Misty Rain of the Old Times

The wind whistled past his ears as Chen Xuan plummeted rapidly into the dark, deep cave. Without slowing down, he couldn't reach the bottom even after a full minute.

The darkness did not affect his vision. When he felt the air become incredibly humid, his rapidly falling figure suddenly slowed down, and then he floated down lightly, as if he were weightless, and stood on the water's surface.

He glanced up slightly and estimated that the cave he had created was at least a thousand feet deep. No wonder he hadn't sensed the depths before when he hadn't explored further from the outside.

'What if someone pees up there? It'll get on my head, not even a fairy's,' a strange thought popped into Chen Xuan's head. He quickly moved forward a distance, because there were people up there, and he had just been standing at the bottom of the cave.

Being alone is really quite boring, so I thought of some random things to distract myself from the loneliness.

Looking around, he found himself on a fast-flowing underground river, which was at least fifty or sixty feet wide. Earlier, when he stepped through a cave, the shattered rocks and dust had fallen into the river and been washed away somewhere unknown.

With such abundant groundwater, how vast the area could be irrigated if it were released outside! Thinking of the droughts currently plaguing various countries, Chen Xuan couldn't help but feel this sentiment.

Putting these thoughts out of his mind, he quickly reached the shore and, after a brief observation, already had a clear understanding of the situation.

There is a road about ten feet above the surface of the underground river on the bank. It is less than ten feet wide and shows signs of being carved by humans. It seems that people often walk on this road. The road ahead leads along the underground river, but it is unclear where it leads. The end is not far behind. Steps are carved into the rock and lead upwards, which should lead to the medicinal garden above.

With a little thought, one can figure out that there must be a secret passage for transporting the 'fertilizer' in the herb garden. Even if the herb garden is extremely secluded, it would be too blatant to transport it from the outside. After all, the missing people are all young and beautiful women, and countless people are investigating. If it is discovered, it may expose the location of the herb garden. If it is just transporting the raw material for perfume and red thread, the acacia ice moon flower, the probability of being targeted is greatly reduced. Those guards and business methods can deal with it and also confuse the public.

'So this road probably leads to the core of the operation. Why those women disappeared, what happened to them after they were kidnapped, and why they ended up dying and becoming fertilizer—perhaps we can find the answers there. If we're lucky, we might even encounter the real mastermind.'

With a flicker of thought, Chen Xuan continued forward without hesitation. Even with his superior skills and daring, he was still naturally cautious in unfamiliar surroundings.

The underground cave, eroded by the underground river, was winding and undulating, with some sections requiring one to bend over to pass. After traveling for about fifty or sixty miles, Chen Xuan finally reached the end.

To be honest, if he hadn't followed the clues and come here, he would never have imagined that someone would carve out such a long road deep underground along the edge of the underground river, eventually leading to that hidden underground medicine garden. How much manpower, resources and energy must have been spent on this?
Seeing the end of the road by the underground river, Chen Xuan had a vague guess in his mind. This road might be a way out, and the underground space where the medicine garden was located was, in a sense, a secluded paradise suitable for living in seclusion. Moreover, when Chen Xuan first arrived at the medicine garden, he discovered that there were traces of people living there a long time ago. The mottled stone slab road and buildings could prove this. As for the medicine garden or the guards there now, they were probably later arrivals.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind, and his attention refocused on the end of the road. The underground river had reached this point, and there was no way forward. He could only continue forward by diving into the water. Chen Xuan did not think that continuing to go deeper into the underground river would lead to the underground cave where the giants lived. According to the information he had obtained from his communication with the giants, there was only one entrance and exit, which was at Wanku Mountain in Jing Kingdom.

At the 'end' of this underground river, there is a man-made platform, about the size of a basketball court. It is extremely damp due to year-round water vapor erosion, and there are obvious footprints on it. Judging from the marks, Chen Xuan's keen senses estimate that the most recent one was no more than half a day ago, when someone went from here to deliver orders to the herb garden.

Moving the gaze forward, in front of the platform stands a bronze gate about nine zhang tall, majestic and solemn. It has existed for countless years, its surface covered with rust, yet the dragon pattern on it is still visible. On either side, to the left and right, are golden dragon and tiger statues as tall as the bronze gate. Despite the passage of time and the mottled rust on their surfaces, they remain majestic and awe-inspiring, demonstrating the exquisite craftsmanship of those who created them.

Whether it's the main gate or the two dragon and tiger statues, how much copper must have been used? You have to understand that in this era, copper was directly linked to money.

At this point, Chen Xuan had no doubts. Whether it was the road that stretched for dozens of miles along the edge of the underground river or the scale of the bronze gate in front of him, it was highly likely that behind this was the tomb of some emperor!
It should be noted that Yucheng is only a hundred miles away, and it was once the capital of the Yuhua Kingdom. Therefore, it is quite normal that one of the emperors in the history of the Yuhua Kingdom is buried deep underground here.

In the case of imperial tombs, those who participated in their construction were usually buried alive with the deceased. Since no one wanted to die, it was reasonable for the craftsmen involved in the construction to secretly leave themselves a way out. Thus, the secluded underground space where the medicine garden was located was the perfect place for them to live in anonymity.

Even if Chen Xuan could think of these things, it was many years ago, so they are not very meaningful now.

Returning to the present, the bronze gate, almost seamlessly integrated with the rock formation, remained tightly shut, showing no sign of opening. Even disregarding the surface corrosion, the gate was not even cracked open; it was merely an ornament, its symbolic significance outweighing its practical value.

It makes sense when you think about it: once an emperor is buried, the imperial tomb is completely closed, so why would there be any entrance or exit?

However, although the bronze gate is currently closed, a passage as tall as a person has been dug out next to it, like a tomb robber's tunnel. It is not easy to break through the bronze gate, nor can it overcome the rock. The moving footprints are from the passage as tall as a person.

"It's highly likely to be an imperial tomb, and such a place would certainly be riddled with dangerous traps and mechanisms. Yet, people are frequently seen entering and leaving, suggesting it's been quietly occupied. They must know everything perfectly well. However, I don't know the details, so it's best to be cautious."

Thinking this, Chen Xuan concealed his aura, as if he had merged with the environment. He silently entered the passage next to the gate. To avoid triggering traps, he did not walk on the ground, but controlled two water droplets to walk almost in the air.

Upon arriving here, he opened his mind and senses, moving forward very slowly. If they could set up illusion arrays behind the scenes, it was hard to say they didn't have other array techniques. Although arrays were difficult to master—like Chen Xuan himself, even though he knew the Fog Array, he still hadn't figured out the Concealment Array—mastering a completely new array was tantamount to starting from scratch. One array could be enough to study for a lifetime, but being cautious was never a bad idea. He moved forward almost straight along the passage. On one side was rock, and on the other was a wall made of cast metal. Chen Xuan reached out and sensed the metal wall; it was at least ten feet thick, difficult even for a master of the Innate Realm to break through. He guessed it was to prevent tomb raiding.

How much metal would that take? Some emperors were really going to waste it. They were already dead, it was just a grave. Why waste so much money and resources? No wonder there are rumors that some emperors' burials cost the equivalent of a country's tax revenue for a year or even several years. Some even went so far as to use up the savings of several generations, as if they wanted to drag the entire country down with them!

After moving forward nearly a hundred meters, Chen Xuan couldn't help but frown slightly. Even though he had already held his breath and closed his pores, he could still feel something repulsive in the air. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly various toxins, and as he moved further forward, he could even see colorful poisonous fog with the naked eye.

Although he didn't know whether the poisonous fog was an inherent means of preventing tomb raiding or was set up by the people who currently occupied the place, it was not enough to threaten Chen Xuan in the slightest. He only instinctively repelled it. However, if it were someone with shallow internal energy in the acquired realm, let alone taking a breath in such poisonous fog, being in it would be impossible to avoid death from the poison in no time, as the fog is so pervasive. Only those with cultivation above the innate realm who had taken precautions in advance could remain unaffected, but they couldn't stay there for too long either, as they would inevitably be poisoned once their true energy was exhausted.

After advancing two or three hundred meters at a leisurely pace, the multicolored poisonous fog began to drift like smoke, and Chen Xuan had already passed through the long 'robber's tunnel' and arrived at a wide passage.

The passage was five zhang high and three zhang wide, large enough for several carriages to travel side by side. The surrounding area was shrouded in poisonous fog, and even with Chen Xuan's current eyesight, he could hardly see the end of it due to the influence of the poisonous fog.

As he arrived at the passage, he could faintly hear rustling sounds coming from the poisonous fog. Before Chen Xuan even landed, and before his arrival caused any fluctuations in the poisonous fog, several creatures rushed towards him at high speed: emerald green venomous snakes, black centipedes with wings, and bats with blood-red eyes, among others.

These creatures must be extremely poisonous to survive in such an environment, so they pose no threat to Chen Xuan. He noticed them the moment they launched their attack, his gaze instantly turned cold, and beautiful snowflakes bloomed in his eyes, causing the surrounding temperature to drop drastically.

In the blink of an eye, he flicked his wrist, and a drop of water that he had used as a foothold split off and transformed into a fine snowflake in his palm, shooting out and then floating back in his palm in the blink of an eye.

In the blink of an eye, the venomous creature that attacked him was pierced by the fleeting snowflake, its body turned into an ice sculpture, and shattered into ice crystal powder as it fell to the ground.

Chen Xuan had countless ways to easily kill these highly poisonous creatures. The reason he chose to use the Snow Frost Palm Technique to condense snowflakes to kill them was twofold: firstly, freezing the highly poisonous creatures would prevent the toxins on their bodies from spreading and causing the poisonous fog to intensify; secondly, turning their bodies into ice crystals would also help prevent the risk of triggering mechanisms.

"The poisonous fog is already incredibly dangerous, and with the countless highly venomous creatures lurking within it, even a master of innate cultivation would face immense peril in such an environment. I wonder if those behind me will heed my earlier warning."

With this thought flashing through his mind, Chen Xuan didn't have much hope that the people behind him would listen to his advice. Whether they were members of the imperial court or passionate martial artists, once they went to the medicine garden and learned about the situation there, they probably wouldn't stop there.

Who cares? Chen Xuan has no obligation to be responsible for other people's lives.

Continuing along the wide passage, the crystalline snowflakes floating in Chen Xuan's palm occasionally flickered and flew into the poisonous mist. Any highly poisonous creatures that appeared within his sensory range were instantly annihilated and turned into ice crystal powder. Compared to the extreme toxicity of these creatures themselves, their bodies were as fragile as paper in front of Chen Xuan.

As Chen Xuan moved forward, he noticed that there was a spacious room every so often along both sides of the passage. These were probably burial chambers, but they had long been emptied out, leaving only some worthless wooden frames and boxes. However, the majority of the remains were skeletons. It seemed that the skeletons were not those of tomb raiders who died here, but rather those of people buried with the dead!

'Looking at the exquisite craftsmanship of this underground palace, it's almost certainly an imperial tomb. How lavish the burial goods of an emperor must have been! I wonder who benefited from them,' Chen Xuan couldn't help but think as he moved forward.

Of course, that's what he thought, but he didn't have the slightest greed. Even if an emperor's burial goods were placed perfectly intact in front of him, he wouldn't touch them. It wasn't that he thought too highly of himself, but that he never had the habit of profiting from the dead. With his status and strength, what couldn't he get openly and honestly?

After advancing two or three hundred meters in the wide passage, Chen Xuan walked out of the passage and out of the poisonous fog. He did not travel fast over these few hundred meters. He killed countless poisonous creatures, whose bodies turned into ice crystal powder and spread a thin layer on the ground of the passage.

Chen Xuan noticed a luminous object at the entrance of the passage, about the size of a fist, resembling a luminous pearl. It was not a luminous pearl, but emitted a faint green light. Under that green light, the poisonous mist inside the passage failed to spread out even slightly.

With the weapon-refining inheritance given to him by Lao Liu, those luminous objects were clearly weapon-refining creations, nothing particularly sophisticated. Their effects were singular, only having the effect of expelling poison. If given the materials, Chen Xuan could refine them after some thought. Lao Liu was not good at formations, but he was an expert in weapon-refining and alchemy. With the rich experience passed down, Chen Xuan could be considered a semi-theoretical master in these two areas. He could see through ordinary weapon-refining and alchemy creations at a glance.

After stepping out of the passage, Chen Xuan found himself in a bright and open space ahead. Even though he was used to seeing all kinds of storms, he couldn't help but take a second look.

Before him lay an enormous underground space, over a hundred feet high and covering an area equivalent to ten football fields. Its dome was inlaid with thousands upon thousands of large and small luminous pearls, depicting a sky full of stars, which was extremely beautiful and illuminated the vast space as if it were daytime.

Beneath the starry dome lay a magnificent palace complex, so grand that Chen Xuan almost mistook it for a royal palace from some country that had been moved deep underground.

Without time to examine it closely, Chen Xuan's gaze was fixed on the magnificent hall at the deepest part of the palace complex, where he sensed a hint of danger. A ferocious, enormous creature was coiled above the palace... (End of Chapter)