Searching High and Low

Countless military strategies and tactics are far less effective than actual combat.

The principle by which a lowly soldier devours a great dragon is no different from that of a pack of wolves hunting. It simply involves trapping a powerful cultivator in a special environment and accumulating advantages through fearless exchanges, thereby gradually achieving the goal.

Although they still had many talismans protecting them and hadn't used up all their trump cards, the new emperor was well aware that if nothing unexpected happened, they would be trapped in Zhongnan Mountain and there was a considerable chance they would die.

"If our Great Han army can coordinate like a wolf pack, we'll have no shortage of battles we can't win, and no shortage of enemies we can't defeat!"

Sitting in the center of the wolf carcass, the new emperor summarized his experiences and lessons learned.

Individual bravery can be enhanced by completing cultivation methods, but more importantly, it is the unified and powerful Great Han Dynasty.

If anyone possessed even half the cooperative ability of a wolf pack, the new emperor believed that, barring a devastating attack, all enemies would be utterly crushed.

"Different tactics require different combinations; a variety of methods is essential to victory," Chen Zhang said cautiously. "The marching and combat methods passed down from our ancestors should be better than the coordinated attacks of wolf packs!"

The new emperor pointed at Chen Zhang, signaling him to express his opinion. Chen Zhang hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking according to the old rules.

"And you, Dongfang Shuo?" the new emperor asked.

"Liu Quji, you're right!"

Zhang Xuezhou responded with a flattering remark, which left Chen Zhang speechless, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou's answer was far too simplistic.

But Zhang Xuezhou's answer clearly pleased the new emperor.

"Tell me where you're right," the new emperor said happily.

"I think you're right about everything," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"That's a bit much. Are you trying to flatter me?"

"What a joke! Who do you think you are? You're not His Majesty, why should I flatter you? I'm just telling the truth and I'm being mistaken for someone else!"

Polygonatum rhizome has virtually no toxic side effects; aside from a slight intoxication at the beginning of consumption, it only offers benefits.

After a short rest, the new emperor and Chen Zhang had almost fully recovered. Not only were their stomachs full and they felt neither hungry nor thirsty, but they also had a continuous flow of energy.

Zhang Xuezhou's three large medicinal herbs were carried on Chen Zhang's shoulder. The group traversed the mountains without any paths, and from time to time they had to use their longswords to cut through the thorns to move forward.

Seeing that the long journey would have to be covered on foot, Zhang Xuezhou was also filled with bitterness.

He had no desire to reunite with the new emperor and the others; after all, he didn't have that much time to waste. Returning to his residence, lying down, and entrusting his body to A-Qiao was the most important thing right now.

However, if they hadn't met, Zhang Xuezhou felt that the new emperor and his group would have had a very difficult time escaping the wolf pack, and would have had to wait until dawn for an opportunity to break free; the risk was indeed too high.

Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled light onto the people.

The first rays of sunlight in the morning had already turned into the hottest rays of midday. Compared to Fei Zong, their current pace of travel was incredibly slow, and far slower than the speed at which the new emperor and Chen Zhang were fleeing for their lives. The group had been walking all morning and had not yet left this mountainous area.

"Dongfang Shuo, why is the smell of this medicine getting weaker and weaker? Is my nose failing me?"

Once the wrangling between Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor subsided, Chen Zhang glanced at his shoulder and couldn't help but ask a question.

"It's not that your nose is failing you, it's that these three medicinal herbs are failing you," Zhang Xuezhou said helplessly. "After these things are unearthed, they secrete some special substances to survive, which is the faint fragrance of Ganoderma lucidum and the pungent smell of Polygonatum that you smell. As the smell gets weaker, their activity decreases, and they will die if they are planted in the ground!"

"Will it affect the efficacy of the medicine?" the new emperor asked.

"It will be a level weaker," Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

"Where did you find this herb?" the new emperor asked in surprise. "I searched through these mountains and forests for a long time with my sword, but I never found such a large herb!"

"Last night, a white light descended from the sky. When I approached it, I saw ancient trees, dense and towering, almost like tree spirits. I wondered how trees could grow so freely underground, and whether there was a great spiritual jade hidden there. So I cut off a branch and dug!"

"Then what?"

"We didn't find any spirit jade, but we did find three large medicinal herbs!"

Where is that grove of trees?

"The sky that had turned white was gone, and I felt like I was dreaming!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed towards the depths of Zhongnan Mountain.

The new emperor's heart skipped a beat.

White light, ancient trees, great medicines, and spiritual jade—none of these can compare to the value of a secret realm.

There was indeed a secret place in Shanglin Garden, but no matter how hard the new emperor and his entourage searched, they couldn't find it.

The new emperor hadn't expected Zhang Xuezhou to have a chance encounter during the fall of the star. He asked Zhang Xuezhou several times, and when Zhang Xuezhou confirmed the location and mentioned the strange phenomenon at the time, the emperor nodded repeatedly.

"Don't you think this might be a sign of Grotto-Heaven Secret Land?" the new emperor asked in a low voice.

"I think it has some signs of a formation," Zhang Xuezhou reminded him.

"Formation..."

It appears that the new emperor is building the Shanglin Garden, but he is not the first emperor to do so.

The Emperor Qin, a century ago, also built the Shanglin Garden.

If Zhang Xuezhou identifies it as a battle formation, it might originate from the Qin Dynasty.

Zhang Xuezhou may have been lucky enough to slip into the formation through a gap, but others might not have been so fortunate.

The new emperor's joy subsided very quickly.

Great cultivators throughout history were not useless, and the Emperor Qin, who resided in Xianyang for a long time, was no ordinary man either.

This deserted secret place was not as desolate as he had imagined; rather, it was very likely that it had already been used.

After searching diligently for several years, the new emperor still held onto a glimmer of hope, but what he found was likely nothing but emptiness, not the boundless Spiritual Qi he had imagined. This inevitably made him feel somewhat anxious and uncertain.

"We still need to look for it!"

Although his expectations had been lowered, the new emperor felt that the secret location still needed to be sought.

If a legitimate way to enter and exit this secret place can be found, it could become the first secret place owned by the royal family.

"Traveling through these mountains is too difficult, and staying here for a long time to search is also challenging. Moreover, the white light that Dongfang Shuo saw is likely an anomaly caused by the appearance of a long star. Speaking of which, I also seemed to have seen a ray of white light in the sky last night. At the time, I was hurriedly defending against the Azure Wolf, and when my eyes swept across it, I thought it was a bolt of lightning. I never expected..."

As the sun was setting, the group finally set off at their normal pace and entered the normal area of Shanglin Garden.

As the back mountain of Shanglin Garden, Zhongnan Mountain is a natural barrier, and few people venture into its depths.

At this moment, the routes they came by and the routes they took back were different, so the group chose a direction and set off.

"The burning of the Epang Palace severed the connection to the Shanglin Garden, and also the connection to this secret place, burying all the past within!"

Looking at the setting sun, the new emperor couldn't help but sigh softly.

A rare long star fell, revealing mysteries of heaven and earth, and some hidden things began to appear. The new emperor wasted no time at this moment.

"Xin Zhui, the Xuan Token you possess can mobilize one hundred Imperial Guards. Quickly go to Chengguang Palace to summon one hundred men to prepare for a mountain patrol!"

"Dongfang Shuo, you possess my Xuan Token..."

Just as the new emperor was about to order Zhang Xuezhou to mobilize manpower for assistance, Zhang Xuezhou suddenly swayed back and forth, becoming unsteady as he ran forward.

"Oh no, Dongfang Shuo's attack time is here again!"

He had just reached out to support Zhang Xuezhou's body when the other's center of gravity suddenly shifted downwards.

The emperor had originally intended to have Zhang Xuezhou do the work, but he never expected to be the one doing the work himself.

Without Zhang Xuezhou, the person who discovered the formation and the secret location, the effectiveness of the mass search would undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

However, more than ten days have passed since the unusual phenomenon of the star, and the strange occurrences in the world may gradually subside.

If we wait until Zhang Xuezhou regains consciousness in twelve days, it will obviously be too late to take action.

"It's impossible for Dongfang Shuo to stumble upon it by chance; I, who inherit the dynasty's fortune, cannot find it!"

Zhang Xuezhou believed it was a formation, while the new emperor believed it was a secret place. Their different understandings led to their differing opinions, and their communication was also slow to catch on. In fact, the new emperor had already left that area by then.

At this point, there were significant gaps in the plan, but the new emperor still decided to take action and try his luck.

It's not that things can't be accomplished, but rather that we should think about it but not do it; what if he gets lucky and finds it?