Chapter 674: Two Stone Tablets

The deeper we descended, the colder and more chilling it became, giving us the eerie sensation of entering a cemetery filled with restless spirits.

Fortunately, the surroundings were just ordinary walls, typical of an underground palace, with no traps or formations, which brought a sense of relief.

After descending for several hundred meters, we stepped into open space and found ourselves in a spacious underground palace.

Xing Yuan took out another night-luminescent pearl and gently tossed it forward.

Whoosh! As the pearl rolled around, a faint, dim light illuminated the entire room.

The light wasn't strong, but everyone present was powerful enough to clearly discern the surroundings.

Not far from the stone steps was a small bridge. Water gurgled beneath it, and a fresh breeze carried the scent of water. Despite being sealed for countless years, the underground palace didn't feel stuffy at all; instead, the air was as fresh as it was outside.

Even with thorough preparations, no one had anticipated this kind of environment.

Before descending, everyone had expected this underground palace to have been sealed for ages, filled with foul odors and stagnant miasma. Who would have thought that, so deep underground, it would be no different from the surface?

"Everyone be careful," Wu Zhen said. "This underground palace must have been built to house many people. Otherwise, it wouldn't have such excellent ventilation!"

"To live in?"

Everyone frowned.

"Exactly," Wu Zhen explained. "If there were only a few people, there would be no need to expend so much effort to divert a river here, nor to make a mere cavern so comfortable. It must have been inhabited by many people. Without proper ventilation, it couldn't sustain the breathing of so many individuals!"

Skilled in mechanisms, he knew the difficulty of diverting a river underground and was even more aware of the immense cost required for such excellent ventilation.

If it were merely a temporary residence for a few people, such a spacious place wouldn't feel stuffy, and there would be no need to waste further effort. Only when many people reside in a place, and ventilation isn't properly handled, does asphyxiation become a real risk.

Hearing his explanation, Zhang Xuan nodded.

The Witch Soul Tomb he had visited last time was noticeably stuffy, with air circulation far inferior to this place.

"Could it be that the people who abducted Grandmaster Wu Yangzi were not just one person, but many?"

Luo Qiqi blinked.

According to her investigation, this underground palace was related to Wu Yangzi, and it was highly probable that the Grandmaster was originally brought here... an environment meant for many people to live in, not just one or two...

Could it be that this Grandmaster was not abducted by a single person, but was held captive by a group?

"I don't know about that..." Wu Zhen shook his head. "There's a stone tablet over there, let's go take a look."

In front of the bridge stood a small stone tablet. Under the dim light, they could faintly make out some inscriptions on it.

Approaching it, three large characters came into view.

"'Wangxiang Ju'?" (Home-Longing Residence)

Luo Qiqi frowned.

An underground palace is usually not a tomb; it's either a secret base for a power or a place of seclusion. What did these three characters mean here?

"These characters look a bit strange!"

Ye Qian frowned.

"Oh?" Hearing him speak, everyone looked over.

This Crown Prince, although only a half-step Five-Star Master Teacher, had reached the Five-Star level in calligraphy and painting and possessed a natural sensitivity to such things.

"Characters can sometimes represent a person's mental state and thoughts," Ye Qian explained. "These three characters have reached the 'Intent Remaining at Third Realm,' allowing one to clearly feel the mindset of the person who wrote them! There's a sense of being out of place here, a desire to escape the worldly clamor!"

Zhang Xuan nodded, having also sensed what Ye Qian described.

The three characters, "Wangxiang Ju," not only conveyed the literal meaning of being far from home and longing to return, but the artistic conception of the characters themselves also expressed this feeling.

He had extensively studied calligraphy and painting; even without the Library of Heaven's Path, he could discern this with his bare eyes.

"Longing for home? It seems... this really is the underground palace where Grandmaster Wu Yangzi resided!"

Luo Qiqi's eyes lit up. "He must have been abducted, and longing for Hongyuan Empire, he left these characters. However, he never returned, even until his death!"

"That's quite possible!" Xing Yuan and the others nodded.

An underground palace named 'Wangxiang Ju' was strange in itself, but if someone was abducted and brought here, it would make sense.

It was highly probable that these characters were left by Wu Yangzi to express his longing for his homeland.

"I don't think that's right," Ye Qian frowned. "These characters not only convey a longing for home, but also contain a murderous aura, giving off a feeling of battle and bloodshed... Grandmaster Wu was benevolent throughout his life. He shouldn't have such a violent killing intent, should he?"

Grandmaster Wu Yangzi, the artificer, spent his life accompanied by weapons. Although he forged deadly blades, he himself did not possess a murderous aura.

Yet, the three characters before them exuded a strong killing intent, making them doubt.

"Haha," Xing Yuan chuckled. "I, on the other hand, think that the presence of killing intent proves they were left by him! A dignified Six-Star Artificer, a grandmaster of his generation, abducted and confined to a place like this, hidden from the sky—it would truly be strange if he didn't harbor murderous thoughts!"

"That's true..." Ye Qian was momentarily stunned.

He was right. For a person of such status and position to be captured and trapped in such a dark place, unable to leave, anyone in their shoes would certainly not be content. It was only natural to develop a killing intent.

"Senior Wu Yangzi was a peak Six-Star Artificer, his strength had long reached the Saint realm. For such a person, to be unwilling yet unable to leave... Everyone be careful, I fear this place is not so simple!" Luo Qiqi's expression turned solemn.

"Hmm!"

Everyone nodded simultaneously, their minds tense.

How could it be simple to imprison a Saint in an underground palace, making it impossible for them to leave? Although three thousand years had passed, the methods left behind by such a person might not be something they, a group of youngsters only at the Bridged Heaven and Spirit Fusion realms, could contend with.

"Let's go!"

After examining the stone tablet and finding nothing else useful, they continued forward.

Following behind the others, Zhang Xuan glanced at the characters on the stone tablet again, his brows furrowing. Then, he lightly traced a finger over it. As if sensing something, his eyebrows knitted together even further.

Passing the stone tablet, they stepped onto the bridge.

The bridge wasn't long, but the water beneath flowed swiftly, making a rushing sound that felt refreshing to the mind.

Wu Zhen used his Thousand-Mechanism Umbrella to probe the path ahead. He nodded to the others, then led the way across, with everyone following closely behind.

Beyond the bridge was a spacious hall, where another massive stone tablet still stood.

Xing Yuan, holding the night-luminescent pearl, approached it. Under the pale yellow light, they saw three large characters written on it: "Wangyou Ju." (Forget-Sorrow Residence)

"This..."

Seeing the characters on it, everyone blinked.

Whether it was an underground palace or something else, a single place couldn't possibly have two names!

Just now it was "Wangxiang Ju," and now it was "Wangyou Ju." Which one was the actual name of this place?

"These three characters are calm and balanced," Ye Qian analyzed, "giving a sense of serenity. 'Forget-sorrow,' indicating happiness that makes one forget sorrow. This suggests that he found what he desired here, hence his peace..."

"You're right," Xing Yuan said. "They imprisoned Grandmaster Wu and made him forge treasures for them, so naturally, they'd be happy and forget their sorrows..."

Luo Qiqi and Princess Yu'er hesitated for a moment, then also nodded simultaneously.

This explanation made perfect sense.

They just didn't understand why an underground palace would have one name on one side of the bridge and another on the other.

After passing the stone tablet, they entered the main hall. The room spanned several hundred square meters, utterly empty, with nothing inside.

"I'll go check!"

Wu Zhen knocked along the walls for a while, making a full circle. He then shook his head. "There are no mechanisms here!"

"Could it be another hidden formation?"

Princess Fei'er, holding a formation plate, also slowly walked around in a circle, her expression not looking good.

"I checked, there are no formations either!"

"Don't tell me this underground palace is only this big?"

Everyone frowned again.

Such a powerful hidden grand formation was set up outside, hundreds of meters of stairs were built leading down, and the palace's air circulation was made excellent. Was it all just for a vast, empty hall of a few hundred square meters?

If that were truly the case, it would be utterly disappointing!

But if not, there was nothing around but walls, no formations or mechanisms. What was going on?

"If it's just an empty hall," Luo Qiqi frowned, "we won't be able to determine if this was where Wu Yangzi once resided, which means the mission isn't complete..."

She had great faith in Wu Zhen's and Princess Fei'er's discerning eyes. Since they said there was nothing here, there probably wasn't.

But... with absolutely nothing here, completely empty, it would be impossible to determine if Wu Yangzi had ever been here. How would they explain this upon returning?

Even stranger, if it was so empty and had nothing, why had weapons been found outside for the past three thousand years, and what's more, forged using Grandmaster Wu Yangzi's unique techniques?

"Indeed," Xing Yuan said, "we came all this way through countless hardships, thinking we'd find something, but it turns out to be just an empty hall!"

He had thought that entering the underground palace would at least lead to some clues. But apart from two stone tablets and a small bridge, there was nothing. Were they going to return empty-handed this time?

"Teacher, have you... discovered something?"

While everyone was feeling dejected, they heard Luo Qiqi's voice. They all looked over simultaneously to see Zhang Xuan, at some unknown point, had returned to the second stone tablet and was reaching out to touch it.

This stone tablet had "Wangyou Ju" written on it. It should have been left by those who imprisoned Wu Yangzi.

"Oh," Zhang Xuan said, turning his head. "If I'm not mistaken, these two stone tablets are a bit strange!"

"Strange?"

Everyone came closer.

"Yes," Zhang Xuan said. "One says 'Wangyou Ju,' and the other 'Wangxiang Ju'... If I'm not mistaken, these should represent two paths. The inscriptions on the tablets are for later visitors to make a choice!"

"That's quite possible!" Everyone was surprised.

The most conspicuous features in the entire underground palace were these two stone tablets. Perhaps some mechanism was hidden beneath them.

"Let me see!"

Hearing the explanation, Wu Zhen hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.

He also took out a night-luminescent pearl. He observed carefully, examining the stone tablet thoroughly from all sides—front, back, left, and right. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"It seems... there really is a mechanism here!"

"A mechanism?"

"If there's a mechanism, there's a passage," someone said excitedly. "It seems this isn't the true underground palace at all; the real one hasn't appeared yet!"

Everyone's spirits were lifted, and they all rushed forward.