Preparations

If there are good antiques in the underwater palace, many things will be normal.

If there were no valuable items in the water palace, Zhang Xuezhou felt it necessary to put something there.

He touched his own body, then looked at Zhang Changgong who was kicking his legs, and finally reached out and pulled Zhang Changgong off.

"Wow!"

Even the most daring person can't withstand constant disruption.

Zhang Changgong, who had been holding his breath and enveloped in endless darkness and cold, was suddenly dragged down with great force, leaving him utterly horrified.

When Zhang Xuezhou pulled Zhang Changgong in, Zhang Changgong was almost scared out of his wits.

"Hey, Longbow?"

After calming down for a while, Zhang Changgong knelt and kowtowed repeatedly until he regained his senses.

In the bright firelight, the cave was clearly visible from all sides, and two sculpted fish spitting water at the entrance were constantly spouting pearls.

Only when Zhang Changgong's gaze slowly shifted to Zhang Xuezhou's face did he reveal a look of surprise and doubt.

Zhang Xuezhou had been traveling for several years and his face had aged to the age of twenty-five or twenty-six. After eating the Golden Dragon Fish, his appearance returned to normal and was preserved. Correspondingly, Zhang Xuezhou's appearance is still relatively young, and the changes are not as obvious as those of Zhang Changgong and others.

"Zhouzi?"

Zhang Changgong rubbed his eyes hard and touched them to make sure he wasn't hallucinating or seeing any demons or monsters.

"After you untie the stones binding you, rest for a bit. I'll look for this place!"

Entering the Water Mansion was easy for Zhang Xuezhou, but leaving would require the help of the Peacock Great Wisdom King's feathers. He would also need Zhang Changgong's cooperation and might even have to stay in the Water Mansion for several days.

As for now, it is his free time to search.

Zhang Xuezhou wasn't afraid of finding some earth-shattering treasure; he was afraid of not finding anything of value.

"I can't just leave my divine robe here!"

If Zhang Xuezhou had any truly valuable treasures, only the Heavenly Robe could be considered a top-tier item, and the Green Rock Wooden Staff was also a significant treasure.

The Heavenly Robe is related to the Heavenly Court, and its age is indistinguishable, making it a related item. The Azure Rock Staff, on the other hand, originates from Lu Baibai's possession, and its identity might be recognized once it is acquired.

Zhang Xuezhou reached out and touched every part of the water palace.

Compared to his first investigation, he was much more thorough this time.

If he discovers a treasure trove, he certainly won't open it carelessly; instead, he'll leave it for the King of Huainan and others to open.

"Zhouzi, how did you get in? What are you looking for? I feel like I've seen you outside before?"

When Zhang Changgong regained his senses, he looked at Zhang Xuezhou, who was knocking and searching around, and couldn't help but ask him a few questions.

"I followed you in, just a little faster," Zhang Xuezhou replied. "We're looking for the treasure now. Those two outside are the King of Huainan and the Prince of Jiangxia. If they can't find the treasure, they might take their anger out on me, so I had to come in early to check things out!"

"Uh, I didn't understand!"

Zhang Changgong couldn't understand this logic for a moment. Why should others get angry at Zhang Xuezhou just because they couldn't find the treasure?

"I discovered this place, and even though I repeatedly assured myself that I didn't find any treasure here, the King of Huainan still sent thousands of people to do it," Zhang Xuezhou said. "They put in a lot of effort, so naturally they hope to gain something. If they don't, they'll be very angry, and that anger will be my downfall!"

"These southerners are so unreasonable! You find a spot and let them dig it up, but if they don't find anything, they still want to punish you!" Zhang Changgong cursed angrily.

"That's absolutely unreasonable!"

"These people deserve to be struck by lightning! They tricked us into coming here to do hard labor and they haven't let us leave!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

He never expected that Zhang Changgong would be captured and taken to Huainan after leaving his mountain village to seek a master. After asking him a few questions, he learned that the small sect in the north had not taken a liking to Zhang Changgong and had not even entered the gate. He had only stayed outside for a few days and had been tricked into coming back because he saw the people of Zhang Household Village. His luck was even worse than Zhang Cigong's, which made Zhang Xuezhou sigh with regret.

"Your mom..."

"I see. Let's work together to escape from this place next time!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't want to say too much, lest Zhang Changgong give himself away when questioned.

He gave repeated instructions before patiently continuing his search.

The Heavenly Court ruled for over a thousand years, while the Immortal Court lasted for eight hundred years, followed by four or five hundred years of conflict, then the unification under Emperor Qin, and finally the Great Han Dynasty.

The time span involved is extremely long, and normal objects would hardly survive such a long period of time. Even skeletons are so fragile that they would break at the slightest touch, and there are very few written books, ancient paintings, or other artifacts that record such events.

It's indeed quite difficult to find anything good in a place like this.

Zhang Xuezhou searched around for a long time, only to find that his abilities were limited to this.

"Zhouzi, what's so special about this place?" Zhang Changgong asked, puzzled.

"It's precisely because there's nothing magical about it that I'm having a headache," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I'm not afraid of people taking advantage or getting benefits; I'm afraid they won't get any benefits at all. Even the smallest benefit is better than nothing!"

Zhang Xuezhou felt somewhat melancholy, thinking that the empty water palace was indeed difficult to explain.

There was no dragon here that the King of Jiangdu longed for, nor anything that the King of Huainan needed.

And items that meet the standards of these two kings are extremely rare.

Zhang Xuezhou touched the Heavenly Robe, hesitating for a moment before deciding whether to use it for decoration.

"I think this feather torch you have is amazing; I've never seen anything that can glow before..."

"Feather torch?"

Looking at the Golden Crow Great Emperor's feathers, Zhang Xuezhou felt as if he were completely blind to his own shortcomings.

Not only did the celestial robes he wore originate from the Heavenly Court of Kunlun Sacred Land, but the Golden Crow Great Emperor's feathers in his hands also came from there.

Although the Golden Crow Great Emperor's friendship is important, Zhang Xuezhou once used the feather to refine the Perfect Tonic Pill, and the time he could use this feather was limited.

Very few people have seen Zhang Xuezhou use this feather.

Even if it were recognized, the Golden Crow Great Emperor's feathers are not unique.

Zhang Xuezhou chanted an incantation, and the feather's luster grew dimmer and dimmer, almost resembling a firefly.

In such a dim light, the feather could burn for a very long time, even for ten days or half a month.

"I have a Grain Avoidance powder here. After taking it, you'll be able to go without hunger for several days," Zhang Xuezhou said. "You'll stay here for a few days until they dig a tunnel through here. Once you can leave normally, if anyone asks you, just say you fainted, woke up recently, and don't remember anything!"

"This..."

"Don't be afraid, we'll definitely get through this!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed to himself, then to Zhang Changgong, and with a wave of his hand, he swayed up and hung the feather in a crevice in the cave ceiling.

Having completed the basic arrangements, Zhang Xuezhou felt much more at ease.

"If you're feeling bored here, I can tell you about cultivation. You can also learn beast taming skills from Ci Gong later!"

It would take several more days to dig through the water palace, and this kind of place was not suitable for prolonged solitude, so Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to give Zhang Changgong a pep talk.

Compared to Zhang Cigong's experience and vision over the years, Zhang Changgong is clearly inferior, and his temperament is also far inferior.

Zhang Xuezhou could only let Zhang Changgong pretend to know nothing and shirk responsibility no matter what.

He comforted Zhang Changgong, and after Zhang Changgong had been unable to stay awake for a long time, Zhang Xuezhou pressed down on Zhang Changgong's acupoints to make him sleep longer.

After calculating the time, he surveyed the surroundings of the water palace, and only after releasing the Dragon Riding Technique mark again did he take the Peacock Great Wisdom King's feather and force his way out of the water palace.

Having lost a feather from the Golden Crow Great Emperor, Zhang Xuezhou will also treat his Peacock Great Wisdom King feather as lost and try to seek compensation.

After calculating for a while, he felt that he had nothing to lose, so he slowly moved his body towards the riverbank.