In the vast imperial palace.
Lin Yu's clones scattered around, searching for any hidden entrances.
Suddenly, a sharp cry from behind startled him.
He turned his head and immediately recognized the identity of the person.
She wore a bright yellow dragon robe, slightly feminine in style, with a red, exquisite cloak draped over her shoulders. Her finely coiffed hair was adorned with golden hairpins, and her fair, slender hands wore jade bracelets. Her waist was graceful, and she questioned with a furrowed brow.
This imperial attire almost declared her identity.
"Are you the empress of the Chuyun Kingdom?" Lin Yu asked instinctively, while stealthily ordering his clones to surround her.
Seeing this, the empress's face filled with anger.
"Thief, what are you doing?" she cried out in rage, looking at the approaching clones.
As soon as the words fell, streaks of ethereal blue light appeared in her hands.
"Soul Technique: Soul Severing!"
Instantly, waves of soul strikes flew towards the clones. However, something shocking happened.
The soul strikes caused no damage to the clones.
"Impossible, how could it have no effect?" the empress exclaimed in disbelief.
Disbelieving, she unleashed her soul techniques again.
"Soul Technique: Illusory Soul!"
The result was still no effect.
The clones had no souls, thus they were immune to soul attacks. However, Lin Yu's eyes lit up.
Especially the Illusory Soul technique she used. This was a soul technique Lin Yu had not yet mastered. Did this empress possess a complete soul technique inheritance?
"Capture her!" Lin Yu commanded, and the clones immediately surged forward.
The empress, realizing her soul techniques were useless, panicked. Just as she was about to call for help, she found her mouth sealed by ice, unable to open.
Following that, her entire body was encased in ice.
Lin Yu manipulated the clones to approach and ordered them to spread out around her, before finally unfreezing her.
As soon as the empress recovered, Lin Yu spoke first, "Don't be afraid, I won't kill you."
"Who are you? Why are your soul techniques ineffective?" the empress asked two questions.
However, Lin Yu didn't answer her. Instead, he directly asked, "I am very interested in your soul techniques."
"If you release me, I will give you the soul techniques," the empress said, her eyes flickering.
Lin Yu chuckled, "You are my prisoner now. You have no right to negotiate."
"Hmph, I would rather die than surrender to you."
Seeing her stubbornness, Lin Yu was not in a hurry. He pressed her for information while his clones searched the imperial palace.
The palace was not large, and he had already searched everywhere else. Only this place remained. If there was a secret, it was most likely here.
Suddenly, a clone made a discovery.
With a single sword strike, the clone cut open a hole in the ground.
Lin Yu chuckled, "Your Majesty, what is this place?"
The empress also showed a look of confusion, vaguely recalling something, but she quickly shook her head.
It was a legend, but since the third emperor, this secret had been sealed away, and the inheritance of subsequent emperors had been broken.
"It seems you know something. Come with me to take a look!"
Lin Yu's entities were all clones, with no fear in their hearts. He grabbed the empress's shoulder and leaped into the hole.
The empress cried out in alarm, "Are you trying to die?!"
"Less nonsense!" Lin Yu commanded.
At Lin Yu's rebuke, the empress dared not speak further, as they were now falling rapidly.
She looked up at the sky and saw the others jump down as well.
Her heart was filled with shock. Were these people not afraid of death?
It was terrifying, not only immune to soul techniques but also fearless of death, like the walking dead.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Loud thuds echoed as they landed one after another. The empress, held by Lin Yu, was unharmed.
However, the other clones sustained minor injuries.
"Release flames!" Lin Yu ordered.
Boom!
Instantly, flames appeared in the palms of the clones, illuminating everything around them like daylight.
The empress exclaimed in surprise, "You control elemental power, just like the ferocious beasts."
Ferocious beasts possessed incredible power, the most prominent being elemental power. The humans of this world, however, wielded the power of soul techniques but did not understand elemental power.
They could influence souls, but not matter. Therefore, their physical bodies were fragile, and they could only live for a hundred years.
The ferocious beasts were different. With their powerful physiques, they could even survive for several hundred years, which made humans intensely envious.
Now, seeing these beings wielding elemental power stirred a storm within her.
"Scout ahead!"
The clones immediately fanned out, exploring the surroundings.
Lin Yu finally had time to observe the situation.
It was a massive cavern. The rocks on the walls bore signs of manual excavation, and the passages were numerous, leading to unknown destinations.
"Do you know what this place is?" Lin Yu asked.
This place was hidden beneath the imperial palace, yet Lin Yu could tell from the empress's expression that she was also greatly surprised.
Did she not know about this place?
This was interesting.
"I don't know!"
"Really don't know?"
"I've heard some rumors, but I don't know if they are true."
"What rumors? Tell me."
"Legend has it that a peerless demon is suppressed beneath this mountain, and our Chuyun Kingdom was founded to guard this secret."
"Oh? Interesting."
At this moment, the clones returned, having found the correct path.
Lin Yu said, "Let's go!"
There were many passages, but only one was correct. This artificially excavated cavern had no lamps. Without the illumination of flames, the surroundings were pitch black, with visibility of mere inches.
After walking for a short while, the path suddenly opened up.
Before them lay a colossal cavern. In the center stood a stone tablet over a hundred meters tall. Iron chains were attached around the tablet, as if suppressing something.
"This is... the Soul Suppressing Tablet!" Lin Yu and the empress said in unison.
Indeed, it was a colossal Soul Suppressing Tablet, larger than any he had ever seen.
Lin Yu suddenly realized why there were no Soul Suppressing Tablets in Chuyun Kingdom. The Soul Suppressing Tablet had been hidden here.
With the power of this massive Soul Suppressing Tablet, it was possible it could encompass the entire Chuyun Kingdom, which explained why there were no strange occurrences there.
Understanding this, Lin Yu felt a pang of frustration.
This Soul Suppressing Tablet was here, but he couldn't comprehend it. As he was not his main body, he had no soul and could not use soul vision to see the hidden inscriptions on the tablet.
Damn it, did he have to bring his main body here?
This was too troublesome!
At this moment, the empress beside him suddenly walked forward. Lin Yu was slightly taken aback and did not stop her.
She approached the Soul Suppressing Tablet and took out a jade pendant from her embrace.
As soon as the jade pendant appeared, it emitted streaks of green light.
Crack!!!!
Suddenly, the jade pendant cracked and broke into two halves. However, the emitted light did not disperse. It swirled in the air for a moment before, with a whoosh, it drilled into the Soul Suppressing Tablet.
The next second, something astonishing happened.
Golden characters began to fly out from the stone tablet above the Soul Suppressing Tablet, floating in the air.
"These are unfamiliar characters that record soul techniques!"