“‘Vampires’, that’s quite novel. So vampires aren’t just the legendary vampires from Western countries.” Yi Shangyun murmured in surprise, showing some interest.
"What the hell?" Tuoba Ze asked, faintly hearing her murmur.
Yi Shangyun quickly crossed out, "Oh, I mean their ancestors have long since become ghosts... By the way, according to you, the 'Vampire Clan' is known for its unique, precious, and magical bloodline, which is passed down through generations, cultivated by its founding ancestors. Does the book contain detailed records of what makes the blood of the descendants of the Vampire Clan so magical? Perhaps we can find some clues in it."
Tuoba Ze sighed softly, seemingly with some regret, and said, "When I obtained this book, many of the records had already been torn up, and this particular item was not recorded. However, the madam did hear many things about it from her hometown of Nan'an."
Yi Shangyun exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, you two really do share the same ideals! So what did you hear?"
Tuoba Ze said seriously, "Everyone has their own opinion on this. The madam said that since ancient times, there have been legends in the Nan'an Kingdom that the Blood Clan are demons and monsters who commit all kinds of evil, including rape, kidnapping, burning, killing, and looting."
"Nonsense! Such an evil power would only aid the wicked and do evil, how could it possibly be an aid to a king who rules the world?" Yi Shangyun immediately rejected.
Although Tuoba Ze was fierce, he thought so too, and continued, "Some people say that because their ancestors, in their years of research into medicine, tasted all the strange poisons and herbs in the world, and ate them almost every day, their essence and blood were changed. As a result, when their offspring reproduced, they all inherited the unique bloodline of their ancestors."
Yi Shangyun seemed somewhat interested and said, "That's quite interesting."
Tuoba Ze suddenly revealed a greedy smile and said, "It is said that with this blood as a catalyst, one can create the strongest poison in the world, as well as cure the most potent poisons. It can also create many unexpected miracles, making it almost omnipotent. Hence the saying, 'He who obtains this blood will rule the world.'"
Upon hearing this, for some reason, Yi Shangyun suddenly recalled the bowl of blood he had helped Yu Niang drink in the dark in the secret chamber earlier, and absentmindedly repeated, "It can cure the strongest poison in the world, and it can also cure the most deadly poison. Whoever obtains this blood will rule the world..."
Tuoba Ze was so engrossed in walking and narrating that he didn't notice Yi Shangyun's thoughtful expression.
He said with great interest, "Some people say that the vampire clan was wiped out in a later internal rebellion; while a few others say that the vampire clan was not completely wiped out, and that its only direct descendant was stranded in the Western Qin Kingdom of the Spirit Sky Continent, where he was able to multiply and become a founding hero and the most loyal protector of the Western Qin royal family. However, during an internal strife in the Western Qin royal family many years ago, the vampire descendant was hunted down and accidentally fell off a cliff to his death."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly came to his senses and said, "Oh? Does that mean the vampire clan has been wiped out?! If that's the case, what is there to fear from Western Qin?"
Tuoba Ze sighed deeply and said, "No, although it may seem that way on the surface, the rulers of all the countries on the Lingkong Continent unanimously believe that the Blood Clan's unique and powerful strength could not have been wiped out so easily, and that there must still be descendants alive. That's why they sent their strongest forces to Xiqin to secretly investigate. Without absolute certainty, no one dares to launch an attack. This is no joke; the slightest mistake could lead to the destruction of the entire nation. Therefore, for many years, the four countries have always maintained a 'we will not attack unless attacked' attitude. In reality, everyone is secretly eager to make a move, yet they are all extremely wary of each other, just waiting for someone to uncover the mystery as soon as possible."
After a brief pause, he continued, "By the way, do you know? Just over half a year ago, I heard that in a private residence west of Xiqin City, on a night of torrential rain and thunder, a seven-colored phoenix phantom appeared in the night sky. Some people said that the power had been reborn. Unfortunately... before I could even make it to the west of the city myself, I was forced by Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, to return to the country to regroup." As soon as he finished speaking, Tuoba Ze clenched his empty fist tightly, making a cracking sound.
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun realized it was Xuan Yuanhan again, and both of them fell into deep thought...
In the attic in the backyard of Wanjiao Pavilion.
The final crucial moment had arrived. Without the obstruction of Tuoba Ze and the poison master madam, Cheng Liang and his group searched smoothly yet nervously from bottom to top, layer by layer, room by room, eliminating the secret rooms and the mechanisms to open them.
Before they knew it, the group had once again arrived at what seemed to be the most mysterious tea room in the pavilion.
All his men dispersed to the side room to search carefully, while Cheng Liang looked around the entire tea room from the doorway before heading straight to the ebony tea rack filled with a dazzling array of tea storage jars.
He was facing the tea rack, carefully examining each tea jar one by one, when he suddenly called out urgently, "Someone, move this ebony tea rack away."
Upon hearing the sound, the guards who were searching around hurriedly ran out and spread out to both sides of the tea shelf.
Just as everyone was working together to move the tea rack away from its original location, one of the guards suddenly noticed something next to a tea jar that was larger than the others and had a pattern of northern pasture grass printed on it. He went over to take a look and exclaimed, "General, come and see!"
Upon hearing the sound, Cheng Liang hurriedly went over and glanced at the guards. His eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately ordered, "Everyone, move aside."
Upon hearing the sound, the guards quickly gathered around the wall. They saw Cheng Liang reach out and gently press down the metal totem mechanism with a wolf-face-like design that had just been discovered by the guards.
Suddenly, a crack appeared on the ground next to the ebony tea stand in front of everyone.
Looking along this mysterious crevice, a staircase leading underground appeared before my eyes, with faint, flickering candlelight emanating from within.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang did not hesitate at all. He drew his sword from his waist and walked down the steps. The guards followed closely behind him, leaving only two people upstairs to guard the mechanism.
The group cautiously descended into the underground chamber. By the dim candlelight, they looked around to investigate the situation inside. Suddenly, with a creak, the door to what appeared to be six identical small rooms lined up neatly in the chamber opened by itself.
Suddenly, countless sharp arrows, trailing red flames, shot towards them with lightning speed. The men immediately raised their swords, swiftly and skillfully deflecting the arrows one by one. Silence fell upon them.
Just as they were trying to take a step forward and reach out to open the first door, the guard's hand had barely touched the door panel when the door to the third room, just like the second door before, creaked open by itself.
The guard who "opened the door" walked to the third door that had been opened, and upon seeing something, he froze for a moment. He then slowly began to back away, taking tiny steps, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Seeing his seemingly dazed actions, Cheng Liang hurriedly asked, "What's inside?"
However, the guard continued to retreat step by step towards the door, without offering any response.
Just as Cheng Liang was about to go forward to investigate, he suddenly saw a dark mass of thousands of night swallows with red glowing eyes rushing out like vicious wolves that had been trapped for a long time.
The guards who had been retreating were caught off guard and were instantly knocked to the ground by the successive waves of night swallows.
The Night Swallows, gathered together, began to viciously devour his flesh and blood, and the young guard was instantly reduced to a pile of bones on the ground.
Upon seeing this, everyone was stunned and speechless, gripping their swords tightly as they stared helplessly at the remains of their brothers and the ferocious Black Night Swallows.
Suddenly, one of the guards exclaimed incredulously, "How could Night Swallow eat people?"
"They must have been poisoned by that Nan'an poison master to be here."
As soon as Cheng Liang finished speaking, he immediately gave a loud and urgent order: "Quickly press the first door."
Hearing the sound, the guard came to his senses and slammed his hand heavily on the first door. Sure enough, the fourth door creaked open.
This time, however, the group did not go forward to check the situation inside. Instead, when the "creak" sounded, Cheng Liang quietly made a gesture so as not to disturb the Black Night Swallows who were focused on foraging for food. He signaled all the guards to fly and gather in the corner in front of the first door to hide.
He suddenly realized that these mechanisms were arranged in order of increasing strength and controlled by the first door, so the mechanism in the next door should be able to subdue this ferocious Night Swallow team.
Sure enough, after the fourth door opened wide, by the dim candlelight, a small fish could be vaguely seen swimming around in a glass tank. Suddenly, one of the fish became completely translucent, and then it spat out a ball of flame that shimmered with blue light.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang laughed and said to the guard beside him, "This prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom has indeed collected a lot of rare treasures from all over the world. He even has the magical fire-breathing fish that is unique to the ocean of another continent to the east of this Lingkong Continent. It is truly impressive."
The guards looked at him and exclaimed in unison, "A fire-breathing fish?"
"Yes, it's the legendary fire-breathing fish that can supposedly spew flames 3 meters high. It's truly a stroke of luck. It's a pity he was so clever, thinking his secret chamber design was so ingenious that no one could leave alive. If someone were truly trapped here and died, unaware that opening the next door would be their path to survival, they would probably die with their eyes wide open in disbelief!"
No sooner had Cheng Liang finished speaking than he leaped out alone and entered the fourth secret chamber, the guards shouting urgently, "General..."
Before he could finish speaking, the dark mass of Night Swallows, which were gnawing on the bits of flesh between the bones on the ground, followed closely behind Cheng Liang and rushed into the fourth secret room.
Once the last night swallow had entered, the door to the secret chamber was immediately and tightly closed.
At this moment, the guards rushed forward and arrived at the door of the fourth secret room, pounding on the door and shouting, "General, General Cheng..."
However, all that could be heard from inside the door were the sharp, piercing cries of night swallows. Upon hearing this, some of the guards even silently shed tears.
Just when everyone thought Cheng Liangyi had turned into a pile of bones and was heartbroken, the fourth door was suddenly slowly opened from the inside.
"General Cheng..." When the door opened, Cheng Liang, whose face was charred black from the fire, stood straight in front of everyone, holding a long sword in his hand. Behind him was a thick layer of charred corpses of Ye Yan.
The guards exchanged bewildered glances, then joyfully bent down and lifted Cheng Liang high above their heads, tossing him around while cheering, "General Cheng... General Cheng..."
The heartfelt cheers were like towering waves, each one louder than the last.
Just as everyone was cheering for Cheng Liang's great service and his narrow escape from death, the fifth door was quietly opened without anyone noticing...
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