MTLNOVEL CHAPTER 224
Chapter 224: King Lin's Secret Palace
Roda's announcement brought their conversation to an abrupt halt. Lu Ming and Roxin turned their attention to where he stood in the garden. With a grunt of effort, Roda pushed aside several large rockeries, revealing a shimmering barrier of light beneath. As the light faded, a pitch-black opening appeared before them.
Lu Ming raised an eyebrow. It seemed King Lin had a penchant for hidden passages and rockeries.
Without commenting on the late king's eccentricities, they followed Roda into the darkness.
The tunnel twisted and turned, leading them deeper underground. Finally, they emerged into a spacious chamber.
An exquisite underground palace unfolded before their eyes.
Though not particularly large, the palace was adorned with luxurious furnishings and decorations, reflecting the Flame Clan's royal lineage.
Roda chuckled. "It seems the notion of 'differing opinions' was likely a smokescreen for a rebellion."
He had obviously overheard Lu Ming and Roxin's earlier conversation.
Roxin shook her head. "King Lin was a member of the royal family. Building a palace like this wouldn't be considered overstepping his bounds."
Roda shrugged, conceding the point. He wasn't as well-versed in the intricacies of the Flame Clan's hierarchy as Roxin.
They continued their exploration, Roda leading them towards the palace's main hall.
Both the layout and architectural style of the underground palace mirrored the Flame Clan's Imperial Palace above, albeit on a much smaller scale. It was as if the grand structure had been shrunk down several times.
Despite being his first visit, Roda navigated the familiar layout with ease.
"If King Lin left an inheritance here," he deduced, "it's most likely in one of two places."
"The first is the main hall of the palace, also known as the meeting hall."
"The second is the ancestral hall."
Based on the layout of the Flame Clan's palace, the main hall was located at the front, with the ancestral hall situated behind it.
Roda led the way, and they continued their journey deeper into the palace.
However, as they progressed, a sense of unease settled over them.
Lu Ming broke the silence.
"Have you ever seen anything like this in the Flame Clan's Imperial Palace?" he asked, casually kicking at a slimy substance beneath his feet.
It was a viscous fungal blanket, soft and yielding underfoot, reminiscent of decaying flesh or gelatinous matter.
The sensation was repulsive, somewhat similar to the fungal growths he had encountered near the Mother Tree.
They looked around, and the unsettling substance seemed to be everywhere.
It coated the ground, and clung to the corners and eaves of the buildings, resembling a network of dark red spiderwebs.
Roda frowned and shook his head. "There's nothing like this in the palace... at least not in the real one."
Roxin looked equally bewildered.
She, too, had found no mention of such a substance in any of the texts she had studied.
They pressed onward, their footsteps echoing eerily through the silent corridors.
The closer they got to the main hall, the thicker the dark-red fungal blanket grew, clinging to every surface like a suffocating embrace. It was as if they had entered the belly of a monstrous beast, the faint stench of decay adding to the unsettling atmosphere.
Lu Ming fought back a wave of nausea, unsure if it was the smell or the grotesque environment that triggered his revulsion.
"This place... it's beyond words," Roda muttered, his voice heavy with disgust. He quickened his pace, eager to escape this repulsive scene.
Finally, they reached the main hall. Roda tore aside the fleshy web that hung like a curtain over the entrance, and they stepped inside.
The hall was a nightmare of tangled, pulsating fungal growths, forming mounds and tendrils of various sizes.
Roxin recoiled, her stomach churning. Lu Ming hesitated, unwilling to venture further into this grotesque chamber.
Roda, however, took charge. He began to search, tearing apart the fleshy masses with his bare hands. A vile yellow-green liquid oozed out, staining the hall with its filth.
After half an hour of fruitless searching, Roda waved at Lu Ming and Roxin, signaling them to leave.
Once outside, he dispelled his protective spell and took a deep breath, his chest heaving.
"The inheritance isn't here," he reported, his voice strained. "There's nothing but those disgusting things. I don't even know what they are!"
He activated his Origin Power, shaking off the grime that clung to his body. The dark red threads and yellow-green liquid flew off, landing far away from them.
"And that yellow-green liquid is poisonous!" he added, a shiver running down his spine. "I didn't dare test its toxicity firsthand."
After Roda's grim report, a heavy silence fell upon the trio.
Lu Ming, ever the optimist, broke the silence. "At least there doesn't seem to be any real danger here."
It was undeniably filthy, but as long as they were cautious of the poisonous liquid, there didn't appear to be any immediate threats to their safety.
Roda took a deep breath, his resolve returning. "Let's continue to the ancestral hall."
Thankfully, the repulsive fungal blanket seemed confined to the vicinity of the main hall. As they left the hall behind, the fleshy webs and the blanket gradually thinned, disappearing completely by the time they reached the ancestral hall.
The return to a more normal environment was a welcome relief. Roda, once again taking the lead, pushed open the ancestral hall's doors. A dim light spilled out, beckoning them forward.
A long corridor stretched before them, stone lamps lining its walls.
These lamps, powered by luminescent stones, still flickered with a faint light, defying the passage of time. Some ancient enchantment seemed to be at work, preserving their illumination for those who came after.
Roda led the way, Lu Ming and Roxin following in his footsteps.
After walking for several dozen meters, the corridor opened into a spacious chamber.
Several stone lamps cast a soft glow, illuminating the space just enough to discern its features.
Through the subdued light, they could vaguely make out a pile of skeletal remains in the room, along with several scattered items.
Aside from these, the chamber was empty.
Roda couldn't resist stepping closer.
As he approached, he noticed a faint golden sheen enveloping the skeletal remains.
This made him gasp in recognition.
"It's King Lin. I can confirm these are his remains!"
Even after ten thousand years, the bones of an Ancient Realm expert retained certain unique characteristics—and bone gilding was one of the telltale signs.
Roda then lowered his head, examining the few items scattered before King Lin's remains.
Suddenly, he let out a sharp intake of breath.
The first thing that caught his eye wasn't the items themselves, but a line of small text scrawled in front of the remains.
[He's crazy...]
The three words were written in the universal language of the Black Mist Zone, their crimson hue reminiscent of dried blood.
The handwriting was messy, leaving it unclear whether it was King Lin's own or if he had been in a disturbed state of mind when he wrote it.
Lu Ming and Roxin joined Roda, their eyes scanning the cryptic message.
They searched the area for further clues, but nothing else could be found.
After a while, Lu Ming shook his head. "We don't know what these words mean, and there are no other clues."
"Besides," he added, "our purpose here isn't to solve mysteries."
He gestured towards the items in front of King Lin's remains.
"Let's see what those are."
End of Chapter 224