The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 477 - 383, "Father King, Zhao Douan has led people to attack our doorstep!" (Two in One)

The once bustling woods were now left with nothing but a vast expanse of falling leaves.

Zhao Douan remained silent, feeling some regret that he had not asked for directions back in his effort to maintain his cool image. But now that everyone had left, he had no choice but to make his own way back.

"It looks like the place I was teleported to shouldn't be too far away."

Relying on his superhuman hearing, Zhao Douan faintly captured the sound of running water.

"At this hour, I wonder how things are at Yansuo Lake... Hmm, after I was taken away, Duan Shuiliu and Qi Yuchun would have lost their target and certainly retreated, so Old Hai and the others should be fine. They must be worried about where I've gone... Tsk tsk, who could have thought this could be an opportunity to plant another spy."

"Hmm, after I return to the Capital, I can report to Zhenbao and see how we should proceed. If the Princess manages to stay undercover, stabbing Prince Jing in the back at a crucial moment might have a miraculous effect."

"Heh, I wonder what Prince Jing will think when he finds out the assassination attempt failed."

As numerous thoughts flickered through his mind, Zhao Douan followed the sound of water, weaving his way through the forest. Along the way, he pulled out a pill and crushed it, applying it to the wound on his shoulder and bandaging it up simply.

Soon, he burst out of the woods, and the view suddenly opened up before him, a cold wind blowing in his face and causing his hair to sweep backward.

Ahead lay a vast lake, spanning hundreds of miles.

Yansuo Lake!

He caught sight of it immediately—the huge, landmark "Earth God Statue."

"Shss... I was directly teleported downstream of Yansuo Lake? Huh, the fighting seems indeed to have stopped."

Zhao Douan shielded his eyes with his hand, looking into the distance. He could no longer see any signs of combat in the Worldly Realm.

He could faintly make out his own cabin-boat nearing the shore, but the specifics were hard to see clearly due to the distance.

"It's not like I'm going to have to swim back... This place is desolate, void of any human figure." Zhao Douan's mouth twitched as he pondered how to return.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he remembered another goal of his trip to Hu Ting.

To find the ancient Suppressing Object hidden at the bottom of Yansuo Lake: the Mystic Turtle Seal!

These past few days, he had been unable to search for the treasure at Hu Ting due to the excessive attention. Now, however, presented an excellent opportunity.

"But Pei Niannu only said that the treasure was at the bottom of the lake, without specifying where exactly. In such a vast area... surely, I can't just dive in and grope around..."

Zhao Douan's brows furrowed, suddenly recalling his experience in the Capital searching for the secret passage.

With a thought, he spread out his palm and condensed the white jade leaf in the center of it!

"If this thing is really the key, then perhaps there's a response with the 'lock'..." Zhao Douan murmured.

He slowly channeled energy into the white jade leaf, sinking his mind and wholeheartedly probing with the Middle Grade Divine Chapter's perception.

Whooosh...

The mountain wind brushed over the surface of the water, creating ripples upon the lake.

As Zhao Douan continued to sense, he gradually noticed something amiss. He adjusted his direction and walked along the lake's edge. The resonance within the Luoshan Jade grew increasingly clear as he did so.

"There's hope!"

Zhao Douan's eyes brightened, and he no longer rushed to return, simply walking step by step following that faint sensation.

After what seemed like more than half an hour, he finally stopped at a chaotic and weed-covered lakeshore covered in loose stones.

"This place has the strongest sensation!"

Just as Zhao Douan was about to strip and dive into the lake to investigate, the Luoshan Jade in his hand suddenly emitted a rich light and floated up gently, and the lake water in front of him began to ripple.

"Splash splash..."

Then, to his astonishment, the water in front of him, as if divided by an invisible force, slowly formed a dry, downward-sloping corridor right before him!

This was magical... Suppressing his surprise, Zhao Douan set foot on the muddy bottom of the lake and proceeded step by step, while the Luoshan Jade was gently pulled downward by some soft force.

It was as if he walked through an aquarium corridor, flanked on both sides by glass walls.

Zhao Douan could even see the fish swimming in the water.

Eventually, he reached the lake's bottom where a hollow, covered in overgrown moss, appeared with an engraving of a round shield-like pattern.

Zhao Douan figured out the location, realizing that this spot happened to be directly along the line of the Earth God Statue's gaze.

"Coincidence? Or is it..."

Amidst his contemplation, the leaf-shaped Luoshan Jade went straight ahead, pressing itself into the hollow in the center of the stone pattern.

Then, with a slight tremble, the hollow vibrated, and heavy "zzzz" noises followed as the stone door before him opened of its own accord, revealing a set of stairs leading downwards.

Zhao Douan pulled out a torch from his scroll, ignited it with flint, and descended.

Here lay a small stone cave, clearly in view and about the size of a large room, with simple stone furniture and beds.

Everything was covered in dust, evidently untouched for a long time.

On the cave walls were paintings of divine figures, visible were turtle serpents, and the recognizable images of the Daoist Heavenly Dao.

At that moment, with fresh air flooding in, the murals quickly faded away as if time, once frozen, was accelerating.

"Could this be some sort of cultivation den? Don't tell me it's a tomb..."

Zhao Douan proceeded cautiously, inspecting the area to ensure there were no dangers, and the cave was devoid of skeletal remains.

It was a simple den.

The den's owner seemed to have tidied up before leaving, everything was in perfect order.

On the ground, a decrepit meditation cushion and a horsetail whisk lay neatly placed.

Zhao Douan nudged them with his boot, and instantly, the horsetail whisk disintegrated into decayed dust, and the cushion's surface cracked open.