Chapter 130: Chapter 128: The Changing Stone Gate

As the robed figure entered, the great gate sealed shut again seamlessly.

The trophies on the tray rapidly decayed, turning to dust in moments before being scattered by a breeze.

Mo Ling finally understood why the robed figure had hunted so many creatures. This was the price for opening the gate.

Moreover, the tray seemed to judge the value of the trophies. Mo Ling noticed that the parts that had just glowed with purple light were precisely the sections of prey the robed figure had selected.

As for the rest of the flesh and blood, none of it emitted a similar light.

’He seems to know which trophies this gate requires.’

Mo Ling felt more and more that the robed figures were shrouded in deep mystery.

Long after the Stone Gate had closed, Bai Zhou finally walked up to it and began his inspection.

The Stone Gate wasn’t large, only a little over two meters tall, but it was incredibly thick and heavy. When it had just opened, the inside was pitch-black, and the path forward was completely obscured.

Li Luo took out his spherical probe, trying to maneuver it through other crevices to get a look inside, but he couldn’t find any corresponding opening on the other side.

It seemed the space behind the gate wasn’t large, yet there had been no sound or movement since the robed figure went inside.

Bai Zhou stared at the Stone Gate, lost in thought, as if he had remembered something.

After a moment, he said to Li Luo, "This gate... I think I’ve heard of it before."

Yet he continued to stare at the Stone Gate, his expression doubtful.

"But it’s just a rumor from the Black Tower. No one knows if it’s actually true."

It seemed Bai Zhou himself wasn’t entirely familiar with the rumor, and he began to speak haltingly as he tried to recall the details.

...

One day, at the Black Tower Monitoring Station, a Hunter burst into the Guard Post, frantically reporting that he’d found a relic site inside the Black Tower.

"The entrance to the site is a Stone Gate, and beyond it is a massive treasure vault filled with all sorts of relics."

Naturally, such news was incredibly enticing. After verifying his identity, the Guard Post immediately dispatched a team to follow him to the location he’d described.

But when they got there, all they found was a bare stone wall.

"Where’s the Stone Gate?" the captain asked, puzzled.

The Hunter stared at his map, comparing it to his surroundings for a long time before explaining in confusion, "I remember it being right here. I explore the Black Tower all the time and I’ve been to this spot many times. There’s no way I’m mistaken."

The captain was highly skeptical, but he told the Hunter to look again.

After searching the entire area, the Hunter still couldn’t find the Stone Gate he had discovered.

The team wasted a great deal of time following the Hunter in circles until the captain finally lost his patience. Still, he said politely, "Why don’t you keep looking? Let us know when you find it."

The captain added that if it wasn’t dangerous, the Hunter didn’t need to notify the authorities. He could just keep the relics from the site for himself.

The Hunter was frantic. He apologized profusely while explaining, "I’m sure this is the place! But there were so many relics inside the site—they were scattered all over the ground. That’s why I came to report it to the authorities after I left."

Seeing the endlessly apologetic Hunter, the captain had no choice but to console him, telling him to notify them again next time he found the relic site, but only after confirming its location.

Unable to find the relic site, the group had no choice but to return empty-handed.

However, some time later, the same Hunter showed up at the Guard Post again, excitedly reporting that he had confirmed the Stone Gate’s location.

This time, the captain didn’t rush to assemble a team. Instead, he asked the Hunter if he had a map.

The Hunter produced a meticulously drawn three-dimensional route map that clearly marked the Stone Gate’s location. He swore up and down that they would be able to find it this time.

And so, the team set out once more.

The route matched the map perfectly. However, when they arrived at the marked location, they were once again met with a solid stone wall.

The Hunter stared at the stone wall, speechless.

The captain was at his wit’s end. Suppressing his anger, he ordered the team to fall back, then sternly warned the Hunter not to waste the Guard Post’s manpower again.

The Hunter, knowing he was in the wrong, stood there apologizing over and over. As he left, he kept staring at the map in his hands, muttering, "But I remember it being right here... I was here just yesterday. How could I have gotten it wrong?"

He scratched his head, completely bewildered.

Some time later, one afternoon, the Hunter once again rushed into the Guard Post and went straight to the captain.

"Captain, I just got back from the relic site this morning! There’s absolutely no mistake this time."

This time, the captain was hesitant to believe him. He asked patiently, "Tell me in detail about the times you’ve found this Stone Gate."

The Hunter, understanding that no one would believe him, began to slowly recount his story.

The first time he found the Stone Gate, he was on his way back from collecting samples. He was descending, wiping his relic as he walked.

And that’s when he discovered the Stone Gate.

There was a tray in front of the Stone Gate. As he was observing the gate, he casually placed his relic on the tray.

Immediately after, the relic glowed with a purple light and vanished from the tray. Just as the Hunter started to panic, the great gate before him opened.

He saw many objects scattered on the ground inside. He cautiously entered, grabbed two of them, and then ran back out.

Before he exited, he glanced back inside and saw a massive space where the objects were piled up like small mountains.

But the Stone Gate began to close the moment he stepped inside, which is why he ran out so quickly.

After returning to the Monitoring Station, he was crestfallen about losing his relic.

But then he accidentally discovered that the two items he’d picked up were also relics, which was when he rushed to the Guard Post to make a report.

"And the second time?" the captain pressed, his tone still suspicious.

The Hunter continued his tale.

After realizing that what he’d found were not ordinary objects but relics, he began to search for the Stone Gate in that area relentlessly, but to no avail.

Eventually, he gave up and returned to his normal routine. But then, after one very ordinary exploration, he found the Stone Gate again.

This time, he didn’t go in. Instead, he marked the Stone Gate’s location, activated his route tracker, and returned all the way to the Monitoring Station. After generating a three-dimensional map, he went straight to the Guard Post to report, but they still couldn’t find it.

"The third time is right now. I swear I really saw the Stone Gate, Captain. Please believe me! If it disappears again, that just proves its location isn’t fixed," the Hunter pleaded.

At this point, the captain was starting to believe him, but he still asked the Hunter to show him the two relics he’d acquired.

The Hunter obediently took them out. "I’ve already registered them. You can check the records. I did it right after I came to the Guard Post the first time. Their abilities aren’t very powerful, but they’re definitely relics."

The captain looked up the two relics and found that, just as the Hunter said, the registration times matched up.

He also looked up the Hunter’s previously registered relic and, pointing to the screen, asked, "Is this the one you lost?"

The Hunter glanced at the screen and nodded frantically.

The captain sighed. "Alright, I’ll go with you this time," he said. "Regardless of whether we find it or not, I will report this Stone Gate to my superiors as a special category of relic site."

Hearing the captain’s words, the Hunter was so moved he grabbed the captain’s hands.

The two of them headed for the location the Hunter had marked. As expected, the spot was nothing more than a solid stone wall.

The captain even used his own relic to blast the wall to pieces, but he still found nothing.

The Hunter’s face was etched with disappointment, and he apologized to the captain once more.

"It’s alright. Let’s head back," the captain said. "I’ll file the report. If anyone else discovers a similar Stone Gate, this relic site should eventually be officially catalogued."

Unfortunately, no one ever discovered a similar Stone Gate again.

Or perhaps, someone did... and was trapped inside.