Chapter 1334: Battle of the Arts

Chapter 1334: Battle of the Arts

“Imperial Tomb?” Zu An and the others exclaimed, stupefied. They hadn’t expected the map to actually take them to such a place.

The surrounding guards moved closer. The one in the lead waved his hand, gesturing to capture the group. Soon afterward, several people appeared from within the forest, surrounding them.

Zu An’s group was quite troubled. They obviously didn’t fear such soldiers, but they were in the Fiend King Court at the moment. If they started a conflict with the soldiers at the Imperial Tomb, it would be hard to clean up the situation later.

Yu Yanluo walked over and said with a smile, “I apologize. We are from the Snake race and came with the Fiend Emperor’s invitation to participate in the general assembly. We were unfamiliar with the Fiend King Court, and while following this flourishing city’s beauty, we accidentally stumbled into this place.”

The general was left in a daze from her smile. Even though there was a veil over her face, he could vaguely make out her exceptional appearance. After being stunned for a moment, he asked, “Are you the Medusa Queen?”

“Indeed. I hope that this general can be lenient on us,” Yu Yanluo said with a smile, making the general feel as if he were being caressed by soft autumn winds. Her gentle voice seemed almost as if it could melt bones.

“So it was the Medusa Queen! If one does not know any better, one cannot be held responsible. You should go back, or else it will be bad if the powerful cultivators inside are disturbed,” the general warned her.

“Thank you, general!” Yu Yanluo replied, then gave the others a look. Then, she turned around to leave the place.

When she saw the general standing in place like a statue, and yet craning his neck in their direction with hand moving from time to time, Yun Jianyue remarked with a deeply moved sigh, “Little sis Yu, your charm is just too great! You were able to leave that fella completely enchanted with just a few words!”

Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, “If big sis Yun weren’t wearing a mask, the general would definitely be bewitched by you too.”

Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “I still know my own limits. With how fiercely I usually act, I’m not your match in that aspect.” If she used her own charm techniques, she would naturally be able to dominate the general, but who was he? What right did he have to make her use her charm techniques?

Zu An coughed and said, “Please stop flattering each other about your own specialties. What I’m curious about is why the Unknown Region marked here is the Fiend Race’s Imperial Tomb.”

The three women fell silent, unable to figure out why that was the case either.

“Do you guys think that this Unknown Region has already been explored by the fiend races’ royal family?” Yu Yanluo asked worriedly. If that were the case, even if there had been anything inside, it would have been emptied out a long time ago.

Yan Xuehen shook her head, saying, “I do not think so. Unknown Regions are on an entirely different level from ordinary secret dungeons. If anyone really did explore these areas, there would be no way to hide it. For example, when the human emperor Zhao Han sent people to the Unknown Regions in search of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, no matter how he tried to hide it, news still ended up leaking out no matter what they did.

“Meanwhile, in the Snake race’s territory, we never heard anything about an Unknown Region. If my suspicions are correct, not even the Fiend Emperor knows that there is an Unknown Region hidden within their Imperial Tomb.”

Yun Jianyue nodded and said, “The stone cold woman’s analysis is reasonable. The Unknown Regions are extremely mysterious. Legend has it that they only open when the timing is right, when all kinds of factors line up. They’re not places where someone can take advantage of being the first.”

Yu Yanluo said, “Then we need to find a chance to sneak inside to take a look.”

The others nodded, but Yan Xuehen said, “I fear we might not be able to. Earlier, I sensed that this Imperial Tomb’s security was incredibly strict. Furthermore, there are all kinds of hidden killing formations around the trees and buildings. If we made even the slightest mistake, we would be trapped inside with no way out.”

Zu An added, “I was looking at the mountains’ shapes and layout earlier, and I could sense killing intent waiting to move. If it did, I fear that not even a grandmaster would be able to protect themselves.”

In his spare time, he had studied ‘One Drop of Heaven’s Essence’ carefully, allowing him to pick up some information from the mountains and valleys.

“It’s that dangerous?” Yun Jianyue replied with a slight frown. “Why is an Imperial Tomb guarded this well? Could it be that the Fiend Emperor already knows there’s an Unknown Region here?”

If that were the case, they would have come all the way for nothing!

Yu Yanluo’s eyes lit up and she exclaimed, “I remember! The Fiend Emperor’s succession ritual is held in the Imperial Tomb’s ancestral shrine. That’s why they set up such strict defenses.”

“So that was it.” The others sighed in relief. As long as it wasn’t an Unknown Region being exposed, that was good.

However, they became worried once again. If the succession ritual were to be held there, they wouldn’t be able to explore the place for quite some time. The group clearly couldn’t stay in the Fiend King Court for that long either. Still, they didn’t know what else they could do, and could only go back for the time being.

Along the way, Zu An asked, “Weren’t the fiend races forced into this bitterly cold north because of the great war with the humans many years ago? Why is the Imperial Tomb here?”

“I know the answer to this question,” Yun Jianyue explained. “That’s because many, many years ago, this was where the fiend races flourished. Later on, they ventured south and occupied a large amount of fertile land, then had to give that up to the humans.”

“No wonder this place feels mysteriously ancient for some reason,” Zu An said, turning around to look at the mountain forest. For some reason, he felt that it was hiding something, but he couldn’t imagine what that was.

…

The group once again returned to the bustling city, chatting about what had happened just then. Suddenly, an ear-piercing voice suddenly called out, “Oh? Isn’t this the Snake race’s Medusa Queen? We really are enemies who inevitably run into each other. We bumped into each other so quickly.”

A group of lions was lined up not far away, and ones in the lead had golden manes. They were none other than Shi Min, Shi Gong, and Shi Rong, the three Lion race princes they had run into outside the city gate. The one who spoke was Shi Rong, who had the most arrogant demeanor.

Yu Yanluo and the others frowned slightly. She sighed in regret. They had run into an unlucky bunch again!

The lion princes examined Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. They couldn’t help but snort, saying, “Last time, we had a glance and thought that you were some exceptional beauties. Who would have thought that it was just two ugly hags. That figure is wasted on you two.”

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were speechless. With their identities, when had they ever been addressed that way? Yun Jianyue was so angry she was about to charge directly at them.

Zu An was worried that she would expose herself and quickly stopped her. He endured his urge to smile and asked, “Big sis, didn’t you say you didn’t care about how you looked?”

Yun Jianyue replied, “This guy’s tone is annoying. I won’t be satisfied until I beat the shit out of him.”

When he saw her anger, Shi Gong roared with laughter. He replied, “What, you want to hit me? Fighting with an ugly hag would really be beneath my status. However, even though your luck was good last time and we ran into the Second Empress, allowing you to escape that disaster, I wouldn’t mind properly teaching you all a lesson here.”

Yun Jianyue was speechless. She looked at him the way one might look at a dead person. A fight seemed to be on the verge of breaking out on either side.

Suddenly, a group of Golden Crow Guards rushed over from a distance, watching them carefully.

Shi Min immediately held Shi Gong back and quietly said, “The Fiend Emperor has forbidden private battles, and there was that assassination attempt on the crown prince yesterday, so the security is very strict. I heard that many people have been captured because of private battles. I do not think you should be causing any trouble now.”

Shi Gong harrumphed. “I don’t know what kind of damn luck you all have, always having some damn noble bailing you out.”

Zu An shook his head. He said with a sigh, “Actually, it’s all of you who are damn lucky. Otherwise, you would’ve died without even knowing how it happened.”

You have successfully trolled Shi Min for +222 +222 +222…

You have successfully trolled Shi Gong for +222 +222 +222…

You have successfully trolled Shi Rong for +222 +222 +222…

The lion princes all glared at him angrily.

“Are you all from the Snake race or the Duck race? Your mouth seems to be quite tough!” Shi Min shot back, glowering. “Since you are not convinced, why not have a little bet? The Fiend Emperor has stated that we cannot fight with martial strength, so how about a battle of the arts? Do you dare?”

“Battle of the arts?” Zu An gave the boorish, bearded Lion race princes a look, and he was on the verge of breaking out into laughter. Such a proposal sounded like Zhang Fei suggesting to compete in embroidery![1] He replied, “Why not? How do you want to compete?”

They had two well-studied grandmasters, a knowledgeable number one beauty, and his handsome and confident self. Why would they lose to these three fools?

“We just happened to receive an invitation to the Jade Garden up ahead to participate in a rock betting meeting. We can compete in rock betting. Do you all dare?” Shi Min replied proudly.

“Rock betting?” They exchanged a look, their expressions turning strange. After all, in the past, Yu Yanluo had been the number one gem merchant.

1. Zhang Fei is famous as a fearsome fighter and lover of wine. ☜