A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

The cave entrance was not bright and open, but a deep, winding passage leading downwards, its destination unknown.

An ancient and mysterious atmosphere permeated the air, cold and damp, sending chills down one's spine.

"This atmosphere...it's totally like the opening of a horror movie!" Jiang Ye complained, unconsciously tightening his grip on Ye Shuli's hand.

Ye Shuli felt the warmth of his palm, and her heart fluttered slightly.

This kid is actually pretty reliable when it matters.

She coughed lightly, feigning composure, and said, "Stop talking nonsense and stick close to me."

The two cautiously proceeded along the passageway. The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only their soft breathing and footsteps echoing in the empty passage.

Suddenly, a low, clicking sound broke the silence, like some ancient machine in operation.

"What's that sound?" Jiang Ye immediately became alert, his muscles tensing up like a cheetah poised to pounce.

"Be careful, something's up!" Ye Shuli whispered, taking out a dagger from her storage ring and scanning her surroundings with a sharp look.

"Sister Li, let's go this way!" Master Zhao suddenly pointed to a fork in the road on the right side of the passage and said, "I feel that this road is more likely to lead to the main tomb chamber."

Jiang Ye glanced at Master Zhao suspiciously, feeling that the old man had ulterior motives: "Master Zhao, are you sure? I have a feeling something's not right..."

Master Zhao replied with a forced smile, "Young Master Jiang, you are overthinking it. I just want to find the treasure as soon as possible so I can leave this awful place sooner."

Jiang Ye was about to say something when Ye Shuli interrupted him, "Let's go take a look first."

After walking a few steps, Jiang Ye suddenly stopped. He narrowed his eyes and stared intently at an inconspicuous mark on the wall: "Wait! There's a trap here!"

Master Zhao's expression changed slightly, his eyes flickering: "Young Master Jiang, are you sure you're not mistaken? There's no mechanism here..."

"Stop pretending!" Jiang Ye glared at Zhao Shiye, his wolfish nature revealed. "Did you deliberately lead us this way to get us killed?"

Master Zhao smiled slyly: "Young Master Jiang, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want..."

Ye Shuli ignored their argument and squatted down to carefully examine the marks on the wall.

"That's interesting..."

A cold smile curled at the corner of her lips as she reached out and pressed a few times against the wall.

With a "click," a hidden door suddenly appeared in the wall.

Master Zhao's expression changed drastically: "You...how did you know..."

Ye Shuli didn't answer, but turned to look at Jiang Ye: "Let's go." She took the lead and walked into the secret door, with Jiang Ye following closely behind.

Master Zhao gritted his teeth and followed him inside.

Behind the hidden door was a spacious stone chamber, in the center of which sat a huge bronze cauldron.

"This is... a divine artifact?" Jiang Ye's eyes widened.

"It doesn't seem like it." Ye Shuli shook her head, her gaze falling on the wall behind the bronze cauldron, where it seemed...

There is something.

She slowly approached and reached out to touch the wall...

A deafening roar followed, and the floor of the stone chamber began to tremble...

The floor of the stone chamber shook violently, and dust fell in clumps, making it hard to open one's eyes.

Once the dust settled, a colossal object appeared before the three of them—a three-meter-tall mechanical puppet, cast entirely in bronze, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

"Holy crap! Gundam?!" Jiang Ye couldn't help but swear. This thing was completely different from the ancient bronze artifacts he had seen in museums!

Is this some kind of advanced technology left behind by some time traveler?

The mechanical puppet's eyes suddenly lit up with a scarlet light, locked onto Jiang Ye, and emitted a "click-clack" mechanical turning sound.

The next second, it suddenly threw a punch, accompanied by a whistling sound, straight towards Jiang Ye's face.

"Holy crap! Are you serious?!" Jiang Ye exclaimed, quickly dodging the attack.

The puppet's speed and strength far exceeded his expectations. As expected of the guardian of the ruins, its combat power is top-notch!

Jiang Ye dared not take the attack head-on and could only dodge it constantly with his agile movements.

While dodging, he couldn't help but complain, "Sister Li, are you sure this thing isn't the final boss? We've only just entered the ruins, isn't this difficulty level a bit too high?"

Ye Shuli ignored his complaints; she was intently observing the mechanical puppet's movements, trying to find its weaknesses.

Although the puppet's attacks were fierce, they seemed to follow a certain pattern.

"Attack its joints!" Ye Shuli suddenly shouted, "Attack its joints!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ye immediately changed tactics, no longer dodging, but seizing the opportunity to attack the puppet's joints.

His spiritual power transformed into sharp blades, slashing at the puppet's joints again and again.

"Clang, clang, clang—" The sound of metal clashing echoed through the stone chamber, sparks flying everywhere.

The puppet's movements slowed down noticeably, confirming Ye Shuli's assessment that its joints were indeed its weak point.

Master Zhao watched in disbelief, never expecting that this seemingly frail young man could fight the mechanical puppet to a standstill.

A sinister glint flashed in his eyes as he quietly retreated, preparing to slip away in the chaos.

"Trying to run? No way!" Ye Shuli had already noticed Zhao Shiye's little tricks. She sneered and threw a dart, which hit Zhao Shiye right in the back of the knee.

"Ah!" Master Zhao screamed and fell to the ground.

Just then, the mechanical puppet suddenly roared and slammed its fist at Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye was unable to dodge in time and was hit hard in the chest, sending him flying backward and crashing heavily to the ground.

"Jiang Ye!" Ye Shuli exclaimed in surprise...

Ye Shuli's heart clenched, and she rushed to Jiang Ye's side, no longer caring about Master Zhao.

"Jiang Ye! How are you?!" She anxiously checked his injuries, her voice filled with worry.

Jiang Ye groaned, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth.

"It's alright, I won't die..." He smiled lightly, trying to reassure her.

Ye Shuli gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, her eyes filled with heartache.

Their eyes met, and Jiang Ye's heart skipped a beat. That look in his eyes...

Something is wrong!

A subtle, ambiguous atmosphere filled the air, leaving him somewhat at a loss.

"Ahem..." Jiang Ye coughed awkwardly, trying to break the awkward atmosphere. "Sister Li, let's think about how to deal with this lump of iron first..."

Ye Shuli realized her lapse in composure, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

She quickly composed herself and threw herself back into the fight.

"This puppet's weakness is its joints; let's focus our attacks on its joints!"

Just then, Zhao, thinking he had an opportunity, secretly reached for Ye Shuli's storage ring.

A glint of greed flashed in his eyes. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as he could get the treasure in the storage ring, he could rise to the top in one step!

"Hehe, little girl, your things are mine now!" Master Zhao chuckled smugly.

However, before he could even touch the storage ring, he felt his footing give way and he fell forward with a scream of pain. Zhao Shiye fell flat on his face, his nose crooked.

It turned out that Ye Shuli had anticipated his tricks and had set a small trap on the ground beforehand.

"You think you can steal my things with such petty tricks?" Ye Shuli sneered, her eyes filled with disdain.

Jiang Ye watched in stunned silence. This Sister Li is amazing!

Not only are they strong in combat, but they are also incredibly clever!

His admiration for Ye Shuli grew even stronger.

Ignoring the disoriented Zhao Shiye, Ye Shuli refocused her attention on the mechanical puppet.

She looked around, her gaze falling on some strange symbols on the walls of the stone chamber.

“These symbols… could they be…” she murmured to herself, a glint of light flashing in her eyes.

"Sister Li, did you see something?" Jiang Ye asked curiously.

Ye Shuli did not answer, but walked to the wall and carefully observed the symbols.

She reached out and gently touched one of the symbols...

With a soft "click," the sound of machinery turning suddenly came from the stone chamber...

"Oh no! This mechanism..." Ye Shuli's expression changed drastically.

After Ye Shuli touched the symbols, the symbols on the stone chamber walls lit up one by one, emitting a faint blue light, like stars in the night sky.

"The Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation?" Ye Shuli recognized the ancient formation at a glance and was secretly delighted, as this was her forte!

Back in the day, she used a copy of the "Complete Book of Changes" that she found at a street stall to swindle a lot of pocket money.

"Sister Li, what is this thing?" Jiang Ye was completely confused. This fancy-looking thing looked like some kind of high-tech product, but it also had a strong mystical feel to it, which left him scratching his head.

Ye Shuli didn't have time to explain. She quickly calculated the changes in the formation, her fingers rapidly tapping on the wall, symbols flashing at her fingertips like dancing musical notes.

“Qian is three continuous lines, Kun is six broken lines, Zhen is an upturned bowl, Gen is an overturned bowl…” she muttered to herself, as if reciting some kind of incantation.

Jiang Ye, watching from the side, was dazzled and couldn't help but complain, "Sister Li, are you playing a matching game? This thing can even eliminate things?"

As Ye Shuli pressed the last symbol, with a "hum," the entire stone chamber lit up, and a huge energy vortex appeared in the center of the formation, emitting a dazzling light.

The mechanical puppet's movements came to an abrupt halt, the red light in its eyes gradually faded, and it finally collapsed to the ground, turning into a pile of scrap metal.

"It's done!" Jiang Ye jumped up excitedly and hugged Ye Shuli tightly. "Sister Li, you're amazing! You even managed to crack this! It's an incredible feat!"

Ye Shuli was taken aback by his sudden hug, her cheeks flushed slightly, but a faint joy welled up in her heart.

"Ahem..." She coughed lightly, pretending to be calm as she pushed Jiang Ye away. "Basic procedure, don't be silly."

Jiang Ye chuckled and scratched his head. Sister Li's move was absolutely awesome!

His gaze towards Ye Shuli was filled with admiration and...

A subtle, almost imperceptible tenderness.

However, before they could rejoice for long, a sudden change occurred!

An even stronger energy fluctuation came from ahead, and the entire stone chamber began to tremble violently, as if something terrible was about to awaken.

"What...what's going on?!" Jiang Ye's expression changed drastically; this felt even more terrifying than the mechanical puppet from before!

Ye Shuli's expression also turned serious. She felt a powerful sense of oppression, a force far exceeding any enemy she had encountered before.

"It seems the real challenge has only just begun..." she said softly, a resolute glint in her eyes.

“Sister Li…” Jiang Ye gripped the sword in his hand tightly, his heart filled with unease.

Ye Shuli turned to look at him, her eyes filled with determination. "Let's go, let's go take a look."

The two cautiously walked toward the source of the energy fluctuations. A tense atmosphere filled the air, like the calm before a storm.

Suddenly, Ye Shuli stopped in her tracks. She felt a chilling killing intent lock onto her, making the hairs on her body stand on end.

"Who goes there?!" Ye Shuli turned around abruptly and shouted sharply.

From the darkness, a sinister voice slowly echoed: "Hehehe... I didn't expect anyone would actually be able to break in here..."