Chapter 2335: The Riddle of the Dragon-Shaped Stone Stele!
Wang Chong had never imagined that the gray-robed elder would ultimately disappear into the mausoleum.
After a few moments of silence, Wang Chong began to make his way up the jade steps.
At the top of the steps, Wang Chong saw several large words written in cinnabar.
‘Forbidden Ground of the Imperial Household! Entry Prohibited!’
After a few moments of silence, Wang Chong walked past the sign.
Not only the capital, even the imperial household was in danger now. If he did not think of a way to resolve this crisis, even the Western Mausoleum would be in danger.
Buzz!
Wang Chong spread his enormous Psychic Energy over the Western Mausoleum.
The mausoleum was cold and empty, tinged with chill. It was like it had been completely forgotten.
But Wang Chong quickly made a discovery.
“Over there!”
Wang Chong’s body blinked away, and he instantly appeared within a side hall of the mausoleum. Close to the wall, Wang Chong saw a familiar figure: the gray-robed, thin elder with mysterious origins.
His eyes were shut and he was leaning against the wall like he was sleeping.
“This!”
Wang Chong was stunned by the sight of the elder.
After chasing this person with so much effort, almost losing him quite a few times, he had ended up finding this gray-robed elder so easily.
But for some reason, perhaps because it was so easy, Wang Chong found it strange. Something seemed different.
“This energy!”
In a flash of insight, Wang Chong suddenly understood.
Though the gray-robed elder had not possessed heaven-destroying pulses of energy, he had still possessed a very faint and gloomy energy.
But this gray-robed elder, though appearing identical, felt like another person.
Simply put, that energy had disappeared.
“Ah!”
As he was thinking, he heard a soft muttering. That sleeping gray-robed elder trembled and slowly opened his eyes as if he was waking from a dream.
The old man looked blankly at Wang Chong, as if he had never seen him before.
“This… Why am I here?!”
The old man muttered as he stretched his body. As if he had not seen Wang Chong, he walked around him and went elsewhere.
Wang Chong was left speechless on the spot.
He carefully examined the gray-robed elder from the moment he had woken up, not letting a single detail go, but in the end, he was disappointed.
Though it seemed absurd, in the final analysis, this gray-robed elder was probably just the man responsible for keeping the Western Mausoleum clean.
He truly did not recognize him.
“What is going on here?”
Wang Chong slowly raised his head up to the night sky, his brows furrowed.
He did not go after the gray-robed elder, nor was it necessary, as that man was not his target.
“Possession?”
Wang Chong’s mind was whirring with thoughts.
Wang Chong was no stranger to this sort of thing, where a body was possessed and walked the earth as an avatar of someone else.
Heaven had used such an ability on the steppe, Essence Supreme had countless avatars, and even Li Junxian was capable of this. Wang Chong was naturally capable of this feat as well. It simply required using one’s Psychic Energy to surmount the other party’s consciousness.
But the method used by this other party was different from any method that he knew. This method left no mark, and it did no damage to the body serving as the vessel.
But who was this person, and why had they chosen the caretaker of the Western Mausoleum?
And what was their objective?
This other party had been hiding in the capital for numerous years. Why had the tea leaves left by the Origin Immortal Lord been able to draw them out?
It was the middle of the night, and Wang Chong had followed this person as they randomly wandered the capital. All of the locations they had visited had seemed very ordinary. It all seemed very pointless, so why?
Wang Chong felt like he was in a sea of fog.
Regardless, Wang Chong was at least sure that what had happened on this night was no coincidence. This mysterious figure who had come out of nowhere was undoubtedly an important clue.
As for the Western Mausoleum… there had to be a reason this person had chosen to disappear in this place. So long as he could find the relationship, he would inevitably be able to find the answer.
This thought made Wang Chong’s eyes turn determined. He was sure that the key was the Western Mausoleum, so all he needed to do was to find ‘that person’.
Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy once more burst out, engulfing the Western Mausoleum as he tried to find out where that person was hiding.
But the entire mausoleum was empty. Wang Chong was not dejected by this outcome. Scanning his eyes over the entire region, he quickly turned his attention on something else.
This was a dragon-shaped stone stele, around one hundred feet tall.
The Western Mausoleum was the tomb of generations of sovereigns. The symbol of the Son of Heaven was the true dragon, and this stele in the shape of a dragon was clearly meant as the guardian beast for the tomb.
The stele was covered in moss and seemed weathered by time, as if it had been standing here for a long time.
After looking around the mausoleum, Wang Chong found that it was the stele that stood out the most of all. Most importantly, Wang Chong sensed a very faint energy from this stele.
It was the same aura that came from that mysterious figure.
This tendril of energy was as thin as a hair and was vanishing quickly. A moment later, it had evaporated, its existence so brief that it seemed to not exist. For Wang Chong, this was an extremely important piece of information.
“Is the secret here?”
Wang Chong quickly walked over to the dragon statue. He reached out to touch it and found its surface cold and smooth, but there was nothing else special about it.
Dragon statues like this could be found all over the Imperial Palace. This one in the Western Mausoleum wouldn’t stand out at all.
Buzz!
Wang Chong quickly sent a sliver of Stellar Energy into the dragon statue.
“Strange. There’s nothing special about it.”
Wang Chong’s brow furrowed as he probed several more times.
It appeared that this really was an ordinary guardian beast, but just as Wang Chong was searching the statue again, he felt a strange reaction from the stele.
It was a very weak resonance, as small as a grain of dust in the ocean. But what Wang Chong cared about was that this mote of dust radiated spacetime energy, extremely high-level spacetime energy.
Whoosh!
Wang Chong immediately sent out a massive torrent of spacetime energy into the dragon statue, toward that special point near the dragon’s tail.
Bang!
A few moments later, that point that was the size of dust suddenly exploded as if it had been packed with tons of explosives. At the same time, an enormous pressure appeared in Wang Chong’s senses.
“Leave this place! You should not be here!”
As this voice rang out, the fabric of spacetime trembled, and it felt like the heavens themselves were crashing down upon him.
Wang Chong was a peak Grotto Heaven realm expert and had even clashed with Heaven before. Even so, Wang Chong still felt immense pressure from this voice. This was simply absurd.
“Senior, this one seeks an audience!”
Though Wang Chong was alarmed, he maintained his composure and bowed to the statue, at the same time sending his thoughts into it.
“Rejected! Leave swiftly!”
The voice was cold and devoid of emotion.
But Wang Chong didn’t give up. This person was far stronger than he had imagined. Even if they couldn’t match Heaven, the gap was not great.
Since Wang Chong had encountered such a formidable fighting force, he had to bring it onto his side. This would undoubtedly be a huge aid to him.
More importantly, while that person seemed cold and unfriendly, that they had replied meant that there was a chance.
“Senior, do you not even care for the sentiment of a friend? The Origin Immortal Lord was a master of divination and left this item behind, in addition saying that Senior could be of assistance!” Wang Chong sternly said.
In truth, Wang Chong was lying to that mysterious person in the stele.
The Origin Immortal Lord had naturally not said these words, but Wang Chong sensed that the two of them had most probably known each other.
“This is what the Immortal Lord left for this one. I am sure that Senior recognizes it.”
Wang Chong struck while the iron was hot, taking the Xuanyuan Sword and presenting it with both hands.
The Xuanyuan Sword had been used by the Yellow Emperor more than one thousand years ago, and Wang Chong now understood that this sword was more famous than he had realized. Whether it was an old monster like Heaven or his Supremes, they had all recognized this sword.
The other party’s reply was a pleasant surprise for Wang Chong.
“Hmph, what does it matter if you take out that sword? I said long ago that I would see no one. If you insist, then let’s see if you have the skill!”
After saying this, that person’s energy disappeared. However, that dust-like point of spacetime energy remained.
It was clear that Wang Chong’s words and the Xuanyuan Sword had proved useful. While the other party remained cold and unfriendly, he had not completely rejected Wang Chong.
That tiny point of spacetime energy was Wang Chong’s opportunity.
Moreover, Wang Chong was now certain that the Origin Immortal Lord had predicted that he would open the silk bag at this time, and the tea leaves in the bag were connected to this person. Whether or not he could obtain any information on Heaven and the Celestial Palace from this person and break the stalemate would depend on what happened next.
Bang!
Wang Chong poured his Grotto Heaven Stellar Energy into that spacetime point, and a moment later, an arched spacetime passage appeared in front of him.
The universe contained in a mustard seed!
For experts of spacetime energy, size was no longer absolute.
The small could be infinitely large, and the large could be infinitely small. That spacetime point was a passage that led to another place.
Without fear, not even blinking, Wang Chong ventured into this passage that his Grotto Heaven Stellar Energy had activated.
Buzz!
A few moments later, Wang Chong appeared in a strange place.
It was a gloomy place, and it appeared to be underground. To his sides were tough and dense cave walls.