The underground passage.
Nether Radiance and ghostly qi surged, then scattered in an instant. Liu Qiuqi held a jade-green Willow Leaf that shed rippling clear light, commanding all the ghostly qi in the passage to retreat. Xu Xuan followed close behind him.
There was no telling how long they had been walking. Nether Radiance and ghostly qi billowed throughout the journey, making the outside world impossible to sense, while the passage twisted and looped back on itself, leaving them unable to judge how far they had traveled.
He had asked Liu Qiuqi where they were, but Liu Qiuqi had merely told him to follow, saying this was no place for careless words. The two fell silent.
Green bricks paved the passage, moss growing over them in the cramped darkness. Patterns had been carved into the bricks, but time had worn them down, and a layer of nether light obscured them. This light somewhat resembled killing intent, yet rather than devouring magical light, it concealed and muddied it.
Tiantuo circulated his magical power, and a glimmer of gold and white flashed through Xu Xuan's eyes. Only then could he make out the patterns on the green bricks around his feet. They depicted tree trunks and branches, all perfectly straight, without the slightest curve, interwoven into the shapes of palaces and nests.
Double-pupiled golden pheasants, Twin-Horned Scaled Beasts, and Mysterious-Pattern Spirit Turtles each dwelled within Nestwood, while figures wearing Emperor's crowns occupied greenwood Dao palaces, receiving widespread worship.
"[Double Radiance], [Heavenly mandate], [Spirit years]—these are manifestations of the three qi of fortune, prosperity, and longevity. The Qi Emperor wasn't even a Golden Core cultivator, yet he dared imitate the rites of a celestial dynasty. No wonder his kingdom fell."
Tiantuo sighed quietly, but Xu Xuan was puzzled and merely asked:
"This place