Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
This is a palace of the Sui Dynasty, Wang Chong realized with a shudder.
Grabbing the copper key, Wang Chong disappeared.
At night, in the inner court of the Imperial Palace, outside the imperial prison…
Two figures stood side by side in the darkness.
“I didn’t think that this key would be for the area under the imperial prison, the general hub for all the formations and seals in the Sui Dynasty’s palace!”
Wang Chong looked at the copper key floating in the air, now exuding a golden light, as he softly muttered to himself.
If one looked carefully, one would realize that the strands of light intersected into a miniature projection of the area beneath the imperial prison. The layout of the cells and the formations and seals around them were shown in exquisite detail.
Wang Chong looked at the prison and mentally said, Senior, it’s time we met again!
“Begin!”
Wang Chong extended a hand, grabbing Divine Embryo 1’s shoulder. Soon, Divine Embryo 1 flashed with light and activated its Earth Movement ability.
The sturdy ground rippled like water, and the pair swiftly vanished into the depths.
The subterranean world was dark, all light coming from the various complicated underground seals.
It was not just the imperial prison. The entirety of the area beneath the Imperial Palace was covered in seals. However, the copper key made all of these seals open up to Wang Chong, and he and Divine Embryo 1 traveled straight down into the depths of the abandoned Sui palace.
Finally, after passing through level after level and going past cinnabar dragon pillars, Wang Chong arrived in the deepest part of the palace.
Bang!
The key in Wang Chong’s hand was pulled toward an ancient gate of Xuan Metal. With a great boom, the gate opened. Smoke poured out, and a ‘world’ forgotten by people slowly revealed itself to Wang Chong.
“Brat! It’s you!”
Almost the moment the gate opened, a familiar and aloof voice rang out, and a powerful energy seemed to awaken.
Whoosh!
Soon afterward, there was a clattering of chains, and then a long silence.
Wang Chong’s heart thumped and his mind was momentarily dazed. He walked past the threshold and entered the deepest part of this abandoned palace.
Wang Chong saw a hall of greenish black, dark bricks forming the floor, a simple dragon carved on each of them.
Though they were dragons, these dragons were different from the dragons of the Great Tang, more akin to the dragons of the Han Dynasty.
This is some extremely important palace of the Sui Dynasty!
Wang Chong suddenly understood.
The hall was extremely spacious and quiet. Even though it was the lowest floor, the place was not as humid as Wang Chong had imagined. On the contrary, it was extremely dry, and thick smoke tinged with the scent of sandalwood filled the air.
Rather than a cell, it appeared more like a forgotten and luxurious palace.
But a moment later, Wang Chong came back to his senses and walked toward that familiar energy.
A few moments later, Wang Chong finally saw the owner of that voice that he had heard three-some years ago.
Though he had mentally prepared himself, seeing that figure still left him deeply stunned.
Between two golden dragon pillars was a square altar as tall as a man. Atop this altar sat an erect figure wearing an imperial robe of black and gold.
His long hair covered his face, but with one glance, Wang Chong could tell that this man had been born with an air of grace and nobility.
Yet it was clear that the man had not lived a life of nobility.
Two thick chains extended out of the altar and under his robes. One of them was clearly attached to his ankle.
The man sat cross-legged there, as motionless as a tree.
Though the man was restraining his energy, Wang Chong still felt an all-consuming storm of energy radiating from him.
Savagery!
Danger!
These were Wang Chong’s first sensations!
But most importantly, Wang Chong sensed a sliver of that energy from three years ago.
After three years, Wang Chong had never imagined that he would ‘meet’ this enigmatic senior again: the once-renowned deposed Crown Prince, Li Xuantu!
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Wang Chong took two steps forward and loudly spoke.
“Junior Wang Chong pays respects to Senior!”
The figure’s hair began to shake as a cold laughter rang out.
“So you still remember this old man? Little trickster, you want to try and deceive this old man again?”
As that cold and sinister voice spoke, the figure on the altar raised his head, revealing two cold and emotionless eyes.
Lightning crackled in the dark palace, illuminating the place as brightly as day.
Wang Chong’s heart trembled, instantly sensing danger.
But a moment later, Wang Chong frowned.
“‘Trickster’? For what reason does Senior say this?” Wang Chong asked in surprise.
“Hmph, still refuse to confess? When you appeared in the underground prison, this old man only helped you to hurt Li Taiyi, but seeing your resplendent attire and the token of royalty on your belt, you’re probably one of Li Taiyi’s trusted officials! What? You think that this old man wouldn’t know because he was held underground?
“And this place is extremely well-hidden. Outsiders can’t get in without Li Taiyi’s key. You still want to deny it?”
The figure on the altar exploded with hostility.
Wang Chong’s heart instantly sank. He actually had a good opinion of this mysterious senior, but now, it appeared that he still held a deep grudge against the Sage Emperor.
Wang Chong wanted to say something, but considering the grudge between Li Xuantu and the Sage Emperor, how the Sage Emperor had defeated him and stripped him of his power as Prince, he was rendered speechless.
“Senior misunderstands. When the incident took place, this junior was only sixteen and truly was imprisoned in the imperial prison for offending the Sage Emperor. In this aspect, Wang Chong did not deceive Senior.”
Wang Chong paused a moment.
“Junior came this time to thank Senior for your assistance.”
“Oh?”
The icy pupils constricted and then softened, but the voice quickly rang out, as cold and harsh as ever.
“Only a small favor that’s hardly worth mentioning. Moreover, at your current level of cultivation, that little aid I gave you should hardly count as anything. Speak! For what reason did you come here?”
The figure on the altar stared suspiciously at Wang Chong.
Wang Chong fell silent.
He could sense that the figure on the altar was very paranoid– no. Rather than paranoid, it was better to say that he was still brooding over what had happened between him and the Sage Emperor all those years ago.
Wang Chong had probably been branded as part of the Sage Emperor’s faction, and winning his trust would not be an easy task.
It was different in the past, but now that the Sage Emperor was dead and it had been thirty years since the Divine Dragon Coup, Wang Chong found it somewhat unbearable to allow his benefactor to remain imprisoned down here until death.
Wang Chong bowed and asked, “Senior, this junior has a question that he seeks instruction on.”
“What is your question?” the figure on the altar coldly replied.
“Senior, are you… the deposed Crown Prince from thirty years ago, during Emperor Gaozong’s reign, His Highness Li Xuantu?”
Wang Chong turned serious as he respectfully bowed.
The hall fell silent, other than Wang Chong’s question bouncing incessantly off the walls.
“Emperor Gaozong… Crown Prince… It has been a long time since I last heard people mention such things!!”
The man on the later muttered to himself, raising his head to the roof. But a moment later, a freezing and harsh energy locked onto Wang Chong.
“Brat, what are you thinking? Li Taiyi gave the key to you, so why would he not tell you who I was? You ask despite knowing the answer!”
In this way, the man confessed to his identity. With his last words, Li Xuantu unleashed a frigid energy that caused the temperature in the palace to plunge, and the altar lamps on the walls to gutter and dim.
Wang Chong frowned. While the Sage Emperor had given him the key, he had mentioned nothing about Li Xuantu.
But this was not something Wang Chong was able to explain to Li Xuantu.