Wisps of vapor merged into the illusory giant silhouette behind Chen Chuan. In mere moments, the grand hall was completely empty, and the giant shadow gradually faded away as well.
Chen Chuan examined his internal sensations and gave a slight nod. It truly lived up to its name as a divine armament, fully capable of being accommodated by his spiritual visage as though it had become an innate part of himself. Acquiring such a set of armor and weapons was a pleasant surprise; this Emperor Ying had indeed possessed remarkable grandeur.
Reflecting on it, that made sense. In the Old Era, the entire realm served a single person. Although production and resource gathering back then were far less efficient than today, even now certain scarce, high-end materials still had to be gathered from the Confluence and the other side. In truth, there was little difference between the two eras in that regard. When most of these resources were concentrated upon a few individuals or a single ruler, the sheer scale was astonishing.
Barring any surprises, these things had been left for the descendants of the Yuwen clan. The fact that word of this place had leaked outside suggested that the Yuwen descendants knew of it and might even have visited. Perhaps they simply lacked the capability and were unable to take what lay before them.
This was highly probable. Without being a martial artist, without sufficient mental strength, and without possessing an external visage, one wouldn't even find the threshold to glimpse this method, let alone practice it and claim the arms and armor.
He looked toward the hall's exit. If treasures like these were placed in just this one chamber, what else might lie ahead? Still, the more important something was, the more heavily guarded it was likely to be. Since he wasn't a true descendant of the Yuwen clan, he was bound to run into obstacles.
He was in no hurry to rush ahead. Rehearsing the maneuvers earlier had expended considerable energy, so he opened his suitcase, took out some high-energy nutritional supplements, and consumed them to ensure his combat capability stayed at its peak.
He had brought enough provisions this time to easily last a month. Naturally, he probably wouldn't need to stay that long. According to the information on the jade card, getting in wasn't easy, but getting out was simple: one only had to wait until dawn broke in this place, then retrace one's steps.
After steadying his breathing, he called Chaoming along and stepped out of the hall. Looking up, he saw a flight of ascending steps before him, clearly leading higher once more.
Unlike the path he had arrived by, trees lined both sides of the way here, and lanterns of various sizes hung from the branches. Burning like fire, they stretched along the mountain path all the way to the top, illuminating the pitch-black night with brilliant radiance. Carved into every single step were illustrations of paired combat and wrestling, strikingly vivid and lifelike.
A glance showed him numerous unarmed and weapon techniques that looked simple and practical, mostly below the third limit.
He asked, "Hongfu, does Wuyi Academy have these moves on record?"
Hongfu replied, "Wuyi Academy does not have them recorded, though there are similar ancient techniques with numerous traceable connections."
Chen Chuan hummed in acknowledgment. These were likely subsequent refinements and evolutions of those moves. He said, "Since they aren't on file, record them while we're here."
"Understood," Hongfu answered.
Chen Chuan walked up the steps. Looking to the sides again, he quickly realized that the objects hanging along the trees were not actually lanterns, but fruits borne by the trees that bore an uncanny resemblance to them.
A thought struck him, and he paused, fixing his gaze on them. Was this... vermilion flame fruit?
Vermilion flame fruit was a fruit shaped like a lantern, native to the Confluence. Because it produced light on its own, it had often been used for nighttime illumination. During the Middle Ancient Era, it had been designated as imperial tribute, transplanted in large quantities to illuminate palaces and pavilions. The so-called "solar palaces and nocturnal vistas" had not relied on candles or torches, but on things like this.
The reason it hadn't crossed his mind initially was that across successive dynasties of the Old Era, it had been harvested and transplanted so extensively that it had become exceptionally rare today. Moreover, archival records described them as only about the size of an orange—hardly the size of an actual lantern like these.
He walked over and plucked one. It felt slightly heavy in his hand. Aside from glowing, this fruit was highly nutritious and possessed the effect of bolstering physical strength and promoting the growth of mutated tissue.
It was said that Emperor Ying had five dragons under his command that had originally been serpents, having transformed only gradually after consuming this fruit. That alone spoke to its extraordinary rarity, yet there were so many here.
Pulling out a small knife, he sliced off a piece of flesh and tasted it. The flavor was decent, but as for the effect—it wasn't nonexistent, but so faint that he could barely register any change. For him, it probably wasn't even enough to replenish expended energy; at most, it could be eaten as ordinary fruit.
He guessed that after more than a thousand years without proper care, and without growing in an optimal environment, the fact that they still bore fruit at all was remarkable; they had long since lost their original potency.
He felt a touch of regret, but the seeds were still useful. He could find a way to plant them in his own hunting ground; perhaps they might regain some vigor.
So he went ahead and harvested several, feeding the flesh to Chaoming. While of no use to him, they were very beneficial to Chaoming, particularly in promoting the evolution of mutated tissue. In the process, he could also collect the seeds.
As for the civet cat, it required no urging whatsoever, leaping up and munching away noisily. Clearly, the fruit was good for it as well.
He stayed there for quite a while. Once Chaoming had eaten its fill, he continued up the mountain path. Beyond this stretch lay another platform. Flanking the way were two white jade pools, beside which stood a large stele bearing the three characters: "Sovereign Cleansing Pool."
Understanding dawned on him immediately. In the Middle Ancient Era, granting an audience with the sovereign required bathing and changing clothes first; this was the ablution pool.
The water of the Sovereign Cleansing Pool was said to strengthen muscle and bone, ward off disease, and prolong life. But when he walked over and looked, what had likely once been a pool full to the brim now held only a shallow layer, riddled with thick, dried encrustations, clearly no longer usable.
Two jade statues stood flanking the pool, each draped in a set of attire. In accordance with the protocol where the left was honorable and the right subordinate, military officers stood on the left and civil officials on the right. Thus, the left displayed a set of armor—a gleaming golden ceremonial suit with white feathers atop the helmet and ornamental tassels adorning the chest. The right displayed a black robe woven with gold thread and a tassel-fringed crown pinned with pearl hairpins.
Naturally, the Middle Ancient Era valued generals who could serve as ministers in peacetime and vice versa, so the boundary between civil and military had not been rigid, and the roles could be interchanged.
Each of the two jade statues also bore an official seal and held an ivory tablet in its hands.
Upon seeing this, Chen Chuan pondered for a moment. He left the garments untouched, stepping forward instead to take the military officer's court tablet and jade seal. He tucked the jade seal into his pocket and held the court tablet in his hand.
Glancing around and finding nothing else of note, he pushed forward. The path broadened ahead, revealing two towering gate towers and a palace wall.
As he moved forward, a strange sensation washed over him, as if he had passed through a rippling barrier. Then he saw the once-weathered palace gates seem to shed a veil, turning abruptly opulent and grand. Lanterns lit up upon the towers, and the distant, muffled cadence of drums reached his ears.
His eyes flickered slightly, but he did not pause, continuing onward.
At that moment, a figure clad in yellow, wearing a futou cap and carrying a lantern, walked toward him. The figure stooped, taking brisk little steps until stopping before him, then bowed with deep deference.
"General, His Majesty has convened court. Please proceed to the hall." The figure then glanced toward Chaoming. "General's divine luan, please remain below the steps."
Chen Chuan glanced at him. The person looked about fifteen or sixteen, his face ghastly pale as if coated in powder. His accent carried a certain solemn weight, resembling a dialect that felt unfamiliar yet carried an inexplicable trace of familiarity.
It struck him that this was very likely the accent of Longyou Dao from the Middle Ancient Era. Though archaic and obscure, he could somehow understand it perfectly.
Chen Chuan glanced at his second self, which showed even stronger signs of erosion. Understanding what was happening, he nodded and pointed forward with the court tablet. Catching his meaning, the person at once held the lantern forward to gesture the way and began leading with brisk little steps.
Chen Chuan followed him through a side gate in the palace wall. Beyond it, a long corridor led straight to the great hall ahead. At some point, officials holding lanterns, clad in robes of the Middle Ancient Era and bearing deathly pale faces, had appeared along both sides of the palace avenue. Every one of them walked in eerie silence; in the darkness, it seemed as if only glowing red lanterns were drifting through the night.
A faint twitch stirred Chen Chuan's brow. Using his second self, he shielded against the erosion slightly, and the scene before him transformed instantly.
There were no officials, no attendants. The surroundings were completely barren, the ground littered with fractured skeletal remains that crunched beneath the feet.
The palace walls on either side and the great hall ahead were rotted and decrepit, while the rows of glaring divine general statues standing along the sides were cracked and battered, some with their stone heads lying shattered on the ground.
Yet this sight vanished in a flash. He did not continue shielding his senses, instead proceeding forward alongside the lantern-bearing procession.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Young Master Xu and his companions finally emerged from the cavern. Before them stood a forest of stone pillars, but terrifyingly, the pillars were thickly entwined with squirming, slimy serpents.
Seeing this, Mr. Qiao waved his hand and stepped forward with a flamethrower. With just a few sweeping bursts, he cleared a path through.
Donning their protective suits, the rest of the party pushed quickly through.
Whether it was the worms from earlier or these long serpents now, in ancient times they would have posed formidable barriers. But in the New Era, there were far too many tools and weapons to handle them. Far from feeling endangered, the experience only heightened the thrill, leaving Young Master Xu and his companions whooping with excitement.
Once they passed the area, Young Master Xu saw an open plaza appear ahead, with the outline of a palace looming in the distance. Overjoyed, he quickened his pace. But all at once, his mind wavered in a daze. When his vision cleared, a lantern-holding figure had appeared seven or eight paces away, speaking in a bizarre, shrill voice: "His Majesty has convened court. Why do you not hasten into the hall?"
Chapter 958