Chapter 1329: Wrestling with Words

"The Imperial Mausoleum?" Zu An and his companions were dumbfounded, not expecting the map to lead them here.

At that moment, soldiers surrounded them. The leader waved his hand, signaling to apprehend them, and soon various figures emerged from the forest, closing in.

Zu An and the others found themselves in a difficult position. While they weren't afraid of these soldiers, being in the Demon Imperial City, a conflict with guards at the Imperial Mausoleum would be hard to resolve later.

At this point, Yu Yanluo stepped forward, a slight smile gracing her lips. "I'm truly sorry. We are from the Snake Clan, invited by the Demon Emperor to attend the assembly. We just arrived in the Imperial City and aren't familiar with the roads. We were drawn by the bustling sights and accidentally found ourselves here."

The general was momentarily dazed by her smile. Though veiled, he could faintly discern her exquisite beauty. He stammered, "Are you Queen Medusa?"

"That's right. We hope for your leniency, General." Yu Yanluo's smile was as refreshing as a spring breeze, and her soft, sweet voice nearly melted the general's bones.

"So it is Queen Medusa. No harm done if you didn't know. Please retreat quickly, or it will be troublesome if you disturb the experts inside," the general advised.

"Thank you, General!" Yu Yanluo thanked him, subtly winked at the others, and then turned to leave.

Watching the general still standing far off like a stone statue, craning his neck and occasionally waving his hand, Yun Jianyue remarked, "Sister Yu, your charm is truly immense. In just a few words, that young man was completely captivated."

Yu Yanluo smiled faintly. "Sister Yun, if you weren't wearing a mask, that general would surely have been charmed by you too."

Yun Jianyue snorted, "I know myself well. I'm fierce all day; I can't compare to you in that regard."

If she were to use her charm techniques, she could naturally captivate the general effortlessly, but he was not worthy of her employing such methods.

Zu An cleared his throat. "You two can stop praising each other. What I'm curious about is why the 'Uncharted Land' points to the Demon Imperial Mausoleum."

At his words, the three women fell silent, also unable to understand why this was the case.

"Do you think the Demon Imperial family might have already explored this 'Uncharted Land'?" Yu Yanluo asked, a hint of worry in her voice. If so, any good fortune within would have already been claimed.

Yan Xuehen shook her head. "I don't think so. The 'Uncharted Land' is far beyond an ordinary secret realm. If it were truly explored, it couldn't be kept secret. It's like when Emperor Zhao Hao of the human race sent people to the 'Uncharted Land' to search for the 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture' years ago; no matter how secretive they were, word eventually got out."

"As for the demon race, we've never heard any news about an 'Uncharted Land' here. If my guess is correct, even the Demon Emperor doesn't know there's one hidden within their Imperial Mausoleum."

Yun Jianyue nodded. "Ice Stone Woman's analysis makes sense. The 'Uncharted Land' is extremely mysterious. Legend has it that its opening requires a perfect alignment of celestial timing, geographical advantage, and human will – all stringent conditions that must be met. It's not easily preempted by others."

Yu Yanluo suggested, "Then let's find an opportunity to sneak into the mountains and investigate."

The others shook their heads. Yan Xuehen said, "I'm afraid that won't work. I just subtly sensed that the Imperial Mausoleum is heavily guarded. Moreover, along the path, the forests and structures have various hidden killing formations. A slight oversight would lead to being trapped and killed inside."

Zu An added, "I just observed the shape and layout of these mountains. There's a subtle, latent killing intent. Once activated, even Grandmasters would find it hard to protect themselves."

He had gained some insight from studying *Di Tian Sui Chan Wei* recently, allowing him to discern the lay of the land.

"So dangerous?" Yun Jianyue frowned slightly upon hearing this. "Why would an Imperial Mausoleum be so heavily guarded? Could it be that the Demon Emperor already knows about the 'Uncharted Land' here?"

If that were the case, their trip would be in vain.

Yu Yanluo's eyes suddenly lit up. "I remember now! The Demon Emperor's succession ceremony is held at the Ancestral Temple within the Imperial Mausoleum. That must be why defenses have been set up here in advance."

"So that's it." The group breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the 'Uncharted Land' hadn't been exposed. However, they soon grew worried. If the succession ceremony was to take place here, they wouldn't be able to investigate for a long time, and they clearly couldn't stay in the Imperial City for too long.

Unfortunately, they couldn't think of a solution at the moment, so they decided to return for now.

On the way, Zu An asked, "Weren't the demon race driven to the harsh northern lands after their defeat in the great war against humans many years ago? Why is their Imperial Mausoleum here?"

"I know about this," Yun Jianyue explained. "Many, many years ago, this was a prosperous land for the demon race. Only later did they move south to occupy large spiritual areas, and then eventually suffered defeat at the hands of humans."

"No wonder there's an inexplicable sense of ancientness here," Zu An said, looking back at the mountain forest. He felt it vaguely resembled something but couldn't recall what at the moment.

The group thus returned to the bustling market, discussing their recent findings, when suddenly a grating voice broke through the air: "Well, well, isn't this Queen Medusa of the Snake Clan? What a small world, meeting again so soon."

A troop of lion-riding knights surrounded them nearby. Leading them were the three lion princes they had encountered outside the city gates previously: Shi Min, Shi Gong, and Shi Rong, distinguished by their golden full beards. It was the most arrogant of them, Shi Rong, who spoke.

Yu Yanluo and the others frowned slightly, thinking how unlucky it was to run into these bothersome individuals again.

At this moment, Shi Gong critically eyed Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, then couldn't help but snort, "Last time, a fleeting glance made me think they were peerless beauties, but it turns out they're just two ugly hags. What a waste of good figures."Yan Xuehen: "..."Yun Jianyue: "..."

Given their statuses, neither of them had ever been spoken to in such a manner. Yun Jianyue was so enraged she was about to charge forward, but Zu An, worried she might expose her identity, quickly stopped her, suppressing a laugh as he said, "Sister, didn't you say you didn't mind appearances?"

Yun Jianyue retorted, "This guy's tone is too annoying. If I don't beat him, I won't feel satisfied."

Seeing her impulsive reaction, Shi Gong burst into laughter. "What, want to fight? It would be beneath me to cross swords with such ugly women, but last time you were lucky enough to run into the Little Demon Empress, allowing you to escape. This time, I don't mind teaching you a proper lesson."

Yun Jianyue: "..."

Her gaze at him was like looking at a dead man.

Just as tensions were about to explode, a troop of Golden Crow Guards passed by nearby, observing them with caution.

Shi Min quickly stopped Shi Gong and whispered, "The Demon Emperor has issued a ban against private duels during this period. The Crown Prince was assassinated yesterday, making the investigations even stricter. I hear many people from various clans have been arrested for private fighting. Don't bring trouble upon us."

Shi Gong then huffed disgruntledly, "I don't know what kind of luck you have, always running into influential people."

Zu An shook his head and sighed, "Actually, it's you who have good luck, otherwise you wouldn't even know how you died."

Rage points from Shi Min +222+222+222...Rage points from Shi Gong +222+222+222...Rage points from Shi Rong +222+222+222...

The lion princes glared at him in anger.

"I think you're not from the Snake Clan, but the Duck Clan, with such hard mouths!" Shi Min's face also darkened. "Since you're not convinced, let's have a competition. The Demon Emperor's ban is in effect, so we can't have a martial duel. Let's have a contest of wits. Do you dare?"

"A contest of wits?" Zu An couldn't help but want to laugh, seeing the several heavily bearded lion men. Their suggestion was like Zhang Fei proposing a needlework competition.

"No problem. How do you plan to have this contest of wits?" With two Grandmasters of unparalleled knowledge, the most experienced beauty, and himself – handsome and extraordinary – how could they possibly lose to a few brutes?

"Coincidentally, we've been invited to a stone gambling event at the Jadeite Garden ahead. Let's use stone gambling as the competition. Do you dare to join?" Shi Min said proudly.

"Stone gambling?" The group exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat strange. After all, Yu Yanluo was once the head of the human race's foremost jade family.