Chapter 502: Chapter 223: Time’s Up, Double Kill

"This is so strange!"

Cao Mingjie carefully inspected all the items inside the Traveling Palace. "How can a Traveling Palace this big be completely empty?"

"They set up such a complex Restriction outside, and all for what? To protect this one weird pearl?"

"Hey, I think there’s writing on the tray."

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed an unfamiliar, ancient-style character carved beneath the Treasure Pearl.

"This looks like the same script from the stone monument at the entrance."

Hearing this, Ma Wenbo leaned in. "But none of us can read the Ancient Spirit Language."

Yu Zhenyang chimed in, "This is the first I’m hearing of it, too."

"When it comes to this stuff, you have to hand it to the Cultivators from the Major Sects. They have deeper foundations, access to more secret knowledge, and the time to actually sit down and read."

"Not like us. We’re so busy scrambling for Spirit Stones every day that we barely have enough time to cultivate."

In reality, the main issue was that ordinary Cultivators simply had no way to access such things.

In the Scripture Pavilion of some Major Sect, a dusty, ignored tome might be one of the Ancient Texts that had been lost to the outside world for years.

This kind of invisible accumulation could sometimes have a major impact at a critical moment.

Xiao Chen had always considered this important. When he had the chance, he would definitely make it a point to supplement his own learning.

’I just wonder which sect is most open to accepting new disciples,’ he thought.

"I think I know what this character is."

Qiu Fanghui, who had been looking all around since they entered the Traveling Palace, suddenly spoke up. "If I’m not mistaken, it’s most likely the character for ’chicken.’"

Huh?

Ma Wenbo was instantly curious. "Mr. Qiu, how did you figure that out?"

Qiu Fanghui immediately cleared his throat. "Ahem. Look, the bronze knockers on the palace gates are shaped like a celestial rooster heralding the dawn."

"Atop the Hua Biao standing outside, there’s a carving of a golden rooster standing on one leg. Inside, the vases, screens, incense burners, and even the octagonal palace lanterns are either pure white or decorated with chicken patterns or characters."

"I’m guessing all these things are related to the items placed in this main hall."

He made sure to add, "Of course, that’s just a guess. I could be wrong."

Hearing this, Xiao Chen glanced around at the furnishings again and saw that they did indeed follow this pattern.

’This theory is interesting,’ he thought. ’If the Traveling Palaces here are really set up according to specific themes, they probably hide some deeper secret.’

He immediately put away the Treasure Pearl. "Come on. We’ll know for sure if we go check the next Traveling Palace."

By now, other Cultivators had made it through the narrow path and arrived in the area of the Traveling Palaces.

However, the ones who had arrived this quickly were either from major powers or were powerful Cultivators in their own right.

More than half of them chose to follow the main path, heading straight for the core area.

Of the remaining few, many gave up and headed deeper into the complex after discovering how intricate the Restrictions on the Traveling Palaces and side halls were.

As a result, there were only a few scattered Loose Cultivators near Xiao Chen’s group, and they kept a wary distance.

They actively avoided the group of five.

"Hey, look to the right! The carving on top of that Hua Biao is a celestial hound devouring the sun."

Cao Mingjie observed excitedly. "The one on the left is a Monkey Catching the Moon! It looks like there’s a pattern."

"SHHH!"

Ma Wenbo quickly pulled him back. "Don’t shout! The walls have ears."

But it was clear they were all getting excited.

’It seems there really is a secret here,’ they thought. ’If so, maybe rushing to the core area was the wrong move after all.’

"Golden Light Taoist, which one should we open first?"

Yu Zhenyang asked, subconsciously deferring to him.

"Let’s start with the one on the right."

Xiao Chen pointed casually. "We’ll work our way from right to left. That way, we won’t have to double back."

"An excellent point, Golden Light Taoist!"

Qiu Fanghui, not missing a beat, was the first to chime in with his agreement.

Using the Yin Yang Separation Forbidden Array, the five of them successfully opened the second Traveling Palace. As expected, the arrangement of the furnishings inside was similar to the first.

And on the final tray sat another Treasure Pearl, identical in appearance to the first.

"So this one must be the character for ’dog,’ right?"

Ma Wenbo took out a brush and paper and copied the Ancient Spirit Language character.

He made three copies on the spot, handing one to Xiao Chen and another to Qiu Fanghui.

"We haven’t collected them all yet. You hold on to it for now."

Since someone was helping to record, Xiao Chen didn’t refuse the paper. He simply waved a hand for now. "It won’t be too late to talk after we’ve copied them all."

"Let’s try to open all twelve Traveling Palaces and record everything."

Qiu Fanghui hastily agreed. "An excellent point, Golden Light Taoist!"

...

The Restrictions on the Traveling Palaces were exceedingly complex, and more and more Cultivators were arriving.

So by the time Xiao Chen’s group collected their third Treasure Pearl, they saw other groups of Cultivators working to break the seals on the remaining nine Traveling Palaces.

There were several other teams, and some had even posted specific Cultivators to stand guard.

"Oh no. I think that’s a team from the Eight Great Families over there."

Cao Mingjie squinted, trying to get a better look. "I saw their leader in the West Market the other day. I think he’s from the Huo Family."

"Should we go explore the side halls back there instead?"

He, for one, definitely didn’t want a conflict to break out.

Ma Wenbo, however, gazed into the distance. "Looks like there’s a lone Loose Cultivator by the main path. Why don’t we go run him off?"

"We don’t know what these Treasure Pearls are for yet, but they’re bound to be important later."

"I think we should collect as many as we can."

Offending a lone Loose Cultivator was trivial by comparison. The Eastern Domain was a vast place; they would probably never see each other again.

This time, Yu Zhenyang didn’t hesitate for even a second. "Golden Light Taoist, what’s our next move?"

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