Chapter 368
So, the random things Elder Qian gave us, like the black donkey hooves, are probably useless.
“There was once a branch of the Huàn Mó Jiào called Yunmeng. They could walk through the dreams of others and grow stronger while asleep, even reaching the outer realm, allowing dream entities to manifest in reality.”
“However, this branch suddenly disappeared, and I never expected to see it here.”
“What about the identity of the tomb owner?”
Tian Miao looked toward the leftmost figure in the mural.
Among the nine, the figure on the far left.
**Chapter 404: The Solution to the Underground Palace**
“Hmm? Are we missing someone?”
In a dark side chamber of the grand tomb, though it was called a side chamber, it was a world of its own.
Water from an unknown dark river flowed quietly, and withered willow trees stood silently on floating bridges.
Tan Zhuyin turned back, feeling something was off.
Zhu Renji turned around, his bulging eyes serious as he began to count loudly:
“Holy Son, sixty-four people!”
“Sixty? What are you talking about? We came down with a total of forty!”
Luo Yexian was startled, then slapped the back of his head: “Clearly, it’s thirty-two people.”
“Eight are missing? When did that happen?”
Tan Zhuyin’s expression changed slightly; he hadn’t noticed at all.
This meant that the two法王 (fa wang, "law kings") following him hadn’t noticed anything amiss either.
“The tomb owner might be the ancestor god of Yunmeng. Can we communicate with it through the ancestor statue?” Luo Yexian asked.
Tan Zhuyin thought this method was feasible. After a moment of contemplation, he took out the ancestor god statue from his pocket.
After a brief moment of sensing, he said solemnly:
“Useless.”
Luo Yexian and the other members of the Huàn Mó Jiào tried as well, but they all shook their heads.
This meant that either the grand tomb had some formation that rendered the summoning technique ineffective, or the dream god had fallen into a deep slumber again.
The latter seemed more likely.
If it were the former, they wouldn’t have received a response earlier.
“Let’s not look for those people for now; let’s find the exit first.”
Tan Zhuyin’s voice seemed to be ‘turned off,’ drifting far across the empty lake surface.
The members of the magic sect began to move forward on the floating bridge again.
However, the bridge was exceedingly long, and as they walked faster and faster, the scenery before them remained unchanged.
Impatience began to rise in Tan Zhuyin’s heart.
He was about to turn back and let the two法王 take action.
Suddenly, Luo Yexian pointed ahead.
“What’s that?”
Everyone looked, and their expressions changed instantly.
There were eight corpses lying haphazardly, each in a tragic state, their round eyes wide open in shock.
“Shi Yong! How could he die here?”
“How did they die without a sound?”
“There’s something sinister nearby.”
These members of the magic sect were no novices, but seeing such a bizarre scene made them gasp in horror.
Moreover, this indicated that they hadn’t gone far at all; they had been going in circles!
Gurgle—
Suddenly, the lake water began to churn, countless dark shadows poking their heads out of the water—hundreds, even thousands of dream demons. Yet, they did not attack; instead, they coldly watched the members of the Huàn Mó Jiào.
Hmm?
The members of the magic sect felt a chill run down their spines, but they couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Two figures, one fat and one thin, suddenly appeared beside Tan Zhuyin; they were the two法王 who had followed him.
“Only a higher existence can make the dream demons aware of the desires of living beings.”
“Is this the layout of the underground palace?”
Li Mo looked at the layout of the tomb on the ground.
This was just deduced by Tian Miao, and Li Mo had drawn it on paper based on her calculations.
Tian Miao nodded, her face pale, a trickle of blood running from her mouth. She smiled weakly:
“Impressive, right?”
“…”
Li Mo didn’t expect Tian Miao to ask such a question at this moment. He could only give her a thumbs-up, meaning “awesome.”
Then he took out some healing herbs for her. They didn’t know what they would encounter in the tomb, so having a bit more strength was always good.
“Looks a bit familiar.”
Ying Bing pondered, her delicate hand gripping the Tian Shuang sword’s scabbard, pointing at the drawing.
After a moment, she turned back and said seriously:
“I know how to proceed.”
Little Li leaned back slightly: “Bing Tuozi, are you sure? This isn’t Li Mo’s tomb.”
“?”
Ying Bing tightened her grip on the sword’s scabbard, recalling the map filled with Li Mo’s markings.
But everyone knew that Bing Tuozi was the best at pretending to be nonchalant, wearing a face that said she didn’t quite understand what you were saying.
“What I mean is, the layout of this underground palace resembles a chessboard.”
“You’ve played it before.”
“Hmm?”
Li Mo squinted, assessing, but he figured that even if this chess game recognized him, he probably wouldn’t recognize it.
At that time, he was too busy showing off.
Seeing the confusion in Little Li’s eyes, Ying Bing said softly:
“The changes in this underground palace follow that chess game.”
“When we stepped into the underground palace, it was like entering the game. Within the chessboard, some areas are traps. If you walk in without understanding, the situation will become increasingly dangerous until it turns into a deadlock.”
“A chess game?”
Tian Miao leaned in to take a look, her face growing pale again, quickly withdrawing her gaze.
She looked dazed:
“Is there really someone who can solve such a chess game? This…”
“If the chess game isn’t solved, how could the entrance reveal itself?” Li Mo reminded.
“True, I wonder who possesses such chess skills.”
As Tian Miao spoke, she glanced appreciatively at Ying Bing:
“Just as I expected of you, you could see this is a chess game.”
“Because the one who breaks the game is her.”
“…”
The three of them searched the underground palace for a while and finally found the entrance. On either side of the entrance stood two bronze beasts, their bases engraved with numbers from ‘one’ to ‘nineteen.’
How did the first step go again?
Crack—
Ying Bing twisted the left bronze beast to nine and the right one to thirteen.
Boom—
A rumbling sound echoed, as if the entire underground palace was shaking, like a massive Rubik’s cube being twisted by an immense force.
Then, the correct side chamber shifted toward them.
Li Mo pondered.
In other words, this maze-like underground palace was a layer of insurance.
Only the one who could break the chess game could reach the main tomb chamber?
“A tomb with such exquisite craftsmanship.”
“I wonder how powerful the Huàn Mó Jiào was back then.”
Tian Miao mused: “At that time, they were probably still called the Huàn Shén Jiào (Summoning God Sect).”
She was curious about what kind of existence the tomb owner was.
Because when she deduced earlier, she only saw a blur and emptiness.
With a loud bang, the entrance opened.
Li Mo, holding the Star Pillar, walked at the forefront.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, they arrived at a place resembling an alchemy room, but much larger than the Dan Ding Peak of the Qing Yuan Sect.
This place was also guarded by dream demons, but they were clearly different from those they had encountered before.
Their aura was deeper, dressed in long robes, with even white hair and skin that glimmered.
From a distance, they almost seemed indistinguishable from living beings.
They spoke like attendants:
“One person per month, you can only receive one vial of elixir.”
After speaking, it lowered its head again, not mentioning what kind of elixir it was.
That probably meant they could choose for themselves.
From this perspective, as long as those who came here weren’t too greedy, they could leave safely, even gaining some benefits.
However, given the passage of time, many elixirs had long lost their efficacy.
“The San Yuan Ju Shen Dan (Three Yuan Gathering Spirit Pill), this has long been extinct, yet it can be found here, and its spiritual essence is preserved remarkably well.”
Tian Miao was very satisfied with the elixir she chose.
“What about mine?”
There weren’t many elixirs left with efficacy, so Li Mo casually picked one.
Tian Miao glanced at it: “You Tian Dan, it’ll help you sleep well.”
“Here you go.”
Ying Bing poured out the elixirs from the porcelain vial in her hand, a total of four pills, and divided three of them for Li Mo.
“What is this?” Li Mo didn’t recognize it.
Tian Miao’s expression turned strange: “Good stuff.”
“What does it do?”
“Enhances vitality.”
“?”
**Chapter 405: Another Black Beast**
In a certain part of the underground palace.
Dozens of various tomb-guarding beasts surged in the darkness, the smallest of which was larger than an adult man. As they approached the firelight, their forms became clear.
Human-faced bats.
Puff—
A sharp sword sliced through, effortlessly cleaving one in two.
The firelight illuminated the blade’s edge in the dark chamber.
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