The Arbiter

"Testing ground?"

Li Qingyan murmured softly, a hint of mockery playing on her rosy lips. She glanced at the vast ancient city and chuckled with a sigh, "Those high-ranking officials ten thousand years ago really had some nerve, actually building an experimental field to house millions of people?"

Xu Yuan looked at her expression and chuckled helplessly.

"This is probably a last resort. The remnant soul in the Soul Ring once said that the human race was already on the verge of extinction ten thousand years ago."

"My lord, I am not entirely unaware of the great calamity that occurred ten thousand years ago."

Li Qingyan lowered his eyes and glanced at his palm, which was covered by brownish-red armor, then clenched his fist:

"I was just wondering if I could make the same correct decision if I were in their position."

The right decision.

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, then looked at her and smiled gently:

"Don't be a worrier. If a great calamity were to befall us, I believe you Qingyan, can make the right decision."

Li Qingyan chuckled:

Are you so sure?

Xu Yuan shook his head, staring into her eyes:

"I'm not sure, but I do know that when a race faces extinction, mercy and compassion cannot save it; only iron will and authority can."

Li Qingyan paused for a moment, then stared at Xu Yuan with interest, deliberately asking:

"If that's the case, what's the difference between humans and wild beasts?"

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes at the princess, his voice carrying a strange chuckle:

"The way you asked that makes me feel like I'm talking to my Fourth Sister."

As he spoke, a slight smile played on his lips:

"Qingyan, you've been fighting the Barbarian Tribe for over a decade. You should know the answer to this question better than I do: the validity of benevolence and morality can only be maintained within the framework of peace."

"Hmph."

Li Qingyan's laughter was crisp and clear, her phoenix eyes curving into crescents, revealing a hint of excitement:

"Changtian, you and I really do get along well."

"You're not going to call me Prince Consort anymore?" Xu Yuan asked softly.

Li Qingyan tilted her head playfully:

"Wouldn't calling me 'Changtian' make me seem closer to you?"

Xu Yuan shuddered and muttered:

"Cute expressions don't suit you at all."

"Snort."

Li Qingyan snorted coldly, shook her head with disinterest, and her expression instantly returned to its usual noble and indifferent state.

"Enough with the nonsense, Changtian. Since you know this is an experimental ground for raising Strange Ghost, you should also know how to manipulate the formations in this Underground Palace, right?"

Xu Yuan's eyes showed a hint of approval.

Her words remained simple, clear, and to the heart of the matter.

Just like in those movies from my past life, research bases for virus testing always have layers of security measures.

If this is an experimental site for studying the transformation of humans into Strange Ghost, then there must be formations to control the Strange Ghost.

Otherwise, the "human race" here could not have survived for ten thousand years.

But unfortunately

Xu Yuan shook his head directly:

"Have no idea."

"Um?"

Li Qingyan was taken aback by Xu Yuan's answer, and then asked:

"But you said before that the way out was around here."

"I said you got out using the formation?"

"." Li Qingyan.

Xu Yuan glanced at the interior of the ancient city and whispered:

"Let's go into the city first to find that 'Lord of Simin ' and ask her about the situation here."

"Try to find"

Li Qingyan instinctively wanted to retort, but after Xu Yuan finished speaking, he simply raised his palm and stared at her quietly.

Their eyes met.

Li Qingyan glanced at his raised hand, hesitated slightly, then swallowed her words, her voice cold:

"Okay. Whatever you say."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly and explained:

"The passageways around this cave are interconnected, and it would be incredibly difficult for the two of us to find the exit on our own. It would be much easier if we talked to that ' Simin ' and asked her to mobilize her people to help us search."

After saying that,

With a single leap, the two vanished from the city walls, where panic was spreading.

Although this underground city is very large, its interior is eerily empty.

The streets near the city wall were completely silent; walking on them felt like walking through Ghost City in the underworld, with darkness enveloping them like ghostly energy.

The layout of this ancient city is somewhat similar to the mortal cities in the TV dramas of Xu Yuan's previous life. It lacks the official roads in the cities within the Great Yan territory that are dedicated to the use of Demon Beast carriages, and the city planning is also a mess.

The main roads and side streets are intricately intertwined, and commercial districts such as markets and taverns are mixed with residential buildings, vaguely revealing the prosperity of this place ten thousand years ago.

But now, these dilapidated houses could be reduced to ruins with just a gentle push.

Before they had gone far, Li Qingyan suddenly grabbed his hand, looked at the distant sky, and said with a strange expression:

"Someone's coming, and their aura isn't weak at all."

"Oh?"

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. For Li Qingyan to make such a comment, his cultivation level could only be at Grandmaster: "That Simin is actually Grandmaster?"

Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes flickered slightly. After sensing for a moment, he uttered two words:

"More than."

Xu Yuan's pupils contracted upon hearing this:

"Origin Beginning?"

"Um."

Li Qingyan nodded slightly, paused for a moment, and then continued, "She's found you."

Having said that,

She calmly took her sword out of her Sumeru Ring.

"."

Xu Yuan's eyes twitched as he looked at her calm demeanor.

No, sister, you're a master of military formations. How can you be so calm when you can defeat an ordinary Origin Beginning?

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan said with a slight chuckle:

"Ordinary people who practice military formations are probably not cultivators."

"Changtian, do you think I am an ordinary person?"

"." Xu Yuan.

Damn it, geniuses all deserve to die.

Except for Big Ice Block.

After a moment's thought, Xu Yuan let the other party go.

Although it's unclear why a Origin Beginning expert could appear in this godforsaken underground place, as long as the language is fluent, it means communication is possible.

Moreover, given the current situation in this underground ancient city, it is highly unlikely that the two sides will fight.

If the commotion we create here is too great, and it attracts the true master of this Dead Silence Underground Palace, then we'll all be doomed.

After thinking about it,

Xu Yuan then stood quietly in place, waiting for the arrival of the "Lord of Simin".

"."

After the two stopped, there was no further sound around them.

In a short while,

A clear, melodious female voice came from the sky, speaking in the slightly awkward Great Yan language:

Who are you?

"."

They've arrived.

Following the sound, Xu Yuan saw a pair of long, slender, bare legs.

Her knees and calves were well-proportioned, with strong and beautiful lines like an arch, elegant and moving, yet seemingly full of the power of a mother leopard, exuding ultimate allure.

Another leggy beauty, but unfortunately her skin is too pale, not nearly as pretty as his princess's legs.

Lost in thought, Xu Yuan's gaze shifted upwards, and upon seeing the face, he raised an eyebrow.

A beautiful woman always brings joy to people.

The woman wore a crown of thorns, her eyebrows were like newly sprouted leaves, her bright eyes shone like morning stars, her face was covered by a thin veil, and in the gentle breeze, her beautiful features could be vaguely seen. Her pink lips were like fresh water chestnuts, thin and translucent, moist and charming.

The material of her clothes was also vastly different from that of the ordinary soldiers.

The wide sleeves of the robe, made of silk-smooth fabric, perfectly hugged her curvaceous and exquisite body. A blood-red pendant rested on her soft, undulating chest, emitting an eerie red light in the pitch-black air.

But soon,

Xu Yuan immediately sensed a familiar feeling in the woman's attire.

Could this be another one of his "old acquaintances"?

As he thought about it, Xu Yuan's gaze became somewhat strange.

Because apart from the Strange Ghost, it's impossible for his "old acquaintances" to exist in this Dead Silence Underground Palace.

While deep in thought,

Li Qingyan glanced at the woman in the sky, then spoke, her voice as cold as snow:

"Come down and speak. I don't like looking up to others."

"."

Simin observed the woman's aura below, paused for a moment, then gracefully landed three zhang in front of the two, his voice clear and crisp:

"These two people who don't seem to belong to our Seven Cities Pact, are they from the surface?"

The woman's voice sounded calm, but a noticeable tremor appeared when she said the word "ground" at the end.

Xu Yuan heard this level of vibrato, and Li Qingyan naturally heard it too.

But she didn't reply immediately. Instead, she glanced at the "commander" beside her, only to see that the dead man was staring intently at the woman opposite him, showing no intention of answering.

With a cold snort in his heart, Li Qingyan turned to scrutinize the strangely dressed vixen opposite him.

Logically speaking, ten thousand years is enough time to erase many things.

For her and Xu Yuan, this place was underground, but for these people who had lived and worked in this underground city for countless generations, this was their whole world.

A frog at the bottom of a well can know the vastness of the sky.

This was indeed somewhat unexpected for her.

With a soft chuckle, Li Qingyan's voice carried a hint of amusement:

"You also know about the ground? I was just observing the conversations of the other people in the city, and they don't seem to know that the ground exists."

Upon hearing the other party's somewhat affirmative answer, Simin's hand, hidden within his wide sleeves, clenched slightly.

"I am in charge of the official documents of the seven cities, which includes information about the ground."

Li Qingyan understood upon hearing this and put his sword back into his Sumeru Ring.

"You've managed to avoid a break in your civilization over tens of thousands of years; that's quite impressive."

History books can be altered, and written materials can be burned.

A coup d'état, a power struggle, can very well distort the true nature of history beyond recognition.

It's truly remarkable that these people have managed to preserve information about the Earth after tens of thousands of years.

Beneath the veil, Simin forced a smile, a hint of hesitation flashing in her bright eyes, and pleaded:

"I hope that you two will not spread this matter within the city."

Li Qingyan chuckled and Ying Sa nodded:

"That's natural."

Simin thanked him upon hearing this, then spoke again, forcibly maintaining a calm tone in his voice:

"Gentlemen, do you not know the ground?"

"Hey, you're just going to let us talk here?"

Xu Yuan finally spoke, looking at the woman whose eyes were filled with excitement, and said with a low laugh, "Although you have stayed here for ten thousand years, you should know some ways to treat guests, right?"

"."

Si Ming frowned slightly as Simin looked at the handsome man who had suddenly interrupted her, and subconsciously glanced at Li Qingyan.

"."

Seeing the other party's reaction, Xu Yuan sighed slightly in his heart.

Damn it, it really was that woman.

Bai Muxi,

Extreme admiration for strength, like that of Monkey.

A woman who loves the daytime, hates the night, and stands on the beach every morning to watch the sunrise.

But none of that matters. What matters is that this woman doesn't appear in the Dead Silence Underground Palace in Cangyuan, but at a strait port within the Great Yan territory.

Li Qingyan noticed Xu Yuan's unusual behavior, and feeling puzzled, he transmitted his voice with a hint of amusement:

"You're not angry because of this woman's disdain, are you?"

Xu Yuan raised his eyes and smiled, transmitting his voice:

"Of course not. In such a desperate situation, both men and women admire the strong. It's normal for her to look down on me with my cultivation level."

"Then why are you making that face?"

"Because the exit mentioned in the intelligence from our Prime Minister's Mansion's residence may no longer exist."

"." Li Qingyan.

There is only one possibility that could allow Bai Muxi, who shouldn't be in the Dead Silence Underground Palace, to appear here.

The exit that Xu Yuan remembered was most likely carved out by Bai Muxi in order to escape the Underground Palace.

But judging from Bai Muxi's excited reaction to the two outsiders, it was clear that this woman hadn't even started planning her trip yet.

They arrived early.

The simplest way to skip class is gone.

But it's okay, he has other ways to skip class.

Moreover, if forced to do so, they could also use the power of that Barbarian Tribe Alien King through a transaction to directly break through this Dead Silence Underground Palace.

"."

As Xu Yuan pondered, the three of them fell silent for several breaths.

Bai Muxi's gaze kept shifting back and forth between Xu Yuan and Li Qingyan.

Finally, Li Qingyan broke the silence first:

"Simin, this is my commander-in-chief; we two will follow his lead."

"."

Bai Muxi looked puzzled upon hearing this.

She couldn't understand why such a powerful person would obey a weak one.

Xu Yuan understood this woman's thought process very well, and chuckled lightly, saying:

"Simin, the surface is not the underground. The level of cultivation does not determine everything, understand?"

Bai Muxi's bright eyes flickered for a moment, then she closed her wide sleeves and bowed in a salute.

"In that case, I apologize for my rudeness and would like to invite you both into the Divine Palace for a discussion."

Li Qingyan remained vigilant and transmitted her voice to Xu Yuan:

"Changtian, do you know about this Divine Palace?"

Xu Yuan thought for a moment, recalling the eerie sculptures in Cangyuan, and replied in a low voice:

"The title 'Simin' is used by the witches who welcome the gods. To survive in a place like this, one must have some faith and hope. The so-called gods are probably the same concept as the barbarian gods of the Barbarian Tribe."

He paused for a moment,

He then reminded him telepathically:

"By the way, Qingyan, you don't need to worry about her attacking us. This woman's cultivation hasn't reached the Origin Beginning yet, and most of the aura she exudes comes from the gem pendant on her chest. If she makes a move, be careful; she'll be no match for you."

"."

Upon hearing this information, Li Qingyan felt a strange unease.

She now strongly suspects that the other party's source of information is trying to deceive her.

Moreover, this information, which was constantly being changed by the dead, perfectly illustrates what it means to turn trust into worry.

He just mentioned that he didn't know much about this underground city, and now this bombshell has suddenly dropped.

With a sigh, Li Qingyan's eyes showed helplessness:

"Alright, I understand."

Xu Yuan coughed lightly:

"Qingyan, don't worry."

Li Qingyan interrupted with a smile:

"Of course I'm at ease. It's nothing more than dying together with you, Changtian. Well, I'm not opposed to this kind of death."