Chapter 868: Coffin

Bi Linglong's small face was pale, but she still clutched her sword tightly. The emperor had always been an invincible symbol in her mind, and she had never dared to contemplate resistance. However, during her time with Zu'an and under his influence, she gradually realized that the emperor wasn't as terrifying as she thought. He could get angry, fly into a rage yet be helpless, and even bleed when injured. It was only then that she understood: the emperor was just a person. She wondered how Zu'an would respond to him, but she knew for certain he wouldn't be afraid.

Zu'an, standing by, did not disappoint her. Holding the Tai'a Sword, he seemed eager to challenge, "You're also seriously injured right now. Your condition is probably less than half of your usual, isn't it?"

Zhao Ruizhi snorted, "Indeed, you have courage. But even with half my strength, killing you would be effortless." At that moment, he suddenly frowned. "Who is that woman in the red dress behind you? Is she a fairy from this immortal palace?" He had initially been disappointed, thinking this was merely the palace of a mortal emperor, but the moment he saw Mi Li, his resolve wavered. Her exquisite beauty and nobility, especially the disdain in her eyes that treated all living beings as nothing, greatly appealed to him. His gaze instantly grew fervent; this was truly the most fitting person to be his empress. Whether she was a fairy or not, he resolved to find a way to possess her.

At this, Mi Li let out a soft laugh. "Very well, since you speak so charmingly, I'll spare your life for now." With that, she reached out and twisted a dragon head on the adjacent imperial throne. The ground suddenly opened up, and the three people nearby fell straight down.

Zhao Ruizhi was startled. He instantly darted forward, but the floor had already closed. He hastily struck down with his palm. With his palm force, not to mention a section of flooring, even a mountaintop couldn't withstand his full-power strike. However, as his palm landed, a shimmering light flowed across the floor. He distinctly felt his power being dispersed by the floor in all directions, and then the entire palace hummed. "Huh?" He immediately realized that the palace had become a unified whole through various runic formations, making it almost impossible to break the mechanism by force.

At the same time, he grew cautious. This was no ordinary palace; otherwise, even as a unified structure, it wouldn't be difficult for him to destroy. Yet, his recent strike hadn't even left a mark. He mimicked Mi Li's earlier action, fiddling with the dragon head on the chair, but unfortunately, there was no reaction at all. His expression darkened. He waved his sleeve, motioning for He Li and the others to search everywhere for mechanisms to find Zu'an. What worried him more was something else: the aura of the beautiful woman in red was very strange, truly unlike that of a living person. Could she really be from this immortal palace? If Zu'an had gained her approval and found the elixir of immortality first, that would be problematic. Although he rationally concluded that the probability of finding an elixir of immortality here was low, he couldn't allow anyone else, however small the chance, to achieve immortality.

While they were frantically searching for mechanisms, Zu'an and the others slid down a long secret passage and emerged into a brand new room. Mi Li walked to a wall and twisted something resembling a lamp holder, and the room immediately lit up.

"You were boasting so confidently just now, but then you ran away in the blink of an eye. That's a bit embarrassing," Zu'an couldn't help but tease.

Mi Li responded softly, "It was for your own good. Although he's seriously injured, he's definitely not someone you can handle. While I could deal with him right now, it would consume too much of my soul power. If we truly fought, the highly potent Xiangfei Red Tear poison, which I've barely managed to suppress, would likely flare up again. So why fight him?"

Bi Linglong's eyes widened in disbelief. Hearing Mi Li speak as if she could defeat the emperor, only hesitating due to the high cost, made her wonder if Mi Li was truly that formidable.

"Haha, Master is wise! Oh, are these luminous pearls?" Zu'an, eyeing the softly glowing pearls on the wall, tried to pry them off, but Mi Li slapped his hand away.

"In a semi-enclosed space like this, using lamp oil or similar things is inconvenient. Luminous pearls are naturally the best option," Mi Li explained, slowly walking forward.

Zu'an quickly followed. "You're so familiar with all the mechanisms here?"

Bi Linglong also looked at her in awe and dread. This woman truly seemed to be from ancient times. Could she have come out from here? She had too many questions, but it wasn't a good time to ask. She could only follow silently beside Zu'an, feeling a strange sense of security whenever she was near him.

Mi Li replied calmly, "As I told you before, the layout here is almost identical to the original Qin King's palace. Back then, the First Qin Emperor specifically built those mechanisms and secret passages near the imperial throne to guard against assassins and rebels."

"This place seems more like an underground palace. Aren't you worried it doesn't have the same mechanisms? After all, everyone's dead; what's there to fear about assassinations?" Zu'an couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're still too young; you haven't experienced the feeling of death approaching," Mi Li said softly. "Whether they are emperors or common folk, people believe in 'serving the dead as if serving the living.' They expect to continue their earthly lives in the afterlife, because they believe in a world after death where they can live in another form."

"Ordinary people find this difficult to achieve, but emperors are different. They can truly replicate everything from their lives, like armies and palaces. In such a scenario, how could they possibly omit the mechanisms of their earthly palaces? You must understand, for those who cherish life, they would worry about assassination even after death."

Zu'an couldn't help but quip, "Wasn't the First Qin Emperor incredibly powerful? How unconfident in his cultivation must he have been to still worry about people assassinating him?"

Mi Li glanced back at him. "Though the probability was small, he still needed to leave himself an escape route. For people like him, no possibility, however slight, is overlooked. Take Zhao Hao outside, for example. He rationally knows there's likely no secret to immortality here, but he worries that if he gives up, he might, by a tiny chance, miss out and let you or someone else obtain it. That's why he's been led around by you."

Zu'an couldn't help but exclaim, "Listening to you is always enlightening."

Bi Linglong, walking beside them, couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Mi Li rolled her eyes, having grown accustomed to his wild and imaginative style of speaking these days.

Just then, a series of colossal roars echoed, and the three, who had just entered a new room, almost lost their footing.

"What's happening? Is it an earthquake?" Zu'an exclaimed, grabbing hold of both Bi Linglong and Mi Li.

Mi Li immediately shook off his hands and floated into the air, her delicate brows furrowed. "I seem to feel the surrounding terrain changing." No sooner had she spoken than bricks, stones, and dust began to fall from above. Immediately after, the surrounding walls rapidly lowered, rose, or slid horizontally. The entire room continuously shifted, and the entire palace seemed to be transforming rapidly like a Rubik's Cube, with their room being just one small block within it.

"Were your old imperial palaces this wild?" With the entire room now tilting vertically, Zu'an grabbed onto a wall-mounted candelabra to keep from falling. He urgently looked at Mi Li.

"I don't know what's happening. Our former imperial palaces certainly didn't have these features," Mi Li replied, her own body feeling somewhat unsteady. Concerned that the shifting rooms might separate them, she floated closer to Zu'an.

The rumbling and shaking continued for about fifteen minutes before the surroundings gradually stabilized. The group jumped down from what was now the ceiling (formerly a wall) and walked out through a newly appeared door.

Mi Li's brows furrowed deeply. "All the layouts beyond this point have changed. I no longer recognize the way."

Zu'an chuckled. "What's the big deal? Let's just keep going forward. My luck has always been pretty good, anyway."

However, his smile quickly froze. Not long after they started walking, the group arrived in a massive, empty room. Suspended in the air was a magnificent bronze coffin, bound by enormous iron chains that extended from all directions to the four walls.

Zu'an's heart sank. "Could we have accidentally stumbled upon the First Qin Emperor's tomb?"