hang from the ceiling of the cave, gleaming with a cold luster under the firelight.

In the center of the cave, the cold pool with a diameter of several meters is like the eye of a sleeping giant beast. The water in the pool is as black as ink and bottomless, emitting a coldness that can freeze one's bone marrow.

The fragments of wooden boxes, ores scattered around the pond, as well as the black-robed corpses that had long been frozen and covered with white frost, looked particularly strange under the torches.

The overturned bronze brazier and the ashes remaining at the bottom of the brazier silently tell us that some mysterious ritual had been performed here.

Lin Zhen's gaze passed over the cold pond and fell directly on the huge stone door.

The heavy bluestone door panel shone with a cold luster under the firelight, and its surface was covered with intricate and hideous reliefs - twisted flames, roaring demons, and human figures struggling in pain... It was filled with an evil aura.

In the center of the stone gate, the huge flaming demon head is lifelike, especially the pair of inlaid "Red Flame Demon Eyes". The pigeon egg-sized gems do not reflect the light under the firelight, but emit a faint dark red light from the inside, like solidified blood!

The light seemed to have life, flowing slightly, carrying a kind of bewitching and mysterious power that made people shudder!

"Your Highness, this is the door." Chu Xiling's voice was solemn. "The runes are complex, and the demon pupils are strange. The cold energy seems to be most intense around this door."

Lin Zhen walked slowly forward and stopped a few steps away from the stone gate.

An even more biting chill invaded him like a substance, and even he felt a little uncomfortable despite his deep internal energy.

He carefully examined the reliefs and runes on the stone door, his eyes as sharp as a knife.

Those runes twisted and coiled like living things, somewhat similar to the Zoroastrian secret codes he had seen in some ancient books from the Western Regions, but even more ancient and strange.

His gaze finally settled on the pair of "Red Flame Demonic Pupils." The faint red light seemed to be able to absorb a person's soul.

"Ling'er," Lin Zhen said solemnly, "Do you recognize these runes?"

Chu Xiling stepped forward, her cold eyes scanning the stone gate intently. "Your Highness, some of the runes are similar to the ancient Zoroastrian sacrificial texts recorded in the fragments of the Western Region Fire Sutra in the Ministry of Industry's collection, but they are more complex and contain the rhythm of a certain formation. These flaming demon reliefs don't seem to be simple decorations, but more like some kind of energy channeling or sealing trajectory."

She pointed at the twisted flame patterns surrounding the demon's head. "Especially the special position of these demon pupils. They shine strangely and the cold energy is concentrated there. They may be the key hub."

"Formation? Hub?" Lin Zhen frowned slightly, "Is there a way to open it?"

"Unknown for now." Chu Xiling shook her head, a hint of frustration flashing in her eyes. "The rune combination is too complicated, and it seems to require a specific key or ritual to activate. Breaking the door by force may cause accidents." She thought of the explosion of the Burning Heaven Furnace and was still frightened.

Lin Zhen was silent for a moment, his eyes swept across the stone gate again, and finally fell on the gap where the bottom of the stone gate met the ground.

There seemed to be a very fine dark mark there, different from the surrounding rocks. He squatted down and brushed away the frost and dust at the edge of the crack with his fingers.

"Mao Mengji."

"The general is here!"

"Use the 'Mountain-Breaking Chisel' to pry open the gap here. Be careful not to touch the Demonic Eye!"

"Yes!" A fierce light flashed in Mao Mengji's eyes, and his skinny hand took the heavy steel chisel handed to him by a personal guard.

He took a deep breath, gathered all his internal strength, and his skinny arms burst out with amazing power!

The tip of the steel chisel was inserted precisely into the tiny gap!

"Crack!" A teeth-grinding friction sound was heard! The hard steel chisel rubbed against the bottom of the stone door, splashing a few sparks!

"Push harder!" Lin Zhen shouted!

Mao Mengji's forehead veins bulged, and he roared! All his strength was poured into his arms!

"Crack!"

There was a slight crisp sound! It wasn't the stone door opening, but the tip of the steel drill seemed to pry something open!

A palm-sized, slightly dark-colored stone slab at the bottom of the stone gate was pried loose!

"Stop!" Lin Zhen stopped him immediately.

Mao Mengji restrained his strength and pulled out the steel drill.