The First Lackey Under The Empress

“Plop!”

In the dark under the bridge, without much hesitation, Zhao Du'an, with the help of the faint moonlight, quickly stripped off his outer clothes.

Then, he jumped into the river and, following that feeling, groped towards the location of the array's core at the bottom of the river.

Because it was night, the visibility underwater was extremely low. After diving a few meters, he was practically blind.

Fortunately, the Qi within his body had established a subtle connection with it, like an invisible rope in the darkness, quietly linking the two.

Finally, following his senses, Zhao Du'an touched the bottom of the river.

The stones covered in silt faintly emitted a faint light.

“It really has changed!” Zhao Du'an was overjoyed, using his hands and feet to swim over.

After wiping away the mud, he clearly saw the patterns of the array emitting light.

“Why has it changed? It was clearly not like this even an hour ago.”

Zhao Du'an had no doubt that if the Empress were present, she would definitely be able to sense it.

“I haven't had any obvious changes these past few days, and I'm not much different from before. Then, the biggest possibility lies in time.”

Zhao Du'an quickly grasped a key point:

“Ghost Festival!”

“The Ghost Festival is the day with the most abundant spiritual energy in the year, and the gods are also the most active. Could it be because of this?

Wait… If I couldn't open it before because I was too weak, is it possible to pry it open now that the array is active?”

Thinking of this possibility, his heart pounded wildly in the dark, icy water.

After a slight hesitation, Zhao Du'an pressed his hands firmly on the array, trying to inject the unique Qi of the "Martial God Path".

Then, with his injection, the light of the array, which had been lifeless for many years, became brighter and brighter, and a mysterious force descended, pushing the river water away.

It was as if an air bubble had been created at the bottom of the river, engulfing Zhao Du'an within it.

“It works!”

Zhao Du'an's spirit was shaken. So, the key to opening the secret passage was just the martial arts aura of the founding emperor's lineage?

Today's favorable timing saved him countless efforts.

In the next second, he only felt a blur before his eyes, and his whole person disappeared into thin air at the bottom of the river.

… …

Palace.

“Your Majesty!”

On the palace square, a team of palace maids walked with lanterns.

Suddenly, they saw a streak of light approaching, transforming into the Great Yu Empress, wearing a white casual dress, with her black hair cascading down like a waterfall, her fairy-like face dignified and majestic.

No one knew how she changed her clothes on the way…

Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly and said:

“I'm going to the Founding Ancestor's Temple to calm my mind. If there is anything, you can come and report it.”

“Yes!”

The palace maids nodded busily, watching the Empress walk away.

“Did Her Majesty just return from outside the palace?”

“Shh, don't talk about it.”

The palace was very large, and the lights could only illuminate a small part of the area.

The Founding Ancestor's Temple was not far from the sleeping quarters, and there were no guards stationed around it.

Xu Zhenguan got rid of the female officials following her and walked naturally to the front of the temple, creaking open the old temple door.

In sight, the standing lamps in the hall lit up one after another. On the wall, the dragon and phoenix danced, and the word "Martial" seemed to prop up the heavens and the earth.

“Huff.” Xu Zhenguan exhaled softly. With a flick of her sleeve, the temple door closed automatically.

She walked to the offering table and twisted the candlestick.

“Crack, crack, crack—”

Beside the wall, the entrance to the cellar slowly opened.

The Empress stepped down the steps, and after a few steps, it suddenly opened up. Before her was an arched wine cellar.

On the shelves around, there were jars of wine. The crystals inlaid in the walls were fully lit under the blessing of the array, illuminating it as bright as day.

Xu Zhenguan rolled up her sleeves, revealing her snow-white and smooth arms. She had almost no jewelry on her body, and her wrists were clean, like mutton-fat jade.

At this moment, the corners of her mouth were slightly raised. She pulled out a large food box from a shelf, which was full of various foods.

She then opened a jar of wine with a "pop" and immediately sat down at a small table by the wall, taking a sip of wine and a bite of food to fill her stomach.

—The food intake of a martial artist is amazing; a bowl of wontons is really not enough.

In addition, she likes to drink privately to celebrate every happy event, which is already a routine.

However, tonight, she never expected that, at almost the same time as she was drinking alone.

On the other side of the wall behind her, in another closed "secret room" that could not be detected or sensed, a person suddenly appeared out of thin air.

… …

Zhao Du'an felt that he had experienced a moment of dizziness.

It seemed like he had passed through a long tunnel, and it seemed like it was just a blink of an eye.

He had already left the bottom of the river and was lying on the cold floor.

Before his eyes was a darkness, and he cautiously arched up, holding the Golden Crow Flying Knife in his hand, ready to deal with danger.

However, there was silence all around, and only a circular magic circle on the floor beneath him slowly faded away.

Then.

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!”

Zhao Du'an was surprised to see that, in the darkness, clusters of fire suddenly ignited around him, forming a ring, lighting up the walls centered on him.

When the light filled the entire secret room, he could see clearly that they were "night-shining pearls" the size of fists, embedded in the walls.

Flames were dancing in the beads.

“What the hell is this place… Where is the promised secret passage?” Zhao Du'an was stunned.

The secret room he was in was not large, about the same size as his room at home, and it was empty with no doors around.

There was only a stone platform in the center, with a figure sitting cross-legged on it, facing away from him, covered in dust.

“Who are you?” he asked subconsciously, his body tense, and a strong sense of regret arose.

He wondered if there were top experts stationed in the "secret passage" that Old Xu mentioned?

Did he run into the muzzle of a gun?

If he was caught later, should he confess and be lenient, or confess and be lenient?

Zhao Du'an had unspeakable suffering.

According to his original plan, the so-called secret passage might be a formation beneath a bridge outside the city, connecting to a passage inside the palace, to the Ancestral Temple.

It might even appear within the "wine cellar" that Zhenbao mentioned.

He barged in, indeed harboring some thoughts of grabbing some benefits.

Anyway, at worst, if discovered, he would push everything onto the Martial God Diagram.

But this was clearly not any "wine cellar", and the key was…

People.

However, Zhao Du'an tried calling out several times, battling wits with the air for a long time, but the figure facing away from him remained motionless.

"Dead?"

Zhao Du'an's expression changed.

He subconsciously clenched the purple jade pendant in his hand—he had taken out the Empress's bestowed teleportation jade the moment he saw the figure.

After confirming there was no reaction, he slowly circled along the wall, reaching the "front" of the person sitting cross-legged in meditation.

At first glance, he blurted out in shock:

"Old Xu?!"

Yes!

The one sitting on the stone platform was strikingly similar in appearance to the Grand Ancestor of the Great Yu from the Martial God Diagram.

Zhao Du'an felt his scalp explode, with no place to vent his frustration:

So, could it be that he had been teleported to Old Xu's tomb?

Don't joke around!

"Wait, that's not right, how old was Old Xu when he died? He couldn't still be in his middle-age appearance!"

Zhao Du'an took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

Cautiously approaching, he suddenly discovered that several lines of words were engraved on the stone platform.

"Ancestral Temple… Martial God Platform… Where the Dragon Soul resides… Later generations…"

He recited in a low voice, then his expression became strange.

The tone of the writing on the stone platform was clearly that of the Great Yu Grand Ancestor Emperor, and the writing was indeed crooked and clumsy…

Well, it was ugly in Old Xu's style.

The text was about a hundred words, half-classical and half-vernacular, clearly lacking in culture, yet trying hard to appear refined.

The general meaning was that this place was the "Martial God Platform" beneath the Ancestral Temple. The Grand Ancestor Emperor created the "Martial God System" with the intention of cultivating martial artists into gods themselves.

The Martial God Platform was the altar for offering sacrifices to his own god.

Unfortunately, he never truly took the final step in his life.

He only refined a wisp of dragon energy within his Qi Sea into something similar to a god, but not quite, naming it "Dragon Soul."

He said that if he died, and the Dragon Soul had not dissipated, it would occupy this place.

If later generations had great talent in martial arts, they could absorb the Dragon Soul into their bodies after breaking through the Mortal Realm, which would be of great benefit, and so on…

After death, the Dragon Soul would automatically return to the Martial God Platform.

"Ah, this…"

Zhao Du'an's expression was very interesting.

First of all, he didn't come to the wrong place. The secret passage did lead to the Ancestral Temple. As for why he didn't see the wine cellar, he didn't know…

Secondly, it seemed like he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.

"This thing is the Dragon Soul? Old Xu envisioned himself and created a 'god'?"

Good fellow… others gather the power of all beings to create a god, which everyone drives. You do it yourself, only for your own use…"

"It sounds like it's left for future emperors… but why didn't Zhenbao absorb it? Her realm must have reached it… and there's so much dust, it's clear that no one has touched it for a long time…"

"That's right, she came to the throne through 'usurpation', she probably doesn't even know that there's a secret chamber under the Ancestral Temple… such a big secret, it's conceivable that it's been secretly passed down by generations of emperors, but the crown prince died…"

"However… such an important thing, being able to find the secret passage by cultivating the imperial family's cultivation method, isn't that a bit casual…

Hmm… no, that's not right, the entrance to the secret passage is gone, normal people who don't know the location can't possibly find it… Moreover, it also requires the royal family's cultivation method as a 'key'…"

Zhao Du'an's thoughts raced.

Curiously approaching, he sized up the "Old Xu" sitting cross-legged on the platform.

Only now did he notice that its form was slightly illusory, as if not entirely solid…

"I'll just look and not touch you, after all, I'm just a mortal, not yet in the Mortal Realm… Hmm, should I hand it over? This is really a headache…"

Zhao Du'an was muttering to himself.

Suddenly, as if finally sensing the approach of an outsider, the "Old Xu" sitting cross-legged on the stone platform suddenly…

Opened…

His eyes.

They were a pair of pure golden eyes, devoid of human emotion, only with an unspeakable majesty.

Boom!

Immediately afterward, "Old Xu's" figure suddenly collapsed, transforming into a torrent of pure gold, shaped like a true dragon, circling in the air of the secret chamber, radiating great light.

The moment the Dragon Soul flew up, Zhao Du'an felt his whole body stiffen, unable to move.

He was intimidated and unable to move by the overwhelming pressure like a mountain roaring and a sea surging.

Not to mention crushing the teleportation jade, even his thoughts became incredibly slow at this moment.

He could only watch helplessly as the dragon-shaped half-step god that the Grand Ancestor Emperor had envisioned throughout his life looked down at him.

Their eyes met.

Suddenly, the golden Dragon Soul raised its head and let out a low dragon's roar, then, it directly turned into a torrent, frantically, like a raging river breaking its banks, forcibly pouring into Zhao Du'an's brow!

"Wait—"

Zhao Du'an's eyes went dark, and he lost consciousness.

…

At the same time.

Separated by a wall, the tipsy Emperor Fairy, with her jade-like fingers, opened a new jar of wine. Suddenly, her whole body stiffened, and she looked up at the sky in astonishment.

The wine jar in her hand "bang" shattered into pieces by the aura that she unconsciously released.

At this moment, she clearly heard in her ears, a… long-lost…

Dragon's Roar!