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墨書 Inktalez
Dozens went down, but less than a quarter returned. Even Mei Shuang couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy. Compared to the tragic fate of these people, she was indeed fortunate amidst misfortune.
Elder Huang spoke, "Zhao Prince, we have two options now. Should we return the way we came?"
Compared to the newly discovered entrance, returning was certainly the safer choice. Nangong Nuo collected her thoughts and nodded, instructing everyone to start packing up, trying their best not to touch those sinister plants, taking as much as they could carry.
In front of the treasures, everyone temporarily set aside their sorrow and began dragging their damaged bags toward the exit.
Seeing that Nangong Nuo had no time to concern herself with them, Mei Shuang and Anriyan discussed how they should proceed.
Mei Shuang suggested taking the newly opened entrance; she truly did not want to accompany Nangong Nuo. Cong Fei nodded in agreement, but Anriyan remained silent.
Suddenly, Mei Shuang recalled that although Anriyan had come with them under the orders of the Great Qin Empire's emperor, it was uncertain what his relationship with Nangong Nuo was. At this moment, his silence seemed to imply that he still intended to follow Nangong Nuo.
A chill ran through Mei Shuang's heart as she glanced at Cong Fei. Cong Fei asked, "Your Highness the Envoy, how do you plan to proceed?"
Anriyan did not respond, standing there as if bound by an unseen force. His eyes flashed with intensity as he spoke in a low tone, "I'm afraid we won't be able to leave for a while..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the ground trembled slightly as if an earthquake had struck. The once solid walls and ceiling began to shift, dirt cascading down. Even the entrance they had just entered seemed to sway.
The sudden terror drained color from everyone's faces as they struggled to comprehend what was happening. With the shaking of the Underground Palace, the mist that had previously vanished began to rise again and spread out, as if everything were reverting to its initial state.
It wasn't until someone shouted, "Run!" that everyone snapped back to reality. They dropped the treasures in their hands and rushed toward the exit in a frantic scramble.
Mei Shuang was momentarily stunned until she was dragged by Cong Fei and Anriyan, who were pulling her arm and running outward. It was then that she realized the danger.
As they rushed to the statue, just as they reached it, Anriyan suddenly blocked their path. With a loud crash, a stone slab fell directly onto the statue of the Founding Ancestor.
The three of them came to an abrupt stop, and Mei Shuang's face turned pale with shock. Damn it, if it weren't for Anriyan's timely intervention, they would have been crushed into a pulp with just one more step forward.
The statue of the Founding Ancestor was instantly destroyed, and shattered pieces of stone scattered everywhere.
Mei Shuang ducked her head to avoid the falling dirt above her. Just as she was about to go around, she noticed something resembling a scroll rolling out from the statue of the Founding Ancestor, landing right at her feet.
Without thinking, Mei Shuang kicked it forward. Quick-eyed Cong Fei picked it up as it rolled and tucked it into his arms.
Compared to Nangong Nuo's group, they were still a bit slower. By the time the three of them entered the mist, it had thickened to an extent that made it impossible to see the path ahead. They could only rely on the flickering light from the torches held by those in front to vaguely discern their direction.
They could only charge forward based on instinct, but unexpectedly, their hands touched a heavy stone door.
At some point, the once wide-open stone door had silently closed.
The entire Underground Palace was suddenly engulfed in darkness. The tremors beneath them grew more intense, and dirt fell from above, creating a suffocating feeling as if they were being buried alive. Occasionally, they could hear loud crashes as slabs fell and hit the ground.
This shock was immense; if not for Anriyan and Cong Fei pressing closely against her and shielding her from some of the falling debris, Mei Shuang would have completely collapsed under the sensation of instability beneath her feet.
"This... this is going to collapse, isn't it?" Mei Shuang stammered. The thought of being buried alive in Mountain Base filled her with despair as she murmured, "Damn it, that saying about 'no return' really applies now..."
Anriyan also found it strange; everything was fine just a moment ago, and now it seemed like it was about to collapse.
In a daze, she heard a voice filled with despair coming from the gravel path below, "Why did this door suddenly close?"
"I don't know! They just went out from here!" another person replied anxiously.
It seemed that someone had successfully escaped.
"Did that woman get out? If she did, she must know how to open the stone door!"
"Who saw clearly? They were originally behind us!"
Then, a loud crash accompanied by a horrific scream abruptly silenced the conversation between the two.
Mei Shuang trembled all over, her scalp tingling. She had no idea when a large rock would fall from above and crush her. In her dazed state, she suddenly saw a glimmer in front of her; it was Cong Fei taking out the Night Pearl. He then pulled out something he had picked up earlier, using the faint light to reveal that it was a thin parchment scroll.
He quickly unfolded it, and to her surprise, it was filled with densely packed small characters. With the ground shaking beneath her feet, she couldn't make out the words clearly but caught sight of a bright red jade seal at the bottom. It looked like something related to a Secret Edict, and Cong Fei hurriedly tucked it into his clothes.
In that instant, the vivid red seal sparked an idea in Mei Shuang's mind, bringing her sudden clarity.
"Quick, quick," she urged. "Open it again; let me see."
Cong Fei was puzzled; given the current situation, how could she still be thinking about that?
Anriyan realized from Mei Shuang's suddenly brightened eyes that she must have thought of something, and quickly joined Cong Fei to unfold the parchment.
The light from two Night Pearls illuminated the opened parchment, while Mei Shuang struggled to overcome the dizziness caused by her unsteady footing. In her mind, she recalled how the Golden Shield outside was quickly and carefully being searched with fingers, muttering to herself, "Left seven, right... five..."
The two of them had no idea what she was mumbling about; they only saw her completely focused, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
Suddenly, there was a loud thud in front of them, as if something had fallen nearby, startling Mei Shuang so much that she shivered and forgot everything she had just counted. She had to start over, cursing in her heart why her mind had suddenly gone blank.
Just as Mei Shuang managed to utter a few words, she suddenly heard Cong Fei exclaim, "Shijieyu?"
In the faint light of the Night Pearl, they could see that the figure that had collapsed in front of them was a person in black clothing. Initially thinking it was one of Nangong Nuo's subordinates, they soon realized it was Shijieyu when he weakly called out "Miss Lin" as he shook himself awake. They could see his face covered in blood and his complexion pale.
This revelation was shocking. Before they could even ask how Shijieyu ended up here, he urgently said in a weak voice, "The staff! That staff! They moved that staff!"
Injured and anxious, Shijieyu fainted before he could finish his sentence.
Mei Shuang said, "It really is strange that this is happening around that staff. It must be that the last person who came out took the staff with them, causing some kind of power imbalance here that led to the collapse. We need to get out quickly."
Upon hearing there was a way out, everyone became a bit excited.
"I remember when we came in, there was a protruding Golden Shield between the two doors on either side. So as long as we can find that Golden Shield, we can locate the center position. If we find the center position, we'll be saved."
Thus, Anriyan and Cong Fei stopped talking and quickly tied ropes around Mei Shuang and themselves. They split up to search for the location of the Golden Shield on either side. This move was to avoid getting lost in the darkness; once they found it, they could easily locate each other by following the ropes.
The trembling under her feet became more and more intense. Mei Shuang squatted down and picked up Shijieyu, pinching her tightly. After a short while, she only heard the voice of Anriyan, "Found it, here." Mei Shuang was overjoyed, calmed down, and said quickly, "Stand where you are, facing the stone door, first take seven steps to the left, then five steps back, and then..." AnriyanFollow Mei Shuang's instructions The instructions were completed in less than ten seconds, and even Cong Fei, who responded slowly, heard it, Damn it, isn't this back to the starting point? Anriyan kept his composure, naturally he didn’t have time to explain that every step he took just now was stepping on traps. The route just now was full of traps. Without a certain foundation of martial arts, he couldn’t feel it. He was surprised that Mei Shuang could do it in such a short period of time. I admired the circuit that solved the mechanism within a short period of time. When he took the last step, he exerted a little force on his feet, only to hear a dull sound, and the two doors slowly opened. The three people had just dragged Shijieyu who had passed out and stepped out of the door. There was an earth-shattering rumbling sound inside. The entire Underground Palace could no longer hold back its strength and collapsed. The gravel flew everywhere, and the sand and soil flew, enveloping those people. The rare treasure sank. The three people were so fascinated by the dust flying everywhere that they couldn't open their eyes. They choked and coughed repeatedly. After running out, they sat down on the spot. Mei Shuang was gasping for breath in shock, Damn it is really blessed by God, if it were one second later, they would be buried in it. People outside were shocked when they saw the door suddenly opened and several people running out following the sand and dust. Nangong Nuo Fortunately, when he came out, the door was barely closed. He thought that the people inside had long been buried in it, and suddenly felt that the situation was over. He only sighed that it was a pity for those treasures, but he did not expect that the people inside could still come out. The earth-shattering "rumbling" sound resounded throughout the world, and even the outside was trembling. Several people did not dare to stay, so Cong Fei simply picked up Shijieyu and prepared to go down the original trail. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by someone.
As she focused her gaze, she realized it was Nangong Nuo, and there were fewer than ten people left by his side.
Recalling Shijieyu's words, Mei Shuang's anger surged as she glared at Nangong Nuo. "Zhao Prince, your greed knows no bounds! You almost got us killed just now! What do you plan to do next?"
Nangong Nuo replied, "Those treasures are already buried; it is fate. I will comply. I want you to leave the Zhanlu Sword!"
Mei Shuang felt an overwhelming urge to strike at Nangong Nuo's arrogant Silver Mask to relieve her frustration. "Not a chance!"
Seeing that Cong Fei had a person in black draped over his shoulder, their head hanging limply, Nangong Nuo couldn't make out who it was and asked, "Who is this?"
"Of course, it's one of your people. She's about to die, Zhao Prince. Do you want her?" Mei Shuang interjected.
Nangong Nuo snorted dismissively and turned his gaze away. Mei Shuang understood he didn't want any extra burdens and felt a sense of relief.
The thunderous sounds behind them diminished but showed no signs of stopping. Mei Shuang said, "Zhao Prince, I advise you: that scepter is a cursed object, and these treasures are no good either. You'd better throw them back quickly; otherwise, don't say I didn't warn you."
"Scepter?" Nangong Nuo frowned, shifting his attention to the people behind him.
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