25: Chapter 25 Entering the Mausoleum of Emperor Taizu

"What!? The Secret Realm left behind by the Green Lotus Sword Immortal, who was once invincible for an entire era in the history of the Dongxuan Continent!?"

The smile that had been on Emperor Xia Yu's face instantly vanished, replaced by an expression of extreme solemnity.

Even as the Son of Heaven of Great Xia, busy handling state affairs all day, he knew what the four words "Green Lotus Sword Immortal" represented—that was an Earthly Immortal! A figure that existed almost only in legends!

Any treasure or Legacy they left behind, once revealed, would definitely trigger a storm of blood, causing every nation on the Dongxuan Continent to wage war over it! But if Great Xia could obtain it, wouldn't that mean...

Thinking of this, Emperor Xia Yu's breathing quickened, and he hurriedly said, "Big Brother! This Secret Realm... we must seize this Secret Realm for Great Xia! Whatever resources are needed, I will issue an imperial decree to provide them immediately!"

"That's enough!" Xia Jin waved his hand. "The more people involved in this matter, the easier it is to attract the covetous eyes of other factions. You do not need to concern yourself with this... I will handle it personally."

Emperor Xia Yu naturally had absolute faith in his brother's abilities. Seeing him say this, he nodded heavily. "Alright! Big Brother, feel free to act. I will handle the imperial court; you have nothing to worry about!"

After the two discussed for a while, Emperor Xia Yu hurried away. Xia Jin changed into casual attire, took Commander Qin Hu, left the palace, and headed straight for the Great Xia Imperial Tombs in the outskirts of the capital.

"Your Highness, are you... really going inside?" Looking at the tomb entrance ahead, Commander Qin Hu suddenly felt a chill, causing him to involuntarily rub the goosebumps on his arms.

"Nonsense!" Xia Jin glanced at him as if looking at a fool. "At this hour, do you think I came here specifically to pay my respects?"

Commander Qin Hu scratched his head and let out a silly chuckle.

Xia Jin scanned the surroundings and ordered directly, "Commander Qin Hu, while I am inside the Great Xia Imperial Tombs, you are to mobilize the Imperial Guard and completely seal off the area within a ten-mile radius of the tombs. Without my command, anyone who dares to trespass is to be executed on the spot!"

"Rest assured, Your Highness! This subordinate guarantees that not even a fly will be able to fly in!"

Commander Qin Hu's expression turned stern, and he hurriedly cupped his hands in salute. After speaking, under Xia Jin's gesture, he immediately began arranging for his hundred Imperial Guard subordinates to set up defenses in the surrounding area.

"So this is the Great Xia Imperial Tombs. I've never had the chance to enter it before!"

"Who would have thought that the first time I enter, it would be to find a key buried with the founding Emperor!" Xia Jin looked at the gate of the Great Xia Imperial Tombs and shook his head with a bitter smile.

He walked slowly toward the heavy black iron gate of the Great Xia Imperial Tombs.

With a casual wave of his hand, an invisible and majestic surge of True Yuan poured out, causing the massive gate, which would normally require several strong men to push open, to slowly swing inward.

Xia Jin walked straight inside, and after his figure gradually disappeared, the gate behind him slowly closed again.

The interior of the Great Xia Imperial Tombs housed the tombs of the past emperors of Great Xia, but the layout of these tombs was very simple and clear.

Except for the tomb of the founding Emperor of Great Xia, which was located at the very center of the Great Xia Imperial Tombs, the tombs of the subsequent emperors of Great Xia were distributed outward from the founding Emperor's tomb in the order of their succession.

Although Xia Jin had never entered this place before, he had seen the layout of the Great Xia Imperial Tombs in the Imperial Observatory, so he naturally knew the location of the founding Emperor's tomb.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he arrived in front of the founding Emperor's tomb.

However, Xia Jin did not enter the founding Emperor's tomb directly; instead, he stopped and took out a stick of incense from somewhere.

After lighting the incense, he held it before his chest and bowed three times toward the tomb.

"Your descendant, Xia Jin, for the sake of the country's future, is forced to disturb your eternal rest today. I hope you will forgive me, and may you continue to bless our Great Xia."

Having done all this, Xia Jin took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the founding Emperor's tomb with both hands.

Stepping into the tomb, the sight inside made him pause slightly.

It was completely different from the grandeur he had imagined for an imperial tomb; what he saw before him was extremely crude.

That's right, it could only be described as crude.

Aside from a stone coffin placed in the very center of the tomb chamber.

On a stone pedestal to the left of the stone coffin, a vermilion gourd was placed casually.

On the right pedestal, there was a black wooden box about a foot square, and next to the box, an iron sword was leaning against it.

Such a "shabby" scene of burial objects was truly hard to reconcile with the status of the founding Emperor who had established the foundation of Great Xia.

Xia Jin walked over to the gourd, his nose twitching inadvertently.

"Who would have thought that the founding Emperor's burial object... would actually be a pot of wine?"

Xia Jin's face showed surprise. After a moment of silence, he still tucked the gourd into his robes.

Next, he walked over to the black wooden box and opened it with a light lift.

There was nothing else inside the box, only a scroll placed neatly.

Before the scroll was even unfolded, a powerful Sword Intent emanated from it!

Even though he was already at the fourth level of the Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm, he felt a shock in his heart: "Such intense Sword Intent, to be sealed within a painting—could this be the Green Lotus Sword Intent?"

After Xia Jin unfolded the painting, the landscapes, figures, flowers, birds, fish, and insects he had expected did not appear.

On the scroll, there were only dozens of ink lines scattered randomly across the yellowed paper.

At first glance, it looked chaotic and disorganized, like the scribbles of a naughty child.

"This... seems a bit wrong!" Xia Jin's brows could not help but furrow slightly.

However, when he focused his gaze and observed closely, he discovered that the Sword Intent hidden within those seemingly scattered lines suddenly became clear!

"There is no mistake. Such astonishing Sword Intent must have been left behind by the Green Lotus Sword Immortal!" After watching for a while, Xia Jin felt a faint stinging sensation in his eyes.

Perhaps drawn by the Sword Intent of the scroll, Xia Jin felt an inexplicable agitation in his heart, and his mouth felt somewhat parched.

He subconsciously took out the vermilion gourd, pulled out the stopper, and tilted his head to take a sip.

As the wine entered his throat, it was at first like clear spring dew, then immediately transformed into a hot current that flowed through his limbs and bones!

"Good wine!" Xia Jin couldn't help but praise, a flash of brilliance crossing his eyes.

After a sip of wine, when he looked at the scroll again, he felt as if those lines had "come alive," twisting and evolving before his eyes. A strong impulse rose from the bottom of his heart.

His gaze involuntarily fell upon the somewhat rusty iron sword to the side.

As if possessed, Xia Jin stepped forward, gripped the hilt of the iron sword, and facing the unfolded scroll, he began to move naturally, following his inner intuition and the trajectory of the lines he saw.

He forgot about time, forgot about the outside world. One day passed, and he did not stop.

Two days passed, and the sword wind became even faster.

Half a month passed, and faint, tangible Sword Qi began to swirl around his body, resonating faintly with the Sword Intent emanating from the scroll.

A month passed, and his movements had still not stopped.

And during this time that he was in the founding Emperor's tomb, the current Emperor of Great Xia, Emperor Xia Yu, was about to face a huge crisis.

The people from the Qingyun Sect had arrived!