"You know so much about it, have you been inside?"
Jiang Feng was full of confusion.
"I wouldn’t dare. The underground palace is too mysterious and dangerous. I’m not strong enough to take the risk."
Xiao Zhan shook his head.
"Heh, you don’t dare to go in yourself, yet you give the key and expect to take the risk?"
Jiang Feng sneered.
"Immortal Master, rest assured, the underground palace is a dragon’s den to , but to you, it’s rely a backyard garden. If you’re still worried, I’m willing to accompany you and scout ahead."
Xiao Zhan said excitedly.
"I need to know where you got the key and the storage ring from?"
Jiang Feng understood Xiao Zhan’s intentions. Rumor had it that the palace held countless treasures and opportunities, and Xiao Zhan hoped Jiang Feng could take him along to explore.
"A few years ago, the Wolf King and a group of werewolves invaded the Dragon Capital. I was ordered to guard Zhenbei Prison and got entangled with a few werewolves. When I was about to kill them, one of the werewolves, fearing for its life, knelt down and begged for rcy, offering the key and the ring in exchange.
I thought the werewolf was deceiving and just trying to buy ti, so I ignored it, killed it, and casually took the key and ring.
It wasn’t until recently that I rembered it."
Xiao Zhan explained.
"You’re still not telling the truth."
Jiang Feng shook his head.
A re werewolf, how could it possibly carry the key to the underground palace and a storage ring? It’s known that even Elder Wang and Li Yang don’t possess such items.
When he killed the two, he specifically checked to find so treasures, but found nothing.
Yet Xiao Zhan claid the werewolf had a storage ring and the underground palace key.
Jiang Feng could not believe it.
Before he beca a cultivator, he could already explode a werewolf with a punch. He knew the opponent’s strength and status very well.
"I wouldn’t dare deceive the Immortal Master. If I’m lying even a little, may the heavens strike down with thunder."
Xiao Zhan earnestly vowed.
Jiang Feng sneered coldly.
If vows were useful, there wouldn’t be dishonest people in the world.
It was clear Xiao Zhan wasn’t willing to reveal the truth.
But Jiang Feng couldn’t exactly kill him, or force the truth out by other ans. Although it seed like Xiao Zhan needed him,
Jiang Feng knew that surviving in the Imperial City and exploring the underground palace couldn’t be done without Xiao Zhan’s assistance.
He also had the Cyan Snake King as an enemy.
He couldn’t afford to make too many enemies.
He needed to find a way to eliminate or drive away the Cyan Snake King.
Initially, he only wanted to wander the world with Han Dong, far from this troubled place. But now that he had the key to the underground palace, Jiang Feng was tempted.
He also wanted to explore it.
Although everything needed careful planning, he couldn’t act rashly.
And Xiao Zhan certainly knew more about the underground palace than he did.
If he could control Xiao Zhan, it would save a lot of trouble when entering the palace in the future.
"Get up!"
Jiang Feng said helplessly.
"Just inform when you want to enter the underground palace. I’ll escort you. If there’s any danger inside, I’ll face it first."
Xiao Zhan said flatteringly.
His current deanor was a far cry from the mighty and majestic King Xiao riding atop a tall horse.
"Why don’t you take the key back and go in first to explore? If you encounter any trouble, then find a way to notify ."
Jiang Feng tossed the golden key to Xiao Zhan.
"I couldn’t dare. Such a crucial item cannot be entrusted to ."
Xiao Zhan dared not accept it.
"Such a crucial item?"
Jiang Feng mulled over Xiao Zhan’s words, then smiled as he thought of sothing: "You say so many loose cultivators ca to the Dragon Capital for the underground palace, crossing the Sea of Blood. If they knew I had the key, what do you think I should do?"
"Bang!"
Xiao Zhan’s expression changed drastically, and he quickly knelt down.
Excitedly, he said, "Mr. Xiao is willing to live and die with the Immortal Master, to protect the underground palace together. Loose cultivators are ruthless, and would kill innocents for any heavenly treasures. If they enter the Dragon Capital, no one could deter them. It would be a catastrophe for the common people, and there would be no place for the Xiao Family."
"You want my help? Fine. No matter how capable you are, I need you to seal the underground passages. Without my permission, no one is to enter.
And no loose cultivators can casually step into the Dragon Capital."
Jiang Feng instructed.
"Yes, I’ll imdiately have people take care of it. But the second point?"
Xiao Zhan was a bit troubled. If he could block all loose cultivators from entering the Dragon Capital, he wouldn’t have needed Jiang Feng’s help.
"I’ll step in if there’s soone you can’t handle."
Jiang Feng thought for a mont.
"Rest assured, Immortal Master. I won’t disturb you unless it’s absolutely necessary."
Xiao Zhan said excitedly, feeling Jiang Feng had acknowledged him and was willing to help protect the realm. Even if Jiang Feng was only interested in the underground palace’s secrets, at least he had sothing that bound Jiang Feng to stand by his side.
Jiang Feng waved Xiao Zhan off lightly; he needed to think things over.
"King Xiao must be hiding sothing from you. For now, he can only rely on you. Whatever he’s concealing shouldn’t harm you, and as long as your strength can keep him in check, he can only obey you.
But I’ve seen King Xiao lead battles; he often employs unexpectedly clever strategies against enemies, surprising not only them but even those around him.
So, be more cautious with him. So things cannot be easily trusted and must be carefully thought through to understand what he truly intends, lest you fall into his trap."
After Xiao Zhan left, Jiang Feng relayed everything Xiao Zhan told him to Han Dong, seeking his analysis.
Even Han Dong couldn’t figure out Xiao Zhan.
If Jiang Feng’s strength didn’t allow him to control Xiao Zhan, he truly wouldn’t want to deal with such a person.
Two days later, Xiao Zhan visited the academy again to inform Jiang Feng about the sealing of the underground passages. Jiang Feng then entered the passage, thoroughly checking to confirm each entrance and exit was guarded, and seeing no other figures, not even the Cyan Snake King, he returned to the academy.
"Little Cyan Snake, let ask you, last ti your clan leader held that gemstone in his hand. What was it, that it could block my spiritual sense?"
Jiang Feng asked, holding Little Cyan Snake by the tail.
During discussions with Han Dong or Xiao Zhan, he’d either cover Little Cyan Snake with the Qinglong Cauldron or knock it out to ensure it couldn’t hear or escape the conversation.
"It’s just a regular Turtle Breath Stone. The clan leader probably got it from the Divine Sect."
Little Cyan Snake explained.
"Turtle Breath Stone? Westward Rest! That’s an unlucky na for your clan leader. You call it ordinary, but I don’t think so. Back then, I shot multiple arrows, and they were all blocked by that stone."
Jiang Feng rembered vividly.
He felt Little Cyan Snake was lying to him.
"It’s truly just a Turtle Breath Stone. Holding it makes one undetectable, like a stone, and it can provide modest defense, although it can’t endure many of your arrows."
Little Cyan Snake said nervously, fearing another round of torture from Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng’s hand hovered in the air, but ultimately he just patted the Little Cyan Snake on the head, smiling: "Alright, I believe you. Let’s say I take you sowhere, as a reward."
"No need."
The Little Cyan Snake imdiately refused.
Thinking Jiang Feng had no good intentions.
Jiang Feng gave the Little Cyan Snake no choice.
He took the Little Cyan Snake to the underground of Zhenbei Prison.
Successfully locating the statue of the Three-tailed Wolf King.
The statue stood taller than a person.
Within its open mouth was an unobtrusive keyhole.
Before Little Cyan Snake, Jiang Feng inserted the golden key into the statue’s mouth.
"Buzz!"
Behind the statue, layers of powerful restriction arrays suddenly revealed a large gap. The gap opened to a stone door, unveiling a passageway studded with luminous pearls on both sides, very wide and bright.
Jiang Feng extended his spiritual sense inward.
Previously at Zhenbei Prison, when he probed the underground palace with his spiritual sense, he could see a vast square within the palace, even glimpsing the Three-tailed Wolf King’s silhouette.
But ever since the loose cultivators and Divine Sect disciples invaded the palace,
the restriction arrays seed to suddenly strengthen.
Normally, spiritual sense couldn’t enter at all.
Even at Zhenbei Prison, there was a force blocking it, causing anyone probing with spiritual sense to hear an ear-piercing wolf howl, which could leave the weaker ones dizzy and bleeding from the nose and mouth.
Yet now, with the key inserted,
what Jiang Feng saw was entirely different from before.
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