Chen Cuo and Nanmingzi walked on, their figures shifting. The soldiers and officials patrolling along the way seemed not to see them.
After a few steps, they paused and looked toward the palace buildings in the distance. Surprise showed on both their faces.
"What a palace! How is this a royal residence? It's plainly being refined into an earthly office of ghosts!"
When they had entered Chang'an City, they had only vaguely sensed something amiss: a dim, murky spiritual energy pervading the area. Only upon reaching the Imperial Palace did they discover that the entire complex was solemn and cold. A dark double image hovered over it, as though another layer of black palace halls covered the same ground.
"This looks familiar."
Chen Cuo could not help recalling the sight of a palace descending from the sky over Southern Chen's Jiankang City.
That phantom had meant to cover not only the palace district, but all of Jiankang. In the end, it had been stopped before it could succeed.
But now, the Zhou Kingdom's Imperial Palace had clearly been eroded and overlaid by a palace of the Underworld Office.
Looking more closely, Chen Cuo saw streams of Incense Smoke Aura gathering from every direction and descending into the palace's depths.
"They're nurturing a god in the palace?"
As he pondered this, something stirred in his heart. A streak of Essence Light flew out of the palace, bearing an intent so keen and sharp that a thought rose unbidden within him—
What's flying toward me seems to be the sharpest thing under heaven!
"Metal Element Essence?"
Having once refined treasures of the Five Elements, Chen Cuo made the guess instinctively. But no sooner had the thought arisen than countless voices filled his ears.
Abuse, mockery, accusations, attacks, curses, cutting remarks...
The voices