Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss

Chapter 1321 - 1340

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Chapter 1321:- Bone Corroding Forest (7)

"What do you mean by countering poison with poison? You couldn't really be thinking..... to use poison to overcome so many Bone Corroding Trees here are you....." Qiao Chu said as he stared at Jun Wu Xie in shock. The idea wouldn't have been that hard to achieve. The most difficult part though, was that the Bone Corroding Trees were so many in number and were spread over a vast expanse. Even if Jun Wu Xie's Cosmos Sack was filled with poison, it still wouldn't be enough.

"Why not?" Jun Wu Xie's eyebrow arched up. She was thinking to herself that this was a really good idea!

Although she had considered to use their spirit powers to bash a path straight through and place the Bone Corroding Tree's bark under their feet to line their shoes as they moved. But destroying that many Bone Corroding Trees would cause great amounts of the poisonous sap to spill out and the concentration of the poison within the mist in the Bone Corroding Forest would increase by at least several hundred folds. In those circumstances, even when the companions had taken the neutralizing elixirs, if they had to remain in that environment for a long period, negative effects would surely manifest upon them.

That would be the last choice.

If there were any other options available, Jun Wu Xie wouldn't mind giving it a try.

When it came to poisons, among all of them in the world of nature that she had seen, only one type was comparable to the poisonous sap of the Bone Corroding Tree.

"But..... how much poison would that require?" Qiao Chu asked.

Jun Wu Xie replied: "Quantity will not be an issue."

"Huh?"

Jun Wu Xie did not explain it any further to Qiao Chu but had just taken a step forward and a red light shone brilliantly from her fingers!

That red light gradually spread, suspended in midair till the red light grew to shine over a large area that it suddenly gathered together to slowly form into the shape of a man.

Under the entire Heavens, among everything that Jun Wu Xie knew that was able to provide an incessant and uninterrupted supply of poison was just that one, and its toxicity was even comparable to the Bone Corroding Trees.

All of a sudden, the red light dissipated and a tall figure appeared but everyone's eyes. That sinisterly good looking man had a frivolous and flippant smile playing at the corner of his mouth. He glided nearer in approach and when his gaze fell upon the figure of Jun Wu Xie, he knelt upon the ground on a single knee and lowered that arrogant head of his just slightly.

"My Mistress, what orders do you have for me today?" His tone was slovenly and tinged with an alluring raspiness. He then slowly lifted his head and looked at Jun Wu Xie with a pair of eyes filled with rapture, like he only had eyes for Jun Wu Xie, his love untiring.

Jun Wu Xie was just about to open her mouth to speak when a figure appeared right behind her. In the instant before Jun Wu Xie could even open her mouth, a stream of black mist had shot straight towards Poppy who was kneeling upon the ground!

Poppy was startled as he found his body enveloped by that swirling black mist. A highly intense oppressive aura then spilled forth from the black mist which squashed at his body!

"Let me see you looking at her with eyes like that one more time and I make you realize what it means to have your spirit flown and your soul scattered." A voice thick with murder rang out from under that mist as Jun Wu Yao stared through narrowed eyes at Poppy, helplessly confined within the black mist, the murderous intent within his eyes undoubtable.

At that moment, everyone was stunned.

Jun Wu Xie then quickly said: "He is my ring spirit."

Jun Wu Yao replied with a cold laugh and said: "I know that, if he wasn't, he would now already be dead."

[He actually dared to look at his Little Xie with such a frivolous gaze. It did not matter whether he was a man or a ring spirit, they all had to die for such impunity.

"Er....." Jun Wu Xie was speechless for a moment. Although she had come to understand her feelings for Jun Wu Yao, but towards an emotion like "jealousy", it was still foreign to her. What she could not understand was why had such an intense murderous intent suddenly risen within Jun Wu Yao.

[This should be the first time he was seeing Poppy right?]

[Has Poppy offended him already?]

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Chapter 1322:- Bone Corroding Forest (8)

Poppy's face turned deathly pale. Ring spirits were spirit bodies and were able to dodge from many forms of physical harm. When faced with a crisis, they could even turn themselves back into spirit form to hide back into the spirit rings. But the swirling black mist had seemingly negated all those abilities and imprisoned his spirit inside it, giving him no chance of breaking free at all.

The feeling where his entire spirit was placed under torment, had made Poppy experience an extraordinary level of agony.

He looked at Jun Wu Yao who was standing behind Jun Wu Xie and the man whose entire being was exuding a highly dangerous aura made his heart jump in fright.

"I understand..... It won't ever..... happen again....." Poppy was certain that the man was not pulling his leg and if he showed him the slightest sign of going against him, the man would not hesitate to destroy him completely! !

Jun Wu Yao snorted in contempt and with a wave of his hand, he dispersed the black mist.

Poppy then fell back into a kneel wretchedly.

This time, his gaze were steady and determined, not showing any traces of frivolousness or seduction.

In reality, Poppy could not be blamed. Poppies by nature were things that made people fall into helpless addiction and he could not help that the aura exuding from his body was just like nature made him to be. But in the face of such oppressive power, even if it was his innate nature, he had no other choice but to suppress himself.

He really did not wish to die such a ridiculously ignoble death.

Jun Wu Yao had struck quick as lightning and throughout it all, Qiao Chu and the other companions had stood stunned on one side, where they only managed to recover after a fairly long while.

Jun Wu Yao observed Poppy's reaction in satisfaction and the murder slowly faded from his eyes. He then lowered his head to look at the surprised Jun Wu Xie and that familiar smile immediately showed within his eyes in a sparkle, as if that all that had just occurred had never happened at all.

"I still have not congratulated you properly for having gained another ring spirit."

Jun Wu Xie stared at Jun Wu Yao who was all smiles, feeling that his method of "congratulations" was rather "exquisite and unconventional"!

"But among ring spirits, there are quite a number of them who are impure. For those ring spirits, you'll be better off without them and just go find yourself another in the future." Jun Wu Yao said with a highly gentle smile, his tone of voice smiling and smooth. But when those words reached Poppy's ears, they sent a sudden chill to run up his spine.

[Weren't those words actually meant for his ears instead?]

Having not even interacted with his new Mistress for all that long, Poppy cried tearlessly within his heart. At his new Mistress side, it seemed that there was an extraordinary entity.

Jun Wu Xie sighed and then said: "Stop fooling around. We need to deal with the matters at hand."

That's right.....

In Jun Wu Xie's eyes, Jun Wu Yao's actions were just like a child throwing a tantrum and she had not completely not linked it to Jun Wu Yao being jealous or anything.

Jun Wu Yao shrugged his shoulders to show that he was willing to cooperate.

With Jun Wu Yao holding the fort here, Poppy did not dare try anything funny but just forced a mask of undying loyalty to show upon his face, as he knelt before Jun Wu Xie.

Jun Wu Xie had summoned Poppy for no other reason than to borrow Poppy's poison to counteract the Bone Corroding Tree's poisonous sap, to have the two deadly poisons to repel against each other and eliminate a large portion of each other's toxicity. In that way, the companions would then be able to move freely within the Bone Corroding Forest.

"If it's not against the Bone Corroding Tree's poisonous sap on a very large scale, I should be able to achieve it." Poppy said, in a rare moment of seriousness.

Actually, seeking to make use Poppy's poison to pass through the Bone Corroding Forest was not a complicated task. They would only need Poppy to release his scent and allow it to spread. Even if someone was scratched by the Bone Corroding Tree, the corrosive effects would not happen immediately as the poisonous sap upon the wound would clash with Poppy's poison which would neutralize a good part of its toxicity, and would no longer be deadly.

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Chapter 1323:- Bone Corroding Forest (9)

Poppy was a spirit body and when it came to the amount of poison he could call forth, there is no need to worry that it would be inadequate.

"Everyone, please first ingest this." Poppy said as he put several black seeds within his hand, small and tiny, the size of sesame seeds.

"This is?" Qiao Chu picked up one of the seeds and studied it as he held it before his eyes. It was so small that if he blew at it with one breath, he would quickly lose it.

The corners of Poppy's lips curled up but he quickly caught himself and immediately suppressed his slovenly and frivolous demeanor, putting forth a highly serious expression as he said: "Poppy's scent makes people who smell it lose the strength in their bodies and over an extended period, they might even experience hallucinations. I am guessing that all these esteemed individuals here wouldn't want to suffer from that."

To counter the effects of poppies, only something from Poppy himself would work. But it was different from the seeds of the Imperial Snow Lotus as his seeds' effects lasted a shorter period of time, only for a few days before it would then lose its effect.

The poppy seeds by themselves did not possess any special qualities but only provided one immunity to Poppy's poison.

"Hallucinations? What kind of hallucinations?" Qiao Chu asked curiously. They didn't know particularly much about Poppy, this new ring spirit and moreover..... he looks like he wouldn't take it well if antagonized.

Poppy's eyes narrowed slightly and he was about to put on a sinister and wicked smile but as a certain great demon lord was around, he decided he'd better not and instead merely replied: "If you're really curious about it, I'll let you have a taste of it in the future."

Qiao Chu immediately shook his head vehemently. He didn't feel like becoming a guinea pig.

Poppy shrugged his shoulders and everyone swallowed the seed that Poppy had given them. Under Jun Wu Xie's watchful eye this time, Little Jue had no other choice but to mournfully swallow the seed that was so tiny it was almost dismissible down his throat as he looked at Jun Wu Xie teary eyed, his face looking highly aggrieved.

Using the method for one poison to counteract another wasn't too complicated as all Poppy needed to do was to shroud everyone within his scent, creating a sector around Jun Wu Xie and her companions to be filled with the fragrance released by him. As he was a spirit body, Poppy himself did not need to fear getting pricked by the Bone Corroding Trees and all he needed to be concern himself with was the several people in the team. To throw out and maintain his fragrance remained constant within just a small area like that, would not pose any difficulty for Poppy.

After all the preparations were complete, Jun Wu Xie and the others finally set foot into the Bone Corroding Forest. Within the dense forest filled with the closely gathered Bone Corroding Trees, the slightest bit of carelessness would cause them to brush themselves against the twisted and interweaving branches and vines around them. The companions were all dressed in specially made thick clothing and they might not have to fear that so much but the parts where their skin that were exposed were still highly prone to getting scratched.

As Jun Wu Xie had mentioned, those white coloured vines which were seemingly coated with frost were actually covered with tiny barbs and the slightest scratch would tear off a layer of their skin.

The wounds might have just been highly superficial and might not even be noticed at first as the bleeding was just very faint and inconspicuous.

But it was exactly just those small and tiny little wounds that made Qiao Chu and the others whine and grumble incessantly.

Although tiny, the pain they caused were not slight at all. From every scratch they suffered, it felt as if the wound was lit on fire.

And this, was the effect after Poppy's poison had taken effect on them. If they had not had Poppy's poison counteracting the toxin, being scratched by the Bone Corroding Trees would not be just mere pain that they would be feeling.

The Bone Corroding Forest was filled with countless Bone Corroding Trees whose canopies blocked out the sky. The misty fog hung heavily in the air within the thick forest, every single tree looking like one and the same. Jun Wu Xie kept her eyes fixed upon the Destiny's Dish to point them in the right direction or they would easily lose their way within the maze like Bone Corroding Forest.

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Chapter 1324:- Bone Corroding Forest (10)

In the pitch dark Bone Corroding Forest, the chill wind rustled the leaves. Dark and dank, the mud beneath their feet made it difficult to walk like they were in a swamp. To advance within that forest, they had to walk with their backs bent over to try as hard as they could to reduce the chances of contact with the low overhanging leaves and branches, to prevent themselves from getting scratched.

Although being scratched by the trees would not cause them to lose their lives now, but that severe burning pain was not something they were willing to go through.

At that moment, the youths who had always been proud of their height suddenly realized painfully what kind of pain being tall could bring to them.

Among them, only Jun Wu Xie and Little Jue were shorter in stature and most of the Bone Corroding Trees in their twisted state was just about enough for Little Jue to walk unhindered while Jun Wu Xie only needed to occasionally stoop a little when she came across a particularly low hanging branch.

But it was a complete tragedy for tall youths like Qiao Chu and the others.

The five other youths did not differ by much in their heights and when among others in the same age group, they were usually considered outstandingly suave and good looking. But here in the Bone Corroding Forest, their much envied height suddenly became the cause as the tragedy unfolded.

Immediately upon the first step into the Bone Corroding Forest, their backs had not had the chance to straighten at all!

If that was just the case, it wouldn't have been that bad, but.....

They were forced to have to see those several people who were even taller than they were, calmly moving around as they wished within the Bone Corroding Forest with their backs ramrod straight!

Like the spirit body that was Poppy.....

And the courageous and highly skilled Ye Sha and Ye Mei.....

A most prime example, Jun Wu Yao.....

Alright, for the last one, all the companions had selectively chosen to disregard to save their pride!

Poppy was a ring spirit and a ring spirit who possessed lethal poison, so the fact that the Bone Corroding Tree's poisonous sap was no different from spring water was understandable. They had even witnessed with their own eyes when a Bone Corroding Tree's vine had scratched the back of Poppy's hand, the vine had immediately turned black and shriveled up.....

That really showed them just who was more poisonous!

Ye Sha and Ye Mei had seemingly not found the poisonous sap from the Bone Corroding Tree that unbearable or it could be that they would rather endure the agony than bend their backs against it.....

As for Jun Wu Yao.....

Ha ha, they decided they did not see him. That was not a man, but a god!

Lord Meh Meh and the Sacrificial Blood Rabbit were carried in the arms of Ye Sha and Ye Mei, the two most leisurely creatures among the entire group. Along the entire way, they just curled themselves up comfortably in the arms of the two dark robed men, warm and cosy, and were even given leaves of the Imperial Snow Lotus to snack on when they were hungry.

Those two ignorant little creatures seemed as if they did not come here to suffer but to enjoy a leisurely trip!

"Meh~" Lord Meh Meh flicked its ears while inside Ye Sha's arms as it stared at the twisted Bone Corroding Trees, bleating in complaint.

"Puu?" The Sacrificial Blood Rabbit laid within Ye Mei's arms and licked at its fur contentedly.

The two ignorant little beasts chatted away happily with each other, with no one knowing what they were discussing about.

"I'll say Little Black, what are those two jabbering about?" Qiao Chu was following behind Jun Wu Xie, his back almost breaking as he held himself up with a hand at his hips while moving forward. He heard Lord Meh Meh and the Sacrificial Blood Rabbit's mystifying conversation and trying to find some joy in his sorrow, he asked the little black cat plopped over Jun Wu Xie's shoulder.

The little black cat turned its head around and looked at Qiao Chu who had turned red faced from having his back perpetually bent over before it replied.

"They are discussing where the leaves of the Bone Corroding Trees can be eaten, and whether they will taste good."

"....." Qiao Chu was stunned a moment and was suddenly filled with an urge to turn around and thrash up those two ignorant little beasts!

However, he did not act on that urge because.....

He wouldn't be a match for those two!

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Chapter 1325:- All Consuming Sands (1)

Within the Bone Corroding Forest, the white frost that covered every tree trunk, leaf and vine, regardless whether one looked at it from afar, or was standing in the middle of it all, would feel that it all looked mesmerizing and beautiful. However, for people who truly understood the origins of a Bone Corroding Tree, they would not think of it that way.

Inside the Bone Corroding Forest, piles of skeletal remains could be seen at the foot of many of the trees, the flesh long rotted away, the clothes dissolved into nothing, and even the bones were sorely incomplete.

The poisonous sap of the Bone Corroding Trees were highly corrosive and among those piles of skeletal bones seen, it could safely be said that none were whole, probably left behind after parts were corroded and dissolved away, with parts of the remaining broken bones stained black in many places.

In every spot at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff, hidden dangers pervaded the entire place. The more one knew about the place, the more one would be shocked by everything in there.

Every single place was seemingly the result from careful planning and preparation, and its aim was entirely targeted at sending people who seeked to disturb the eternal rest of the Dark Emperor right into Hell.

Without a map, thinking to find the Dark Emperor's tomb in here would not be something that could possibly be achieved in mere years.

Those piles of bones that littered the ground everything was the best proof of that.

The Bone Corroding Forest proved to be a vast expanse, several times the size of the glaciers filled with countless icicles. Throughout the entire way, as Jun Wu Xie and her companions needed to avoid the Bone Corroding Trees, their progress was painfully slow and they took five whole days to walk through it. They made short stops to get small periods of rest but they were not even able to sit down at all in there.

Those Bone Corroding Trees were all infused with poisonous sap and the entire forest could be said to be filled with lethal poison. Long periods of contact with anything within the forest might bring them unthinkable consequences and hence, even with Poppy with them, the companions did not dare take the risk of sitting.

Bone chillingly low temperatures, exhaustion, constantly wrecked at the hearts of everyone, but according to what was marked out on the map, they had just completed merely one third of the journey.

The size of the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff, was so vast it went beyond all their expectations.

On the sixth day, the temperature around them began to take minute changes. The chillingly low temperatures that were enough to freeze their blood was seemingly beginning to lift. The temperature began to warm up which finally brought some relief to the youths who had been tormented for such a long time but they still did not dare to let down their guard completely.

Finally by the time the seventh day came, they could see the edge of the Bone Corroding Forest which brought great delight to the companions.

But the scene that met their eyes after that caused the smiles upon their faces to slowly fade.

In the instant they stepped out from the Bone Corroding Forest, the temperature all around suddenly shot up by several tens of degrees!

It was bone chillingly cold just a moment before, and they were now standing in the merciless scorching heat of endless summer.

Closely joined up to the edge of the Bone Corroding Forest, was another world entirely. A vast expanse of golden sands, dry winds howling past, fine sand particles blown over their faces scratching them, making them feel a stinging pain like tiny knives were cutting into them.

One moment it was so cold their bodies were shivering so hard and just taking one step out, Qiao Chu and his companions suddenly felt sweat dripping like rain within their thickly clothed up bodies!

A wide desert, spread out endlessly before their eyes.

"What..... in Heaven's world..... is this....." Qiao Chu stared into the sweeping golden sands before his eyes, the merciless scorching heat causing his face that had turned pale from the chill immediately flushing a fiery red.

The clothes that they had used to keep warm before now turned into a roasting oven. Their bodies felt like they were encased in a steamer, so stifling that they became nauseated.

The sudden and extreme change in the temperature stunned everyone. This unexplainable phenomenon that went against the very laws of nature was just too unbelievable!

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Chapter 1326:- All Consuming Sands (2)

Its distance was barely one step away but the division between freezing chill and scorching heat was clear and distinct. At the end of the Bone Corroding Forest, it was like someone had opened up a boundary barrier, that created a clear division line between two opposing seasons.

The foggy mist that shrouded over the entire group dissipated, as wild howling gales kicked up sand storms that blew past them, like the desert before their eyes, were seen through a sheer veil.

At that moment, even Jun Wu Xie was stunned in shock.

Throughout her past and present life, she had seen and encountered many strange things, but never had she witnessed such a bizarre phenomenon.

In such close proximity, but the temperature on the two sides differed by several tens of degrees.

The last step here bone chillingly wintry cold, the next step forward into merciless scorching heat in high summer.

Such an inexplicable phenomenon and environment, was completely impossible that it could even exist, but here it was staring right at them before their very eyes.

"The people from the Dark Regions are just not human. How did they achieve this?" Fei Yan asked, his face bathed in perspiration. Such a quick and immediate change between hot and cold did not allow time for their bodies to moderate and adjust at all.

It was almost like taking a person who had been soaked for days within an icy lake and suddenly throwing him to roast over a coal fire, where the body felt like it would almost immediately explode.

Such a situation, could not have been formed naturally. Have the people from the Dark Regions grown so powerful that they have learnt how to control the weather? !

"It's a boundary barrier." Jun Wu Yao said as he raised up a hand, stretching it forward slightly. A strange sensation was felt upon his palm. His arm was still feeling the biting chill, but the fingers were wrapped up in scorching heat.

Polar opposites of ice and fire, could actually be joined together so exquisitely.

An eyebrow arched up on Jun Wu Yao's face.

"Boundary Barrier?" Jun Wu Xie asked, turning her head to look at Jun Wu Yao.

"Something that could create a division between two areas. It's not complicated, but to make it encompass over such a large area, it must have taken quite a great amount of effort." Jun Wu Yao's voice was even tinged with a trace of praise.

That made Ye Sha and Ye Mei immediately puff up their chests in pride.

"Big Brother Wu Yao, do you really think this is a good time to be praising them?" Qiao Chu asked, feeling like he would really like to cry instead. The bone numbing chill had tormented almost to the point of death and although he had dreamed that it would get a little warmer, but what was before him should be way beyond anything people would term as warm wouldn't it?

This was no different from being in a stove!

"A sudden change between hot and cold would cause great damage to a person's body. If adjustments were not carried out in a timely enough fashion, the change in temperature alone could already take a person's life." Jun Wu Xie explained seriously. It must be said though, that the people from the Dark Regions had in order to create a absolute safe place for the Dark Emperor's tomb to be placed in, really spared no effort to achieve it. Even the air and temperature of the place had been manipulated to such great effect, they had truly carried out their task to the extreme.

Although she had yet to have encountered the Dark Regions, Jun Wu Xie could already formulate a rough impression of what the Dark Regions could be like in her mind.

A place that was so undyingly loyal to just one man, so powerful yet mind bogglingly unwavering in their loyalty. What was even more surprising was that after so many had passed after the Dark Emperor fell, not a single person within the Dark Regions had seeked to replace him, to become their new leader, but had instead for those many years, persisted in defending the glory of their Dark Emperor, to the extent that they retreated within themselves by giving up their reign over the Middle Realms, and still stubbornly refused to elect a new leader among them.

Just for that one point alone, Jun Wu Xie greatly admired them.

Looking back throughout her past and present lives, among all that she had seen and heard, never had she ever encountered such a force or country, that possessed such resolve.

Although the Dark Regions had their share of brutal moments, but the points of their swords, were always towards their enemies, never pointed against innocents. That was something that was extremely rare to see.

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Chapter 1327:- All Consuming Sands (3)

Mighty, but did not use their power to oppress the weak. That was one point that made them fundamentally different from the Twelve Palaces.

:"Change out of these clothes." Jun Wu Xie said, narrowing her eyes. If they went into the desert wearing what they were equipped with, they would become hopelessly dehydrated within the first two hours.

Although their spirit powers would be able to help them maintain their body's temperature to a certain extent, that applied to only when their body temperature went too low. It did not mean that their spirit powers would be able to reduce the temperature as well.

Faced with the temperature suddenly soaring by several tens of degrees, they had no choice but to temporarily changing out of their thick clothes that kept them warm, to ready themselves for the next leg of the journey in light clothing.

Fortunately they had prepared themselves well before they had set out upon this journey and they only needed to shed the thick outer clothes they had on.

The clothes that they changed out of were all stored within Jun Wu Xie's Cosmos Sack in case they would have any sudden need for them again.

From the chilling Bone Corroding Forest and having to step immediately into the scorching sea of golden sands, the heat hit the companions like a tidal wave. The wild howling gale blowing at the group had grit and fine sand caught within it that scratched at their faces. Needless to even mention opening their mouths to speak, even by taking a breath, they were able to feel the stinging pain from having the grit enter their nasal passage.

The companions tore the corners of their clothes off and used them as veils to tie them over their faces, covering over their nose and mouth, to filter out the swirling sand within the winds.

The golden sands beneath their feet was so loose that sapped at their strength as they walked, every foot set down upon them sinking a good way in. The fine sand surrounding them quickly filled the sunken holes made by their steps, covering over their feet in short order.

"This is quicksand." Jun Wu Xie said as she immediately gathered her spirit powers under her feet, to reduce her body's weight upon them.

The vast expanse of desert, was no ordinary desert, but an enormous region of quicksand. The slightly bit of inattention might cause anyone of them to sink into it, swallowed by by the golden sands.

Without the impediment from the thick fog, their visibility of the surrounding area lengthened by quite a distance and even without the Spirit Fire Globes, they were able to at least see the path forward.

But this path, had nowhere for them to put their feet.

Once they stepped onto the quicksand, the sand sucked at their feet vehemently and the more they struggled, the tighter the quicksand would hold them. It was different from the wet marshes, as in the wet marshlands, they could still look for clues and traces for the sinkholes. But the quicksand was much more terrifying as the suction of those sinkholes in the swamp were not so strong and if they mistakenly stepped into one, they could still be rescued, whereas for the quicksand..... their chances for survival was much lower.

The desert before the eyes of the bunch of youths drove them into such deep gloom they almost vomited blood. They could very well understand how those people the Twelve Palaces had sent out must have felt when they were faced with this desert after having undergone the relentless torment.

Countless obstacles and endless dangers, manifesting in myriad ways and many different forms. If they were not deeply entrenched within it themselves, the youths might just sing and dance in praise of the wit and intelligence of the people from the Dark Regions, but at that very moment, they all really could not make themselves even raise the faintest smile.

"The Dark Regions are really something." Qiao Chu exclaimed as he slapped the back of his head. He could really take his hat off to the people from the Dark Regions. How did they ever achieve all of this?

Jun Wu Xie was in no hurry to make her move as quicksand was not something that was unique to just this world and she had heard about them before she was reborn.

As the organization would encounter all kinds of different situations, there were times that things happened in the desert. She had once treated an assassin from the organization and his target had been in the desert. He had tailed the target for three months before he saw an opportunity for him to strike, but he had been trapped within the desert. Not only had the target managed to escape, he had nearly sunk into quicksand. Fortunately his companions had not been too far away from him them and they managed to rescue him in time.

That man had gotten himself shot by a gun at that time and was sent to Jun Wu Xie. A large hole in his shoulder but he had still gone on to jabber non stop and spoken a lot about his experience within the desert.

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Chapter 1328:- All Consuming Sands (4)

Jun Wu Xie was not interested to hear that man's ramblings at that time but all the things that he spoke about which reached her ears then was still largely remembered by her.

Quicksand was formed, in actuality by the fact that there was water trapped within the grit and sand grains, where it reduced the friction between each individual grain.

If one was able to evaporate the water from within the sand, then the phenomenon that was quicksand would not manifest.

Jun Wu Xie stared across the endless sea of sand and she suddenly pulled out a huge bottle from within her Cosmos Sack, which held some transparent liquid inside it. Qiao Chu was intrigued and did not know what Jun Wu Xie wanted to do. He was not unfamiliar with what was in the bottle as when they had lit their campfires on the way here, Jun Wu Xie had always dripped a few drops of that liquid onto the wood to make them burn more easily.

Jun Wu Xie silently splashed the fluid upon the sand in front of her and then waved her hand, asking the companions to step back a few steps.

Just as everyone was becoming curious about Jun Wu Xie's actions, she suddenly drew out a stick of flame ember and threw it upon the sand that was soaked with the fluid.

'Roar!'

In an instant, a scorching blaze roared to life, just like a fiery dragon that shot outwards at a blinding speed!

The bright red dancing flames burned merrily upon the golden sand, like a dragon of fire snaking through the desert.

In the already roasting temperature, it instantly shot up further. Even though they had retreated back several steps, Qiao Chu and his companions could still feel that boiling wave of heat sweeping over them. It felt as if they were going to be cooked and they had had to summon up their spirit powers to block out parts of that absolutely searing heat.

"Little Xie, what are you doing here?" Qiao Chu asked, his hands stretched out and waving in the air, like he was trying to fan the heat away from him. He was already almost turning into a roast pig so why would that lass still want to add fuel to the fire! ? He was getting cooked here.

Jun Wu Xie did not pay Qiao Chu's grumbling any heed but just stared at the quicksand engulfed in flames.

That was a chemical she concocted that had an extremely low combustion point to be used for them to light fires easily if the humidity in the air got too bad and she had not expected to find such a use for it here.

The golden sands were unable to further fuel the fire and after the fluid was quickly burned up by the flames, the searing heat disappeared quickly and the heatwaves swirled and rolled over the sand's surface. When seen from a distance away, the scenery became heavily distorted by the heatwaves.

"Move!" Jun Wu Xie suddenly called out as she led by being the first to step upon the scorching sand.

What was amazing was that the golden sands did not sink this time. Although still a little loose, but they were nothing like the quicksand from before.

That scene stunned Qiao Chu to stare blankly at her. Hadn't the sand in this area sunk like mad they moment they stepped upon it so why had it all hardened up after it was set ablaze by Jun Wu Xie?

In reality, Jun Wu Xie had merely made the vapour content within the sand on the surface layer evaporate away to dry it up and before the water from the bottom surged up, that area of sand would remain harder temporarily and this was the window of time they had to pass through.

Jun Wu Xie did not stop a single moment, setting the sand ablaze further front to open up the path as she advanced, not allowing the time for quicksand to form below their feet.

The merciless heat struck at the companions from all directions, the sands beneath their feet scorching hot after having just been burnt, where it felt like the fire was burning through the bottom of their shoes to sear the soles of their feet. Even with their spirit powers shielding their burning feet, that roasting temperature all around them still made Jun Wu Xie and her companions all dripping sweat like rain, pitter pattering upon the sand as they sped over the fiery golden sands that were almost hot as glowing coals!

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Chapter 1329:- Highly Deadly Place

For an entire month at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff, Jun Wu Xie and her companions experienced the most agonizing one month of their lives.

Quicksand that could possibly claim a person's life, beautiful and alluring yet deadly flesh eating plants, tyrannical flowers that gave out a lethal pungent stench, and even venomous snakes that waited to strike hidden underground.....

Every single day, the companions lived immersed in danger, where even every single plant life might just cost them their lives.

Throughout that one month's time, they lived a life that could only be described as inhuman where their physical bodies and their mental state of their minds were stretched to their limits.

By the time they found a place where it was relatively safe and were able to finally sit down to take a breather, they had all by then looked a total wreck.

"I had thought I would have died here." Qiao Chu said as he lay in a limp heap upon the ground. He did not even have the strength to move a finger anymore and his spirit powers had been quickly drained to become completely depleted. Even if any ferocious beasts were to appear before them at that moment and bared it fangs right at him, he still wouldn't have wanted to move an inch.

The clothes upon their bodies were all filthy and in various states of being torn and tattered. With the way anyone of them looked now, have them squat right at the gates of any one city and they would make a model beggar, needing only a chipped bowl and they would be ready for a career in begging.

In the beginning, they had still paid attention to their cleanliness. Two weeks into the ordeal and they dumped those tiring matters to the back of their minds where surviving and putting one foot before the next was their one and only objective.

A race with time, the feeling of snatching every second from the jowls of death was dangerous yet thrilling.

"How I wish, that there's a nice lake before my eyes to let me have a good soak." Fei Yan said, similarly stretched out upon the ground and not moving an inch. As it was more convenient for the mission, he had specially changed into regular male clothing and on that pretty face of his, was a mask of dirt and grime, where his original skin colour could no longer be seen.

"Don't even mention the word lake! You will just remind me of that Heaven damned place again." Qiao Chu complained with a frown. They had indeed come across a lake before. The water was crystal clear and its surface calm without a ripple. Several large clumps of plants and various vegetation lined the edges of the lake and it was a pristine and beautiful sight of harmony.

However, they had not even had been able to replenish their water skins when the lake started to bubble like it was boiling over.

A humongous beast that was as big as Lord Meh Meh's true form reared its head from within the lake. It was a giant leviathan that looked like an octopus that pursued Qiao Chu and the others for a good stretch, where they ran till their hearts almost wanted to come out of their mouths.

"I understand it already. In here, not a single place is safe. All those beautiful flowers and the lush green trees, they are all highly deadly. Tell me, from where in the Heavens did they get all these deadly playthings of theirs? Aren't they afraid of it themselves?" Qiao Chu admitted defeat before these guys. Even when they returned to the Middle Realm to settle scores with the Twelve Palaces in the future, he swore to himself to stay far away from the Dark Regions.

The people there are just a wee bit too terrifying!

With all the terrifying things here, a regular person would not encounter even a few among them throughout their entire lives. But the Dark Regions had gathered them all together in a complete set, and stuffed them all here into the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff.

"You should be thankful that we are still alive." Rong Ruo said, looking to be in a slightly better condition than the others as she leaned back against a rock, but her face was nevertheless still a little pale. Throughout the entire way, the companions could no longer count the number of elixirs they had bumped off Jun Wu Xie, and the number of times Jun Wu Xie had moved to save their lives.

They all suddenly felt, that Jun Wu Xie was the lucky star that the Heavens had blessed them with. Without Jun Wu Xie, even if they managed to gather all the maps, they would not be able to live through this one month at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff.

Moreover, Jun Wu Xie's appearance and come attached with the peerless weapon of destruction, Jun Wu Yao, which had saved them from quite a bit of trouble as well.

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Chapter 1330:- Want Hugs

Among things at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff, some were eerie and horrifying, some were beautiful and enchanting, but they all shared one similar trait.

They were all, deadly.

If the companions were to recall the most dangerous place they had ever encountered throughout their lives, they would surely conclude that this was the place without exception,

Jun Wu Xie's condition was still rather alright. Her mood had not fluctuated that greatly and her control over her spirit power's use had been exquisitely precise and compared to Qiao Chu and Fei Yan, she could be considered to be still managing rather well. With this rare opportunity for her to get some rest, she did not even stop to even think and just spread out the map before her to check their current location against the map.

"You don't need to rest?" Jun Wu Yao sat down beside Jun Wu Xie and asked, as he looked at the side stubborn profile of his little one's face, feeling a pained for her.

Throughout the journey, Jun Wu Xie had never once taken the initiative to ask him to help, even when she knew that things would have been a whole lot easier if he did, choosing to give up on that shortcut.

If even against these obstacles she had to rely on people to help her resolve, then how could she have the cheek to claim that she wanted to go against the Twelve Palaces?

She was not seeking to be a flower beneath the wing of a powerful entity but to become a powerful entity herself that soared towards the horizon to overlook everything beneath herself.

Jun Wu Xie shook her head and said: "I'm not tired."

Jun Wu Yao however cradled her in his arms and took the map away from her hands, saying firmly but still highly gentle as he said: "I think that you're tired though."

Jun Wu Xie was slightly surprised as she looked up into Jun Wu Yao's concerned gaze and hesitated a moment before she relented. She lay herself within Jun Wu Yao's arms and looked at Little Jue who had already fallen asleep upon Ye Sha's lap.

"We're almost reaching there and I do not want to waste any time." The earlier they find the Dark Emperor's tomb, the faster they would be able to gain dominating might. Over the past one month, Jun Wu Yao had not raised his hand to help them many times, but everytime he did, it just made Jun Wu Xie further realize his overwhelming might.

She did not wish to forever just be able to stand behind him, to see him shield her from the strong gales and tumultuous storms. That was not what she wanted.

"If you do not get yourself some good rest, for the rest of the journey, I would not mind carrying you as we go." Jun Wu Yao said with an eyebrow arched. This little one could sometimes be so stubborn it made him want to take a bite out of her.

"Just like this?" Jun Wu Xie suddenly raised both her arms, to hook them around Jun Wu Yao's neck, as her clear eyes suddenly flashed with an evil glint.

It was Jun Wu Yao's turn to be slightly surprised this time as the tiny hands hooked around his neck slightly exerted some strength, greatly shortening the distance between him and her, where he could clearly see his own reflection within those enchanting eyes.

"If you like it, that can surely be arranged." Jun Wu Yao suddenly laughed, his arms lifting, carrying her horizontally up in the air.

The little one was learning to become more and more evil.

Jun Wu Xie blinked her eyes and suddenly crinkled her nose at Jun Wu Yao. Within his embrace, she then found herself a comfortable position and snuggled deeper, her tiny face resting against his chest, and slowly closed her eyes.

"Wake me up in a little while."

Indulging like this occasionally, wasn't that bad, right?

Jun Wu Yao laughed lightly in spite of himself as he carried Jun Wu Xie who was gradually sinking into dreamland. He looked at the side of her beautiful and serene face and suddenly felt..... himself wishing to find himself a sweet and agonizing task to commit himself to.

Ye Sha and Ye Mei at the side were however silently praying for their Lord.

They do not have enough icy water here for their Lord Jue to bring down the heat! Lord Jue, you've got to hold yourself back!

Seeing Jun Wu Xie falling asleep within Jun Wu Yao's arms, Fei Yan suddenly sat upright, his eyes shining as he looked at Rong Ruo.

"....." Rong Ruo silently shifted her body and turned around to hug the big rock behind her to sleep resting against it.

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Chapter 1331:- The Tomb That Disappeared (1)

The highly tormenting difficulties faced every step of the way did not stop the group of people from continuing their way forward. Jun Wu Xie and her companions had traversed through the entire Heaven's End Cliff and had finally reached their destination.

They were looking over an endless sea of flowers that stretched beyond the horizon, as the violet blooms filled the entire land as far as the eye could see, swaying mesmerizingly under the breeze, beautiful as a painting, a striking contrast that did not fit against all the endless dangers they had encountered on the way here.

"Where is the Dark Emperor's tomb?" Fan Zhuo asked as he stared at the unending sea of blooms, his gaze however, blank and unseeing. According to the location marked upon the map, they should already be standing right before the Dark Emperor's tomb. But before their eyes, besides the mesmerizing sea of flowers, they could not find even the shadow of anything else.

After having just undergone countless rounds of unimaginable torment, Jun Wu Xie and her companions weren't really in the mood to admire flowers. The sea of violet blooms was made brighter by the green underneath when a gust of wind blew and a wave swept over the sea of flowers, rising and falling as a flowery fragrance wafted over the group. It was such a truly beautiful sight, but the group just felt despair wash over them.

Upon the map, it was clearly indicated that the location of the Dark Emperor's tomb was several hundred metres ahead of them but within a thousand metre radius, there was only that sea of flowers bending in the wind. Without the fog, the entire area around them was highly visible and above their heads, it was covered by clouds but sunlight was streaming down which lit up the entire scene before them.

Besides the violet flowers, there was nothing else they could see.

The Dark Emperor's tomb seemed like it had never existed before, as not a trace of it could be seen.

"How can this be..... how can this be....." Qiao Chu lamented, his eyes wide and incredulous, unable to believe that after they had spent every single effort they could, this was the result they got.

Nothing at all.....

Nothing at all.....

The beautiful scenery before their eyes, had taken the entire group of people there, and kicked them down to fall into the deep pits of despair.

Jun Wu Xie stared at the endless sea of blooms as the wind blew past, kicking up a scattering of falling petals. The purple coloured flower petals swirled around her, bringing to her a nice pleasant fragrance, but she could not find herself feeling any delight.

Jun Wu Xie pulled her map out once more and checked their location once again. Everything was in order but for the exception that their final target had completely disappeared.

What could have caused this to happen? Jun Wu Xie's brows creased together. Everything that had been marked out upon the map had been unerringly accurate and that told her that the maps were genuine. Just how much had the parents of Qiao Chu and her other companions sacrificed at that time to complete this map?

They had seen countless piles of human bones along the way in here and all these years, the number of people who had lost their lives to the Heaven's End Cliff were already too numerous to count. That number could no longer be measured with just tens of thousands, it should be in the millions..... or even reaching in the tens of millions where the Heaven's End Cliff had become their final resting place. A map that had been made with such an unbelievably number of lives behind it, could it possibly be wrong?

Impossible.....

Jun Wu Xie completely rejected that line of thought. The parents of Fan Zhuo and the others had already passed away and it would not be possible for them to verify whether they had truly found the Dark Emperor's tomb at that time.

And Wen Yu had indeed entered into the Dark Emperor's tomb before. Although he did not remember how he managed to go in there, or how he managed to get out, Wen Yu had definitely entered the Dark Emperor's tomb through the Heaven's End Cliff. That was enough to ascertain that the Dark Emperor's tomb was indeed here and that could not be wrong.

But.....

But what was happening here with the situation before their eyes?

Jun Wu Xie did not understand it. The Dark Emperor's tomb was definitely at the Heaven's End Cliff and she believed that the parents of Fan Zhuo and her other companions had truly found the Dark Emperor's tomb at that time before they returned to the Middle Realm with the map after completing their mission. With the kind of loyalty they held towards the Twelve Palaces at that time, it was not possible that they would falsely report their findings.

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Chapter 1332:- The Tomb That Disappeared (2)

The map was genuine, and the Dark Emperor's tomb could not be fake. So why were they not able to find it?

There was something really wrong there.

"Don't get too anxious yet. Everyone take a breather and slowly think it through." Upon seeing all the negativity shrouding her companions, Rong Ruo immediately spoke up. They had been thoroughly exhausted making it through the entire way here and their minds and bodies are not severely wearied, hence, all of them would not be able to maintain a completely logical state of mind at that moment. But, they must not get themselves overly frustrated.

"Let's all have some rest then. Dumb Qiao, pass me your water skin, I emptied mine earlier and I'm almost dying of thirst." Fei Yan parroted, plopping his rear upon the sea of flowers and stretching his hand out to catch the water skin Qiao Chu tossed over before lifting his back to pour the water down his throat.

The cooling water flowed down his throat, taking away a little bit of the weariness he felt, and at the same time easing the agitation within his heart.

Everyone sat themselves down among the sea of violet blooms. They had already come to such a stage that they were not able to look back. Instead of getting angry and frustrated about it, why not give themselves a little rest and cool their heads where they would be able to let their wearied bodies recover a little as well.

With this rare opportunity to properly rest themselves, everyone grabbed at the time they had and tried to recover their strength. They drank up, and nibbled on food to fill their tummies. Most of the dried rations they had with them were meat with a dry and hard texture, and when they chewed upon them, they were miserably bland and dry. Moreover, they had been eating the same things for the past one month and their tastebuds had more or less become numb towards the same thing.

What Qiao Chu wished for the most at that moment was when they left the Heaven's End Cliff and returned to the Qi Kingdom in the future, was just to have a good meal. It could be anything, he wouldn't even mind if it was just plain porridge with some small dishes. As long as he did not have to continue to chew on these damnable dried meat!

"When we go back, I want to feast continuously for an entire month, and stuff myself till I vomit!" Qiao Chu exclaimed as he chewed upon the dry and tough meat, lying back upon the sea of flowers with his arms extended. Unlike the previous freezing chill and scorching heat, the temperature in this place was comfortably warm enough like spring, and coupled with the fragrant flowers and beautiful scenery, he would have thought that this was a rather nice place if they were not there in that location.

Unfortunately, he really did not feel like admiring it at all at that moment.

"Please give me a nice spring pool and let me soak in it properly." Fei Yan said as he laid himself back. He was so filthy that he almost could not stand it himself as there weren't really that many water sources in the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff. Even if there were, they either hid a monster within or were filled with lethal poison, none that he could use.

He only wanted to have a good bath at that moment and wash himself free of all the dirt and grime upon him completely.

Maybe Qiao Chu and Fei Yan's grumblings made him think about it as well and Fan Zhuo who was sitting among the flowers as well opened his mouth to asked the usually silent Hua Yao, a man of few words.

"When we go back, what do you want to do?"

Hua Yao turned to look at Fan Zhuo and after thinking about it a moment, he said: "I only want to have a good sleep."

He could not remember the last time he had been able to enjoy a peaceful and proper good sleep. The times they had to rest at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff were all very short and they were always surrounded by all kinds of hidden dangers. Even if they were able to fall into slumber, they could never allow themselves to fall into it too deep.

Fan Zhuo gave a light laugh and rested his chin upon a upraised palm and said: "I would really like to go back to the Zephyr Academy to have a look around." He wondered how his one tracked mind brother was doing as the Headmaster and he was thinking whether his little abode in the bamboo grove is still there.

Blissful thoughts allowed the agitated and frustrated hearts of the youths to gradually calm and the corners of everyone's mouth curled up faintly with a smile. At the age where they were brimming with the exuberance of youth, their hot and boiling blood would not allow them to be so easily defeated.

"Actually, I am always been curious about something." Qiao Chu said, suddenly sitting up.

"What?" Hua Yao asked as he looked at him.

"Tell me, when the Twelve Palaces sent so many countless people out back in those years then, but only our parents managed to locate the Dark Emperor's tomb. Don't you think that it's all too much of a coincidence?" Qiao Chu asked as he scratched his head.

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Chapter 1333:- The Tomb That Disappeared (3)

Within the Twelve Palaces, they never had a lack of capable people. Although the parents of Qiao Chu and his companions were strong enough in their own right, they were not considered to be elite in the Twelve Palaces. Besides the parents of the five of them, there were two others from other palaces who had also managed to find the Dark Emperor's tomb. What was strange about it was that the times these people reached the Dark Emperor's tomb had all happened within one day among them and congregated together within the Dark Emperor's tomb.

If it was said after immense hardship and they had been the one among a million who managed to find the Dark Emperor's tomb, that wouldn't be hard to explain.

But what was strange was that so many people had managed to go into the Dark Emperor's tomb on the very same day and besides that, regardless how many more people the Twelve Palaces sent out after that, not a single one had been able to find the place again.

It must be known, that their parents did not have any map in their hands then and although the maps was split up after that, the Twelve Palaces would at least have some clues but in the years more than a decade after that, no one had managed to find it once more.

That had really puzzled people quite a bit.

"On that point, I had thought about that before." Hua Yao said as he narrowed his eyes. On that one day, where several people from different and separate groups had somehow managed to find the Dark Emperor's tomb, and after so many years after the Dark Emperor had fallen, they remained the only ones to have achieved it. That had somehow seemed to be rather illogical.

"I remember that my father had left for the Middle Realm first to report back and my mother remained here in Lower Realm alone with me. At that time, I saw the map on my mother's back and as I was still too young, I did not know the meaning behind that map and innocently asked her why would she want to make a map of a place she had already visited before. But my mother had told me that she didn't remember anything anymore then." Fan Zhuo said with his eyes slightly narrowed. He was the only one among them all who still had the chance to interact with his family after they found the Dark Emperor's tomb.

In the case of the parents of Qiao Chu and the others, they had been captured immediately upon their return.

In the beginning, they had only felt that the Twelve Palaces had been highly vicious where they would even kill people who were completely loyal to them.

But thinking back on it now, there was something rather strange about it.

"If the Twelve Palaces were worried that the people from the Dark Regions would find out that they had found the Dark Emperor's tomb, they could have easily hidden the people who found the tomb away, why would there be a need to kill them so quickly? Moreover at that time, the maps their men held were not complete and hence, rather than keeping an incomplete map that was sorely lacking, why would they not rather keep the very person who found the Dark Emperor's tomb with them?" Fan Zhuo's mind had been suddenly dragged into the endless abyss where the hatred he kept deep within had risen and filled his heart quickly at that moment, rendering him incapable of thinking deeper into the reason that caused his parents to be killed.

But calming himself to think about it carefully, it suddenly seemed that there were many inconsistencies with the way he had thought before.

"If what your mother said is true, then the reason why the Twelve Palaces would kill them is now very clear." Jun Wu Xie said suddenly.

"The Twelve Palaces had been searching for the Dark Emperor's tomb secretly, afraid that the people from the Dark Regions will find out. Hence, they would naturally not leave behind anything that would let anyone have a hold over them. If your parents could still remember the precise location of the Dark Emperor's tomb, they might have been kept alive, but if it was as what Fan Zhuo's mother had said that they have forgotten, then the value of keeping them alive would be far less than those incomplete pieces of the map. People of no value to them would have no need to be kept alive, and the people from the Dark Regions would then have nothing to hold against them." Jun Wu Xie explained. She had considered this before, but had not been able to come to a conclusion. However, Fan Zhuo's words today had cleared up all her doubts and provided a logical explanation for the places she had not been able to reconcile.

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Chapter 1334:- The Tomb That Disappeared (4)

The parents of Fan Zhuo and the others could have by some exceptional stroke of luck, managed to enter the Dark Emperor's tomb and that moment's luck had coincidentally happened on the same day and hence, only people who came close to the Dark Emperor's tomb on that one day had been able to locate the real target.

And after entering the Dark Emperor's tomb, they had then discovered each other. In order to restrict each other from the various different palaces, they had come up with the maps. Although that was what they said, everyone had known it clearly that the maps were just a superficial solution to their predicament because as long as they remembered everything that happened here, then the maps would not be of any use at all.

But after that, it was not known what they had all encountered. When they left the Dark Emperor's tomb, they had suddenly forgotten everything.....

Her guess made her recalled what Wen Yu told her before. Wen Yu had been severely injured and thought he did not have long to live. But when he fainted within the Dark Emperor's tomb, someone had brought him out of the Heaven's End Cliff.

Besides that, he did not remember anything else, where all his memories within the Dark Emperor's tomb became a forgotten blank.

In regards to that point, Jun Wu Xie had initially thought that it was because Wen Yu had been too severely injured which had caused him to forget those things, But thinking back upon that now, it was wondered whether he could not remember, or could it be..... his memory was quietly erased away?

Jun Wu Xie stared at the endless sea of blooms and repression came into her eyes.

The map could not be wrong, and the Dark Emperor's tomb was right there.

But they could not see it, nor touch it, like it had disappeared from there.

For so many years, just how many of the most elite pugilists had the Twelve Palaces sent to infiltrate into the Heaven's End Cliff? Even if Jun Wu Xie was not able to determine their numbers, she knew that all those people definitely held stronger power than they did.

They could very well have found their way up to here like they did, but seeing this endless sea of flowers had stripped them of all hope.

Were they unable to find it, or have they found it but were not aware of it?

If not for the map she had in her hand, Jun Wu Xie wouldn't be able to be so certain that they were standing right before the Dark Emperor's tomb.

Where had the Dark Emperor's tomb actually disappeared to?

Jun Wu Xie suddenly stood up and walked further into the sea of flowers.

Suddenly, a tiny figure appeared right before her.

A flower garland ring made from the violet flowers appeared before her eyes. Little Jue's rosy little face was lifted up and filled with anticipation as he looked at Jun Wu Xie, both his hands stretched out to present the flower garland before Jun Wu Xie.

"Little Big Brother, gift..... gift for..... you....." Little Jue's voice said bashfully, tinged with a trace of nervousness.

Jun Wu Xie was surprised and she raised a hand to ruffle Little Jue's fiery red hair. The child was really acting like he had come here for a leisure trip, not showing the slightest bit of anxiety or frustration. That was a good thing as well, to live without worries was at least better than living in perpetual melancholy and gloominess.

Jun Wu Xie squatted down and looked up at Little Jue.

"Help me put it on."

Little Jue blinked his eyes blankly and with his little hands trembling, his slowly raised the flower garland that wasn't really beautifully done and put it over Jun Wu Xie's head.

"Nice." After Little Jue put it on Jun Wu Xie, he took steps backwards shyly with his tiny hands held behind his back, his body twisting up feeling slightly embarassed.

A faint smile curled at the corners of Jun Wu Xie's lips as her gaze moved carelessly over Little Jue's shoulder. In the instant her gaze swept past, she froze slightly, a look of surprise rising within her eyes. She stood up slowly and stared into the endless sea of blooms stretching beyond the horizon.

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Chapter 1335:- The Tomb That Disappeared (5)

Jun Wu Xie's gaze was highly intense and it attracted the attention of Qiao Chu and the others.

"Little Xie, what are you looking at?" Qiao Chu asked as he sat up in curiosity, with a lot of flower petals struck to his body.

"You wouldn't be able to guess a young girl's heart." Fei Yan whispered as he peeked at the roughly made flower garland on Jun Wu Xie's head, and then stole a quick glance at Rong Ruo before he silently reached his hand out and grabbed at a bunch, deflowering quite a number blooms from their stalks. He then sat quietly within the sea of flowers and his two hands flew speedily as he weaved.

"Oh, so anything about a young girl's heart, I'll really not know as much as you do, Little Yan....." Qiao Chu said meaningfully, dragging out the last syllable.

Fei Yan then graced him with a roll of his eyes and continued with what he was busy with.

He didn't have time to bother with that dumb block!

"What did you see?" Rong Ruo asked as she walked over to Jun Wu Xie. From what she knew of Jun Wu Xie, the sea of flowers before their eyes would not arouse such strong interest in Jun Wu Xie and she had been acting normally all this while so what had suddenly caused her to stare so intensely in front of her?

Jun Wu Xie did not say anything but just took the flower garland off her head and held it within her hand, her gaze not wavering an inch.

Little Jue's head lowered in grief as he thought that "Little Big Brother" did not like it.

"Look at this." Jun Wu Xie suddenly raised up a hand and pointed in the direction that her gaze was fixed upon.

Above the sea of flowers, another flower garland suddenly hung suspended in midair. That flower garland was not very well crafted, and was rather loosely woven together, an exact replica of the one held in Jun Wu Xie's hand.

"What is going on? !" Rong Ruo said in surprise, slightly taken aback by the scene before her.

The flower garland suspended in midair looked too strange and when Jun Wu Xie moved the flower garland in her hand slightly, the other flower garland on the far side actually moved in tandem!

"It's a mirror mirage!" Fan Zhuo exclaimed as he shot to his feet, leaping over to come beside Jun Wu Xie in just two steps.

"Mirror mirage?" Jun Wu Xie asked inquiringly.

"It's isn't entirely clear to me but I heard my mother mentioned something about it before, though I can't remember it clearly." Fan Zhuo seemed to have grasped at something, but could not accurately explain it. He then immediately turned his head and looked at Jun Wu Yao at the side.

"Big Brother Wu Yao, do you know what's happening here?"

Jun Wu Yao came beside Jun Wu Xie and stared at the strange phenomenon, but there was any question in his eyes as he took the flower garland from Jun Wu Xie's hand. Under Little Jue's nervous gaze, Jun Wu Yao suddenly tossed the flower garland high up in the air.

After the violet flower garland was tossed up into the air, it broke apart and flower petals fell slowly in a wide scatter, like snowflakes falling down through the air.

And on the far side, the exact scene was replicated.

Exactly the same!

"Moon Water's Mirror." The corners of Jun Wu Yao's mouth lifted in a smile as he said, lowering his head to look at Jun Wu Xie.

"This is a kind of barrier, rather much like those we've seen before. But this one is a little more complex as according to different barriers, they can be made to reflect different things, and this barrier here, should only be able to reflect plants."

It was the exact same image, but only the reflection of the flower garland showed and not of Jun Wu Xie and the others, as if there was a force that screened them out.

Jun Wu Xie's heart jumped suddenly and she shot herself forward.

About a hundred meters out, she could suddenly feel a strange kind of pressure, that was stopping her from moving further forward!

It was like an invisible wall, that prevented her from passing.

Jun Wu Xie's heart then started pounding hard. She raised up her hand and placed her hand upon that seemingly formless wall. Under her palm, she could feel the cold touch of hard and unyielding stone!

The Dark Emperor's tomb!

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Chapter 1336:- The Tomb That Disappeared (6)

Jun Wu Xie's heart then started pounding hard. She raised up her hand and placed her hand upon that seemingly formless wall. Under her palm, she could feel the cold touch of hard and unyielding stone!

The Dark Emperor's tomb!

Jun Wu Xie felt around the wall that she could not see. She lowered her head to look down at the flowers around her tiny feet. Before her feet, the flowers looked disjointed, like they were cut off suddenly at certain parts.

It was a distortion of space!

Jun Wu Xie drew in a deep breath.

She finally understood why even after so many powerful pugilists had reached deep into the Heaven's End Cliff, and after so long a period of time, they had all still not managed to find the location of the Dark Emperor's tomb. It was all because.....

The real Dark Emperor's tomb was something that they all could not see at all!

Just as what Jun Wu Yao had said, the boundary barrier named "Moon Water's Mirror" had been placed outside the Dark Emperor's tomb which created a mirage of a mirror's image. Within that image, only plants were reflected and when seen from a distance, the entire place looked just like an endless sea of flowers that stretched to the horizon, which would then drive despair into people. But who could have guessed that the real Dark Emperor's tomb lay hidden within that sea of flowers?

Even if those people managed to find their way to this place, they would be confused by this illusionary mirage where the end of the sea of flowers was a precipitous edge of a cliff. No one would have ever expected that the biggest secret lay right in the middle of that sea of violet blooms.

After trudging through the endless torturous and tormenting obstacles, when those people came to this place, they had not managed to discover the profound mystery hidden behind the "Moon Water's Mirror".

The flowers which all looked exactly the same throughout, had not looked to be unusual in anyway when the companions had seen it from a distance, and if not for Little Jue's childlike innocence where he had tried to weave a flower garland for Jun Wu Xie that was reflected in the "Moon Water's Mirror", they might never have discovered this secret as well.

That the Dark Emperor's tomb was actually right before their eyes!

They had finally found it!

"It's the Dark Emperor's tomb. We've found it." Jun Wu Xie's voice suddenly rang clearly, bringing the delightful news to her companions behind her.

Qiao Chu and the others immediately leapt to their feet from among the flowers and their excited emotions made their eyes light up seemingly with a fire within. All the torment and exhaustion they had suffered throughout the journey seemed to immediately disappear without a trace, as the blood within their bodies began to boil!

After so many years, they had finally found it!

"We found it..... We found it....." Qiao Chu's voice was beginning to shake and his eyes suddenly became red around the rims. After silently enduring it all for so many years, they have finally found the Dark Emperor's tomb, and the emotions they had held in helpless suppression for too long exploded in their chest at that moment!

"ARRRGH! ! !"

A roar that spilled out right from within their hearts gave vent to the emotions that ran impossibly high within them at that moment.

"Big Brother Wu Yao, for the "Moon Water's Mirror", is there a way to unravel it?" Hua Yao fought to hold down the excitement raging within as he asked in a calm voice.

Finding the Dark Emperor's tomb, meant that they had already succeeded by half. Although the Dark Emperor's tomb was right there before them, they could only feel it but not see it and they would not be able to enter the place by just touching it.

They had absolutely no clue on how big the Dark Emperor's tomb really was and if they were to rely only on their hands to feel it inch by inch, only the Heavens would know in which year and month it would be before they would find the real entrance.

"For such barriers, you will only need to find its root and just smash it and it will do." Jun Wu Yao said with a smile. Seeing Jun Wu Xie's eyes light up with its sparkle of delight, his mood seemed to have followed suit and soared.

Towards Jun Wu Yao's soaring good mood, Ye Sha and Ye Mei had by now been able to remain calm and composed about the whole thing.

Having their Lord Jue so proactively escorting the Young Miss to come dig up his own tomb was nothing much anymore. He was now even helping them to breach his very own tomb's defences!

In order to make the Young Miss smile, their Lord Jue was truly giving it his best!

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Chapter 1337:- The Tomb That Disappeared (7)

Everyone immediately began to search around the edge of the barrier for anything suspicious. With the Dark Emperor's tomb right before them, and Jun Wu Yao had said it clearly that the thing maintaining the boundary barrier should be several crystals. All they had to do was to smash them and the barrier would be broken.

It was easier said than done as it wasn't that easy to find them. They were unable to see just how big the Dark Emperor's tomb was, but as the companions walked following the edge, every single step they took measured for them a certain distance and even after walking for a long while, they still had not found any turning points, all of them still standing on just the first side of the Dark Emperor's tomb.

Fei Yan and Rong Ruo walked one way and although his eyes were on Rong Ruo's back, Fei Yan had a hand feeling around in search. But his other hand was kept behind his back as he soundlessly increased the pace of his steps and walked up right behind Rong Ruo's back.

Rong Ruo was single mindedly focused upon locating the crystals that held the boundary barrier when she felt something fell upon her head. She reached her hand up to touch it in puzzlement and only got her hand filled with the fragrance of flowers.

Rong Ruo turned herself around to see Fei Yan standing right behind her who had that familiar brilliant smile upon his face.

"It looks very nice on you." Fei Yan said smilingly.

Rong Ruo looked into the reflection of the garland in the barrier. The flower garland upon her head when compared to the one Little Jue weaved was more well made, the violet blooms intricately woven together with the green leaves, and it was rather beautiful.

But Rong Ruo's lips stiffened up slightly, as she looked at Fei Yan in helplessness.

Fei Yan's face was still wearing that brilliant smile but as he noticed the grave expression on Rong Ruo's face, the smile upon his lips began to wane.

It wasn't that he could not feel it. After the day that accident between the two of them happened, Rong Ruo had been intentionally distancing herself from him. The two who were inseparable before, were now awkwardly silent with each other, and Rong Ruo intentional or unintentional avoidance of him, had always caused Fei Yan's heart to wince in sorrow.

The feeling was something Fei Yan had never experienced before. It was agonizing, unspeakably agonizing.

"You..... don't like it?" Fei Yan's voice was sounding a little raw.

Rong Ruo stared at Fei Yan's face and her brows creased up in a furrow. She removed the flower garland off her head and put it into Fei Yan's hands.

"I thought you knew it clearly already. It is impossible between us." Rong Ruo said rather perplexedly. She had always been very close to Fei Yan, but she only treated Fei Yan as the best comrade she had, like a real brother of hers.

And that was it.

"Why?" Fei Yan asked softly.

Why was it impossible?

Rong Ruo sighed, and her chest began to stifle up.

"I am not what you think I am like. Actually, I....."

Just as Rong Ruo was about to say something, a huge resounding crash suddenly rumbled within their ears!

The two of them immediately forgot what they were talking about as they quickly turned their heads towards the sound!

Jun Wu Xie had been searching for the crystals that would unravel the boundary barrier and after searching for a stretch, she suddenly felt something tiny protruding out beneath her feet. She had immediately squatted down and swept away the soil around the tiny protrusion under the flowers.

A light purple crystal gleaming with luster suddenly appeared within the soil. She summoned up her spirit powers and pushed it to a flare before she delivered a mighty smash onto the crystal!

In the instant that her fist landed upon the crystal, the beautiful purple crystal was suddenly covered in broken cracks. At the same moment the crystal broke, a resounding crash rang out and before Jun Wu Xie could react, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet cave in and sink down!

A powerful force then sucked her in entirely, dragging her down together with the sudden cave in!

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Chapter 1338:- The Tomb That Disappeared (8)

Everything happened too quickly and Jun Wu Xie was not able to react in any way before her tiny little figure was instantly swallowed up by darkness!

In the split second just before she was dragged into darkness, she saw Jun Wu Yao's figure speeding towards her and upon that highly familiar looking face, she saw for the first time an expression of panic.

It was just an instant, and then all she saw was darkness.

It was not known what she was falling into and in the darkness, Jun Wu Xie seemed to be falling down a steep slope. The space was narrow and confined as she continued to slide down together with the rubble of rocks and stones.

Within the darkness, she could only hear the tumbling of the rubble.

After sliding down for a rather long while, Jun Wu Xie's feet finally landed upon flat ground. The darkness was slowly dissipating as dim firelight brightened the scene before her eyes.

Jun Wu Xie had fallen into a place that looked like an underground palace!

The surrounding walls were filled with lifelike carvings upon the stone. She turned around to look at the place she had just slid down from and at the moment she turned around to check it, a stone door suddenly slid down from the top, completely sealing off the entrance she had just come in from!

Jun Wu Xie tried to smash the huge slab of stone but the stone was incredibly hard and even when she elevated her spirit power to the Purple level, she was not able to even make a chip upon the stone!

With the exit blocked and unbreakable, Jun Wu Xie had no choice but to give up on it. She then raised her head to look around at her surroundings. The place that she was at, seemed to be a wide corridor and upon the surrounding walls there were stone lamps that were carved in the shape of beasts, each holding a warm burning flame. The distance between each interval of the beasts lamps were the exact same length and the lit lamps were not very bright which filled the entire place only rather dimly.

"This is the Dark Emperor's tomb?" The little black cat said, sitting upon Jun Wu Xie's shoulders as it shook off the dirt stuck upon its body. When Jun Wu Xie fell, it had been on Jun Wu Xie's shoulder as usual and it had fallen down here together with her.

"It should be." Jun Wu Xie answered as she gathered her thoughts. They had all been searching high and low for the entrance into the Dark Emperor's tomb and in the end, she had not thought that she would end up "entering" in here unknowingly which she didn't know whether to laugh or cry about.

The Dark Emperor's tomb which had caused the people in the Middle Realm to spill blood and almost spitting out their hearts in search had finally had its secretive veil lifted before Jun Wu Xie but unfortunately, she had been the only one to come into the Dark Emperor's tomb. She wondered how her companions outside were doing?

In Jun Wu Xie's mind, the image of the last expression Jun Wu Yao had shown on his face rose involuntarily.

Anxious and in panic. That was the first time she had seen such an unbecoming expression upon his face.

Although it did not suit him well, it still made her feel like laughing. Outside there now, he must surely be mad with panic.

"There is no poison in the air here." Little Black said as it sniffed with its nose, its sense of smell was more sensitive than machines.

"It's really strange though. This Dark Emperor's tomb is afterall a grave, so how come there isn't the tiniest stench of rot in here? There isn't any other strange smells in the air and those lamps, why are they still burning? The Dark Emperor has already been dead for so many years so who lit these lamps? It couldn't be a ghost could it....." The little black cat said with a shiver. It was afraid of nothing throughout the Heavens and on Earth with the lone exception of ghosts.....

Jun Wu Xie swung her gaze in helplessness towards the little black cat wanting to remind it that ghosts as they were called, was just another name for spirit bodies, And strictly speaking from certain perspectives, wouldn't the little black cat itself be a "ghost"?

But what the little black cat said was not completely without reason. Jun Wu Xie had noticed it as well. Those were indeed flames that burned upon those beast shaped lamps and those flames should have a finite period that they could remain burning. The Dark Emperor had fallen since so many long years ago but these flames still had not gone out, which was indeed a rather strange fact.

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Chapter 1339:- The Dark Emperor's Treasure (1)

Lifelike murals were carved on the stones walls all around, the exquisite and heavenly techniques making the characters depicted seemingly come alive. Jun Wu Xie peered to see what was depicted upon the stone walls under the dim light. The entire stretch of the wall from the beginning to the end were covered with the murals and instead of saying they were murals, it might be said that they were more like they were a record of certain past events that occurred.

On the wall that was right in front of Jun Wu Xie, a man wearing a mask was carved upon it. The man's mask was extraordinarily magnificent and he was standing at the pinnacle of everyone, straight and tall with his hands behind his back, facing straight towards a humongous ferocious beast. The immense beast was half submerged within water, its tentacles waving malevolently, looking like it would jump out from the mural at any moment.

"This is the Dark Emperor." Jun Wu Xie said as she stared at the man wearing the mask. From the position he was standing at, in the scene where he was crowded around by everyone, it was easier to deduce the man's identity.

As well as the fact that as she was currently within the Dark Emperor's tomb, she could not imagine who else would be depicted in the things within.

As for that humongous monster, it was not one that was unfamiliar to Jun Wu Xie. That was the gigantic "octopus" that they had encountered in a lake along their journey here.

On this mural, it should be presenting the time when the Dark Emperor subjugated the "octopus". Following the mural on this wall, every carving further down the line seemed to tell a story and if there was nothing unexpected, all the carvings upon all the murals should be a eternal eulogy of the glorious life the Dark Emperor lived.

But what Jun Wu Xie was looking at was not the beginning, nor was it the end.

Upon the mural, the mysterious man wearing the mask was undoubtedly the Dark Emperor and in every single carving, he always stood alone above everyone else. It was not known whether the people from the Dark Regions had intentionally glorified it but within those murals, it seemed the Dark Emperor was omnipotent.

Subjugating monsters, defeating entire armies, holding reign over the Middle Realm.

Just by looking a few of the murals, every single one exemplified the might of the Dark Emperor and he looked to be completely peerless.

"This is the Dark Emperor? Why did he need to wear a mask?" The little black cat asked as it swished its tail lazily, feeling rather puzzled. When Qiao Chu and the others had mentioned the Dark Emperor from before, they had not said anything about the Dark Emperor wearing a mask.

"Is it because he's too ugly?" The little black cat thought nastily.

Jun Wu Xie shook her head as she walked to stand before another mural, to stare at the exquisite mask worn upon the Dark Emperor's face.

"The design on the mask is special and I have seen it before. Do you still remember when we experimented with spells through the runes? They are some that I still could not be certain of their meaning and upon that mask, are carved some of those very runes that I do not understand." Jun Wu Xie said as she ran her hand carefully over the rune spell hidden within the mural.

She did not feel that a man who was powerful enough to make the entire Middle Realm submit to him would wear a mask because of his looks. In fact, the mask looked like it had actually been added on by the Dark Region's craftsman after the Dark Emperor passed on.

With the peerless might of the Dark Emperor and with his vaunted position in the Dark Regions, the people in the Dark Region wouldn't dare to depict the Dark Emperor's face and countenance accurately and this was the only alternative they could take with the carvings as they did not dare to profane the Dark Emperor in their depictions. Hence, they had added in the mask and the runes carved upon that mask should hold some special meaning.

Jun Wu Xie continued to look at the murals and if all the stories they told were true, that the man who had once reigned over the entire Middle Realm would have held might that transcended beyond anything they ever knew.

In that dim firelight, the murals filled every single wall and as Jun Wu Xie proceeded forward through the corridor to find an exit, she also stared at all the stone carvings upon the walls.

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Chapter 1340:- The Dark Emperor's Treasure (2)

Looking at those murals, Jun Wu Xie understood better the kind of status the Dark Emperor enjoyed in the hearts of the people in the Dark Regions. He was not just one who ruled over them, but in the hearts of the people in the Dark Regions, he was more like a deity. They held him in awe, worshipped him, revered him, and in their eyes, the Dark Emperor was an omnipotent god.

Within the stone carvings, besides the fact that the Dark Emperor always stood out from large numbers of people, all the other people looked humbled and highly devoted to him.

Thoughts of cult members who were too frighteningly devout from her past life inadvertently came into Jun Wu Xie's mind. Those people would sacrifice everything for the god they revered in their minds. But as Jun Wu Xie never believed in any kinds of religion, she did not feel thst strongly against it.

Although she did not believed in them, she respected the faith of others.

The Dark Emperor's tomb was immense and only when she was within it did she really feel just how big it was. Jun Wu Xie walked for an entire half hour and she had just reached the end of one corridor before she found herself looking down another endless pathway. Under that dim firelight, the pathway looked as if it stretched to no end, pillars and beams at regular intervals. It was impossible to know where she must go before she could find the exit. Jun Wu Xie then noticed that on both sides of the corridor against the walls, claw shaped bases holding up purples orbs were neatly placed. Those orbs were beautiful to look at and everyone was only about the size of a table tennis ball. They were laid within the claw shaped sockets and the dim firelight reflected off their smooth surface faintly.

It was not a pearl, nor was it a gem. It can't really be ascertained.

The two neat rows stuck tightly against the walls, every single purple orb the same size. Along just one corridor, there were at least several thousands of them and regardless what material those orbs were made from, just the level of opulence shown with those orbs, was already nothing to sniff at.

The Dark Emperor had once plundered all of the Middle Realm's treasures and after he passed on, his people had buried every single one of those treasures with the tomb, without leaving a single one out. At first glance, the interior of the Dark Emperor's tomb did not look to be exceptionally lavish, but when one looked closer, they would realize that in any corner in this place, one would be able to find all sorts of precious and priceless treasures tucked away.

Gold and silver in this place would no longer be deemed as precious as the more highly prized Black Gold and Black Silver could be seen everywhere, used to decorate the interior. Fan Zhuo had once said, that the price of Black Silver against gold, was already several times higher.

That piece of rock that Jun Wu Xie had won at the auction with several hundred thousand taels, had yielded merely a little bit of Black Silver but here in the Dark Emperor's tomb, even the claw shaped bases at the edges along the walls were forged from Black Silver. Just the price of a single one of those bases, would surely not be less than a million taels each.

And within the entire Dark Emperor's tomb it looked as if these bases crafted with Black Silver numbered in the tens of thousands of them, or even hundreds of thousands.

The wealth the Dark Emperor held, was not something an average person could even begin to imagine.

According to her calculations, Jun Wu Xie estimated that her current position should still be in the outer fringe of the Dark Emperor's tomb and was furthest out. But even so, what she saw at this place already surprised her greatly.

"It's little wonder the people from the Middle Realm revered the Dark Emperor with such strong fervour." Jun Wu Xie commented as she looked at everything she was passing. The value of the things in a square inch in here, would be enough enough to feed a family for life without needing to worry about food and clothing.

To reign dominance over any place, power was an aspect that one could not lack, but similarly, riches was a factor that would be just as important.

Without even mentioning how many magical artifacts that people coveted for were in the Dark Emperor's tomb, just the riches alone would already cause one to become hopelessly nervous and unsettled.

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