Surprised, it wasnāt just Li Yan.
The Soldier and Horse Statues in the cave stood in formation, their spears and halberds gleaming. No one knew what method was used, but they hadnāt faded at all.
Lifelike, with bright armor and an intense killing aura, they seemed like a squad of Great Qinās fierce soldiers guarding the place, watching them coldly.
"Damn it..."
Sha Lifei felt a suffocating pressure in his chest and swore, "Why are there so many terracotta figures? They look creepy."
"These arenāt terracotta figures."
Li Yan shook his head and said, "These are the Emperorās Soldier and Horse Statues."
Sha Lifei didnāt recognize them, which was normal.
In this world, surrounding the Emperorās Mausoleum, there resided an ancient Magic Vein called the Lishan Sect, dedicated to guarding the Emperorās Mausoleum.
Therefore, the Soldier and Horse Statues were not yet known to the public.
"The Emperorās Soldier and Horse Statues?"
Sha Lifei was stunned, turning his head to Li Yan.
"I vaguely heard someone mention it." Li Yan casually brushed it off and then frowned, looking ahead, "Things like these are only found in the Emperorās Mausoleum. This place is Wushan, who put them here?"
Wang Daoxuan, on the other hand, pondered, "If they are items from the tomb, then they are sacrificial dolls. Although the Zhou cut down Shang, and Zhou Gong established rites opposing human sacrifice, using straw spirit and dolls instead, customs were hard to eradicate. Until the Spring and Autumn and Warring States, it was finally reversed."
"Such large-scale clay dolls must have been prepared in advance, with quite a scale. They should have been refined during Emperor Shiās reign..."
Sha Lifei scratched his head, "Daoist, please speak plainly. We donāt understand these things."
Li Yan glanced over, "Listen to the Daoist."
Thereās something strange here; if they donāt figure out the reason, something might happen.
Wang Daoxuan nodded and continued, "This place used to be Kuizi Country. Due to some matters, Chu State annihilated it under the pretext of not worshiping the ancestral fire god Zhurong.
Later, Qin State sent Shu General Zhang Ruo to attack Chu, and ordered Bai Qi to raid Yingdu in Chu, burning Yiling, causing the place to change hands."
On the side, Bai Huan interjected, "Thatās right, the Goddess Palace was destroyed due to the war at the time. The legacy was once broken, but later someone dreamt into the Goddess Palace, and it was resumed."
Hearing this, Li Yan suddenly recalled what happened earlier, and realized: "The Qin peopleās ancestor was the lesser known White Emperor, who was called the Fierce Spirit in Chu Territory, controlling disease and calamity..."
"No wonder they didnāt let me dream into the Goddess Palace."
Upon hearing this, Wang Daoxuan reflected, "It seems that when the Goddess Palace was destroyed back then, the followers and believers hid here, but were discovered by Emperor Shi, who exterminated them and tampered with some things."
"The Blood Jade Cong must have been hidden here since then too."
Saying this, he looked ahead, formed the Yang Jue with his fingers, his eyes faintly glowing, carefully observing the Soldier and Horse Statues ahead.
"These things indeed have problems!"
He paused and solemnly said, "This place is a Cave Heaven Spirit Aperture. Innate Gang Qi gathers here, but is blocked by these clay statues. Although the Gang Qi has disappeared, a killing intent is hidden..."
While speaking, he had been looking around, then picked up a stone, and threw it towards the Soldier and Horse Statues formation.
Something terrifying happened.
The stone barely approached when it instantly shattered, as if being continuously shredded by invisible blades, falling to the ground as dust.
"Good heavens, what kind of mechanism is this?"
Sha Lifei drew a sharp breath of air.
On the side, Wu Ba was even more frightened, shrinking his neck.
They almost touched it earlier, thankfully Wang Daoxuan stopped them.
As for Li Yan, he showed a surprised expression.
He smelled a familiar aroma, sharp and fierce, exactly the same as the White Emperorās Fortune back then.
Rustle!
At this moment, the passageway behind began to collapse with sliding stones.
Those demonic creatures, the "Water Tiger," were nearly indestructible. Let alone the rubble-built passage, even complete stone walls couldnāt hold them for long.
"Let me try..."
Li Yan, with a thoughtful expression, moved his hand closer, while storing God, feeling the Innate Geng Metal Qi within the Divine Palace.
Ding!
Just as he got close, a crisp sound erupted around his fingers.
It seemed like two invisible blades collided and dissipated simultaneously.
"I see..."
Li Yan immediately understood the operation of this formation.
This place used some unknown Magic Method, capable of controlling Geng Metal Energy.
Innate Astral Bane originally is only divided into Yin and Yang, but with Innate Geng Metal Qi as a guide, it can be driven.
Like an army having a general, the vast Innate Astral Qi of Wushan would attack simultaneously.
Not to mention tangible objects, even intangible yin souls would be shattered.
Simultaneously, at the moment of Geng Metal Energyās explosion, Li Yan could faintly hear, within the nearby Soldier and Horse Statues, sounds of battle cries.
As if soldiers were desperately fighting.
These Soldier and Horse Statues were the source of Innate Geng Metal Qi. Each contained not much, but combined into a formation, the power was significant.
"You guys hold on!"
Seeing the stone passage behind vibrating more violently, Li Yan didnāt have time to explain, stepping forward and hugging a clay figure.
With a strong lift, Li Yan was shocked.
These clay figures seemed to have metal objects hidden inside, heavier than a boulder of the same size.
Fortunately, his body was wrapped in strength into a sphere, capable of divine power, steadily lifting and placing them aside.
Clang clang clang!
Surrounding sounds of metal clashing echoed, but Li Yan ignored it.
One statue, two statues, three statues...
He moved quickly, soon opening a path.
"Quickly, pass through!"
With Li Yanās shout, everyone hurriedly went through the Soldier and Horse Statues formation.
Then, Li Yan replaced them one by one.
Bang!
Just after placing the last Soldier and Horse Statue, the blocked passage finally exploded, with numerous demonic creatures pouring in.
Swish!
The first "Water Tiger" to rush into the Soldier and Horse Statues formation was immediately dismembered in the air, its scales, flesh, and bones turning into a pool of pulp.
But these things seemed to have no intelligence.