The moment Fei Ri spoke, he felt chilling yin winds rise all around him. Distant screams echoed, and the eerie voice turned into one of utter shock and terror: "Y-You… how did you know it was me?"
Fei Ri replied lazily, "Just a guess!"
"A guess?"
"Exactly! This secret chamber was built at the end of the Qin Dynasty. Judging by the treasures it hides and the scale of its construction, it clearly required an enormous amount of manpower and resources, all done in complete secrecy. Only a truly earth-shaking figure from the Qin era could have pulled this off. Secondly, you became a spirit body because you met a violent end during the late Qin period. Finally, you carved dragon-and-tadpole seal script on the stone tablet, proving your exceptional mastery of writing. Put these three clues together, and I'm afraid only Chancellor Li Si fits the bill. Most importantly, I was just throwing out a wild guess earlier, yet your reaction was huge. If not you, then who? And that conveniently answers two of my questions."
"What questions?"
"First, what exactly is this extraordinary treasure in my hand? This peerlessly magnificent jade must be the He Shi Bi!"
"The He Shi Bi?" Gan Jiang asked in surprise. "That's impossible! Legend says that during the Qin Dynasty, the eight characters '受命于天,即寿永昌' were carved onto the He Shi Bi to serve as the Imperial Seal. When the Qin fell, Zi Ying offered it to Liu Bang of Han. During Wang Mang's usurpation, the empress refused to surrender it, smashed it on the ground, and broke off a corner. Wang Mang patched it with gold, and it became known as the 'Gold-Patched Jade Corner.' After the Han Dynasty, there were countless legends about the Imperial Seal, but none are reliable. Yet the jade in your hand is completely intact. How could it possibly be the He Shi Bi?"
Fei Ri smiled. "Have you forgotten who, according to historical records, carved those eight characters?"
Gan Jiang slapped his forehead. "Li Si!"
Fei Ri spread his hands. "There you go. If Li Si had been scheming for the He Shi Bi all along and simply swapped it out while carving the inscription, what's so strange about that?"
Li Si let out a long sigh. "Has anyone ever told you you're a hundred times slyer than an old fox?"
Fei Ri answered matter-of-factly, "Plenty of people—especially those I schemed against until they cried."
Li Si was silent for a long moment before saying, "It's a good thing you weren't born during the Warring States period, or else there might not have been any room left for me, Li Si, to roam freely across the land. By the way, you said my identity answered two of your questions. What's the second one?"
Now it was Fei Ri's turn to sigh. "Come on, Brother Li Si, I did spare you once. You didn't have to be so vicious and drag a mere mortal like me to a place like this with that Mirror Flower Water Moon Technique! The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor! I'd bet the chances of getting out of here are next to zero."
Li Si burst into maniacal laughter. "Brat, you're right! This is indeed the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. I'd love to see what other tricks you still have!"
What other tricks? Fei Ri felt so miserable he almost wanted to cry. As the first emperor to unify the realm, Qin Shi Huang wanted to rule the divine land while alive, and even in death he sought to encompass the four seas and nine provinces. His mausoleum used mercury as rivers and seas, gold, silver, copper, and iron as mountains and earth, shaping the terrain of the entire empire. Rare ores and gemstones formed the starry dome above. No wonder Gan Jiang's Mountain River Formation and Star Positioning techniques had failed. This place was essentially a perfect microcosm of the Central Plains. Naturally, such a mausoleum must contain countless treasures, which meant its anti-theft measures were also unprecedented. If things went as expected, Fei Ri's little life was about to end here!
Gan Jiang also sensed the danger and quickly comforted him: "Sword Master, don't worry. His spirit-housing jade is still in your hands. Why fear he won't behave when the time comes?"
Li Si shouted hysterically, "Why should I come out?! Why can't I just drag this out with all of you for a hundred or eighty days? No! I don't even need that long. In just three to five days, that little human brat will starve or die of thirst! Gan Jiang, oh Gan Jiang, you bound yourself to him with a blood talisman—when the master dies, the sword perishes. Let's see how much longer you can act arrogant! Don't forget the Mausoleum of the First Emperor was built under my supervision. When the time comes, I can casually trigger a few mechanisms and formations to avenge my five hundred years of cultivation!"
"This place was built by you?" A clear, resonant voice suddenly interjected.
"Of course! The overall design blueprint was finalized by the First Emperor and myself. The formations and mechanisms were personally supervised and constructed by me! Not just Gan Jiang and you—even those who have reached the Heaven of Self-Transformation and Free Enjoyment cannot escape! Hahaha…" Li Si's triumphant laughter suddenly stopped. He said in astonishment, "You? Who are you?"
Not far from Fei Ri, a cluster of green smoke dispersed, revealing an old Daoist with a serene expression and a beard that reached the ground. The old Daoist laughed heartily. "This poor Daoist is Duobao Daoist. I've been trapped here for a thousand years and was just worrying about how to get out. You've arrived at exactly the right moment!"
Duobao Daoist formed a hand seal with his left hand, waved his right hand, and chanted: "Eight directions without path, above and below without limit. Wandering spirits with nowhere to return—only here is peace and joy. Decree!"
Instantly, countless streams of green qi shot out from his fingertips in all directions.
"The Eight Directions Spirit-Searching Technique!" Gan Jiang's face paled. He secretly told Fei Ri, "This old Daoist has already cultivated to the highest realm of the cultivation path—the Heaven of Self-Transformation and Free Enjoyment. Unless one has formed a Spirit Mystic Body, no spirit path can possibly escape his Eight Directions Spirit-Searching Technique. Our way out probably depends on him. Sword Master, you absolutely must not offend him!"
The scattered green qi slowly condensed into rope-like strands. Duobao Daoist pulled with his right hand as if hauling in a huge fish, dragging a hazy gray ball of light in front of him. The light ball twisted and struggled. Li Si's figure appeared before everyone, looking utterly dejected. Duobao Daoist pointed at Li Si and said, "A mere spirit path dares show off in front of this Daoist? Quickly reveal the exit!"
Li Si replied with a mournful face, "To be honest, Senior, even I don't know the way out!"
With his cultivation at the Heaven of Self-Transformation and Free Enjoyment, Duobao Daoist naturally did not anger easily. He calmly asked, "Why?"
Li Si said, "The Mausoleum of the First Emperor houses countless rare and exotic treasures. Not only are they coveted by those of the mundane path, even practitioners of the cultivation path, spirit path, and demonic path are tempted. To protect these treasures, the mausoleum was designed from the very beginning without any exit for the Six Paths of the Human Realm. The grand formation is based on the Nine Provinces Barrier bestowed by the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady of the Mystic Realm when the Yellow Emperor expelled the demons. It was refined by the immortal Gui Gu Zi, along with modifications and arrangements by my late masters Xun Zi, Han Fei, and myself. Once activated, the entire mausoleum becomes isolated from heaven and earth, forming its own independent domain. Unless one transcends the Human Realm entirely, no one can escape."
"What?!" Even Duobao Daoist grew anxious. "The Nine Provinces Barrier? Hasn't this formation been lost for ages?"
Under the suppression of Duobao Daoist's Eight Directions Spirit-Searching Technique, Li Si had no choice but to answer: "After the Yellow Emperor drove away the demons, he divided the Nine Provinces Barrier into nine parts and hid them in the famous mountains of the world. Before transcending the Human Realm, the immortal Gui Gu Zi collected writings and maps from across the land and discovered three remnant diagrams. In the three months before his tribulation and ascension, he supplemented and completed the Nine Provinces Barrier based on the principles of those remnants. Because the barrier is far too vast, neither setting it up nor activating it is something the Six Paths of the Human Realm can easily accomplish. Therefore, my late masters Xun Zi, Han Fei, and I simplified it, retaining only the portion that constrains the Six Paths of the Human Realm. After my corporeal form was destroyed, I intended to use the spiritual qi of the He Shi Bi to cultivate a Spirit Nurturing Body, so I only set up the Mirror Flower Water Moon Technique inside the secret chamber as a precaution. I never dared enter this formation myself. What I resent is that mundane path brat who used Gan Jiang's power to shatter my cultivation and destroy my foundation, forcing me to take refuge in this grand formation and switch to cultivating the Spirit Mystic Body instead."
"Since you were the one who ultimately completed and supervised its construction, I refuse to believe you didn't leave yourself an escape route?" Duobao Daoist flew into a rage. He opened his mouth and spat out a beam of yellow light that enveloped Li Si, who was still suppressed by the Eight Directions Spirit-Searching Technique.
The moment Li Si touched the yellow light, he immediately shriveled into a small ball of gray light, shrinking smaller and fading fainter.
"Senior, since none of us can get out anyway, why not let him off? Besides, with the chief architect here, our life inside the Mausoleum of the First Emperor in the future will be much more comfortable." Fei Ri was truly extraordinarily optimistic! The moment it seemed there was no way out, he immediately started planning their life ahead. After all, when Qin Shi Huang burned the books and buried the scholars, he collected books from across the empire and stored them in the inner court. Who knows if any remained in the mausoleum? If so, the next eight or ten years wouldn't be too boring!
Duobao Daoist completely ignored the suggestions from the little mundane path youth beside him. His eyes widened, the yellow light surged violently, drawing Li Si into his mouth. Then he closed his eyes and sat down in meditation.