Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

Chapter 1017 The Hidden Dangers Within the Underground Heavenly Palace!

The tomb passage has now become the most dangerous trap. The shockwave from the explosion loosened the rock layers and tore apart the ancient supporting structure, causing large-scale, continuous collapses that haunt the site like a nightmare. Excavation teams often clear a few feet of rubble and soil only to be met with a heart-stopping roar as the newly opened space is blocked by falling rocks. Many craftsmen and soldiers have even been injured or killed as a result.

Such a collapse could not be stopped by human effort alone. In an era when engineering technology still relied on experience and physical strength, the methods that the craftsmen could think of were extremely limited in the face of such active and extensive instability within the mountain. They knew that the piles of rubble before them, though seemingly obstacles, also served as supports to some extent.

If these rubble are cleared away too quickly and indiscriminately, the supporting rock layer above may collapse completely, causing a devastating chain reaction. In that case, not only will all previous efforts be wasted, but the entire excavation team and the area may be completely buried.

Therefore, the project's commanders issued extremely stringent and seemingly contradictory instructions: while excavating the rubble, they must find ways to backfill a significant portion of it into key locations within the mountain, artificially constructing "support walls" or "buffer zones." This was an incredibly meticulous and time-consuming process.

The craftsmen had to sift through the cleared rubble like ants carrying food, using crowbars, ropes, or even their bare hands to move appropriately sized stones to the designated areas under the dome or side walls where collapse was possible. They then carefully piled the stones together, sometimes mixing them with locally sourced soil and a small amount of lime they brought with them for initial reinforcement. Every step was taken with extreme caution, for fear that too much force would trigger another collapse.

The project's progress was therefore exceptionally slow. In the initial stages, due to its proximity to the perimeter and relatively stable structure, coupled with the team's still-energetic state, they were able to manage to advance a dozen meters each day. While this pace was far from ideal, at least progress was visible.

However, as the excavation progressed, the situation deteriorated rapidly. The deeper they went, the more pronounced the destructive effects of the explosions became, the looser the rock strata, and the more frequent and larger the collapses. To ensure safety, the erection of support pillars became increasingly frequent. Large logs were continuously transported into the tunnel, and the craftsmen had to erect these pillars at critical points in a dangerous environment, risking being hit by falling rocks, and reinforce them with mortise and tenon joints or iron hoops.

Next came the more tedious work of filling and securing the structure, using gravel and soil to fill the gaps between the supports and the rock face to ensure the integrity of the support system.

All of this required a massive amount of manpower and resources. Long lines of laborers carried timber, tools, drinking water, and food, working day and night. Inside the tunnels, the air was foul, the lights flickered, and people's faces were covered in a mixture of sweat, mud, and exhaustion.

The progress bar seemed stuck, with each day's advance dwindling to a mere meter or two, sometimes even regressing due to sudden landslides. Compared to the initial slow pace, the current progress was far slower, practically crawling like a snail. A sense of anxiety and despair began to spread through the team, but the strict orders from above forced them to grit their teeth and continue digging inch by inch into this dark abyss.

In stark contrast to the tense, dangerous, and muddy labor outside, Gao Yao was deep inside the underground palace. At this moment, he was experiencing a strange and contradictory leisure. He didn't need to worry about world affairs for the time being, nor did he have anyone to trouble him. Despite being in a desperate situation, he had gained a rare, forced tranquility for a short period of time.

This Qin Dynasty palace, hidden deep within the mountain, is far more magnificent and exquisite than most people can imagine. It is not merely a crude cave or a simple tomb, but a near-perfect replica of the layout and luxury of an above-ground palace complex. The majestic halls, exquisite pavilions, winding corridors, and even the dome murals simulating the sun, moon, and stars, all demonstrate the painstaking effort and ambition poured into its builders.

Though the carved beams and painted rafters were covered in dust, the coiled dragon stone pillars still stood. Gao Yao casually chose a palace room that looked like it had once been a side hall as his lodging. Inside, bronze utensils, lacquered tables and jade desks were all present, and there were even well-preserved brocade curtains. He didn't need to worry about basic shelter at all; everything here seemed to be a silent yet luxurious cage prepared just for him.

What gave him even more confidence to enjoy all of this was the system in his mind and its associated farm space. Food shortage? Not a problem. With a thought, fresh, juicy fruits and vegetables, and even processed, steaming hot roasted meat and pastries, could be taken directly from the system space.

The farm appears to be a self-contained ecosystem, cultivating various crops and raising livestock for consumption, ensuring a constant supply of fresh meat. Clean drinking water is also readily available. In terms of material comforts, Gaoyao has almost reached a point where food and drink are no longer a worry, far more comfortable than the digging teams outside who are surviving on dry rations and drinking muddy water.

His daily work consisted of wandering through this vast, deserted underground palace complex, trying to find any hidden passages or mechanisms that might have been overlooked and led to his survival. The rest of the time was spent resting and sleeping. Without sunrise or sunset, the concept of time became blurred; he could only roughly judge how much time had passed by relying on his own biological clock and his fatigue. This near-retirement-like life, if one ignored the surroundings, could be considered a unique kind of "vacation."

However, Gao Yao knew deep down that this comfort was illusory, like the alluring warmth in deadly lukewarm water. He could not linger here. The deadly threat did not come from hunger or thirst, but from the invisible, odorless, yet pervasive poison that permeated the air of this underground palace—mercury.

At the very bottom of the Heavenly Palace, the designers ingeniously excavated winding channels, symbolizing the rivers, lakes, and seas of the human world. However, flowing within these "rivers" is not clear spring water, but rather heavy, silvery liquid metal—mercury—reflecting an eerie luster under the dim light of the eternal lamps. Its quantity is so great that it can be measured in tons, forming a deadly "underground river of the underworld" encircling the core area.

Mercury, or quicksilver, continues to evaporate even at room temperature, producing highly toxic mercury vapor. This underground palace, sealed for millennia, already suffers from extremely poor air circulation, relying only on tiny gaps for very limited exchange with the outside world, barely maintaining an oxygen concentration that wouldn't immediately suffocate. However, this also means that the mercury vapor evaporating from within cannot be effectively expelled, and its concentration is quietly increasing over time.