Just as we were about to ascend, the morning wind on the tower blew across Ye Yixin, and she suddenly woke up. Shirley Yang took out her canteen and gave her some clear water. She was still extremely weak, but compared to being unconscious, she was much more reassuring now. Her dehydration was still quite apparent, but for the moment, her life wasn't in immediate danger. Since she was awake, a day or two of treatment with copious amounts of cold saline solution would put her right.

We were all eager to see what strange things lay in the tower and, incidentally, to find the entrance to the ancient city's subterranean palace, so we helped her up to the fifth level of the Black Tower.

During the short ascent to the fifth level of the Black Tower, I had considered every possibility, yet I never imagined the fifth level would be completely empty—not even the base for a statue remained. Only the cryptic inscriptions on the walls had multiplied.

I asked Professor Chen, "Was this level destroyed? Or looted?"

Professor Chen hesitated slightly and replied, "That's hard to say. We'll need to see the next floor up to truly understand what this place is all about."

The statues in this Black Tower had piqued everyone's curiosity. Impatiently, we climbed the tower steps to the top floor. Standing in this uppermost chamber was a black throne, upon which sat the statue of a woman. Her attire was magnificent, and her face was carved to look veiled, so her features were hidden. However, one look made it clear: this statue was identical to the Queen of Jingjue depicted in the murals of Prince Pumo’s ancient tomb—a full-body statue of the four-queen figure.

The group began to murmur, all speculating about what the Queen actually looked like.

Unable to come up with a satisfactory answer, I asked them, "What is this Queen playing at? Why not even show her true face in a statue?"

Fatty replied, "In my opinion, it’s just smoke and mirrors. All that talk about the number one beauty of the Western Regions—she was probably some ugly creature who couldn't bear to be seen. Otherwise, why hide and hoard herself like that? Though I must say, her figure isn't half bad; not a plate, but definitely sleek and well-proportioned."

I told him to watch his mouth. This person has been dead for two thousand years, and you’re still commenting on her figure. Look at the things in this city; they match the legends so closely. What if this Queen truly was a demon? She might just pop out and bite you. Let’s stop guessing and listen to what the Professor has to say.

Since reaching the sixth floor of the Black Tower, Professor Chen hadn't spoken a word, entirely engrossed in mentally piecing these clues together. Having thought it through, he heard our questioning and began, "I mentioned earlier that this stone tower is very likely a symbolic representation, with clear hierarchical characteristics, descending from high to low, or noble to base. The citizens of the Jingjue Kingdom were mainly composed of the Ghost Cave people, an ethnicity long extinct. Not a single skeleton of theirs has ever been unearthed, so we cannot infer their origins or background. Thus far, our greatest discovery is that this tribe took the eye as their totem. This is absolutely a major breakthrough in the study of ancient Western Regions civilization. With this evidence, many puzzles that have troubled scholars for years will be solved easily."

Fatty asked again, "Then why is the fifth floor empty?"

I suddenly recalled what Shirley Yang had told us in Prince Pumo’s ancient tomb and blurted out, "A void space."

Professor Chen nodded slightly and said, "Precisely. Above the guardian deity is an indescribable void space, and the Queen reigns above that, as if she completely controls this unknown dimension. There is also an eye-shaped totem at the top of the tower, which suggests the Queen’s power also originated from her eyes."

Hearing this, the others couldn't help but feel a chill. Does such a space, defying human common sense, truly exist in this world? And if the Queen could control that other realm through her eyes, wasn't she truly a monster? Thankfully, she was already dead.

Professor Chen noticed everyone's growing apprehension and continued, "There’s no need to be nervous. Ancient rulers often used such myths to fool the common people, solidifying their reign. It’s just like the emperors in the Central Plains, who all claimed to be the True Son of Heaven, receiving mandates from the heavens. But what was the reality? It was merely a tactic of controlling the populace. It’s not strange that this Queen never showed her face and played the part of a mysterious deity. But these ruins hold extremely high value for studying ancient history and culture. This stone tower is immensely significant."

Seeing that there was nothing else in the Black Tower besides the statues, we looked out over the entire city. The whole ruins of the Jingjue City blended indistinguishably with the yellow sand of the desert, and the outline of the ancient city itself was shaped like a giant eye.

After observing, Professor Chen asked me, "Brother Hu, your understanding of Feng Shui is quite profound. What do you make of the city's Feng Shui?"

I thought that the primary task now was finding a water source in the royal palace. Why was this old man testing me again? Did the Professor suspect the Queen’s tomb lay directly beneath the palace? I carefully examined the surrounding geography.

I pointed toward the twin Zaglama Mountains to the north and said, "Professor, look. That black mountain range strongly resembles a black dragon in the desert, except it’s broken in the middle—one dragon has become two snakes. In my humble opinion, the valley between them was artificially excavated. The stones quarried from the mountains were likely used as raw material for the Black Tower and the stone figures in the city. Ancient emperors, upon ascending the throne, would immediately begin preparing their mausoleums for after their hundred years. If this ancient city truly has an underground water vein, and it corresponds to Zaglama, forming a pattern of stillness and movement, then the Queen of Jingjue must have been an exceptionally brilliant and unusual person. Knowing that a black dragon is inauspicious, she mobilized manpower to sever and pin down this black dragon, forcing it to guard her tomb forever. This city thus forms a prime auspicious location. If the Queen’s tomb is indeed within the city, its scale must be vast. This is what puzzles me: you said her royal palace is underground, and I think the tomb is also underground. Wouldn't that be too cramped?"

Professor Chen praised, "Indeed, an astute observation. I believe the palace and the tomb are both beneath the city, but they are not crammed together. They might be divided into three layers: the surface layer is the fortress, the underground level is the royal palace, and at the deepest point lies the mausoleum of the Queen of Jingjue. The Jingjue nation was powerful, commanding a hundred thousand slaves from neighboring small states. They could even forcefully carve a valley out of the Zaglama Mountains, so constructing an underground palace and tomb, while grand in scope, was achievable."

Legends claim that explorers have visited this ancient city more than once, but the constantly shifting desert sands have completely erased any trace of them. It is possible that some of them entered the subterranean palace, but there is no way to confirm this, and naturally, they couldn't reveal where the entrance was.

Standing within the ruins of the ancient Jingjue City, knowing the royal city lay right beneath our feet but being unable to find the entrance, was enough to cause intense anxiety. We searched one street after another, one ruined house after another, on the tower. Finally, in the city center, we discovered a stone structure slightly taller than the surrounding ordinary buildings, also covered by a layer of yellow sand. It would have been easy to miss if not for a careful look.

This seemed to be our only lead. We hurried to the vicinity. This building appeared to be a temple, also constructed from Zaglama black stone. The stone doorway was fashioned into the gaping maw of a massive beast, with a large accumulation of sand piled before the entrance. Fatty and I dug a passage, and everyone donned gas masks, using cold flares to light our way forward.

The stone hall was vast, supported by sixteen massive stone pillars, arranged in two sets of eight. However, the entrance was blocked by sand, though the interior was clear of it.

On the floor at the deepest part of the hall, an eye made of jade was enshrined. The jade contained naturally formed red threads, a blue iris, and distinct layers, making it astonishingly realistic.

I was utterly dumbfounded. Good heavens, this object must be priceless. Just to look at it, to touch it, made the life-threatening journey into the desert worthwhile. It was truly a divine artifact; one could never imagine such a treasure existed without seeing it firsthand.

Fatty couldn't restrain himself and tried to lift the jade eyeball to put it in his backpack. He pulled several times, but the eyeball seemed rooted to the floor, immovable.

Professor Chen quickly pulled Fatty away, afraid he would damage the ancient divine object by using brute force and told him not to mess with it. Shirley Yang noticed a groove on the jade eyeball with a peculiar shape that strongly resembled Fatty's heirloom jade pendant. She told Fatty, "Try fitting your family heirloom pendant into that groove. This looks like a mechanism."

Fatty was overjoyed. He pushed everyone aside, pulled the jade pendant from his chest, and personally slotted it into the groove on the jade eyeball: "If this fits, then this big eyeball is mine! Anyone who tries to take it will have to deal with me. Damn it, this is truly a great find, Old Hu. We’re going to be rich this time, damn it."