Chapter 296: The Blockade of the Valley of Death

The roofless palace looked like a maze formed by several layers of walls.

Passing through the main gate, Ning Fei walked straight to the center.

In the center of the palace lay a stone bed.

On the stone bed rested a relatively intact human skeleton.

Due to the immense passage of time, many parts of the bones had already weathered away, but their general shape could still be made out.

Seeing this skeleton, the viewers were startled once again.

"Holy crap! There are bones in here!"

"That's so damn scary."

"Is this really how the ancients did things?"

"How many years has it been, and the bones are still there?"

At this time, Ning Fei explained, "Bones are composed of both organic and inorganic matter. The organic matter is protein, which oxidizes over time. The inorganic matter consists of calcium and phosphorus, which maintain the original shape of the bones."

"However, it is still a bit strange."

Ning Fei shone the Glow Stick over it.

Ning Fei had swapped the gem out for an ordinary rock. The gem had originally rested on the skeleton's chest. Judging by the position of the hand bones, Ning Fei deduced that when this person died, their hands had been crossed over their chest, clutching the gem.

There were many fallen stones on the stone platform, all of which were mountain rocks from the avalanche two days ago. Therefore, the gem's disappearance didn't look out of the ordinary.

"Everyone, look at the accessories this person left behind—the bronze ornaments at the waist, the bronze ornaments on the forehead."

"These all fell off after the clothing decomposed, and they are all artifacts from the Zhou Dynasty."

"But these items do not belong to an emperor."

"Instead, they are the decorations of a civil official."

Ning Fei's words stirred up everyone's curiosity once again.

"A civil official's ornaments? Isn't King Mu of Zhou lying here?"

"King Mu of Zhou's tomb was discovered long ago; it's not here."

"Then what's going on?"

"Could it be that the minister supervising the construction wanted to steal the nest? After it was finished, he deceived the emperor and lay here himself."

"Damn, that's highly possible."

"Compared to immortality and ascending to the heavenly palace, what does an imperial decree count for?"

Chatter filled the screen.

Ning Fei took a moment to glance at his mobile phone.

He saw in his private messages that several people were telling him to steal a few artifacts, offering to buy them at a high price.

Antiques from the Zhou Dynasty, due to their ancient age, were all incredibly valuable. Moreover, with the title of the heavenly palace attached to them, they would only be even more expensive.

Of course, Ning Fei knew the price wouldn't be that high.

Because the items left behind weren't some incredible treasures; they were merely the clothing accessories of a civil official. Even if someone wanted them, they would only fetch around a hundred thousand or so.

If there were porcelain, jewelry, jade seals, or gold seals, then they would truly be invaluable.

Ning Fei paid no attention to these people. Leaving aside the fact that he was live-streaming, even if he weren't, he wouldn't care for these accessories.

If one were to say there was truly anything of value in this cave, it would solely be the bronze mirror overhead.

"First, stone chambers and stone carvings for sacrifices were built in the Kunlun Mountains."

"Then, a downward-facing cave was dug into the highest peak of the Kunlun Mountains, using a bronze mirror as a guide in an attempt to lead the soul to the heavenly palace."

"King Mu of Zhou went through quite the ordeal in his quest for immortality."

Ning Fei circled the palace once.

Aside from this palace, there was nothing else in this place.

Numerous torch brackets could be seen on the walls. Ning Fei could easily imagine that in that era, this stone cave was filled with torches.

A few foremen supervising, while a group of slaves continuously excavated the cave.

One could only say the ancients truly had nothing better to do.

With that kind of effort, wouldn't it have been better to dig a few train tunnels?

"This is the full picture of the Kunlun Heavenly Palace."

"A stone grotto hidden within the body of a snowy mountain."

"It's not like in the movies, with floating armies and luxurious palaces."

"There is only a cold skeleton lying in the darkness."

Ning Fei looked around in the dark.

Now that the mystery was revealed, everything became dull and tasteless.

It was like a slice of watermelon—Ning Fei had already eaten the sweetest part, and the rest could be left to those experts.

Although the items in the cave weren't worth much money, they were still somewhat helpful for studying Huaxia's history and culture.

Right now, he wanted to hurry back and study that gem.

"There's nothing else to see. Let's go."

After wandering around a few times, Ning Fei didn't hesitate. Holding the Glow Stick, he went straight outside and began ascending the stairs once again.

The staircase was very long, and Ning Fei walked steadily.

By the time he reemerged, it was nearing dusk.

Ning Fei packed up his things, took out his Snowboards, and headed straight down the mountain.

At this very moment, the news of Ning Fei discovering the Kunlun Heavenly Palace had completely blown up.

The Kunlun Authorities immediately organized an exploration team and researchers to rush to the place where Ning Fei had discovered the heavenly palace.

Reporters and media from all over swarmed the area.

The local Government dispatched police forces, cordoning off the entrance to the Valley of Death and prohibiting anyone without a pass from entering.

Ning Fei's discovery had clearly caught the attention of the higher-ups.

The story was still gaining traction.

Among the exploration team members were two reporters. The higher-ups had even specifically launched a program called "Live Broadcast: King Mu of Zhou's Kunlun Heavenly Palace," which streamed the team's journey from the foot of the mountain to the Kunlun Heavenly Palace.

In other words, an exploration team was setting off again to re-livestream everything Ning Fei had already broadcast, only this time it would be aired on television.

This move could only be considered standard promotional tactics by the Government, but it certainly piggybacked on Ning Fei's popularity.

A television program riding the coattails of a streamer was indeed a rare sight.

Later, when the netizens watched the program, they found that the gap between the exploration team's climb and Ning Fei's was simply too immense.

When Ning Fei climbed the mountain, his face wasn't red, and he wasn't out of breath. From time to time, he would even explain the surrounding environment, as well as the geography and culture of the snow domain to the viewers.

Everyone felt relaxed while broadening their horizons; it was a comfortable viewing experience.

Looking at the exploration team members, on the other hand, each wore incredibly thick clothing and was tethered to one another by a rope. When they spoke, they sounded oxygen-deprived, needing to take a few hits from their oxygen tanks every so often.

Watching their live broadcast to uncover the mystery just made the netizens feel uncomfortable.

This was probably the difference between an immortal and mortals.

Ning Fei's veteran fans had already completely accepted his status as an immortal.

Another day passed, and Ning Fei had finally descended the snowy mountain.

He saw that the outside of the Valley of Death was crowded with people. It seemed the Government had cordoned the area off for protection.

"Making everyone work overtime right around the New Year is my fault."

Seeing this scene, Ning Fei sighed and said.

His words deeply amused the netizens.

"The Government is probably too busy celebrating finding such a relic site. What's a little overtime?"

"But that has nothing to do with the lowly workers at the bottom. If it were me, even if a gold vault was discovered, it wouldn't matter to me. I'd rather go home to see my wife and kids."

"There are definitely shifts, or bonus pay. Plenty of people are more than happy to work overtime, don't worry."

Ning Fei arrived at the exterior. He saw that the entrance to the Kunlun Mountains Valley of Death had been blocked off. Outside, numerous cameramen and reporters armed with an array of cameras were all looking inward, to wait in eager anticipation.

Inside the blockade were some armed police officers and several Government staff members.

"Hello, Mr. Ning. I am the deputy director of the Huaxia Cultural Relics Bureau; my name is Wang Miao."

The moment Ning Fei appeared, a rather chubby man immediately walked over and addressed him with a face full of smiles.

"Hello." Ning Fei greeted him in return, having already anticipated such a scene.

"On behalf of the Government, I would like to thank you for finding a relic site of the Zhou Dynasty," Wang Miao said politely.

"It's nothing. I just enjoy outdoor exploration and taking in the scenery; I only found it by coincidence." Ning Fei only wanted to go back to see his master, his master's wife, and his little junior sister now, so he didn't want to get overly entangled with the Government.

However, as he stepped forward, two men blocked his path.

Ning Fei paused and looked back at Wang Miao.

Wang Miao smiled apologetically and continued, "It's like this, Mr. Ning. We may need to conduct a routine body search on you."

"A body search?" Ning Fei's brows furrowed slightly.

"Yes, please don't misunderstand. It's just like passing through high-speed rail security—checking your bag and clothes to see if you have anything hidden."

Wang Miao added.

Ning Fei asked in return, "I've never heard of someone who discovers a relic site having to be searched after reporting it, nor have I heard of needing to be searched when entering or leaving the Valley of Death."

"It's a rule I just established." Wang Miao remained very gentle, but there was an unquestionable tone in his voice.

Ning Fei's expression remained calm, and he didn't say much else.

He set down his hiking bag, and then a staff member came over with a scanner and swept it over his body.

At the same time, they patted his trouser pockets, waist, and ankles to confirm he wasn't hiding anything.

There wasn't any high-tech scanning equipment here, so Ning Fei's bag was opened by the staff and rummaged through bit by bit.

As they did this, Ning Fei stood to the side, his face devoid of expression.

When everything was settled, Wang Miao, seeing no issues, returned the bag to Ning Fei and said:

"Temple Master Ning, alright, you may go."

"Right, I still have one question to ask you. How exactly did you find the Kunlun Heavenly Palace?"

Hearing this, Ning Fei simply replied at an unhurried pace:

"It's quite simple. I discovered a stone chamber earlier. According to some rules of Daoism's secret arts, I deduced that there should be eight identical stone chambers hidden across the entire Kunlun Mountains. The place corresponding to these eight stone chambers is the Kunlun Heavenly Palace."

"You're saying there are eight of those stone chambers?" Hearing Ning Fei's words, Wang Miao's eyes completely lit up.

This was a major discovery.

If he could find the eight stone chambers while in office, on top of the Kunlun Heavenly Palace, his status and treatment might rise by several levels.

"Mr. Ning, then where exactly are these eight stone chambers?"

By this time, Ning Fei had already walked past the blockade.

Without turning his head, he simply tossed back a single sentence:

"Your search abilities are so impressive."

"Go search for them yourself."

Immediately after, he strode straight away.

Wang Miao's expression turned ugly. He wanted to stop Ning Fei, but he knew he didn't have the authority to do so. Thus, he could only stand awkwardly in place, his heart filling with growing regret.