While William Wang Jinling and Felix Fuller were speculating about who killed Prince Damien of Southlyn, the real murderer had already left Southlyn without alerting a single soul...
"Is it done?" A man with huge, protruding ears hurried forward to greet the approaching, sickly-looking man and asked urgently.
The sickly man’s expression was gloomy, his face tinged with blue, his eyes cold and indifferent. He lifted his gaze slightly. "My master always leaves a backhand, and he’s never missed." Yes, it was this man who killed Prince Damien.
"Yes, yes, yes! The Ghost Doctor’s skills are truly unfathomable—I spoke out of turn." The man with the protruding ears slapped himself across the face over twenty times before the sickly man finally spoke: "Enough... Where is the one who killed my master?"
The sickly man was the Ghost Doctor’s disciple. Back then, when the Ghost Doctor came out to help the Lyndaria Princess Royal, he was taken down by Serena Feng as soon as he made his move, and was immediately killed by Aaron Shore (Zuo An).
When the sickly man learned of his master’s death, he insisted on leaving Ghost Hall to seek revenge on Serena Feng for the Ghost Doctor.
Unfortunately, his timing was terrible. By the time he arrived from overseas, Serena Feng had already left for the Former Dynasty Imperial Mausoleum with Prince Nolan, so he couldn’t find her. With nothing else to do, the Ghost Doctor’s disciple came to Southlyn to resolve a lingering threat for Ghost Hall—a threat that was now useless.
Ghost Hall had once saved Prince Damien of Southlyn, then used his name to commit atrocities across the Nine Provinces. Naturally, they had ways to control him and never feared betrayal. Later, when Damien fell from power, Ghost Hall didn’t kill him, thinking he might still be useful. But now...
Prince Damien was no longer useful. Even if he knew the location of the Former Dynasty Imperial Hoard, what did it matter? Recently, they received word that the Grand Empress Dowager, who was confined by Eastlyn’s Ninth Royal Uncle, is actually a Former Dynasty Princess and knows the location of the treasure.
A Southlyn prince or a Former Dynasty princess—naturally, the princess was more trustworthy. Ghost Hall knew Prince Damien all too well. Even if he did know the location of the treasure, getting him to talk would be nearly impossible, and they had no intention of acting as his enforcer.
As for the hostage, that's just a bonus. If I get one, great; if not, Lady Min couldn't care less.
The next day, the scriptures Lady Min spent all night copying were offered before the Buddha statue. That afternoon, her people used secret tunnels to slip into the Capital...
Eastlyn’s imperial city was once the Former Dynasty’s capital. Lady Min knows the palace and urban secret tunnels better than Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan himself—otherwise, how could she keep such close contact with Liancastle?
The palace’s secret tunnels once served Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan; now, naturally, they serve Lady Min.
If William Wang hadn’t been so cautious and sent Feng Jin into the palace to accompany the young emperor, Lady Min would have already seized the child emperor—and Empress Dowager Xie would be under her control too.
Lady Min’s operatives worked fast; by evening, they were all in position. But they didn’t strike immediately—instead, they hid in secret chambers, quietly awaiting Lady Min’s order, or perhaps Ghost Hall’s move...
Eastlyn seethed with hidden currents, but far away in the imperial mausoleum, Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan and Serena Feng were oblivious. After emerging from the tomb, they crossed a dense forest and arrived somewhere utterly unexpected...
"An underground palace?"
The grand structure before them left Serena Feng so stunned her jaw nearly hit the ground.
The Former Dynasty’s might—unmatched!
Was this natural, or carved out by human hands? If it was man-made, then it was terrifying.
If they hadn’t fallen down from above, they never would have dreamed that beneath the mountain lay an underground palace. And this palace was built right in the mountain’s center, hollowing out the entire peak except for a single tip exposed to the surface.
The mountain was tall, but not in the usual sense—the base lay deep in a gorge, rising straight up from the abyss.
Compared to the surrounding peaks, it wasn’t short, but because it sat in a deep gorge it was barely noticeable among the mountains. From ground level, it looked like nothing but a small hill, only the tip poking out above the plain.
A place like this—unless you got right up close, you’d never see it, let alone discover its secret.
The underground palace was built by hollowing out the mountain’s core, yet the peak itself remained perfectly intact—no tilting, no collapse, not even a hint of damage.
"What an incredible feat of engineering." Serena Feng couldn’t help but praise it again and again—this was a miracle in the history of architecture, no less than the Great Wall or the pyramids. Of course, it also meant the Former Dynasty must have poured unimaginable resources into building this underground palace.
"No wonder this place is impossible to find. There’s not another spot like it in all the Nine Provinces Realm." Sean Xuan had wandered the martial world and seen countless places, but nothing had ever amazed them like this.
The Former Dynasty’s treasure had always been right out in the open, but nobody could see it—let alone find this place...
If you didn’t walk in yourself, you’d never imagine in a lifetime that the Former Dynasty’s treasure was just sitting here in plain sight. After all, who would ever guess there was a thousand-meter-deep pit in this place, with a mountain inside it—and a breathtaking underground palace built right in the heart of that mountain...
No matter how many times you circled the mountains, unless you took this exact route, you’d never reach the hidden palace. All the rumors and legends about the hoard? Just smoke and mirrors.
Serena Feng gazed up at the palace suspended inside the hollowed mountain, unable to suppress her awe. This was the kind of thing she’d only ever seen in sci-fi films—yet here it was, real as day.
Sean Xuan circled around, calculating the depth and span. "If the Former Dynasty built this, their engineering was centuries ahead of its time."
Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan’s eyes narrowed. He silently memorized every detail, knowing this place would become the foundation of his future empire.
No wonder generations of treasure hunters failed. Only someone who walked the death route through the mausoleum could reach this place.
Serena Feng’s heart pounded. She knew that, with the hoard so close, every enemy in the Capital would be sharpening their knives behind Nolan’s back.
Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan’s gaze swept the palace, then the mountain, then the chasm. "Let’s move. The real test is just ahead."
Serena Feng nodded, her fingers tightening around her Med-Pack. Whatever came next, she was ready.
Above them, the mountain’s peak vanished into mist. Below, the abyss yawned—a silent warning that any misstep would mean oblivion.
And so, with the Former Dynasty’s greatest secret within reach, they pressed on—never suspecting that in the Capital, their enemies were already closing in on Nolan’s most trusted allies.