Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

Chapter 1008 Deep in the Underground Palace, Changes in Xianyang!

Having dealt with everything, Gao Yao felt a slight relief from the pent-up frustration in his heart. He wasn't heartless; he remembered the deaths of these people. But more importantly, he couldn't let his emotions cloud his judgment. He found a relatively clean set of steps, away from the bloodstains, and sat down, focusing his mind on the system space. The next moment, a pot of water and several delicate pastries appeared in his hand. He began to eat slowly and deliberately, replenishing his strength, his movements as composed as if he were not in dire straits, but rather enjoying a drink in his own backyard.

This is his greatest source of confidence. He possesses a nearly limitless system space, which not only stores massive amounts of food and water, but also a spiritual field space where crops can be grown in a cyclical and self-sufficient manner. The crops in this field have extremely short growth cycles and are of exceptional quality, purely natural and pollution-free.

In other words, if he wanted, he could live for decades, centuries, in this sealed underground palace... and if the elixir of immortality really worked, it wouldn't be impossible for him to achieve a different kind of immortality here. Hunger and thirst were never problems he needed to worry about.

"We won't starve to death, but we can't just stay here like the living dead, guarding an empty grave until the end of time."

Gao Yao swallowed the last bite of pastry, his gaze sharpening once more as he began to calmly analyze the situation. The most urgent task was to find a way out. This underground palace was so ingeniously designed that it was almost impossible for it to have only one entrance and exit; even if the main passage was sealed off, there must have been emergency secret passages or ventilation systems.

Just as this thought arose, a seemingly ordinary yet crucial detail that he had previously overlooked suddenly illuminated his thoughts like a flash of lightning in the darkness—the air!

This underground palace, buried deep within the mountain, is extremely well-sealed. Even if some air was introduced during its initial construction, after the passage of time, especially after the intense activity and the burning of so many torches and mechanisms, it should have become stale and cause shortness of breath. Yet, he is still breathing smoothly without any difficulty. This indicates that the air inside the palace is constantly being renewed!

"Oxygen...where does the oxygen here come from?" Gao Yao muttered to himself.

His gaze, as if drawn by an invisible thread, slowly moved to the lamps that burned silently on the palace walls—mermaid lamps, or rather, eternal lamps. He knew all too well that the idea of ​​eternal lamps made from mermaid oil was just a legend; in reality, they were mostly specially made from a mixture of whale oil, beeswax, and other ingredients, burning extremely slowly and capable of burning for hundreds of years. These lamps had been steadily emitting their light ever since they had entered.

“Burning… requires oxygen.” Gao Yao’s pupils contracted slightly as his brain raced. “If this place were completely sealed off, all these ever-burning lamps should have exhausted the oxygen and extinguished themselves long ago. But they’re still on…”

There is only one conclusion: this underground palace is not an absolutely lifeless, sealed container! It has an extremely hidden ventilation system that connects it to the outside world! The reason why these eternal lamps can burn continuously is because a constant supply of fresh air keeps them burning and sustains the lives of the intruders.

Having grasped this point, Gao Yao's spirits lifted dramatically. A clear crack seemed to have appeared in their previous predicament. The way out wasn't necessarily a door or passage in the traditional sense. These ventilation shafts that maintained the air circulation within the underground palace, though perhaps impassable, pointed in themselves to a path connecting to the outside world! If they could find the source of the airflow and follow the trail, they might very well discover secret passages left by the builders for maintenance or emergency escape!

He stood up, ceasing his aimless search, and focused all his attention on the leaping flames. He cautiously approached a mermaid lamp, reaching out his hand to feel the air currents around the flame, trying to pinpoint the source of that faint but crucial breeze. Perhaps the hope of survival lay hidden behind this eternally burning light.

Time flies, and nearly ten days have passed since the shocking incident. If we include the time when Gao Yao led his trusted ministers and elite guards out of the city, ostensibly for a "hunt," but in reality for preliminary preparations to explore the hidden underground palace, the entire group has been away from the central government of Xianyang for a full twenty days and nights.

For the past twenty days, while the city of Xianyang remained prosperous and bustling on the surface, an undercurrent of unrest was brewing beneath. Initially, the officials attended court as usual. Hearing that His Majesty would linger at the Lishan hunting grounds for a while longer, they were surprised—after all, the King had never been away from the capital for so long before—but did not give it much thought. As the King's authority grew stronger and his temperament became increasingly deep and unpredictable, perhaps he was simply enjoying the hunt, or perhaps there was another purpose; the ministers dared not speculate.

However, as time passed, unusual signs began to appear one after another. First, the princes who had accompanied the king on the hunt returned to the palace one after another, mentioning that their fathers were still in the mountains, which was already somewhat suspicious. Even more noteworthy was that several key ministers of the court—the Chancellor Xiao He, who oversaw all government affairs and was known as the "pillar of the state"; the shrewd and capable Minister of Justice Cao Can, who was in charge of law and some military affairs; and the general Han Xin, who had made great military achievements and held military power—were all summoned away from Xianyang by an urgent order from the king shortly after the princes returned to the palace, heading straight for Mount Li.

But that wasn't all. Immediately afterward, a series of troop mobilization orders were issued from Mount Li, and troops stationed around Xianyang were dispatched in batches to the area. Simultaneously, the Imperial Household Department received a strict order to urgently conscript a large number of skilled craftsmen from Xianyang and surrounding counties, especially those proficient in civil engineering and mining, carrying various tools and supplies, who were also sent to Mount Li. In an instant, the foot of Mount Li became a military restricted zone; troops were moving about, craftsmen were gathering, and security was extremely tight—even birds couldn't enter.

This series of actions could no longer be explained by a simple "hunting." Mobilizing troops might be considered hunting large wild beasts or practicing military formations; but the large-scale conscription of artisans, especially with three top figures in both civil and military affairs—Xiao He, Cao Can, and Han Xin—simultaneously overseeing the process, was anything but ordinary. In Xianyang, astute officials and spies from various factions had already sensed an oppressive atmosphere brewing like a storm.

Rumors began to spread like wildfire, quietly creeping through the streets and the corridors of government offices: Had the King met with misfortune at Mount Li? Had he been ambushed by a powerful rebel? Or had some earth-shattering phenomenon or treasure appeared in the mountains? Why were there only reports of troop deployments, but no victories or official announcements?

Inside the Lishan camp, Xiao He, Cao Can, and others were extremely anxious. They knew that with such a large commotion, it was impossible to completely suppress the news. The King had been trapped in the underground palace for ten days, his fate unknown. Every moment of delay diminished the King's chances of survival, and increased the political risks facing Xianyang and the entire vast kingdom that had just stabilized.