Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1121 - 1121 0656 Burned Bridges_1

Chapter 1121: Chapter 0656: Burned Bridges_1 Chapter 1121: Chapter 0656: Burned Bridges_1 Chapter 0656: No Way Back

As time passed, the number of tombs within the Saint’s Tomb had diminished, and although Emperor Jianwu and the others could not penetrate to the center of the Saint’s Tomb to count how many tombs remained, they could roughly estimate that there were only a few tombs left, perhaps three or four, or maybe five or six.

Despite the small number of remaining tombs, each one was extremely dangerous.

These were not simple graves dug in the ground where a coffin was placed and then buried under the earth, forming a mound of dirt. In fact, each tomb here can be regarded as an underground palace, occupying an area ranging from a hundred or so square meters to several acres, or even tens to hundreds of acres.

The underground palaces were filled with various restrictions, magical formations, mechanisms, and traps; they brimmed with danger. To explore these palaces meant taking great risks; a single misstep could cost one’s life, potentially gaining nothing in the end.

The Zhao family had discovered the Imperial Family Secret Territory two to three thousand years ago. Initially, the frequency of tomb excavation here was the highest. As time went on, the frequency decreased, and now it had been two to three hundred years since the last excavation in the Saint’s Tomb.

In all this time, not a single new Saint’s Tomb had been successfully excavated. The Princes and their subordinates sent out exploration teams time and again, but the furthest progress they could make was clearing the outermost obstacles of some tombs. They hadn’t even caught sight of the main gates of the underground palaces, let alone acquiring the various precious burial items within them.

Even so, each time the Princes organized a team, they paid a terribly heavy price, with some expeditions ending in complete annihilation, leaving no survivors to speak of what dangers they encountered in Saint’s Valley.

After numerous such incidents, each Prince began to grow fearful, and none wished to personally partake in the expeditions unless absolutely necessary. Without the lead of a Prince, the other cultivators of the Imperial Family Secret Territory either lacked the privilege or the willingness to enter the Saint’s Tomb.

Without entering the Saint’s Tomb, the burial items within it could not be excavated and transformed into cultivation resources to integrate into the Imperial Family Secret Territory. As a result, cultivation resources in the Territory became relatively scarce. Fortunately, the Spirit Qi of the territory was decent enough that it couldn’t satisfy every cultivator’s needs, but at least it kept them from starving; thus, throughout the years, no major riots had erupted in the Territory.

Of course, the Princes knew that this was not a sustainable solution. Relying solely on the natural Spirit Qi and the cultivation resources they had accumulated could maintain their current state, but further progress was exceedingly difficult. A clear example was Emperor Jianwu. Lacking more cultivation resources from the Saint’s Tomb, Emperor Jianwu could not gain the means to further extend his lifespan. He had no choice but to hide in his small realm, where he used this gloomy and sunless method as a chance to cling to life.

This time, Emperor Jianwu and four other Princes joined forces. Although they were largely pushed forward by Qi Tian and acted out of compulsion, in some ways, it was also their voluntary choice. They hoped that by combining the strength of their five families, they could push a little further into the Saint’s Tomb, search for more cultivation resources, and find the hope to extend their lifespans. They were all terrified by the dangers within the Saint’s Tomb; if not for Qi Tian taking the lead, none of them would have been willing to take such a risk.

This exploration was full of uncertainties. They hadn’t anticipated encountering Shen Ziyu as a roadblock so soon after entering Saint’s Valley, and they certainly hadn’t expected Qi Tian to kill Shen Ziyu, thus offending Manager Chen—the last person within the entire Imperial Family Secret Territory they could afford to upset. This left them no room to retreat, and regardless of the risks ahead, they could only grit their teeth and press forward.

But this was not the extent of the variables. What troubled them now was not this incident since it had already happened and worrying about it further would be useless. Their current biggest concern was the direction of the fork they now stood on.

Before entering the Saint’s Tomb, Emperor Jianwu, Emperor Yonghe, and a few other Princes had engaged in several in-depth discussions, eventually choosing a particular fork in the road. They believed this chosen path to be the safest and potentially home to the opportunities they were hoping for. However, to their surprise, they discovered that Manager Chen had already stepped onto the fork they had preselected before them. This meant that the safest path was no longer an option, and they were forced to take another relatively less safe detour—and they were already on one such path.