The massive black ancient tower stood like a silent giant on the scorched, broken plain. The metal doorway on the tower's body, jarringly out of place with the modern style, emitted a cold, hard Eerie Light, and the Gear Mark in the center stared like a single eye, coldly watching the approaching uninvited guest.
Lu Pan, riding the Skull Remnant, stopped about a hundred zhang away from the doorway. He dared not touch it rashly. He first hovered in the air, extending his Divine Sense like the finest thread, cautiously probing toward that door.
The moment his Divine Sense touched the metal door, a cold, dead, lifeless feedback washed over him. There were no Energy fluctuations on the door, no trace of a Restriction Seal operating, as if it were truly just an ordinary iron door that had been completely abandoned. Even the Gear Mark seemed like a dead object, devoid of any Spirituality.
This, however, made Lu Pan even more vigilant. When things are abnormal, there must be a trick. Given the technical prowess and caution displayed by the Netherworld Workshop, even if they evacuated, they would never leave it so defenseless.
He pondered for a moment, then took out a low-tier "Object Dispelling Talisman" from his robes. After activating it, he controlled a piece of scorched stone, about the size of a fist, lying on the ground not far away, and slowly flew it toward the metal door.
The stone silently struck the door, making a dull "thud," then bounced off and landed on the ground. There was no reaction. The door remained motionless.
Lu Pan tried several other detection methods, even using a trace of residual aura from the Moon-Erosion Demonic Pattern Stone Slab to stimulate it, but the door remained like a sleeping giant beast, showing no response.
Could it really be completely abandoned? Or does it require a specific "Key" or Dharma Seal to open?
His gaze fell again on the Gear Mark. Was this mark the key? He took out the Bronze Mirror Fragment he had obtained from the Spacetime Turbulence and looked at the equally subtle gear pattern on the back.
With a mindset of giving it a try, he slowly maneuvered the Skull Remnant closer until it was within reach. He took a deep breath, and carefully aligned the Bronze Mirror Fragment in his hand with the Gear Mark on the door, pressing it against it.
The instant the fragment touched the mark—
"Click... clack..."
An extremely faint sound of mechanisms turning, as if sealed for eons, came from within the door! Immediately after, the previously lifeless Gear Mark slowly lit up with a faint, pale blue light! The light flowed within the mark's patterns like running water!
"Buzz..."
A low Buzzing Sound arose. The heavy metal doorway revealed a straight line of light from the seam, and then, the doorway silently slid open to both sides, revealing the profound darkness behind it. A stale odor, mixed with dust, metal corrosion, and something indescribable—like a potion mixed with decay—wafted out.
It opened! This Bronze Mirror Fragment was indeed one of the keys!
Lu Pan felt a chill in his heart, becoming even more certain that this place was deeply connected to the Workshop. He did not enter immediately but held his breath, concentrating his senses to gauge the situation behind the door.
Behind the door was a metal passage sloping downwards, bottomless. There was no light inside the passage; only the faint light from the outside world cast a small distance into the entrance after the door opened. The passage walls were smooth as mirrors, made of the same material as the doorway, and were also inscribed with fine, non-decorative Rune lines, though all were dim now.
Dead silence. Absolute dead silence. As if Time itself had solidified here.
After waiting for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, confirming there was no movement behind the door and no traps triggered, Lu Pan took a deep breath, recalled the Skull Remnant （, shrunk it, and hid it in his sleeve ）. Holding the Bronze Mirror Fragment, he stepped through the Gear Door.
Shortly after he entered, the metal doorway behind him silently closed again, completely cutting off the outside light. The passage plunged into pure darkness. This darkness was so thick it felt substantial, greatly diminishing even his night vision capabilities.
Lu Pan circulated his Soul Power, igniting a cluster of eerie blue Soul Fire at his fingertip, barely illuminating a range of a few feet around him. The passage extended downwards at a gentle slope, but it was extremely deep. He proceeded cautiously, his footsteps making light echoes on the metal floor, which sounded exceptionally clear in this dead silent environment.
On the walls lining the passage, besides those dim runes, he occasionally spotted devices embedded in the walls resembling lamps, but all were damaged. He also saw metal fragments scattered on the ground, resembling Puppet parts, and some dried stains of an ominous dark purple color.
After walking for about several hundred zhang, the passage reached its end. The view suddenly opened up into a vast, cylindrical space.
This, it seemed, was the true Core of this Outpost.
Using the light from his Soul Fire, Lu Pan clearly saw the scene here and couldn't help but gasp sharply.
The entire space was dozens of zhang high and even wider in diameter. The surrounding metal walls were covered with countless dense compartments and holes of varying sizes. Some compartments still contained shattered vessels, scrolls, or unknown metal components. Countless tubes, thick and thin, of various colors, hung down or spread out from the walls and ceiling, like the blood vessels and nerves of a giant beast, though most were now broken, withered, and lusterless.
In the center of the space was a huge, structurally complex circular platform, connected to many mechanical arms and probes that had ceased operation. Scattered around the platform were more broken cultivation tanks, experimental tables, and some incomplete skeletons and organic tissues—torn apart by some immense force, neither human nor beast—discarded carelessly and covered with thick dust.
The old and bizarre odor in the air reached its peak here.
This was clearly a massive underground laboratory! Moreover, judging by the wreckage and the unnatural remains, the experiments conducted here must have touched upon some terrifying taboo!
Lu Pan suppressed his discomfort and began to carefully search this dead silent laboratory. He first walked toward the large circular platform in the center.
The platform was covered with various Interfaces and scales he couldn't comprehend. At the center was a recess, and the shape of the recess... matched the Bronze Mirror Fragment in his hand perfectly! He hesitated, not placing the fragment there. Who knew what consequences activating this platform would bring.
His gaze swept over some residual markings on the platform's control panel. There were some faint, scribbled characters etched with something sharp, originating from the same source as the writing on the tower wall outside the door:
"... 'Harmony' is not harmony... Unity of all things leads to Annihilation... 'Primordial Code' is uncontrollable... It is devouring everything... We created a monster..."
The writing stopped abruptly here, filled with endless terror.
Harmony Plan? Primordial Code? Monster?
Lu Pan frowned deeply. What exactly was the Workshop researching here? "Harmony" sounded like fusion or unification, but the result seemed to lead to Annihilation and loss of control? What is the "Primordial Code"? It sounds like a fundamental Law constituting all things? Did the Workshop actually try to manipulate such a thing?
He left the platform and walked toward the compartments on the surrounding walls. Most compartments were empty or contained only useless scrap. But in a relatively hidden compartment of a reinforced metal cabinet bearing runes, he made a discovery.
Scattered inside the cabinet were several dull-colored Jade Slips, and a palm-sized, extremely precise metal compass. The style of the compass was strikingly similar to the one used by the phantom he had previously spied in the Meditation Chamber; it also featured a Gear Mark in the center!
Lu Pan rejoiced inwardly, immediately picking up the Jade Slips and sinking his Divine Sense into them.
Most of the Jade Slips had incomplete internal information due to their age or energy loss. Only one, which was relatively well-preserved, recorded some intermittent fragments of an experimental log:
"... On the 79,430th year of the Netherworld Calendar, the third phase of the 'Harmony Plan' was initiated. Objective: Analyze the Origin Source of the 'Moon-Erosion Demonic Pattern' and attempt a forced 'compilation' fusion with a fragment of the 'Primordial Code' to create a controllable 'Law Weapon'..."
"... Severe repulsion occurred during the fusion process... Moon Erosion Power ran rampant, and the Primordial Code underwent unknown mutation... Test Subject 'Zero Seven Nine' lost control, exhibiting characteristics of devouring and Assimilation toward all orderly Energy..."
"... Seal off the Third Test Zone... Requesting Support from headquarters... The Energy barrier is being eroded... It... It's out!"
The log ended here.
Lu Pan put down the Jade Slip, his back soaked with Cold Sweat.
Law Weapon! The Workshop was insane enough to try and use the Moon-Erosion Demonic Pattern and the so-called "Primordial Code" to manufacture a weapon! Moreover, they seemed to have actually created something—a monster codenamed "Zero Seven Nine" capable of devouring and assimilating energy! The abandonment of this laboratory was very likely due to this monster losing control!
He picked up the metal compass. The compass needle was still, seemingly out of energy. But when he attempted to inject a trace of Soul Power, the Gear Mark in the center of the compass flickered slightly, and the needle violently trembled, pointing toward a specific direction in the laboratory!
That direction led deeper into the laboratory, an area blocked off by countless broken thick tubes and twisted metal!
The direction indicated by the compass meant there was still something there? Was it that out-of-control "Zero Seven Nine"? Or... other important items the Workshop failed to retrieve?
Danger and opportunity coexisted. Lu Pan gripped the Bronze Mirror Fragment and the Judge's Brush tightly, his gaze firm as he looked toward that blocked, dark area.