Chapter 1522 - 818: Lu Ying? (Double Chapter)_3

The black smoke was not only suffocating but also carried a cold and sinister aura. Qiao Tumen, in a daze, felt as if something cold in his internal organs was trying to wriggle and extend out, startling him to quickly hold his breath and focus, using his skills to resist.

Luckily, the black smoke came fiercely but dissipated quickly. As the flames burned, the black smoke rapidly thinned and scattered, and the body of the Jiao Dragon gradually turned into dust.

The flames slowly diminished.

Chen Yi lowered his gaze, looking at the place where the flames finally extinguished. Among the charred, curled-up remains, most had turned to ashes and indistinguishable burnt lumps, but indeed something remained unburned.

In the area where the Jiao Dragon's neck and chest were originally entwined, several black streaks protruded from the ashes.

A supervisor used the tip of his knife to carefully brush aside the covering ashes and debris.

The firelight focused on it.

It was not some iron chain.

Rather, it was thin peach branches.

Chen Yi stared at those peach branches, his pupils slightly contracting.

In the Imperial Palace's Dream Sea, the Dragon Vein was also entwined with peach branches, trapped within the palace's outline.

The texture of these peach branches was not as profound, yet they clearly shared the same origin.

Chen Yi's eyes slowly drooped.

The Han King couldn't become Crown Prince.

Luckily, he didn't care who became the Crown Prince, he just wanted to conveniently kill the Crown Prince.

"Preserve the evidence and let's go."

Chen Yi said, then turned and left.

When they went in, it was the Inspection Department leading the way, but now Chen Yi led the exit.

Chen Yi walked back along the corridor they came from, his pace unhurried.

Dragon Dao Adept... Golden Immortal Temple... peach branches...

He silently connected the clues.

In the Imperial Palace's Dream Sea, the Dragon Vein is trapped by peach branches. Here underground, the Jiao Dragon is also restrained by peach branches. The methods share the same origin, only differing in depth. If Dragon Dao Adept, who claims to hail from Golden Immortal Temple, is now Vice Supervisor of the Astronomical Bureau, and these peach branches in both places are related to him, then the background of this Golden Immortal Temple is undoubtedly complex.

Next, he must find out from Iron Abacus where exactly the Golden Immortal Temple is and its origins.

As he contemplated, his sleeve was gently tugged.

Chen Yi turned his head in confusion, looking at Donggong Ruo Shu beside him. The firelight illuminated half her face, with a trace of sugar painting still on the corner of her mouth as she nibbled on the remaining Pixiu sugar painting.

"What's wrong?" Chen Yi instinctively thought this stupid girl had spotted some novel thing in the corridor.

Donggong Ruo Shu didn't speak but extended the hand holding the sugar painting bamboo stick, pointing beside her,

"Here, there's a road."

A road?

Chen Yi followed the direction she pointed and gazed attentively.

The flickering firelight illuminated the surroundings, revealing a corridor extending deep inside.

Chen Yi's eyebrows furrowed tightly, suddenly rising in suspicion.

They had walked in and just returned on this segment; he was very clear about this. The corridor's sides were sealed with stone walls and there were absolutely no branches!

Chen Yi stepped forward, reaching out to explore, the Heavenly Eye scanning. It was not an illusion, there truly was a road.

Chen Yi stared at the corridor that appeared out of thin air, thoughts rapidly turning in his mind.

Logically, he should immediately go up to join Han King's men to discuss the next step.

But this suddenly revealed path seemed suspicious... what if there were more crucial clues inside? The Crown Prince's arrangements, Golden Immortal Temple's methods might not be limited to that Jiao Dragon. If left unexplored due to haste, it might be hard to find again later.

He glanced at Donggong Ruo Shu beside him.

"Let's go in and have a look." Chen Yi quickly made a decision, his voice calm, "In case we miss something."

Holding Donggong Ruo Shu, Chen Yi led the way into the narrow side path.

The path was not long.

Yet upon entering, one inexplicably lost the sense of direction and space, the echo of footsteps becoming indistinct, the sense of distance to the stone walls sometimes close, sometimes far. Although it was a straight path, it felt like walking inside a slowly rotating spiral shell, even the passage of time became elusive.

Chen Yi remained silently alert.

After about several dozen breaths, the narrow corridor suddenly expanded. The glow from the torch pushed away a small area of darkness, illuminating a not so large stone chamber, empty except for the center where a figure quietly stood.

The person was facing away from the entrance, the figure slightly thin, clothed in an ordinary Daoist robe, motionless as if having stood here for a long time.

Chen Yi paused, quickly sweeping over the person's back; someone appearing here was already extremely unusual.

He hadn't had the chance to examine closely when Donggong Ruo Shu beside him suddenly exclaimed, followed by blurting out:

"Lu Ying?"