Chapter 876 - 705: Departure (2)
But Emperor Xuanwu also knew Qin An’s temperament; he knew that if Qin An learned where the supreme foundation lay, he definitely would not give up easily.
Sure enough, when Emperor Xuanwu finished speaking, Qin An nodded directly and straightforwardly.
"Your Majesty, I want to give it a try. If I succeed, naturally it’ll be a good thing. If I can’t, I’ll give up right away; I won’t risk going in deeper."
He had made up his mind; no matter what, he had to give it a try. If not for anything else, then at least to deal with the Heavenly Demons that would soon descend—he had to make an attempt.
Otherwise, if in the future when he faced the Heavenly Demons he was just a bit short of strength, that would be the greatest regret.
Of course, to him, this did not mean he would act rashly.
He was not a hothead, so he understood what it meant to act within his limits.
If something could not be done and was dangerous enough to threaten his life, he would absolutely not act on impulse.
When Emperor Xuanwu heard what Qin An said, he knew Qin An had already made up his mind.
He thought carefully for a moment, then took from his robe a thumb-sized piece of jade and pushed it toward Qin An across the table.
"This contains a record of the Land of Emptiness. As long as you use Void Essence to draw out the energy inside, you’ll be able to sense the location of the Land of Emptiness through this piece of jade."
"I must remind you, before you go, you must make sufficient preparations. Otherwise, even if you want to come back out, I’m afraid it won’t be so easy."
He no longer tried to stop Qin An. First, no one could talk Qin An out of something once he had set his mind on it. Second, along this road, from rising up in Ding County to now, Qin An had overcome countless impossible predicaments.
For example, the recent Sea of Hope—something even Emperor Xuanwu had thought nearly impossible—yet Qin An had completely reversed the situation.
Emperor Xuanwu also hoped Qin An could forge a supreme foundation, so he knew that his so‑called obstruction would be of no use.
Qin An took the jade and nodded slightly. "In that case, I’ll take my leave first."
It was indeed as Emperor Xuanwu had said: this time he had to prepare thoroughly before entering the Land of Emptiness.
The first thing he needed to prepare was to refine a large number of composite pills. After all, composite pills were an enormous replenishment for him.
He also had to adjust his condition to its best state; tomorrow would be the most suitable time.
After leaving the Imperial Study, Qin An headed straight for the Alchemy Room in the Imperial Palace.
...
Time passed. Day was replaced by night, and night in turn shifted back to day.
When the second day arrived, Qin An got up early, feeling the abundant vigor within his body, and took a deep breath.
"It’s time to set off."
He took out the white jade Emperor Xuanwu had given him from his robe, then slowly poured Void Essence into the thumb-sized piece of white jade.
The instant he injected Void Essence into the jade, it immediately radiated a gentle light.
The light was not dazzling, but it was incomparably warm.
And the moment the light shone out, it immediately merged into Qin An’s whole body.
At the same time, a coordinate suddenly surfaced in Qin An’s heart.
That coordinate was very far from him, yet it clearly appeared in his mind.
"Underground?"
Qin An rubbed his chin, thinking to himself.
The Dragon Vein lay underground to begin with, but that so‑called marker that gave rise to regret was actually being suppressed at the deepest part of the earth by the Dragon Vein; that so‑called Land of Emptiness was naturally that place as well.
Qin An pondered for a moment, then, without hesitation, slowly walked out into the courtyard.
If he wanted to head to where the Dragon Vein was, there was only one way: enter through the same entrance that had been used to excavate the Dragon Vein back then.
And that entrance was in the most hidden and dangerous place within the Imperial Palace of the Daqian Kingdom—the Daqian Mausoleum.
Buried within the Daqian Mausoleum were the Heroic Spirits of the Daqian Kingdom who had died in the war against the former dynasty.
The reason the Daqian Mausoleum had been built above was precisely to work in concert with the Dragon Vein, suppressing the remains of the former dynasty and the Land of Emptiness.
Very soon, Qin An arrived in front of the Daqian Mausoleum.
Countless Heroic Spirits were buried here; it was also one of the most heavily guarded places in the Imperial Palace of the Daqian Kingdom.
If an ordinary person dared to step into it, whether or not he had malicious intent, he would be immediately detained.
But when Qin An arrived, not a single person dared say a word.
Whether it was those on the surface or those hiding in the dark, they all maintained their silence, watching Qin An walk into this mausoleum.
They were not fools; they knew who Qin An was. Within the Daqian Kingdom, including the Imperial Palace, no one dared to block him.
Qin An smoothly bypassed tombstone after tombstone, eventually arriving at the very center of the mausoleum.
There was a well there, with arm-thick iron chains wrapped around it, and on the top of the well sat a stone-carved well cover.
Complex yet beautiful patterns were carved on the well cover, the kind that could not be forgotten after a single glance.
Qin An did not hesitate. He came to the well, raised his hand, and slapped the stone cover, which immediately tilted to one side.
There was no water in the well; it was a boundless darkness, clearly extremely deep.
This was the entrance to the Land of Emptiness. As long as he jumped down from here, he would be able to go there.
After pondering, Qin An began circulating the Void Essence in his body.
The instant the Void Essence circulated, a terrifying Dharma Aspect spread out to envelop his entire body.
The Dharma Aspect was incomparably majestic, filled with a sense of standing between heaven and earth.
After completing all these protections, Qin An drew the Cold Star at his waist.
This time, he did not hesitate at all; he turned and jumped straight into the mouth of the well.
The sound of wind howled past his ears, like blades scraping against the Dharma Aspect.
Other than the sound of the wind, the utter lightless darkness also gradually engulfed Qin An’s entire body.
The Dragon Vein was hidden deep underground, and the time spent falling was incomparably long.
Qin An did not know how long he had been falling, because in the darkness, time itself became blurred, something ordinary people could not perceive.
Only when Qin An began to feel a bit irritable did a slightly abnormal glow appear ahead.
At first the glow was only the size of a grain of rice, then it gradually grew to a normal size, and was still expanding.
The light indicated that that was the destination, and that he was drawing ever closer to the Land of Emptiness.
Qin An’s mind stirred, and he accelerated his descent.
The light grew larger and larger, until finally, when Qin An passed through it, he landed steadily on a patch of wet ground.
The instant he landed, Qin An gripped his long blade and warily scanned his surroundings.
The Land of Emptiness was extremely terrifying even to Emperor Xuanwu, let alone Qin An, who was now only at the initial stage of the Manifest Saint Realm.
If not for the sake of forging a supreme foundation, he would never have gone off adventuring like this.
Once Qin An had adapted to the environment, he finally saw the scene around him.
All around was a vast space.
This was an extremely enormous underground cavern; chunks of jade that emitted light were embedded in the walls, and it was these pieces of jade that became the only source of light amid the darkness.
Besides that, there was a long passageway ahead.
Jade stones also hung on the walls of the passageway, and with a single glance one could see its end.
At the end was a bronze gate, tightly shut with not the slightest gap, yet exuding waves of vexing aura.
It was resentment that could corrode the blood and qi of any living being.
Even from far away, one could still feel its density.
"This should be the entrance."
Qin An took a deep breath and, without hesitation, lifted his foot and walked toward the end.
With every step closer, that dense resentment grew more terrifying, as if it wanted to swallow Qin An alive.
When Qin An arrived before the bronze gate, waves of trembling came from his Dharma Aspect—this was its self‑protection triggered by the corrosion of the resentment.
For the moment, Qin An felt he could still hold out.
Qin An thought for a bit, then raised his hand and pushed open the bronze gate.
As he pushed the bronze gate open, an even denser wave of resentment rushed toward him, and a bottomless entrance appeared ahead.
When Qin An saw the scene before him, he felt as though struck by lightning; he stood there motionless, unable to recover for a long time.
A single thought surfaced in his heart and swiftly took over his mind.
"Could this really be the Land of Emptiness?"