Jade Herb

The sunset blazed like fire, burning across half the sky. Chen Xuan, with sharp eyes, rode the Bronze Horse through the void.

"Whistle!"

Inside Peach Town, the Four-Eyed Divine Being standing on the Bronze Chariot saw this and put two fingers to its mouth, letting out a piercing whistle.

"Bang!"

Chen Xuan slammed a fist onto the head of the restless Bronze Horse beneath him, scolding, "I am your master!"

"Neigh!"

The Bronze Horse, feeling the pain, had no choice but to firmly abandon the darkness for the light and obey, flying toward the center of the town.

At the town's center, a large hole had opened in the ground, like the entrance to an Underground Palace.

This was the Four-Eyed Divine Being's lair, and faint orange light spilled out from the entrance.

"A turncoat never ends well—they get taken out first."

Chen Xuan gripped the Bronze Horse's neck, reasoning with it sincerely.

"Neigh!"

The Bronze Horse dared not harbor any second thoughts and immediately mustered its strength, charging toward the Underground Palace entrance.

The Four-Eyed Divine Being finally realized something was wrong and roared as it leaped off the chariot, covering a terrifying dozen meters in a single bound as it gave chase.

"Boom!"

Midway, the Four-Eyed Divine Being hurled the Bronze Halberd, which streaked across the sky like a meteor. The force was so immense it seemed to pierce the very air.

"Whoosh!"

The Bronze Horse was highly alert, as if anticipating this move, and descended early to dodge.

"Good horse!"

Chen Xuan couldn't help but praise. The Bronze Horse skimmed along the ground, gliding into the Underground Palace entrance. Without even needing Chen Xuan or Chu Huo Gun to search for tracks, it actively led the two deeper into the treasure-filled depths of the palace.

The Underground Palace was vast, with numerous corridors. Along the way, Bronze Ancient Lamps blazed with firelight, illuminating the path.

"Clank! Clank!"

When they entered a large, dark chamber, Chen Xuan saw rows upon rows of Bronze Armored Warriors and warhorses, neatly arranged—hundreds of them, an enormous force.

Hearing the commotion, they all opened their eyes, their gazes snapping over in unison. The sight was utterly chilling!

A whole nest of Mountain Demons!

Chen Xuan's heart tightened, and he quickly slapped the Bronze Horse's back: "Brother Horse!"

"Neigh!"

The Bronze Horse immediately raised its neck and neighed, its cry filled with an overbearing arrogance, like a eunuch scolding a group of lower-ranking servants.

The group of Bronze Mountain Demons instantly fell silent, closing their eyes and daring not to look again.

"Brother Horse has quite the high status," Chen Xuan thought to himself.

Soon, the Bronze Horse led Chen Xuan and the other into the largest room, stopping before a massive Bronze Coffin.

"The Terrestrial Treasure Tree is hidden inside here?"

Chen Xuan exchanged a glance with Chu Huo Gun.

The coffin was enormous, over three meters long, engraved with patterns of mountains, rivers, grass, trees, birds, beasts, insects, and fish. Chen Xuan even spotted some ancient creatures that looked like dragons or pythons, birds or phoenixes, giving it an incredibly primeval and ancient feel.

"Clang!"

The Bronze Horse pushed the coffin lid half-open, turning its head to signal Chen Xuan to quickly take the treasure: "Neigh, neigh."

"Alright."

Chen Xuan immediately dismounted, had Chu Huo Gun bite the Bronze Horse's neck to keep it in check, and then quickly strode toward the half-open Bronze Coffin.

He leaned down to look inside the coffin, and his gaze froze, a chill running down his spine.

"Xiao Wang, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up, grab the treasure and let's go!"

Old Man Chu urged repeatedly from the side, very tense. This Underground Palace was a nest of Mountain Demons, and it made his heart inexplicably uneasy.

"..."

Chen Xuan turned his head blankly, looking at the constantly urging Old Man Chu and the Bronze Horse.

"This treasure..."

Inside the coffin lay a corpse.

A woman lay within, with jet-black hair coiled in a bun, lips as red as if stained with blood, and a swan-like, long, snow-white neck. She wore an ancient garment woven from golden threads, which outlined her reclining figure into graceful curves like distant mountains...

A bronze coffin, a gaudy female corpse...

Chen Xuan felt this scene was too eerie!

Was she a Qi Refiner among humans, or a monster from the mountains and marshes?

Was this underground palace her eternal tomb?

"But her body looks very full, as if she died not long ago..."

Chen Xuan speculated inwardly. Then, beside the woman, he spotted a snow-white ganoderma the size of a palm.

The White Ganoderma's roots were buried deep into the bottom of the Bronze Coffin, its top sprouting several golden-yellow flowers, with a few cocoon-silk-like small fruits hanging from them. The whole thing emitted a pure white light, and a clear herbal fragrance filled the air.

A Terrestrial Treasure Tree!

"Since I'm already here."

Chen Xuan was a martial man. Though startled at first, he was not truly afraid. Steadying his nerves, he quickly flipped over and climbed into the coffin. In the cramped space, he crouched down and groped his way forward.

"She has that clear fragrance on her too..."

As Chen Xuan crawled forward, he caught a scent similar to the White Ganoderma drifting up from beneath him. Had she been marinated in it?

"Pfft!"

Soon, Chen Xuan pulled the White Ganoderma up by the roots from beside the woman's body.

"With this Terrestrial Treasure Tree, my Feather Transformation Path this time is bound to have a much higher ceiling."

"Immortal Qi might even be nurtured ahead of schedule!"

Red Crow City, Green Deer Mountain, Wang Chan... these Qi Refiners had traveled thousands of miles to the Southern Wilderness, all for the sake of obtaining a Terrestrial Treasure Tree like this.

But right now, Chen Xuan had already claimed one treasure along the way!

His heart racing with excitement, Chen Xuan poked his head out of the coffin, ready to leave, when a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

"My apologies again."

This was an ancient Underground Palace, with countless burial figurines accompanying the dead. The scale was so grand it was hard to imagine what kind of illustrious status the person buried here had held in life.

Even the burial figurines and war horses buried with her had gained sentience and turned into ghosts!

There had to be other treasures in the coffin!

"Xiao Wang, are you done yet? What the hell are you doing?" Old Man Chu urged anxiously with his fire stick, not understanding why he had gone in and out again—had he found another treasure?

"Almost done."

Chen Xuan replied vaguely, then groped around the coffin a few more times, turning it upside down. In the end, he took the hairpin from the woman's bun.

As soon as the hairpin was removed, the woman's soft, jet-black hair cascaded down, spreading out with a moving beauty.

"Forgive me. You have long since died; your face needs no outsider's admiration. Give me the hairpin."

Chen Xuan silently apologized, having sensed that the gold-and-jade hairpin was no ordinary object. Its tip was very sharp, enough to replace his small sword.

He offered a sincere apology while cleanly and decisively taking it away.

In fact, he even considered stripping off that precious golden ancient robe to take with him. It felt soft and silky, undecayed by the ages—clearly no ordinary thing.

But in the end, Chen Xuan didn't act on it, leaving the woman her dignity.

"Let's go!"

Having cleared out his spoils, Chen Xuan immediately climbed out of the Bronze Coffin, closed the lid, and rode away on his horse.

He didn't want to stay in the coffin any longer. Somewhere in the dark, he felt a cold gaze watching him, making his skin crawl. The atmosphere in this underground palace was too eerie!

"[Jade Herb]!"

Old Man Chu spotted the snow-white ganoderma in Chen Xuan's hand at a glance, his eyes widening as he shouted:

"This is Soul Return Grass! Legend says it only grows beside the dead!"

Jade Herb was recorded in many ancient texts as an extremely precious Land Treasure Medicine.

The oldest records could even be traced back to the distant Mountains and Seas Era.

Legend had it that after an Ancient Mountain God died, the very first Jade Herb in heaven and earth grew from his body—an immortal elixir of eternal life.

Though this White Ganoderma Jade Herb before them couldn't compare to that one, the birth of such a thing was inherently sinister, and its medicinal potency was fierce.

Chen Xuan was speechless: "What else would be in a coffin but a corpse?"

"That's not what I meant. I just didn't expect it to be Soul Return Grass, a Terrestrial Treasure Tree."

Old Man Chu gradually felt a chill of fear, his voice trembling: "The owner of this coffin must have been someone extraordinary... Xiao Wang, you didn't mess around inside the coffin, did you? Be careful—you could stir up big trouble."

Either a mortal noble carrying royal blood, or a great cultivator from the Qi Refining World.

Soul Return Grass, Soul Return Grass—didn't it mean bringing the dead back to life!

"I know my limits. Don't exaggerate!"

Chen Xuan's eyes twitched. The words sent a chill through him, and he quickly ordered the Bronze Horse to run faster.

But in truth, he had already seen the [Small Underworld] with his own eyes, so he had some immunity by now.

No matter how strange this Underground Palace was, could it be stranger than the Small Underworld?

Even Qi Refiners, when they died, turned into nothing but a handful of dust.

"Brother Horse, take a different path."

Chen Xuan ordered the Bronze Horse not to return the same way, lest the Four-Eyed Divine Being block them in the narrow corridor.

"Aooo!"

The Bronze Horse was the most anxious of all. Having already switched sides, it had no desire to be caught. Its four legs churned like wind-and-fire wheels, blurring into phantoms.

A moment later.

At the exit of the Underground Palace, the one man, one horse, and one head were still blocked by the Four-Eyed Divine Being.

"Truly clever, blocking the way right at the exit."

Chen Xuan's palms were faintly sweating. There was nothing more to say—this worst-case scenario had already been anticipated.

"Kang!"

At the wide exit, a figure of imposing aura stood holding a halberd, over two meters tall, clad in Bronze Armor. One Man Holds the Pass, like a small mountain barring the way. Golden light shot from its four eyes.

Four-Eyed Demon!

A crowd of short figures wearing eerie masks, carrying banners and lifting lanterns, all turned their gazes in unison.

"You—all—"

The Four-Eyed Divine Being raised its bronze halberd, its lips parting slightly to emit a hoarse, grating string of strange syllables Chen Xuan couldn't understand: "Rebel—subjects—"

"Go!"

Chen Xuan abruptly hurled the Chu Huo Gun's head forward. The old man's head paused midair, beard and hair bristling, then suddenly opened its mouth to inhale: "Spirit hidden in high antiquity, Fire Virtue descends to the world, command the fire bird—"

A trick!

"Boom!"

A torrent of Red Qi and flames erupted from the old man's seven orifices, like a river of fire swallowing the entire entrance of the Underground Palace.

Chen Xuan followed close behind, spurring the horse straight ahead.

"Shua!"

Ahead, a halberd light burst forth, cleaving through the sea of flames!