In the underground palace of the imperial mausoleum, after a burst of commotion.
In the grand and solemn main hall, Fuyao experienced a dangerous counterattack against Jindan, and welcomed and bid farewell to three powerful projections from afar...
At this moment, I don’t know how many times today I have fallen into silence again.
The tomb passage leading from the main hall to the back hall was blocked by rubble.
Zhu Yourong, the tall and thin old man, and the white-robed Confucian knight, who had just left one after another, deliberately did not clear the blocked tomb passages, but sealed the scene and waited for reinforcements in the near future.
However, what they didn't know was that just as the projections of the crowd disappeared, new movements appeared in the quiet hall.
The rubble that was blocking the tomb passage connecting the main hall and the rear hall suddenly rolled and scattered.
The dark entrance to the tomb was revealed.
A tall and graceful figure of a woman in white clothes and a mask walked out.
In the end, Luo Xiu did not follow the sincere advice written in blood by Zhao Rong.
There was no waiting quietly in the safety of the back hall, waiting for rescue or nightfall.
At this time, it was not even until the 'one hour' that Zhao Rong had instructed not to go out.
When the auras that made her solemn and cautious disappeared in the main hall.
After Luo Xiu gave a few instructions and asked Xiaoyu to take care of the sisters in the hall, she opened the mechanism, walked out of the back hall alone, and came to the main hall that had become familiar and unfamiliar to her.
What is familiar is the arrangement of the dragon coffin in the main hall.
What was unfamiliar was the bloody remains of limbs and corpses scattered all over the ground.
It is obvious that a very brutal fight took place here not long ago.
But even though the woman in white clothes and mask had prepared herself mentally, she was still standing in front of the entrance to the tomb and witnessed the scene with her own eyes.
She remained silent.
Inside the hall, the masked woman in white was quiet for a moment, then quickly walked to the seriously injured and unconscious Zhao Rong and squatted down.
She examined it carefully for a moment, her brows furrowed and relaxed.
After a while, the woman slowly withdrew her right hand that was touching his burned face.
Her slender white fingers contrasted sharply with her face, which was burnt red and black.
The masked woman in white clothes stood up with a slightly frowned brow, and her blood-stained and charred hands clenched into fists.
After standing still for a moment, she turned her head and looked inside the hall.
At this moment, a fourth-grade golden elixir was "disassembled" and disintegrated by a certain precisely controlled Mo Xia sword energy.
The underground palace was filled with a vast amount of spiritual energy, which for a time accidentally formed a "blessed land of spiritual treasures" that the mountain dwellers had always dreamed of.
It was said to be accidental, but in fact it was also done deliberately by Mr. Bai and it was done at his convenience.
Zhao Rong sat on the floor with his back against the dragon coffin. His physical appearance was horrible, and his inner warrior spirit was also "broken".
However, under the influence of the medicine Zhu Yourong gave him and this temporarily constructed "blessed land of spiritual treasures", the eight extraordinary meridians, the twelve regular meridians, the fire dragon qi... and so on were slowly absorbing the abundant spiritual energy from the surrounding heaven and earth.
The damaged body of the alien warrior is recovering at a much faster speed than that of an ordinary warrior.
Yet even so.
In Luo Xiu's eyes, the speed of natural recovery was still too slow.
As for the spiritual energy scale in the hall, which is based on "a golden elixir" as the basic unit, the spiritual energy that his warrior body has absorbed and utilized is less than one thousandth of the total amount.
It was unknown how long it would take for Zhao Rong's body to recover completely.
However, his serious injuries cannot be delayed for too long, otherwise the hidden injuries will affect his future career as a martial artist.
Moreover, right now, even if Zhao Rong's inner warrior physique could be repaired and healed, his skin burned by the flames and his severed right arm could not recover naturally.
In a sense... this elegant and interesting young man is disfigured and disabled.
Luo Xiu withdrew her gaze and looked up at the "bright starry sky" above her head.
It was a dome inlaid with luminous pearls and gems of various colors, with dark rocks as the background. It looked like a deep night - except there was no bright moon.
During these days, every time she passed by the main hall in the dim and depressing tomb, she liked to look up at the starry sky.
Luo Xiu, dressed in white, stood in front of the dragon coffin, covering his chest with his fists, looking up at the starry sky above his head, and fell into deep thought.
Apart from her slightly frowned brows, no other expression could be seen hidden by the white veil.
I don’t know how much time passed, maybe very quickly, or maybe a long time.
The woman's clenched bloody fist that was covering her chest suddenly loosened.
She squatted down again, took out a handkerchief and wiped Zhao Rong's face, although it was already charred and unrecognizable.
Luo Xiu looked around, then moved Zhao Rong's body, which was breathing weakly, to the other side of the dragon coffin - before that, his position was facing the tomb passage leading to the rear hall.
She moved him gently to the back of the dragon coffin and leaned his back against the wall of the coffin again.
This is the place that cannot be seen after entering the tomb passage, because the view will be blocked by the tall dragon coffin.
After doing all this, Luo Xiu stood up, without hesitation, and quickly left the main hall, walked through the dark tomb passage, opened the mechanism, and returned to the back hall.
She stood in front of the seventeen women in the hall who were also wearing white clothes and masks, and spoke calmly:
"We should leave now. The 'king' has gone back for something, but she has left a path for us. We should set off now and follow the 'king's' footsteps to ascend to... the Jiutian Han Palace where the gods and Xianming live together."
Except for Xiaoyu, all the girls stood up excitedly. Although their expressions could not be seen due to their masks, their actions and expressions showed that they were very enthusiastic.
Luo Xiu wanted to turn around, but when she turned halfway, she seemed to remember something and looked back:
"Oh, by the way, there were some unexpected accidents outside just now, and the palace is a little messy... But it's all right now, don't worry, it won't delay our ascension to the Moon Palace."
Her eyes and tone were calm. "When the mechanism is activated later, do not move around in the main hall. Continue to pray to the moon and the gods, and remain pious."
"Yes." The girls did not doubt him and responded obediently.
Only the short Xiaoyu beside her couldn't help but look at Sister Xiu'er who looked particularly calm after going out.
Then she stuck her head out and looked outside the door.
At this moment, the stone door was wide open, and a rich, extremely pure spiritual energy from heaven and earth was rapidly pouring in from the dark tomb passage outside.
The little girl shrugged her nose, as if she was breathing something.
She felt that if she stayed where she was and stayed in this spiritual environment for another day and a half, she would be able to break through to the Tianzhi realm, which was just "a little bit" higher than Sister Xiu'er.
Just like her name.
The little fish felt like a fish in water and of course swam more happily when it met the "water".
The little girl nodded affirmatively, but she did not say anything to object to Luo Xiu's arrangement to leave.
She always follows Sister Xiu'er's arrangements.
And trust her arrangements.
However, at the same time, Xiaoyu showed a puzzled look on his face, and was somewhat curious about the source of the influx of spiritual energy... Why didn't he know that there was such a rich spiritual energy in the imperial mausoleum before...
But the doubts in the little girl's head did not last long.
Soon, seventeen masked women in white clothes, including her, were led by Luo Xiu into the main hall of the underground palace.
As soon as they came in, they were shocked by the completely different scene in the main hall and the abundant spiritual energy, but in the end no one asked any questions.
The crowd just looked at each other for a while, and then lined up in a horizontal row according to the positions arranged by Luo Xiu and her helper Xiaoyu.
They stood in the main hall near the tomb passage, did not move around, continued to close their eyes and pray, waiting quietly.
Because of the location, no one could see the broken-armed scholar who was lying against the wall of the tall dragon coffin in the center, and whose body was burned beyond recognition...
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Luo Xiu turned around, with a calm expression, and walked straight to the dragon coffin.
She first went around to the back of the coffin and stood next to Zhao Rong, but Xiaoyu and the others could not see the latter. They could only see Luo Xiu standing behind the coffin.
Then, she raised her head and glanced at the starry sky dome, then lowered her head, reached out and pressed somewhere on the dragon coffin, followed by another round of tedious but skillful operations.
“Boom!”
The dragon coffin, which was leaking autumn wind and air, slowly opened its lid amid the sound of mechanical gears...
The 'autumn wind' overflows.
The sleeves were lowered and the eyes were drooping. There was no body in the coffin.
There is a set of imperial robes, a small bronze tripod, and... a bright moon.
In the underground palace of the imperial mausoleum, there is no emperor inside the emperor's dragon coffin.
…
If Zhao Rong was awake at this moment and saw the empty clothes in the coffin, he, who was well-versed in history books, would definitely blurt out "The emperor has ascended to heaven, and his ministers buried his clothes."
However, this kind of cenotaph was only found in the records of two emperors in the history books of Wangquezhou.
One is the sage emperor of ancient times, and the other is the "alchemy emperor" of later generations.
The former is praiseworthy, the latter is ridiculous...
However, what is more surprising than the cenotaph is a small bronze tripod inside the coffin and a "bright moon" inside the tripod.
The tripod is made of bronze, square in shape, with four legs and two handles.
The "bright moon" inside the cauldron is a ball of light golden in color, like gas or liquid, contained in the cauldron.
The color is the same as the magnificent tripod on the top of Jiyue Mountain that Zhao Rong had seen before...
At this moment, autumn wind and air flowed out from the 'bright moon', overflowing the bronze tripod and the dragon coffin, and finally leaking out of the coffin.
Faced with such a strange arrangement, Luo Xiu showed no strange expression on her face. Seeing the 'bright moon' in the cauldron regenerated, as if the 'autumn wind and air' from another space filled the cauldron and coffin again, she nodded slightly.
You can go now.
In front of the coffin, the woman stretched out her hand. Just as she was about to make a move, a little girl came up to her with a whoosh.
"Sister Xiu'er, let Xiaoyu come this time."
The little girl said positively, showing great initiative.
Luo Xiu nodded, and Xiaoyu imitated her, biting the tip of her index finger with her sharp teeth, squeezing out a drop of Li Nu's blood and dripping it into the small bronze tripod.
The 'bright moon' in the tripod trembled.
Like a drop of rain, it drops onto the mirror-like surface, causing the water waves to tremble and spread...
First there was a slight unusual sound, the distance of which was difficult to discern.
Then.
In an instant.
From the perspective of the girls, the entire hall darkened.
It seemed as if... all the light was sucked into the 'bright moon' blooming in the cauldron.
The moon shines brighter and brighter.
It even covered the small bronze tripod, the tall dragon coffin, and finally even the hazy figures of the two women and Zhao Rong beside the coffin.
For a moment, this moon with an expanding range became the most eye-catching existence in the dark hall, except for the starry sky dome.
Then.
The bright moon slowly rose.
Looking from a distance, there was a bright moon rising in the darkness.
From another angle, this scene also looks like the starry night sky is lowering, accepting the "bright moon".
I can't tell whether it's 'the moon flies to the sky' or 'the sky flies to the moon'.
The boundaries of time and space are somewhat blurred at this moment.
At this moment, along with the 'bright moon', it seemed that... there were also the women hidden in the darkness and everything in the hall.
It or they rose higher and higher until they reached the dome of the temple.
Until it merges with the 'bright starry sky' inside the dome.
Until it becomes a picture.
The 'night image', symbolizing a certain law, was completed.
A certain space and time is reversed...
After a moment.
The bright moon disappeared.
The main hall looks brand new.
There was no human figure.
…
At the edge of an abandoned ruin covered with Jiutian Hangong flowers.
There is a large hall building with a relatively complete appearance.
It is located on a solitary cliff and is the outermost part of the ruins.
In front of us are magnificent ruins, and behind us is a dark and bottomless abyss.
Inside the abyss under the lonely cliff, there was an autumn wind and air blowing out from it non-stop, like a cold knife flying in, constantly "carving" the hall building on the cliff...
At this time, inside the palace.
At a certain moment, with the sudden appearance of a bright moon, the originally neat and brand new magnificent hall disappeared.
In the original place, there appeared... a blood-stained floor with a blood-red hexagram and a circle painted in the center, a dragon coffin with the lid wide open, a headless corpse, and a beautiful girl in white clothes and a veil.
Various signs indicate that this is no longer the original hall.
Things are not the same, people are not the same.
"Well, Sister Xiu'er, I feel dizzy~"
The dislocation in space made all the girls feel a sense of dislocation in space. The youngest girl, Xiaoyu, felt dizzy and turned around twice in place.
Luo Xiu first looked down at the coffin, then reached out and supported the little girl who was spinning around in a daze.
"Take them out and settle them down first. We shouldn't stay here for too long. I'll clean up and come find you later." She said with her eyes lowered.
"Oh oh." Xiaoyu nodded in agreement.
She felt that this place where the entire hall could be teleported and changed positions was very mysterious, just like she could never figure out where the baby came from.
Before she left Xingzi Lake, she always thought that it was the omnipotent Music Bureau that assigned her concubines. If a couple in the town wanted to have a child after their marriage, they had to go to the Music Bureau to get one. A couple could only get one, so the masters and wealthy families in the town had to marry many concubines... As for her, well, she must have been an ugly girl that no one wanted to take home, so she was rejected by the Music Bureau and sent to the boat to be a boat girl who could never go ashore.
Xiaoyu frowned and followed Sister Xiu'er's example, leaving the hall with the other sixteen women who were about to ascend.
When the hall became quiet again, Luo Xiu lowered her head, looked at the unrecognizable young man lying on the ground, and then looked at the dragon coffin.
Inside the coffin, the small four-legged bronze tripod was empty. There was no bright moon, nor was there any "autumn wind and autumn air" overflowing.
Luo Xiu did not close the lid of the dragon coffin like she did the previous times.
She lowered her eyes, took out the small bronze tripod and put it away temporarily.
In addition, there was also the solemn robe of the late Emperor Dali in the museum, which was also taken out and put aside.
In front of the coffin, the woman bent down, picked up the "handsome young man" whose features she once admired very much, and put him into the empty dragon coffin.
"When I was still called Channü, the Queen Mother who gave me the name once said to me..."
A woman took off her veil, let it go, raised her head with her bare face, and gazed at the starry sky.
“In this world, there are two things that are worth our constant gaze and admiration for the rest of our lives.”
She seemed to be talking to herself, but also seemed to be talking to the sleeping young man.
"One is the starry sky above our heads, and the other is the bright moon that always hangs high in my heart."
Luo Xiu gently untied her belt and took off her white clothes. The red rope, bellyband, and underwear fell one after another onto the blood-stained floor under her feet.
This scene seemed to be just like that day in the Xingzi Town Inn when she took off her silk skirt and presented the pure white Han Gong with hopelessness.
But this time was different... She no longer had that gentleman smiling at her, and she... no longer wanted to be so simple and casual, so...
"You gave me the starry sky, and I will give you the bright moon in return."
Luo Xiu smiled sweetly, took off her white clothes, and solemnly put on the fiery red dress she wore when she ran under the starry sky that day.
Red as a wedding dress.
The woman leaned into the coffin...
…