The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 683: Mysterious White Fog_1

The villagers had all been relocated, and now the entire village resembled a huge construction site.

Hong Fang Zhenren had gone to communicate with various parties, discussing how they should proceed with the entrance and whether to coordinate with the archaeological team.

This matter was handled more conveniently by Hong Fang Zhenren. Li Qing, happy to be at leisure, led Zi Ling and Shisan to the spot they last entered the Underground Palace, following his memory.

"Brother Li, they’ve demolished this house," Shisan remarked.

Li Qing nodded, "That house was exactly above the Bronze Gate. They would have to dig tunnels like we did, which is too troublesome."

What lay exposed before them now was the massive Bronze Gate, leading straight into the Underground Palace.

Furthermore, Li Qing had just noticed that there were at least four such sites in the village, set up with scaffolding and arrangements like this one.

It seemed the archaeological team had discovered other entrances to Underground Palaces.

"Brother Li, do you think that cat... is it inside right now?" Shisan whispered.

Li Qing shook his head and chuckling softly said, "Who could be sure about that? That fellow appears and disappears unpredictably. Even if it’s hiding inside, others might not be able to find it. Come on, let’s go check out other places."

Since there had been a casualty here, Li Qing felt it was better to be cautious and careful.

To understand all that should be known, to prevent trouble before it arises.

As they were about to leave, Hong Fang Zhenren quickly returned.

His expression was grave as he approached Li Qing and whispered, "Fellow Daoist, the situation here is not simple, the information we received earlier was incomplete. These people describe things in a muddled way, unclearly. When I listened carefully just now, it turns out they might have encountered Yin Soldiers!"

"What was reported earlier mentioned encountering black mist and so on. But black mist and Yin Soldiers, are they the same thing?"

Li Qing’s brow furrowed instantly. Setting aside everything else, the mere mention of Yin Soldiers was unsettling.

"Master Daoist, are they hard to deal with?" Li Qing inquired, this being his main concern.

"Dealing with them isn’t too complex, but," Hong Fang Zhenren said in a deep voice, "the trouble is, where Yin Soldiers are nurtured, there must also be other monstrosities."

"Yin Soldiers are a result of the combination of opportune time and location; soldiers buried in sacrifice transformed by a dense aura of malevolence. With your Thunder Method, subduing them would not be difficult."

"However, the places that can give rise to Yin Soldiers are surely lands of intense Yin and Sha energy, and who knows what kind of creature has been nurtured inside."

Li Qing’s head began to ache at once; this was indeed no simple matter.

"Master Daoist, what’s the archaeological team’s stance now?" Li Qing asked.

"We explore the path ahead and clear the entire area; afterward, they’ll send people down," said Hong Fang Zhenren.

Li Qing rubbed his temples and said with a wry smile, "No matter how powerful the entity inside, we’ll have to go in. Master Daoist, how about this, we slow down the pace, clearing it piece by piece."

"That’s my thought as well. Let’s not rush deeper; after completely clearing an area, we’ll take further steps based on the situation," Hong Fang Zhenren mentioned, "In any case, a place with Yin Soldiers is never to be taken lightly, remember not to get separated."

Li Qing nodded.

After a brief discussion, Hong Fang Zhenren also instructed them on precautions against Yin Soldiers, and the four of them officially prepared to enter the Underground Palace.

Their activity also drew the attention of nearly everyone on the entire worksite.

Following the deaths of several archaeologists, all entrances to the Underground Palaces had been temporarily sealed off. Without a solution, no one dared to venture down anymore. The two bodies that had been rescued were a horrific sight, almost reduced to bones by bites.

Thus, when Li Qing and his group made a move, it immediately caught everyone’s attention.

"Which team are they from?"

"I don’t know, definitely not one of ours. They’re probably reinforcements that have been called in," came the response.

"But are they really planning to go in empty-handed? Not even wearing protective suits?"

"Who knows, maybe they have special methods."

"I hope what they carry out this time won’t be another corpse."

...

Li Qing and his group entered another Underground Palace this time.

The last one they went into, though connected to other Underground Palaces, according to the archaeology team, had corridors rigged with mercury and quicksand traps and was connected to this one. There was no need to choose a dangerous path when a relatively safe one was available.

Opening the heavy Bronze Gate, the layout that greeted them wasn’t much different from the one Li Qing had entered last time.

But it felt much more sinister.

With one step inside, the chilly, bone-piercing aura of Yin and Sha surged forward, making it difficult to even breathe.

The previous one was particularly refreshing, without any discomfort.

Li Qing guessed it might have something to do with that cat.

"Master, is this the Underground Palace where they encountered the Yin Soldiers?" Li Qing asked cautiously while looking around.

Hong Fang Zhenren nodded, "Indeed, it is this one. Right beneath our feet, this Underground Palace extends underground. They guessed it should have three levels, with the second housing the buried soldiers."

"That doesn’t make sense, why would the buried soldiers be on the second level?" Li Qing asked, puzzled.

Logically, they should be on the first or perhaps the last level.

Hong Fang Zhenren chuckled, "If you turn this Underground Palace upside down, you’ll understand. The buried soldiers on the second level are responsible for guarding, and the last level, if nothing is amiss, should be where the master of this Underground Palace lies. And a tomb chamber accompanied by soldiers must house someone important from King Qi’s entourage."

"This Underground Palace, from what I see in its layout, doesn’t quite seem like the true tomb of King Qi."

As they were talking, suddenly a dense white fog rose from the ground, quickly filling the entire hall in an instant.

"What is this thing?" Shisan asked, immediately tense.

This nearly pure white mist left even the widely experienced Hong Fang Zhenren momentarily stunned.

"Everyone move back! Something’s not right. There seems to be some changes happening inside the Underground Palace," Hong Fang Zhenren shouted with a heavy voice.

Li Qing blurted out an obscure incantation, thinking regardless of the consequences, to blast it first and see what happens.

But something weird occurred. The Thunder Method flashed within the white fog, only causing the mist to churn uneasily but not diminishing it at all, continuing to rise instead.

Li Qing, not believing in the impossible, summoned the Heavenly Punishment again.

But the effect was the same.

The white mist continued to rush towards the entrance of the Underground Palace ferociously. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"No use, retreat..." Li Qing was about to suggest retreating and then coming up with a long-term plan when he suddenly realized there was no one around him.

The white fog had, at some point, surrounded him.

Damn it, what in the world is this thing? Li Qing didn’t dare to move rashly, just kept throwing thunder.

Boom, boom, boom!

With a barrage of Thunder Method, the Underground Palace shook, but the white fog remained.