Dao Lao shook his head helplessly. "If only it were that simple! I've already tried, but I couldn't collect the mold spirit energy on these two stone doors at all. According to my analysis, it might be because the mold spirit energy on top has fused with the black magic used to create the barrier."
"It's similar to when mold spirit energy invades a living being. Unless, like Liu Erwa, they actively reject the mold spirit energy or forcibly kill the host, we can't directly collect the mold spirit energy inside the host. This has always been the problem we've struggled with when dealing with mold spirit energy."
"So, if we want to enter the room behind the stone doors, we either need to use powerful black magic to remove the barrier on the stone doors, or we need to use enough force to break through the barrier," Haoyun summarized, looking at Dao Lao again.
Since they didn't know how to use black magic, and judging by the mold spirit energy level on the stone doors, they needed a high-level black mage to help remove the barrier. However, all the high-level magic practitioners of the Dark Elves were in the Black Magic Association, and they had all been turned into zombie puppets by Anselin. How could they possibly help Haoyun and Dao Lao? Therefore, Dao Lao had to take the lead and forcibly smash open the stone doors.
Dao Lao naturally knew that, given the current situation, they might only be able to forcibly open the two stone doors in this way. However, to ensure everything went smoothly, they contacted Biscuit Tang again and described the newly discovered stone doors and the runes found on them in detail, hoping to obtain some valuable information from him.
After Haoyun and Dao Lao accurately described the runes engraved on the two stone doors to Biscuit Tang, he immediately slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Isn't this the Patrick Defensive Array?! Oh my! I'm such a fool! I should have realized that the magical barriers placed in the basement were all variations of the Patrick Defensive Array!"
Hearing Biscuit Tang's words, Haoyun felt hopeful. He quickly asked, "The Patrick Defensive Array? Old Tang? Do you know this spell? Do you happen to know how to break it?"
"Nope," came Biscuit Tang's simple reply, shattering Haoyun's hope.
Covering his mouth to block out the noise around him as much as possible, Biscuit Tang continued, "The Patrick Defensive Array was invented by Elder Patrick of the Black Magic Association. However, because the requirements for casting this black magic defense are very high, apart from a few elders in the Black Magic Association, no one else knows how to cast it. That's why the Patrick Defensive Array has become a high-level formation exclusively used for attacking the Black Magic Association. Moreover, it's only used in extremely important situations."
Then, with a tone of great relief, Biscuit Tang added, "Fortunately, because Elder Patrick loved the elf biscuits I made so much during his lifetime, he allowed me to attend several seminars on the Patrick Defensive Array. Although I later found out that I wasn't cut out for practicing this defensive array and didn't learn even a bit of it, I at least learned the first step to activate it."
"The first step? What does that mean?" Dao Lao asked curiously.
"The first step, to be honest, isn't very useful on its own. It simply unlocks the first shackle of the Patrick Defensive Array. Once this shackle is unlocked, you'll be able to see the crucial array eye hidden within the array. If you have enough powerful black magic and have studied the relevant knowledge of the Patrick Defensive Array, then you can use this array eye to deactivate the entire array," Biscuit Tang explained.
Haoyun immediately understood what Biscuit Tang meant.
In simple terms, the first shackle and hidden array eye Biscuit Tang mentioned were similar to the security door at Haoyun's house. You had to first remove the anti-theft cover outside the keyhole of the lock to see the real keyhole inside. Then, you could insert the key or use some other illegal means to open the lock and enter the house.
"Yes, um—, that's what I mean," Biscuit Tang said, although he didn't understand what a security door or a keyhole was, he could roughly grasp that Haoyun's analogy was correct.
"Of course, to achieve this, you must be powerful enough. Otherwise, even if the array eye is placed in front of you, you'll be helpless," Biscuit Tang said, raising his voice again because the noise around him had increased even more than before.
"Old Tang, are you okay over there?" Haoyun asked with concern.
"Don't worry! We're perfectly safe. Oh my! Because I heard that there's a large-scale outbreak of zombie soldiers, the whole Cold Moon City is in chaos right now. But it's actually a good thing, the more chaotic it is here, the easier it is for us to find a safe place to hide. It's you two who need to be extra careful! Because we don't know how long the control spells we cast on those zombies can last," Biscuit Tang replied.
"Understood. We'll take care of ourselves, don't worry!" Haoyun said.
"So, Old Tang, can you unlock the first shackle of this defensive array based on the runes we provided?" Dao Lao continued to ask.
"I've been deciphering this formation, please give me a little more time. Um—, I remembered! This formation should be one of the more common types of the Patrick Defensive Array, so, with the knowledge I've learned, I should be able to unlock its first shackle. However, um—, it's been so many years, I need to think carefully again," Biscuit Tang muttered to himself.
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Haoyun understood that Biscuit Tang must be speaking casually while thinking deeply in an emergency situation. This not only helped him calm down and focus in the chaotic environment but also reassured the anxious people around him and prevented others from disturbing him unnecessarily during his contemplation.
Haoyun and Dao Lao dared not urge Biscuit Tang. Therefore, the two of them, feeling anxious, could only ease their emotions by continuing to stare at the two stone doors. Meanwhile, Haoyun quickly ran up the stairs to see if anyone outside had noticed what was happening in the basement. Naturally, everything was still safe. From the sounds of the fighting outside, the battle in the hall of the Blackstone Castle was still intense. Moreover, the battle had spread from the hall to the upper floors of the castle along the spiral staircase. In this way, no one would pay attention to what was happening at the end of a corridor on the first floor.
"Oh! I understand now! So that's how it is! I finally understand!" After waiting for five or six minutes, Biscuit Tang's excited voice finally came through the communicator.
"Dao Lao, Haoyun! Quickly stand in front of each door's mark! Remember, until the instructions are complete, your fingers must not leave the stone doors!" Biscuit Tang reminded.
"Understood!" Haoyun and Dao Lao answered simultaneously, immediately standing in front of the marks on the stone doors.
"Haoyun, you go first! Place any finger on the symbol located at the far right of the mark horizontally. Yes, that symbol that looks like a little bird. Then, starting from this symbol, draw a circle along the outer edge of the runes, from bottom to left and then up, until you reach the symbol farthest to the left on the mark. Yes, the symbol that looks like an arrow—"
"Then it's Dao Lao's turn. Place your finger on the symbol located at the top right of the left-leaning cross on the mark. Yes, that symbol that looks like a floating island—"
In this way, under Biscuit Tang's remote command, Haoyun and Dao Lao simultaneously centered on the symbols of the Dark Elf Clan engraved on the two stone doors, connected dozens of symbols together in various complex ways. Finally, a miraculous scene appeared.
Haoyun and Dao Lao saw ripples suddenly appearing on the surface of the two stone doors, constantly changing between multiple colors. Then, the layers of ripples gradually evolved into a palm-sized energy vortex, and it only stopped moving after reaching the upper left corner of the left stone door.
Finally, accompanied by the high-frequency reversal of this energy vortex, Haoyun and Dao Lao also heard whispers, like demons whispering in hell, spreading from the center of the energy vortex intermittently. Haoyun and Dao Lao were naturally not unfamiliar with such demon-like whispers, because wherever there was mold spirit energy, such voices would appear.
Upon hearing this sound, Haoyun and Dao Lao were very happy. Because after breaking through the gate to the underground fourth floor, although their mold spirit energy tracking system quickly detected the presence of mold spirit energy, they could only hear such demon-like whispers from the guards.
This might be because the mold spirit energy on these two stone doors was isolated from the outside world in some unique way. Therefore, since the two of them could hear the demon-like whispers coming from the stone doors, it should mean that the mold spirit energy fused in the Patrick Defensive Array was now directly confronting Haoyun and Dao Lao.
"We did it! We see the array eye! Old Tang, you're amazing! What should we do next?" Haoyun quickly described the situation on the stone doors and asked.
"Um—, from now on, I'm really powerless." Biscuit Tang replied apologetically.
"But I heard Elder Patrick say that even if you can't break this defensive array with black magic, it can still be completely neutralized with the power of white magic. It's just that to do this, the person breaking the array must have at least twice the strength of the array."
"So according to Elder Patrick, as long as they don't take action to remove this defensive array, then it will be an unsolvable existence. However, since both of you were able to break through the stone door just now, maybe you can try the same method. Oh! I'm really sorry! My abilities are limited, and I can only help you so much!" Biscuit Tang continued with a somewhat guilty tone.
Upon hearing this, Dao Lao immediately comforted him, "Old Tang, don't say that! You've already helped us a lot! Don't worry, we'll find a way to break through this Patrick Defensive Array! Take care of yourselves!"
"Okay! If there's a way, that's great! I hope you succeed! Take care, brave warriors!" Biscuit Tang replied.
"So, should we just smash it open?" After ending the conversation with Biscuit Tang, Haoyun pointed to the long stick in Dao Lao's hand and asked.
Dao Lao shrugged and replied, "Since we can't outsmart it, we can only use brute force. After all, didn't Old Tang say that the Patrick Defensive Array can be neutralized with white magic? Then our divine power happens to meet this condition, right?"
Haoyun nodded, agreeing with Dao Lao's words. From the perspective of hierarchy, the white magic of the Light Elf Clan should be considered an extremely weakened version of the spells from the divine power of the spirit world. This made the divine power on them the natural and most powerful solution to break through the Patrick Defensive Array.
With that, Dao Lao once again transformed the stick in his hand into a spear and firmly inserted it into the center of the array eye at the upper left corner of the left stone door. However, as soon as Dao Lao inserted the spear into the array eye, he felt a powerful force suddenly resisting the spear and began pushing the spear outward.
Seeing this, Dao Lao frowned. Because he knew that this defensive array built with black magic would automatically resist any force trying to destroy it. And because this array also contained a certain level of four-star mold spirit energy, it would inevitably lead to encountering extremely strong resistance when trying to destroy the array. However, Dao Lao had not expected the resistance he encountered now to be so powerful. Therefore, Dao Lao had to gather more strength to withstand the powerful resistance and forcibly insert the spear into the array eye once again.
As Dao Lao continued to increase his strength, the spear in his hand penetrated deeper and deeper, and soon the spearhead, which was nearly half a meter long, was completely inserted into the array eye. During this process, the rotation speed of the array eye formed by the energy vortex also kept increasing. Dao Lao had to use both hands to firmly grip the spear to ensure that it would not be dragged into the rotation by the array eye and flung out by the strong spinning force.
At this point, the spear was like being stuck in rapidly rotating gears. As it confronted the rotating array eye, sparks of dark red color burst out along with the piercing and harsh sound of metal friction. At the same time, the disturbed defensive array, centered around the array eye, continued to ripple layer by layer with a purplish-black hue on the surface of the stone doors.