CHAPTER 859: CHAPTER 869: AZURE DRAGON IMPERIAL MAUSOLEUM

When the sedan chair was carried through the gates of the Imperial Palace, no one noticed a shadow following behind, infiltrating the palace.

After Chu Feng entered the palace with the sedan, he did not rush to find Chang’e. Instead, he quickly searched for the location of the Imperial Mausoleum.

The Imperial Palace was immense, with numerous buildings, pavilions, towers, rockeries, and gardens enough to get many palace maids and eunuchs lost. For Chu Feng, a stranger intruder, it was even more blinding.

"The Imperial Mausoleum is typically built to the north of the palace; searching in this direction can’t be wrong!"

Chu Feng had not yet sensed the Abnormal Fire.

Having been an Emperor himself, he was well-versed in the layout of the palace.

To the east was the residence of the Crown Prince, known as the Eastern Palace. The western side housed the Emperor’s harem, where most concubines and palace maids lived.

The northern part usually belonged to the palace’s rear area, as the legendary Netherworld was in the north, also known as Beiming. Hence, the mausoleum was commonly built in the north.

This arrangement not only facilitated the deceased Royal Family souls’ passage but also for worshipping and management.

Being a place for burying the dead, tombs were considered unlucky and ominous.

As someone most afraid of death, an Emperor would never want to see a large swath of tombs every time they stepped out. Thus, building it at the back of the palace was most appropriate.

Moreover, there was a deeper intention.

It was hoped that the heroic spirits of the Royal Family ancestors could bless the Imperial Family, granting the nation long-lasting prosperity and an eternal reign.

Nearly an hour had already passed, and Chu Feng’s Sword Essence and Essence blood were severely depleted. His form was beginning to waver.

The Shadow Escape Technique might not support him much longer.

Chu Feng strove with all his might, rushing towards the north of the palace.

The journey was relatively smooth. Although there were numerous checkpoints guarded by the Forbidden Army, there were no gateways or high walls blocking his way.

"The Azure Dragon Imperial Mausoleum!"

A grand gate loomed ahead, with four black Panlong pillars, exhibiting solemnity and reverence. A large horizontal stone plaque carved with the words Azure Dragon Imperial Mausoleum hung above it.

Sure enough, it was here!

Chu Feng rejoiced inwardly and immediately accelerated towards it.

There was only one squad of the Forbidden Army guarding here, all with cultivation at the Sword God Level. They numbered eleven in total.

Such a guarding force was quite ordinary by Azure Dragon Heavenly Kingdom standards.

By right, the mausoleum was one of a nation’s foundations, the soul and core of the Royal Family. Given the strength of the Azure Dragon Heavenly Kingdom, deploying one or two Supreme Sword Gods for protection was necessary.

The strongest among these eleven were merely Three-star Sword Gods.

One could say they were pathetically weak.

This was clearly inconsistent with common sense.

"Could it be that the true mausoleum is not here?" Chu Feng wondered.

If this were true, things would become troublesome.

The more than twenty top-tier Royal Family members could return to the palace any moment. Then, Chu Feng’s situation would become even more perilous.

After performing the Shadow Escape Technique, there would be a period of weakness.

This was also a problem Chu Feng had to face.

The ideal would be to enter the mausoleum before the Shadow Escape Technique wore off, find a hidden spot, and slowly recover his depleted Sword Essence and Essence blood.

Seeing that the Shadow Escape Technique was about to expire, Chu Feng didn’t have time to think and rushed headlong into the mausoleum.

"Old Zhang, did something go in just now?"

"What thing? Don’t talk nonsense!"

"Captain, I felt it too, a strange wind blew, and there was a faint shadow!"

"Are you trying to tell me there was a ghost? It’s about to get dark, so stop with the useless talk, don’t scare yourselves!" The captain, at the head, harshly rebuked his subordinates.

Guarding the tomb was already eerie, mentioning such mysterious things only made it more unnerving.

Chu Feng couldn’t help but chuckle quietly when he heard their conversation.

After entering the mausoleum, tombs came into view one after another.

Unlike commoners’ burials, where a hole is dug to bury the coffin and a mound is piled up on top for later worship, common folk typically bury their dead in the hills.

As commoners were generally impoverished, they couldn’t afford tombstones, making seeking markers hard.

It was easy to find soon after burial.

But as time passed and brush grew over, finding it again became difficult.

Having a mound there made locating it easier.

Within the imperial mausoleum, the graveyards were not only uniformly managed but were also regularly attended, keeping the cemetery very clean.

The ground was paved with tiles.

To prevent future grave robberies, most tombs didn’t have mounds, just simple tombstones erected.

Those with more status had stone lions and stone effigies guarding their graves.

The Azure Dragon Imperial Country had been established for over a million years, so there were many deceased Royals. The mausoleum was nearly full, densely packed with tombstones.

Walking alone inside, Chu Feng found it especially desolate.

As he ventured deeper into the mausoleum, the style ahead began to change. The tombs became grand, constructed with opulent luxury. The grounds were paved with White Jade, meticulously arranged with feng shui, just like residences for the living, only ten times more magnificent.

"It seems here are entombed the past Emperors of the Azure Dragon Heavenly Kingdom, with statuses far above those ordinary Royals outside!" Chu Feng realized and secretly felt some anticipation.

He hoped he wasn’t in the wrong place.

If so, today’s venture would have been a wasted effort.

The inside of the mausoleum was very quiet, without a single person, just Chu Feng quickly traversing it alone.

Typically, before the significant rituals of Qingming, Ghost Festival, and year-end memorials, the mausoleum underwent a centralized clean-up and tidying. Otherwise, it was mostly tranquil inside.

Nor was anyone allowed to disturb the rest of the ancestors by entering at their leisure.

Chu Feng released his Divine Sense to cautiously survey his surroundings. Having detected no one, he promptly retracted the Shadow Escape Technique. At this moment, his Sword Essence was critically diminished, with only about ten percent remaining.

He immediately found a secluded spot, leaned against a tombstone, and seated himself cross-legged. He took out two Elixirs and took them in two doses.

One to aid the recovery of Sword Essence, and another to replenish Qi-Blood.

After ingesting the Elixirs, Chu Feng gripped a Spirit Stone in each hand, closing his eyes to swiftly restore and meditate.

Inside the mausoleum, it was so quiet that he could even hear the sound of his heartbeat.

Hidden behind the tombstone, unless someone were to circle around and look down from above, they would not notice Chu Feng sitting there.

...

Three hours later, Chu Feng had recovered about eighty percent. He slowly opened his dark, star-like eyes, and the night had fully descended.

The mausoleum was utterly dark, with only distant oil lamps illuminating the entrance.

"I don’t know what the situation in the Outer City is. I must seize the time to penetrate deeper into the mausoleum and seek the Abnormal Fire." Chu Feng was well aware of the value of time, with an army of 400,000 and his two beloved wives risking their lives to buy him time.