"Boss, are you sure the prince's soul is inside? I don't think we have much of a chance of defeating him," Hu Bayi said softly after a moment of silence.
Zhang Tian also nodded, looking around the tomb chamber. "If we want to get the treasure now, the only way is to defeat the prince."
Zhang Tian then looked at the jade pendant on the throne. "That thing is probably just a lure, useless," Fatty said indignantly. "Old Hu, when did you become so cowardly? You weren't this scared even when we were fighting the Japanese." Fatty said with a proud expression, which seemed to stir up Hu Bayi's own pride.
"Alright, Fatty, Boss, let's go meet this legendary prince," Hu Bayi said, then looked at Yingzi. "Yingzi, you wait here for us. Watch us, we'll be out soon." With that, the three of them no longer hesitated, their eyes fixed on the mural. They stared intently, and no one looked back.
The next moment, all three felt their heads spin. They collapsed to the ground, and in their daze, a grand imperial tomb appeared before their eyes. The tomb was vast and magnificent, surrounded by guards. Each guard was tall and imposing, holding iron spears, looking ferocious. Upon seeing the three of them, the guards' eyes turned sharp, and their weapons were pointed at them.
"Holy crap, Boss, is this the imperial palace? Fatty feels like this is a wolf's den!" Fatty's expression changed as the guards surrounded them, and he spoke indignantly.
Zhang Tian didn't answer, but his gaze fell to the ground. Many corpses were scattered haphazardly on the floor. These bodies were clad in black scale armor, and their faces were all blackened. "These corpses are likely not from the Jin Dynasty; they're probably tomb raiders from outside," Zhang Tian murmured, looking at the bodies. Each corpse seemed to have a token on it.
Before Zhang Tian could go closer to inspect, the surrounding guards, carrying their weapons, lunged at them. They moved swiftly, and their weapons were all imbued with evil energy. "Boss, let's check the surroundings later. Let's take down these ghouls first," Fatty said excitedly, drawing his broken sword. This was the first time he had faced so many opponents, especially with his cultivation at its peak.
"Aaaargh..." The guards let out a cry, and countless spears stabbed towards them. Despite his bulk, Fatty was quite agile. He dodged a guard's attack with a sidestep, and then Zhang Tian drew his weapon. As Zhang Tian drew his weapon, the guards' movements became noticeably stiff. Zhang Tian cleaved through large groups of them with a single sword strike, and coupled with his Cloud-Ascending Steps, he was like a tiger with wings. He weaved through the ranks of the guards, finding opportunities to unleash several sword strikes that turned the surrounding guards into dust.
"Damn, so they were all just manifestations of evil energy. Scared Fatty to death," Fatty exhaled, patting his chest.
Meanwhile, before the judgment table, the audience erupted in exclamations. "We can actually see dreams too?" "Is this what the Jin Dynasty imperial palace looked like? So cool." "Holy crap, did you guys see that? Zhang Tian's combat skills are so impressive!" "I believe it now, there must be illusions in this world." A crowd buzzed with discussion, especially excited when they realized they could also witness the scenes within the illusion.
Chen Xi frowned slightly. Hallucinations could be explained, but such an illusion was truly beyond her comprehension. Chen Xi remained silent, waiting for the memories of the Jingjue Ancient City, hoping to see her grandfather.
In the scene, after taking down a large group of guards, Zhang Tian looked down at the many corpses lying on the ground. He picked up the tokens from the bodies. "Mojin Sect, Private Yi." Looking at the tokens, Zhang Tian and Hu Bayi froze. "Boss, these are the bodies of Mojin officers, from the Mojin Sect!" Hu Bayi said with astonishment, looking at the nearly twenty corpses. "It seems Cao Cao's Mojin officers came here and entered this place, but since there are so many bodies, it means they couldn't retreat unscathed," Zhang Tian said. Hu Bayi nodded. "I suspect this entire team died here." Hu Bayi picked up a golden plaque. "Mojin Sect, Fifth Hundredth Military Officer Zhang Qing." Looking at the name, Zhang Tian and Hu Bayi knew this was likely just an ordinary officer. The truly formidable figures probably hadn't even made it this far.
"Mojin officers are at least better than us, Boss. If they died, perhaps they inflicted some damage on that prince," Hu Bayi said. Zhang Tian's mind raced. "You mean, the prince was held up by these people and might be injured now." Hu Bayi nodded at this. Zhang Tian recalled the throne outside, and the jade pendant on it. Zhang Tian had thought it was a trap and didn't pick it up. But what if the prince deliberately placed it there? If he was injured, he might have placed treasures outside, hoping someone would just take them and leave. With this thought, Zhang Tian looked towards the magnificent palace not far away. "Let's not talk about anything else, let's go in and see," Zhang Tian said. Hu Bayi nodded, while Fatty busily collected the golden plaques from the corpses.
Along the way, Zhang Tian continued to see the corpses of the Mojin Sect. Clearly, they had encountered a formidable adversary this time. Upon entering the palace, Zhang Tian counted a total of fifty-eight corpses. This demonstrated the heavy casualties of this tomb-raiding operation. The palace was vast, with large red pillars and various golden artifacts that made Fatty's eyes gleam. "L-Boss, so much gold! If we take some back, we'll be rich," Fatty said, his face full of excitement, clutching a large golden basin. Such a massive gold basin, if taken, would be a national treasure.
"You can't take it out. Don't forget, this is an illusion," Zhang Tian said. If they could take things out, they could just move the entire imperial palace, and Zhang Tian would be set for life. "Ah, I got excited for nothing, Fatty. Let's go, Fatty doesn't like it here anymore," Fatty said with dissatisfaction. Once he heard they couldn't take anything, Fatty lost interest, seeing it was pointless and only made him angry.
The imperial palace was enormous, as if nestled in the mountains. Climbing upwards, Zhang Tian and Hu Bayi discovered a martial arts arena. The first thing encountered in the Jin Dynasty imperial palace wasn't a hall, but an arena, how bizarre. Behind the arena stood four pillars. Fire basins were burning flames on the pillars. Above a large basin, Zhang Tian saw a massive saber. On another pillar opposite the saber, a giant eagle stretched its neck, staring at Zhang Tian and the others. It seemed to have spotted them. Beside the giant eagle, on another pillar, stood a man in a golden robe, wearing a golden hair ornament, his hands clasped behind his back, presenting his back to Zhang Tian and the others.
"Damn, one radish, one hole. You brat think you can play it cool in front of Fatty!" Fatty saw this and rolled up his sleeves. This guy was too arrogant. Zhang Tian, on the other hand, tightened his grip on his long sword. The prince before them was indeed three meters tall and powerfully built, like a living, miniature giant! "This is the Jin Dynasty prince?"