Chapter 247

Of course, Su Xuan and the others would never hear these secrets from the Six-Fingered Black Knight.

After acknowledging that the Dragon Throat was indeed the throat of the Azure Dragon, the Six-Fingered Black Knight found a hidden button and opened it. As the Dragon Throat opened, the three of them entered a secret chamber. Unexpectedly, there was no roaring of beasts inside; the room was deathly quiet.

Inside, there was a small platform, and upon it sat a delicate box.

Upon seeing this box, Lady Dongjun Yanfei could not tear her eyes away.

She turned her head to look at Su Xuan, seemingly seeking an answer from him.

Su Xuan nodded, confirming her suspicion.

Lady Dongjun Yanfei's eyes lit up instantly. Without hesitation, she reached out and beckoned. In an instant, the box was lifted into the air and flew toward her. As the box rose, the mechanisms within the Dragon Throat were suddenly triggered.

The Six-Fingered Black Knight, naturally, would not let the mechanisms run wild; he found the hidden door and deactivated them.

The box landed in Lady Dongjun Yanfei's hands. With a slight exertion of force, she opened it, and a tiny pavilion rose from within, emitting bursts of strange, melodic music.

The crisp music echoed. In just a fleeting moment, Lady Dongjun Yanfei discerned a unique rhythm within it. She intended to listen further to see if she could glean any mysteries from the Phantom Sound Box.

Su Xuan stopped her, "Put it away. We can study it after we return."

Lady Dongjun Yanfei nodded, "Yes."

The Phantom Sound Box closed again, and the melody vanished. She handed the box to Su Xuan. Although her interest in the object was extremely high, she had not forgotten that Su Xuan was the Sect Master of the Yin-Yang School, and it was only under his guidance that the Phantom Sound Box had been recovered.

Su Xuan did not stand on ceremony; he took the Phantom Sound Box directly and put it away.

Although he did not believe this thing could amplify his strength, it was worth studying purely as a puzzle.

……

Leaving the Dragon Throat, led by the Six-Fingered Black Knight, the three of them headed straight toward the end of the forbidden grounds.

Passing through a dark, gloomy corridor, a stone door appeared before them.

"This is the place!"

The Six-Fingered Black Knight spoke in a deep voice, his gaze fixed intently on the stone door before him.

Although he guessed that Yan Dan was cultivating in this stone chamber, a guess was just a guess; he still hoped to see Yan Dan once the door opened.

Inside the stone chamber.

Yan Dan was indeed there. He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his internal energy circulating ceaselessly within his body.

His father the King's intent to kill him, the fall of Zhao Guo—these events had once plunged him into extreme sorrow. But in the end, he had not abandoned hope. Even if he was no longer the Crown Prince of Yan, even without the state of Yan, he was still the leader of the Mohist School.

Lord Lord Changping secretly assisted the Nong Family, and over the years, the Nong Family had developed rapidly, becoming a powerful force under Lord Lord Changping's command that could not be underestimated. With the Mohist School also in his hands, he could turn them into his own aid as well.

At the height of its prosperity, the Mohist School, alongside the Confucian School, was one of the world's preeminent schools of thought. In terms of influence, it was far greater than the likes of the Nong Family. If he could make the entire Mohist School his own and strengthen it once more, perhaps he could use the power of the martial world to overthrow the rule of the Qin.

The gaze of the Qin had always been fixed on the upper echelons of the various states, ignoring the people of the martial world. Those people, in fact, were also an extremely powerful force.

This was what Yan Dan had realized after the fall of Yan.

Of course, the main reason was that he had no way out.

With Yan destroyed, it was no longer possible to rely on the state to resist the Qin. He could only rely on the forces of the martial world.

But Yan Dan also understood one thing.

In the martial world, strength is respected. Although the Mohist School did not place great importance on individual strength, as its leader, his own strength could not be too weak. Therefore, upon returning to the Mechanical City, he had immediately come to the forbidden grounds to cultivate diligently.

As the end of the Mohist forbidden grounds, this place appeared to be nothing more than an empty stone chamber, but that was not the case. The Mechanical City was built by Mozi, and the entire city's feng shui was excellent. This location was the hub of the earth's veins, rich in spiritual energy. After cultivating here for a while, Yan Dan felt his strength advancing by leaps and bounds. No wonder none of the past Mohist leaders had been weak.

As his internal energy circulated through his meridians, Yan Dan suddenly sensed something and snapped his eyes open.

Vaguely, he seemed to hear footsteps coming from outside the stone door.

"Is it an illusion?"

The Mohist forbidden grounds were restricted to everyone except the leader. Master Ban could enter under the pretext of repairing mechanisms, but Master Ban knew he was cultivating here and would not come to disturb him.

Thus, Yan Dan could only attribute it to an illusion.

But immediately after, he realized he had guessed wrong.

A series of small, cracking sounds rang out.

Yan Dan followed the sound with his eyes, only to see numerous spiderweb-like cracks appearing on the stone door ahead. At first, there were only a few, but then they spread continuously, filling the entire door in an instant.

The massive stone door finally crumbled directly into countless tiny fragments, piling up on the ground.

As the stone door turned into a pile of rubble.

Three figures standing outside the door immediately fell into Yan Dan's view.

This stone door was the place where the Mohist leader went into seclusion; it could not be opened from the outside and required brute force to break. The Six-Fingered Black Knight had been wondering how to open it, but Su Xuan had acted first, tapping his finger lightly against it. The entire door had then crumbled into dust and rubble.

"How was my wall-opening technique?"

Su Xuan withdrew his finger, blew lightly on it to clear away the dust, and asked the Six-Fingered Black Knight, who was watching the scene in shock.

The Six-Fingered Black Knight came to his senses and did not hesitate to praise Su Xuan, "Impressive!"

After the pleasantries, he suddenly looked at Yan Dan, who was sitting in meditation in the stone chamber.

Yan Dan was shocked by the breaking of the stone door. Upon hearing these words, he clearly saw the three figures outside. The Yin-Yang School's Sect Master and Lady Dongjun Yanfei? Seeing these two, Yan Dan was stunned. He had met them once in Xianyang. But what truly shook Yan Dan's body was... the Six-Fingered Black Knight!

Seeing that familiar face, Yan Dan's pupils constricted slightly, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"Impossible, he is already dead!"

"This is an illusion!"

"You, you are not him?!"

Seeing the person he had plotted against appear before him again, Yan Dan looked as if he had seen a ghost. He panicked subconsciously, but then forced himself to calm down.

He looked at the three people in front and said coldly, "People of the Yin-Yang School, to actually break into my Mohist forbidden grounds and even disguise yourselves as the former leader, the Six-Fingered Black Knight."

"Did Ying Zheng send you to capture me?"

Since Jing Ke had betrayed the Mohist School, it meant Ying Zheng might know he had become the leader.

Were the people of the Yin-Yang School here because Jing Ke brought them?

'Jing Ke, that traitor, truly deserves to die!'

Yan Dan cursed Jing Ke in his heart. His expression remained unchanged, but in reality, he was not as calm as he appeared. After all, he had already experienced the power of the Yin-Yang Sect Master and Lady Dongjun Yanfei in Xianyang. Although he didn't know how they had found this place, he was indeed panicked.

But fortunately, this was the Mohist Mechanical City. He only needed to find a way to escape, then summon everyone in the city to help him. Even if the Yin-Yang Sect Master was strong, he would be helpless against him.

— Author's Notes —

PS: Wishing you peace and health for the Qingming Festival!