316: Inconceivable, the positions of the five palaces

At the entrance of the Passage on the other side of the City Wall, massive luminous pearls were embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the entire dark space.

"Wow! So beautiful!" Meng Ziyi exclaimed, covering her mouth.

Ye Bai frowned and said, "Why are there so many luminous pearls?"

"Right, I'm really envious of this girl." Yang Mi looked at Meng Ziyi with envy. Her gaze then fell upon Ye Bai, her expression somewhat complicated.

Meng Ziyi did not notice the change in her expression.

"Ye Bai, what's going on?"

Ye Bai shook his head. He couldn't be sure because this matter was too unbelievable. He walked forward and reached out to touch the patterns on the Bronze Wall. As soon as he touched one of them, a burning sensation spread throughout his body.

"Ye Bai, are you okay!" Meng Ziyi asked nervously.

"I'm fine." Ye Bai shook his head, took out another Candle, and inserted it into one of the grooves.

Rumble!

The originally calm Bronze Wall suddenly began to tremble, slowly rising up.

"This..." Meng Ziyi stared blankly at Ye Bai's actions and said incredulously, "How did you do that?"

Ye Bai smiled slightly and said, "I only learned it through a lucky coincidence."

"Then teach me! I want to learn Magic too," Meng Ziyi said.

Ye Bai opened the Bronze Wall, and everyone immediately ran out.

"Phew!" Sunlight streamed in from outside, warm and bright, illuminating the entire Underground Palace.

"We're out!" Yang Mi cheered.

"Mhm." Meng Ziyi nodded in agreement.

"Ye Bai, what kind of Magic did you use to open the mechanism just now? That was awesome!" Meng Ziyi asked, hopping excitedly.

"It's a secret," Ye Bai said teasingly, leading the group forward.

"Hmph! Stingy," Meng Ziyi pouted.

"Is there a Burial Site here?" Ye Bai looked around. This Underground Palace was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see, yet it contained nothing.

"No!" Meng Ziyi shook her head.

"Then where did these Bronze Artifacts come from? Could it be that they already existed when this Underground Palace was built?" Ye Bai was puzzled. He walked toward the Bronze Artifacts ahead. These artifacts were mottled with rust, filled with the marks of time.

Ye Bai used his Dagger to lightly scrape it, and a thick layer of Iron Skin peeled off, revealing the gleaming copper structure inside, which emitted a pale yellow glow.

He tried to knock on the Copper Artifact, but found that it didn't budge, only producing a clear, ringing sound.

This Copper Artifact was very heavy, estimated to weigh around a thousand jin. He then tried to pry open the Bronze outer coffin.

The outer coffin was slowly lifted, revealing the skeleton inside.

Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi screamed in fright, huddling together to avoid it.

"Don't worry, it's just a shriveled Corpse," Ye Bai reassured them.

"But... it looks so ugly, it's terrifying!" Yang Mi stammered. She had never seen such an ugly skeleton in her life, and she found it utterly unacceptable.

Ye Bai was speechless. "Then just pretend you didn't see it."

Yang Mi gritted her teeth and nodded. Although she didn't want to admit it, she had no choice but to comply. She changed the subject, saying, "Let's continue looking for the Tomb!"

"Alright," Ye Bai agreed.

They continued searching for the Tomb Chamber, but this time Ye Bai didn't make any noise.

They walked through the Underground Palace, encountering many Stone Pillars and Sculptures, but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.

These Sculptures were very peculiar: some were of a Witch, some were of a Male Sorcerer, and there was even a magnificent man riding a Griffin.

Ye Bai looked thoughtfully at the Sculptures.

Suddenly, Ye Bai stopped.

"What's wrong?" Yang Mi asked.

"Something's not right." Ye Bai pointed at the Stone Pillars and said, "Look closely at these Stone Pillars; they are arranged in a Formation."

"A Formation?" Hearing this, the two girls moved closer. After observing for a moment, they indeed noticed something unusual.

"What kind of Formation is this?" Meng Ziyi couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Nine-Palace Maze Array," Ye Bai said.

"Nine-Palace Maze Array?"

"That's right. The Nine Palaces represent the profound numbers of Heaven and Earth, named after the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, and are divided into Twelve Palaces—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth."

"What is the purpose of this Formation?"

"The Array Arranger must first occupy the positions of the Five Palaces—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—and arrange them according to the Nine-Palace structure, ensuring the Life Gate and the Death Gate of this Formation are separated."

Ye Bai said, "The person who set up this Formation must be extremely proficient in the Way of Arrays."

"Are you saying we're trapped?" Meng Ziyi said, her face pale.

"Exactly. The correct path is three feet in front of us." Ye Bai lifted his foot and stomped on the floor ahead, saying, "However, this Nine-Palace Maze Array is extremely dangerous. The slightest mistake, and we will lose our lives here. It won't be easy."

"Ye Bai, do you have a way to break the Formation?" Yang Mi asked urgently.

"I'll try." Ye Bai closed his eyes, clasped his hands, and Chanted a Spell. A moment later, he opened his eyes. "Follow me."

Meng Ziyi and Yang Mi quickly followed him.

"Follow my steps," Ye Bai reminded them.

Meng Ziyi and Yang Mi quickly followed his steps. After walking a few steps, they heard a clear sound of Bells again. These Bells were made from Silver copper plaques. Each copper plaque consisted of three round holes and shimmered with a faint luster, looking very beautiful.

"So beautiful!" Meng Ziyi couldn't help but exclaim.

"Mhm, let's go." Yang Mi tugged on her sleeve.

"Wait!" Ye Bai shouted.

He squatted down and picked up the Silver Plaque.

"Ye Bai, what are you doing?" Meng Ziyi asked curiously.

"This Silver Plaque must be strange." Ye Bai frowned. "I feel this is a Mechanism Hidden Weapon; if touched, it will automatically activate."

"Really?"

"We'll know if we try." Ye Bai held the Silver Plaque to his ear, then slammed his hand onto the floor.

"Crack~ Crack!" Several crisp sounds came, and the Silver Plaque strangely deformed and twisted, finally shattering into dust. At the same time, the entire Underground Palace shook violently, as if an earth dragon was turning over.

"Holy crap!" Ye Bai paled in shock and ran wildly. "Run!"

"Ah!" Meng Ziyi screamed and fell to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Ye Bai rushed to her side, helped her up, and asked anxiously.

Meng Ziyi, having just recovered from the shock, said tremblingly, "My leg is broken."

"Let's go, I'll carry you!" Ye Bai put Meng Ziyi on his back.

"Ye Bai, this will slow you down," Meng Ziyi said shyly.

"It's nothing," Ye Bai said boldly. "Let's hurry up. I feel like something is about to burst out from underground."

"Okay!" Meng Ziyi obediently lay on his broad shoulder.

The two stumbled and fled, one after the other.

"Awooo~~" Suddenly, a wolf howl echoed from the pitch-black Passage.

"Wolf!" Meng Ziyi turned pale with fright.

"Shh!" Ye Bai quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "Be careful of the noise, or you'll attract them."

Ye Bai cautiously continued forward with Meng Ziyi, while Yang Mi followed closely behind, not daring to breathe loudly. The wolf howls echoed in the Passage, each sound striking their hearts.