Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Hu Tao puffed out her cheeks and turned her face to the side. "Hmph! And yet you still made me angry!"

Jiang Bai poked her cheek, which was as red as an apple. "I was just afraid the sect leader would be shy..."

"How could you do this..." Hu Tao muttered, but her embarrassment and anger had subsided considerably.

Just like he said, everyone has seen it, so it's even.

"Build me a house, I need to change my clothes!"

"no problem."

Jiang Bai snapped his fingers, and the changing room appeared on the spot.

Not long after, Hu Tao, having changed her clothes, came out from inside.

After the blush faded, her face was still pale, but it was much better than before when she was as pale as paper.

"Where am I?" She looked around at her surroundings, completely bewildered.

"Master, your flames were too strong. They burned the tomb open, causing it to collapse completely. This is some ruin in the canyon below the tomb..."

Jiang Bai briefly explained what had happened.

"Speaking of which, what exactly are those zombie-like things in that tomb? You got scratched, are you alright?"

Hu Tao shook her head. "To be precise, it's not a zombie, but should be called a [corpse puppet]."

"Corpse puppet?" This was the first time Jiang Bai had heard this term.

"Corpse puppets and zombies are somewhat similar. Both are corpses that do not decay, and the soul remains inside the corpse after death. However, the difference is that the soul in a corpse puppet is forcibly sealed inside the body."

"A soul sealed by evil magic will lose its reason, gradually having its consciousness and spiritual light eroded, becoming a tool to drive the body. Then, by setting up an array and using the refinement of yin energy, in less than a hundred years, the corpse can be transformed into an invulnerable puppet..."

"These monsters have no intelligence; they instinctively seek out living beings and attempt to assimilate them—a very evil method..."

Hu Tao did not elaborate on how the corpse puppet was transformed, as the story is too ancient, and even the records of the Hall of Rebirth only contain a few words about it.

"I roughly reconstructed the original story based on the inscriptions inside the tomb."

Jiang Bai handed her a glass of warm water and gestured for her to drink it slowly.

Hu Tao took the water glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"About three thousand years ago, or even earlier, the demons in the Wuwangpo area didn't really have much influence. The humans living there were ruled by a human king whose only son died of disease and whose tomb was in his tomb."

"The king could not bear the loss of his son. At that time, a strange man appeared in the palace who claimed that he could resurrect the prince."

"Holding onto a sliver of hope, the king believed the man's words and followed his instructions. He set up a magic array in the tomb using human blood, and then used several of the prince's wives and concubines, servants, and thousands of people gathered from the common people as burial offerings, sealing them all alive in coffins to be buried alive with him..."

Jiang Bai frowned upon hearing this. "And then?"

"To prevent the eccentric from deceiving him, the king sealed the eccentric into the tomb as well. The eccentric originally intended to create a puppet he could control, but due to some unknown influence, after forty-nine days, the prince did indeed become a puppet, but he couldn't control it and was killed, becoming one of them..."

This content was reconstructed by Hu Tao herself using the diary she found and the writing on the wall. It may differ from the facts, but it shouldn't be too far off.

"That was a fitting death."

"And then, this is what we see: all the corpses inside have turned into corpse puppets, and that prince is not far from developing sentience..."

"What happened to that country later? Did they not open the tomb?"

Chapter 316 He won't admit it!

Hu Tao shrugged. "According to ancient records, that country was completely destroyed in the war between the demons and gods. The king didn't even live to see the appointed time... That country couldn't really be called a country; it was just a large settlement, and its history was so short that it left no trace in history..."

Teyvat has seen far too many civilizations, some of which were backward and ignorant, and didn't even qualify to leave behind any relics.

Jiang Bai shrugged speechlessly, "This is really hard to describe... I can only say they deserve it!"

A dynasty that would sacrifice thousands of people for its own selfish interests is simply reaping what it sowed.

Hu Tao sighed, "For thousands of years, these corpse puppets have been nourished by Yin energy. If we hadn't used a secret technique, we might not have been able to eliminate them all..."

Upon hearing the word "secret technique," Jiang Bai suddenly tensed up. "Will using that technique have any side effects? Will it come at a great cost?"

"It almost burned off half of my blood, and I'll be weak for a long time..."

Hu Tao didn't seem to care much.

Although that move was a suicidal tactic given the circumstances, after using it, she had no power to resist and even lost consciousness. As long as one of the corpse puppets was not killed, she would be the one to die.

But if you can get through that period, and then take good care of yourself afterwards, there shouldn't be any major problems.

That powerful move only cost half a blood, which was hardly a price to pay.

"That was so close..."

Jiang Bai was filled with lingering fear.

If he had arrived any later, he might never have seen Hu Tao again.

Jiang Bai grabbed her hand. "Master, the main thing is that next time there's something dangerous like this, you absolutely have to take me with you!"

He didn't say anything to Hu Tao to stop doing such dangerous things in the future; for Hu Tao, dealing with these ghosts and spirits was her duty.

He could only pray that he would encounter fewer dangerous situations, or find a way to make Hu Tao stronger.

Hu Tao's gaze fell on the hand that he was holding. Perhaps he was really frightened, because he held on extremely tightly, as if he wouldn't let go until he agreed.

She patted Jiang Bai's hand, signaling him to relax, "Don't worry, I'll definitely call you if I need any help."

Jiang Bai felt that this was still not safe, after all, he wasn't always in the Hall of Rebirth.

"Once we get back, the training needs to be arranged immediately, Master. I will supervise you closely!"

Hu Tao recalled how she used to dominate Jiang Bai during training, but now the roles were reversed, and it was Jiang Bai who was dominating her training...

Alright, if her underlings are this strong, she, as the hall master, can't be outdone.

Jiang Bai pulled her to sit down on a stool, where food was prepared.

Hu Tao did want to eat, but someone was holding his hand and wouldn't let go.

Walnut's eyes narrowed into crescent shapes as she stared directly at him:

"How long do you intend to hold my hand...?"

Jiang Bai seemed to only then realize that he was still holding Hu Tao's hand. He chuckled awkwardly and silently let go, "Master, your hands are too cold, you need to warm them up..."

Because of excessive blood loss and insufficient blood supply, Hu Tao's hands are very cold.

Jiang Bai draped the large coat over her shoulders, straightened her collar, and tied it into a bow to secure it.

Seeing Jiang Bai suddenly approach, Hu Tao's body stiffened slightly, and she subconsciously held her breath. Only after Jiang Bai finished did she feel as if she had survived a disaster and finally remembered how to breathe.

A scene from before, perhaps a dream, suddenly flashed through her mind. "You last night... never mind..."

It was probably just a dream, so I shouldn't ask about it...

"?"

Seeing that her face was still a little red, Jiang Bai tilted his head.

Last night? What happened last night?

Aside from holding her all night, he didn't do anything else.

Hmm, that's definitely not what the leader wants to ask.

He won't admit it even if you ask!

Jiang Bai naturally changed the subject, "But if it's just a formation set up by humans, why can't even a long-distance communication device be used in the tomb?"

When the topic of long-distance communication devices came up, Hu Tao's attention was immediately diverted.

She edited the text and tried to send a message to Xiangling to see if she could send it.

But the result was the same as in the tomb; the message was as if it were covered by some mysterious force and could not be transmitted at all.

Hu Tao thought for a moment, "I think the reason the message can't be transmitted is probably due to the geographical location... After all, there are very few things that can block the transmission of messages from a celestial artifact. Including that tomb, this entire region is shrouded in an invisible force, which is why we can't communicate with the outside world..."

The entire area that Walnut was referring to included this vast underground canyon, including the palace beneath them.

"The compass points to the palace, so it seems we'll have to explore the palace below..."

Jiang Bai nodded, thinking that this was very likely.

"However, there's no rush for exploration. Your health is the most important thing, Master. Let's talk about it when you've rested and have some strength left."

Now that Hu Tao has woken up, it means that her body is fine and all that's left is to rest and recuperate.

He brought enough food and water to keep them inside for a while.

Gudu, which had been hidden in Jiang Bai's pocket, quietly poked its head out.

It tilted its head and looked around, but finding nothing interesting, it shrunk back into the pocket and went back to sleep.

There is no concept of time in the dark underground; if you hadn't brought a pocket watch, you probably wouldn't have been able to feel the passage of time.

Hu Tao's physical condition was far better than that of an average person. In addition, the Divine Eye brought about a fundamental change in her physique, and soon she was able to carry out normal activities without feeling dizzy or weak in her limbs.

Holding the Lumenite, he jumped directly from the window into the palace.

Standing on the horizontal wall, Jiang Bai felt a sense of novelty. If viewed from a different angle, it was as if he had special abilities.

"Master, did you bring the photo camera? Let's take a group photo."

Hu Tao was speechless; at a time like this, all this guy was thinking about was taking a group photo.

But it would be quite fun to take the photos and then use them to tease Xiangling.

"I brought it."

They excitedly set up the camera and then made a funny face, pretending to walk on the wall, their expressions of excitement exactly the same.

This unknown palace is quite magnificent, with very angular architecture, and the roads and gates are all very regular hexagonal shapes.

Moreover, the palace's interior space is extremely spacious; any words spoken will echo from all directions. In fact, because the main gate is too high above the walls, it is not easy to pass through.

However, none of this mattered to Jiang Bai. The rock pillar rose directly from beneath his feet, carrying the two of them to the height of the threshold and into the next space.

Chapter 317 Apostle of the Abyss and Dainesreb

The two explored room by room, hoping to find some books, artifacts, or remains to find out what this place was all about. However, apart from the palace itself, there was nothing of value inside!

There are no cultural relics, let alone books; you can't even see a bookshelf.

"Do you think it's possible that before the crisis arrived, everyone in this palace had already evacuated, and even moved all the valuables away, leaving nothing behind?"

It can't be said that nothing was left behind; they did see some things that looked like stone tables and chairs, but these things were all shattered and never looked the same again after the palace collapsed.

“It’s possible…” Hu Tao did not deny this possibility.

It is unknown how long this palace has existed, and some of the artifacts left behind have probably long since weathered away and disappeared.

"Such a large palace, yet there are no monsters." Jiang Bai remarked.

It's quite rare to find a ruin without monsters, guardians, or treasure-hunting groups.

Not long after Jiang Bai finished speaking, he saw a strange humanoid monster.

The monster was wearing a strange outfit that looked like a combination of armor and cloth, but upon closer inspection, the clothes seemed to be growing onto its body.

The monster seemed to be patrolling its own territory and did not notice Jiang Bai and the others peeking out.

"Master, what is this?" Jiang Bai asked in a low voice.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a tall monster, which actually looked quite human.

Hu Tao recognized what kind of monster it was. "This is an Abyss Apostle. Judging from its color, it should be of the ice attribute."

"Apostles of the Abyss? Related to the Abyss Cult?"

Jiang Bai knew that the leader of the Abyss Order was called Her Highness the Princess, but he had only ever met the Abyss Mage.

Abyss Apostle—that sounds like a higher status than Abyss Mage.

"Yes, these are the core members of the Abyss Order, but I have never fought against them, so I don't know how strong they are."

As the renowned head of the Hall of Resurrection in Liyue, Kurumi knew a little about the Abyss Order, an organization that was hostile to all of humanity.

"Master, you wait here. I'll go up and grab him, and ask him what kind of place this is."

Jiang Bai remembered that Abyss Mages could speak, so Abyss Apostles must also be able to speak.