Great Yue, Shall It Perish?
The Eighth Prince knew very well that the key to this plan was the map.
However, the map had already been stolen by the Thousand-Faced Fox, and the arrival of Xu Bai and the others had deprived him of the opportunity to reclaim it.
Over time, the originally meticulous plan has turned into a mess due to various reasons.
It's awful, really awful.
And all of this was because of that Jianghu person Xu Bai.
If it weren't for Xu Bai, he probably would have killed Yun Zihai long ago. If it weren't for Xu Bai, even if Yun Zihai had arrived here first, he might not have been able to get past the Ghost Sculptor. If it weren't for Xu Bai, he would have succeeded long ago.
Why bother launching this second plan?
The Eighth Prince always considered himself an extremely cautious person, so he had been preparing a second plan.
But he really didn't want to use this second plan.
Feeling the blood rapidly draining from his body and the pills he was taking, the Eighth Prince could only manage a bitter smile.
The pill was slowly melting, and he could clearly feel the melting speed. He wondered if it could last until the end.
Even a sixth-rank expert can die from excessive blood loss.
The wound was healing slowly, but to prevent it from healing completely, the Eighth Prince would occasionally rub it on the wound, causing it to deepen.
They advanced rapidly, spilling blood as they went.
The Eighth Prince was very fast, but fortunately, due to the presence of royal blood, the surrounding traps were not triggered.
But he knew very well that the wall would absorb the blood very quickly.
This is a trap set by the emperor. If someone follows from behind, the walls will absorb blood at a rate that will force them to face the trap again soon.
The Eighth Prince didn't know if Xu Bai and the others had obtained the map, but he thought that even if they had, the traps behind it would at least hold them off for a moment.
After all, he was walking around without restraint, while the other party needed to look at a map while walking.
Thinking of this, the Eighth Prince walked even faster.
The passage ahead remained impenetrable, and the surroundings appeared ordinary, but the Eighth Prince knew in his heart that there were countless dangers within.
The passage was dark, and the Eighth Prince walked along, bleeding profusely.
As they hurried along, the passage ahead grew narrower and narrower.
The narrower the passage, the less room there is to maneuver if an accident occurs.
Clearly, the designer of this passage was well-versed in this technique; in the end, only one person could pass through.
After the Eighth Prince had walked a distance, something unusual suddenly appeared ahead.
As the saying goes, "after the darkest hour comes the dawn," the narrow passage gradually widened, and finally, the Eighth Prince stopped in front of a door.
The door was extremely wide, about ten meters on each side, and the space around it was also incredibly large.
"According to that book, this door is the final passage." The Eighth Prince was overjoyed. "If I can enter, I will obtain my uncle's legacy, and then I will no longer be limited to the sixth rank!"
The Eighth Prince became increasingly excited at the thought of this.
What he wanted was the treasure left behind by Rising Dusk King after his death.
In fact, the truly valuable items were all collected into the Imperial Treasury by his father, while what remained in the tomb were items that his father did not need.
Of course, even if the royal family doesn't need it, it's enough to cause a bloodbath in the martial arts world.
The Eighth Prince's ambitions lay elsewhere.
These are not the real treasures he needs.
These were just incidental; what he needed was what was recorded in that book.
By sheer chance, the Eighth Prince obtained a book from the Imperial Library.
The Imperial Library contained mostly books that were accessible to them and that only they were allowed to see; the emperor maintained extremely strict control over them.
This book was initially intended as Rising Dusk King's autobiography and was placed in the lowest corner, covered with a thick layer of dust.
The Eighth Prince discovered it by chance while he was in the Imperial Treasury.
At that time, he had been stuck at the sixth rank for a long time.
The cultivation method given to him by the emperor was only considered to be of medium level among the sixth-rank cultivators, and he dared not practice any other methods, as the punishment would be extremely severe if he were discovered.
Feeling depressed, he wandered around the Imperial Treasury and happened to wander to a corner where he saw this book covered in a layer of dust.
Feeling down at the time, and also curious about Rising Dusk King, the Eighth Prince opened the book.
Later, I discovered the wonders of this book.
The book tells the story of Rising Dusk King's past, and the author of the book is also Rising Dusk King.
Before he knew it, the Eighth Prince had become completely engrossed in watching it.
A book that chronicles the entire eventful life of Rising Dusk King.
This Prince followed the emperor in his campaigns across the country, achieving remarkable military exploits. His entire life is condensed into this book, which is truly awe-inspiring.
Just as the Eighth Prince was engrossed in watching, he unexpectedly discovered the secret behind it.
The cultivation technique practiced by Rising Dusk King lies in the formation of military formations, especially when he is in the midst of an army, where he is unparalleled.
Even if all the soldiers were ordinary people, they could still reverse the tide of battle under Rising Dusk King's army.
This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that Rising Dusk King died and was buried.
But in the end, the so-called Tiger Seal was never seen.
What is Tiger Seal?
The Tiger Seal was a military tally used by the emperor to mobilize troops. It was made of bronze or gold in the shape of a crouching tiger, and split in two. The left half was given to the general, and the right half was kept by the emperor.
Only when two Tiger Seal are used together can the holder gain the power to command troops.
However, in the Great Chu Kingdom, Rising Dusk King possessed the complete Tiger Seal, because the emperor had sufficient trust in him, and more importantly, because at that time, Rising Dusk King voluntarily withdrew from the competition for the throne.
The Military Formation Method, if applied after a person's death, will be integrated into the things that the person frequently held and were closely related to while alive.
This means that the Tiger Seal may have been incorporated into the Military Formation Method of Rising Dusk King.
As for why the Eighth Prince Eighth Prince knew this, it stemmed from the content under his jurisdiction.
The Eighth Prince was in charge of the entry and exit of the Imperial Treasury.
Although he held the reins, he dared not make any rash moves.
When Rising Dusk King died, among the items that entered the Imperial Treasury, those related to Rising Dusk King did not include the Tiger Seal.
There are only two possibilities.
Firstly, the emperor kept it for himself, given the importance of the Tiger Seal, which was more valuable than most items in the Imperial Treasury.
Secondly, it was used as a burial item for Rising Dusk King.
According to this book, the Eighth Prince believed that the second possibility was highly likely.
In this book, Rising Dusk King said a sentence.
Throughout his life, the emperor trusted only one person: Rising Dusk King.
Based on this analysis, the Eighth Prince believed that the Tiger Seal was likely buried with the deceased.
The reason is simple.
First of all, the emperor himself did not know Military Formation Method, so even if he obtained the Tiger Seal, he would not be able to use it effectively.
Secondly, the emperor only trusted Rising Dusk King. How could he possibly entrust something so important to a second person? Without his army, Rising Dusk King's strength was very weak.
Why did Rising Dusk King go to Sheng County alone?
The most important reason is detailed in this autobiography, and it's located at the very end.
It said that he was to take the Tiger Seal and go to Sheng County alone.
That's all.
That's all the news; there's only this one sentence.
The Eighth Prince's most important possession is also contained in this passage.
—The Tiger Seal! When Rising Dusk King left, he took the Tiger Seal with him, but until now, he has not seen any news of Tiger Seal.
He did not have it in the Imperial Treasury he was in charge of, and he had been secretly investigating it ever since he obtained the book.
In the end, they actually found out some information about him.
Those who buried Rising Dusk King and Rising Dusk King his tomb were originally to be secretly executed by the emperor, but one of them survived.
He went through countless hardships to escape from the siege he suffered years ago.
After escaping, he dared not have any strange thoughts and lived in hiding until he was discovered by the Eighth Prince.
To be precise, it wasn't discovered by the Eighth Prince, but by the Thousand-Faced Fox.
After the Thousand-Faced Fox brought this person to the Eighth Prince Eighth Prince, they talked about many things, and in the end, the Eighth Prince made up his mind to do it.
According to that person, the map of the mausoleum had always been kept in the Imperial Treasury.
The Eighth Prince immediately formed a partnership with the Thousand-Faced Fox and secretly stole the map using his authority.
But he was eventually discovered. In a desperate attempt to escape, he faked his death and managed to get away.
Then there's what happened after that, right up to now.
The Tiger Seal was extremely important; if he possessed Tiger Seal, he would have the power to oppose the emperor.
The Eighth Prince had long harbored resentment at the thought of the Emperor's strict constraints on them, especially considering that they couldn't even break through to the sixth rank.
Coupled with the enormous profits from the Tiger Seal, the Eighth Prince was unable to extricate himself from the situation and decided to take the risk.
Looking at the enormous gate in front of him, the Eighth Prince was excited. He slowly raised his hand and placed it on the gate.
Blood was still on his large hand. When his palm touched the door, the door made a rumbling sound, and then it slowly opened a crack.
The gap gradually widened and, in the blink of an eye, the door opened automatically, revealing the space inside.
It was completely dark inside, and I couldn't see anything.
The Eighth Prince knew he couldn't delay any longer; the effects of the medicine in his mouth were almost gone. He lifted his foot and went inside.
As he stepped inside, the darkness before him gradually disappeared.
It wasn't just the darkness that disappeared; the door behind them, which had been open, slammed shut with a loud bang.
The moment the door closed, the darkness inside was revealed and became bright.
Torches were embedded in the walls, illuminating the surroundings.
As the torches illuminated the scene, the Eighth Prince saw his surroundings, and the hairs on his body stood on end. His pupils contracted, as if he were seeing a terrifying monster.
The previously dark space suddenly became bright, and in the blink of an eye, he saw one terracotta warrior after another.
The square formation, with each terracotta warrior less than half a meter apart, filled the entire room.
The spacious and enormous room, which could hold tens of thousands of terracotta warriors, appeared exceptionally solemn and dignified.
But besides the solemnity, the Eighth Prince felt an extremely cold and eerie atmosphere that made him tremble.
He felt as if the terracotta warriors had come to life, staring at him with an extremely cold gaze that chilled him to the bone and made him unable to move.
This feeling came suddenly, without any warning, and without giving him any time to process it.
The line of sight extends along the group of terracotta warriors, stretching to the very end in the blink of an eye.
At the end of this group of terracotta warriors, there is a pitch-black stone coffin, suspended in mid-air.
The stone coffin was bound by layers of iron chains, the ends of which were nailed to the wall. It was because of this that it floated in mid-air.
"Something's not right, this is definitely not right!" The Eighth Prince could no longer control himself. He stretched out his trembling hand, pointed at the group of terracotta warriors in front of him, and uttered a fearful voice.
How come there are so many terracotta warriors here?
The most important thing is the stone coffin, which is protected behind the terracotta warriors. Looking at the posture of these terracotta warriors, it is as if they are guarding their king.
As the fearful sound rang out, the Eighth Prince suddenly froze, standing still like a wooden statue, and slowly withdrew his raised hand.
In just a short while, a layer of grayish-white marks appeared on the Eighth Prince's body.
After the marks appeared, the color gradually deepened over time, turning from grayish-white to the yellow of soil in the blink of an eye.
The earthy yellow color not only deepened but also continued to thicken, gradually spreading from the Eighth Prince's skin and filling his entire body.
"Living terracotta warriors! I understand! I understand!" the Eighth Prince shouted again, but his words stopped a moment later as his entire body was covered in yellowish-brown mud.
Gradually, the Eighth Prince lost his life force and remained in his original form. He slowly raised his foot and walked into the terracotta warrior formation.
"Smack!"
With a slight sound, the torches around the walls went out, and everything returned to normal.
But this only restores darkness; other changes occur within the darkness.
Soft murmurs, like those in a nightmare, echoed through the darkness.
The ground began to vibrate at a strange frequency, the vibrations growing stronger and stronger, spreading throughout the entire tomb.
Something unusual happened on the Eighth Prince's side. In the passage away from the Eighth Prince, Xu Bai and his group were slowly advancing, holding maps in their hands.
In Zhou Qing's words, this matter absolutely cannot be rushed, because a tomb like the one of Rising Dusk King would definitely have unimaginable traps and mechanisms. If things are rushed, it could easily lead to a major disaster.
They compared their location to the map; although they weren't moving quickly, they were safe.
From the approximate location on the map, a fairly perfect outline can be seen.
Based on this outline, the tomb should be enclosed, allowing only one-way access.
The Eighth Prince cannot escape; if he wants to escape, he can only do so from their direction.
So Xu Bai and his companions walked along while remaining on guard, wary of the Eighth Prince's possible surprise attack.
Unexpectedly, the journey was very safe until Xu Bai noticed something was wrong when he was halfway there.
"Are you looking at the wall?"
There were dark red bloodstains on the wall, which had long since dried.
"The Eighth Prince is injured?" Yun Zihai was slightly taken aback.
"Maybe, no one can say for sure," Xu Bai said. "But if we don't find his body, none of us can let our guard down."
Whether he was injured or had other motives remains unknown.
The only way to find the real answer is to keep going.
Without further hesitation, Zhou Qing became even more focused, holding the map and walking faster.
As they walked, the group felt increasingly strange. The reason was simple: the blood on the walls was splattered too evenly, almost without stopping along the way.
The bleeding was extremely heavy!
Who has so much blood to use for this?
They'd already done it, how could they still be alive?
"It's Blood-Making Pill, a pill from the Imperial Treasury," Qing Xue suddenly said.
As the Ninth Princess's personal maid, upon witnessing this bizarre scene, he naturally connected it to the elixir.
"It seems our Eighth Prince wasn't injured, but rather used this method to evade the trap." Xu Bai stroked his chin, connecting it with everything he had seen before, and came to this conclusion.
"Hurry up," Yun Zihai urged Zhou Qing.
Zhou Qing turned around and said helplessly, "That's already the fastest speed."
His forehead was covered in a thick layer of sweat, clearly due to excessive concentration, a level that was very harmful to his body.
After all, he was in front of them, and if they made a mistake, danger would come one after another and completely overwhelm them.
Xu Bai was about to speak.
But unexpectedly, a strange change occurred the next moment.
The ground began to shake at a certain frequency, and the amplitude of the shaking increased, making it difficult for people to stand.
"Not good!" Yun Zihai became alert.
But at this moment, the vibration gradually subsided and disappeared completely in the blink of an eye.
Everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened, but the feeling from just now was too obvious to fool anyone's eyes.
"What just happened?" Qing Xue asked, puzzled.
The others all shook their heads, indicating they didn't know either.
The place was becoming increasingly strange, and everyone felt they couldn't delay any longer, so they had Zhou Qing continue leading the way into the passage.
The passage became increasingly narrow, but after they had walked for some distance, the view suddenly opened up, and then an enormous door came into view.
The gate is adorned with exquisite reliefs, which are pleasing to the eye and perfectly complement the surrounding dark environment.
As Xu Bai approached, he saw a bloody handprint on the door in the darkness.
"Can it be opened?" Xu Bai turned his head and asked.
From the moment he saw the door, Zhou Qing remained silent, as if he had seen something strange and unusual, and was deep in thought with his head down.
Only after Xu Bai asked him a question did he realize what was happening, and he nodded repeatedly with two "oh" sounds.
The map doesn't mention any danger here, so it should be possible to open it.
Xu Bai frowned. "What were you thinking about just now?"
As Xu Bai spoke, the others also turned their gazes in that direction.
Zhou Qing smiled wryly and said, "I just walked through this passage and it felt familiar, especially the way it went from wide to narrow and then back to wide. It's like I've seen it in a book in our family, but I didn't major in this field, so my memory isn't very clear and I can't remember it."
Xu Bai pondered for a moment.
It was hard to tell, yet it seemed vaguely familiar; Zhou Qing had essentially uttered a pointless statement.
"Everyone should get ready." Zhou Qing seemed to realize that he had said something useless, so he picked up the map and went to the gate.
He looked up at the door stained with bloody handprints, then looked down at the map in his hand. After about half an incense stick's time, he finally turned around and looked at Xu Bai and the others.
"The map doesn't say how to open it. I feel like something's not right here. This place is very narrow at first, and then it becomes incredibly wide. I feel like the memories in my mind are getting clearer and clearer. Everyone, wait for me." Zhou Qing pounded his head hard, as if trying to retrieve the memories he had forgotten.
Now that things have come to this point, no one is urging anyone; everyone is patiently waiting.
About half an incense stick's time had passed.
Zhou Qing kept observing the gate and the reliefs on it, his gaze never wavering.
At this moment, he finally let go, turned around and looked at Xu Bai and the others. The shock in his eyes, which he could never hide, was already clearly seen by Xu Bai and the others.
"Go! It's the way to reverse life and death!" Zhou Qing simply said this one word and prepared to return along the original route without stopping at all.
"What exactly is going on? Explain yourself first." Xu Bai frowned, sensing that things weren't so simple and that there was definitely something big hidden here.
"This is definitely not something we can handle. Remember when we came in, it first narrowed and then widened again? Doesn't it look like two opposing funnels?" Zhou Qing gestured with his hands, a bitter smile on his face, describing the terrain they had traversed.
Xu Bai thought about it carefully for a moment, and it really was like that. The places they had been walking through were indeed distributed according to this terrain.
But here's the question: what does it mean to reverse life and death? Not only Xu Bai, Yun Zihai and Qing Xue also didn't understand the intricacies of this matter, and all of them turned their attention to Zhou Qing, waiting for his answer.
Zhou Qing organized his thoughts, knowing he needed to make things clear at this point, otherwise he would have to take the blame himself.
"The so-called method of reversing life and death is to bring people back to life through a special formation. To put it simply, it is not a complete resurrection, because the person is not completely dead. They are buried underground, and the death energy is used to bury the life energy, preventing it from completely dissipating."
"The funnel-shaped terrain we saw earlier had one part facing outwards, which was where vital energy was poured in from the outside. After being shrunk and compressed, it expanded out from the other funnel, replacing the lifeless energy with the vital energy."
"The 'life force' I'm referring to here, instead of 'death force,' is just a metaphor. The so-called 'life force' refers to all people who carry the aura of life, and we are those people, as is the Eighth Prince."
At this point, Zhou Qing had roughly explained the situation.
He remained silent, waiting for Xu Bai to give further instructions, since Xu Bai was the one who truly held the power here.
Whether to fight or retreat, an explanation is needed.
Xu Bai stroked his chin, pondering Zhou Qing's words repeatedly, and came to a shocking idea.
"Rising Dusk King did not die completely; he wants to be reborn?"
Based on what Zhou Qing had just said, the terrain here matched Zhou Qing's description, and considering the identity of the person buried here, Xu Bai quickly guessed this.
When this bold idea was uttered, everyone present was stunned and remained speechless for a long time.
None of the people here are stupid; everyone is intelligent and thinks things through very clearly.
After Xu Bai gave this answer, they immediately thought of the possibilities.
To be precise, the possibility is still quite high.
"Your Prince... you're not dead?" Qing Xue's rosy lips parted wide, enough to hold quite a bit of food.
If that's really the case, then they really can't stay here.
Who is King Shengyou? If he were still alive, he could turn the entire Great Chu Kingdom upside down with a single stomp of his foot.
Qing Xue was a royal maid, so she naturally knew more about the inside story than some laymen, especially about the great achievements of Rising Dusk King.
He was a figure who made the entire hostile nation tremble.
"I think we should go back first, and then I want to report to His Majesty and see how he handles it," Yun Zihai said with a serious expression.
Although he had his own tasks, the predicament he was facing now was beyond his ability to handle, and it was something he simply couldn't deal with.
Moreover, he wasn't the kind of pedantic scholar; when faced with a situation, adaptability was the most important thing.
Xu Bai didn't care. He was just an assistant this time. Since Yun Zihai didn't want to participate, he was happy to turn around and leave. After all, he would get his reward if he left.
The process of everyone learning about the situation and making the decision to leave seemed slow, but in reality, the decision was made in an instant.
They turned around and prepared to leave almost without hesitation.
But in the next moment, something strange happened in this dark passage.
"Boom!"
A series of rumbling sounds came from behind.
When Xu Bai turned around and saw what was behind him, his brows furrowed tightly.
Behind them, the once dark passage collapsed, blocking their retreat. Now, all that remained for them was the large door in front of them.
As the collapsed passage behind them appeared, the large door in front of them began to open at an extremely slow pace, emitting a series of teeth-grinding sounds.
Xu Bai: "..."
Does this mean we absolutely have to go in? Judging from the current situation, that's definitely the case; there's no way back, and all that lies ahead is darkness.
Zhou Qing's face was deathly pale, and he muttered to himself, "Life-and-Death Reversal Yin-Yang Path, severing Yin and Yang to achieve life and death, it's over, it's over, it's done, he's alive."
His words, besides a tremor, were filled with boundless fear.
They were about to face Rising Dusk King, who had once been a powerful figure in the Great Chu Kingdom but had made the entire Great Yue Kingdom tremble with fear.
Yun Zihai thought for a moment, then silently took a step forward, walking at the very front of the group.
"Smack!"
With a slight sound, the dark space behind the door was illuminated, and torches were stuck in the walls. When all the light sources came together, the whole space was as bright as day.
Countless terracotta warriors, along with a stone coffin suspended at the very back, made this space deathly still and filled with endless killing intent.
Xu Bai frowned, sensing that something was wrong.
The killing intent was so strong that even an ordinary person here could clearly feel it.
However, Xu Bai and his companions were not ordinary people. They had all experienced various bloody scenes, and in terms of their perception, they were able to detect the abnormality permeating the killing intent.
This murderous aura was naturally generated by each terracotta warrior, and it was generated uncontrollably; it was not directed at them.
In other words, no crisis has yet arisen when they entered this enormous space.
"What is that?" Just then, Qing Xue suddenly raised her fair right hand and pointed to a spot.
Upon hearing the voice, everyone looked in the direction Qing Xue pointed and found that the location she was pointing to was the enormous stone coffin.
Above the stone coffin, a faint, ethereal figure was constantly swaying.
The moment the phantom appeared, an extremely domineering aura spread out, suppressing the killing intent in the entire space by three points.
Domineering and powerful! It exudes the pressure of a superior, yet also carries a ruthless and iron-blooded air.
It's like a towering mountain that pierces the clouds. Standing before it, whether you're a colossal elephant or a tiny ant, you'll feel a terrifying sense of oppression.
"Click!"
As the phantom appeared, a terracotta warrior on the ground suddenly cracked, and then all the soil on it shattered and fell to the ground, revealing its true form.
Inside the terracotta warriors, a man dressed in black stands facing forward expressionlessly. His hands hang down, his eyes are closed, and his face is serene, as if he is asleep.
"Eighth Prince!" Yun Zihai's pupils contracted slightly.
He could no longer sense the life force of the Eighth Prince; he was clearly dead. Yet, for some reason, the prince was still standing on the ground.
Immediately after Yun Zihai uttered those words, the Eighth Prince underwent a strange change.
He was like a block of ice, slowly melting away and disappearing from everyone's sight.
Even the ground was left without a trace; it vanished without a trace.
At this moment, the atmosphere in this space changed once again.
That domineering aura became even more intense after the Eighth Prince disappeared, and at the same time, in addition to its domineering aura, it also gained a touch of vitality.
The reason why people can sense it is that the changes in each aura are so intense that even ordinary people can detect them.
Xu Bai raised his head, looked at the phantom standing on the coffin, and said, "It's coming."
What? It's coming? Everyone was slightly taken aback, and then, following Xu Bai's gaze, they immediately showed expressions of utter horror.
The illusory figure gradually solidified, transforming into the appearance of a person, who was none other than the original Eighth Prince.
Although he looked exactly like the Eighth Prince, everyone could tell that this person was not the Eighth Prince.
That domineering and powerful aura alone was something even the Eighth Prince couldn't match, no matter how hard he tried.
"A resurrection, could it be..." Zhou Qing's face turned pale.
When this person, who looked exactly like the Eighth Prince, appeared, he waved his hand lightly.
Immediately afterwards, cracks appeared simultaneously on the tens of thousands of terracotta warriors below.
The sound of shattering was incessant, and the scene was magnificent to behold.
As the cracks on the terracotta warriors crumbled, one living person after another emerged from them.
They were all alive; there was no trace of death about them.
After the living people walked out, they turned around and knelt down in unison before the person on the coffin.
On the coffin, the "Eighth Prince" waved his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, straightened his back, and turned his gaze to Xu Bai and the others, exuding boundless domineering aura.
"They're all promising talents." The first sentence seemed to be a praise.
Immediately afterwards, the second sentence was uttered, but the tone changed, becoming filled with murderous intent.
"Will Great Yue Kingdom be destroyed?"
Now you all know why the Eighth Prince got the book, right?