Chapter 170: The Mysterious Mausoleum of the First Emperor (Part Two)

Wujue let out a deep roar at the sight, and the powerful chilling Qi condensed within his body surged outward, instantly forming a massive shockwave that froze a large portion of the terracotta guards closing in from the surroundings.

Following that, Xiao Han and Red Rose each made their moves. Utilizing unbelievably swift movement techniques, the two of them broke through to the sides, each displaying their unique skills as they searched for a breakthrough to escape this place.

"Quickly, this place is no place to linger. Find a way out!" Princess Anyi also threw punches, smashing the surrounding terracotta guards to pieces before spinning and charging forward.

They reached the grand doors in a flash, and just as she was about to open them to look outside, a sharp arrow came whistling through the air from behind. It was the First Emperor, who had stood up from the dragon throne and suddenly thrown his sword.

Seeing the tip of the sword about to pierce Anyi's back, Wujue suddenly leaped forward with ferocious speed, appearing less than half a meter behind her and catching the precious sword with a sweep of his hand.

Unexpectedly, a peculiar black Qi gushed out from the blade's surface, and Wujue immediately felt countless dense, crawling things darting into his palm.

It was a virus similar to that of the Heaven-Slaying Tribe. He had not expected the First Emperor to be a zombie controlled by the virus as well. The ice armor on Wujue's palm instantly pushed outward forcefully, driving that streak of black Qi a full half-foot away.

"It's... useless!" On the high platform, the First Emperor slowly stepped forward, appearing to issue a command with a gesture.

Then, that sharp sword in mid-air increased its force by several degrees, piercing straight through Wujue's palm.

"Ah! What on earth is this thing?" Feeling the opponent's extraordinary power, which seemed ready to devour him at any moment, Wujue inevitably heightened his vigilance.

Immediately, the mental cultivation method of the *Marrow-Washing Classic* arose leisurely. As the blood circulation within his body surged, it unconsciously began to absorb these toxic entities that had drilled into his palm and neutralize them.

However, that toxic Qi was extraordinary. Piercing into Wujue's body, it brought a heart-piercing pain, and Wujue felt the meridians of his left palm being on the verge of assimilation by it at any moment.

In a split second, the crystalline icy hue of his right palm faded, replaced instead by a charred blackness.

Could this be the secret behind the creation of the terracotta guards?

A sudden flash of understanding struck Wujue. With a fierce exertion of strength, he swung his left hand and decisively severed his own right arm, showing the resolution of a warrior breaking his wrist to preserve a sliver of life. He leaned against Princess Anyi's back and said, "We cannot fight them head-on. Everyone fall back, watch out for attacks from the toxic entities."

Upon seeing this, Xiao Han suddenly projected a beam of mirror light from his chest, which transformed into a sharp, massive saber in mid-air and swept with a boom toward the First Emperor's position.

With a loud bang, the saber light came to an abrupt halt right in front of the First Emperor. The opponent reached out and flicked the blade's edge, instantly staining Xiao Han's mirror light entirely a charred black.

What terrifying power! Red Rose was stunned by this force almost at the very instant she was about to step forward.

As for Xiao Han, he was blasted flying several zhang away by that black power.

Princess Anyi did not hesitate then. She directly hoisted Wujue onto her back and fled desperately. Charging out of the palace in a panic, the three of them once again collided with the swarming terracotta guards outside, plunging into a chaotic melee.

"There are too many enemies! What should we do with Red Rose still inside?" Xiao Han asked, voicing his concern while pulling himself together to fight again.

Wujue adapted to his newly severed right arm and said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do, we can't worry about so much right now. Let's break through the encirclement first and strive to reunite with the others before talking."

Thinking back, neither Vajra Man nor Plum Blossom Heroine, whom they had encountered earlier, were anywhere to be found. He wondered if they had met with disaster together with Rada when entering.

Right at this moment, a burst of roars suddenly echoed from the western passage, and immediately a horde of zombies was seen surging out, unexpectedly clashing in a chaotic battle with the terracotta guards.

This exact moment provided Wujue and his companions with a breathing space. They immediately exercised caution, evaded the conflict, found a way out, and temporarily broke into the eastern passage.

The further inward they went, the more cavernous it became, filled with billowing dust. Everyone could not help holding their breath, and Anyi couldn't help asking Wujue, "How is it? Your injury?"

Wujue shook his head and said nothing.

Suddenly, figures flickered ahead. A pair of palace doors opened automatically, and out walked a terracotta guard standing eight feet tall, clutching a sharp sword in his embrace and glaring with furious eyes.

" scoundrels, how dare you disturb the Imperial Carriage!"

The opponent seemed enraged that Wujue and his company had forced their way in, disrupting the peace of the imperial tomb. Without another word, he thrust forward with his sword.

Princess Anyi took the lead, stepping forward with a punch to meet the opponent's sharp sword before fighting back with all her might.

Normally, with her divine strength, she could instantly topple four or five charging warhorses on the spot. But for some reason, upon entering this underground palace, her strength gradually faded away.

After trading just a few rounds, she was struck heavily in the back by a punch from her opponent, crashing sprawling to the ground and unable to get back up.

Seeing this, Xiao Han and Wujue immediately rushed forward. Before Xiao Han could even get close to the opponent, he crashed to the ground as well, his entire body enveloped in a shroud of black Qi. Meanwhile, Wujue's left-handed strike met the adversary's sharp sword.

With a clanging crash, his chest was heavily slashed by a sword. Wujue instantly felt like a deflated ball, collapsing limply onto the ground. Only then did he sense a force within his body beginning to riot uncontrollably, hindering any attempt at resistance.

It was the toxic Qi in this underground imperial palace that had unknowingly infected everyone, causing them to slowly lose all their strength.

Wujue reached out helplessly, grabbing the opponent's lower leg and pulling with all his might until the tall terracotta guard lifted Xiao Han in his arms, grabbed Wujue's arm as well, and dragged them forward.

Step by step, they were hauled into the palace ahead.

The interior of the hall was incomparably vast, devoid of anything except weapon racks placed here and there.

The terracotta guard threw Anyi, along with the earlier Vajra Man and Red Rose, all into this space. He then lined them up one by one and produced a strange box, seemingly preparing to perform some trick on them.

Right at that moment, dozens of terracotta guards pushed the doors open from outside, escorting that arrogant First Emperor as he grandly entered.

He first glanced at the terracotta guard a few times, appearing to give a few instructions in a language Wujue and the others could not understand. Following that, the terracotta guard knelt on the ground, seemingly receiving some directives, and then turned around to continue executing them.

As for the First Emperor, he sat upon a dragon throne carried in by his subordinates, quietly observing from the side.

The terracotta guard began to summon a dense mass of black Qi from the box, subsequently activating four mechanisms from the four corners within the hall. Instantly, several dragon mouths opened on a dozen pillars around the grand hall, vomiting a peculiar liquid that eventually scattered onto the ground.

Then, within the surrounding waterways, the liquid slowly converged at one spot and finally flowed into a massive pool right in front of Wujue and the others.

The terracotta guard began to fuse the black Qi from the box with the liquid in the pool. Under the summoning of his hands, that spiritual liquid, contaminated by the black Qi, was ultimately condensed into clusters of armor-like equipment.

Immediately, several terracotta guards filed out one after another, stepping forward to hoist Xiao Han and Red Rose into the air. The commanding terracotta guard began to encase the two of them in the armor, and instantly, Xiao Han and Red Rose began to struggle.

"No! What are you doing? I don't want to become a terracotta guard, no!" Red Rose roared angrily, yet she was currently completely devoid of strength and unable to display her master thief skills.

As for Xiao Han, he could only grit his teeth in anger and strive to gather the mirror light on his chest. Just a tiny bit more power would be enough to generate a trace of resistance.

Even if it were just the smallest bit of resistance, Xiao Han, as the Mirror Hero, could never allow himself to simply give up like that!

Holding his breath and struggling to muster his final fighting spirit, Xiao Han's face turned red as he made his final struggle.

The divine mirror on his chest flickered with a faint, chilling gleam, appearing so desolate within the pitch-black palace.

It flickered weakly a few times, only to be finally pressed down by a pitch-black palm, blotting out all the light.

Hope was no more!

Xiao Han's body was ultimately enveloped by the black armor.

Wujue watched helplessly as his close friend was transformed by the adversary into a soldier no different from the terracotta guards present in the hall.