Chapter 224: The Palace Within the Tomb

The human-faced yin hui collapsed; Chu Danqing only saw its true form after it was dead.

Its head bore a human face, its body covered in bony armor, its crown-like headpiece resembling a headdress.

The blood dripping from its corpse corroded the ground into pits.

Above the corpse of the human-faced yin hui floated a fragmented star.

Chu Danqing retrieved it; the two imperial purple airs merged, and the progress suffix rose from 1/3 to 2/3.

Now only the hundred-foot corpse scorpion remained.

As for the human-faced snake, it too met the same fate as the flesh-winged centipede.

“Looks like a Gu basin, trying to breed a Gu king,” Chu Danqing muttered, stepping on the corpse of the human-faced snake—his footfall felt anything but pleasant.

“Perhaps,” Guo Ming said. “But it’s been at least a thousand years. No matter how elaborate the scheme, it’s all just dust now.”

Everyone’s dead; the Kan Dynasty has long since become part of history’s debris.

There is no eternal reign—only a single entry in the annals.

“True. More like self-deception,” Chu Danqing replied, then added: “Next should be the scorpion.”

Long teng refers to centipedes, yin hui to snakes, and shi chai is naturally scorpions.

Chu Danqing had this knowledge stored.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Guo Ming said, his gaze fixed deep into the corridor.

Figures stood motionless, one after another.

They looked like slaves, or soldiers.

Only when they Kanqing did they realize these figures were familiar.

“Passing yin soldiers,” Chu Danqing said at once—these were dry corpses clad in tattered armor.

Due to time, their weapons and armor had nearly rotted away.

Under completely sealed conditions, this shouldn’t happen.

After all, dry lasts a thousand years, wet lasts ten thousand, but damp lasts only half a year.

This anomaly occurred thanks entirely to the human-faced yin hui, the ghost-faced long teng, and their underlings.

“No, far too different,” Guo Ming immediately countered—he could sense these dry corpses were merely dry corpses, not the powerful yin soldiers.

If real yin soldiers blocked the path, the mission would be impossible—success rate near zero.

The moment he finished speaking, one dry corpse twitched.

The next instant, a flying sword sliced through its head, decapitating it instantly.

This act was like poking a hornet’s nest—all dry corpses stirred to life.

“The hundred-foot corpse scorpion’s doing,” Chu Danqing said, staring into the depths. More and more dry corpses advanced like puppet strings pulled taut.

They seemed unaccustomed to their bodies—stumbling after only two steps, collapsing, then crawling forward on all fours.

Their movement resembled a giant scorpion.

“All puppets. Find the core and kill it,” Guo Ming scanned the area, then swiftly locked onto the position.

But he did not move himself—he formed the Three Talents Sword Array with the Zi Shi Shen Hou Sword, Chou Shi Da Ji Sword, and Yin Shi Gong Cao Sword.

The sword array pierced every dry corpse blocking their path, finally driving straight into a dark spot.

The next moment, sword qi erupted, forming a ranged attack infused with sword intent.

The hundred-foot corpse scorpion died even worse than before.

The human-faced yin hui at least kept a whole corpse; this hundred-foot corpse scorpion probably couldn’t even reassemble itself.

As the flying swords returned, all dry corpses froze, then toppled over from loss of balance.

They shattered on impact.

Clearly, without the hundred-foot corpse scorpion’s power, they reverted to ordinary dry corpses.

【Mission complete. Reward: Paradise Points ×20000, Attribute Points +5】

The three creatures slain—hidden mission completed.

But no chest dropped; likely still accumulating.

This was good for Chu Danqing—probably the hidden mission system was shifting.

Chu Danqing walked to the hundred-foot corpse scorpion’s mangled, unrecognizable corpse and retrieved the final piece of imperial purple air.

Thus, the second phase of the mission was successfully completed.

【Chain Mission Phase 3: Place the Ziwei Jade Seal on the Gu Long Platform in Jue Xing Underground Palace and refine it with imperial qi for 24 hours】

【Trial Difficulty: S-Class (Nightmare)】

【Trial Reward: Unlock next chain mission phase】

【Trial Failure: Terminate this talent awakening mission】

“Huh?” Chu Danqing stared at the third phase—stunned.

“Why is the Gu Long Platform showing up?”

Chu Danqing felt he was slowly peeling back a terrifying corner of this trial world.

Jue Xing Underground Palace again, and now the Gu Long Platform—could the Huanglong River truly have a dragon?

Weren’t these mythic creatures supposed to be formed from human corpses refined by fengshui techniques?

But the character “gu” was especially brutal.

Zhan Long Platform I could understand—but Gu Long Platform meant flaying alive.

“Maybe customs differ,” Guo Ming said, having seen Chu Danqing’s third phase—his expression remained calm.

The Guo Clan had dismantled countless dragons to gather fine-grade dragon materials for Chu Danqing.

To preserve material quality, the dismemberment was nearly identical to flaying.

Chu Danqing simply hadn’t realized it, hadn’t witnessed it firsthand—otherwise, he wouldn’t have this mindset.

“Fine. We keep going,” Chu Danqing steadied himself. “But what’s below isn’t a tomb anymore.”

The group continued downward, arriving at a stone door.

Based on its style and carvings, this was not the original door—it was built later alongside Yuanping Wang’s tomb.

Chu Danqing recognized this because its style matched Yuanping Wang’s tomb almost perfectly.

Unfortunately, his shallow fengshui knowledge couldn’t decipher its meaning.

These carved dragons and phoenixes weren’t just for decoration—they must serve a fengshui function.

“Sometimes wandering sorcerers aren’t that useful,” Chu Danqing grumbled. “I’ve accumulated several identities, but different worlds yield vastly different results.”

“Chu Brother could try adopting another identity,” Guo Ming suggested. “Continuing to accumulate may eventually trigger a qualitative change, but it’s still too limiting.”

In the previous rank-up trial world, Chu Danqing’s wandering sorcerer identity worked well—it directly unlocked his former Second-Class Qingyi Guard identity.

But in this trial world, interpersonal connections are weak, so identity grants little help.

Second-class identities certainly exist—he just hasn’t had the chance to develop them.

“Any suggestions?” Chu Danqing asked.

Honestly, he couldn’t imagine what identity would suit him.

He wanted high-status roles—nobles, generals, imperial blood—but Paradise offered none.

Paradise’s professions were mostly itinerant merchants, wandering physicians—identities with little local connection.

The worse ones were refugees, escaped slaves.

Almost none were locals—all were foreign identities.

Such identities made logical sense, helping the “outsider” apostle blend in better.

Yet they could evolve into second- or third-tier identities through accumulation.

His current identity was simply “outsider.”

Other identities offered him little benefit.

He couldn’t trade as a merchant, nor heal as a physician.

Only the wandering sorcerer—his con artist persona—let him fabricate lies convincingly.

Da Bao and the others could help him blend in more perfectly.

Guo Ming paused, thinking—yes, the wandering sorcerer identity truly suited Chu Danqing best.

“Only the wandering sorcerer fits you, Chu Brother. Paradise’s identity options are severely limited,” Guo Ming said helplessly.

Mainly because Paradise’s identity restrictions were too tight.

“All are base identities—should be upgradable later,” Chu Danqing thought of the Tianchi Dragon’s Obsession, a consumable item.

After selecting an identity, you may upgrade it once.

“Enough of this. Focus on entering the underground palace,” Chu Danqing redirected the conversation.

Guo Ming had been continuously attacking the stone door with the Three Talents Sword Array, but the door’s flowing yin qi limited the array’s damage.

The yin qi must be fully worn down before the door could be breached.

This meant the Jue Xing Underground Palace beyond concealed some great secret.

“So sturdy—it feels like a seal,” Chu Danqing suddenly said.

Guo Ming paused: “Could be another hard fight.”

Logically, it made sense—S-Class chain missions often contained something monstrous.

But the way Guo Ming said it sounded odd.

You’re already Rank 3—how could an S-Class trial against a Rank 1 threat be a “hard fight”?

“Don’t be fooled by the S-Class label—it’s compressed. My rank is too low, so my permissions are restricted. SS and SSS difficulties are all squeezed into this one.”

For me, it means I have to fight for my life.

“Not to mention all the treasure chests in Emperor Yuanping’s tomb haven’t been settled yet—they must all be inside,” Chu Danqing said. “For you, it’ll be simple.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Three Talents Sword Array pierced through the yin energy, immediately carving open a passage large enough for them to pass through.

When it appeared, a sound like a dragon’s roar echoed from the underground palace.

To Chu Danqing’s ears, it was piercingly sharp, filling him with discomfort.

But the sound ceased abruptly the moment it began, as if someone had forcibly muted it.

The discomfort he had just felt vanished instantly.

Chu Danqing’s expression turned grave; he switched on his high-intensity flashlight and shone it into the dark underground palace, trying to discern its true form.

The good news was that the underground palace did not use any light-absorbing material like the Youmingdukou , so everything inside was clearly visible.

The bad news was that it was too clear—Chu Danqing, and even Guo Ming, involuntarily held their breaths.

(End of Chapter)