Chapter 520: An Underground Tunnel
He took out the corpse of the crocodile from his Brilliant Glass Bead and tossed it into the large bronze cauldron.
Mi Li was surprised. “I didn’t expect you to have something like that in your spatial artifact. Unfortunately, that crocodile isn’t precious enough, and can’t serve as a sacrifice on its own.”
Zu An saw how she was eyeing Pei Mianman, and his scalp went numb with tension. He really was worried that she might just kill Big Manman. He fished out the other taotie that he had picked up earlier. “I have this too!”
“A taotie? Even though it looks quite nasty, the people of the Shang Dynasty often used it as sacrifices before battle. It should serve its purpose.” Mi Li finally nodded.
Zu An sighed in relief. If this was still not enough, I’d have to bring out that giant dragon’s corpse as well. There’s no way that wouldn’t be enough to appease them.
The only thing that worried him was how he was going to fit that massive dragon’s corpse inside this puny cauldron.
Pei Mianman gave a frightened start. “What are you doing?”
He hadn’t responded to her earlier question at all, and then suddenly threw a crocodile and a taotie corpse into the large cauldron. She had no idea what was up with him.
The taotie was slightly larger than the cauldron. He took out the Tai’e Sword and began to chop off its head, limbs, and tail before putting the corpse in.
The taotie’s bodily fluids flowed out everywhere. However, for some reason, nothing happened even when the corrosive liquid landed on the ground or the bronze cauldron.
However, this butchering scene was truly bizarre to watch. If Zu An hadn’t looked so clear-eyed, she would’ve thought that he was somehow bewitched.
“I’m trying to find a way out of this situation.” Zu An explained. “Hey, can you light a fire underneath the cauldron? I need to cook everything inside.”
“What?” Pei Mianman was stunned. “I can’t even summon enough of my black flames to protect the two of us! Why should I cook this stuff?”
She really couldn’t figure out the inner workings of this fellow’s brain.
Zu An explained the situation quickly, giving her a rough idea of the connection between this place and the need for the sacrifice.
Pei Mianman was still skeptical, but she knew that Zu An usually thought things through before taking action, which was why she decided to trust him.
As such, she used her black flames to protect the two of them while using whatever she could spare to heat up the bronze cauldron.
She could’ve kept her black flames going for almost an hour more, but now, the most she could last was another fifteen minutes.
She looked at Zu An again, but clenched her teeth and chose to keep her silence.
Zu An pulled her next to the bronze cauldron. This way, they could use the flames under the bronze cauldron as cover, easing the pressure on her.
The bronze cauldron was quite large to begin with, and it would have been hard for ordinary flames to heat its contents, let alone cook them.
Fortunately, Pei Mianman’s black flames were extraordinary, and were able to quickly bring up the temperature of the cauldron. Soon, the smell of cooking meat wafted out from within the cauldron, together with an assortment of other disgusting, nauseating smells.
Those were probably the taotie’s mucus and corrosive liquids coming to a boil.
Zu An looked at the black mess simmering within the pot, and his expression immediately grew extremely bizarre. Will the gods in heaven get a stomach ache if they eat this stuff? What if whichever deity up there punishes us out of anger…?
However, they were already committed, and he could not back out now. The only thing left was to brace himself for the consequences.
Pei Mianman frowned as well. She couldn’t help but say, “This smell, it’s like… like…”
Zu An laughed when he saw how embarrassed she was. “Like a pot of shit, right?”
“Please, stop…” Pei Mianman felt her stomach churning. She retched. “Are you sure that this can serve as an offering?”
“It should be good enough.” Zu An wasn’t sure either. “This is made out of flesh, after all. Even though it smells bad, it’s like shit-flavored chocolate, which is still chocolate in the end. It’s way better than chocolate-flavored shit. If you’re a deity, which one would you choose?”
Even though she had never heard of chocolate before, Pei Mianman could guess at what he meant. She pinched her nose in embarrassment. “Neither.”
This momentary distraction produced a gap in her defenses, and countless malicious spirits swarmed in.
Pei Mianman’s expression changed. Zu An wrapped her in his arms to protect her. He had already fished out his mysterious flashlight. This little gadget was good at stopping undead creatures.
He knew that he could only get one final use out of it, and he didn’t want to waste it unless he absolutely had to.
Unfortunately, there was already nothing else he could do. He was just about to activate the flashlight when the malicious spirits acted as though they had been suddenly drawn to something delicious, and they all flew towards the bronze cauldron.
The indescribable mess inside seemed like a delicacy for all the evil spirits, and they all threw themselves at it with aplomb. The strange flesh inside was devoured at a visible rate.
The crocodile and taotie corpses had filled up the entire cauldron, but the contents of the cauldron were gobbled up in a matter of moments by the malicious spirits.
None of the spirits came back out after entering the cauldron. The sinister mist gradually dissipated, and the green flames burning within the braziers also returned to a more normal hue. The malicious spirits had all vanished.
“It really… worked.” Pei Mianman’s face was pale. She had resigned herself to death, yet they had actually managed to survive.
Mi Li snorted. “Just a big-boobed bimbo after all. She only knows how to seduce men.”
Zu An scrunched up his face, puzzled.
Just what is going on with big sis empress today? Isn’t she getting way too jealous?
Of course, he didn’t dare voice these thoughts out loud, since he wanted to keep on living.
A strange rumble began to fill the air, and a part of the floor behind the large bronze cauldron split into several sections. These sections rotated, revealing a circular hole.
Within it was another long flight of stairs which wound downwards. The flames under the large bronze cauldron only lit the first several meters down, and the rest of the hole was pitch-black. There was no way of telling what was down there.
“Big sis empress, what is going on?” Since Mi Li was already awake, Zu An did not want to waste this opportunity, in case she went back to sleep again.
Mi Li’s tone was grave. “I read an old record before that spoke about a strange architectural quirk of Yinshang. While the palace was above ground, the Imperial Tomb was situated beneath it. Since this is the sacrificial altar, it’s naturally a place linked to the supernatural. The people of the Shang Dynasty didn’t only offer sacrifices to deities. They worshipped ghosts as well. The deities were in the heavens, while the ghosts were their ancestors. If my suspicions are correct, this path should lead to the Shang Dynasty’s Imperial Tomb.”
Zu An swallowed. “We’ve already run into so much danger in the palace! First there was the powerful skeleton soldier, and then these malicious flesh-eating spirits… Who knows what else is awaiting us below!”
Mi Li snorted coldly. “You’re out of options. Have you forgotten about what happened in the dungeon where you met me? Every dungeon has its own special dungeon core, and unless you shatter this dungeon core, you’ll be stuck inside forever. From what you’ve seen so far, this dungeon core isn’t above ground, so it has to be below.
“I know that you still have two dragon corpses to use as food, and you carry some daily necessities on you as well. These will probably last you a year or two, but what about a few decades, or even a century? This place is full of dangers anyway! Your safety isn’t guaranteed even if you stay in this surface palace region.
“Also, if my predictions are correct, this dungeon should contain a miraculous technique that is at least on par with the Primordial Origin Sutra. You were granted a tremendous opportunity to be able to enter this dungeon. How can you hesitate now?”
Seeing that she had taken on her stern teacher role, Zu An muttered, “I was just saying those things. I didn’t say I wouldn’t go…”
“Good.” Mi Li’s expression eased a little. She looked over at Pei Mianman. “It’s actually fortunate that you entered this dungeon with this woman. According to what I know, Yinshang’s women were granted much higher status than those of other feudal dynasties. The queens of Yinshang were often high priests, great generals, or held other positions similar to senior ministers, helping the monarch deal with many government affairs. Having a woman at your side might actually turn out to be a huge blessing.”