Chapter 1724: Chapter 849: The Ultimate Secret, Underground Palace? (2)
He succeeded, he finally destroyed the Blood Soul Pearl, avenging his uncle and removing the scourge of the Blood Ghost Sect from those innocent civilians.
However, the cost of this battle was too high. His uncle sacrificed himself, and Luo Chen’s fate was uncertain, while he himself was seriously injured and exhausted.
Mo Han slowly closed his eyes, his body swaying, ultimately unable to hold on, collapsing amidst the ruins.
In the last moment before his consciousness faded, it seemed he saw his uncle’s kind smile, heard Luo Chen’s concerned call, and Qing Shuang’s determined voice...
Everything was over!!!
...
The night was deep, the Tianyuan Empire’s Imperial Palace was brightly lit, yet an eerie tranquility seemed to linger. Qing Shuang, alone, moved stealthily among the winding corridors like a phantom in the night, silent and unnoticed. Her goal was precisely to investigate the earth-shattering secret Mo Han discovered at the Blood Ghost Sect stronghold—"The ultimate secret of the Blood Ghost Sect is hidden within the Tianyuan Empire’s Imperial Palace."
Since separating from Luo Chen and Mo Han, Qing Shuang had been rushing towards the Tianyuan Empire. Along the way, she was extremely cautious, avoiding everyone’s attention and finally, under the cover of night, sneaked into the heavily guarded palace.
"The Tianyuan Empire’s Imperial Palace, the ultimate secret of the Blood Ghost Sect..." Qing Shuang whispered softly, her brow furrowed. She surveyed her surroundings, the carved beams and painted pillars, the dazzling splendor, showcasing royal grandeur. Yet beneath this lavish facade, an unsettling undercurrent lay hidden.
Qing Shuang was well aware of the dangers of this journey, but to uncover the truth and avenge Mo Han and his uncle, she had long since cast aside concerns about life and death. Carefully avoiding patrolling guards, relying on her exceptional skills and sharp intuition, she moved through the palace.
After some investigation, Qing Shuang discovered that although the palace’s defenses seemed tight, they were loose on the inside. Many areas had guards that were merely for show, seemingly intentionally leaving gaps. This caused a flood of doubts in her mind; could there be another mystery here?
"Could it be that the palace really hides some unspeakable secret?" Qing Shuang pondered internally, deciding to delve deeper.
She avoided crowded areas, specifically choosing secluded corners to search. Finally, behind an abandoned palace, Qing Shuang found a hidden artificial hill. Weeds grew profusely around the hill, evidently untouched for a long time.
Qing Shuang approached, carefully observing the hill, and found that on one side of the hill, a stone differed slightly in color from the others and its edges seemed to have marks of having been moved.
"There must be a mechanism here!" Qing Shuang’s heart moved, and she pressed her hand against the stone, giving it a light push. The stone slowly receded inward. Immediately, the hill emitted a low rumbling sound, slowly parting to reveal a dark passageway.
A glint of brilliance flashed in Qing Shuang’s eyes; without a second thought, she slipped into the passage. Inside the passage, it was pitch-black, hand unseen before eyes, with the air thick with a damp, decaying smell. Qing Shuang took out a Luminous Pearl from her chest, using its faint glow to carefully walk forward.
The passageway was winding and twisting, destination unknown. After walking for a long time, Qing Shuang finally arrived at a Stone Gate. The Stone Gate was tightly shut, covered in strange runes that emitted a sinister and eerie aura.
"This Stone Gate should be the entrance to the secret place." Qing Shuang thought. She carefully observed the runes on the Stone Gate, finding that these runes were somewhat similar to the Blood Ghost Sect’s runes, yet slightly different, seemingly more ancient and mysterious.
Qing Shuang tried to push the Stone Gate, but it didn’t budge. She attempted various methods to open the Gate, but to no avail.
"It seems this Stone Gate isn’t easy to open." Qing Shuang frowned, knowing that to open this Stone Gate, she must find the correct way.
As Qing Shuang was at a loss, she suddenly recalled the Crystal Ball in Mo Han’s possession. That Crystal Ball possessed magical powers, perhaps it could open this Stone Gate.
"Unfortunately, the Crystal Ball is with Mo Han, and now who knows how he’s doing." Qing Shuang sighed, a trace of worry rising in her heart.
"That’s right, Mo Han mentioned that activating the Crystal Ball requires a special curse, which is hidden within the Tianyuan Empire’s Imperial Palace." Qing Shuang’s eyes lit up as she remembered Mo Han and his uncle searching for the curse in the palace, "Perhaps this curse is related to this Stone Gate."
Qing Shuang decided to search nearby for clues, hoping to find any traces of the curse. She meticulously searched around the Stone Gate, leaving no corner unexplored.
Her efforts paid off; after a thorough search, Qing Shuang finally found some subtle marks on a brick beside the Stone Gate. These marks were faint and difficult to notice without careful inspection.
Qing Shuang crouched down, carefully distinguishing the marks, discovering they seemed to be ancient texts.
"Could these texts be the curse?" Qing Shuang thought with joy, quickly taking out paper and pen to transcribe the texts.
After transcribing the texts, Qing Shuang studied them carefully once more, finding their arrangement peculiar, seemingly concealing a mystery.
"These texts are likely not a normal curse but a kind of code." Qing Shuang speculated, beginning to attempt deciphering the text.
After much effort, Qing Shuang finally deciphered the text. She discovered the text was indeed a code, pointing to another location in the palace—the emperor’s bedchamber!
"The emperor’s bedchamber?" Qing Shuang was startled, "Could it be the ultimate secret of the Blood Ghost Sect involves the emperor?"
This discovery shocked Qing Shuang immensely, unable to believe the dignified Tianyuan Empire’s emperor could be entangled with the evil Blood Ghost Sect.
"No, I must go to the emperor’s bedchamber." Qing Shuang resolved, determined to uncover the truth and the Blood Ghost Sect’s ultimate secret.
Qing Shuang put away her paper and pen, memorizing the Stone Gate’s location before turning and leaving the passage.
She stealthily avoided the guards, arriving outside the emperor’s bedchamber. At this time, the emperor’s bedchamber was brightly lit, faint sounds of silk and bamboo music emanating from within, seemingly a banquet was underway.
"Seems like the emperor’s in a good mood." Qing Shuang sneered, knowing the emperor’s bedchamber was heavily guarded and infiltrating it would be no easy task.
Qing Shuang circled the emperor’s bedchamber, carefully observing the surroundings, searching for an opportunity to sneak in.
Suddenly, she found a small door at the back of the bedchamber, slightly ajar and seemingly unguarded.
"Here’s my chance!" Qing Shuang thought delightedly, quietly approaching the small door, gently pushing it open.
Qing Shuang slipped through the small door, finding a narrow corridor, and at the end of the corridor, was a side chamber.
Inside the side chamber, several palace maids were whispering, seemingly discussing something interesting.
Qing Shuang hid in a dark spot, listening carefully to the maids’ conversation.
"Did you hear? His Majesty recently acquired a treasure, rumored to possess world-ending power." One maid said.
"Really? What kind of treasure?" another maid asked curiously.
"I don’t know either; I heard it from others. Supposedly, this treasure is hidden in the underground palace." the first maid replied.
"Underground palace? Isn’t that the forbidden area of the Imperial Palace? No one can enter besides His Majesty."
"Yes, that’s why this treasure must be extremely important."
"I really want to see what this treasure looks like."
"Forget it, we palace maids have no right to see such treasures."
The maids’ conversation stirred something in Qing Shuang’s heart.
"World-ending power? Underground palace?" Qing Shuang murmured, "Could it be the ultimate secret of the Blood Ghost Sect is hidden in the underground palace?"
This discovery made Qing Shuang very excited; she finally found a lead!