The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1192 - 641: A Diary Spanning Six Hundred Years (5.5k)
That’s right!
This place can alter the landscape, hinder their progress, but it cannot change the constellations in the endless deep sky.
And the night before them isn’t a true night; it’s more likely the darkness has swallowed the light.
The stars hang in the sky, whether it be day or night, revealing themselves as soon as the sunlight disappears.
Yu Xiu also became excited, and quickly said, "Then hurry and try!"
"Mm!" Jin Jian nodded forcefully, then walked at the front of the group, ignoring the path and just staring up at the stars without blinking.
The way she walked was unusual—advancing, standing still, sometimes turning to places without a path...she boldly pushed through the fence.
And to Zhao Douan’s amazement, when several people followed Jin Jian in single file, the surrounding scenery never repeated itself again after a while.
A little while later, a straight and wide road appeared in front of them, with tall fences on either side, seeming to stretch endlessly.
"This is the Divine Road! The main road leading to the divine site during sacrificial ceremonies!" Yu Xiu couldn’t contain her joy.
Zhao Douan’s eyebrows relaxed, confirming:
"So, we made our way out?"
Yu Xiu took out the compass, and this time the needle no longer swung wildly. She calculated the direction and nodded firmly:
"We’ve moved past the outskirts and entered the center of La Garden!"
Jin Jian also wiped the sweat from her forehead, revealing a smile.
Even Pei Niannu, floating behind with a browsing demeanor, glanced at Jin Jian with some admiration.
"Jin Jian has made a great contribution this time." Zhao Douan smiled and patted the girl’s shoulder.
Jin Jian adjusted her glasses, seriously saying, "More money."
"...Alright, as you wish."
The old-fashioned Pei Niannu’s admiration faded as she shook her head to admonish:
"A dignified cultivator should not be obsessed with wealth. Today’s cultivators are far inferior to those of the past."
Jin Jian turned her head, stared at her, and pouted:
"If you’re so great, why couldn’t you guide us? We still relied on me."
"..." Pei Niannu’s gaze became dangerous.
Numerous red lines danced around, a burst of chill rose.
Yu Xiu took a deep breath.
Zhao Douan felt a chill down his spine, thinking to himself, Little ancestor, why did you have to provoke the old ancestor...
"Ahem, we don’t have much time! Next, we just keep moving forward, right?" He shifted the topic.
Pei Niannu snorted, letting go of the junior girl’s provocation.
Yu Xiu nodded, surrounded by her flying sword:
"Yes, but also be careful!"
The female Taoist’s eyes suddenly widened, at this moment, from the fences on both sides, vine rustling was heard.
The fences surged like ocean waves, then one by one, pitch-black humanoid shadows were "spat" out from the vines!
In the darkness, the details weren’t clear, but in an instant, hundreds of humanoid shadows appeared on the long corridor ahead.
Thickly clustered, blocking the way.
Then, at the position of the eyes in those shadows, two red lights suddenly lit up, like a group of bats simultaneously opening their eyes.
"What are these!?"
"Careful!"
"Back off!"
The three were taken aback, instinctively becoming vigilant.
Yu Xiu seemed to recall something and blurted out, "God servants!"
"What god servants?" Zhao Douan was startled, his Chasing Saber already poised in front.
Yu Xiu made a sign with her hands, controlling her flying sword as she quickly said:
"I only heard that within the Liao Clan, there are two people who can communicate with the divine.
One is the clan leader of each generation, and the other is the Great Sacrificial Rite who serves the divine deep inside La Garden for life. The High Priest also commands a group of god servants guarding the divine resting place."
Zhao Douan cautiously stepped back, shouting:
"How come you didn’t tell us earlier? So these things are god servants? Could they be Liao Clan warriors?"
"You never asked," Yu Xiu said righteously:
"These things obviously aren’t living people, right? And their stature doesn’t resemble the tall Liao Clan."
At this moment, a hundred god servants simultaneously drew their swords, and then, a neat sound of unsheathing and armor clanging, footsteps resonated along the divine road.
Jin Jian suddenly gritted her teeth, waved her magic wand, and a white ball of light rose slowly, illuminating the way ahead.
Then all four were stunned.
These god servants turned out to be armored soldiers of the Human Clan! Although old, the armor’s style and craftsmanship were not something the Liao Clan could produce!
"Qi Country battle armor!"
Suddenly, Pei Niannu spoke:
"These are the armors of Qi Country’s imperial guard; they are the deceased Imperial Army of Qi Country."
Qi Country? Six hundred years ago, that unified dynasty overthrown by Yu Country?
The Imperial Army of Qi Country? How did they appear here?
Turn into such eerie figures?
Zhao Douan was stunned, but the ancient Imperial Army, dead for six hundred years, gave him no time to react, as they had already swarmed in.
"Deal with these god servants first!"
Zhao Douan shouted, wielding his Chasing Saber into the crowd, while Yu Xiu’s flying sword and Jin Jian’s shot starry arrows responded.
"Clang clang..."
The battle prowess of these ancient Imperial Army was far inferior to when they were alive, but each soldier fought fearlessly, even after being beheaded, their bodies still fought.
Helplessly, the trio exhausted their strength, having to dismember them before the god servants stopped moving.
Fortunately, with their combined combat power of the Worldly Realm, despite expending effort, they eventually wiped out all the god servants.
"Huff...huff..."
A moment later, Zhao Douan rested his saber, panting slightly and sweating on his forehead, spat:
"These strange creatures are like zombies now!"
On the ground lay dismembered god servants, inside the armor were desiccated bodies like blackened wood, as if dried bacon for countless years.
Gazing at the scattered "corpse pieces," they all felt a chill in their hearts and greater doubts arose.
"Look what I found?"
Suddenly, Jin Jian exclaimed in surprise, bent down, and from a tattered armor compartment, pulled out a yellowed book.
Zhao Douan and Yu Xiu also leaned over, using the light from Jin Jian’s magic wand to look.
The book’s cover bore no text, bound with thread, despite yellowing over six hundred years, it wasn’t fragile but exceptionally well-preserved.
"Must have been sealed in a special environment like these bodies, so it hasn’t decayed."
Zhao Douan curiously took the book, opened the first page, then looked blankly at the unfamiliar text:
"What kind of text is this? How do you read it?"
Yu Xiu and Jin Jian also had confused expressions, clearly they weren’t scholars.
Suddenly, Pei Niannu, floating behind the trio, sighed softly:
"This is Ancient Tripod Text, long abandoned, barely used in Qi Country even then, only during sacrificial rituals, mastered by a small part of the nobility.
Not all Imperial Army soldiers had to learn it, this person must’ve been a noble descendant among the armored soldiers, hence proficient in this text."
Zhao Douan suddenly realized, then eagerly said:
"Do you recognize it, elder? Can you interpret it?"
"Of course I do," the female sorcerer finally contributed, her gaze turning to the pages, frowning:
"This is not a book, but a diary."
She continued reading:
"In the 31st year of Heavenly Hunting, October 5th. The court has completely fallen, the great Emperor ordered the burning of the entire imperial palace, and before this, we’ve been tasked with a significant duty—
With the Great Qi Army’s protection, we are secretly transporting treasures accumulated over hundreds of years in the palace out of the capital to the border, as a hope for restoring our nation."
