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

Chapter 1006 Trapped in the Underground Heavenly Palace!

Meanwhile, the collapse triggered by the explosion had already spread! Huge boulders were falling from above, and the walls on both sides were being squeezed inward!

Gao Yao abruptly withdrew his Crimson Sky Sword, disregarding the need for a follow-up attack, and rapidly retreated, simultaneously wielding his sword to parry the falling boulders.

Using the force of drawing his sword, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan staggered towards the stone wall at the end of the passageway, where there seemed to be a hidden groove. He pressed down hard with his hand!

"Crack!" A stone slab slid open, revealing a narrow crack behind it, just wide enough for one person to pass through! He squeezed in without hesitation!

"Boom—!" The moment his figure disappeared, a massive boulder weighing tens of thousands of kilograms crashed down, completely sealing the crack and blocking the entire tunnel exit!

Gao Yao swung his sword, cleaving through several falling rocks, and rushed to the completely sealed end. Looking at the tightly sealed, unmovable boulder, his face turned ashen! He had ultimately been outmaneuvered!

Smoke and dust filled the air, and rubble piled up. The only exit had been blown up and sealed off. The sounds of battle from the guards outside seemed to be gradually subsiding, and the casualties were unknown.

The pale blue starlight shone through the pervasive dust, illuminating Gao Yao's gloomy and murderous face. He slowly raised his hand, and a drop of crimson blood dripped slowly from the tip of the Crimson Sky Sword—the blood of the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan.

Although the exit was destroyed and the situation seemed to have deteriorated to the extreme, the fire in Gao Yao's heart burned even more fiercely.

"Bastard...you can't escape..." His deep voice echoed in the sealed ruins, filled with an undeniable determination, "Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, even if I have to turn this Heavenly Palace upside down, I will find you...and then, I will end all of this with my own hands!"

The anger in Gao Yao's chest was like a suppressed volcano, scorching his internal organs. He had considered that the mysterious and unpredictable Yi Xiaochuan must have a backup plan, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment.

But he never expected that these backup plans would be so numerous, so insidious and deadly, even to the point that he, who thought he had the whole situation under control, felt powerless and frustrated. It was as if every step he took was anticipated by the other side, and he was being led like a puppet, ultimately falling into the trap. This wasn't just a defeat; it was a feeling of intellectual utter crushing, leaving Gao Yao so frustrated he almost vomited blood.

He suppressed his surging blood and quickly assessed his surroundings. The elite guards he had brought with him were now lying dead silently in this magnificent yet eerie underground palace. Their deaths varied: some had been pierced through the throat by poisoned crossbow bolts fired from who-knows-where; some had triggered the flipping floorboards and fallen into bottomless traps; and some even seemed to have their necks snapped by an invisible force… These loyal warriors hadn't even been able to utter a warning before becoming the victims of this cold palace. A faint smell of blood and a strange, stale odor, like a mixture of metal and dust, filled the air.

Gao Yao looked around. This so-called heavenly palace, though still dazzlingly bright, with luminous pearls and unknown glowing minerals embedded in the walls illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime, and star patterns flowing across the dome, was essentially still a huge and exquisite prison.

The passage he had come from had been completely sealed off by an unknown mechanism. Heavy, dragon-slaying stones had fallen, sealing the passage so tightly that not even a wisp of wind could pass through. The other entrances had either vanished or were blocked by the same mechanism. He tried to use all his strength to strike the wall, but the seemingly ordinary material was exceptionally sturdy. The force of the impact made his arm numb, leaving only shallow marks.

"Heh...cough cough..." Gao Yao laughed out of anger, then coughed from the dust, his eyes filled with malice. "Good, very good! I underestimated you!"

At this moment, he had no more doubts. The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's understanding of this underground palace far exceeded his own speculations based on modern knowledge and a superficial grasp of history. This guy was probably more than just someone who knew some secrets; he might even have personally participated in the design and construction of the palace!

And then there were his taciturn, swift-moving subordinates. Their movements were so familiar with the mechanisms and intricacies of the place that they seemed to breathe. Now it seemed that they might very well be descendants of the craftsmen who built this place back then, or even... participants who had survived to this day through some means!

Using these traps and mechanisms, accumulated over countless years and with the wisdom of countless ages, Yi Xiaochuan successfully inflicted an unprecedented defeat on this "time traveler." Now, not only had he suffered heavy losses, but he himself was trapped in this desperate situation. A mix of frustration at having "gone too far" and a deeper sense of crisis caused Gao Yao's forehead to bead with cold sweat. He had to find a way out as soon as possible; otherwise, even if he didn't die from the trap, if Yi Xiaochuan recovered or activated even more terrifying mechanisms, his situation would be unimaginable.

Meanwhile, deep within the underground palace, in a narrow, hidden passageway, the situation was not without its challenges.

The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan leaned against the cold, damp wall, breathing heavily. Each breath aggravated the horrific wound in his chest and abdomen, bringing excruciating pain. The wound was extremely deep, almost exposing the bone, and blood continued to seep out, staining his simple, ancient clothes a dark red. His face was as pale as paper, and his lips were cracked from blood loss.

Although he had repeatedly raised his expectations of Gao Yao's strength, the power Gao Yao displayed this time still exceeded his imagination. It wasn't just a mastery of martial arts, but also a domineering and bizarre way of using energy, completely different from that of this era. He even felt that even if Xiang Yu, the mighty and valiant King of Western Chu, personally took action, he would likely only face defeat and death before Gao Yao; it would only be a matter of how long he could hold out.

Gao Yao's prediction was correct. Yi Xiaochuan dared to show himself because he knew this underground palace inside and out. He knew every brick and tile, every mechanism and control point inside and out. He originally thought that with the advantage of the terrain and the help of the mechanisms, even if he couldn't kill Gao Yao on the spot, he could at least severely injure him or force him to retreat.

But he never expected that Gao Yao's strength had increased so terrifyingly. Under such a dense and dangerous siege of traps, he only suffered some minor injuries. On the contrary, he himself was seriously injured by Gao Yao's thunderous attack when he was not careful.

"Cough cough... Pfft—" Another violent cough followed, accompanied by two large mouthfuls of blood, and Yi Xiaochuan's aura became even weaker. He felt the power draining from his body, his heart filled with helplessness and a barely perceptible sense of panic.