Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1685 Entering the Palace

He entered the barrier smoothly without encountering any obstacles. This familiar feeling put Zhou Xu at ease, and even his steps became much lighter.

They soon arrived at the palace gate. Zhou Xu looked up and saw that there was no plaque or anything like that hanging on the gate.

【The Eyes That See Through Secrets!】

As soon as the incantation was spoken, the ancient palace gate in front of them instantly changed its appearance.

All that could be seen was that the entire palace gate, as well as the surrounding walls and floor, were covered with densely packed runes.

This super barrier, composed of mantras, is even more complex than the previous Ceylon temple!

Zhou Xu dared not look any longer, fearing that he would not be able to withstand this level of restriction and would suffer a backlash.

However, during this process, he had already noticed the center of the restriction, which was right there on the huge palace gate in front of him.

Without hesitation, Zhou Xu placed his hand on it.

In that instant, an invisible force swept across his body, and then the system notification sounded in his mind...

[System notification: Identity confirmed as 'Zhou Xu', meeting prerequisites, external restrictions lifted!]

At the same time, amidst the rumbling sound, the tightly closed, massive palace gates slowly opened.

With his identity verified, Zhou Xu had nothing to worry about and strode inside.

Zhou Xu originally thought that, like at the Ceylon Temple, there was a high chance that a projection or something would remain here as well.

But in reality, there was nothing. The palace before him was much more monotonous than he had imagined, and his entry did not activate any messages.

In fact, he hadn't left any message before. Instead, it was the Dragon God Ceylon who left a projection to sign a contract with him. All the information was in the 'inherited wisdom,' which was in line with his style of doing things.

As Zhou Xu's gaze swept across the hall, it naturally fell upon the altar used for offerings, upon which stood a massive stone statue.

It was a man in full military attire, wearing a cloak, leaning on his sword with both hands, standing there with an air of majesty.

"Could this be me?"

Zhou Xu was stunned when he saw the stone statue on the altar.

In a daze, he seemed to see his past self...

"Zhou Wang Hongxu! You have acted perversely and defied the will of God! You have committed a heinous crime!"

"Letting your son commit such a heinous act, killing the Dragon King, is an even greater crime!"

"The entire human race is now suffering divine punishment because of your transgressions, and the people are living in misery! Don't you wake up yet? Lay down your weapons and surrender!!"

On the battlefield, two armies faced each other. The leader of the opposing army spoke with an air of superiority and arrogance.

Faced with such a display, the figure in military uniform, leaning on his sword, wore a cold smile...

"Put down your weapons? Surrender?"

"and then?"

Before the other person could speak, his voice rang out again.

"Just like you, a king of a nation, serving as their dog?!"

"You, you're so insolent!!!" These words seemed to have stepped on the other person's sore spot, causing his face to instantly turn a deep red.

"How could you mortals possibly comprehend the divine powers?! To defy the will of the gods will only bring about destruction!!"

However, he was met with a burst of wild laughter.

"God? Who bestowed that title?!"

"A bunch of birds and beasts, relying on the benefits and advantages they gained at the beginning of creation, and cultivating some power, dare to call themselves gods?! They've gathered together and think they're the Heavenly Court?! They even dare to enslave my human race and make us their dogs?!"

In an era where theocracy is becoming increasingly severe, these disrespectful words immediately terrified the other party, leaving them pale with fright.

But Zhou Hongxu was fearless. He drew his long sword and pointed it at the sky, as if declaring war on the heavens!
"This is the sword of the King of Zhou! The founder of our Zhou Kingdom was the second son of the Human Emperor! He bestowed upon the King of Zhou the sword and granted him the land of Zhou, a hereditary title!"

"Now that foreign tribes have invaded! I, King Hongxu of Zhou, hereby declare with this sword: those who pledge allegiance to false gods are traitors! Now, in accordance with ancestral laws, we will punish these traitors! We will restore the human race! We will re-establish the legitimate line of the Human Emperor!!"

Those impassioned words were deafening, and countless Zhou soldiers behind him roared in response!

Suddenly snapping out of his daze, Zhou Xu stared at the stone statue before him and involuntarily took a step back. At the same time, his hand fell to his heart, which was still pounding wildly uncontrollably.

Zhou Xu quickly took two deep breaths to calm himself down, while pinching his brow to process the images that flooded his mind.

"This is really..."

As images flooded his mind, the events of the past became increasingly clear.

But Zhou Xu clearly had no intention of dwelling on past memories.

What's past is past; what matters most now is the present.

With this in mind, Zhou Xu activated his 'Peeping Eyes' once again.

Inside the palace, the number of mantras and runes was still astonishing, especially the stone statue. Zhou Xu scanned it with his 'Peeping Eyes' and discovered that the stone statue was not simple either; it was actually a piece of equipment!
Name: Statue of King Zhou
Grade: Excellent
Description: During the ancient civilization period, the stone statue of King Hongxu of Zhou was used to absorb and store the energy generated by the people in the area who were loyal to King Hongxu.

[Judging from the description, this looks like a 'power bank'?]

Without much thought, Zhou Xu, with the blessing of the 'Peeping Eye', quickly discovered that there seemed to be something hidden behind the stone sword in the statue's hand.

Without saying a word, Zhou Xu climbed up using both his hands and feet.

He felt no psychological pressure whatsoever when climbing his own altar.

There was a gap between the stone sword and the main body of the stone statue. Zhou Xu reached in and groped around for a while, and soon found a wooden box.

It was quite heavy, and from this angle, it wasn't convenient for him to use both hands. It took him quite a bit of effort to pull it out with one hand.

Unsurprisingly, the wooden box was also protected by a restriction.

However, with the system notification ringing in his mind, the restriction on the wooden box was also broken after the identity verification was passed, and Zhou Xu couldn't wait to open the wooden box.

The next second, a long sword covered with numerous mysterious runes lay there quietly, as if waiting for its master to arrive.

Looking at the long sword, Zhou Xu's heart, which had just calmed down, began to beat faster and faster, and his breathing became slightly rapid.

Reaching out to gently stroke the longsword, the cold yet somewhat familiar touch added a touch of solemnity to Zhou Xu's expression.

He didn't even need to activate his 'Prying Eyes'; he had already recognized the sword.

This is the Zhou King's Sword that I carried with me in the scene I recalled earlier, a symbol of the Zhou King!
(End of this chapter)