The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang

Chapter 32

"City of Death?" The name sends chills down one's spine. This castle is really strange. Why choose a name that includes the word "death"? That must be a major taboo.

The following records describe the construction of the City of the Dead. According to the records, the City of the Dead took a hundred years to build, and the building materials were entirely large blocks of rock. If that's the case, then it must have been an enormous project. The City of the Dead must have been a very large castle. I simply don't believe that orcs would build castles. But I might believe that orcs would dig tunnels, as evidenced by the cave we are in right now. Even so, I still wonder if this cave is natural.

Princess Jenny explained that the existence of the City of the Dead might be true. The cave was not natural; the roughness of the cave walls indicated that it had been made with a blunt instrument. If it were natural, given the cool and humid environment inside, there would be stalactites. Natural walls are also very smooth. Furthermore, the cave is about ten meters high. At that time, the orc race had a giant beast called the Behemoth. These orcs were quite large, ridiculously tall. From the perspective of modern people, they were symbols of giants.

The Behemoths were about eight meters tall and two meters wide, and possessed immense strength. For them, digging such a cave was more than enough. But what tools did they use? In that era, which belonged to the Cold Stone Age, it was unimaginable that they could hollow out a mountain wall as hard as a shell. It was simply beyond human capabilities.

Later records mention the torture of prisoners. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the skeletons we saw outside the cave. That's when I realized that they were prisoners who were ordered to die by the lord during the construction of the city and were then dragged here and abandoned.

Next, it is said that the castle was finally completed after a hundred years. Countless orcs died during that century, so it was named the City of Death. Even more inhumane things happened: the orcs who built the city and the overseers were all put to death by the lord when the city was completed. In this way, countless skeletons disappeared along with the City of Death.

"Disappeared?" This story is obviously intriguing. Chicken doesn't understand how castles, which are built to serve the needs of rulers like palaces in the modern world, could simply disappear after being built. Princess Jenny's explanation doesn't mention any war, making the word "disappeared" all the more intriguing.

The know-it-all patted the pheasant on the shoulder and said, “Brother, you don’t understand. I think this disappearance must be a tomb built by some royal family. Since it’s a tomb, he must not want others to know about it, so he killed everyone who knew. I say, this royal family is a murderous monster, so this city of death disappeared, and no one knows where it is.”

Speaking of graves, the muscular man suddenly blurted out, "Aren't there lots of treasures there?"

Yes! How could we not have thought of that? When the topic of treasure came up, the four of us—me, Know-It-All, Mighty Man, and Chicken—exchanged glances, our eyes lit up, and we burst into laughter.

Lucy pretended not to see it, Lian remained indifferent, Princess Jenny smiled, Xin and Sally stared blankly, and the eldest shook his head and coughed twice to interrupt our laughter. Only then did he realize that he had been so smug that he had forgotten that they were in a public place.

The four of us looked embarrassed, but the eldest brother helped smooth things over by saying, "So what else is there to say next?"

Princess Jenny turned her head and looked at the cave wall. Clearly, there were more inscriptions beyond, but the handwriting was too blurred to decipher. Princess Jenny shook her head and said, "We can't see or identify what's behind it. This is the only cave we can find. Whether there's a City of Death ahead or not, we might have to brave it to get out." With that, Princess Jenny led the way. The cave was pitch black…

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (Side Story): The Dragon's Treasure, Chapter Sixty-Two: The Golden-Armored Centipede

Chapter word count: 2271 Update time: 08-04-21 17:27

Princess Jenny went inside, and everyone followed without hesitation. The cave seemed endless; we walked for a long time without seeing any light. It was pitch black inside, almost completely dark except for the areas illuminated by torches. "Huh? Why is there no wind?" Princess Jenny stopped and reached out her hand to feel the air. Everyone wondered what she was up to. Speaking of wind, they had indeed felt a cool breeze on their faces when they entered the cave, and the ground was somewhat damp. But the further they walked, the stranger it seemed; there was no wind or dampness. Had they strayed onto a wrong path?

As Princess Jenny stopped, everyone else stopped as well. Xin asked, "Princess, is something wrong?"

Princess Jenny waved her hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then looked at the torch in her hand, and listened intently to the ground. There seemed to be no movement, so Princess Jenny told everyone to spread out a bit and hold the torches forward so that their vision would be wider and farther, and they would have more room to maneuver if they encountered danger.

The cave seems to grow larger and larger as you walk through it, as if it's endless. If it were a tunnel, no matter how big the mountain is, it wouldn't take this long to walk through. So the only conclusion is that the cave's route is winding and spiraling. Wouldn't that mean hollowing out the entire mountain? If it's spiraling, then we're walking on stairs, but we don't feel any uphill or downhill slopes. A winding path on flat ground shouldn't cover such a long distance, unless this is a maze.

Suddenly, Sally felt nauseous and kept patting her chest. What was wrong? She was fine just a moment ago, so why did she suddenly feel unwell? Xin patted Sally's back from behind and asked with concern, "Sally, what's wrong?"

Everyone stopped and turned to look at Sally. Sally was pale and breathing rapidly. She clutched her chest and said, "I don't know why, but I suddenly smelled a fishy stench and felt nauseous."

A fishy smell? Is there? I can't smell it. Everyone gave me strange looks. It seems no one smelled it either. That's strange. Could it be a mistake?

Xin sniffed. "No, I can't smell anything."

"Oh dear, I think Sally might be experiencing altitude sickness or oxygen deficiency. Have someone give her CPR to make sure she's alright." (Pepsi Channel)

Xin rolled her eyes and said, "You wish! Even if artificial respiration were needed, it wouldn't be your turn. But to be honest, Sally has been more sensitive to insects since she was little, and has a sense of smell that surpasses that of ordinary people. What Sally said should be true."

The know-it-all didn't believe it and continued, "How could that be? If there really was such a superpower, Sally, what kind of bug do you think it is?"

Speaking of insects, we encountered spiders before. If insects were mentioned at the entrance of the cave, it would be more believable. According to normal theory, insects prefer to live in damp, dark places, which are the most suitable for group reproduction. However, here we could no longer feel the wind, and the soil was quite dry. Moreover, in such a large cave, without any wind, the stench could not have come from just one or two insects, but from a large number of insects or groups living here. If that were the case, how come only Sally could smell it when everyone else had come here?

Regardless, there's something strange about this cave, so it's best to be careful. Even if there are no insects, there might be some ferocious beasts here. In a dark cave, the most terrifying thing is bats. If you really encounter vampire bats, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Sally's reaction wasn't good; they needed to leave quickly. Princess Jenny said, "Everyone, be careful, let's get out of here..."

Wow...gold!

Gold? How could there be gold here? Princess Jenny stopped speaking before everyone looked in the direction she was looking. At that moment, Pheasant stepped forward, bent down, and grabbed something golden. Huh? It really was gold! The tough guy couldn't contain his joy and said, "Boss, we're rich!"

A dazzling golden light filled my vision. Could the cave walls be made of gold? Or is this mountain a gold mine? I couldn't contain my excitement. The scene before me was so beautiful that I almost shouted out: "Gold, I love you!"

"Everyone, don't move!" Princess Jenny shouted, rushing forward. She had found it strange when she heard the pheasant shouting "gold." How could there be gold here? Even natural placer gold couldn't be found like this. And just a moment ago, it was pitch black in front of her, how did it suddenly become a golden world? Although she didn't know what the pheasant had picked up, it definitely couldn't be gold. The shape and color were too much like gold. So what was it?

As soon as Princess Jenny finished speaking, Pheasant picked up the gold bar-shaped object. Pheasant hesitated for a moment, then suddenly felt something was wrong. It was too light. He had never heard of gold being so light. Gold should be heavy and have a solid texture. Why did this thing feel so slippery in his hand? By the light of the fire, he saw that the object seemed to be moving.

The pheasant's face turned pale, its eyes wide open, exuding an indescribable terror. Suddenly, the golden, strip-shaped thing extended countless thin legs from both sides, and two heads with antennae emerged from both ends, its two large, ring-shaped gold teeth waving left and right as it stared at the pheasant.

The pheasant was completely stunned with fear, and we were all terrified. Almost simultaneously, we all shouted, "Centipede!" Suddenly, the golden-armored centipede broke free from its grip and shot towards the pheasant's face. The movement was so fast that almost everything happened in the blink of an eye. It was too late for us to save the pheasant. Just then, Princess Jenny waved her torch, knocking the oncoming golden-armored centipede to the ground and dragging the pheasant back.

The split-second action bought us time. Since the pheasant was alright, there was no need for any worries. Baishitong had already opened fire, "rat-a-tat-tat..." A series of gunshots echoed throughout the cave. The golden-armored centipede that had fallen to the ground had been hit by several bullets, and sparks flew everywhere. It! It was still alive! A wave of shock washed over us. The penetrating power of the bullets had not harmed the golden-armored centipede. Its golden shell was so hard that the bullets did not budge it at all. The sparks said it all. Instead, it crawled towards us even more ferociously, its speed astonishing. Lian made the first move. With a flash of sword light, a crisp "crack" rang out, and the golden-armored centipede was cut in half.

Now everyone calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief. If even Lian's sword couldn't harm it in the slightest, we probably wouldn't last more than a few minutes before we all lost our lives here.

Princess Jenny winked at me, and I understood what she meant. I quickly loaded a flare and fired it toward the golden world. The bright, shining light made us gasp. The entire cave was teeming with countless golden-armored centipedes, wriggling everywhere—on the ground, walls, and ceiling—staring at us.

I stared wide-eyed. Had we accidentally stumbled upon a centipede's nest...?

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (Extra Chapter): The Dragon's Treasure of Heaven, Chapter Sixty-Three: The Eight Trigrams and Two Hundred and Fifty-Six Palms

Chapter word count: 2292 Update time: 08-04-23 16:47

Seeing the scene before them, they would probably have nightmares for three days. Everyone instinctively took a few steps back. Princess Jenny shouted, "Don't retreat, everyone! There's only one road here, and the only exit is ahead."

The only way out means either they step over our corpses, or we step over theirs. The scene of this life-or-death struggle between humans and insects is unimaginable; it must have been incredibly brutal.

The Golden Armored Centipede is about 35 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide, with densely packed legs on both sides, commonly known as "thousand-legged centipede." Centipedes are also called thousand-legged worms or hundred-legged worms. This particular Golden Armored Centipede has two heads, one at each end, unlike the centipedes we've encountered in tomb raiding. Ordinary and slightly more unusual centipedes only have one head and are slightly larger, but this Golden Armored Centipede is not only large but also exceptionally long. Despite its length and width, it hasn't become rounded; its body remains in optimal attack and movement posture, flattened like the triangular head of a cobra. Those two large golden teeth are probably more terrifying than iron pincers. The blood of the Golden Armored Centipede is milky white and transparent, as can be seen from the Golden Armored Centipede we just killed.

The situation before us clearly showed that we had entered the lair of the golden-armored centipedes, who had blocked the only exit. To get through, we had to subdue them.

Upon arriving here, using the light from the flares, we can roughly estimate the terrain. It's a large cave, at least twenty meters high and about thirty meters wide. If ten of us walked in a line, three meters apart, it would take three meters to fill the cave. While this would provide a wider field of vision, we still wouldn't know how wide it truly was, because before us lay a golden world, terrifyingly, with no end in sight. We really didn't know if the golden-armored centipedes stretched for miles or even hundreds of miles. If that were the case, we'd probably be exhausted and die before we even killed half the enemy.

The ground was littered with animal bones, including the remains of orcs. Countless golden-armored centipedes crawled on the skeletons. As soon as we entered, we would be attacked from all sides. The situation was very unfavorable for us. The only way was to force our way through and clear our way out of the cave.

Princess Jenny looked around and said, "Everyone be careful. Be careful with your strength. Don't collapse the cave and end up burying yourselves instead of getting out."

The shooting by Baishitong just now proved that the bullets were ineffective. Baishitong, Mengnan, Shanji, and I were assigned to hold the torches and pay attention to the surrounding situation. The leader and the rest of us were to stick the torches in the ground. Our vision would depend on these torches. If they went out, we would probably die without a burial place.

These golden-armored centipedes have been hiding deep in caves for years and are particularly sensitive to firelight, which is why they haven't attacked us yet. Judging from the golden-armored centipede that attacked the pheasant earlier, their attacks are extremely swift and ferocious. If so many of them came like a gust of wind, we probably wouldn't be able to dodge them. You can imagine what it would be like to be stabbed in the heart by thousands of golden-armored centipedes.

Since that's the case, it's better to strike first. Lucy was already sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding her harp to her chest. Lian also drew her sword, ready to attack at any moment. The eldest brother was just frowning, while Princess Jenny was deep in thought, searching for a solution.

The golden-armored centipede shimmered in the firelight. The pheasant, still shaken from the earlier fright, was ashen-faced. Xin was tending to Sally, whose condition was particularly bad; Sally was pale and vomiting incessantly. It seemed her reaction was an allergic reaction. They had to find a way to leave as soon as possible, or her health would be ruined.

Lucy made the first move, her ten fingers lightly caressing the strings, creating ripples of music. I recognized her technique, "Ice Zither Blood Strings," as gentle and refined. With improvements over the last time, it seemed even stronger this time. Could it be that power is something one can only perceive through repeated life-or-death battles? In the battle against Ghost Mist, Lucy suffered noticeable backlash from the zither. In the battle against the Black Vein Demon Serpent, she narrowly escaped death. Yet, the battle in the Hell Forest was remarkably easy. Was her opponent too weak, or had she become stronger? It seemed only by experiencing it firsthand could one truly understand. Thinking this, I tested my inner energy, already itching to unleash my full power. Just how powerful would my Avici Path Three Blades be?

As Lucy played her piano, the scene before us gradually froze into ice. If this continued, the ice would seal off the entire cave, leaving only one passage. This way, we could escape without lifting a finger. This was indeed a good idea.

Lian and I thought the same thing. The frozen world before us no longer posed any great danger. She quickly sheathed her wooden sword without a trace of seriousness or tension. Shanji, Mengnan, and Baishitong were all dumbfounded. This magical world was too incredible. Although it wasn't the first time they had seen Bingqin Xianxue, the astonishment in their eyes remained unchanged.

The eldest brother and Princess Jenny didn't react. Just then, Lucy pressed her hands down on the strings, and the cave returned to calm. The know-it-all was excited. "Lucy, you're amazing! You should teach us brothers a trick sometime."

Pheasant, regaining his senses, interjected, "Brother Bai is right. Not only is the great beauty Lu stunningly beautiful, but her piano playing is like an angel descending to save us sinners who have fallen into hell..."

Before Shanji could finish speaking, I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Shanji, what sinner? I think you and Baishitong have gone mad. With your lazy and unambitious nature, I think you're unlikely to be able to endure hardship."

Chicken and Know-It-All rolled their eyes and glared at me, while Lucy covered her mouth and chuckled. The muscular man scratched his head and said, "What sinners? Are we sinners? I didn't know that."

Pheasant and Know-It-All wished they could bang their heads against the wall. Everyone burst into laughter. Princess Jenny said, "Instructor Henry, your students are quite interesting."

Just as everyone was chatting and laughing, a series of cracking sounds suddenly rang out. They quickly turned around and saw that the golden-armored centipede was about to break out of the ice. Princess Jenny suddenly realized something and shouted, "This kind of golden-armored centipede is immune to magic and can only be attacked physically!"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, a large number of golden-armored centipedes burst out of the ice and swept towards us like a whirlwind. Their movements were as fast as lightning, and we were caught off guard. Our leader flew to the front at an unimaginable speed, attracting the rushing golden-armored centipedes, and shouted wildly, "Return to Heaven!"

A whirlwind immediately swirled around the leader, blasting away the golden-armored centipedes clinging to him. Then, he roared, "Eight Trigrams Two Hundred and Fifty-Six Palms!" His palm shadows completely enveloped the leader, countless and ever-present. More and more golden-armored centipedes rushed towards us, only to be intercepted by the leader's palm shadows. The ground was instantly piled high with countless corpses of golden-armored centipedes, yet they continued their tireless, fearless charge...

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (Side Story): The Dragon's Treasure - Chapter Sixty-Four: All in One Wrap

Chapter word count: 2563 Update time: 08-04-27 12:22

The scene before me left me speechless. A perfectly round cylinder was spinning incessantly in front of me, its palm shadows ever-changing and as fast as lightning, drawing our attention into a hurricane.

Lian's eyes never left the boss's figure. At such a fast speed, he could only see a gust of wind swirling around in his bright eyes. He was terrified. The palm technique belonged to the ultra-close-quarters combat art. The force of the attack was entirely physical. Using the palm as a weapon, the golden-armored centipede, which even bullets could not touch, was killed by the shock. Such power was very shocking.

Lian knew that there weren't many people practicing close-quarters combat techniques throughout the entire Star River Continent. In martial arts, it's said that every inch longer is more dangerous, and most cultivators use weapons as equipment. Just imagine, which is harder, a sword or a fist? Only now did she realize that her palm could reach a state where it was impervious to swords and blades—this was something she had never seen before in her life.

Not only Lian, but Princess Jenny and Lucy were also surprised. Palm techniques and leg techniques are both ultra-close-quarters combat techniques, but they are practically legends in the Star River Continent. Palm techniques and leg techniques appearing in the martial arts world are considered worthless and belong to the lowest level of martial arts, so many people look down on them. In the current era of advanced weaponry, ultra-close-quarters combat techniques have lost their market and the confidence of practitioners. Even in the textbooks of the Magic and Martial Arts Academy, this skill is only mentioned briefly.

Now it seems that all my previous ideas have been overturned. No wonder I have never seen Instructor Henry use a weapon. It turns out that his hands are more powerful than any weapon.

"That palm technique is amazing!" the know-it-all exclaimed.

Princess Jenny said, "Yes, I once heard an elder mention that this palm technique is called the Eight Trigrams 256 Palms. It is known for its speed and quantity. The starting stance of the Eight Trigrams Palms is sixteen palms. When the practitioner's speed and ability increase to the next level, there are thirty-two palms. The power of the palm technique can double the attack power. As long as you can break through a bottleneck, you can get a powerful fatal blow. Thirty-two palms become sixty-four palms, sixty-four palms become one hundred and twenty-eight palms, and one hundred and twenty-eight palms become the two hundred and fifty-six palms that Instructor Henry is using now. The power has increased many times over."

Two hundred and fifty-six palm strikes—that's incredible speed! No wonder we only saw a hurricane before our eyes.

"The Eight Trigrams Palms, with its 256 palms, is said to be not the highest level. There may be even more palms. However, this set of palm techniques is a legend. I never expected to be able to witness it here. This set of Eight Trigrams Palms comes from the mysterious East. It uses the Tai Chi Yin-Yang principle to move within the Five Elements, and then uses the imagery of stars to strike the palms. The palms are interlocked and the palm shadows are endless. It seems that this set of Eight Trigrams Palms is indeed worthy of its reputation."

"What kind of place is the mysterious East?" The name is a bit unusual; I don't think I've ever heard of it before.

Princess Jenny pondered for a moment and said, "According to the historical records of the Empire, the entire coastal continent is divided into two parts, east and west. We are currently in the west, which means the entire Star River Continent. As for the east, the historical records of the Empire only mention the word 'mysterious' without much more information. It seems that the mysterious Eastern world is a terrifying place."

Everyone was surprised to hear this. It was the first time they had ever heard of such a division of territory. If these words had not come from the mouth of the imperial princess, probably no one would have believed it.

"Princess Jenny, does the boss need any help?" Chicken saw that the boss had been holding out alone for a long time, and now everyone was at a loss, so they could only listen to Princess Jenny's instructions.

Princess Jenny frowned deeply. This fight would never end, and she eventually died from exhaustion. The golden-armored centipedes didn't seem to be decreasing; in fact, they seemed to be multiplying. At this moment, the leader shook again, sending the mountain of golden-armored centipedes around him flying and clearing a space to continue the battle. It seemed that the leader was already entangled by them and couldn't break free. He was in a dilemma and could only hold on desperately.

Princess Jenny suddenly noticed that the golden-armored centipede seemed to have an extra pair of wings; otherwise, how could it be flying in the air, and so relentlessly, one after another?

Princess Jenny winked at me again, and I quickly fired another flare. This time I could see it clearly. The golden-armored centipede was entirely golden. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't be able to see its pair of thin, transparent wings. The same color was completely different. How could such thin wings support such a large and long body? It was completely disproportionate. A flying golden-armored centipede—what kind of creature was it? Princess Jenny searched through various books and records in her mind but found nothing suspicious.

It seems that such an illogical and natural species does not exist in the world. Either it is a mutated extinct species that humans have not yet discovered. Having come to these two conclusions, we can't waste any more time. Magic attacks are definitely out of the question. Right now, only Lian and the boss know how to fight. Lucy's "Shadow of the Piano" should come in handy.

Princess Jenny made up her mind and called out, "Instructor Henry, can you hear me?"

"I can hear you!" came the leader's voice from the hurricane.

Princess Jenny, beaming with joy, continued, "These winged golden-armored centipedes must be incredibly bloodthirsty and extremely fast. Once they smell blood, they'll swarm out. You and Lian can work together to wipe them all out."

"Okay, I'll wait for your answer."

Princess Jenny turned to us and said, "Lian, you stay here. The rest of you, step back six meters. Do not take a single step forward without my order, understand?"

Everyone looked at each other, then nodded, not understanding what plan Princess Jenny had come up with. The seven of us took three torches and retreated behind her, waiting to see what would happen. My inner energy was stirring, ready to be used if anything went wrong.

Princess Jenny said a few words to Lian, who nodded, and the plan began.

Princess Jenny used a summoning spell to summon a bear. This bear was exceptionally large, standing five meters tall and two meters wide. Its appearance surprised us greatly. What does this mean?

Princess Jenny ran towards us and gestured to Lian. Lian kicked the bear away, and it was about to land next to the boss when a sword flashed, instantly splitting the bear in two. A large amount of blood gushed out, and as soon as the smell of blood filled the air, the golden-armored centipedes flew over like madmen. There were so many that the entire cave was packed with them, without a single gap. Xin quickly turned her head away, not daring to look anymore. Pheasant and Know-It-All turned pale and trembled. I could also feel myself breaking out in a cold sweat. The scene of the swarming creatures was beyond description in terms of its terror.

Lian frowned.

Princess Jenny shouted, "Do it!"

Without hesitation, Lian drew the wooden sword in her hand into a circle and shouted, "Sword Rain and Stars!"

In the dark cave, dozens of bright spots flashed. In a blur, the leader and Lian disappeared almost simultaneously. The golden-armored centipedes swarmed in, relentlessly attacking the bear. Dozens of bright spots flew into the swarm of golden-armored centipedes. Suddenly, tiny sword lights flashed out. In the instant of a violent explosion, a dazzling white light forced us to close our eyes tightly. There was no sound. After a moment, calm returned. When we opened our eyes, we saw that the corpses of the golden-armored centipedes had filled half of the cave.

The leader, stepping over their corpses, was still blocking the arrival of the second wave. However, unlike before, the leader had advanced more than twenty meters, with Lian close behind. Princess Jenny stepped forward again and repeated the same trick, once, twice, three times... The golden-armored centipedes kept falling down. It seemed that we could vaguely see the light. I wasn't sure, so I patted the pheasant and said, "Look, is that little bright spot ahead the light from the exit?"

"It's light! That's right! The exit is just ahead!" Everyone was so excited they were practically jumping for joy. I smiled; finally, we could see the light.

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (Side Story): The Dragon's Treasure - Chapter Sixty-Five: The Underworld

Chapter word count: 2391 Update time: 08-04-27 12:23