Chapter 86: The Secret Chamber

Once again, Liu Zhi’s wind blades struck the spot where the feathered serpent’s head had been. With each blow, he managed to chip away some stone, but no matter how hard he tried, the thickness of the conduit remained impenetrable—there was not even the slightest possibility of breaking through.

Impatience gnawed at Liu Zhi. He took a deep breath, and three wind blades gathered on his longsword. Yet as he inhaled, his breath subtly shifted, and a faint shadow appeared along the edge of the wind blades.

Vidnina, sensitive to changes in swordsmanship, immediately noticed the alteration in Liu Zhi's technique. Her gaze shifted toward him, observing that his breathing now affected his body with each inhalation. She recalled the Night Assassin Sword Art Liu Zhi had previously acquired, complete with its unique shadowy breathing method, which could influence one's constitution and imbue attacks with attributes.

Whatever the cause, the change seemed beneficial, so Vidnina let it pass. She had already drawn her own longsword, ready to assist Liu Zhi if needed.

But this time, Liu Zhi required no help. He treated the place as a new opportunity to hone his swordsmanship, and the practice of the Indigo Gale Sword Art began anew. Unlike last time, he wasn’t able to level up directly, but after unleashing four or five hundred wind blades, he finally forced open the sealed passage in the ceiling.

A torrent of liquid, as clear as spring water, sprayed out, drenching both Liu Zhi and Vidnina from head to toe.

Liu Zhi ignored the liquid, peering into the passage for a way to climb up and investigate. He found the opening barely as wide as a human arm; even if he managed to get up there, he would be unable to crawl inside to see what lay beyond.

Resigned, Liu Zhi sighed and prepared to widen the passage by force—when he suddenly made a remarkable discovery.

[Ding! You have been cleansed by Divine Essence. Your body has undergone purification. Attribute changes: Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1, Spirit +1.]

Staring at his newly enhanced stats, Liu Zhi blinked in disbelief, checking his attribute sheet three or four times before accepting that both his strength and spirit had surpassed 4.

“Excellent! Wait, I remember the requirements for Leif’s Twisted Spine—it needs a strength of 4.0. I should be able to use it now.”

He tossed aside his longsword and pulled Leif’s Twisted Spine from his backpack. Yet as he grasped the weapon, he was embarrassed to find he couldn’t lift it.

Upon closer inspection, Liu Zhi realized he’d misremembered something: Leif’s Twisted Spine required two hands, and while his strength was sufficient at 4.0, one hand was always occupied with his Death Staff. Thus, he could only wield a sword one-handed—or, worse, it might be counted as dual-wielding, pushing the strength requirement to 6.4, or even 9.2.

Clearly, he was still some way from wielding the longsword properly. However, his spirit had also improved, boosting his mana by another twenty points. Now, Liu Zhi need no longer worry about summoning his undead battalion to fight alongside him in the real world.

After another glance at the narrow passage, he stowed Leif’s Twisted Spine and said, “Looks like there’s nothing more here. Let’s move on—if the next place offers similar benefits, we’ll truly have profited this time.”

Vidnina, hand on her sword, followed silently behind. Liu Zhi was long accustomed to her taciturn manner. He illuminated their path with a light spell and remarked, “You really should speak up sometimes. Being silent all the time isn’t right—look at me, I talk constantly. Otherwise, in a deserted place like this, I’d suffocate from boredom.”

With Liu Zhi’s chatter filling the air, they soon left the pyramid’s interior. Upon descending, Liu Zhi sensed something amiss.

He scanned the surroundings. “Something’s not right. Golden City used to be this quiet, but for some reason, I feel an unusual sense of danger today.”

Vidnina felt it too. She stepped in front of Liu Zhi, as if to demonstrate the proper way for a necromancer to fight—that charging forward with a longsword was not it.

Liu Zhi failed to grasp her meaning. He simply raised his Death Staff, drew his sword, and continued to lead the way.

“Keep a close eye on our surroundings. I remember seeing a mural here before, and the image matches this map—yes, it’s that room.”

He searched as he walked, moving through the city by memory. Soon, he found the house where he’d first seen the pattern from Perkin’s notebook.

The house was unremarkable, tucked into a corner of the northern district. If Liu Zhi hadn’t visited every building before, he might never have known about the mural within.

Standing before the mural, Liu Zhi carefully compared it to the illustration in his notebook. He was certain this was the secret chamber he sought.

But the trail ended there—he had no idea where the chamber’s switch was. Staring at the wall, Liu Zhi wondered if he’d need to destroy it with wind blades. Yet that didn’t seem right, since the street lay directly behind the wall; even if he demolished it, it wouldn’t grant access to the chamber.

Disheartened, Liu Zhi set down his notebook and stepped back to search for more clues on the mural. At that moment, he noticed something: upon closer inspection, he realized that while the mural and the notebook’s illustration were nearly identical, there was one difference.

The weapon held by the man on the mural was wrong. The notebook showed a typical Sisean rapier, while the mural depicted an Aztec macuahuitl.

At first, Liu Zhi thought it was simply Perkin’s artistic habit—everyone tends to draw what they’re most familiar with. But now, he saw it differently. He pressed his hand firmly onto the macuahuitl in the mural and pushed downward with all his strength.