Republic of China: Arc 9.25

November 15th came as expected, and a hundred and ten men gathered, waiting for the best opportunity to enter.

The crowd was packed and people were bustling about, all waiting in strict anticipation.

In the crowd, someone shouted: "The sun is shining, the hour has arrived, Yang energy has won, and Yin energy is suppressed. There is no better chance to go in than now! "

The crowd looked up at the sky and saw the bright, disc-like sun, and then looked around at each other hesitantly, but none responded.

A tomb that is more than 4,000 years old is full of dangers that one can't imagine. The sooner one enters, the more likely they are to be cannon fodder.

Everyone looked at each other, unwilling to be the first.

Suddenly, a high voice penetrated the area and spread out from behind the crowd: "Who is in the way? Make way!"

The crowd's eyes lit up. Someone was going to be the first one to take the lead.

Regardless of who shouted behind them, everyone scattered to either side with a tacit agreement to leave the middle passage.

However, just as they were leaning to either side, the rows of people only saw a shadow over their heads and a figure jumped into the dry well.

Everyone hesitated, "Did someone enter the dry well just now?"

"There seems to be, and there seems not to be."

"I think there was. I only saw a black shadow flash by, but it was just too fast and I didn't see who it was."

"So are we going in, or not?" One man asked what the crowd wanted to know.

Someone shouted again, "We should enter, otherwise what are we here for?"

The crowd was intent on donning their armour and taking to the field. But at that moment, a voice came from the depths of the dry well, "What is this? Help! "

At the same time, a fierce black Qi emerged from the dry well, forcing the crowd outside the well back by several steps.

The people who had been fist-pumping for a fight stopped. The raging black qi was tens of times more horrific than the filthy qi they had ever encountered before.

"I suddenly remembered that a family in Xue City had asked me to go exorcise an evil spirit, so I'll depart."

"I will also take my leave first."

The crowd that had originally crowded around the well retreated in twos and threes.

In a short time, the number of people had already gone down by half.

Most of the people who had gathered had heard that there was a thousand-year-old tomb here, but not everyone was prepared to lay down their lives for such a thing.

"Both the rich and the poor will die someday. If they won't go, we'll go in! "

In the end, of the 20 to 30 people left, a man dressed as a Taoist priest gritted his teeth and threw a talisman to disperse the black gas before sliding down the dry well wall with his copper sword.

After a while, a voice came from down the well, "Nothing's wrong down here; you may come down."

The last twenty or thirty people left looked at each other and finally went down the well, one by one.

There is a very famous saying that describes fearless people.

Huang Hongyuan felt that this saying was very applicable to them.

'They know that there is a tiger on the mountain, but are still heading for it!'

These words came to Huang Hongyuan's mind as they approached the huge dry well.

The wind whistled in his ears and the giant lion ran wildly beneath him.

All three of them were wearing Bai Lixin's special golden Daoist robes, and Huang Hongyuan even had a blood dot on his forehead that opened his yin-yang eyes.

When they reached the dry well, they saw the crowd gathered in a circle in front of them. Bai Lixin did not hesitate to shout before leaping up with the giant lion in tow, passing over the crowd and jumping directly into the well.

Huang Hongyuan's face was tense, his arms tightly wrapped around the lion's neck, forcing himself not to scream in disgrace.

It was dark in the well, but because of the fire lingering around Peach, they could see their surroundings by a metre.

Huang Hongyuan breathed a long sigh of relief and was about to speak when he heard Bai Lixin suddenly shout in terror, "What is this? Help!"

At the same time, Bai Lixin's hand quickly made a quick charm, and he saw a dozen black dots of light floating from the bottom of the cave to the sky above.

"What are you doing?" Huang Hongyuan asked, unsure.

"A cover." Bai Lixin withdrew his hand and smiled.

He was now sandwiched between Huang Hongyuan and Liao Sufan. His body was slightly leaning back against Liao Sufan to steady his weight. Liao Sufan's arms went around Bai Lixin and encircled him tightly, taking on his weight to keep him well protected.

"A cover? What cover? " Huang Hongyuan asked.

"A cover to get rid of those who would be in the way." Bai Lixin stroked the lion's body beneath him. He slapped his hand on the lion's waist, and said in a short, strong voice: "Charge!"

With a low roar, the lion sprang forward.

The winding path was manned by many evil spirits, but in front of Bai Lixin, these were just cannon fodder. Talismans kept flying out of his hand without stopping, and some turned into a light sword, which he used to directly cut these ghosts down.

Huang Hongyuan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the palace that was getting closer and closer, his face grave.

A white figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the palace.

The figure was dressed in a white sarong, with hair reaching his waist. The straight, long hair was not tied up either, so it just flew in the windless surroundings…

Huang Hongyuan, who was sitting at the front, looked over and suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

The giant lion stopped at his shout.

"The man in front seems to be…yes…its Fang Xuelin." Huang Hongyuan wiped his eyes and said uncertainly.

Bai Lixin and Liao Sufan also saw the man, and the two nodded, "Yes, it's Fang Xuelin."

Fang Xuelin was currently dressed in a flowing white sarong. His face was covered in powder and ancient makeup, and his brow was even plastered with a red flower tenant. The way he moved his hands and feet was full of grace. Where was he still a man? He was now a charming "woman."

Fang Xuelin stood at the entrance of the palace, and after seeing the visitors, he was a little stunned. He walked over and performed an ancient bow: "Dear guests, are you here to visit my king?"

The three looked at each other in disbelief, and Bai Lixin poked Huang Hongyuan's waist from behind to indicate Huang Hongyuan to speak.

It was not appropriate for him or Liao Sufan to speak. What if Fang Xuelin suddenly goes berserk again?

Huang Hongyuan could only say stiffly, "Yes, yes, we would like to see the Heavenly Sea King."

"My king has just closed down for cultivation. If you don't mind, please follow me into the hall as you wait. " Fang Xuelin's voice was gentle, and although it was a male voice, it had a woman's tone. The group heard and only felt extremely awkward.

Huang Hongyuan paused, feeling Bai Lixin's hint from behind, and he asked, "Is your ladyship Taiyi, the Queen of the Heavenly Sea King Palace?"

Fang Xuelin smiled faintly, "Yes, this is none other than my palace."

He looked at the people still sitting on top of the giant lion, and with a slight tilt of his head, he asked suspiciously, "Since you are asking to see my king, why don't you get off your mount? If you are so insincere, how can I let you in? "

When the three men heard this, they had to get off the giant lion.

After they got off, the lion transformed into a small Pekingese. That small dog only had the upper half of its body, and the lower half transformed into a long, smoke-like tail. It wrapped its tail around Huang Hongyuan's neck and turned into a jade pendant around his neck.

"This gentleman's jade pendant is truly magical." Fang Xuelin put his hand to his mouth with a smile and led the way, "Please follow me."

Bai Lixin nodded and walked in.

Once they had gone inside, more than twenty people appeared from where Bai Lixin and the others had just come from. These people were dressed differently, in groups of three or two, and appeared to be a small, impromptu group.

"I just saw someone go in." One of them pointed at the Heavenly Sea King's Palace and shouted, "It must be the one who fooled us just now. Damn it, I really thought there was such a strong, filthy Qi in this dry well. Only after going down did I realise that it was a cover used by someone."

"It looks like that person deliberately used a cover to trick us away. He wants to take the treasures here for himself. " Another man echoed, "Luckily we weren't tricked. Anyway, it's thanks to that man that all those cowards outside were driven away, and we now have less competition. "

"This dry well looks ghastly, but there wasn't even a single unjust soul. It doesn't seem to be as rumoured as the outside world, so I guess someone was deliberately spreading rumours. I came from the outer city and heard two versions. One of them was that there were countless treasures in the Heavenly Sea King's tomb, and the other was that the Heavenly Sea King's palace was very dangerous. "

"Not bad. I also heard both rumours. It seems that someone had come here before spreading the second rumour. "

"That person must be the one who entered the dry well first."

After some self-righteous reasoning, the group arrived in front of the Heavenly Sea King's Palace.

The gates to the palace were wide open, not prohibiting entry to outsiders. More than twenty people paused, and a Daoist priest took the lead in flinging out a talisman. He saw it pass through the entrance and land lightly on the ground. He smiled and said, "There are no evil spirits. Let's go."

Only then did the crowd quickly walk forward. They came upon the huge palace and felt it was even more magnificent than the palace located in the capital!

"This doesn't look like a king's palace, it's an emperor's tomb." A tomb raider lit up and pointed at the walls, "This is made of fine white jade. Just this one piece is worth a fortune!"

A bald man dressed as a Buddhist disciple looked at it and quickly stopped him, "Don't touch. Just as this tomb is so luxuriously and exquisitely built, there must be countless mechanisms in it. We must be careful along the way."

After entering the gate, they were confronted with three forks in the road, each leading to a different place. The crowd hesitated, looking at each other in confusion. The group had just been formed outside the well, and within the group were small groups that had originally been partners.

Almost all of those who came in were in small groups of three or four, and now that they were faced with going their separate ways, these small groups were grouped back together. They immediately divided into six groups, and the intention to move separately was already self-evident.

One of them was very handsome and imposing, most likely a leader of one of the small groups. He immediately smiled brightly and said, "Since there are three forks in the path, why don't we split up?"

This was exactly what everyone wanted, so they all agreed. Eventually, two groups naturally combined into one to enter the three passages.

Bai Lixin followed behind Fang Xuelin and directly entered the palace through the main door.

Fang Xuelin led the group, his manners gracious, his every move as if he were the mistress of the palace.

After entering the palace, Fang Xuelin shouted brightly, "Come serve our guests tea."

At that moment, several women dressed as palace maids from the Qin Dynasty appeared, each holding a tray with a cup of tea on it.

The palace maids were graceful and did not withdraw after placing the tea, but stood steadily behind the three, looking as if they were to serve them.

Huang Hongyuan was already dumbfounded by the whole thing. The scene at hand was really not what he had envisaged. In his subjective guess, they should have jumped into the dry well, then fought 300 rounds of battle with that black Qi, suffer heavy wounds, and finally managed to defeat the Heavenly Sea King or die with him ah.

What the hell is this situation of sitting in a big hall and drinking tea? He couldn't understand.

Huang Hongyuan held the pendant with his hand but did not dare take a sip of his tea.

Bai Lixin examined Fang Xuelin and asked tentatively, "Queen Taiyi, do you know a person called Fang Xuelin?"

Fang Xuelin frowned and thought for a moment, then bowed his head and said, with a light smile, "I don't know, why?"

Bai Lixin was silent as he looked at Fang Xuelin. It did not look like he was acting. Could it be that the Heavenly Sea King had awakened his memory as Taiyi? Where was the jade soul that was beside him? He did not feel the jade soul's aura on Fang Xuelin at all.

Bai Lixin thought about it and tried calling out in his mind, [S419M.]

[Ding! The system has been activated. What would the Lord host need?]

Bai Lixin's expression stalled slightly, [You've awakened? Does it mean that the God of Food has disappeared?]

[Lord host, first give me a moment to understand the current situation.] S419M also looked baffled as he replied.

Bai Lixin said [mm] and then pretended to examine the magnificent palace while chatting with Fang Xuelin occasionally.

After about two minutes, S419M's voice once again surfaced in his mind, [ Lord Host, the God of Food has not disappeared. He is only sealed up by the Heavenly Sea King. He is in a deep hibernation just like I was, hahaha.]

[…] Bai Lixin had a cold sweat, [Haha my ass, do you not get the situation right now? The Heavenly Sea King can seal this Food God. Doesn't that mean this Heavenly Sea King is even more terrifying? I've briefly faced him together with Liao Sufan, and we were no match for him at all.]

[Don't be afraid, Lord Host. Even the most powerful opponents have a soft underbelly, and the Sea Heavenly King's soft underbelly is this Fang Xuelin, ah no, it's Taiyi. Once he is unable to absorb souls, he will be like dry land without water. He will dry up and turn into pieces in an instant. Although he is strong, he is also "fragile."]

[But I have to thank this Heavenly Sea King. If he hadn't sealed the Food God away, I wouldn't have been able to wake up.]

[Could this Heavenly Sea King be the mysterious and terrifying existence you mentioned?] Bai Lixin asked as he recalled S419M's warning back then.

[Indeed, Lord Host. Because of the abnormal restrictions on the world's memory, I did not obtain any information about the Heavenly Sea King. We only knew of the plot until Wen Xuyao's death, but I could perceive a terrifying presence.]

[The Heavenly Sea King is powerful. His spiritual power attribute should be on par with Dijia, most likely at the 2S level. Why didn't you find it in the search? Although he couldn't be seen in the world's memories, wouldn't his soul attributes show up in the scan?]

[Because that strength is not the Heavenly Sea King's ah. His soul attribute is a blend of many souls. He absorbed the grievances of many souls for thousands of years. These grievances and evil spirits make up his ability but are not completely absorbed by him. So, they are half fused and half independent individuals. That is why I said that as long as he can be made to stop absorbing souls, the Heavenly Sea King will be defeated. This Heavenly Sea King is, in theory, a paper tiger.]

[...]

Bai Lixin rubbed the corner of his forehead. How did the person they were quite wary of suddenly become a paper tiger after S419M's analysis?

[Then how exactly can I get him to stop absorbing souls?]

[He has evil spirits and resentful souls, while you have the Lord God. Although the Heavenly Sea King has a black aura wrapped around him, once the Lord God can pierce that protective wall with his Heavenly Yang Qi, the resentful souls that have been incorporated into the Heavenly Sea King's body will find an opportunity to escape in an instant. When that time comes, won't it be simple to defeat him?]

[So that's how it is.] Bai Lixin's eyes lit up, and he breathed a sigh of relief. [Thank you very much, S419M.]

[It is a privilege to serve the Lord Host. And about that jade soul, although the Heavenly Sea King has sealed the jade soul, it is not dead. The Lord God still has to crush it. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but after being sealed, it saved us the trouble of having to capture it. [Hahaha, it's true to the old saying that woe and blessing go hand in hand.]

[Ding! Acquired new unlocked memories. Would the Lord Host like to accept them?]

Bai Lixin gently nodded at the abrupt prompt: [Accept.]

[Ding, the unlocked memories will be transmitted to the host.]

In his mind, a wave of new memories suddenly filled up.

It turned out that after Wen Xuyao's death, Fang Xuelin suddenly woke up to the horror of the Jade Soul. He also felt that Liao Sufan was nothing more than a petitioner who had beaten people to death, which was vicious and not at all like the decent man he liked. He also felt like he was Wen Xuyao's murderer. Every time he saw Liao Sufan, he remembered Wen Xuyao. Under the criticism in his heart, he gradually lost his love for Liao Sufan.

Fang Xuelin was afraid of being bewitched by the jade soul again, so he sealed the jade soul in the box.

As the black qi circulated outwards, they finally attracted the attention of some people, including a team of tomb raiders.

The team inquired about the source of the jade stones and moved on to Fengcheng, where they found the Wang family courtyard.

According to the original plot, Fang Xuelin had not absorbed the Wang family's aura, so the Wang family's house had not collapsed. The tomb raiders secretly infiltrated the compound to investigate the situation.

This team came to Fengcheng because the jade stones were too bizarre, and the black Qi attached to them was something that only those old black mountain demons and other tombs would have. The more dangerous a place is, the more likely it is to contain treasure.

They were just mere human beings and were easily caught by Wang Baiqian, the Heavenly Sea King's subordinate. By sheer luck, they managed to escape to Fang Xuelin's residence and were saved by him.

They were saved by Fang Xuelin, a man who was guilty of being a face con. Among the tomb raiders was a handsome man who was captain of the team. Fang Xuelin looked at the person and liked him.

He was a regular visitor to the Wang family and had a close friendship with them. When he heard about the Wang family's secret, he had a few concerns in heart.

This was precisely because of the thousand-year-old penance that was imprinted on his soul, the penance of Taiyi to the Heavenly Sea King.

He was driven by this unwarranted repentance to help this group of tomb raiders.

In the course of his help, Fang Xuelin and the team captain gradually develop a love for each other. But at that moment, the Heavenly Sea King had absorbed enough energy to sense where Taiyi was. He ordered Wang Baiqian to capture and bring Fang Xuelin to the dry well.

When the tomb raider captain learned of this, he resolutely set out with his teammates to save his lover.

Bai Lixin was dumbfounded as he went through the endlessly long plot crammed into his brain with a bit of disbelief.

The main route of this world was based on tomb raiding! It's not about gambling stones!

What the hell?

The plot he got before was simply a prequel! The real plot is how the tomb raiders face-off with the Heavenly Sea King later.