https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-210-Finally-the-Entrance-to-the-Underground-Palace-has-been-Found/12536271/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-212-The-Unexpected-Occurrence-That-Was-Bound-to-Happen/12536274/
Chapter 211: Emei Underground Palace
Chapter 211: Emei Underground Palace
On a night with a sparse scattering of stars and south-flying crows, Jiang Feng quietly returned to the vicinity of the small temple.
Two breathing sounds could be heard from the side room, one heavy and the other light. It was clear that both the old monk and the young apprentice were fast asleep.
Jiang Feng nodded in satisfaction and added a little something extra to ensure they would sleep soundly until daybreak. After all, they had spent the entire day chanting scriptures and striking the wooden fish; they deserved a good rest.
Jiang Feng made his way to the main hall and circled the statue, poking and prodding. Finding no hidden mechanisms, he reached into the gap beside the statue and gently lifted.
"Screech!"
A soft sound signaled that the statue had been raised by an inch.
There were no hidden mechanisms!
The statue, its pedestal, and the floor were all one solid piece, weighing over a thousand pounds. It would be a challenge for an ordinary person to move, but not for a martial arts master. It was just unlikely that...
...a martial arts master would bother to move a statue out of boredom.
Noticing the clean floor, Jiang Feng wasn't worried about leaving any traces. He gently lifted the statue about a foot high, revealing a dark passage beneath.
He lit a torch and waved it at the entrance, spotting the dusty stairs leading into the pitch-black depths below, disappearing from sight.
With a swift movement, he slipped into the opening, carefully replaced the stone slab, and repositioned the statue.
"Having traveled through two worlds, this is my first time going on an adventure to explore ancient treasures. It's so exciting!" Jiang Feng exclaimed.
After walking for a while to ensure he couldn't be seen from above, he took an oil-soaked torch from his bundle, lit it, and illuminated his surroundings.
The walls were uneven, but they showed signs of having been chiseled. He descended the steps, counting as he went, and soon found himself at the bottom, in a flat area about ten feet square.
Before him stood a wooden door.
Holding the torch, Jiang Feng carefully examined the door, eventually finding the mechanism to open it from the outside.
However, he didn't rush. He continued to circle the door, running his hands along its edges and then its center, confirming that there were no other mechanisms on it.
"Not bad. There aren't any traps set up here," Jiang Feng nodded in approval. "Makes sense. This place wasn't built as Ouyang Ting's tomb, so even if someone stumbled in by accident, they wouldn't be able to withstand his martial arts prowess."
Jiang Feng applied a slight force to a certain spot on the adjacent wall, and the wooden door slowly creaked open.
Simultaneously, there was a "crack-crack" sound from within the room. Jiang Feng raised his torch and saw a wooden capstan turning in front of him.
He held the torch inside the room, and instead of the flame dying down, it was gently fanned by a soft breeze.
Reassured, he stepped inside. Before him was an octagonal room devoid of furniture—no tables, chairs, beds, or cabinets. There were only seven capstans of various sizes and shapes.
Gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, stone, and wood.
The seven capstans, each made of a different material, corresponded to seven walls of differing materials and seven rooms of distinct natures.
Behind the wooden wall was the entrance to the underground palace.
Behind the stone wall lay countless corpses—the craftsmen who had built the underground palace.
The gold wall concealed countless treasures, the life savings of the brilliant Ouyang Ting of this era. It was unknown if the wealth of the Five Extremes of Heaven and Earth was among them.
Behind the silver wall were six rooms, the residences of the Five Extremes of Heaven and Earth and the Ouyang couple. It also held silk booklets recording the secrets of this underground palace and the complete manual of the "Five Extremes Divine Skill."
Beyond the tin wall lay poisons of various kinds, guarded by a fierce lion statue.
Lastly, there was a wall of soil, devoid of a corresponding capstan, but with a pull ring on its surface. Behind this wall was a self-destruct mechanism for the underground palace, utilizing the mountain's lake and spring water.
Of all the walls, Jiang Feng was most interested in the gold and copper ones. While reading, aside from being captivated by the 'Five Extremes Divine Skill,' these two walls intrigued him the most—one brimming with countless treasures and the other with myriad divine weapons.
However, now that he was here, his emotions were surprisingly subdued.
In terms of wealth, he, Jiang Feng, was already immensely rich, and as for divine weapons, he could summon the Refine Steel Technique at any time.
He had unknowingly acquired the two most alluring external possessions, and yet, life seemed to be losing its excitement!
Without hesitation, Jiang Feng turned the silver capstan, and a doorway appeared in the silver wall.
The passage beyond was lined with thick rugs, and beside it hung beaded curtains over six doors, resembling a celestial paradise. However, the scenes behind those five doors were akin to hell.
For within those rooms lay the wives of the Five Extremes of Heaven and Earth, their pressure points struck, having starved to death.
Jiang Feng made his way through, arriving at the last room. He lifted the beaded curtain and saw a burly man with a jeweled crown and a face full of whiskers sitting by the door.
His thick eyebrows resembled spears, and his round, wide-open eyes exuded murderous intent. With his hands pressed on the table, he seemed poised to pounce.
However, he, too, was long dead, his seven orifices dried of the blood that had flowed from them.
It was none other than the illustrious Ouyang Ting.
And behind Ouyang Ting, on the bed, lay the corpse of a stunningly beautiful woman—Ouyang Ting's wife, Fang Lingxi. They had consumed a peculiar poison, leaving their bodies like puppets, neither decaying nor rotting.
Jiang Feng glanced at the female corpse and then took two silk booklets from her side.
The first booklet was thin, recording the intricate relationship between Fang Lingxi and Ouyang Ting, as well as the secrets of this underground palace.
Jiang Feng flipped through it briefly, noting the elegant handwriting. The story unfolded exactly as described in the original novel.
It recounted how Fang Lingxi, driven by revenge, infiltrated her enemy Ouyang Ting's life, helping him deceive and silence the Five Extremes of Heaven and Earth. Eventually, she fell in love with Ouyang Ting but couldn't bring herself to forgive him. In the end, they drank poison together, choosing mutual destruction.
So classic! So melodramatic!
So heart-wrenching! So tear-jerking!
Jiang Feng set down the first silk booklet and opened the second one.
This booklet was significantly thicker, filled with detailed illustrations and explanations, encompassing a wide range of martial arts techniques: internal and external skills, light body techniques, stances, strikes with fists, palms, fingers, and claws, leg techniques, weapons, and hidden weapon techniques. It was a comprehensive, high-level martial arts encyclopedia.
With this, Xiao Yu'er was able to quickly match Jiang Biehe, and Jiang Yulang soon became a top-notch martial artist in the jianghu.
For Jiang Feng, it served to complement his weaknesses, empowering him further.
(End of Chapter)
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