Chapter 1 The Display Room

After the mentally collapsing trainees were comforted, Teacher Mo Xin continued to introduce the props in the display room.

He pointed to a crown woven from vines and blooming with fiery flowers, and said:

"Forest Crown, a Shanshen (Mountain God) class item. Its functions are super strength, endurance, self-healing, and refinement."

*Eh*, the functions overlap greatly with the Shanshen Scepter. Self-healing and super strength seem to be skills of the Muyao (Wood Elf). I always thought the Shanshen Scepter was special, but it seems that the functions of Shanshen-level items all overlap with Muyao.

--Shanshen is a class advancement from a Tu Guai (Earth Monster), and Muyao's class advancement is a Shou Wang (Beast King).

Zhang Yuanqing was thinking when Hong Ji-ge (Red Rooster Bro) asked:

"Why are the functions of the Shanshen's items so similar to those of the Muyao? They are clearly two different classes."

No matter when, it's always good to have a Fire Master by your side! Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, looking at Teacher Mo Xin, waiting for her reply.

The meticulous and gentle Mo Xin paused for a few seconds, then explained:

"Among the Lawful classes, Chihou (Scout), Muyao, Shui Gui (Water Ghost), Huo Shi (Fire Master), and Tu Guai respectively symbolize metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. According to the Five Elements theory, all things in the world are composed of five elements. Their origin is chaos, chaos gives rise to yin and yang, and yin and yang divide into the five elements. Lingjing (Spirit Realm) scholars speculate that these five major classes are closely related, and under certain conditions, the five major classes will unleash unimaginable power."

"When the Five Elements Alliance was first established, a project was set up to study the five major classes. I saw relevant papers in my family's database a few years ago," Zhao Feiyu, from the Scholar family, asked, recalling:

"That paper was six years ago, and there hasn't been any follow-up."

Xiahou Aotian interjected: "So, the research was successful?"

While the three scholars were discussing, Zhang Yuanqing inexplicably thought of the rogue disk, or rather, the Yin-Yang Wheel, the item attributes of this prop.

"An outstanding craftsman has seen through the secrets of the five Lawful classes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. He used the top materials of the five major classes as the cornerstone, and the spirit of the scholar as the core, to create a powerful and objective item, named the Yin-Yang Wheel."

Also, considering that the Yin-Yang Wheel is an important prop of the Songhai branch, it is not difficult to speculate that a group of technicians (scholars) established a research project on the five major classes under the leadership of the official.

The Yin-Yang Wheel was born at that time, but later, because it encountered someone who was not pure, it fell into the dust, and since then, it has been unspeakable.

"What about this?"

Hong Ji-ge listened for a long time and didn't understand, so he pointed to a golden rope and forcibly interrupted the scholars' discussion.

"Oh, it's the Xian Suo (Immortals Binding Rope), a top-quality item with self-awareness. It prefers to bind girls, don't worry about it, let's continue!" Teacher Mo Xin forcibly changed the subject.

What do you mean by liking to bind girls? Please explain clearly! Zhang Yuanqing immediately became interested, and was about to ask in detail when suddenly, he sensed Yin Yao Junzhu's (Princess Yin Yao's) thoughts coming from the brand in his sea of consciousness: The stone door is open!

The princess is great!

He immediately calmed his emotions and diverted half of his soul into the main Yin Shi (Corpse of Yin, Princess Yin Yao).

Suddenly, his perception seemed to turn into a computer screen, one half showing the display room, and the other half showing the bottom of the dark lake.

The stone door of the Empress Star was open, behind which was a downward stone staircase. She had a heavy backpack hanging around her neck and a jade plate in her hand.

After Zhang Yuanqing examined himself, he put the jade plate into his cloth bag and went down the stone steps.

The princess's sleeping talisman only lasts for five minutes. He must come out within five minutes, otherwise he will be caught by the Night Watchers, the college teachers, and the Tiger King who are blocking the door.

Time is limited, but exploring an unknown secret realm must not be careless. He took out the Zhaguzijin Hammer (Pestle Purple Gold Hammer), turned it into a round shield, and used the smooth, mirror-like surface of the shield to look at himself.

In the mirror, his Mian Gong (Face Palace) was shrouded in a bloody light, and his Cai Gong (Wealth Palace) shone brightly.

It appeared, the typical face of "success leads to a club model, failure returns to the Lingjing (Spirit Realm)." Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth.

The bloody disaster meant that if he forcibly delved into the secret realm, there was a 90% chance that he would die inside. Well, it was Princess Yin Yao who would die inside.

The steps were about two meters wide, and the stone walls on both sides were rugged and uneven.

Zhang Yuanqing, wearing the Yin-Yang Fapao (Yin-Yang Law Robe), controlled the water flow to form a vortex around his body for self-defense.

The water here was very calm, with almost no undercurrents. The air underwater was mixed with a strong, stale smell, the smell of stagnant water that had been sealed for many years. He walked along the steps for two or three minutes and suddenly stopped.

At the edge of the steps ahead, two highly decayed corpses leaned against the stone wall, their heads drooping. Their clothes were tattered and their hair was withered and sparse.

From the bodies of the two corpses, Zhang Yuanqing sensed a strong Yin Qi (Yin energy) and resentment.

He was considering whether to use the Star Escape technique to bypass them when the head of the Yin Shi on the left suddenly twisted ninety degrees and looked at Zhang Yuanqing.

It was an extremely terrifying face, swollen, rotten, with maggots crawling in the eye sockets and nostrils, and black lips.

Immediately afterwards, the other Yin Shi also twisted its head, and two pairs of maggot-wriggling eyes stared at him grimly.

In the next second, the two Yin Shi rushed over, carrying a surging undercurrent.

No wonder the air underwater is so stinky. Zhang Yuanqing took a step back and kicked the abdomen of the Yin Shi that rushed over first. His first feeling was that it was heavy and stiff. The bodies of the two Yin Shi were not as rotten as their faces.

The Yin Shi's abdomen was kicked, and it inevitably floated into the air.

Zhang Yuanqing ignored it, reached out and grabbed the neck of the other Yin Shi, and quickly drew on its forehead with his other hand.

The power of Taiyin (Grand Yin) quickly outlined a talisman full of Dao rhyme and imprinted it on the Yin Shi's forehead.

In an instant, the Yin Qi in the body of this ferocious and violent Yin Shi was blocked, and it lost all ability to move.

At this time, the Yin Shi that was kicked away returned. Zhang Yuanqing followed suit, and solved it with a Zhenhu Fu (Household Suppression Talisman).

Level 4 Yin Shi, it's a good thing I'm a Xingguan (Star Official). If it were another Saint, it wouldn't be so easy to solve them. Are these two guarding each other? It seems that I'm getting close to the treasure.

Zhang Yuanqing carried the two Yin Shi and continued forward. Before long, the flying steps came to an end, and ahead was a passage.

He exhaled a mouthful of Taiyin power and summoned the Gui Xinniang (Ghost Bride). Unable to speak, he used the unique method of communication of the Yeyoushen (Night Watcher) and said:

"Niangzi (My Lady), possess the Yin Shi and pass through the passage."

The Ghost Bride blessed her body, stuck to the back of the Yin Shi, and merged into it.

Zhang Yuanqing stood aside, watching the Yin Shi walk towards the passage. After a few steps, a sword light flashed, and the Yin Shi's head rolled down.

Zhang Yuanqing immediately raised his head and looked above the passage.

From the light penetrating the darkness, he saw a miniature sword, two fingers long, hanging from the uneven ceiling.

The headless Yin Shi continued to move forward. Ten seconds later, another sword light slashed down, and the left hand was cut off at the shoulder.

The headless Yin Shi continued to move forward. After encountering a total of four slashes, it finally reached the end of the passage.

"Husband, there are upward steps here. Should Nu Jia (this servant) go up and check?" The Ghost Bride's voice came from afar.

"No need, just wait there." Zhang Yuanqing replied, looked up at the miniature sword. This should be an item.

He hesitated for a moment and did not take the small sword, fearing that it would trigger a bad reaction. After confirming that the Ghost Bride was safe, he transformed into dreamlike starlight in the water, passed through the passage, and came to the Ghost Bride's side. In front of him was an upward passage.

It's been almost five minutes since I entered. There are still ten minutes left. Gotta hurry... Quickly go up the steps.

From time to time, he took out the Purple Gold Shield to look at himself and check the changes in his face.

After walking upwards for two or three minutes, Zhang Yuanqing saw the surface of the water.

Yes, going up further would be drilling out of the water. The top should be the mountain belly of Hundred Beasts Island's main peak.

"The secret realm behind the stone gate is inside the mountain belly, but the Baihua Hui (Hundred Flowers Association) didn't directly split the mountain, which means that it can't be entered through normal channels. It can only be accessed through the stone gate to reach the mountain belly." He thought to himself, and ordered the limb-disabled Yin Shi next to him.

"Niangzi, go up and take a look."

The greatest benefit of a spirit servant is that as long as it doesn't encounter Taiyin, Taiyang (Grand Yang), or thunder and lightning, no matter how great the danger, it cannot harm it.

The Ghost Bride immediately controlled the Yin Shi and drilled out of the water along the steps.

In just two or three seconds, Zhang Yuanqing sensed the Ghost Bride above and conveyed intense mental fluctuations:

"Hu... Husband."

Her mental fluctuations were very abnormal, the kind of state where many emotions were boiling.

What did she see? Zhang Yuanqing endured his curiosity and communicated with the spirit servant: "Is it dangerous?"

"No."

Upon receiving the reply, Zhang Yuanqing immediately went up and drilled out of the water.

His eyes suddenly opened up, and a magnificent scene came into view.

This was an unimaginably wide stone cave, the black ceiling full of countless gemstones and pearls, shining with gorgeous light, as bright as a galaxy, as vast as the night sky, illuminating the cave brightly.

Below the stone cave was a huge detached palace, with flowing eaves and a majestic momentum, standing on a white jade stone platform.

The white jade platform was a full hundred meters high, trapezoidal, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. White jade stone steps extended from the front of the palace to the bottom. In the center of the white jade steps, there was also a Dan Bi Shi (vermilion step stone) carved with cloud patterns, which was very similar to the stone steps of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

On both sides of the white jade steps of the underground palace stood figures of terracotta warriors, wearing armor and holding weapons, some holding spears and some wearing long swords.

They stood motionless. And near the white jade high platform, there were also densely packed terracotta warriors, standing silently in an array, like a disciplined army. A simple visual estimate showed that there were as many as a thousand terracotta warriors.

The following term subconsciously appeared in Zhang Yuanqing's mind: Emperor Qin's terracotta army. At this time, the place where he was standing was the water pool at the very edge of the stone cave, about thirty meters away from the terracotta army, separated by flat white jade stone bricks.

"Why does it look a bit like Emperor Qin's tomb?"

Zhang Yuanqing retracted his gaze, murmured in a low voice, and stepped onto the steps, stepping onto the stone bricks.

The moment he set foot in the stone cave, the terracotta army in the distance suddenly turned their heads in unison, their stiff, wooden faces facing Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing's scalp went numb. He quickly put on the [Sliding Shovel Shoes], put on the Lucky Necklace, the Beast King Bracelet, and the Gale Gloves, and tightened his grip on the Purple Gold Shield.

"Whoosh whoosh"

A strong wind blew in the stone cave. He rode the wind and flew towards the hundred-meter-high white jade platform.

He would never directly confront the terracotta army.

More than a thousand terracotta warriors all raised their heads, their faces stiffly staring at the invader in the sky.

They took off the crossbows hanging from their waists with uniform movements, raised them, and pulled the triggers.

Hundreds of bowstring sounds twisted into one, resounding through the cave.

Arrows shot upwards like bees.

Zhang Yuanqing waved his left hand, and the strong wind turned into two wind blades, slashing towards the arrows, while curling his body in the air and raising the round shield.

The Gale Gloves can only fire two wind blades at most. The arrows were too fast, and he only had time to fire once.

Clang clang clang!

The crossbow arrows rained down on the round shield, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear on this strong and indestructible shield.

What the hell?!

Zhang Yuanqing's arm holding the shield was sore and numb. The Purple Gold Shield actually showed signs of damage in the first wave of arrows.

That's right, after all, the Qin Feng Academy is a Dominator-level dungeon. Even if the core difficulty of the hidden mission is the key, the dangers inside are not something a Saint can resist.

Zhang Yuanqing did not hesitate to use the Star Escape technique to return to the ground.

As soon as he landed, he saw thousands of troops charging towards him. At the front was a row of infantrymen holding spears.

Dodging the thrust of two spears, the Purple Gold Shield in his hand melted and condensed into a small pumpkin.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Wearing the Beast King Bracelet, he possessed extremely high balance, flexibility, and strength. Relying on his relatively superb fighting skills, he flashed and moved among the ten thousand troops, hammering the terracotta warriors one by one.

But after being stabbed twice in the abdomen, he gave up resisting. It was impossible for him to pass through the ten thousand troops without being hit even once.

The strength of these terracotta warriors was extremely great, and the piercing power of their spears was astonishing. Even a Yin Shi of Princess Yin Yao's level almost had its defenses broken after being hit by two spears.

Zhang Yuanqing turned into starlight and dissipated, bypassing the terracotta army and coming to the edge of the stone steps leading to the high platform. He raised his hand and swept, and there were a total of twenty terracotta warriors on the stone steps, wearing the same armor, holding the same bronze swords, and hanging crossbows on their waists.

Only then did Zhang Yuanqing realize that the armor worn by the warriors on the steps was not made of clay, but was real.

At the end of the stone steps was a high memorial arch, and a crystal plaque hung on the arch, vaguely showing the three characters "Chang Sheng Gong (Palace of Longevity)".

At this time, the terracotta warriors standing on both sides of the stone steps turned their heads in unison and looked down at the enemy below the steps.

The two warriors at the bottom were only ten steps away from Zhang Yuanqing. The warrior on the left was wearing Qin-style armor and held a sharp bronze sword.

It stared at Zhang Yuanqing and transmitted mental fluctuations: "Who dares to break into the sleeping palace of the First Emperor!"

After saying that, the warriors, identical to the one on the right, jumped up at the same time.

Jump slash! Zhang Yuanqing slid through the two warriors, quickly turned around, and swung the small pumpkin.

Peng peng!

The two warriors exploded into pieces, turning into black clods of soil.

The armor is just a decoration and has no defensive ability? Zhang Yuanqing's spirits were lifted, but he was too happy. Those scattered pieces trembled violently and quickly reunited like magnets.

The two warriors were restored to their original state.

"Re, restored?!" Zhang Yuanqing was shocked.

He immediately turned into starlight and dissipated, appearing in one breath beyond these warriors and arrived at the middle section of the white jade steps.

He planned to use the Star Escape technique to directly reach the palace.

At this moment, one of the warriors left behind, detached a crossbow arrow and pulled the trigger.

The bowstring vibrated and the arrow shot out.

Zhang Yuanqing dodged sideways, but saw that the arrow changed its trajectory and flew diagonally.

"Ding!"

A mark? A prop of the Bewildering Fairy?! Helpless, he waved the small pumpkin and knocked off the arrow, and the force of the rebound instantly made his tiger's mouth numb.

The warriors on the steps are all equipped with magic weapons?

The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately saw that the twenty warriors above and below simultaneously detached their military crossbows and aimed at him.

And even further below, those warrior armies had already rushed up the steps.

The sound of bowstrings was like wind.

Amidst the crisscrossing arrows, Zhang Yuanqing disappeared. He entered the Night Tour.

Night Tour can shield the Bewildering Fairy's mark.

After becoming invisible, he immediately rushed towards the end of the stone steps. Suddenly, he heard the sound of bowstrings vibrating behind him.

The next second, two sharp arrows pierced through his back, and the bronze arrowheads were exposed from his chest.

How is this possible, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't believe it.

Suddenly, he saw a round bronze mirror hanging on the plaque of the "Palace of Longevity" ahead, and the mirror reflected his figure. He immediately understood.

This bronze mirror is an item, an item that can see through Night Tour.

The First Emperor has all kinds of messy props. He took a deep breath, entered Night Tour again, dodged the arrow, and looked down from a high position.

Densely packed, the warriors were killing along the white jade stone steps, led by that special warrior.

And in front of him, there were 3 warriors, using the bronze mirror to watch, either raising their military crossbows to aim, or waving their bronze swords to pounce.

With these terracotta warriors alone, he can't deal with it alone. There may be even more dangerous bosses in the Palace of Longevity. Forcing his way through would be certain death for him. Zhang Yuanqing sighed in his heart and pressed his hands on the top.

A strong wind rose from the ground, pushing him high, flying out of the stone steps.

Retreat!

Zhang Yuanqing controlled the strong wind, cooperated with the Star Escape technique, and quickly escaped.

Refining Room.

With a "crack" sound, the pearl condensed from the tears of the Jiaoren (Merfolk) shattered. Zhang Yuanqing pinched a small carving knife with his fingers and sighed. Refining is a delicate job, and multitasking is still too difficult. This was the fifth Jiaoren tear he had damaged.