At the other end of the secret depository, after crossing several sections of trestle bridges, Young Master Xu and his group arrived before a cavern with a relatively wide mouth. On either side stood a row of stone statues holding spears; moss grew thickly around their bases, and the wooden shafts in their grips had long since rotted away.
"Quick, quick, film it!" Young Master Xu beckoned for the people behind him to record the scene.
Seeing him draw closer to the cavern, Lao Lai stepped forward at once to stop him. "Young Master Xu, be careful."
Young Master Xu scoffed dismissively, "Careful my ass. Grand-uncle just went in. If there was any danger, his old self would have triggered it long ago."
Instructor Qiao, the mixed-race instructor, walked over with a smile. "Young Master Xu is right; there probably isn't any danger. Still, Old Mr. Xu is a martial artist, whereas none of us possess his remarkable skills. Why don't I send my disciples ahead to scout the path first? That way, Young Master Xu won't be interrupted while filming either. How does that sound?"
What Young Master Xu cared about was face. If others gave him face, he gave them face in return. "All right, Mr. Qiao, that works. I'll leave it to you."
Mr. Qiao gave a signal, and a group of men entered the cavern. After a good while, they returned unharmed and whispered a few words into his ear.
He nodded, walked over to Young Master Xu, and spoke a few words. The latter grimaced with distaste. "Such a hassle?"
Even so, he was willing to heed professionals. With an order from him, everyone donned heavy protective coveralls that shielded them from head to toe.
Once they finished looking around outside, they proceeded inward. As flashlights swept upward, someone let out a gasp: "Why are there stone pillars hanging from the ceiling?"
"I know! Those are stalactites."
"Really?" Young Master Xu was dubious. "Why don't they look like stalactites to me?"
Teacher Fan spoke up at this moment: "Young Master Xu, those aren't stalactites. Those are suspended corpses."
"Suspended corpses?" At those words, a stir went through the surrounding crowd, accompanied by hushed gasps. Clustered densely above were no fewer than several hundred hanging figures.
Hearing these gasps, Young Master Xu only grew more excited. He asked, "Teacher Fan, what are these corpses hanging here for? Tell us about it!"
Teacher Fan looked upward and said, "These suspended corpses are arranged to mirror the constellations of the heavens. The former imperial dynasty consistently claimed that its civil and military officials were celestial stars descended to the mortal realm, divided into two hundred and eighty-three star officials in total. And this being an underground secret depository, the ritual texts state that 'the earth mirrors the heavens in reverse,' which is why they hang upside down. If I am not mistaken, there should be exactly two hundred and eighty-three suspended corpses here."
Prompted by his words, the others split up and counted. Sure enough, not one more and not one less, there were exactly two hundred and eighty-three.
Young Master Xu exclaimed, "Hey, Teacher Fan, you hit the mark spot-on!" He then asked, "Since so many star officials are here, does that mean that Yuwen guy's depository isn't far away?"
Teacher Fan shook his head. "Far from it. We are likely only at the outer perimeter. Emperor Ying was vainglorious and fond of grandeur, styling himself as the Lord of Heaven, before whom the sun, moon, and stars could only stand arrayed below the palace steps. In other words, he likened himself to Heaven itself, so the celestial star officials could only stand aside."
"Arrogant enough..." Young Master Xu remarked, yet his face was full of envy.
At that moment, someone suddenly called out, "What's that smell?" Alerted, everyone began sniffing the air and indeed detected a strange odor.
"Look! Up there, look up!"
Everyone raised their heads. Inside the suspended corpses, something was writhing and seemingly swelling.
Mr. Qiao immediately called out a warning: "Don't panic! Fasten your protective suits tight!"
A series of bursting sounds echoed from above. One by one, the hanging corpses burst open, and countless slender black insects poured down like a deluge.
Yet when these creatures landed on the protective suits, though they tried to burrow inside, they could not pierce the material. Meanwhile, a line of men in the rear raised flamethrowers and unleashed bursts of fire ahead, sweeping back and forth until the insects dropped away in heaps.
A few minutes later, having retreated outside, Young Master Xu and the others stripped off their protective suits. Looking at the charred remains of insects shaking off the garments, Young Master Xu said with lingering fear, "Mr. Qiao, thank goodness you made us wear those protective suits."
Mr. Qiao smiled. "It was only my duty."
Beside them, Teacher Fan glanced at him and asked, "Mr. Qiao has entered secret depositories before?"
Mr. Qiao replied modestly, "One of the services I ran abroad was guiding clients into secret depositories. Fortunately, nothing ever went wrong. Merely minor ventures, nothing to boast of before you, Teacher Fan."
Teacher Fan gave him a searching look. "Mr. Qiao is an experienced hand."
"All right, all right, save your skills for later. Can we keep going now?" Young Master Xu was getting impatient.
The two nodded in agreement, and the group surged back into the cavern, heading toward the opening at the far end.
***
Around the same time, Chen Chuan had already arrived at the main gates of the palace complex.
He had encountered no danger or obstacle along the way. Yet upon reflection, he had, after all, entered via the proper main path. A secret depository's purpose was to allow descendants easy access to retrieve its contents. In the ordinary course of things, anyone who knew the correct method of entry would be an heir of the depository's master. Therefore, even if certain key areas were off-limits to casual entry, defenses would not be laid at every turn.
Before the palace stood two colossal warrior statues flanking the entrance, draped in forged iron armor. Standing seven or eight meters tall, their armor represented a lavish expenditure of iron, yet the bodies within were clay sculptures.
Chen Chuan inspected them and felt it was not so simple. These were likely the mortal remains of two martial artists—or rather, Generals of State Subjugation—much like the preserved remains of martial artists he had seen at Langtao Arena and Anyao Arena, only coated in clay and gilded armor.
As for the civet, upon reaching this spot and facing the palace gates, it did not dare step any further. Instead, it cowered and paced back and forth, reluctant to proceed.
Seeing this, Chen Chuan considered the matter and instructed Chaoming to stay outside. He stepped inside alone. Crossing the tall threshold, he walked a few paces forward and used the Xuejun Saber to push aside the drapery hanging in the way.
Looking ahead, he saw a divine general standing in full helmet and armor, eyes glaring wide. Standing over twenty meters tall, he held a long spear horizontally above his head with one hand while clasping the hilt of the saber at his back with the other. His arm ribbons and overtunic billowed as he looked down upon Chen Chuan from on high.
Chen Chuan looked up to meet its gaze. He could tell that this was also a statue, but—
At that moment, his brow twitched slightly. Right then, the divine general suddenly moved, and the raised spear came crashing down toward him with a swift rush!
Chen Chuan stood motionless. With a resounding boom, the spear passed right through his body, stirring up a swirl of luminous mist. It was merely a phantom image. Immediately following that strike, the divine general pivoted smoothly, drawing the saber at his back to unleash a radiant blade-arc across the ground.
From there, technique followed technique in fluid succession, great clouds of luminous mist dancing around its form.
Chen Chuan took a few steps and watched closely from the side. This was clearly demonstrating a set of profound techniques—a method that employed spear and saber in tandem. Furthermore, as it performed the forms, the divine general emitted thunderous shouts, and flashes of gold-and-red brilliance gleamed within its body, undoubtedly displaying the precise breathing technique and the methods for guiding mutated tissue simultaneously.
His interest was piqued at once. After observing for a short while, he raised the Xuejun Saber. With a flash of light, he drew the blade from its sheath, then held the saber in one hand and used the scabbard as a spear in the other, rehearsing the movements and breathing step by step alongside the divine general.
With his current caliber as a martial artist, he could master virtually any technique after running through it once. As he executed the final strike in unison with the statue,
the statue paused for a moment. Then, its entire body dissolved into countless grains of golden dust and scattered, leaving only the empty armor and weapons behind.
Chen Chuan did not spare a glance for them. Right now, he felt heat surging through his entire body, an inner power faintly brewing within. Running through the forms just now had not only mobilized the mutated tissue throughout his frame in sync with his breathing and movements, but he could even sense his spirit visage growing noticeably fuller and more substantial.
This was actually an esoteric art that could temper one's spirit visage!
If the method in that booklet was designed specifically for cultivating the spirit visage, then this technique was an all-encompassing art that trained breathing, jin, spirit, mutated tissue, and even the spirit visage simultaneously.
Without question, this was a top-tier esoteric transmission, most likely once held by the imperial house of that era, and perhaps closely linked to Yuwen Yuanqi.
Exhaling a breath of scorching heat, he concluded his stance and stood upright. With this, he had gained another method to cultivate his spirit visage—one that did not conflict with his existing practice. This alone made the entire journey worthwhile.
Yet he also noticed that executing these forms required immense physical strength, extensive mutated tissue coverage, and an abundant supply of energy to sustain it. Even the slightest deficiency would fail; if a practitioner could not carry it through in a single unbroken breath, they would seemingly suffer permanent injury.
Only someone like him could manage it—any other martial artist wouldn't stand a chance. Yet since the imperial house had possessed this secret art, there must have been people capable of practicing it.
Possessing such a foundation was truly astounding.
Then again, those of the former imperial bloodline were not necessarily entirely human; compared to ordinary mortals below, they might already have been a different species altogether. Given that, such a capability was not so far-fetched.
He twirled the Xuejun Saber, sheathed it, and walked over to the discarded armor and weapons.
The statue had stood over twenty meters tall, so the armor and weapons were naturally immense. The suit of armor still stood upright, flanked on either side by the spear and the long saber planted into the ground.
After inspecting them for a few moments, an idea struck him. He extended a hand, and behind him, a colossal, shifting hand of semi-tangible substance coalesced, grasping the long spear. After a brief interval, the weapon began to vibrate, and as the giant hand faded from view, the weapon vanished along with it.
Chen Chuan's eyes lit up. No mistake—this must be what ancient records referred to as a "divine weapon." Nowadays, such armaments were called "realm-melded weapons." Unlike ordinary mutated weapons, these were forged specifically for spirit visages, existing between reality and illusion.
He had only heard of them previously in conversation with Mr. Zhuan, but had never seen one in person. Weapons of this sort were exceedingly rare, said to be crafted from special relic materials, far beyond what an ordinary martial artist could ever hope to obtain.
He had not expected to find one here.
He turned his gaze toward the saber. Since the long spear was one, this weapon likely was as well. He walked over and tested it; sure enough, as the giant hand behind him closed around it, the long saber was taken in as well.
Yet beyond these two weapons, there was something rarer still.
He looked at the towering suit of armor. If he was not mistaken, this was a suit of "Great Awe Radiant Armor," a set of armor that could likewise be donned by a spirit visage.
Spreading both hands, he focused his intent. The spirit visage behind him manifested faintly, and the armor began to shudder. Its plates clattered with resonant chimes, and moments later, it dissolved into wisps of mist that drifted toward him.
Chapter 957