The secret room wasn’t large, about thirty feet square, but the items piled inside made even Xia Wuyang raise an eyebrow, feeling the trip was well worth it.
On the wooden shelves against the west wall, thirty-nine Jade Boxes were arranged neatly, clearly holding valuable items.
Opening them, he found they were all filled with rare medicinal ingredients, including no small number of Spirit Grasses and Medicines.
There was a five-hundred-year-old blood ginseng, a Middle Level Mortal Treasure; a thousand-year-old Xueling, a Low Level Spirit Grass; and even three stalks of crystalline Ice Soul Grass. This was a primary ingredient for Refining Ice Attribute Spirit Pills, incredibly rare in the outside world, and these were all Middle Level Spirit Grasses.
Even the Mortal Level herbs kept here were all Miracle Treasures, though they were only Middle-Low Level Mortal Treasures. Any High Level ones or above had likely been consumed by Murong Wan.
But she couldn’t consume the Spirit Grasses and Medicines, so they remained. In total, there were several dozen stalks, including Spirit Grasses, Spirit Medicines, and even Spirit Pills... What astonished Xia Wuyang even more was a Thousand-year-old White Fruit. This was a Low Level Spirit Treasure capable of significantly raising a True Monarch’s Cultivation Realm.
Once his River True Seed was fully stabilized, he could consume this Thousand-year-old White Fruit and rapidly raise his Cultivation by a large margin.
Xia Wuyang carefully put away these treasures, especially the Thousand-year-old White Fruit, a broad smile on his face.
’As expected of Empress Murong Wan, the model for the empire. She was truly wealthy.’
On the weapons rack against the east wall hung seven swords and three sabers, all Top Level Mortal Artifacts; there wasn’t even a single High Level Mortal Artifact.
The most conspicuous item was a suit of Golden Silk Armor, as thin as a cicada’s wing and cool to the touch, with faint traces of Spirituality flowing through it.
Xia Wuyang infused it with True Qi to test it. The armor’s body glowed with a faint golden light. It was actually a Low Level Spiritual Artifact that hadn’t yet bonded with an owner. Xia Wuyang promptly claimed it with his Extraordinary Spiritual Power, becoming its master.
Moreover, the Golden Silk Armor could be worn underneath, covered by the Wood Spirit Armor. With two Low Level Spiritual Artifacts protecting him, his Defense increased significantly once again.
On the table against the north wall were a dozen or so brocade boxes. Although they contained good things, they made him frown.
Xia Wuyang opened them one by one. Inside were five bottles of Beauty Pills, three jars of Anti-Aging Cream, and two boxes of Mermaid’s Tear Pearl Powder... These were Murong Wan’s secrets to maintaining her youth. Unfortunately, he had no use for them, but they could probably be exchanged for many valuable items if sold.
Then, in a hidden compartment at the very bottom, he found the real treasures.
Thirty-three Spirit Talismans, covering all aspects: Attack, Defense, and support.
The talisman paper shimmered with a faint spiritual light, and the Runes on them were complex and profound.
Xia Wuyang identified them carefully: five Protective Talismans, three Divine Movement Talismans, two Flame Talismans, one Ice Seal Talisman, one Thunder Strike Talisman... ’And a Soul-Stabilizing Talisman?’
He picked up the Soul-Stabilizing Talisman, his brow furrowed.
The talisman paper was cold to the touch, and the patterns on it were completely different from ordinary Spirit Talismans, faintly suggesting the Power to lock a Soul and trap a Spirit.
This was a Talisman commonly used by heretical True Monarchs. ’Why would Murong Wan, an Empress living deep within the palace, possess such a thing? Does she have some dark secrets?’
Lost in thought, Xia Wuyang put the Spirit Talisman away. It might prove very useful in the future.
Finally, his gaze fell upon the Jade Platform in the center of the secret room.
Only one object rested there: a palm-sized Jade Pendant. It was emerald green through and through, with what looked like mist flowing within it. It was incredibly vibrant, far surpassing the Golden Silk Armor.
The Jade Pendant was carved in the shape of a Phoenix Carrying a Pearl. Two crimson dots were inlaid where the phoenix’s eyes should be. At first glance, they looked like Rubies, but when Xia Wuyang probed it with his Spiritual Power, he immediately felt a powerful soul-binding force.
Soul-Stabilizing Jade!
This was, shockingly, a Middle Level Spiritual Artifact. This jade wasn’t a treasure for attack or defense, but a strange Spiritual Artifact designed specifically to counter Souls.
The wearer could infuse a wisp of Spiritual Power into it to immobilize another person’s Soul for three breaths, rendering them unable to move.
In a duel between experts, three breaths is enough time to determine life and death. It was an absolute treasure.
What was even more terrifying was that, when paired with a specific Secret Technique, it could even imprison the Soul of a slain person within the jade, preventing them from ever being reincarnated. It was an exceptionally vicious item.
"Murong Wan..."
Xia Wuyang clenched the Soul-Stabilizing Jade, the cold glint in his eyes intensifying. "Who did you plan to use this on? What sort of scheme were you plotting?"
He recalled Zheng Zhicang once mentioning that after his Empress Mother Luo Jin’s death, her body had been secretly cremated, not even leaving a complete corpse behind.
’Thinking about it now, it probably wasn’t just Emperor Xia being cruel. That woman, Murong Wan, likely didn’t even want to spare my mother’s Soul. She’s utterly depraved.’
Taking a deep breath, Xia Wuyang swept all the valuable items in the secret room into his Personal Space. Essentially everything kept here was worthy of taking, and of course, he wasn’t going to leave any of it behind.
Spirit Grass, Spirit Talismans, Spiritual Artifacts, jewelry, Cultivation Techniques, Combat Techniques, Secret Techniques... Murong Wan’s decades of accumulation became his spoils of war in an instant, causing his personal wealth to skyrocket. With the treasures in his Personal Space alone, it would be no exaggeration to say he was as rich as a nation.
Before leaving the secret room, he took one last look at Murong Wan on the Phoenix Couch.
She was still there, her eyes open but unable to move. She could only stare fixedly at the ceiling as tears streamed silently down her face.
On the face that had once captivated the world, only ashen despair remained. ’That must be a great feeling.’
He had finally exacted a small measure of revenge for the enmities of the past.
Xia Wuyang suddenly felt the weight that had been on his heart for decades loosen, just a little.
It wasn’t exhilaration, nor was it joy, but a sense of... closure.
"This is just the beginning. There’s much more to come," he said softly, perhaps to Murong Wan, perhaps to himself. "Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion, Xia Shengming, and everyone involved back then... one by one, none of you will escape. You will all pay the price."
A life for a life and a debt for a debt is the law of heaven and earth.
Xia Wuyang was merely giving them a taste of their own medicine, an eye for an eye, blood for blood.
He put his mask and Cloak back on, then turned and walked out of the grand hall.
The hall doors slowly closed behind him, sealing the Empress—whose fate was worse than death—inside the palace that was as warm as spring yet colder than an ice cave.
The snow was still falling, and it was growing heavier.
Xia Wuyang stood on the flying eaves of Kunning Palace, looking toward Qianqing Palace.
The lights there were still blazing. Who knew what Emperor Xia was up to tonight.
The Emperor had no idea that his most beloved Empress had already become a helpless invalid, doomed to a suffering a hundred times worse than death.
Xia Wuyang murmured, "Slowly now. We have plenty of time. The road ahead is long."
His figure dissolved into a wisp of green smoke, melting into the snowy night and quickly disappearing from sight.
Back inside Kunning Palace, Murong Wan’s eyes were still fixed rigidly on the ceiling. She didn’t want to, but she had no choice; she couldn’t move a thing.
But her mind was terribly clear—clearly feeling the excruciating pain in her limbs, clearly recalling every word Xia Wuyang had said, clearly foreseeing the bleak, sunless rest of her life.
A single tear slid from the corner of her eye, disappearing into her temple hair.

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