Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 317 - 183: Mengniang’s Master?_3

Chapter 317: Chapter 183: Mengniang’s Master?_3

"Where is this?"

Jiang Shouzhong coughed dryly, straightened up, and looked around.

Faint lights flickered and danced through the air.

Guided by the dim and hazy light, Jiang Shouzhong realized they were inside a grand hall.

Suddenly, a wave of inexplicable familiarity overwhelmed him.

Jiang Shouzhong pondered and then had a sudden realization, the place greatly resembled the ruins he had encountered at the bottom of Huailan Lake, identical in layout.

Only this hall appeared more intact, devoid of the desolate collapse and decay.

"Strange, why would someone build such an underground palace underwater?"

Jiang Shouzhong was puzzled.

Mengniang surveyed the surroundings and spoke indifferently, "It was built by the previous dynasty."

At that moment, Jiang Shouzhong noticed that apart from the two of them, there was no one else around, including the dangerously unstable passenger ship, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Where are the others? Where is the ship?"

Mengniang shook her head lightly, "I’m not sure. I had already taken you away from that ship, but we still got swept in. Either they’re dead, or they’re somewhere else."

Mengniang paused for a moment and continued, "That ship was likely intentionally brought to that area. There’s a formation there that’s hard to escape from; clearly, someone planned to kill everyone on board. If it weren’t for that young girl using the Magic Artifact at the crucial moment, none of them would have survived."

Jiang Shouzhong’s expression darkened.

That being said, there was something fishy about the person in charge of the passenger ship.

Recalling the young girl named Leng Jing, Jiang Shouzhong sighed.

The young girl was still very kind, hopefully, she was alive.

The grand hall was empty except for stone columns, and if this underground palace was like the one under Huailan Lake, then there should be two more floors below, along with an altar.

Jiang Shouzhong found an ancient door and pushed it open with effort.

He discovered a small stone chamber inside.

The floor was piled with skeletons, and the walls were crisscrossed with sword and blade marks, surrounded by many chests, either broken and askew or half-open.

From the chaos in the stone chamber, it seemed there had been a struggle here.

"This underground palace couldn’t have been built by the previous dynasty... to store treasures?"

Looking at the scattered human bones inside the stone chamber, Jiang Shouzhong could imagine the fierce battles these people had fought over treasures.

Every fallen dynasty always leaves behind legends of treasure.

Mengniang nodded slightly, "It seems so."

Mengniang noticed a mural and moved forward to inspect it.

Suddenly, an unexpected burst of golden light shot out, striking the woman.

Mengniang screamed in agony, her body flung out of the stone chamber like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily. Her body was wrapped in tendrils of black energy, resembling ink snakes wriggling grotesquely.

"Mengniang!"

Jiang Shouzhong’s face turned pale, and he quickly approached her.

Mengniang lay curled on the ground, her body trembling incessantly, agony written all over her face, her features contorted as if she were enduring the pain of a thousand ants gnawing at her bones.

At the same time, the demon’s form appeared, a pure white serpent shadow flickering in and out of existence amidst the interplay of light and shadow.

Her condition looked as if her soul might flee at any moment.

Jiang Shouzhong was stunned by the situation in front of him, completely unaware of what had happened.

In his urgency, Jiang Shouzhong remembered the deathly aura in his own body and hastily embraced the delicate body of the woman. After a long time, Mengniang’s shivering ceased, and her face was nearly drained of all color.

"What happened, Mengniang?"

Jiang Shouzhong looked down at the pitiful woman in his arms and asked with concern.

Mengniang’s lips turned white, her jade hand clutching Jiang Shouzhong’s arm weakly, she said, "Go to the place where the golden light came from, there is something there, take it down..."

Jiang Shouzhong nodded and entered the stone chamber.

Recalling the place where the golden light had appeared, Jiang Shouzhong walked over and found something embedded in the wall, resembling a sweet potato, inconspicuous and dark.

Jiang Shouzhong forcefully pried it out.

He immediately felt a refreshing coolness seep into his body.

Jiang Shouzhong held the sweet potato and returned to Mengniang’s side, cautiously wrapping it with his clothing, fearing he might harm her.

"No need to cover it, the remaining mana on it has already faded," Mengniang said.

Jiang Shouzhong made an acknowledgment and removed the sweet potato.

After observing it for a moment, Mengniang said with a bitter smile, "It’s the legendary Zodiac Dharma Seal, no wonder it’s so powerful. I must have accidentally triggered the mechanism earlier, activating it."

"Zodiac Dharma Seal? What is that?" Jiang Shouzhong was completely confused.

Mengniang explained, "A powerful Magic Artifact that can deal with zodiac-based demons. If it can be paired with the Zodiac Map, it can unleash its true power. The Zodiac Map can absorb the demons of the twelve zodiacs, and if you put the Dharma Seal on it, the demons will recognize you as their master."

At this point, Mengniang joked, "If you could imprint me with it, you’d be my master too."

"So it can’t be used now?" Jiang Shouzhong asked, puzzled.

Mengniang shook her head, "Its mana has faded, and without the Zodiac Map to channel mana into it, it’s a useless object. It’s a pity the Zodiac Map is nowhere to be found, rumor has it that it’s in the Wanshou Mountains and Rivers, but I’m not too sure."

Jiang Shouzhong instantly felt utterly disappointed.

He had thought fortune had favored him, picking up a great treasure, but it turned out to be useless.

Zodiac Map?

He couldn’t exactly wait around for someone to deliver the gear to him.