288: Chapter 288 The Underground Palace of the Capital

The white-bearded old Daoist cried out in a panic, "Over there! It's over there!"

His feet kicked incessantly at the ground while one finger pointed toward the east.

Urine seeped out between his legs.

Gu Changan's brow furrowed slightly, and he casually tossed the man onto the ground.

"Wouldn't it have been better if you'd just said so earlier?"

"Did you really want me to take action?"

The white-bearded old Daoist was scared out of his wits.

He lay prone on the ground, gasping for breath.

He hadn't expected Gu Changan to be so ruthless!

The man was going to perform a Soul Search directly!

It was said that after a Soul Search, a person might turn into an idiot.

To say nothing of the pain experienced during the process!

He had almost lost his life!

The gaze he directed at Gu Changan was filled with terror.

Gu Changan didn't care about his state; he immediately released his top-grade flying boat and set off toward the east once more.

Although the terrain below was flat as far as the eye could see, it felt a bit monotonous after watching it for a long time.

On roughly the second day, Gu Changan's Golden Core Stage Divine Sense finally detected a continuous stretch of buildings ahead.

Could this be the capital of the Mortal Imperial Dynasty that the Qi Refining Stage guard had mentioned before?

Gu Changan descended from his escape light from a distance, not wanting to alert the Cultivators in the city.

His Golden Core Stage Divine Sense scanned around the perimeter of the city.

The capital's buildings stretched for about a hundred miles.

This was extremely rare in this world!

Furthermore, even the previous small city was guarded by a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator.

Then this capital might have Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.

There might even be Golden Core Cultivators!

Gu Changan didn't want them to discover him.

If he obtained the earth vein dragon marrow only to be wanted by other major powers in the cultivation world, the loss would outweigh the gain!

It was better to proceed stealthily.

It would be enough if he could just get a little bit of earth vein dragon marrow.

After all, he could use the treasure gathering basin to duplicate it.

He didn't need much, just a tiny bit!

Gu Changan began to submerge into the ground from far away.

He activated the Earth Evasion Technique to travel underground.

At a distance of about a hundred miles from the capital of the Mortal Imperial Dynasty,

he encountered a Great Formation!

It seemed this Great Formation encompassed the entire capital.

Gu Changan pondered for a moment on how to bypass the Great Formation without breaking it or alerting the guards.

After thinking it over, it was highly likely that only the 36 Minor Heavenly Cycle Restrictions could achieve this.

Gu Changan began to observe the nodes on the Formation before him.

Then, he employed the Spirit Sealing Restriction from within the 36 Minor Heavenly Cycle Restrictions!

He tapped several nodes of the Great Formation, and those nodes were subsequently sealed.

The Spiritual Qi transmission of the Great Formation bypassed them, flowing through other nodes.

As a result, a gap opened up between those specific nodes.

The Formation disappeared in that spot, as if a portal had been opened in a bubble.

Gu Changan slipped through and casually lifted the Spirit Sealing Restriction he had just applied!

The Great Formation then returned to its original state.

Gu Changan began to search slowly underground toward the direction of the imperial city.

The entire Great Formation was like a spherical shield with a diameter of three hundred miles.

Gu Changan traversed below, searching for the place that might be the dragon vein.

After all, he had never seen a dragon vein before!

He had no idea what a dragon vein actually looked like.

However, there was an introduction to earth vein dragon marrow in the complete compendium of spirit herbs and elixirs.

He would be able to recognize it the moment he saw it.

Gu Changan slowly approached from the central position below.

The further he went in this direction, the thicker the earthly Qi below became.

Naturally, the Spiritual Qi was also much denser than at the edges.

Gu Changan felt that the very center should be the core area of the dragon vein.

As he walked, he suddenly entered a vast, open space.

Considering the hundreds of miles of city buildings on the surface,

and combined with his current position,

Gu Changan judged with high probability that he was now directly beneath the palace of the Mortal Imperial Dynasty's capital.

However, this space was not empty.

Instead, there were some elderly, weak, and disabled people on the verge of death guarding the place.

They wore relatively neat armor and stood quietly on both sides of the road in front of the building's entrance.

At the very center was a miniature palace.

The entire structure was magnificent and golden.

The perimeter outside the palace was lined with stone coffins, one after another.

Without a doubt, only important figures of the Mortal Imperial Dynasty could be buried here.

Most likely, they were the successive emperors of this Mortal Imperial Dynasty.

Gu Changan used his Golden Core Stage Divine Sense to scan the corpses inside a few of the stone coffins.

They were all dressed in yellow robes, appearing just as they did as emperors in life.

He didn't know how many years these stone coffins had existed.

The appearance of the corpses was still quite well-preserved.

Gu Changan didn't want to investigate further.

The earth vein dragon marrow was more important!

Gu Changan sensed that there might be a Cultivator stationed inside the small palace.

So, what should he do?

It was likely a Golden Core Cultivator.

Gu Changan didn't want to think about it anymore; if he couldn't get it peacefully, he would just have to take it by force.

He casually put on a cloak, once again concealing his features.

As for the face he wore, he had no idea how many times he had changed it.

He casually performed a Breath Concealment Art, disguising himself as a Mortal.

Then, he slowly approached the small palace in the center.

These Mortals couldn't sense Gu Changan's presence at all.

Besides, in this underground place, people were rarely seen year-round.

The attention of these elderly and weak guards was not on their surroundings at all.

Most were dozing off, simply waiting for death.

Gu Changan approached the mini-palace in this manner.

In the center of the palace, there was a huge prayer mat.

Seated upon it was a long-bearded, middle-aged Golden Core Cultivator.

He was sitting there with his eyes closed in meditation, unaware that Gu Changan had already drawn near.

Even if he felt someone approaching, he would likely assume it was just a Mortal.

It wasn't until Gu Changan stood still ten feet in front of him

that the Golden Core Cultivator became somewhat alert, and he was even a bit annoyed!

Which Mortal was so bold?

To dare approach within ten feet of him?

He opened his eyes, just about to shout in anger.

Gu Changan flashed and appeared by his side.

Concentrating Spiritual Qi on his right index finger, he activated the Spirit Sealing Restriction of the 36 Minor Heavenly Cycle Restrictions!

He tapped several spots on the man's body, directly sealing his entire body's Spiritual Qi.

The Golden Core Cultivator's face flushed deep red as he constantly tried to test his power.

But he simply could not circulate his own Spiritual Qi.

He glared at Gu Changan and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what do you want?"

"How did you get in?"

"Who sent you?"

"Which power do you belong to!"

Gu Changan shook his head and gave a contemptuous smile. "You talk too much."

"You don't seem to have grasped the situation yet!"

"Your life is in my hands; do you have no sense of awe?"

The Golden Core Cultivator remained silent, secretly channeling his Golden Core Stage Spiritual Qi to surge against those nodes on his body.

He hoped to break Gu Changan's sealing power.

The result was self-evident; he failed after many attempts!

Eventually, he became red-faced, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Gu Changan just watched from the side without saying a word.

He watched the man struggle, knowing he would only behave once he could no longer fight back.

Gu Changan didn't believe the man could break free from his restraints.

His own Golden Core Stage Divine Sense was several times stronger than that of a normal Golden Core Stage Cultivator.