“It’s truly magnificent.”
Through Ye Sheng’s Rune · Snake, Lu Mingfei caught a glimpse of a corner of the King of Bronze and Fire’s palace and couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Yes, whether you look up, down, left, or right, you can’t see the end. You can never reach the boundary. It’s as if we’ve arrived at… the boundary of death,” Ye Sheng’s faint voice echoed across all channels.
At a depth of one hundred meters underwater, in the dark waters forty meters beneath the rock layer, the four of them, including Lu Mingfei, floated silently. The spotlights illuminated the boundless, ancient bronze city before them. The azure city walls stretched endlessly, extending in every direction to places the light could not reach.
Rune · Snake was utterly insufficient to glimpse its grandeur.
Only through the world’s gaze could one witness such an ingenious creation, connected to the melody.
“This is Lu Mingfei. We have reached the King of Bronze and Fire’s palace.” In the voice channel, Lu Mingfei softly uttered the most valuable conclusion in nearly a century of dragon-slaying history.
“I know. Tong Chen will descend and rendezvous with you soon.” Liu Heguang hesitated for a moment; he had also considered going down in that instant, but his mission tonight was to command the Moniyahe, so he would admire the ancient bronze city later.
Lu Mingfei recognized a mottled mark in the bronze rust on the bronze wall: a face burning in flames.
“Living Spirit?” he asked Ye Sheng.
“Yes,” Ye Sheng nodded. “According to the information given to me by the Kui Men Plan back then, the King of Bronze and Fire’s authority is precisely fire and Alchemy. It’s not strange for the gatekeeper to be a Living Spirit. Even White Emperor City is suspected to be his Alchemical creation. This sunken city is a giant structure he built using mountains as molds.”
“So, it’s highly likely to be full of Alchemical creations inside?” Lu Mingfei’s eyes lit up.
“It could also be moving Alchemical automatons,” Ye Sheng retracted his Rune. “White Emperor City was built by him, so the significant things inside can’t just be Alchemical creations. There might also be complex and profound Alchemical arrays or methods for creating Alchemical constructs.”
“Alchemical weapons!” Lu Mingfei looked at the ribbon hidden under the diving suit on his right forearm. “How powerful would the King of Bronze and Fire’s ultimate weapon be?”
“It would surely suit you very well,” Ye Sheng nodded.
“Now isn’t the time to discuss spoils of war, is it?” Shuhtome Yaji interjected. “Liu Heguang and the others explicitly stated that there would be guardians inside the city who slumbered with the King of Bronze and Fire. If discovered by a Three-Generations Breed or Next Generation Species, Lu Mingfei and the others would only be able to flee in a sorry state.”
“Unfortunately, Rune · Snake’s ability is not enough to enter the Bronze City’s interior,” Ye Sheng expressed deep regret. “But there is indeed something inside that makes Rune · Snake uneasy. Be careful.”
“It’s fine; it’s already very good,” Lu Mingfei said. “At least we have an estimate of the danger inside the city, don’t we?”
Ye Sheng looked at Lu Mingfei. “If it weren’t for the Principal’s request, ※_13_⛬ and I would have wanted to accompany you deep into the Bronze City. The more terrifying the location for Rune · Snake, the more likely it is to hide the Dragon King’s cocoon. Then our goal would be very clear.”
“My goal is to return to the Moniyahe alive, Senior Brother,” Lu Mingfei shook his head, rejecting the goal Ye Sheng proposed. “Senior Brother, you’re late. If you had said that a few days earlier, perhaps I would have agreed.”
Ye Sheng let out a wry laugh, inexplicably thinking of the phrase, “You’ve come at the wrong time.”
The light from the spotlights shone from behind them. Ye Sheng and Lu Mingfei looked back and saw a figure swimming towards them, carrying three oxygen tanks. Before they could clearly see who it was, their hands were already on the diving guns at their waists; the matter of the stowaway had not yet been resolved.
But after the other party’s voice sounded in the channel, they relaxed and moved their hands to the knives at their waists to greet him.
“Are you really coming down alone with three oxygen tanks?” Ye Sheng was surprised. “As a member of the Liu Family, doesn’t Liu Heguang want to see what White Emperor City looks like?”
“Brother still has the mission of commanding the Moniyahe and can’t spare the time for now. Brother will have plenty of time to see White Emperor City in the future,” Liu Tongchen smiled, turning his back to Ye Sheng and Shuhtome Yaji. “Please help Lu Mingfei and Miss Zero attach their second oxygen tanks and cameras. Mr. Ye Sheng, thank you for retracting your Rune.”
It was only when Liu Tongchen generously offered his back to them that Ye Sheng completely lowered his guard and retracted his Rune again. “Anyway, we’ll be going ashore soon. Being a bit cautious and consuming more oxygen won’t hurt.”
“That’s true,” Liu Tongchen readily agreed.
“Can you perceive Rune · Snake’s domain?” Lu Mingfei discovered a blind spot. He had observed Rune · Snake by understanding the world’s melody, but how did Liu Tongchen perceive Rune · Snake?
“…” Liu Tongchen paused, then smiled and patted his forehead. “There’s a thin bronze Alchemical array plate stored here. If a domain spreads, it will produce a faint mental stimulation.”
The Liu Family, with its five-thousand-year heritage, naturally possesses extraordinary aspects. The configuration Liu Tongchen was accustomed to was a manifestation of the Family’s profound heritage: an Alchemical array capable of sensing the presence of faint domains, a tradition that could be called rare throughout the world. And the Family’s application of it had reached its peak.
“It truly is that one’s palace. Just standing before it makes one uneasy,” Liu Tongchen said after removing two oxygen tanks, floating to the mottled mark. Then a low tone emanated from his mouth, golden light erupted from his eyes, and his voice shifted from low to clear.
The river water around Liu Tongchen began to swirl. A domain expanded from within him, and a transparent water shell rapidly enlarged outwards with him as the center. In a space several meters in diameter, the water was forcibly pushed aside.
After changing their oxygen tanks, the four of them, including Lu Mingfei, quickly approached Liu Tongchen. The high-pressure oxygen leaking from Liu Tongchen’s oxygen tank filled the entire space. They were standing in the air at a depth of one hundred meters underwater!
Rune · Land of No Dust.
Liu Tongchen touched the bronze wall enveloped by the domain with his hand, and the bronze rust began to peel off in layers.
Large pieces of bronze rust peeled away, revealing a new metal surface, gleaming with a bluish-black luster as if oiled.
The pattern on the wall clearly emerged: a raised human face, holding a burning piece of wood in its mouth. It was a bizarre image, the face distorted in pain, yet unwilling to release its tightly clenched teeth on the wood.
“A Living Spirit resides within. The greatest achievement of Alchemy, through which certain inanimate objects achieve eternity. To open the door, a sacrifice must be made to the Living Spirit within,” Liu Tongchen whispered. “High-purity blood, or blood with the characteristics of a key.”
“My blood also has the same effect?” Lu Mingfei asked.
“Of course. An S-rank is equivalent to a Qian-rank. Brother’s blood, though not yet at Qian-rank level, can open this door. An S-rank’s blood will naturally be even more effective,” Liu Tongchen nodded.
Liu Tongchen took out his brother’s blood sample. The rich red blood dripped onto the sharp, protruding part of the Living Spirit. A strange scene unfolded: the face twisted into an expression of joy, opening its mouth as if waking from a deep dream and letting out a yawn.
Liu Tongchen quickly retreated two steps. This yawn was perhaps a bit too large, as if it wanted to swallow him into the darkness.
A rumbling sound of machinery operating came from behind the bronze city wall. This city was indeed a complete Alchemical creation. An opening naturally appeared before everyone, as if it had always been there, showing no signs of having been opened by human hands.
As a precaution, no one immediately approached to satisfy their curiosity about the Dragon King’s palace.
One minute passed.
Nothing emerged from inside, and no strange people fell from above.
The Bronze City was too quiet; no sounds indicating life within were emitted. If not for the Liu Family elders repeatedly warning that Dragonkind surely existed within, Liu Tongchen would even have thought it was a dead city.
“How’s the situation?” Liu Heguang’s voice broke the silence, a reassuring sound.
“No Dragonkind have appeared, and no stowaways have appeared,” Liu Tongchen reported.
“There are no suspicious circumstances near the Moniyahe, and no one has been found to have come ashore. The stowaways are very likely underwater, so be careful,” Liu Heguang instructed, taking the intelligence handed to him by his subordinate.
“Understood.”
“Mingfei and Miss Zero, from now on, you have approximately two hours. The Living Spirit’s mouth will only remain open for two hours,” Liu Heguang shifted the topic to Lu Mingfei and the others.
“Thanks for the reminder. We’ll be quick,” Lu Mingfei said, proceeding to switch the communication line between himself and Shuhtome Yaji to Zero.
“See you in two hours, Junior Brother Lu,” Shuhtome Yaji floated towards Ye Sheng, bidding farewell to Lu Mingfei.
“See you in two hours, Senior Sister ※_13_⛬, Senior Brother Ye Sheng,” Lu Mingfei nodded in acknowledgment. He and Zero turned to face the pitch-black opening.
Behind him, Liu Tongchen and the other two began to ascend.
Gazing at the opening, which was lined with bronze human faces and teeth both above and below, Lu Mingfei took a deep breath. After exchanging a glance with Zero, he prepared to dive.
Just then, rows of text appeared before Lu Mingfei’s eyes.
【Top-tier fortune: Find and follow 13 into the depths of the Bronze City. No danger, wishes come true, extremely auspicious.】
【Upper-mid-tier fortune: Listen to your partner’s advice, follow good counsel. Some danger, ideal outcome is missing two parts, auspicious.】
【Mid-tier fortune: Explore the ancient Bronze City on your own. Extremely dangerous, twice the effort for half the result, but ultimately some gain, neutral.】
【Bottom-tier fortune: Get entangled with enemies and mistakenly enter the lowest level of the Bronze City. Nine deaths, one life. Trapped, only self-rescue, extremely ominous.】