This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

Chapter 239 Unearthing a Big One

When he first encountered Daji, he thought she was just someone with the same name. However, when the enormous bronze vessel before him appeared like a sleeping behemoth, he had to think carefully about whether this Daji was the same Daji as before.

This vast bronze ruin resembles a mysterious castle forgotten by time. The traces of use on some of the artifacts seem to be the marks of time, proving that humans once lived and thrived here.

What exactly caused the fall of this bronze palace?

He looked up at the deep night sky and was startled to realize that the black auspicious clouds, like ghosts, had followed him and lingered over the bronze palace, unwilling to leave for a long time.

He racked his brains, trying to integrate his knowledge with the history of this bronze artifact, but the result made him laugh out loud. It was even more absurd and bizarre than mythology. He thought to himself that if he were to use these elements to create a story, he would probably be powerless.

"Ugh, this is so frustrating! How can I get out of here?"

There were still many matters waiting for him to handle outside, and being trapped here would be a truly troublesome problem. At this moment, he deeply understood the saying, "It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death." Once a person dies, there is truly nothing they can do.

Feeling utterly bored, he decided to explore the bronze palace to see if he could make any new discoveries, just to kill some of the time.

With this mindset, he began excavating this bronze site. Broken bronze chamber pots, like abandoned defective products; turtle shells? No, they were tortoise shells, like fragments of history; broken bronze swords; shattered bronze tripods.

"What kind of junk is this? Not a single piece of it is usable!"

"What is that?" He dug around with his bare hands, only to find broken pieces. Suddenly, a dazzling light flashed through his vision.

The presence of a ghost in this place isn't scary; what's scary is the light source, which was like a flash of lightning in the darkness. It just flickered briefly and then vanished without a trace.

He rubbed his eyes hard, as if trying to shatter the darkness before him, straining to look ahead and confirm whether it was just his imagination.

However, he could no longer see any trace of the light, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had really imagined it. He stood up unwillingly, and then, as if drawn by a mysterious force, strode towards the direction of the light source.

As he walked, the black auspicious clouds began to stir, as if foreshadowing something. However, Xiao Xingchen had no time to pay attention to the auspicious clouds above his head; his gaze was firmly drawn to a bronze artifact that was getting closer and closer.

The bronze artifact lay half-buried beneath the ruins, like a sleeping behemoth awaiting its day to be unearthed.

"That shape..."

Xiao Xingchen's heart pounded as if struck by a heavy hammer. If he remembered correctly, this was the Bronze Divine Tree! He was so excited that he rushed up and quickly dug out everything buried underneath.

When the object was fully revealed to him, he was completely stunned. It was the Sanxingdui Bronze Sacred Tree!

It towered into the clouds, like a majestic mountain peak. Divine birds perched on the branches of the divine tree, which was laden with fruit and intertwined with branches. It was exactly the same as the divine tree he had seen before! He was so shocked that he could not speak. This thing was a first-class cultural relic in his previous life, like a rare treasure that was simply untouchable.

But now, he finds himself holding one in his own hands, as if it were a cruel joke of fate.

"Where exactly is this place?" A storm raged in his heart. The last bronze divine tree came from Sanxingdui. Could this place be inextricably linked to Sanxingdui?

However, before he could ponder this further, the divine bird on the bronze tree suddenly let out a cry, a sound like thunder from the heavens, resounding through the clouds.

The entire sacred tree began to glow brilliantly, like a dazzling pearl, shining with a mysterious radiance in the darkness.

As the light shone, the divine tree seemed to come alive, standing upright in the void, as if awakened by some powerful force.

"The bronze divine tree is confronting the black auspicious clouds?" This scene left Xiao Xingchen speechless, as if he were in a fantasy world.

Xiao Xingchen was startled, as if waking from a dream, and realized that the black auspicious cloud had followed him like a shadow and had already floated above the bronze divine tree.

The divine tree, suddenly awakened, is now bursting forth with dazzling light, as if it is waging a breathtaking battle against the endless darkness brought by the auspicious clouds.

The black auspicious clouds seemed to be enraged by the sudden appearance of the bronze divine tree, and suddenly swelled up like a balloon.

In the very center of the auspicious clouds, a bottomless, dark abyss was slowly being opened, as if space itself was being torn in two.

As soon as a crack appeared, a chilling and terrifying aura surged forth like a flood bursting its banks.

The starry sky was as deep as ink, but in the blink of an eye, this cold darkness began to distort the starry sky, like the claws of a demon, wantonly ravaging this vast universe.

Xiao Xingchen couldn't help but shudder. This chilling aura was all too familiar to him; it was the scent of death, ever-present and like a leech clinging to his bones.

The dark and deep abyss resembled the gaping maw of a giant beast, as if some mysterious entity was gazing at this place from the endless darkness.

"The bronze tree that has detached itself from the earth? So you were hiding here."

Xiao Xingchen shuddered violently. The voice was like a sharp sword, piercing straight into the depths of his soul. It was a soft whisper as calm as water, yet as chilling as ice, making him feel as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.

There's someone in the abyss! He made that judgment instantly, and the other party's target was clearly this bronze divine tree.

"Hiss..." Suddenly, a divine bird's cry came from the branches of the divine tree. The sound resounded through the starry sky, like a sharp arrow, carrying endless resentment and anger, pointing straight to the source of the abyss.

Xiao Xingchen didn't know why the divine bird was crying, but he clearly felt its sorrow, as if that sorrow was surging towards him like a tide. He involuntarily looked towards the center of the black auspicious cloud, and doubts welled up in his heart like a tide, so he blurted out, "Who are you?"

"Giggle..." A crisp laugh rang out, as melodious as a silver bell, yet carrying a chilling undertone.

"Who am I? So much time has passed that I've forgotten my own name. However, people do have a name for me; they call me Houtu Niangniang (Empress Houtu)."

"Roar..." The divine bird roared again, the sound deafening, as if it would tear the entire universe apart.

However, this answer struck Xiao Xingchen like a bolt from the blue, leaving him utterly stunned.

The Heavenly Emperor and Earthly Queen forbid people from speaking, yet he actually encountered a deity here!

"My God, I must be dreaming."

He stood frozen in disbelief, his heart surging with a profound sense of awe.

At the same time, he became increasingly curious about the bronze divine tree beside him. What kind of divine object dared to confront the Goddess Houtu?

"Are you praying to the heavens? You're in for a bad time. The heavens have no power to interfere in your affairs before me!"

"No, no, Your Majesty Houtu, you are blessed with boundless good fortune. I am just a passerby. Moreover, my admiration for Your Majesty Houtu is as boundless as the flowing river! This matter has absolutely nothing to do with me."

Xiao Xingchen retreated repeatedly in an extremely unkind manner, instantly creating a considerable distance between himself and the Bronze Divine Tree. He acted as if he didn't care about anything, which angered the Bronze Divine Tree so much that it hissed again, as if expressing strong dissatisfaction with his behavior.

"Hehe, you divine tree that dares to break free from the earth's shackles, ten thousand years have passed, and you are so weak and feeble. Why don't you quickly return to the warm embrace of Mother Earth? You must know that all things in the world are based on the earth. Any existence that dares to rise above the earth is like a rat crossing the street, and everyone has the right to kill it!"

The voice of the Goddess Houtu still echoed in his ears, while Xiao Xingchen hid to the side, savoring the profound meaning of her words.

At this moment, black auspicious clouds descended from the sky, forming a dense, impenetrable net that tightly surrounded the bronze divine tree.

However, the divine tree still shone with the unique brilliance of the Bronze Age civilization, like a dazzling pearl, making it impossible for the auspicious clouds to advance even an inch, thus creating a stalemate in mid-air. Just at this critical moment, an ancient yet majestic voice suddenly resounded in Xiao Xingchen's mind: "This is definitely not Houtu, this is an imposter! She is attempting to devour the supreme power of my Bronze Age civilization, stop her immediately!"