A sudden cry rang out from outside the inn. “Come over here! What is that?”

A group of people subconsciously raised their heads and looked in the direction that person was pointing. A blinding radiance streaked across the sky.

Liu Yao looked at that shining meteorite as it flew through the night sky, and muttered to himself, “It’s an irregular phenomenon… It surely harbors a great treasure!”

The eyes of those around him burned with desire when they heard what he said.

Only Zhuxie Chixin maintained an impassive expression. He stared at that streak of radiance that had suddenly turned the dark night into day, then said, “Let’s move. We’re heading over there to take a look.”

Chu Chuyan was slightly hesitant. She was still worried about Zu An and Pei Mianman’s safety, concerned that they might not be able to escape Mosquito Daoist’s pursuit. She wanted to use this opportunity to find them.

Sang Qien walked over to her side and said, “Big sister Chu, even though I haven’t been with Zu An for a long time, from what I know about him, he’ll probably run towards that falling meteorite. I’m sure its sudden appearance has drawn enough attention, and other people will converge on it swiftly. There will surely be others there to help keep Mosquito Daoist in check.”

After all, there was clearly no need for Zu An to reveal the fact that he possessed Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, yet he had done so deliberately to drag in other powers to keep the emperor in check. This man could be considered absolutely reckless, yet at the same time, he was still an incredibly meticulous thinker. She believed that he would choose to run towards the meteor, as that would make it easier for him to escape.

Chu Chuyan gave her a surprised look. “I’ve heard that Miss Sang was sharp, and it now seems like the rumors were all true. If we do end up rescuing Ah Zu, I shall owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“I should be the one who is grateful to him for burying these men.” Sang Qien gave those deathsworn soldiers a look. She had already requested that Zhuxie Chixin order the men to be buried again. Once they returned to the capital, they would dispatch some people to bring these men back home.

Chu Chuyan’s expression softened as well. “Even though there are too many things I can criticize Zu An for, deep down, he is still a kind person.”

Sang Qien grunted in agreement. “I could sense that as well.”

Sang Hong sighed. He actually admired Zu An greatly. If he’d known about this beforehand, he would have brought his daughter to Brightmoon City instead, and taken him in as his son-in-law. His son wouldn’t have had to die such a miserable death then…

Zhuxie Chixin and the others were not in a sympathetic mood. He left behind some men to guard the inn and watch the criminals, then personally led the Embroidered Envoy in the direction the meteorite had crashed.

King Liang and Liu Yao couldn’t hide their curiosity, and followed along as well. So did Chu Chuyan, who was worried about Zu An.

However, by the time they reached the crash site, all they saw was a crater, with some debris scattered about, probably from the meteorite. Zhuxie Chixin’s face was as dark as a thundercloud.

“Lord Zhuxie, do you see Zu An?” Chu Chuyan asked. He had the highest cultivation among them all, and had arrived first, so he might have noticed something.

Zhuxie Chixin stared at the remnants of the meteor. “We were too late. I saw them jump through a portal. Mosquito Daoist followed them in as well. The portal disappeared too quickly, and I wasn’t able to stop them in time.”

He presumed that the portal was the entrance to a secret dungeon. However, he had never seen a portal entrance close that quickly. Who knew if Zu An would even be able to return alive? After all, only after a secret dungeon had matured and been mostly explored did it become relatively safer. Most secret dungeons were extremely dangerous when they first opened.

He felt a huge headache coming on when he thought about how he was going to explain things to the emperor once he got back.

“Mosquito Daoist went in as well?” Chu Chuyan’s expression changed slightly, a tremor of fear growing in her heart.

“That’s not something to be worried about. Secret dungeons are usually rather complicated, so they might have been sent to different locations upon entering,” said Zhuxie Chixin.

…

The instant Zu An and Pei Mianman entered the portal, they felt a sudden weightlessness. This wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling—they had felt something similar when they entered the dungeon behind the academy.

When they regained their senses, they discovered that they were in a world shrouded in mist. Gray-colored fog hung heavy in the air all around them.

“I think I saw Mosquito Daoist enter as well,” Pei Mianman said, glancing behind her in worry. However, there was no one there.

Zu An said, “She did follow us in, but she was probably sent to a different location.”

He too felt a growing headache. That woman just never gave up! She never even let this small opportunity slip past her.

Pei Mianman also understood what had happened. This was true of many other secret dungeons as well. Those who entered were often sent to different locations within the dungeon. To arrive in the same location as a group, those entering needed to hold hands.

Only now did she notice that their hands were still clasped together tightly. Her face colored slightly as she felt the heat coming from his hand. “How much longer are you going to hold my hand for?”

Zu An chuckled awkwardly and quickly let go of her hand. “I had no choice earlier! I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you.”

“I know.” Pei Mianman’s looked at him with her beautiful peach-blossom eyes, which were deep and enchanting. “Otherwise, I would’ve burned you to ash with my black flames a long time ago.”

Zu An jumped in fright. “Please don’t…Whoever comes into contact with your black flames is incinerated completely, and even their bones are reduced to nothing!” 

“You silly thing, why would I use my black flames on you?” Pei Mianman giggled.

Zu An looked around them, peering out at the greenish-gray mist surrounding them. This mist seemed different from regular mist, that would dissipate even in a gentle breeze. It was exceptionally thick, and he wasn’t confident that even Solitary Wind’s tornados could scatter it. “Be careful, this place is rather strange, and we don’t know where Mosquito Daoist is either. Things could turn sour if we end up running into her.”

This mist reduced their visibility to just a few meters ahead of them, which wasn’t far at all. If Mosquito Daoist was hiding nearby, they wouldn’t have any advanced warning.

“Okay…” Pei Mianman wasn’t actually that scared, yet she somehow felt a sense of safety when she was around this man, although his cultivation was clearly lower than hers.

“How are your injuries?” Zu An said as he took out a pill. She had been injured by Mosquito Daoist again earlier on, and he could see how weak she was.

“I’m fine. I’m already in a much better condition.” Pei Mianman shook her head, refusing his offer. “The medicine from earlier is still doing its work. I’m already slowly recovering.”

Zu An had to give Ji Dengtu credit for his medicine. He made a mental note to get some more from Ji Xiaoxi the next time he saw her.

“By the way, how were you able to recognize the characters on that stele?” Pei Mianman asked curiously. The scene from earlier on was still fresh in her memory.

“Because I know a lot of things, duh!” Zu An said smugly.

Pei Mianman snorted. “I’ve studied the records left behind by all the different races ever since I was young. Why have I never seen these words, then?”

Zu An knew that she was a top student, and he probably wouldn’t be able to fool her if he said that they were some random characters that were only used in his hometown. Instead, he said, “I don’t know either. I’ve seen those characters in my dreams before, so I recognized them when I saw them on the stele.”

Pei Mianman was shocked. “There are records dating far back into ancient times about certain individuals’ talents being directly bestowed on them by the heavens. I’ve always thought that it was just a myth. I never expected that such a thing would be true.”

Zu An exhaled in relief. He had chosen this excuse precisely because of these examples from the past. He hadn’t expected it to actually work.

Now that he had loosened up, a host of questions began to bubble up in his mind. Would he actually see the ruins of Yinshang, and come across any oracle bone inscriptions?

He recalled meeting the first emperor, Qin Shihuang, in the dungeon behind the academy, and other figures from ancient times. He sank deep into thought, trying to puzzle out what was going on.

“Ah!!” Pei Mianman suddenly cried out in alarm, and subconsciously grabbed his arm.

“What happened?” Zu An asked anxiously. He looked all around him, expecting to see that Mosquito Daoist had somehow caught up to them, but their immediate surroundings seemed completely calm, and he didn’t detect any possible dangers.

“Blood…” Pei Mianman pointed at the ground beneath them. “The color of the soil here is dark red, as if it had been soaked in blood.”

There was greenish-gray mist surrounding them. They could only see a few meters ahead of them, and they had been in a constant state of stress all this while. The sight of the blood-red ground beneath them was enough to immediately send chills running down anyone’s spine.

Just how much blood was needed to completely turn the soil dark red?