Chapter 179: The Secret Realm of Heaven

Zu'an frowned. This woman seemed very hostile towards men. Judging by her tone, she was probably deeply hurt by Qin Shi Huang back then, leading her to hate all men.

"Who was flirting with him? Where is the Seal of Heaven? Let's go to the third trial now!" Qiao Xueying quickly retorted.

Mi Li's voice sounded again: "Honestly, you two truly surprise me by managing to break through both the Seal of Man and the Seal of Earth consecutively. Although you look a bit battered, you don't seem to have suffered significant losses. It's truly a miracle. I'm familiar with Ying Zheng's methods; logically, you shouldn't have been able to pass those two trials."

Zu'an knew she was telling the truth. In the Seal of Man, if Qiao Xueying hadn't been able to trip the giant bronze figures with her elongated hair, and if the Sure-Death Dagger hadn't been indestructible, then even with higher cultivation, it would have been impossible to defeat those twelve bronze figures with their astonishing offense, defense, and self-regeneration.

The Seal of Earth was even more a matter of fortunate coincidence. If he hadn't had the magical flashlight to suppress the Terracotta Army, or known how to dig trenches to evade the arrow rain, or set up "rat holes" to deal with the cavalry, and used his Sunflower Phantom agility to dodge on the battlefield, anyone else would have been crushed to dust by the army.

Even so, he was on the verge of death. He only survived because Qiao Xueying sacrificed half of her lifespan to save him.

Forget Shi Kun; even an eighth-grade master like Chu Zhongtian wouldn't have been able to pass.

"Since you knew we probably wouldn't make it through, why did you still make us take the risk?" Zu'an couldn't help but ask.

Mi Li's pleasant yet eerie laughter echoed through the underground palace: "Letting you try costs me nothing. Even if you fail, at worst I'll just wait a few more years for the next fated individuals to enter. I have plenty of time, after all."

Zu'an: "..."

Qiao Xueying: "..."

"So you're just using us as test subjects?" Zu'an gritted his teeth, remembering how he had nearly died several times in there.

"You can choose not to go. I'm not forcing you," Mi Li replied coldly.

Zu'an really wanted to just leave, but remembering Chu Chuyan was waiting for him to save her, he endured. "Alright, I'll go!"

As he spoke, he walked towards the Seal of Heaven. Qiao Xueying quickly followed, and together they stepped onto the magic array where the Seal of Heaven was located.

A white light flashed. When the feeling of weightlessness disappeared, both of them were stunned. They had expected the Seal of Heaven to be even more dangerous, a veritable dragon's den or tiger's lair, but the scene before them didn't look like that at all.

They saw small bridges over flowing streams, wisps of smoke rising from chimneys, and a gentle breeze accompanied by the chirping of birds. In the distance, they could faintly see men plowing fields and women weaving cloth in courtyards. Chickens foraged in the fields, and a dog lazily basked in the sun at the village entrance.

"This is the Seal of Heaven?" Qiao Xueying's voice was filled with uncertainty. The scene before them was entirely that of a peaceful mountain village; there was no sign of danger whatsoever.

Zu'an said in a deep voice, "Don't be fooled by appearances. Perhaps everyone in this village is a top-tier master."

"Top-tier masters?" Qiao Xueying looked at the people in the distance. "I can't tell at all. Although a few of them have qi fluctuations, their cultivation is even lower than yours. They certainly can't be considered masters."

"What do you mean, 'even lower than yours'?" Zu'an immediately became agitated, only then realizing that their hands had somehow intertwined again.

Noticing this, they both quickly withdrew their hands.

"It was just to prevent us from being teleported to different places," Qiao Xueying's gaze drifted.

"Right, that's what I was thinking too." Zu'an also wondered, *What the hell? Why do I keep reaching for this sharp-tongued girl's hand?*

To divert the awkwardness, Qiao Xueying quickly said, "Oh right, I don't think we can easily trust that woman. Since she's trapped here by multiple seals, it proves she's a very dangerous person. If we release her, we'll have no way to restrain her. What if she refuses to treat Miss Chu or turns on us? We'd be in danger."

Zu'an knew she was referring to Mi Li. "I know that, but we have no other choice right now, unless we'd rather watch Chuyan be sacrificed."

Qiao Xueying fell silent. They could take the opportunity to escape, but Chu Chuyan would be doomed. From every perspective, she couldn't just stand by.

Zu'an looked at the village in the distance. "For now, let's focus on dealing with this Seal of Heaven. Considering how the previous two seals went, we could very well die here."

Qiao Xueying hummed in agreement and secretly focused her attention, ready for anything. Fortunately, Zu'an's spirit medicine had largely restored her; though not at her peak, she now had the power to defend herself.

The two walked to the village entrance, intending to ask a local villager for directions. Who knew that the dog basking in the sun at the village entrance would suddenly jump up and bark furiously at them?

Zu'an initially thought it was some kind of fierce beast, but after observing it for a while, it looked exactly like a common Chinese rural dog from his memory, posing not the slightest threat to cultivators in this world.

However, its barking quickly attracted the villagers' attention. Many people, holding hoes and carrying poles, gathered around them cautiously. The burly man at the front said in a deep voice, "Who are you people, and what are you doing here?"

Zu'an stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting. "Hello, we just happened to be passing by and got lost. Could you tell us what this place is?"

The burly man frowned. "Looking at your shifty eyes, you're probably a fugitive. Leave quickly, or we'll report you to the authorities!"

Zu'an: "..."

*What the hell? It's one thing to say I look like a fugitive, but why call me shifty-eyed? Which eye of yours saw me as shifty-eyed? I'm clearly as handsome as a jade tree in the wind; are you blind or something?*

Furious, he was about to argue, but Qiao Xueying pulled him aside, stepped forward, and smiled faintly. "Hello, big brother. My brother and I encountered mountain bandits a few days ago and fled all the way here. We barely managed to escape them. Passing through your esteemed village, we dared not intrude, but we lost all our belongings while fleeing. Now we are hungry and thirsty; might we trouble you for a drink of water?"

The burly man saw her delicate and charming appearance and immediately felt a surge of goodwill. Hearing her words, he then noticed that half of her dress was soaked with blood from behind, which made him feel even more pity. He quickly said, "These bandits are truly detestable, hurting a young lady like this. Please, come in and rest. We'll get you some water and food, and have a doctor prepare some herbs for you."

Soon, a group of people clustered around her and walked into the village. As she left, Qiao Xueying looked back and winked at him playfully, clearly triumphant.

"Excuse me?"

*What's wrong with these villagers? I spoke to them kindly, and they treated me like a thief and drove me away. Qiao Xueying was clearly covered in blood, not looking like a law-abiding citizen, yet they offered her warm hospitality? Is this a world that judges by appearance? But where is my face worse than hers?*

After thinking it over, Zu'an could only conclude it was because Qiao Xueying was a woman. *Hmph, these villagers might look simple and honest, but they're all lecherous old men!*

He followed behind them with a sour expression, watching the group serve Qiao Xueying tea and water, and even find an old doctor to prescribe her medicine.

Zu'an secretly grumbled, *This simpleton Xue'er accepts everything given to her. Isn't she afraid they'll poison the water?*

Fortunately, Qiao Xueying didn't completely get carried away. While thanking the villagers, she took the opportunity to inquire about the place. "Brother Chen, what is this place?"

In that short time, she already knew the burly man's surname. It must be said that women have a natural advantage in some matters.

"This is Chen Family Village in Dong Commandery," the burly man replied.

"Dong Commandery?" Qiao Xueying was stunned. In her memory, there was no place called Dong Commandery in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Zu'an, however, frowned. He knew that the seals set by Qin Shi Huang were definitely not in the Great Zhou, but in Great Qin. He vaguely remembered that the Qin state indeed had a Dong Commandery under its jurisdiction, roughly in the northeastern part of Henan Province and the western part of Shandong Province.

*What exactly is going on with this Seal of Heaven?* He had been carefully observing from the side; most of these villagers were ordinary people, and even the few cultivators among them had pitifully low strength. How could they be the final boss of the Seal of Heaven?

"Miss Qiao, please leave quickly after a short rest," the burly man, Chen Wei, said. "After all, your origins are unknown, and our village dare not harbor you. If anything happens, our entire village will face collective punishment."

"'Collective punishment'..." Zu'an muttered. Qin Dynasty laws were strict, often employing collective punishment. Virtually all farmers were tied to their land and couldn't leave. People like them were either nobles or fugitives. If they were nobles, it would be fine, but if they were fugitives and discovered by officials, the villagers might be executed through collective punishment for not reporting them in time. So, how could they dare to shelter strangers?

"Thank you, Big Brother Chen, and thank you, everyone, uncles, aunts, and grandmas." Qiao Xueying didn't want to make things difficult for them. After chatting for a while longer, they left Chen Family Village.

As they left the village entrance, Qiao Xueying waved goodbye to the villagers and asked perplexedly, "What do you think this Seal of Heaven really is? I'm completely lost."

"I don't understand either," Zu'an shook his head.

Qiao Xueying suggested, "How about we explore around a bit and see where these roads lead?"

"No point," Zu'an said in a deep voice. "Have you forgotten the Seal of Man? We wanted to enter the city back then, but couldn't get in no matter what. Since we've been teleported to this village, the key to the seal must be within this village."

Qiao Xueying bit her lip. She knew it was true, but subconsciously, she didn't want it to be. "So what do we do now? We can't even get into the village."

"Are you silly?" Zu'an rolled his eyes. "We just have to sneak in and investigate after dark."

Qiao Xueying didn't retort, but just sighed deeply. "These people were quite kind to me. I hope we don't have to become their enemies."

"The Chu family was also quite kind to you, and you still turned against them just like that," Zu'an scoffed.

Qiao Xueying immediately became annoyed. "Are you ever going to stop? Why have you been so thorny with your words ever since before?"

"Was I? I'm just telling the truth." Zu'an shrugged and awkwardly turned his head away.

Qiao Xueying suddenly smiled. "I get it now. You must be feeling unbalanced because they were so nice to me but ignored you, right?"

"Nonsense! Do you think I'd care about such things?" Zu'an immediately turned and walked away. "Let's walk around and observe the terrain surrounding the village. The sun is about to set."

He wasn't too worried about the time. During his two previous seal-breaking journeys, he had already discovered that the flow of time within the seals was different from the outside world. As long as he didn't drag things out too long here, time should be sufficient.

"Just as I thought, still the same petty man!" Qiao Xueying skipped along behind him, a smile on her face as she teased him, suddenly feeling much better.