Chapter 163: Mysterious Female Voice

Zu An continued to explore deeper underground, holding Chu Chuyan. Had he had the chance to escape Shi Kun's pursuit half an hour earlier, he would certainly have turned and left this eerie mausoleum. After all, the zombie army within was far beyond his ability to contend with.

But after witnessing the marvelous flashlight's restraining effect on these undead creatures, he changed his mind.

His experience from various games and novels in his past life told him that while such places were dangerous, they often yielded rare treasures or even fortuitous encounters.

His purpose in entering the Yaoguang Secret Realm this time was to find the "Phantom Lotus of No Trace" to break the seal in his lower abdomen, which was crucial for his happiness in the latter half of his life. Naturally, he wouldn't give up any opportunity.

Now, with the miraculous flashlight by his side, he felt more confident and wanted to take the opportunity to explore this perilous place.

"I wonder what constitutes one full use of this flashlight," Zu An thought, recalling the instructions that mentioned a three-use limit.

Since he had started using it, the flashlight had remained lit. Did that mean as long as it didn't turn off, it counted as the same use?

Zu An pondered, concluding that this was the most likely scenario. Fortunately, although the mausoleum was dim, the special material of the stone walls faintly glowed, which was enough to keep the flashlight illuminated.

To be safe, he also checked the tinderbox on his person, thinking that if he encountered a completely dark area later, he would light the tinder first to prevent the flashlight from going out in the dark.

"Wife, did you see Shi Kun's expression just now, like he'd eaten something foul? I don't know where he gets the nerve to think I'd cooperate with him," Zu An scoffed. "It's a shame about Xue'er, though; she'll probably die with him. You won't blame me, will you?"

Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying had clearly expended a great deal of energy and would likely be unable to withstand so many zombie warriors.

"Oh, wife, Xue'er did save me twice, after all. Am I being too heartless? Should I go rescue her alone? That would probably make Shi Kun furious enough to blow a fuse, wouldn't it?" Zu An briefly imagined the scenario, a smile irrepressibly appearing on his face.

"Huh, wife, why aren't you saying anything?" Zu An suddenly realized something was wrong. He hadn't heard Chu Chuyan's response for a long time. He quickly looked down and saw the beauty in his arms with her eyes tightly closed, her face incredibly pale, her breath faint as a wisp of silk.

It turned out that after Chu Chuyan had used the forbidden technique, her entire being was in a critical state. Had Zu An not given her so much of Divine Physician Ji's healing medicine just now, she would probably have perished long ago.

Nevertheless, Divine Physician Ji's medicine only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. As time passed, combined with being carried and rushed during their escape, she had been forcing herself to stay awake and pay attention due to her concern for Zu An's safety. However, after seeing him use a miraculous beam of light to escape danger, she immediately relaxed. With that relaxation, a wave of exhaustion washed over her, and she could no longer resist, closing her eyes.

"Wife!" Zu An instantly panicked. Although he wasn't skilled in medicine, he could feel Chu Chuyan's life force fading. He hastily pulled out the last remaining healing medicine from his pocket and tried to force it into her mouth.

"It's no use. Her primordial meridians are shattered, and her channels are severed. These medicines only treat the symptoms; no matter how much she takes, it won't help." Just then, a distant female voice suddenly echoed from an unknown source. Though pleasant, the voice carried an inexplicable sense of authority.

"Who, who's speaking?" Zu An frantically shined his flashlight around, but saw nothing. A chill ran down his spine. Could it be a ghost?

"You don't need to know who I am. I only want to ask if you want to save her?" The female voice drifted erratically, seeming both incredibly close and infinitely far away.

"Of course, I do!" Zu An replied urgently.

"Good. Continue deeper into the underground palace. There's a spiritual herb there. Pick it and give it to her, and it will save her life," the ethereal, shifting female voice said.

Zu An, however, didn't act immediately. Instead, he asked in a low voice, "How can I believe what you say is true?"

In this world, no one would be kind to him without reason. He didn't consider himself a typical heroic protagonist, so how could someone just conveniently appear to help him?

In his view, the female voice was more like the devil from fairy tales, luring him with sweet words before setting a trap for him to fall into.

"You have no choice, unless you have another way to save her," the female voice said coldly.

Zu An's heart sank. He knew the other party spoke the truth. Even if he turned to leave this mausoleum now, and by some incredible stroke of luck immediately encountered other academy teachers and Ji Xiaoxi, who happened to have some miraculous resurrection medicine on them...

But he knew that was impossible. The best medical skill couldn't save someone destined to die. Even if Ji Dengtu were here now, Chu Chuyan would likely be beyond saving; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so despairing and lifeless before.

Moreover, Chu Chuyan was on the verge of breathing her last and could no longer endure any more bumps and jostles.

"Alright, tell me the way!" Zu An gritted his teeth. For Chu Chuyan, even if it was a dragon's den or a tiger's lair ahead, he had to brave it.

The mysterious female voice hadn't used any sweet talk to lure him; instead, it had adopted a 'take it or leave it' tone, which made him think it probably wasn't a trick.

Damn it, was I just a glutton for punishment? I ended up trusting it more because of the impolite tone.

While inwardly complaining, he continued deeper into the underground palace, following the female voice's guidance, still carrying Chu Chuyan. Looking at the seemingly endless passage ahead, he felt as if the palace itself was a monstrous beast poised to devour people. Only the light from the flashlight offered a slight sense of calm.

Unlike the areas they had just passed through, there were many forks in the path now, and the environment was much more complex. Zu An felt as if he were in a real palace, quickly losing all sense of direction.

He wound his way around, and if not for the female voice's guidance, he would have been lost long ago.

Along the way, he encountered quite a few zombie warriors, many of whom were even stronger than the longsword warriors they had seen before.

However, under the light of his miraculous flashlight, the zombie warriors all shied away from him, as if they were humans and he was the terrifying zombie.

Even the mysterious female voice sighed, "It seems to be fate. If not for this miraculous beam of light in your hand, how could someone of your strength have reached the core of the underground palace?"

Zu An took the opportunity to chat with her, "From what you say, you must have been here for a long time. Are you a person or... a ghost?"

The mysterious woman let out a chuckle, "What do you think?"

A vision of a woman laughing so hard she trembled automatically appeared in Zu An's mind. "I think whether you're a person or a ghost, you must be very beautiful."

"Beautiful..." The voice suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, it let out a faint sigh. "What good is beauty?" Her tone revealed a profound sense of loneliness and desolation.

At the other party's casual sigh, Zu An's entire body trembled. His heart pounded, his blood boiled, and his mind was completely captivated. He used to read "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" and couldn't understand why Duan Yu would become so infatuated just by hearing Wang Yuyan sigh.

But at this moment, he suddenly understood: some women, even without seeing their faces, could captivate you simply by the sound of their voice.

Damn, they're all just as lecherous as I am!

Zu An inwardly scorned himself. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. The previously cramped surroundings abruptly opened up into a vast space, roughly estimated to be several football fields in size.

However, what caught his attention most was a pool of water in the distance to his front-left. While water in a mausoleum was not uncommon, a pool as clear and clean as this was rare. Moreover, a large patch of plants emitting a green glow grew on its surface, shrouded in a shimmering mist, making it very conspicuous in the generally dim underground palace.

Even without any common sense about this world, Zu An could tell that the plants were extraordinary, likely emitting the inherent glow of legendary rare treasures.

As if guessing his thoughts, the female voice spoke again: "Indeed, the spiritual medicine that can save your companion is in that pool."

Feeling Chu Chuyan's breathing growing fainter, barely perceptible without careful listening, Zu An couldn't afford to hesitate. He ran toward the pool, still holding her.

Suddenly, he trembled and stopped. He slowly turned his head to the left. Upon entering, the glow from the pool had been so striking that he hadn't had time to look at the other parts of this vast space.

Now, as he got closer, he finally saw what he had overlooked.

Rows upon rows of terracotta warriors stood densely packed across the wide square. Each warrior was tall, about 1.85 meters, holding a long halberd, standing neatly in countless ranks. A rough estimate suggested there were several thousand of them!

Looking further, there were also chariot formations on both sides, and archer formations behind them...

It was a vibrant, mighty army, composed of various military units!

Zu An rubbed his eyes, momentarily dazed, thinking he had returned to his past life, visiting the Terracotta Army Museum in Xi'an.

"Isn't this the Terracotta Army?!"

There were differences, however. These terracotta figures before him were vibrantly colored, their armor neat, and their weapons sharp. Each seemed like a living, elite soldier, far superior to the dilapidated terracotta figures in museums from his past life.

As if sensing the intrusion of a living being, the eyes of the slumbering terracotta army suddenly glowed with blue light, and then, as one, they turned their heads to look at him.

Zu An didn't know how to describe the feeling. Being simultaneously stared at by thousands of imposing terracotta figures, who all turned their heads in perfect unison, the overwhelming sense of oppression and eeriness almost suffocated him.

A series of clicking sounds echoed. The terracotta figures in the front row began to move. Their long halberds were lowered diagonally, subtly pointing towards Zu An, and then they began to advance towards him. Their movements were initially stiff but quickly became more agile.

Zu An swallowed hard. He had no inclination to even estimate the combat power of these terracotta figures; a rough glance revealed several thousand of them. Each one could drown him with a single spit.