Zhao Rong felt that this might be the last time in his life that he would be tough in front of Gui.

In fact, just one stick of incense ago, in that small courtyard in the bamboo forest where all the bamboo leaves had fallen, he was supposed to die.

But what's quite miraculous is that due to a small "accident", he actually survived here.

Is this the protagonist's halo? This young master finally experienced this kind of treatment? But... can you give me a complete package, a rescuer from heaven, and take away the old guy who is asking for my life behind me?

At this moment, Zhao Rong, with most of his clothes covered in blood, was holding the sword with one arm, laughing and gasping for breath. He was running alone in the dark and gloomy tomb passage.

Just a while ago, he told Gui that he wanted to live.

However, at the moment, Zhao Rong was in the solemn imperial mausoleum where the late emperor of Dali had just been buried.

“Heh, I don’t know how good the quality of this imperial mausoleum is. How long can it hold off that old beast? Huhuhuhu… I got in with the help of the mausoleum craftsmen’s mechanical devices and maps. That old beast doesn’t have any special mechanical devices. And it’s past the specific Shen time period, so it’s much more difficult to get into the mausoleum. I can only force my way in… cough cough, huhuhuhu——!”

He grinned, but his breathing became more rapid as he ran.

When he gasped for breath, a sound like a bellows came from deep in his throat, and he would occasionally cough violently.

Gui couldn't help but ask, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Nonsense, I look fine? Cough cough cough..." Zhao Rong nodded and cursed with a smile, but as he laughed, he lowered his head and started coughing violently.

He wanted to raise his right hand to cover his mouth, but then he realized that his right arm had remained in the bamboo courtyard forever, and the vague feeling of phantom limb after the arm was broken misled his subconscious.

However, by the time Zhao Rong reacted, it was too late. The movement of his broken right arm causing him to stagger while running wildly.

"Bang--!"

The young scholar lost his balance and fell heavily onto the cold and hard floor of the tomb passage.

I don't know where the rock these floor tiles were chiseled from. They are dark and cold, chilling me to the bone.

Zhao Rong's right cheek was pressed to the ground, and his eyelids were twitching and turning blue in pain.

"Uh...ah." He rested his forehead on the ground, supported himself with one hand, and stood up with barely any balance.

Just at this moment.

Boom——!

Boom——!!

Accompanied by a loud noise, Zhao Rong felt that the tomb passages on all sides were like thin steel cables in the sky, shaking constantly due to the strong wind.

He quickly stretched out his left hand and grabbed the wall next to him, leaving a bloody handprint on the wall, and barely maintained his balance.

However, dust and gravel were falling from above his head, hitting his head, eyelashes, and nose from time to time...

The entire imperial mausoleum has been like this since shortly after Zhao Rong entered. Every once in a while, it would be shaken by the brute force of some "unknown giant beast," causing the earth to shake like this.

The young scholar steadied himself and continued running forward with his sword in hand. He turned around and cursed with a smile:

"Chasing your father, are you in such a hurry to come in and recognize your ancestors?"

This is a disfigured old Confucian scholar who is trying to use force to break the restrictions outside the imperial mausoleum. And from the sound, Zhao Rong discovered that the noise is getting louder and louder. There is no telling how long this imperial mausoleum can hold on and stop that old beast.

"Damn it, Gui, I heard from those craftsmen that the array of the imperial mausoleum seems to be built according to the standard of defending against Tianzhi realm cultivators. God is not giving me face, and my luck as the son of destiny seems to be a little lacking. If this Jindan realm cultivator is determined to break in, the imperial mausoleum will not be able to hold it back for long."

The sword spirit was surprisingly calm. "It's good that you know. Besides, people are alive, and the mechanism is dead. If this old beast wants to be a fly, it will probably find a gap and get in quickly."

Zhao Rong kept walking, and even ran faster, shuttling through the dark corridors that were dazzling to outsiders.

As if with a purpose, it ran towards somewhere deep in the imperial mausoleum.

While running wildly, he held the hilt of the sword with one arm, his chest heaving violently as he gasped, but his pale lips, which had lost too much blood, continued to grin, without any sign of frustration:

"Originally, I came to the imperial mausoleum today to rescue the concubines who were buried with the emperor. I never thought that I would be running for my life here now. Hahaha, the ups and downs of fate are really fucking exciting."

The young scholar spat out a mouthful of blood, wiped his mouth and continued panting, "But speaking of which, if there was no imperial mausoleum to temporarily block me, even with Yourong's 'One Hundred Miles', I would probably be dead by now."

Return to the light voice, as if talking to himself:

"But... is there a difference, Zhao Rong? You are now also trapped in this imperial mausoleum. You can only flee inside without looking back, but there will always be no way forward for us, and... this is probably exactly what that old beast wants. He just wants you to die in torture. You run desperately like this, and he chases us like a cat and a mouse, and finally enjoys our despair of being cornered..."

"I know."

Zhao Rong remained calm and composed.

He shook his head. "But, Gui, you're such a fucking killjoy."

"I am speaking the truth. It is now at this critical moment. We should stop playing dumb and deceiving ourselves. We should die with a clear mind. Maybe this will give us a chance to survive."

"Is there any hope for life..."

The corners of Zhao Rong's haggard face covered in blood slowly retracted as he raised them.

Just at this moment.

Boom——!!!

There was a terrifying earth-shaking tremor accompanied by a tremendous sound wave.

Zhao Rong slammed on the brakes, leaned his back against the cold wall of the tomb passage, and planted his feet on the floor like a horse stance to steady his body.

Soon, the aftermath of the "earthquake" subsided.

It seems... I have survived another unknown impact.

Zhao Rong let out a long breath, turned his head and looked at the solid tomb walls on all sides. He nodded and said to himself:

"Hold on a little longer, hold on a little longer for me... After all, this is a new imperial mausoleum of a great dynasty, it shouldn't be some shoddy construction, otherwise I would have saved you in vain that day..."

After he finished speaking, he quickly stood up with the help of the wall and continued moving forward.

There were no torches lighting the tomb passage, nor were there any ever-burning lamps like those described in the tomb-robbing stories that Zhao Rong had heard of.

At the moment, only a few luminous pearls inlaid on the hilt of the sword in Zhao Rong's hand emitted a faint halo of light.

He was running in these dark tomb passages according to his memory of the imperial mausoleum map, gradually going deeper and running towards the place deep in the imperial mausoleum.

This imperial mausoleum is very large, with innumerable tomb chambers and passages. If he had not obtained a detailed map from the craftsmen of the imperial mausoleum in advance, and had not had the ability to remember everything he read over the years, he would have most likely been lost.

Dadadada——!

In the quiet passage, the only sound was Zhao Rong's hurried footsteps.

Gui seemed to have noticed something at this time.

It was silent for a moment, and suddenly said in a serious tone:

"Zhao Rong, tell me the truth, have you thought of a way to survive? It's already this late, why are you still hiding it? Tell me now so we can discuss it together."

The young scholar who was silently adjusting the Red Dragon Qi in his meridians while running came back to his senses after hearing this, took a breath, and nodded:

"Well, does stalling for time and waiting for an 'accident' count?"

Gui Yi choked and was speechless for a moment, then said in a concentrated voice:

"So you have no plan and are just running around and leaving everything to fate? Are you trying to buy time and wait for Zhao Qian'er to get help after she escapes from danger?"

The sword spirit sighed and analyzed calmly: "She should be the one who can arrive the fastest right now. The others, such as Yan Jidao who gave you the maple leaf to protect you, and... Zhu Yourong, are far away in Duyou. Even if they arrive the fastest, it will take about an hour. Don't count on them for now... Take Zhao Qianer for example, she found reinforcements but..."

"But I'm no longer in the bamboo forest courtyard."

Zhao Rong interrupted softly, but continued running forward.

He lowered his eyes and sighed:

"So it's probably difficult for them to find this imperial mausoleum, and it will take more time even if they find it. I didn't expect that I would end up escaping into this imperial mausoleum, so I didn't mention it to Qian'er. I just joked and said it was an interesting place..."

…

Returning is also a sigh.

There is no sign of reinforcements.

Now we are entering this imperial mausoleum, which serves as both a protection and a burial place.

The former is short-lived, the latter is long-lasting.

They... only have this dead end in the tomb passage ahead of them where there is no "light" but which will eventually have an end.

At this time, there was another sharp turn ahead. Zhao Rong twisted his body and avoided a dangerous mechanism marked on the map, turning into a passage leading to a deeper tomb.

At this time, he shook his head and nodded.

"Well, it seems that waiting for reinforcements is not an option. Then... I only have one last option left."

The sword spirit suddenly woke up, and a spark of hope ignited, "What road?"

In the narrow and dark tomb passage, the young Confucian scholar raised his head and stared into the unknown darkness ahead.

Revealing his white, bloody teeth.

"It is better to ask for help from yourself than to ask for help from others."

The sword spirit was startled.

…

The so-called imperial mausoleum, "mausoleum" means a mausoleum as tall as a mountain.

This is exclusive to the imperial mausoleum. In the emperors' tombs in the mountain mausoleum, large tombs form a magnificent underground palace, which is extremely gorgeous and spectacular.

The same is true of the Dali Imperial Mausoleum.

However, Zhao Rong, who was immersed in it, had no time to stop and enjoy the leisurely stroll along the way, but he was deeply touched.

It’s fucking big.

After he had gone through a mausoleum passage full of traps with great difficulty, he finally arrived at the outskirts of a magnificent underground palace.

In front of him is a 'moat' filled with mercury.

The underground palace is surrounded by the "moat".

This underground palace is also the main part of the entire imperial mausoleum. According to what Zhao Rong saw on the map, it is a huge square space with a round dome, dotted with the sun, moon and stars...

The entire underground palace is composed of main buildings in sequence, including palace walls, palace gates, corner towers, front halls, royal halls where the emperor's coffin is located, and rear bedrooms where the concubines of the previous emperor are buried.

There are also some storage rooms, tomb passages and corridors scattered among them.

The overall layout is like a real imperial city on earth, which was built in imitation of the magnificent Han Palace in Dali Hanjing.

Zhao Rong looked around carefully in front of the mercury 'moat'.

He stood still with his sword in hand, adjusted his breathing, sorted out his energy, and waited quietly for a while.

After another earth-shaking event in the imperial mausoleum, Zhao Rong moved suddenly to activate a hidden mechanism marked on the map.

He crossed the 'moat' and entered the magnificent underground palace imitating the Han Palace.

"The layout of the Han Palace? This is something I'm familiar with. I've been there many times."

After passing through the corridor and entering the underground palace, Zhao Rong's vision suddenly became clear. With a pale face, he forced a smile and muttered something.

Zhao Rong raised his head and looked at the bright pearls dotted on the round dome that symbolized the roundness of the sky.

They symbolize the stars, guarding the bright crystal moon in the center.

The sword spirit echoed: "That is a small advantage."

Zhao Rong withdrew his gaze from the dome and said with a smile, "Well, it is also thanks to that Dugu that I know the roads in the Han Palace, especially the Guanghan Palace where she is in the harem. I know how to get there very well."

As he spoke, the young scholar passed through the palace gate, corner tower, and front hall of the underground palace and went straight deeper.

During this time, he passed by treasure rooms filled with treasures without even looking away.

At this moment, the young Confucian scholar entered the most important and also the most solemn royal palace in the entire underground palace.

The royal palace was magnificent and solemn, with a huge dragon coffin parked in the center and some strange and bizarre tomb layouts displayed before the eyes.

Yet he kept going.

keep going.

Gui couldn't help but ask, "Zhao Rong, where are we going now? Do you have a plan?"

"Of course."

Zhao Rong nodded, "I've already said it, I know this, let's go straight inside and go to the back hall of the underground palace to find the concubines of the late Emperor Dali."

Return: “…”

Why are you so keen and skilled in finding the widow of the late Emperor Dali? You did the same when you found Dugu!

It’s already this time and you’re still... You’re really worthy of being me, Zhao Rong.

The sword spirit said sincerely and seriously, "Oh, if the late Emperor Dali who is lying in the center of the palace knew how familiar Young Master Zhao was, he would definitely be very pleased."

The young scholar who said 'it is better to rely on oneself than on others' did not laugh.

He muttered a few words in his mind and suddenly stopped early.

Sure enough, after waiting for a moment, another deafening crash was heard, accompanied by an unprecedented "earth-shaking" movement.

Dust and stones fell.

The young scholar stood there silently, holding his sword.

He no longer leaned against the wall awkwardly, but kept his feet firmly planted on the floor.

He closed his eyes, his body covered with dust, so he lowered his head and took a deep breath.

Zhao Rong has roughly grasped the frequency interval of "Earth-shaking and Mountain-shaking", but at this moment he does not feel happy at all, because... the rule he has summarized will soon be of no use.

It seems that the restrictions on this imperial mausoleum can no longer hold up under the pressure of the next attack.

That old beast...is coming in.

At this moment, when the shaking of the tomb passage slowly subsided, Zhao Rong did not move forward immediately.

He lowered his head, silently reached into his arms, and took out something from the Sumeru object.

With the dim light from the pearl on the dome above, you can roughly see...

This seems to be a well-preserved white jade pendant and a cute little sachet that is clumsily embroidered but stitch by stitch with great care.

"Give me some face and hold on for a little longer."

In the slender tomb passage leading from the royal hall to the rear hall of the underground palace, the young Confucian scholar whispered something without raising his head, and then continued to move forward.

The only remaining left hand was tightly holding the jade token and sachet.

Before warmly welcoming a certain disfigured old scholar, he had to complete... one last thing.