Chapter 130 of Volume Three: The Imperial Palace!

Both of them assumed Yu Mu was a bear spirit, and since neither had ever seen a tree demon before, they were not only shocked but deeply curious.

An Shu, in particular, narrowed her eyes into slits at the sight of the branches laden with large, succulent peaches, unable to suppress the urge to swallow her saliva. The entire space was filled with the fragrance of ripe peaches and the sweet scent of peach blossoms. She longed to climb the tree immediately and feast.

Even the Earth Bear could not help but salivate, muttering, "Is this the kind of immortal peach that saved my life?"

He had long heard the story of the three life-saving peaches from An Shu, that chatterbox, and he had clearly felt the immense benefits the fruit had on him. His current state was inseparable from the energy he had absorbed from those peaches—energy that was still playing a vital role in his recovery, or else his wounded arm and spirit would not be as stable as they were now.

"It's too dry here. Pour some water for me," Yu Mu said to the mesmerized An Shu after settling his roots.

Upon hearing this, An Shu rolled her eyes and replied with a giggle, "Alright! But you have to trade me for some peaches. Hee hee!"

Laughing, An Shu circled the base of the tree with water and began to pour. The clear water moistened the soil, which was slowly absorbed by the tree roots, providing a constant flow of nutrients to nourish Yu Mu’s body.

"Huh? What’s going on?"

Before long, as Yu Mu absorbed the nutrients, he suddenly felt something was amiss. The water seeping into the ground was not moving downward, but flowing laterally.

Yu Mu immediately extended his roots in the direction of the water flow. Sure enough, he found that the soil on that side was much looser than elsewhere. The further he reached, the more pronounced it became. Having had experience with such things, Yu Mu realized there must be a hollow space in that direction.

His roots could reach no further, so he released his Yin spirit to probe along the soft soil. After about a dozen meters, the Yin spirit was blocked by a wall. The wall was extremely thick, and the Yin spirit could not pass through. With no other choice, he explored up, down, left, and right, only to discover that the wall was so vast that he could not find an edge.

Helpless, he recalled his Yin spirit and resumed his human form.

The Earth Bear and An Shu, who were meditating, were startled when they saw Yu Mu return to human form. "You’ve recovered already? That’s too fast!"

Yu Mu shook his head and smiled. "It’s not that fast. I just made a strange discovery..." He then recounted what he had experienced.

The two were filled with amazement and suspicion. Yu Mu led them to the wall and said, "It’s in this direction. Let’s dig and see what’s going on."

As he spoke, he transformed back into his bear form and swiped a claw, pulling away a large pile of earth. Unexpectedly, the Earth Bear pulled him aside and said, "Leave this kind of work to me."

He raised one arm and, with a *thud*, plunged it into the wall, burying his entire arm within. Then, with a sudden tremor of his arm, he pulled it back. With a loud *boom*, he had gouged out a hole over a meter in diameter. The effectiveness was far superior to Yu Mu’s clawing.

The two watched in secret awe. No wonder he didn't use magical artifacts—all his prowess resided in his hands. It was a pity he had lost one arm, which effectively halved his capabilities. Both felt a pang of regret for the Earth Bear.

After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, a metallic clanging sound echoed from the hole, followed by the Earth Bear’s voice: "Haha! There really is a wall. I’ve reached it."

They entered the tunnel and saw that it was seven or eight meters deep, ending at a wall of pure, snowy white. They touched it and realized it was paved with white crystal stone. Such a material was incredibly expensive; one could only imagine the cost of such a wall.

Yu Mu tried striking it with his palm, but only managed to shake off a few fragments. "Wow, it's so hard!" he exclaimed, cradling his vibrating, painful hand.

The wall had to be incredibly thick. What could it possibly be protecting? It certainly wasn't anything ordinary!

Excitement flickered in the eyes of all three. The Earth Bear said eagerly, "Move aside, let me."

He rolled up his sleeves, braced his stance, and with a flash of yellow light in his palm, threw a punch. With a *thud*, the nearly one-meter-thick stone wall was punched through.

"Incredible!" the two exclaimed in unison.

This was the cultivation level a Nascent Soul stage expert should have. Seeing this punch, Yu Mu realized how far he still had to go. No matter how good his techniques were, they could not bridge the gap in cultivation realms.

The Earth Bear threw several more punches, creating an opening large enough for them to pass through. They filed in and found that the entrance was located halfway up a wall, two or three meters above the ground.

They jumped down and pulled out light crystals, only to be stunned by the sight before them. A vast, magnificent palace stretched out as far as their eyes could see.

The palace was breathtakingly grand, easily the size of a basketball arena and twenty to thirty meters high. Every part of the hall was constructed from white crystal stone, shimmering brilliantly under the light of their crystals.

"Could this be the legendary palace of the ancient kingdom?" the three gasped simultaneously.

As they looked around, the reliefs carved into the walls provided the answer. A series of continuous sculptures depicted legendary tales—battles, peaceful times, expansion, and decline—vividly portraying the rise and fall of an ancient civilization.

There was no doubt: this was the palace of that mysteriously vanished ancient kingdom.

Beyond the pictures, the walls and ceiling were covered in a complex and intricate system of Daoist scripts, no less sophisticated than the *Rejuvenation Art* in the Saint King's Tomb.

"This is a sealing formation! No wonder no one could find this place for thousands of years; it was masked by this. But why has it stopped running? Has the energy been exhausted?" The knowledgeable Earth Bear immediately identified the cause but remained puzzled.

"Look, there's a hole in the gate!" An Shu suddenly exclaimed.

They followed her gaze and saw a square-meter opening in the palace gate. Yu Mu stepped forward to inspect it and found that the stone shards were fresh and the soil around the opening was loose.

*Could this hole have been opened recently?* Yu Mu was shocked. *Yet the palace looks as if no one has ever stepped foot inside.*

The Earth Bear, however, stared blankly at the Daoist scripts in the hall, lamenting, "This sealing formation must be a supreme Daoist art. It’s a pity it’s too vast; we have no chance of comprehending it."

Yu Mu agreed with the Earth Bear. Back in the Saint King's Tomb, he had been part of the formation's operation and still needed eight months to fully understand the *Rejuvenation Art*. These scripts would likely take a hundred years just to memorize, let alone comprehend.

They all felt a sense of regret but were powerless to do anything, hoping only for a future opportunity to return and study it.

Shifting their gaze from the scripts, they looked around the hall. Four giant coiled-dragon pillars supported the structure. At the front, a flight of stairs led to a throne, with a relief of two dragons playing with a pearl at the center.

Most spectacular was a giant stone statue behind the throne, nearly as tall as the hall itself. It held a long spear pointing toward the heavens, exuding an imposing, majestic aura of defiance.

Strangely, a stone coffin was displayed in the center of the hall, appearing quite out of place. The coffin was also enormous, carved with a hundred beasts and guarded by dragon heads.

The dragon was the most prominent totem here. The dragon shapes were exactly the same as the totem worshipped by Yu Mu’s own people in his previous life—not at all the winged lizards of Western legends.

Seeing these dragon statues in another world brought a sense of familiarity. Yu Mu curiously examined them, feeling that the dragon forms were so lifelike, their expressions and postures so vivid, that they seemed as if they had been carved from real living creatures.

The three patrolled the hall but found no sign of the legendary treasures, only the white crystal stone and the reliefs. Their eyes simultaneously converged on the central stone coffin.

The Earth Bear stepped forward, grabbed the lid, and pushed with all his might. With a series of creaking sounds, the stone coffin slowly opened.

"Ah!"

As the coffin was halfway open, all three were startled, and An Shu shrieked. It turned out the stone coffin was merely an outer shell, and inside lay a crystal coffin!

Inside the crystal coffin lay a person who looked incredibly lifelike. Their face was still full and rosy, not appearing dead at all. Judging by their appearance, the person was in their forties, with a square face, arched eyebrows, and a light beard. Even in death, they still exuded an aura of profound righteousness.