There was no path forward for four steps in any direction; this was merely a plaza, and upon this plaza now stood only a single Paifang archway and the solitary Four-Story Pavilion.

"The power of that Paifang just sucked us into the Qin Dynasty. This last archway might be the thing to guide us to Yama," Old Liu muttered, recalling what the Blade Maniac had said. "The final stage of forging a Divine Weapon is the sacrificial rite—using the lives of certain things to consecrate the blade. I think your target is obvious now: that Yama who took Mei Yi."

Ye Xiu nodded, raising the crimson Tianmiao Sword in his hand. The sword acted as if magnetized, adhering itself to his back. "There is no other way but this Paifang. Say, don't you get tired carrying a sword around all the time? Think of my Death Scythe back then; it could hide itself within my body."

"Haha, tell me about it? I’m only using a scroll case, aren't I?" Old Liu proudly shook his back, the Demon-Breaking Sword always on his person. "It doesn't matter much in this Dao Realm, but once we enter the real world, we need to be more discreet. Otherwise, people will think we're morons, wandering the streets with swords strapped to us."

The two chatted as they stepped into the Paifang. This archway was indeed strange. It had been silent, but as soon as they approached, it suddenly collapsed with a whoosh. The collapse wasn't just limited to the archway; the entire plaza caved in with it, revealing a gaping void beneath.

"Phew... Everyone said this thing was dodgy, but I didn't expect it to actually sink underground," Old Liu, already prepared, stepped easily onto the Demon-Breaking Sword. "What do you think is down there?"

Ye Xiu gave Old Liu a look, then plunged the Tianmiao Sword deep into the surrounding rock. The Tianmiao Sword truly was a Divine Weapon among blades; penetrating the thick stone felt no different than sinking into soft mud. "This is the territory of the Yu Yu Feng Dao Alliance, and also the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. If I'm not mistaken, as we keep descending, we might have reached the legendary Qin Mausoleum's underground palace."

As the earth and stones settled, the two finally landed on solid ground. Suddenly, the long-burning lamps surrounding them flared to life, revealing a vast, downward-sloping passage before them. The passage was constructed of packed earth, the sides forming recessed niches where tiny, lifelike Terracotta Warriors were displayed.

Illuminated by the everlasting lamps, Ye Xiu saw that the passage stretched far, its end invisible. The only notable feature was the floor, divided into three distinct colors: red on the far edge, yellow in the center, and blue on the other side. These three colors intertwined, shimmering under the lamp glow like rolling waves. "There's no other way; we have to follow this passage."

"Damn it, I wish this passage were wider. Maybe I should use the Demon-Breaking Sword to scout ahead," Old Liu said, looking nervously at the undulating ground. He raised the Demon-Breaking Sword and struck the three-colored floor, sending out shards of ice that coated the surface. Initially, the floor froze, but after a moment, the pristine white ice was abruptly absorbed by the red sections of the ground, vanishing without a trace. "This ground is dangerous. We absolutely cannot step across it like this."

"If ice won't work, try fire!" Ye Xiu thrust out a hand, sending a stream of Black Flame into the ground. Instantly, the blue section brightened, activating a burst of vapor. The mist surged forward and extinguished the Black Flame completely. "It can melt ice and quench fire. It seems we only have the middle section of the ground to use."

Old Liu’s expression grew grave. He stepped onto the center of the passage and found nothing particularly strange. "This middle section looks just like the mud on the surrounding walls. It should be fine. Hurry up."

"En." Ye Xiu followed with a small leap, landing as if on flat ground. He moved swiftly, soon outpacing Old Liu. "I still feel something is wrong. We need to leave here quickly."

Just as Old Liu prepared to leap past Ye Xiu, the ground beneath his foot suddenly softened, and one leg sank inexplicably into the mud. He thrust the Thin-Surface Blade into the ceiling of the passage, trying to pull himself out, but the earth above was just as soft and unstable as the floor beneath him. "We're in trouble—this entire passage is just soft mud!"

"Ah..." Ye Xiu, already ahead, stumbled toward the blue ground on the side. He tried to brace himself against the wall with the Tianmiao Sword, but the wall had also softened. Losing his balance, he fell onto the blue surface. An instant chill shot from his arm deep into his heart. Thinking fast, he channeled the Black Flame into the Tianmiao Sword, barely managing to steady himself against the biting cold. "I get it now—this whole thing is like modeling clay. We have to fly this time!"

"Fly? At this low level, you think we can fly?" Old Liu swayed precariously and ended up sitting down hard on the red ground. A puff of acrid smoke rose, and his backside was nearly scorched. "Ouch! And we can't even see how far this path goes! What do we do?"

"Use the Thin-Surface Blade..." Ye Xiu used the Black Flame to recoil off the ground, trying to launch himself into the air. However, the ground had already collapsed significantly under his weight, preventing any strong rebound. He managed to catch Old Liu's Thin-Surface Blade and, with all his strength, shot it toward the passage wall. "Use the Demon-Breaking Sword to freeze the line attached to the back of the Thin-Surface Blade!"

Old Liu immediately understood Ye Xiu’s intent. Cold energy erupted from the Demon-Breaking Sword, instantly freezing the trailing line into a rigid icicle. He grabbed the ice, pulling himself into the air. When his feet landed on the icy surface, he leveraged his strength to yank the struggling Ye Xiu up as well. "We don't know where this ends. Be ready to be thrown again."

The entire passage began to writhe wildly, squeezing like jelly compressing the fire and water elements within. Ye Xiu and Old Liu raced across the icy layer, finally reaching the end of the tunnel. The end wasn't a conventional door, but a bottomless well. Fortunately, a thick vine hung near the opening, presumably for climbing.

"If this is just Qin Shi Huang's tomb, why would there be something this bizarre?" Ye Xiu peered into the dark well. "If what we assume is true—that the First Emperor was captured by the Myriad Demon Empress, who later abandoned him—he should have perished in the Death Kingdom. Historically, the Emperor died during an inspection tour. So, who is in that mausoleum?"

"That's Corpse Flower Vine. I might not recognize much else, but this is an old acquaintance," Old Liu said, his voice heavy. He gripped the thorny green vine, highly skeptical. "Where there are Corpse Flowers, there are those zombies. And these bizarre passages confirm something—this mausoleum has other secrets."

"I'm wondering if there are other members of the Yu Yu Feng Dao Alliance, other clans, who just haven't shown themselves yet," Ye Xiu said, already climbing onto the vine first. He grinned at Old Liu. "Who cares about Corpse Flowers or not? This is the only way down, and Mei Yi might be below."

"Be careful," Old Liu followed Ye Xiu. He channeled his magical power, emitting a soft light from his hand. The environment inside the well was peculiar; instead of rock or earth, the passage was formed by concentric rings of interwoven vines spiraling downward. This well was clearly a pathway formed entirely of Corpse Flowers.

"Squeak... Crack..." Halfway down, the well suddenly emitted a rustling sound. Small, white beetles materialized out of nowhere among the surrounding vines. They were tiny and seemed to have no mouths, but their repulsive little legs constantly twitched in the air, making one extremely uncomfortable.

"Either you freeze this place, or I burn it. Those bugs crawling around are truly disgusting," Ye Xiu shuddered. He could face massive pythons or defeat seemingly powerful figures, but when confronted with these tiny insects, he was helpless.

"Forget it, let's just climb down faster," Old Liu urged from above, kicking Ye Xiu hard. "These bugs probably feed on the Corpse Flowers. Besides, we rely on this vine path to descend. If we burn it, what do we do? Who knows what monsters are waiting outside."

Ye Xiu tilted his head and saw a small worm crawling onto his shoulder. He couldn't tolerate such things. Helpless, he simply let go and jumped straight down toward the bottom of the well. "I'm going first, hurry up!"

"Hey! We don't know what's down there! Are you looking to die?" Old Liu tried to reach out and grab Ye Xiu, but he was too slow. He could only curse from above, watching Ye Xiu plummet a long distance.

Ye Xiu fell at high speed, using his Black Flame to illuminate the scene below. Although Corpse Flower Vines were present, he saw no actual Corpse Flowers. He landed safely, only to find a deep pool at the mouth of the exit. The water in the pool flowed strangely, resembling the quicksilver river they had encountered before. He forcefully braced against the surrounding vines, executed a leap and roll, and landed on the bank of the quicksilver river. When he looked around, a magnificent city scene instantly appeared before his eyes.

"Hey... what's down there?" Old Liu, seeing that Ye Xiu had been silent for a while, grew impatient. He yelled as he climbed down. "Say something if you're alright!"

"I'm fine, come down, it's safe here," Ye Xiu deliberately omitted mentioning the quicksilver pool. He surveyed the surroundings. This place was an exact replica of the Xianyang Palace of the Qin Dynasty capital—the neat rows of buildings, the wide avenues spread out before him. Not far away, atop a towering flight of stairs, a grand, imposing hall—wasn't that the Imperial Palace he had visited before?

"Splash!" At that moment, Old Liu’s foot landed incorrectly, and he plunged right into the quicksilver river. He thrashed his arms, cursing wildly. "Damn it, you set me up!"

Ye Xiu managed a rare smile, but he focused on the changes occurring in the quicksilver pool. As Old Liu entered, waves of mercury began to ripple outward. Ahead of the pool was a river, and this river flowed through every corner of this underground ancient capital. This truly was the legendary underground palace of Qin Shi Huang, an underground kingdom that felt as real as if they were floating in the clouds.

Old Liu finally scrambled out of the quicksilver river, summoning his magical power to dispel the toxic mist emanating from the mercury. "Luckily, I learned a bit of antidote technique. This Qin Shi Huang's palace is too dangerous. All those experts outside saying they refuse to excavate—if they came in without proper equipment, they'd be poisoned to death."

Ye Xiu, having a Death God's constitution, naturally feared no natural toxins. He swept his gaze over the surroundings. This was a city, and the river within it was mercury. Whenever the mercury moved, it released endless poisons. It seemed the designers had taken great care to guard against tomb robbers. "Qin Shi Huang was the foremost emperor of the world. Though he sought eternal life, he made contingency plans. He built a tomb like this so he could continue ruling the world even after death. How tragic."

"It really does contain the sun, moon, and stars," Old Liu pointed to the sky. The sunlight, the lunar halo, and the stars—they were all phenomena they had experienced in their realm above. "So, that largest palace up ahead must be where the First Emperor's coffin rests. Are we two here to rob a tomb? There must be tons of magic artifacts inside, hahaha!"