Chapter 54: Strengthening the Underworld Palace (Bonus Chapter for Ranking Sixth on the Signing List)

"Go and kill all the intruders." Staring at the prompt before him, Liu Zhi hesitated for a moment, then turned to speak to the Corpse Soul Naga.

Corpse Soul Naga nodded and chased after them. She had already noticed that at least forty native warriors had fled into the nearby jungle.

Liu Zhi glanced at the bodies scattered across the ground, then waved his hand casually. A portal, resembling a gate in space, appeared behind him.

From within the portal, a massive head—twice the size of a normal human’s—emerged, followed by a towering, muscular body over four meters tall. This hulking figure was covered in scars, and two rusty iron chains were hooked onto his shoulders.

Stepping out from the portal, the earth-skinned giant first surveyed his surroundings, then turned and dragged the chains over his shoulder. Soon, he hauled out a cart constructed from wood, enormous beast bones, and animal hides.

Behind the cart, another equally gigantic figure pushed from the rear. Unlike the first, this one’s skin was flushed red, and his hands were tightly bound to the cart by iron chains.

Once the cart settled, the earth-skinned giant faced the corpses, hunched over, and touched the ground with both hands, pulling the chains taut as he began to run. As he charged forward, he effortlessly scooped up bodies from the ground and tossed them onto the cart behind him. None fell off; each landed heavily atop the cart.

Seeing the corpse transport cart working on its own, Liu Zhi said no more. He reached out his hand and summoned the "Valuable Soul" and the "Aztec Altar Fragment."

He pressed his left hand onto the Underworld Palace altar at his waist, and the scene before him shifted—he found himself within his Underworld Palace.

It was still daytime in the palace, everything bathed in an unsettling golden hue that made Liu Zhi uncomfortable.

Next, a series of chimes sounded in his ears, and a stream of prompts appeared before him.

[Ding! You are carrying an Aztec Altar Fragment. Please choose to absorb, fuse, or reconstruct it.]
[Absorbing the Aztec Altar Fragment will make it part of the Underworld Palace, replacing some functional effects and also altering the palace’s attributes. (Note: If you absorb this Aztec Altar Fragment, there is an 87.66% chance it will become the palace’s sun, carrying out the standard day-night cycle.)]
[Fusing the Aztec Altar Fragment will completely break it down and integrate it into the Underworld Palace, expanding its area. (Note: If the fragment is completely broken down, all contained attributes will disappear, leaving only the purest energy.)]
[Reconstructing the Aztec Altar Fragment will rebuild an Aztec altar in the Underworld Palace, automatically attracting Aztec-related spirits to enter and become part of the palace. (Note: Reconstruction requires at least five fragments and cannot prevent the spirits from worshipping Aztec gods.)]

Sweeping his eyes over the prompts, Liu Zhi quickly made up his mind. He had no need for a sun—the golden daylight here was unbearable enough; adding a sun would make it even worse during the day.

He let go, and the diamond-shaped leather shield dropped to the ground. The shield unfurled a pair of white radiant wings from its surface, as if attempting to escape. But before the wings could rise, Liu Zhi struck it to the ground with a single palm.

Immediately, the shield began to decay rapidly, like an ancient relic left for ages, until the wind scattered it, vanishing into the air.

Liu Zhi looked around in confusion. Was that a successful fusion? Why did he feel no change?

At that moment, a wild gale swept through the sky. Liu Zhi noticed that the golden sunlight seemed blocked by something, and a dense fog rose around the edges of his Underworld Palace, nearly impenetrable.

This fog resembled the mountain walls around the City of Gold, preventing the palace from expanding outward.

He had not yet taken in the scene when the ground suddenly trembled. The fog rapidly retreated some distance; though it expanded outward by less than fifty meters, for the already vast palace, this nearly increased its area by a third.

As the fog receded, the things hidden behind it became visible. Liu Zhi noticed that where the City of Gold’s entrance now stood, a gigantic serpent skeleton had been buried there.

Near the eastern district, a deep pit appeared, giving the impression of a dried lake’s edge.

Liu Zhi loosened his grip, and the valuable soul he brought in transformed into a point of light, sinking into his mind.

Within his mind, new information from the Aztec Eagle Warrior Legion appeared. Besides the eagle warriors’ ranks and training methods, there was also some inherited knowledge known to Black Kite.

After reading these inheritances, Liu Zhi realized just how deep a trap he had fallen into. The City of Gold wasn’t some cursed city—it was a demon fortress.

This City of Gold had originally been built by the joint forces of the three great empires of South America. Here, using the power of the Feathered Serpent God, they suppressed a demon that would bring disaster to the continent. Each empire stationed their strongest troops to guard it: the Aztecs’ three warrior legions, the Inca’s Sun and Moon Guards, and the Maya’s jungle corps, all had branches garrisoned here.

Only after the three empires were destroyed did the City of Gold slowly become a legend, passed down among the nearby native tribes.

Liu Zhi’s arrival coincided perfectly with the prophecy, so everyone believed he had released the demon.

He was dismissive of this, but he valued Black Kite’s insights. When the City of Gold was built, in order to suppress the demon, they deliberately drew in a portion of the Feathered Serpent God Kukulkan’s divinity. This divinity may have been the only traceable one recorded since Kukulkan’s fall.

At this thought, Liu Zhi recalled a possibility. When he entered the City of Gold, atop the pyramid, there had been an enormous feathered serpent apparition. Anyone entering the city could see it—could that be the divinity Black Kite mentioned?

A flood of thoughts raced through Liu Zhi’s mind, so much so that he barely paid attention to the subsequent explanations.